Rubber screen surround on MBP marks keyboard surround.

Question

Level 2

183 points

Rubber screen surround on MBP marks keyboard surround.

Hi all,

I have a 2010 i7 15" MBP which has had very little use. In fact it sits in its protective case in my car most of the time.

Today I opened it up and noticed a thin red/brown line that goes from next to the power button, right around the silver top of the MB around the keyboard about 2mm from the edge, and back to the power button again. I cannot remove it. I have worked out it is caused by the rubber/plastic "seal" that goes around the screen. This seal comes in to contact with the section around the keyboard when the lid is closed and, over time, marks it.

Anyone else experienced this and, if so, what did you do about it if anything?

Cheers,

2010 MacBook Pro 15" i7, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 12, 2011 11:17 PM

Reply

Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,494 points

Feb 12, 2011 11:32 PM in response to Spookola

I guessing your car gets pretty warm, if that is the case this isn't good for your computer. If you can keep it somewhere where it won't get baked that will probably take care of the problem getting any worse.

Here is what Apple states are the storage specs:

Storage temperature: -13° to 113° F
(-24° to 45° C)

Considering a closed up car can easily top those temperatures and it's summertime in Australia right now that's my best guess.

Roger

Reply

Answer 2

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Feb 13, 2011 8:06 AM in response to Spookola

I agree completely with Roger. Leaving your computer in a closed car in the summertime amounts to extreme abuse. In addition to subjecting all of its other materials and components to heat for which most of them aren't designed, doing so will kill the battery stone dead, and may cause it to expand and leak inside the machine, causing additional damage to other components. You'll need to change your habits ASAP.

Reply

Answer 3

Spookola Author

Level 2

183 points

Feb 13, 2011 1:03 PM in response to Spookola

Apologies, I guess I should have added that the laptop is in my car most of the time UNLESS it is a warm/hot day. The car is under cover in a garage most of the time anyway (unless I am working) and if it is indeed a warm/hot day, I take the gear out and bring it into the office.

Too much heat would not be the problem. Unless the case is too hot from use when I close it. Which would be put down as a design fault.

Reply

Answer 4

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Feb 13, 2011 1:40 PM in response to Spookola

Spookola: You're the only person I've seen reporting any marks from the rubber rim of the display in more than two years of reading these forums daily, and that leads me to suspect there's something quite unusual about the way you treat your machine. Leaving it in a superheated car is exactly the kind of treatment that I would expect to cause the problem, so I wonder whether there haven't been a few times when you forgot to take it inside with you and it got baked a bit.

Reply

Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,494 points

Feb 13, 2011 1:53 PM in response to Spookola

I have to agree with eww about never seeing anyone else complain about this issue therefore I can't say it's a design fault. I'd have to say it's really owner abuse, not abuse with intent but abuse none the less. The only suggestion I can offer is simply taking care to not leave it in the car if you suspect it will a) be warm and/or b) be left for more than a few minutes.

Reply

Answer 6

Spookola Author

Level 2

183 points

Feb 13, 2011 3:14 PM in response to Spookola

Hi guys,

I can indeed accept that *IF* the laptop had been left in a car on a hot day, then, yes, it could be an issue. The fact is that it might have been in the car once or twice on a reasonably WARM day (not always being able to take the laptop with me), but nothing untoward, leads me to think that mine could possibly be an unusual case. I don't know - I am not an expert. But it certainly has not been left in the car on overly hot days - especially over the last few weeks when it has bee 40degrees + outside a vehicle.

I also have a great deal of camera equipment in the car which is also removed on days that are suspected to be too hot for the gear to be left in there...I am aware of how heat can damage equipment such as this.

Anyway, you all seem to be putting it down to heat abuse...perhaps this happened before I even picked up the laptop and this is the first time I have noticed it since having it. Simply thought it might have been a known issue and Apple might have had a fix...

Thanks for your help - looks like I can't do much about it.

Reply

Answer 7

LukeD

Level 4

3,153 points

Feb 14, 2011 1:31 PM in response to Spookola

This has happened to one of my MacBook Pro notebooks. While temperature can cause it, I believe that it just happens with use.

It is definitely the rubber seal rubbing on the top of the unibody.

I use a microfiber cloth to clean it off when I start to notice it.

Reply

Answer 8

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Feb 14, 2011 1:38 PM in response to LukeD

Luke — may I ask whether it's happening on your older MBP or the newer one?

Reply

Answer 9

chipperz

Level 2

216 points

Feb 14, 2011 2:21 PM in response to Spookola

I have a 15" MBP i7 that I have had for about two months, and I haven't seen that problem on mine. Mine has been used under warm conditions and left sitting in the sun on a bench for some time, but nothing like that has appeared on mine.

Reply

Answer 10

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Feb 14, 2011 2:50 PM in response to chipperz

...and left sitting in the sun on a bench for some time...

Don't press your luck, chipperz!

Reply

Answer 11

LukeD

Level 4

3,153 points

Feb 14, 2011 8:38 PM in response to eww

Hey Eww,

Yes, it has been happening to my late 2008 MacBook Pro for sometime. I am fairly confident that it will begin happening to my new MacBook Pro as well.

You know me. I handle these MacBook Pros with white gloves. I do not think that there is any way to avoid what inevitably happens when rubber rubs against a hard metal surface.

All the best,
Luke

PS

It takes months to develop this "ring around the collar". It does not happen immediately after having been cleaned.

Message was edited by: LukeD

Reply

Answer 12

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Feb 14, 2011 8:47 PM in response to LukeD

Well, I've had mine for 24 months now, and there's never been a hint of anything like that going on with it: no vestige of marking on the lower case, and no sign of wear on the rubber strip, even when examined under a strong hand lens. So I don't know what to make of your or Spookola's experience.

Reply

Answer 13

LukeD

Level 4

3,153 points

Feb 14, 2011 9:14 PM in response to eww

Thank you, Eww.

That is strange. My rubber strip also shows no wear, which I guess makes it even stranger.

I have just written to let Spookola know that I have seen it too, but it does not bother me one bit. I love these machines, especially my late 2008 model.

All the best,
Luke

Reply

Answer 14

ricriley

Level 1

4 points

Jul 20, 2011 10:09 AM in response to Spookola

I have this very same problem on my 2010 15" i5 MacBook Pro. It is rarely taken outside of my home and isn't kept in a warm or humid place.

As far as I'm aware it's been leaving marks ever since day 1, I have never owned a mac before and just thought that it was the norm. I have to clean mine every couple of weeks I'd say...

Reply