MBA 13 Mid 2013 crash Black screen

UPDATE

I got my MBA 11'' back from the service. I've decided to keep it.

The technician told me that in case there will be no firmware update to solve this problem, then (for sure!) Apple will replace the defective hardware like they did with 2012 model (Hard Disk issue). He told me that they had similar situations with ipad (waiting for firmware update one some problems) and Apple never gave up on customers. They will always have a solution.

Unfortunately, I'm new in Apple and I don't know if all of these were true. I want to take my chances and see where this will end up. I kept MBA because I like it and it's a powerfull little sh*t.

"Caffeine" is the best solution for me at this moment. I have my 1 year AppleCare and my MBA is registered in Apple's service with this problem, which give me some comfort.

Let's hope that everything will be OK at the end.

P.S. Did anyone tried to sleep an MBA on Windows? And generally did someone checked this issue in Windows?

Cheers!

I was having the sleep crash issue until I did a bare metal reload of the machine. Earlier, I migrated my old Macbook Pro to the Air using a Time Machine backup and I think that may have been the source of the funkiness.

Rmwill, you might be hitting on something here!

When I got my third replacement MBA, I did not restore directly from my previous MBA. Instead, I configured it from scratch. Then when everything was working to my liking, I connected the time machine drive and restored from it. It had been holding up, now over 2 weeks. No crashes, even when I repeatedly tried to invoke it. When I examined the system information, there was nothing different, same boot rom, same memory, same SSD (see my earlier posting).

The previous MBA (replacement for the first one that crashed) was restored directly from time machine. It crashed within days. When Apple replaced it, the genius suggested that I do not do the direct restore. I'm glad I heeded his advice.

Sorry to disaapoint but I have been able to crash brand new out of box MBAs as well as my own MBA after extensive repairs and complete deletion and reinstallation of the OS.

More recently, Yoganinja got all excited about a new MBA that didn't crash, only to find that Apple have tightened up the window of time to force the crash. It still does it but it's harder to reproduce.

My feeling is that Apple want to get to a position whereby it cannot be forced. At that point, any customer going in to report a crash will have no evidence that it has happened. If it cannot be forced, Apple can shrug their shoulders and say it's not so.

My MBA had every test the independent retailer could throw at it, showed no faults at all but crashed instantly. If I hadn't been able to force it to happen I would have had to video myself working in order to show it but as I have Non Disclosure agreements with my clients, I would compromise their information if I did.

The list of reasons I returned it for a refund grows longer every day. Good luck to those who upgraded to an rMBP. As I have a 17" MBP already, the long battery life and light weight of the MBA were what I needed.

If Apple ever resolve this issue, I'll get another.

I admiire your passion regarding the issue, but IN MY CASE, the problem has beeen resolved by a bare metal restore. Using the technique outlined here I am not able to crash the machine anymore.

I know this runs contrary to your conclusions, but facts are facts.

Good luck.

My 2012 MBA had this problem but not to the extent my 2013 MBA did, so I'm guessing a cost-down exercise has resulted in below par components being fitted.

My 2013 MBA degraded from no problem until it would crash untouched whilst reading a document.

It will be interesting to see if you're back here in a few days/weeks with the same problem, if not, then it's probably a tolerancing issue so there are good ones, not so good and horrors.

Hi Wes,

any news from Tim? Surely he must have read your mail by now :-)

Cheers

Count your lucky stars that you're not trying to connect to a wired network as well (big problem with MBA/Thunderbolt and Mavericks). See here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5484290?start=0&tstart=0

Who'd have thought that Apple would have created a computer that (1) can't put its display to sleep without falling over, and (2) won't reliably connect to a wired network with the latest version of its OS.

I hope someone in Cupertino has made some New Year resolutions.....?

Cheers, Jon

I sent my macbook to an apple approved technical support point. They just called me to tell that they got the shipment and they'll be doing some tests on it. (If anyone followed, I'm in Turkey, I have only that computer so I refused to send it for a while but it was no use)

I also keep in touch with one of the Apple support people who is actually a very nice person.

I added my case number and an explanation of the problem. Sadly I forgot to add a link to a YouTube video in which the problem is reproduced.

They told me that they will inform me about the situation after they run the initial tests.

I'm going to keep you posted, but no promises as my only computer which I bought for its reliability is at a technical support point :)

I just called the authorized technical service point where I sent my macbook air.

They told me that they ran some tests and couldn't find any problems. They're sending it back to me without any changes.

I was in contact with an apple support person and I just sent him a mail. I will delete his name and the technical service point, because that's not their fault. But as an Apple customer, I am stuck with a defective computer and right now, I am without a computer.

I think I will not be an Apple customer if this is not solved. Because the most important reason I bought an Apple product is that I thought they are solid and customer service is good.

Here's the mail:

Hi [the name of the person]

I just talked to the guys at the technical service point.

They said they ran some objective and subjective tests on my computer and they couldn't find any problems. They are sending the computer back tomorrow.

I included the description of the problem and how to reproduce it along with my case number. They say they tried to reproduce the problem and they could not do it.

For your information, I tried to reproduce the problem on a fresh install and a re-install. I could easily reproduce the issue.

They didn't make any changes on my computer. That leaves me with a defective computer. Am I out of options here? Because I know it will happen again because they didn't change anything.

I also talked to the store I bought the computer. They said they cannot take it back, because my computer is bought 4 months ago.

I must say that I am frustrated, and disappointed with this. Don't get me wrong, I was able to contact very polite and helpful people, including you and the guys at the technical service point. But here I am, stuck with a defective computer.

And the defect is more than just annoying. It steals my valuable time. I work on a project for long hours, and I try to wake the computer then it crashes, leaving me with lost progress in the project, a couple of lost hours and some frustration. The worst part is that you don't have to intentionally produce the issue, it can happen any time, by accident.

The funny thing is, I decided to go with a Macbook Air not just because it is lightweight and has an amazing battery life, I also thought it is the most reliable computer. I bought it, because I wanted to feel safe about this kind of situations.

Could you please tell me what my options are from now on?

By the way, this is where I sent my macbook to:

[address and contact info of the tech support]

Regards,

Where in the world are you?

In Australia, there are very robust consumer protection laws, in fact, the Australian government got so sick of Apple's poor product reliability, they forced Apple to offer a two year waranty on all their products.

In the UK we have the 1979 Sale of Goods Act which allows us to return goods to the seller for a refund if they are, "unfit for purpose," which mine was as a business tool, so I got a refund 4 months later.

Meanwhile, please join us on Fac ebook, search for "MacBook Air screen goes black" and help us make this a very public issue.

Apple are hiding from the truth, their product build quality is going down the toilet.

I recommend getting a refund and buying a 2010 model for 35% of the price leaving plenty of money to have it repaired if required.

I've swapped to an Asus Transformer, part tablet, part laptop with a 22hr battery life.

I live in Turkey.

Our consumer laws aren't that good and actually they are in favor of the companies. Sure, they have to give two or more years of warranty, but it's up to them what to do with that.

If I get a refund, it is sure that I am not going with an Apple product for a while. This is a problem which is not known publicly. God knows what else there is!

If this is solved somehow, I'll know that my next computer can be an Apple one.

Every company has bad products, small or big issues and sometimes a defective product line. That sounds normal to me. But what makes a company better than the others is how they handle these issues.

Apple seems to try to hide this and leave their customers with defective products. I don't care how, but they should fix this. From refund to a repair, they have many options. What choice do I have here? Nothing. A big nothing.

The sad thing is that, I could buy a computer which has better specs with the same money. But what did I do? Got an Apple because it is supposed to be more "solid" than the others.

A computer is essential, vital even, for what I do. But here I am without a computer for a week (put me in a tough economic situation now - I am a medicine faculty student who earns his money with translation, using a computer for it), and I'll be with a defective computer in 3 days!

It's impossible to explain how frustrated I am without using some bad language.

Look what I was expecting when I contacted Apple care and what I expect now: At first, I was asking if they can provide a computer to me while mine is at the tech support point, getting fixed. Now I just expect to have my defective computer so I can begin to my translation projects and lesson presentations.

Thanks Apple.

It seems Apple thinks this is a software/firmware issue.

After I called the tech. service and learnt that nothing was done to my computer, I went to an online chat support with Apple.

The person said the engineers know about the issue, they collected what they needed and now they are working on a solution. I asked if they're sure that this is not a hardware issue, the person said they are sure it's a software issue.

I asked an estimate time for the fix, of course the answer was "as soon as possible".

Sorry for consecutive posting and occasional rant, but I guess I have one more rant left, at least for now 🙂

They returned my Macbook Air. It is returned as it was, and like they told me on the phone, they did not make any changes.

I checked firmware updates etc. They really didn't change anything. They only took the computer out of the box, tried some stuff, charged it, and put it back. I can tell, because the box was exactly I shipped it except the computer.

But this is ridiculous... Because now either I can't act quick enough to reproduce the issue, or they fixed it (a third option would be that the computer hated the journey so much that it got itself fixed not to go again).

The computer is with me for like 10 hours and it is probably too soon to tell, but so far it works.

A funny stuff: I can get finger print of the person from the keys T, Y, R, H and space.

Now, reading back, I see firelion was advised not to restore from Time Machine and rmwill did not restore from Time Machine and their computers are fine.

I want my computer to be as reliable as it can until Apple comes up with the fix, so I am not planning to do Time Machine restore. But being a new guy to Mac OS, I don't remember what I was using on the computer (applications, I mean) and I had some important files that I forgot to backup anywhere else than Time Machine.

How would I get these back?

EDIT: I have the conversation with the Genius on my cloud. If anyone is interested and if it is okay to share, I can copy it to here.

Message was edited by: mesutyasar

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Let system idle and wait for display to dim (based on power settings).

2. Wait a couple more seconds for screen to go black.

3. Wait a split second more for keyboard backlight to begin to fade.

4. Before keyboard backlight is completely off, press a key or swipe the trackpad (as if trying to prevent the system from sleeping, thus requiring re-entry of password)

Expected Results:

I would expect the system to wake up and let me continue with what I was doing.

Actual Results:

When touching the input as the keyboard backlight is fading, the backlight illuminates brightly, but the screen stays black. The CAPS LOCK key will toggles its light on/off. No other action will wake up the system. Only a hard boot will bring system back on.