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MacBook Air 13" mid 2012 weak hinge

Hi everybody,


just received my new MBA 13" mid 2012 model few days ago and I'm a bit annoyed with the lid hinge. It feels kind of weak to me (in opening direction). When mb is on the desk, screen stays in its angle but it requires only a little preasure to change the angle of the screen. When I open the lid approximately 100 degrees and put the mb in position where screen is parallel to the ground and base is perpendicular to the ground (lid is on top) the lid stays in its position. But when I rotate the mb so as the lid is on the bottom and base on top then lid opens itself by gravity to maximum angle. I have exactly the same problem like the guy on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3vEfZznH18


Is this something to worry about or this was some intention by Apple? Unfortunately there is no local Apple Store in the Czech Republic, only Apple Online store, and everything is shipped here from the Netherlands. I guess there is no way how to tighten the hinge.


Thanks in advance,

Lukas

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jun 23, 2012 12:42 AM

Reply
27 replies

Jan 29, 2013 9:29 AM in response to Awol_CZ

Bought my MBA last week Nov12 and right out of the box had a loose hinge. My Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook from work doesnt do that. Annoyed with Apple. The "genius" was arrogant and compared with floor models and compared my hardly used home MBA with floor model 100s of people use every day. They actually denied repairs. Now the screen just falls even when I move the laptop on a desk. Not happy.

Jan 29, 2013 11:37 AM in response to MBA User123

Please do not let Apple get away with that loose hinge. Try to escalate. Apple charged big bucks for a high quality product and is bound to deliver. You deserve to be happy with the quality. By not giving in, you strengthen the position of all of us who expect 100% quality from Apple. And, you strengthen the position of all departments within Apple who try to deliver 100% quality.


I know it takes some extra effort and determination to deal with this kind of problem, but doing so will make you and all of us feel better. To my experience it is worth it.


BTW: If you're afraid of killing Apple's business by insiting on that hinge problem to be solved, keep in mind that Apple is sitting on a property worth a magnitude of about 100 billion dollars.

Jul 28, 2013 10:03 AM in response to Awol_CZ


Awol_CZ

I have exactly the same problem like the guy on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3vEfZznH18



There is no problem indicated in that video whatsoever.


All those in this thread indicating that the VIDEO above is any "problem" you are incorrect. Ive owned 4, and currently 2, they all act the SAME WAY.


Apple itself advertises open and close of the Macbook AIR with "very slight single finger"


If you are used to a tighter hinge for movement on the macbook Pro, you might very well incorrectly assume the Air to have JUST AS tight of monitor hinger, but that is NOT the design, and not the case.


Of the 100 or so macbook Air that have passed thru my hands, they all act the same way.


Are there Air models with a variance of tighter or looser hinges? YES. All laptops are like this without question whatsoever. Is that video indicative of a problem? Absolutely NOT. Perfectly normal.



This is exactly like a model X car (I wont list name), in which the door hinge design was very different, instead of a lot of pressure in open and closing it like the other older model, this ones doors opened and closed at the touch of a childs push. Resultantly many people reported a "flaw / problem" where none existed. 😊

Jul 28, 2013 11:32 AM in response to Awol_CZ

As per Apple.com, the video above doesnt fall within this parameter:

Learn what you can do if you experience one or more of these issues with the hinges on your MacBook Air.

  • Unable to close lid completely.
  • Broken or cracked plastic near one or both of the hinges.
  • More than one inch (2.54cm) of free play while opening or closing the lid.
  • Lid falls freely into closed position from a 30-degree open position. (From a closed position, open the lid approximately 30 degrees and let go.)

END from Apple.com



The hinge (pictured below) is the macbook AIR hinge, a friction hinge.

Due to the thin nature of the LCD backlit LED monitor on the Air, you would NOT WANT a very tight hinge.

Why? Excessive hinge resistance would cause the screen to BOW (and possibly crack), especially on a longer fulcrum from the hinge in the case of the 13" screen...... Ergo it is designed logically to be “looser than” a traditional macbook Pro's hinges for a very good reason.

Friction Hinge: A device with torque between two parts on a common axis.

A friction hinge is also commonly known as a:
Constant Torque Hinge, Position Hinge, Clutch, Torque Hinge, or Detent Hinge.


Common Applications include:
Laptop computers; lids, doors and enclosures; positioning device for controls, monitors, arms, seat rests


Hope that helps some people understand the mechanics of it better. 😉




macbook AIR hinge:

User uploaded file

Oct 23, 2014 2:43 PM in response to Varta

when i copy that line in it just says this:

Agreeing to the Xcode/iOS license requires admin privileges, please re-run as root via sudo.


I'm not sure what display I've got on my macbook pro retina but id like to check 🙂 also my macbook pro hinges are very tight (which i like). and the macbook airs hinges need to be loose otherwise you'd put too much strain on the very thin screen every time you open it, over time maybe distorting the shape of the screen.... whereas macbook pro has thicker screen, stronger :]

MacBook Air 13" mid 2012 weak hinge

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