Apple macbook air hinge defect -closing lid is considered accidental damage

I have the same exact problem, and two of my friends had it, one where Apple covered it and the Genius informed him a new hinge design had been put in, so it shouldn't happen again, and yet another right after the product's release where they had to pay to fix it and when it broke the second time only then was it covered.

Mine happened just after warranty expiration, sigh. 800 dollars out I guess, does anyone know of a third party who doesn't replace the entire screen?

The third party is apple show the guys at the repair store this link http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2948

Apple says "If you previously paid for a repair for hinge-related issues that were not caused by accidental damage, you may be eligible for a refund."

Here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2948

I have the same problem, where a few days back the laptop made a cracking noise as I opened the lid. The right corner of the display popped out by about 1 centimeter. The display and cabling are all okay and laptop works perfectly aside from the fact that the lid can not be closed properly and makes a cracking noise when opening.

Apple South Africa refuses to fix at no cost and has quoted USD 800 for replacing the display (there is nothing wrong with the display other than the hinge broken). Apple US is not very helpful (logged a case number) as this is "a South African problem" and Apple US does apparently not have any influence (according to US call centre agent).

The Air is out of warranty (was purchased in April 2008). In my mind this is a manufacturing fault and the first in over 15 laptops I owned where I had an issue of this nature. Even the cheapest laptop I bought did not break within 16 months.

Instead of being forced to pay USD 800 (and the local repair only carries a 3 month warranty according to quote received) I would rather buy a replacement. Even more frustrating is that I just bought a MacBook Pro from the same iStore and they have no willingness to accommodate (also referred them to the technote).

I had the exact same "hinge" problem with my 2 year old macbook air. I went into the apple store and they refused to repair it. I called tech support and sent the computer in they repaired the problem which was creating an error in my screen. A few months later, the hinge began to crack and separate from the keyboard on one side. I sent my computer in and was told that it was due to impact damage. I had taken pictures of my computer before both repairs and nothing different was on my casing from the first repair to the second repair request. I was told the repair could not be covered under warranty. I complained that this was unfair due to the fact that the repair was made previously. If there was previous impact damage then they should have informed of this before. Eventually, after several blood pressure surges and pills, I was told that the error was apple's for not repairing the problem they had previously noted the first time. I hope that they give me an updated hinge this time so I don't have to go through this again.

I still love apple products, but I am so disappointed in the customer service of technical support. If the first agent and the manager I spoke to had done the research they both would have seen that the problem was noted before and not repaired.

If anyone has numbers to complain about apple employees please let me know. I would like to issue a formal complaint.

I will be getting rid of my Macbook Air in a few months. My husband's Macbook that was purchased at the same time has had a minimal amount of problems compared to my Macbook Air.

Funny you mentioned the corner, I too have the problem and found out my sister also has the problem, she bought a new computer after Apple told her they wouldn't replace or repair I called they said no problem. Go figure the key word seems to be what corner is your problem. Once I said the RIGHT they said OK no problem.

Add me to the list of apple fanatics NOT shopping for any fruit based computer products this year. After being told over the phone that my computer would be repaired free of charge 🙂 I drove 45 minutes to be told that the damaged hinge is my fault.

When the computer was new I dropped it, and there is a dent in the lid. My bad. My fault. Almost 2 years later the hinge on the opposite side breaks and I'm being told that despite the hinges being a known engineering defect I'm at fault.

I am beyond disappointed in apple. I'm angry.

I understand that they don't want to replace a damaged lid gratis, but it wouldn't need replacing if their hings were properly designed. For crying out loud who designs a product that needs half of it replaced for the failure of a simple plastic part? Whose fault is that design?

Rob

Former loyal customer, now plaintiff?

Hey Rob was that bad hinge on the right side ?

Yes,

Bad hinge is on right side.

As I said earlier, both my sister and myself had this problem.
My sisters looked like its been through a war and the display didn't even work at this point. I called Apple and they told me to take it up to the Apple Store but its just too far to drive up to and I asked if I could mail it in , they checked for a closer place and they found a place about 7 miles away, we took them in and gave them the case number Apple gave me, dropped it off on a Tuesday and it was down on Friday done in house no questions asked and no charge.

The local shop simply just contacted Apple on Wednesday and the part was overnighted , it was much simpler than actually sending the unit back etc.

Message was edited by: TheMiz

Yes this is probably the only apple product that is poorly built and obviously not ready for primetime. If it only lasts this long, then they really should look at it as a defect, which is what it is, like a car manufacturer who does a recall. This is what this needs, because it is related to all sorts of other problems like no audio, audio board flex wire cable, and/or logic board replacement. They are not owning up to it and are ******* alot of customers off. Apple should be reading this to becasue right now, Apple ***!

You see, they are even censoring words that customers use to express their feelings, like I am very angry at apple and that they kcus (vacuum function) This censorship is kinda scary too.

I am at Aruba at this moment and my hinge broke. How can I find out if there is a qualified Apple repair shop on this island? I searched the whole apple website, and got stuck in Spanish pages. Please help!

Hello Christian,

Greetings from sunny California! I also own a first generation MacBook Air and have had it for 20 months. The loose hinge issue has been thoroughly documented -as you can see by the many posts-. I recently took mine to an Apple genius to discuss other unrelated matters however, since I was there I decided to bring up the fact that my hinge appears a little lose (when the MBA is open, the screen holds up but seems a little lose). The Apple genius acknowledged the issue as being a common one amongst first generation MBA's and offered to take it and keep it for repair. I declined because it is my primary school computer. She said I could take it anytime. I am considering it since I am in winter break but my MBA is in impeccable condition and I am weary I might end up with a scratch or some cosmetic blemish I wont be able to forgive myself for. I recommend you contact Apple.

Ok. I found a Youtube video of a guy that own a MacBook Pro and disassembled it to tighten back the hinges. I am attaching the link here for purely entertaining purposes. In no way am I recommending you do this yourself for two reasons: One, we should leave this to the pro's and two, this is a video of a MacBook Pro not an Air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DQI0ukUfMs