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scpalmer138 Author

Level 1

0 points

Popping and Squeeking when bottom of Macbook Air is touched or moved

Does anyone else experience squeaking or popping sounds coming from the base of their Macbook Air case (late 2010)? It seems like it makes noise every time I touch it. My unit is only 3 days out of the box, and I haven't taken it out of the house and I have not damaged it. I suspected a loose screw, but the screws on the bottom are WAY too small for any tools I have.

Is this something common?

Macbook Air (Late 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.5), Noisy Case

Posted on Nov 20, 2010 7:51 PM

Top-ranking reply

Brian Caslis

Level 3

795 points

Posted on Nov 21, 2010 9:34 AM

I don't hear any noises like that. Is there is an Apple Store near you I'd take it there and have them look at it.

View in context

25 replies

Jan 17, 2011 2:31 PM in response to brnrubber

well after a week of noise free creaking after the apple store retightened the screws on the bottom cover its creaking again

rey739

Level 1

0 points

Jan 17, 2011 9:02 PM in response to rey739

Apple Has Fixed my problem be replacing the unit......:)

so excited to do other un-boxing........

Jan 18, 2011 4:59 PM in response to brnrubber

Apple realigned base plate .all is good This is the best laptop i ever owned

Jan 19, 2011 3:44 AM in response to tgree097

My macbook air 13 inch is doing this to, i have made an appointment for tomorrow at the genius bar, i will let you know what happens.

Jan 20, 2011 5:23 AM in response to Jack.wilson16

Even though they were not able to reproduce the problem in the store, I was able to swap my MacBook Air for a new one. I had the popping/squeaking noise and the trackpad was erratic. Not anymore! Apple = great service and super products!

Jan 20, 2011 7:36 AM in response to wight4256

So i went to the genius bar, the guy said he heard the problem and reseated the back, but he said its more of an 'annoyance' than a hardware problem, so no new macbook air, and oh, when i got home the popping is still happening, and more that often on the left hand side, what should i do now guys ?

Jan 20, 2011 9:18 AM in response to Jack.wilson16

I explained to them how I am usually 100% satisfied with my Apple products but this was an exception. I said that I tried several other MacBook Airs and could not reproduce the problem. I don't mind paying more for Apple products because 99% of the time they are far superior.

techgaze

Level 1

8 points

Oct 16, 2011 7:42 AM in response to gonzoguy24

Made in China! My 17" is doing the same thing while my wife's 15" is perfect. I'm about to pop the bottom open just for the heck of it and see what is going on.

Oct 17, 2011 10:07 AM in response to scpalmer138

I have an 11" MacBook Air. The "Genius" at my local store told me that they all do that. He said if I had it re-seated, it would do it again. If I replaced it, the new one would do it. I was presented with a "tough sh**" situation.

He re-seated the bottom plate and it was fine for about a week. Now it's creaking all the time, literally every time I touch it, it creaks. It's driving me nuts. I'm bringing it in again tomorrow. It's too bad the return policy is only 14 days, otherwise I would have swapped it for a sturdier MacBook Pro, or returned it. These computers are so expensive; I don't think customers should have to just deal with it. There's so much flex in this computer, I'm amazed. I thought these things were supposed to have super-solid aluminum unibody construction. I can flex it with my hands, I'm sure I could bend it in half if I wanted to throw away $1200.

May 26, 2015 7:20 AM in response to scpalmer138

It seems MBA 2015 suffers from that too, mac support tech, told me that is a broken bracket for the battery that causes that the battery, and bottom plate is not tight enough. I have gone through 2 RMA replacements now, im kind of upset, combined with disappointed. i just want my money back at this point.

Popping and Squeeking when bottom of Macbook Air is touched or moved