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Late 2008 Macbook Pro Hinges

Well sad to say i purchased a new macbook 13 inch for my wife which is beautiful. Then, i went out to purchase the new macbook pro 15 inch so i did. When i got home and lay in bed the screen wouldn't stay up. i was so mad. i returned at best buy and the apple rep couldn't believe it. We opened 2 more new macbook pros and same thing. The hinges are weak. So i returned it and called apple . Apple says they are aware of this new issue on the new late 2008 macbook pros and need more complaints from us to fix it. The apple rep suggests to wait a few weeks before purchasing one. Really bad!!!!!!!User uploaded file over $2,000.00 and screen/hinges feels 5 years old

2008 macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 23, 2008 4:14 PM

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241 replies

Oct 23, 2008 8:55 PM in response to thegrillboy

I waited for 30 minutes while the Apple Store unpacked their first shipment of the new Macbook Pro and walked out a happy camper. I quickly became very unhappy over the loose hinge. Whenever I shifted so did the display! On a plane, whenever there was a slight bounce the display would flop backward. I lasted 6 days with this defect before doing my research at the Apple store and finding all the new Macbook Pro hinges were loose. The new Macbook works properly and has tension in the hinge that stopped the offensive movement. I traded my Macbook Pro for the new Macbook and am very happy with the Macbook.

Oct 24, 2008 2:37 AM in response to thegrillboy

Went to the local Apple Store and saw that all the new MacBook Pro (Redesigned 15" and Refreshed 17") screens on the showroom would fall when held up at a 45 degree angle. Regular MacBooks were fine. I don't know how this compares to the previous Mac Book Pros but it feels considerably more loose than my PowerBook G4. Having went through broken hinge **** on my PowerBook G3 Wallstreet, faulty screen hinges are a big deal.

Oct 25, 2008 1:56 AM in response to tomf40ph

I ran into the same issues with my unit that I picked up on day 1. I did manage to get them to replace it but the new unit is not much better. I think this is something that in the end will be fixed quietly in the next generation. I have not seen that many complaints about it in the forums.. At least not as many as I would have thougt.

The hinge that I have now is tighter but still not as robust as my older macbook pro unit. I think in their quest to make it easier to open they made it far to weak to support the screen when laying in bed.

Oct 26, 2008 7:26 AM in response to Peter K. Grether

I'm also really disappointed by this. The hinges are okay if you have the computer flat. But one of my favourite positions is laying down 😉 having the MBP raised on my stomach (to avoid the heat and to be able to type + to avoid my children touching the keyboard while bugging me).

Anyway, for the old MBP this worked fine, the unibody just closes the screen and it is hard to keep it open since the screen seems much heavier with the glass and all.

Don't have the energy to return it, but will definately ask to have this fixed.

Oct 26, 2008 9:22 AM in response to yeslan

The same hinge is probably being used in both the MacBook and MacBook Pro. The MacBook is not having this problem because the screen is smaller and lighter.

User uploaded file

Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support' (designed exclusively for an iPhone/iPod touch)

Late 2008 Macbook Pro Hinges

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