All of my friends who are using MBA mid-2012 have SSD failures.

Same problem as above. June 12, 2012 purchase date, so 3 months put of warranty. San Francisco 256gb ssd, may go into store to figure out. This thread is very coincidental, as I believe mine died after software update of some sort. Hard boot down lead to folder with blinking question mark. 20,000 photos scattered on other devices will be frustrating to piece back together and reorganize.

One more to add to the list.

Mid2012 13" Macbook Air purchased in December 2012 so luckily still under warranty.

128GB SSD but I'm unsure what's the make as it's not detected anymore by disk utility.

Failed last night (Thursday) and earliest Genius appointment is next Wednesday. Almost a week of wait just to get the mac diagnosed, then add the delivery time for the part which apparently is quite long as well. Let's say i'll be without a mac for 5 weeks. Nice, apple, nice.

Here in Poland I was told it would be 5 days. It is now 15 and now sign of the replacement part. Clearly there is a huge problem worldwide. As I am on temporary assignment here in Poland I don't know what to do. If Apple admitted the problem is major and that it could be many more weeks before it is solved, I could take action (like buy another computer). But instead they keep saying that it could be here "in a couple of days." Obviously they don't know either (at the repair shop) and are not getting straight answers from the company. What to do???

wgilcher

Here in Poland I was told it would be 5 days. It is now 15 and now sign of the replacement part. Clearly there is a huge problem worldwide.

Thats speculation,....

When it comes to waiting on computer parts,....the truth of the matter is that on older technology (of course anything 'a few months old' is 'old technology' when it comes to computers) manufacture has to be geared up on machinery making other things, ......a break in production to re-make "D" product when the mfg. is already working full force on "X" -generation product in the same category. 😊

Agreed. And that is probably the problem. I bought my MBA in January 2013, but by now it's "old" and Apple is charging ahead with wonderful new products. But if they don't get on top of this issue right away, they will lose a lot of customers. I know my confidence in Apple has gone way down because of this incident - and the way I've been treated.

From what you indicate, you just got a status change on part availability, doesnt mean you got bad service.

As for the Air, the "new product" came out in June this year.

Make allowance for 'things happen', Apple has top service for a reason. As for computers, and having repaired same for years, its still stunning the complexity and nano-scale architecture of SSD, and processor chips.

Course none of that makes you feel any better when youve got a Mac on the operating table getting work. Such is the case with all things, isnt it? 😊

No, I have had no status changes. When I call, they simply say they don't have the replacement part yet. When I took it in for repair (the day after I discovered a problem), I was told it would be ready in 5 days. Now, when I call, they always say "a few more days" but actually it's become clear they have no idea - at least at the local level. In my opinion, Apple is trying to figure out what the problem is in this model and hasn't taken a stance as to how to handle it (just read all the reports in these strands). It could mean replacing many many thousands of computers or having a general recall for MBAs of a certain vintage. But where does that leave people like me? I will leave Poland for 3 weeks on Saturday. I need my computer. Given the lack of information about when a replacement part will arrive, it could be days or weeks or months until it is fixed. Or perhaps I'll learn tomorrow that I can pick it up (2 hours away from where I am living at the moment).

Not a genuine solution, of course, but have you considered if when it gets down to the wire., if your (business?) trip is vital for having a computer, that you purchase a new Air,.... and when your other one is fixed that you sell same.

I, of course, have no idea of your funds status or importance of your trip,..but wondering if you considered same. 😊

Top service? Nah~! this 2012 MBA 128GB SSD (by Toshiba) surely have some kind of design problem. Some service providers(Genius) even admitted they face this problem very often (My Genius said everyday). Well, maybe because the Toshiba SSDs in 2012 MBA used Sandforce controllers.

My replacement in July was done within few days, but since August, the replacement for this part takes really long time worldwide. That means there is short of supply for this part compared to its demand.

Such parts like SSD should be more reliable and durable than just 1-year lifetime like what these SSDs have.

My SSD replacement was sadly toshiba one again though, so I guess the Time Machine is a "Must choice" for me.

Your idea is good - though I don't know if I trust buying another MBA! Even though I have loved using it. There's also the problem of all the applications I have on my existing (but sick) computer. The documentation is all back in the USA; getting my family to locate the various registration numbers and codes will be a nightmare. But I may have no choice.

The problem (which goes well beyond my case if you read all the entries here) is that Apple is rapidly losing the trust of many previously loyal customers. I never had to run a logistics service, but shouldn't the Apple service store be able to say when a part can be expected to arrive? They report that they don't know until the box arrives with parts. And they admit they have many customers who are waiting for the same part. If there's a big problem here, Apple would do well to admit it right away. And if it's truly just a small group of computers that have this problem, then Apple would do well to reassure us that it's not so generalized an issue and they regret the delays, caused by reasons x, y, and z. Luckily mine is under warranty, and I also purchased Apple Care when I bought the computer. But what about all these customers I am reading about in this forum whose macbook air computers are failing within a few weeks after the 12-month warranty expires. If it's a predictable problem in more than 20 or 30 per cent of these computers, then it would seem to me that it's time for a recall.

When frustrated most people generalize about X product, thats rather natural, but you can presume that about a new Macbook Air.

Since this board is a place for people with problems, holistic perspective is needed to know that there are countless endless 1000s of Airs out there beeping along fine.

Like sitting in a hospital waiting room full of sick people and soon enough you'd conclude something wrong in WHOLE, which is merely seen in PART by your situation and some others.

You said--- "but shouldn't the Apple service store be able to say when a part can be expected to arrive?"

Nobody here knows the answer to that, and I wont speculate on same. Contact them for an update. Regardless of make or model, having not only a data backup, but a computer backup is an almost necessity if it comprises a lot of your work and daily life.

peace 😊

Guys, try to ignore plotinus posts. He is not helping at all. Just to make discussions short which does not help solve the issue.

Gosh.. It seems we've got a serious Apple fanboy here -.-

Most people having issue with their MBA SSD had 128GB model and most of them are made by Toshiba.

Well this issue is basically divided into 3 symptoms.

1. SSD not being recognized at all

2. SSD is only recognized as 32k Sandforce controller

3. SSD is being recognized and partitions still shows up but facing disk failures and not being able to boot the mac.

Whichever one it is, it is basically same problem. The SSD has failed. And most people reports it's from same part which is 128GB Toshiba SSD.

The update mentioned before in this thread (MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0),

seemed to be out to solve this problem but it couldn't. Now this update is pulled out (guess why?) so you can't access the page but if you search it using google and look at the cached page, it shows the content of the update. It says:

"This update is recommended for MacBook Air (mid 2012) models. This update addresses a storage firmware issue that, in rare cases, may cause a system to fail to recover from a crash.

Warning Text:

Your MacBook Air requires this update.

The power cord must be connected to your MacBook Air and plugged into a working power source.

Back up the data on your MacBook Air flash storage to an external disk or Time Capsule before installing this update. If you've already backed up your data, click Install Update to begin the update.

Do not reset, shut down, or turn off the power to your MacBook Air while updating your flash storage. If there is a problem during the update, your flash storage may become unusable and all the data on it could be lost.

When the update is complete your MacBook Air will shut down. Wait one minute before restarting it.

Boot ROM or SMC Version Information: After the update, you will have Revision TPVABBF0."

The symptom mentioned in the update is exactly what we faced. (System crashed, not recoverable, so force shut down and the question mark folder appears!) And the firmware version with revision TPVABBF0, would be for Toshiba ones unless the SSD from Samsung or Sandisk shares the same revision. (I strongly doubt so)

If you just simply say 'speculation', well, this 2012 mid air has more people with having issues with its SSD compared to other versions of MBAs and most people had same parts.

I don't exactly know how many percentage of people having the 2012 MBA with Toshiba 128GB SSD has SSD failures, but what I can say, is that it is not a usual case. I had this problem, two of my friends who bought this MBA mid 2012 because of me had same issue-.- I have never seen such issue that was this common among my friends who are using same devices. (Well, except for buttons for iPhones and iPod Touch) And I found this thread having exact same experience. Need I say more?

I would like to ask Apple about this issue but Apple would never tell you the truth. Apple would definitely avoid recall.

My MBA just did the same thing. All of a sudden it won't boot up. I tried holding the option key down while starting, but it is now stuck attempting an network recovery. (It prompted me to choose a wi-fi network and enter the password) now it's stuck on a blue screen with an exclamation point inside a triangle.

apple.com/support

6003F

This is quite bad. I hope apple recalls these 2012 toshiba ssd MBAs soon...