Noise when pressing on bottom of MBA case

My 11" is also making a popping clicking noise, has been doing it on and off since I got it so I'm taking it back on Monday. Haven't seen if it does when holding it like that, but will have a go when I get home.

My first 13" had a sound like that on the left in the middle. It seemed like maybe the screw in that area wasn't fully tightened. The store exchanged it for another one, but your area looks different. If it's a reproducible thing I'd take it to a local Apple store and see what they say.

How did they react when you told them about the noise? Mine has got a pretty bad case of the creaks; roughly half of the time when I pick it up and/or place my wrist on the left side results in a metal-on-metal creaking noise.

I'm a little worried that it's indicative of something that may become a larger problem down the line (slightly misaligned casing -> extra pressure on the mother board -> mother board failure the week after AppleCare expires, with my luck) but I really don't want to waste my time going to the Genius Bar only to be told that it's a normal problem, or something that's to be expected with the computer.

They had trouble reproducing, mostly due to noise in the store. But they were perfectly willing to do an exchange if I wanted. I mentioned about the possibility that one of the screws wasn't fully tightened but they didn't have any tools in the store for the new screws on the MBA yet.

Hi,

Have you guys installed iStat nano? Install it and check the fan speed. The problem might be coming form the fan.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=347544

Cheers.

I can tell you that the bottom of the unibodies seem to be the weak point. My 15" MBP (mid-2009) will creak if I press on the bottom while holding the computer or moving it. I understand they want to keep weight down, but I think the bottom needs to be a bit thicker/more rigid. I imagine in the Air, it's thinner than the MBP. I would guess the noise is coming from the edges moving, or rubbing, or the screws making contact with metal-- or worse, the thin casing pressing against the internals/battery.

Bryan

"or worse, the thin casing pressing against the internals/battery."

That's exactly what I'm worried about.

I mean, if it's par for the course for the unibody MacBooks, then I guess that's fine—though if it were that common, I think I would have heard about it before now.

In any occasion, I have an appointment at the Apple Store tomorrow.

I haven't opened my MBP up in a while, but if I remember, the battery had a thin plastic casing, almost like a plastic bag, wrapped. Maybe this is causing the crinkle noise? I may be selling my MBP, and will have to put the factory drive back in it. If I do, I'll take a peak and do a test to see if that's the noise.

Bryan

I'm having the same issue here. is yours the based model or a customized one? Did you end up going to the genius bar?

i have a similar issue. although i dont find it in the same place shown in the photograph. i seem to get it when the computer is on my lap and i rest my left wrist on the machine (as another poster has mentioned). i suppose i will call applecare. the only thing i have to compare it with is my macbook pro 13 2009, but of course that has a much thicker case, so i dont know if this is something to expect with a thin case.

That's exactly the same problem i have, when it's on my lap, and I press with my left wrist as a type, it's not always reproducible, but def enough times.

Could you please let me know what apple care tells you?

Sorry, I completely forgot to reply with my experience.

When I got to the Genius Bar, I explained the situation to the Genius and that I thought that perhaps reseating the bottom case would solve the creaking (I would have done this at home if it weren't for the new screws). When that didn't help, he offered to send it away to get the top case replaced, a solution that we both agreed was a little extreme given that, at this time, my complaint was an aesthetic issue (albeit one that could indicate further issues down the line).

In the end, he opened a case file on my account authorizing me for a top case replacement if I decided I wanted the procedure done in the future (which I may or may not take advantage of).

It's been a week since I was at the Genius Bar; in that time, the creaking has actually decreased dramatically. It still does creak occasionally, but no longer under normal use, and no longer when I put my hand on the palm rest.

My recommendation? I'd try living with it for a little while and seeing if it goes away. After all, you do have AppleCare for almost an entire year at this point.

i definitely will tell you what they tell me. sorry i havent got round to it yet. i will do it tomorrow.