MBA 13 Mid 2013 crash Black screen

UPDATE

I delivered my MBA 11'' to the Premium Apple Reseller's technical department of Greece. They've never had a complaint about this problem till now. I explained them everything and I've also replicated the issue on my MBA in front of them. They didn't let me do this on their MBAs.

Anyway, they've promised to me that they will have it fixed until tomorrow. I informed them that many MBA users already had their reparations made in official Apple Stores but the problem is still there. Even with a brand new replacement.

When I mentioned that I will ask for a full refund (I'm in first 14 days policy) if they wont fix it, they went crazy. Even they called the manager of the store to promise me that everything will be working perfect on my MBA tomorrow. I am not so optimistic and I think that I will have a long day tomorrow.

I will inform you with the results.

P.S. Give bug feedbacks to Apple!! http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookair.html

I picked up my NEW machine today from the Apple store. Since they didn't have a refurbished machine to match the specs of the refurbished machine I bought (i7 chip, 8GB, 256GB SSD, 11"), they replaced it with a brand new one built to order. In the store, I opened the box and went through setup and tried to reproduce the problem. I could not! Yay! I tried a couple dozen times using the power button method to sleep, then the space bar to wake. It woke up every time. I varied the time between button presses to give it every opportunity. I am backing up the factory system now, then I will try to reproduce in the other methods for a while before restoring from my backup. Wish me luck!

Can you check if you have any new/special boot ROM version, SMC version, etc.?

I should have done that before restoring my system. :-(

I am currently restoring, but I left my machine at home to let it run. I'll check later, but I did notice that it came with a base install of Mavericks (10.9), so I doubt there was anything else updated.

So, it turns out, the new system did come with a new Boot ROM version and SSD & memory manufacturers. Graphics looks to be the same between the two.

OLD:

Model Name: MacBook Air

Model Identifier: MacBookAir6,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 1.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: MBA61.0099.B04

SMC Version (system): 2.12f135

Physical Drive:

Media Name: APPLE SSD SD0256F Media

Medium Type: SSD

Protocol: PCI

Internal: Yes

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

Memory Slots:

ECC: Disabled

BANK 0/DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB

Type: DDR3

Speed: 1600 MHz

Status: OK

Manufacturer: 0x02FE

Part Number: 0x000000000000000000000000000000000000

Serial Number: 0x00000000

BANK 1/DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB

Type: DDR3

Speed: 1600 MHz

Status: OK

Manufacturer: 0x02FE

Part Number: 0x000000000000000000000000000000000000

Serial Number: 0x00000000

Intel HD Graphics 5000:

Chipset Model: Intel HD Graphics 5000

Type: GPU

Bus: Built-In

VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

Vendor: Intel (0x8086)

Device ID: 0x0a26

Revision ID: 0x0009

Displays:

Color LCD:

Display Type: LCD

Resolution: 1366 x 768

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

Connection Type: DisplayPort

NEW:

Model Name: MacBook Air

Model Identifier: MacBookAir6,1

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 1.7 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: MBA61.0099.B07

SMC Version (system): 2.12f135

Physical Drive:

Media Name: APPLE SSD TS0256F Media

Medium Type: SSD

Protocol: PCI

Internal: Yes

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

Memory Slots:

ECC: Disabled

BANK 0/DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB

Type: DDR3

Speed: 1600 MHz

Status: OK

Manufacturer: 0x80AD

Part Number: 0x483943434E4E4E384A544D4C41522D4E544D

Serial Number: 0x00000000

BANK 1/DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB

Type: DDR3

Speed: 1600 MHz

Status: OK

Manufacturer: 0x80AD

Part Number: 0x483943434E4E4E384A544D4C41522D4E544D

Serial Number: 0x00000000

Intel HD Graphics 5000:

Chipset Model: Intel HD Graphics 5000

Type: GPU

Bus: Built-In

VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

Vendor: Intel (0x8086)

Device ID: 0x0a26

Revision ID: 0x0009

Displays:

Color LCD:

Display Type: LCD

Resolution: 1366 x 768

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

Connection Type: DisplayPort

So, after getting my new machine, I see that it does have a new Boot ROM version, and I cannot reproduce the sleep/wake BSOD. Can anybody compare with your machine?

OLD (bad): MBA61.0099.B04

NEW (good): MBA61.0099.B07

Ah, crap. After posting my last note, I tried a bunch more times to reproduce the failure. It happened again. :-(

I'm going to try to revert back to what I got out of the box and test again...

I got the BSOD problem an my version of ROM is:

MBA61.0099.B04

Offtopic: Does anybody got this problem?: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5285164?answerId=24210048022#24210048022&ac_cid=tw123456#24210048

Sorry to hear it didn't resolve the issue. Worth noting is that .B04 is still listed as the most recent ROM for the Air

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1237

Pffff! I was on my way to call the store to inform them that there is a new ROM update.

They have my MBA from yesterday...

The ROM I had was also MBA61.0099.B04

Yes, I did notice that. I looked on the site to find anything newer than .B04, but that was it. I have reverted back to the out-of-box system, and can still reproduce the problem. The time window does seem to be a bit smaller though. It is harder for me to trigger the BSOD. I have to wait until the exact instant that the keyboard backlight fades completely - just a couple milliseconds. It probably won't happen as often by accident, and may be harder to reproduce in the store with the lights so bright the backlight is hard to see, but the problem is definitely still there. I may try to do it to the in-store machines I couldn't do it on before. I may just need to time it better...

Well, this is good and bad news. From what you're saying I think we can deduce the following:

- It is a software issue; you have new hardware but that is most like due to supply sourcing changes vs. an attempt at replacing faulty memory or harddrive firmware. Rather, the change is due to the new ROM.

- The engineers now know this is a real problem, because they've tweaked some parameters in the ROM which now makes it much more difficult to replicate the issue.

- The problem is non-trivial. The solution appears to be a band-aid - they've tightened the window by adjusting timings but they haven't fixed the root cause.

Is this ROM a stop-gap or is it the "solution"? I guess it depends on how often the problem is naturally triggered with the new ROM. If 80% of the users stop experiencing the problem, or it only happens very rarely, then they might declare victory and move on to other issues, even though there is something clearly wrong at a deep level.

It's a cost/benefit equation - there are probably only a handful of developers at Apple who can actually work on the code that is related to this issue. They're probably in significant demand for several other projects.

I really hope they release this ROM soon so more of us can test it.

The BSOD affects 2011, 2012 and 2013 MBAs with the problem increasing with each new build.

Somebody somewhere has decided to cut the cost of manufacturing MBAs, in doing so, they have tipped the balance between a robust and reliable machine to an overpriced paperweight. It may not even be Apple that did it, perhaps a supplier thought they could get more money out of Apple by cutting a few corners.

The sticking plaster solution of trying to prevent someone forcing the error is why I took mine back and got a refund, I could see this coming. If Apple can hide the issue, they only have the customer's verbal report as the MBA does not recognise the fact that it crashed. If it can't be demonstrated they'll take the MBA, claim it worked just fine and you're stuck with it.

Take yours back for a refund while you still can!

Apple have a fundamental problem with the hardware. Software doesn't work well, then deteriorate with the frequency of crashes increasing. That has been a common theme for quite a few users. It's not down to the OS, my Feb-12 MBA would BSOD but did not degrade to the woeful state my 2013 MBA did, which would crash whilst at idle, untouched reading a document.

Yoganinja - get a refund while you still can. A Windows machine may not seem like a good option but it's better than a £1000 paperweight!

As it took Apple 6 months from CNET's report to admit there was a problem, I have no faith in their customer service. More recently Apple techs have been responding to reports by telling the customer it's their fault for using the machine this way, i.e. trying to wake it up whilst going to sleep, completely missing the point that this happens in normal use and can be forced to demonstrate what happens.

It won't be long before Apple come up with a software patch that will recognise you're trying to force a crash and prevent it. Apple will then only have your word for it that a crash occurred.

Apple will then be able to take your MBA and return it a couple of days later saying it worked just fine for them and their tests revealed no problems, so they give it back.

At the rate mine was degrading it would have been inoperable in another 12 months.

MDN64 - your frustration is understood but I think you're mixing up several issues here which might confuse anyone new to the thread.

I run a business and use my MBA every day very successfully to do so. It has this problem, but by no means is it a "paperweight".

This issue may have a root cause in hardware in the way the chipsets are integrated, but it's more than likely a firmware/driver issue that can ultimately be resolved via software. The new ROM appears to be a step in that direction. It is definitely not a "build quality" or cost cutting issue.

Apple's hardware is actually very good compared to most PC manufacturers. Note that an Apple laptop is all "Intel PC" components anyhow. They just tend to source reasonably good quality components. Can you custom build something "better" as a PC? Sure, but it will cost you as least as much as an Apple. The build quality of all the major PC manufacturers is pretty horrendous these days.

Your "deterioration effect" is common to both Windows and OSX. It has a lot more to do with the applications requiring more and more computing resources as they get more advanced. OS updates also usually add some new features (like advanced web browsers and integration with social media) which tend to require more resources of hardware. In my experience, Windows systems "deteriorate" far faster than OSX. My 4 year old MBP works nearly as smoothly as my new MBA.

Apple has some issues with the way it engages with customers around boundary cases like this, but on balance they're FAR better to engage with than most PC vendors. Note that with a PC you need to engage with the manufacturer if it's a hardware issue and Microsoft if it's an OS issue. If you don't know which it is you can be completely stuck as both can say "not my problem". With Apple, it's definitely their problem since they control the stack. That makes a big difference.

I have spent an ungodly amount of money on computers over 20+ years personally and on behalf of companies, only a small amount of them were Apples. I would not be using a MBA and OSX as my primary work computer if I didn't firmly believe it is the best system out there today.