MacBook Air Screen Cracks

Just had this happen recently. A MAB left closed on bed overnight and crack appeared on bottom right hand corner when opened in the morning. Had exact same problem with Samsung LX900 due to undue pressure / stress on the screen / frame interface. This manifests when either heating or cooling and appears to be a possible incompatibility with the metal frame housing and glass screen and the rates at which they possible expand / contract. In the case of my Samsung the screen just cracked from just about off centre from the top whilst my son was playing a PC game. I was present so saw all this but as it was out of warranty had to pay to replace.

In the case of the MAB to pay such a price to replace the screen with little reassurance it could happen again makes one think twice. This is the main issue.

Also I experienced the same claims of misuse as the cause of the problem and they appear to overlook the previous statement which this thread supports a s some have had multiple screen crack.

'I appears the attempt by various manufacturers to provide very light products are experiencing similar problems, but it is not until people bring these to the fore that they are noticed and then believed. Even sigma 6 manufacturing cannot prevent such an occurrence rather than making it statistically small but still always probable and possible.

No dust corns, pens or the like but the immediate response of the local agent was misuse! Seems like we need to have a CAM to constantly watch / monitor.

Hope this helps and contributes but I expect they will want me to pay in full to replace the screen evn though it is still under warranty.

gdiana wrote:

No dust corns, pens or the like but the immediate response of the local agent was misuse! Seems like we need to have a CAM to constantly watch / monitor.

Well to be fair there is indeed a com to constantly watch/monitor, but it's pointed at you, as we have learned in the news lately. ;-)

I would recommend to be persistent with Appple and escalate your issue to the highest level possible. I had this proble with my MBA and I got the brush-off at first, but in the end they fixed it at no cost. Was not easy but I was determined, I was willing to sever ties with Apple for good if they refused and I think they knew that. When one pays the premium that Apple demands for these products, and is are loyal to them buying many products, such defects are simply not acceptable at at all.

I can understand that the defects will happen but a customer should not be forced to battle like this to get fair treatment. Its just totally counter to the Apple brand, which is about making it simple for the customer and rewardng customer loyalty. They will turn off many people if they dont fess up and start treating this problem differently.

My experience with Apple service regarding this problem has been disappointing. I took the machine in to the service centre in Bangkok, and on their advice, I followed up with a message to the service centre in Singapore on 16 December 2013:

"Dear Apple service centre

A spiderweb crack appeared spontaneously on my screen (a MacBook Air 13-inch) about a week ago and has been getting worse daily. At first it was just a hairline crack but it has been gradually getting worse. There was no accident. I treat my MBA very carefully.

I live in Bangkok. When I took it to the Apple repair centre at Siam Discovery they quoted me a rate of over THB 23,000 for repairs in Singapore. My MBA is out of the 1-year warranty period but is not old; it was purchased in January 2012. I trusted the quality of Apple products so this is a disappointing setback.

After researching the issue, it appears that many other users have experienced similar issues with the MBAs. The service centre staff said to me that "the screen is too thin." I can see from the Apple support community forum and other sites that many other users have experienced this problem.

It appears that this is a manufacturing defect and as such, I am writing to ask if you could consider providing the parts at no cost and I cover the service fee for repairs. I am attaching a photo of the screen to show the nature of the damage. Since the crack appeared, this has worsened daily.

I have tried to phone the service centre in Singapore today to discuss this, but have not been able to connect. I am posting a separate message to your Facebook page about the phone connection. Your early response will be much appreciated."

And, I received the following form letter promptly:

No reply!

Any ideas from this forum on how to take this further will be appreciated.

I have now spent 3 to 4 hours on the phone with mac support techs, and my frustrations grow. Bottom line: No compensation for a screen crack, and honestly, I see their disposition - if they open the door to spontaneous screen cracks then everyone with a screen crack of any type has a legitimate claim. I am just frustrated to have spent money on a new computer and done nothing but baby it, yet I look through this cracked screen for hours every day.

To Macaby - yes - every company has heard this line. Until now, Mac has not been every company. Mac has gone the distance to keep customers happy. The truth is that I am so Mac dependent that I probably wont abandon their products. This is the most frustrating part! Fact of the matter is that my screen spontaneously broke and I am not the only one - there are many spontaneous screen cracks - it is a flaw and I am certain the next MBA will have a different design. I just want MAC to own it. If they told me that the screen is fragile and many cracks have been reported but they can't reimburse I'd be fine, but the fact that they are telling me I used excessive force, when I simply did not is the frustrating part. And Macaby - you speak of slander - I agree - I am the one accused of using excessive force. Mac is in a catch 22 - they can't admit that the crack may have been spontaneous and not reimburse, and they can't accuse me of force and then reimburse. They can't win. I can't win. It is exactly what I am used to with all non-Mac companies. This is why I have raved about Mac for the last decade and converted many PC users. So, yes, I probably will fix the screen and continue to use Mac, but no, I will no longer rave about the company and no longer be a staunch supporter of the company. Is this the beginning of the end? Time will tell.

Solution? I think we should start a website where people can register their cracks. Lets just see how many spontaneous MBA screen cracks are out there.

I too just got off the phone with tier 2 apple support told that I had acidental damaged the screen and it wasn't covered.

I have a padded case, and the laptop never leaves my desk, connected to a external monitor for graphics work. I noticed a white halo, around a area on the screen

weird watermark that only shows up on dark screens. . Upon closer inspection it appears to be a crack behind the display (screen itself is perfectly smooth). It is especially obvious on dark backgrounds and not something I would have missed with regular use for the past hour.

I am ridiculously careful with my stuff and would definitely cop to something but I haven't even been out of my chair for an hour and this suddenly appears. I'm quite baffled. My laptop is 2 months old, they wouldn't fix it, or even pay half of the repairs.

I hope apple fixes this issue and makes the air thicker,or add reinforcement where needed..

I am now added to the victim list of macbook air screen cracks. Completely spontaneous in the top left corner. I baby my MBA, and I have the whole mac family. Not only have I raved about mac for years, I have converted many many PC users. Now, when I have my very first mac issue, I am told that the crack required excessive force and is not covered by apple care. I have bought at least 3 new screens with all of the apple care purchases for all of my toys, and never once tried to make a claim or even had a major problem. Minor problems have always been dealt with perfectly. Now, I am told that my screen crack was my fault. It was not - I was there. This crack just spontaneously appeared. The MBA is only 6 months old - the crack goes all the way across the top, and has even spilled pink and blue colour down the left edge.

More than the crack, I am disappointed by the accusation that it is my fault. I am disillusioned and frustrated with mac in general. The cost of a new screen is close to $800. After reading all of the other stories - clearly this is a design flaw, and clearly the number of people affected is adding up. My theory: The bottom line cost of fixing this is too much. Plus, it opens the door for all screen cracks (excessive force or not). More importantly - It doesn't go this way in a Steve Jobs world. It is disappointing that the single company I thought was different, and actually looking out for it's customers is not. The romance is over for this kid - it is my only play. New phone (Android), new lap tap, new desk top, new tablet. It is over, and I have no plans of ever going back. It is going to be a hard road after over a decade with this OS. A hard and lonely road. Does anyone have a suggestion as where to start with my new laptop?

MacBook Air 2011 user for over a year, only problems have been faulty mic and weak wifi (which I just lived with). I closed my lid a few days ago and the next time I opened it, a white vertical bar appeared on the screen. I called up Apple and asked for support, they told me to turn off the computer and press some keys to refresh the settings. The next time the laptop turned on, there was a horizontal line. I booked an appointment with Apple. The next day the bars got bigger and a crack appeared in the center of the screen. The next day it became more prominent.

Today, I went to the Apple Store to tell them of the problem, they told me that no one else has complained of the issue and that it wasn't their fault and I had to pay ~£350 to get the screen replaced.

I believe if more people registered this spontanious cracking issue, we could get something done about.

It's hard to say. I am "careful", and have never had a problem.

One person's "careful", is another's "brutal". I have seen a few people who say they "baby" their machines, which are full of dents and scratches they don't even notice!

Can you clarify your level of care?

Do you put the unit in a backpack or case wherein other items in the case/backpack might hit, compress, touch, lean-on, or put pressure on the lid?

I would classify the MBA as fairly "delicate". I use an incase perforated hardshell case, and transport in an incase nylon sling sleeve. I still am very careful, as if any drop or hit is probably going to damage it. In other words, I treat it like a live human baby.

It appears my 2011 11" MacBook Air screen somehow has cracked right before my very eyes. I've not left my chair at all and suddenly noticed what I thought was a weird watermark on the website I was viewing. Upon closer inspection it appears to be a crack behind the display (screen itself is perfectly smooth). It is especially obvious on dark backgrounds and not something I would have missed with regular use for the past hour.

I am ridiculously careful with my stuff and would definitely cop to something but I haven't even been out of my chair for an hour and this suddenly appears. I'm quite baffled (and relatively certain it's going to cost me a pretty penny to replace the screen on my 3 month old laptop).

The exact same thing just happened to me today. The computer is not even a month old, I take incredibly good care of it, and I have absolutely no idea how this could have happened. Since it is "impact damage" my warrantee won't cover it, which means I have to pay $500 to have it fixed. The forums seem to indicate that this is not a super rare thing. It is unacceptable to have screens this fragile not covered by warrantee.

Same here...I have July 2011 MBA 11" and I am very careful in using it. I put it in messenger bag yesterday and this morning I noticed the crack. Went to local Apple Store and folks at genius bar told me that it was accidental damage though I have no idea how it could have happened. They were asking north of $350 to fix it. It still works fine but the small crack is very irritating..No idea what to do...

My issue was solved. Apple Engineering deny my cracked screen was a defect, but they ( with the help of senior Apple Care advisor )actually covered all the replacement fee: didn't cost me a penny. I just had to pay 50 $ for the labor cost. My issue was actually satisfactorily solved.

Same experience here. Mac Air 2011 first cracks showed after 15 month. I continued using the machine and the cracks kept on growing. This was also without any abuse whatsoever, just normal opening and closing the lid. I did not even try to get it replaced - because i thought it must have been myself somehow, even though i had no idea how. Now stumbling on this thread it starts to make sense..... and maybe coming out of the woodwork helps apple noticing this flaw.

I don't know where you live but here in Montreal you can sue (to up than $7000) in a court of small claim which cost you only $25 to register. I heard to many story about crack screen. I don't know if I'm lucky but so far my

iMac 27" and my Macbook pro/retina don't have that problem. Good luck.

Hi, I was watching something over the net yesterday on my MAB 13 from dec 2012 and suddenly out of the blue this crack appears lower left hand portion of the screen. First I even thought it came from the programm I was watching, but then I realised it was a crack on the screen and I think it is even growing. I have hardly used the MAB as I don t have it at work, and if I use it it is always on a stable wooden surface, it has not traveled but twice two months ago (completely padded), the keyboard and case look brandnew. The point I AM SO VERY Sad. I went to the apple store and the rep told me it probably comes from a dust corn or some other "corn" that was on the keyboard, he was though very sympathetic but couldn t do anything, but have it sent in and charge me 69euros for a quote !!!!!. I am not sure what to say to this. I ve had a macbook pro for two years and its screen never cracked from a dustcorn or any other "corn" or "corn-like" presence on the keyboard. It does not make sense to me that a laptop screen can crack from a dustcorn. A MAB is a laptop, even praised for its ultralightness, so its purpose is to be carried around and exposed to many environments, if I have to treat it as a forensic sample (I am saying this because I work in forensics) and I have to have a DUSTspray with me all the time, a) I would have liked to have know about this before, because I simply cannot afford 400-800 euros repair and b) as much as I am an apple fan, I WOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT HIS PRODUCT.

I am soooooo sad,... this is the ironic thing about apple products, it is not just that you get really annoyed when something is wrong and noone really cares about your 1150 euro investment that is just going down the drain, it also makes you very sad.