Macbook air logic Board has died two months out of warranty. Is this common?

Question

TonyORIGO Author

Level 1

1 points

Macbook air logic Board has died two months out of warranty. Is this common?

Initial Diagnosis

connected machine to known good power adapter

magsafe LED lights up

machine does not power up

machine makes no signs of powering on

removed bottom case

machine extremely dirty/dusty

mould is starting to grow inside machine

removed battery

connected known good power adapter to machine

powered on machine with power-on pads

machine does not start up

issue traced to logic board

requires replacement logic board before further diagnostics (apples procedures)

replacement logic board - $843

installation - $129

This is the quote to repair

MacBook Air

Posted on Jul 24, 2012 2:42 AM

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Answer 1

JoeyR

Level 6

8,305 points

Jul 24, 2012 6:52 AM in response to TonyORIGO

machine extremely dirty/dusty

mould is starting to grow inside machine

You titled the thread something that would imply your logic board just failed for some reason. Then you ask if it si common. Logic board failures are not common on Airs. Airs in general are very reliable. They are extremely popular and regularly have the fewest posts on the forums (which implies fewer problems). However, I would expect failures to be more common among machines that are "dirty/dusty" or that can be described as having mold growing in them.

This doesn't really sound like a failure due to a manufacturing defect so much as a failure as a result of the environmental conditions in which the machine was kept.

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Answer 2

Jul 24, 2012 6:56 AM in response to TonyORIGO

Do you use it in a very humid environment? Mold needs moisture to grow, so that makes it sound like it was used a lot in high humidity? Moisture, mold and dirt will ruin any integrated circuit board over time (so will lots of bug poo - trust me I know).

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Answer 3

TonyORIGO Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 25, 2012 2:54 AM in response to JoeyR

My Macbook Air is used in an airconditioned environment alongside four other inexpensive PC's. The PC's range from six months old to 5 years. The PC's still operate fine. By comparison the Air is an almost fully enclosed unit so one could understand it retains humidity. Using the logic from the responses and the excellent performances of the PC's beyond the warranty period in the same environment one would deduce that the manufacturers design of the casing would cause a defect. The Apple reseller reminded me that I have had 12 months use, after all, as if to say, what did I expect? Perhaps the manufacturer should have a warning on machines used in the Mid West and south including Australia that the shelf life may be limited due to humidity. Our company has dozens of Mac's but only one Air in the fleet (that proved to be defective...this one) and not one other has had a problem of this nature.

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Answer 4

Aug 9, 2012 2:39 PM in response to TonyORIGO

No, it's not normal... and being only 2 mos out of waranty Apple could/should offer a "deopt" repair for ~$300.00 US... you should revisit the issue with Apple (not the reseller) and state such.

However, that being said. The described condition of the inside of the machine belies your later asertion of it being kept in a "clean' environment. Someone, some place, sometime, somehow exposed this machine to a humid environment, followed by a very dusty environment... normal waranties do not apply for any abused electronic device, no matter if your vendor is Apple, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Sony etc.

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Answer 5

eastie68

Level 1

0 points

Oct 20, 2012 1:08 AM in response to TonyORIGO

My Macbook Air recently suffered the same fault although its not been opened yet whilst I pursue the issue of warranty. Im unhappy my laptop developed a major and seemingly common fault 120 days out of warranty, EU law stipulates that computers have to carry a 2 year warranty, Apple have been supportive but made clear they arent getting involved and say the legislation needs to be pursued with the retailer who sold the laptop.

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Answer 6

TonyORIGO Author

Level 1

1 points

Oct 21, 2012 5:44 PM in response to eastie68

Yes, well in my case Apple referred me to reseller in America and the Reseller referred me to Apple. This went on and on. When the reseller in the US opened the machine found no signs of moud or dust and couldn't understand why the Apple tech shop in Australia would state such a thing. Nevertheless, the mother board was gone just after 12 months warranty. I finally got sick of the all care no responsibilty attitude. In the end the reseller offered me $400 for the Macbook Air that was all they could do. Obviously the worst investment I have made after spending $1,599 a little over a year earlier.

All our PC's are doing great though!

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Answer 7

May 1, 2013 8:27 AM in response to TonyORIGO

For what it's worth, I have a MacBook Air for work. It suddenly stopped working two days ago. My company's IT guy tried to fix it; no luck. He then took it to the Genius Bar. They said it's the logic board, and that they'd send it to Apple--should be back in five days. I don't know where we stand on the warranty for this product, but my IT guy said the logic board is a rather common problem in this model. (Today I'm on my 2009 MacBook Pro that's had a lot more wear and tear, but has never had a single problem.)

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