MBA 13 Mid 2013 crash Black screen

Also, nearly 10,000 people have viewed this thread so it looks as if Apple have a pretty significant problem.

Initially, mine happened in my laptop bag between the office and the train.

I would open the MBA to find it had rebooted. Exactly the same issue I had with the 2012 MBA I had from my former employer.

Over time, it started happening more frequently, then it turned itself off for no reason during a presentation using a remote control and wouldn't wake up. This, of course, happened at the worst possible time in front of a board of directors whilst presenting a proposal.

That is why it has to go back.

Another quick update -

As expected, replacing the I/O-board did not solve the issue. Another logic board has been ordered for a second replacement. I'm looking into my consumer rights at this point, since it has been 2 weeks and we're still at square one. I haven't been offered any solutions besides waiting, or retrieving the still defective computer.

I did note, however, that while I was unable to reproduce the crash on the macbook air in the store, on occasion it would take an additional few seconds for the computer to wake from sleep, as opposed to instantly as is the norm. It feels like it's "close", but I don't know what that would mean.

Yeah I've never had an issue anything like what's shown in that CNET video either, this thread is about a different issue.

The only issue I've ever had with my MBA 2013 is the specific reproducable one in this thread where if you put it to sleep and immediately try and wake it up by hitting the touchpad it gets stuck at a black screen and needs to be hard reset. IMO the specific and very reproducable nature of this bug means that apple should be able to easily reproduce it in-house and fix it in an update. I think the reason its taking so long for a fix is poor communication within apple. Its clear that this issue effects many, if not all 2013 MBA's, and apples enginners have even awknowledged it (and its taken way too long for even that to happen) according to a few posts here, yet when people contact apple support about this very specific issue they have no idea what you are talking about and suggest random hardware replacements that do nothing. If apple had proper communication within its company, its support staff and engineers would all be aware of such a common and severe defect with their products.

bwat47 wrote:

when people contact apple support about this very specific issue they have no idea what you are talking about and suggest random hardware replacements that do nothing.

Indeed - that's why people raising it with Apple should refer to the others here who have kindly posted their case numbers in this and other related threads - that way it can all be linked up. By all menas mention my case as it is all documented there: 538412673

So, I want to give you some background information first, then explain my case;

I live in Turkey. In Turkey, we don't have an Apple Store. We also don't have anything phsical related to Apple, even the help line seems to be in England.

We all know the issue: If I try to wake up (prevent it from sleeping) while it is preparing to sleep, my screen doesn't turn on, and I have to reset to get it working. I lose my work time to time. And it's not easy to estimate the time that it goes sleep and not touch it. So this is an annoying case with my first Apple product.

I leant after buying my Mac that their business partner (Authorized Distributer, they call themselves) in Turkey (Bilkom) is not good with warranty stuff (I don't know what RMA means, but we call it warranty services).

I tried my luck with them. I wrote an e-mail explaining what happens and asked what they can do. This might be the 5th or 6th day, and there is no answer from them.

That's why I went to Apple Support directly, and talked to a nice customer support person there (Chat). I explained my case, he did not have any idea, suggested usual fix methods that I tried tons of times. So, he got someone call me that night.

I talked to that person, he kept me on line to talk to his manager, and came back and said a Turkish Apple Care person should call me tomorrow (Today).

Today, that person called me, and directed me to another person who speaks English (I tried to explain that my English might not be good enough to explain my problem, but he said that's what he can do). So, I talked to that new person. He sent me a software, called Capture Data.

I didn't know how this works. So I accepted that. He also told me that I should send my computer to a technical service and gave me the address.

Now, this application requires me to reproduce the issue I am having and then press stop. AS WE ALL KNOW, I can't do that because I can't see anything if I reproduce the issue. But I'll keep my mouse on Stop button, will replicate it, and press Stop and wait for an hour to let it work.

Don't get me wrong, I talked to many Apple guys in these two days, they were all kind and understanding. Even with the slight language barrier, they tried to help me.

Now I fear that the technical service I send this computer doesn't understand the issue and just send it back. But we'll see.

I was thinking of getting iPhone and iPad as well to complete the Apple environment until I ran to this issue. I hope they solve this properly so that they don't lose a potential customer.

As you can guess, I have a case number as well; please go ahead and mention it anywhere anyhow you like: 545557915

By the way, did anyone install Windows on MBA 2013 and try if same thing happens?

OK - sounds like your problem and mine are very similar if not entirely identical.

As I understand it, Data Capture takes a snapshot of what is going on inside your MBA. They got me to do this as well. they said it would be sent to tecnical services. They did not get back to me for a week, so I rang again and they confirmed Technical had looked at it and got back saying that the data showed I have this sleep problem we all know about, that it WAS a known problem, that there was NOT yet a solution but the high level technicians in USA are working on a fix which will be released as an update in due course (don't know when).

Now I know there are some who are understandably cynical about this (I tend to share this view) but others may be more happy to wait to see if this happens - perhaps those whose crashes are not as catastrophic as others are experiencing?

I suggest you call them back and see if they give you the same feedback from Data Capture as I got. If not, refer them to what I have been told, using my case number 538412673.

Did you send your computer to any Apple authorized technical service while waiting for a reply?

The problem is not restricted to a particular software version.

The one I purchased in February 2012 had the same issue as the one purchased in August 2013. There have been multiple software changes in between, none of which have resolved the issue.

Why have the multiplicity of updates not worked? Why did all the hardware changes carried out on my machine not work?

The conclusion, from and admittedly small data set, is that it is hardware, probably a quality control rather than design issue. Most likely, an unknown tolerancing issue, possibly an untested tolerance stack up but more likely a rouge suppllier. If that rouge supplier makes one dodgy compnent on a board, that'll take some finding.

I just sent an e-mail stating that I ran the software, attached the results to the mail (also sent to Apple from the link they gave in the e-mail).

I also mentioned the youtube videos (I think there are two for now) showing the problem. I also referenced the case numbers. I think one guy opened an issue tracker for this and posted the number here. I added that information to the mail as well. Last of all, I added some other topics which are referenced in this one and discuss the issue we all have.

I will also keep you updated about my procedure. Although we don't have an Apple Store or a Genius Bar here in Turkey, I'll also let you know what happened if I decide to take it to a 'certified' technical service point.

Also, I think we need more youtube videos and more case numbers regarding this issue.

Dr5baitso wrote:

I did note, however, that while I was unable to reproduce the crash on the macbook air in the store, on occasion it would take an additional few seconds for the computer to wake from sleep, as opposed to instantly as is the norm. It feels like it's "close", but I don't know what that would mean.

Yes, I have seen that delay as well on the good MBAs. At that point the bad MBAs seem to get stuck.

mesutyasar wrote:

Did you send your computer to any Apple authorized technical service while waiting for a reply?

No - I had described the problem in detail 3 times to the telephone support staff and the most recent time, I felt that they had grasped what the problem was. Of course, I may have been fooled!!............

MDN64 wrote:

It is not a software issue.

I expect Apple are very busy trying to come up with a software patch that masks the issue, or prevents it being forced so it appears OK, it'll be a great deal more difficult to prove there's a problem if they do this.

Another update:

Today I got word that my MBA (13"/i5/256/8) was ready, so I went to pick it up.

They hade replaced the logic board (twice), the i/o board and the screen, but the error persisted. Apparently they had talked to Apple who said that it was a known software problem, and that they were working on a fix, but did not have a release date yet. I asked how it was possible that their MBAs on display did not have this issue if it was software, but he had no explanation. I also noted it was present before 10.9, but no explanation. I agree with MDN64, that this is a hardware issue that they are trying to mask.

Their suggestion was that I take it back and wait, and while I do, to turn off auto sleep, and to make sure that if I put it to sleep to wait a while before waking it.

Obviosly this is not an acceptable solution.

Interestingly, they did not want to exchange the computer for another, in case that one was also faulty and they would end up with a lot up unpackaged units. Because, of course, that would make them difficult to resell.

I intend to do a full backup and return the computer tomorrow. While I wait for an update, I prefer if it isn't my warranty that's expiring.

I don't know which country you're in but if it's the UK, Apple have no right to refuse a refund for a product with a known fault and no remedy. They have to take it back.

As for not letting you check the MBAs in the store, I'm surprised Apple aren't doing this themselves. It would appear Apple are quite happy to take unsuspecting customer's money for goods with a known fault in the hope they can keep it.

The longer this goes on the more I realise what kind of company Apple really are. It's sad.

I've always liked their computers - phones and iPad are a marketing gimmick, a way to overcharge for grabbing a little bit of kudos for carrying around an Apple logo - but this is truly disturbing and shows a callous disregard for their customers, old, new or prospective.