Q: Macbook Air Logic Board Failure

Well one more with the same issue... My MBA died after going to sleep.
I´m extremely dissapointed with this situation and with this Apple product.

I bought it brand new from the Apple store and after 3 months out of warranty the MAB died...
I´ve sent it to an autorized center and the quote was around 450€ for a logic board replacemment.
So sad with Apple...

Hi Parvetaja,

I could not have explained it any better than you did. Took the words out of my mind to put in writing except that all this is happening to my Macbook Air 13'" in Fiji. It is now with the authorized Apple service providers here, Logical Systems in Suva, Fiji Islands. This Macbook Air 13" laptop was bought in January, 2014 from Courts - Damodor City branch, Laucala Beach, Suva, Fiji Islands. It is just 2 years old. And yes, I have been told by the technician at the authorized Apple service providers that the logic board needs replacing. The explanation I got from the kind technician is that a replacement logic board would cost me FJ$3,000 which is equivalent to US$1,398. He continued that since it is partly covered by warranty, I will only have to pay FJ$1,886 whilst the rest of the FJ$1,114 will be covered by the warranty. Oh how I wished that it was the other way around. Even if it was the other way around it would still mean a lot of sacrifices, the same we (wife and I) did to get the laptop in the first place. We believed in the promise of Apple computers. I am ready to make the sacrifice again because I realized from the good technician's explanation that he cannot extract my wife's work and mine in the internal memory.

I am not angry at Apple. I am just wondering if the wonderful people at Apple or a genius somewhere has cracked this issue and I will not have to loan a figure of FJ$1,886 to purchase a replacement logic board.

Another logic board failure here for MBA. You should be covered by consumer law 2 years in Australia and NZ I believe - don't know about other countries. Do check before you do anything drastic people

Oh yes. MBA bought March 2015. Motherboard malfunctions from July 2015. Finally got free replacement within 12 month warranty in US. Really concerned by this thread as it appears this is a worldwide recurring problem that is NOT being addressed properly.

Add me to the list. Looks like the logic board is bad on the one I'm using too.  2014 MBA.  Pure craziness.

Unfortunately, i have the same problem with my MBA. I am very dissapointed. It happened to me first time after year and half when it was still in warranty, it run out of battery and then i couldnt switch it on, it was totally dead. In apple store they changed the logic board for free, now after other year and half it happened again. Only difference is that it was on and charging. I was working on it and suddenly it died and nothing didnt help to turn it on. In apple store they told me its again the logic board. This time they want me to pay 370 euro , they said after reparation its only 6 months in warranty. I dont know what to do, i dont want to pay such a amount of money and have this problem over and over again.

I bought a Macbook Air for my son at university last March.  Seven and a half weeks later it totally failed. We lost it for three weeks while the logic board was replaced. So he had my iPad and I took the laptop. Mistake!  It failed again two months later and I spent the whole morning in the genius bar trying to get an appointment as Applecare - which we had paid for - said I should invoke my consumer rights in store for a replacement.  They wouldn't replace the faulty machine and replaced the logic board yet again.  The laptop has failed to start many times since and let me down badly on a journalist assignment reporting a speech by Michelle Obama at the Wise education conference in Doha, Quatar for a London paper.  Now has failed again.  Apple care says we deserve a replacement.  Apple Store Kingston Bentall Centre store, however, says you have to have three repairs before you can activate a 12 month warranty!  They have agreed to ask for a exception in our case but we are still waiting....This is obviously a known fault and you should demand a replacement even if it is just out of warranty.  Good luck.

I have a mid 2009 macair, I had the start up problems. I took it to an authorized service and their answer was as below

I have tested your laptop and all tests indicated a fault with the main logic board.

I ’m afraid the unit is very old and Apple does not provide parts for it anymore. This said, I cannot help you with the repair.

Feel free to come by and pick it up, there will be a €20 plus VAT inspection fee.

So there we have it.  Spend nearly £1,000 and expect your device to work for no more than six years. There's obviously a big problem with logic boards for the Macbook Air.  Wish I hadn't bought one.  Still waiting to hear if mine will be replaced after two logic board replacements in four months and many fail to starts and calls to Applecare.

I have the exact same problem: 2013 MBA 8GB RAM. Not a single scratch. One day it died on me, and now they say that I must replace the logic board. The computer is 2 1/2 years-old.

This is clearly a problem that affects thousands of MBA owners throughout the world. The 2012-2014 MBA came with a deffective logic board, so I think Apple must replace all logic boards with new ones for free or give us our money back.

May I suggest a petition similar to this one: https://www.change.org/p/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-2011-macbook-pro-with -graphics-failure

In the meantime, I have talked to a lawyer about this, and he says that he might have a chance to put pressure on them. Since theses cases have been reported for years, the burden of proof will be on their side.

I'm so sorry to hear that, just two and a half years old and now it is junk.  Mine is early 2014. The petition is an excellent idea.  I will look into how to start one.  Which country are you in?  I bought mine in the UK where the law appears to be pretty much on my side re "fit for purpose".  Still waiting for a reply from Apple over whether it can be an exception to the three repairs or nothing rule...All best, Liz

I'm in Portugal. Since mine was six months over the warranty, it is as good as dead. I think this is ridiculous. If you're willing to pay a little bit more for your computer (phone, tablet, car, etc.) you would expect it to perform better than other devices and to last longer.

I think a petition would be a good way of pointing the spotlight to this problem. The problem has been reported by hundreds of customers throughout the world in several online discussion sites, but Apple refuses to give an answer as to why their MBAs are a piece of junk after a few months or a couple of years.

All the best.

One more dissatisfied customer with the same problem to add to the list. A year and a few months and my MBA died. Has been good as dead for weeks.

If anyone cracks the issue, let us know!

thanks

I have the same issue too with my MBA (Mid 2013) bought in Germany.

Before it happend I drained the battery to below 10% with the printer connected.

Interestingly, after some days my MBA worked again, but it soon died again after few days.

Apple Store suggested me to buy a new one, as changing the logic board cannot guarantee solving the problem.

I am really disappointed, as it happend only after 2 years of purchase (thus no warranty).

I have problem my macbook air 11 early 2014 logic board failure. I don't know what to do now, lost lot of money