[D2G]

Originally Posted by aznsmith 

I just went to an apple store today and they replaced the top-case for free even though my macbook is out of warranty due to the problem being a known issue. The repair took less than an hour with heavy amount of customers despite the estimate of 2-3 days. So, i'm happy about it.

Glad to hear these top-cases are getting replaced for free fairly easily. I replaced a top-case assembly for the chipping plastic and discoloration, and the job was really simple. The keyboard, track-pad and plastic assembly are all one self-contained unit. The install only required removing a few screws and disconnecting the cable link to the keyboard and track-pad. Took less than 10 minutes. Done.

[ClaraT]

Buge, how long have you had this Macbook?

[buge]

I have had my Macbook since May 25, 2006, I notice the cracking last December, and I notice the staining couple months after i used my Macbook

[Maraudox]

Neverending problem it seems. Bought a MacBook 3 weeks ago. It has cracked already:



Reason is the plastic plate, where they keyboard and touchpad is integrated, has come loose - maybe they don't glue it properly or it's not heatresistant (had a logitech mouse falling apart because the glue holding the parts into place dripped out of it after 1 hour use...)

Always stored in a thick neoprene sleeve.

Called AppleCare and they said I should take it to a store and they would fix it. Will try it tomorrow, but still... Mac's arent cheap and this shouldn't happen. It still does even a year after the first problems were encountered... In my opinion that's just ignoring the problem.

Even if it does get fixed, how will it look after a year if this is the result after 3 weeks...

[macbooksrcompletepish]

Im that mad, ive even joined this forum to vent my anger.

This macbook 13" is FLAWED! MAJORLY FLAWED.

Having been a pc user for 10 years and been suckered into this macs are better hype I invested in a macbook 13. Ive had it 9 weeks and its got this crack that just about everybody has, i know 4 people with macbooks and 75% of them have this crack problem where the lid splits the cheap crap plastic top casing. I like the thread title as its most appropriate.

After chatting to apple today they are very kindly going to replace the cover but on deeper thought, im just going to call them back tomorrow and demand my money back. This is just not good enough. All they are going to do is replace a junk piece of plastic with another junk piece of plastic and this heap will break again. Smaller companies have replaced a faulty product within 3 months of it breaking and i dont care about it being "cosmetic". 80% of my reasoning buying is cos they looked "book". Well it dont look so book now.

As i run my own pc repair business, unless i get a satisfactory response regarding this outrage, none of them will ever be encouraged to purchase a mac or any other apple product and this recent resurgence that they have been on will come to an abrupt end.

Long live the pc. At least its solid and not a flimsy piece of pish that looks good if you dont touch it, or close the lid or carry it about anywhere or fart near it.

[Simon]

So you registered to tell us that? Hope you feel better. Now tell me what benefit did the readers of this board have from your little rant fit?

Oh and BTW, cross-posting is not allowed per the forum rules you agreed to when you signed up.

[bishopazrael]

Ahhh yes.... the "I'm a PC tech... " line. You sir, are no tech. Not a real tech anyways. I suspect that because you can swap out memory chips and put in a new video card, you call yourself a tech. Sadly the proof is in your words above. No REAL PC tech can deny that when you buy a Mac, be it a Macbook, an Imac, a Mac Mini or even a Powerbook, you're buying it for the OS, not the case it comes in. A Macbook, you should know if you were a "real" tech, is just another laptop. There are comparable versions that run Windows, and even they have flaws. Can you point me to one laptop that does not have any issues? Hmm?? Whats that I hear? Silence? Why surely you would know as a tech which models of laptops are statistically better than others right?

Yeah. Thought so. Please child, go troll on the gateway forums.

(for those wondering, the best built PC laptops most recommended by techs are IBM/Lenovo thinkpads and Toshibas. Anyone remember the butterfly keyboard on the ibm thinkpad?)

[Nodnarb]

Haha, I love how apple offers to replace it for free, yet "on deeper thought" that's not good enough for him... yes, it's a PITA, but Apple has replaced mine for free twice (OK, the last time took like 4 days, but it was right around xmas time) and regardless of the situation, a stupid design flaw would (that a company acknowledges and offers to fix for no charge!) in no way convince me to use PCs. Good luck bud.

[xwand3ringangelx]

Just out of curiosity as my macbook was given to me after my father used it for about a year or so, are they replacing the top rests for free, or only if you are still under warranty? As mine is starting to crack in the usual spot right under the "feet" of the screen bezel. This makes the second problem including the recent battery recall on certain older batteries that just stopped working.

[Caravaggio]

My Macbook's Palm rest cover cracked as well... and i already knew i'm not the only one with that problem. My 2 other friends' macbook cracked @the similar area (right @the magnetic closure of the palm-rest)

We examined the crack and we concluded that the plastic is too thin or fragile for something that's meant to be mobile and the strips on the lid probably has increased the chances of cracking it. It is just shocking that such great name in design like Apple to disappoint us like that with this product.

I was told that crack like such isn't covered under warranty, when I took mine down to the Apple's appointed service centre in Singapore located in Orchard Rd, Wheelock Place under the service company of Sapura Service@Orchard (EpicCentre@Orchard). What annoyed me most was they kept telling me to purchase the AppleCare and was more eager to promote it. I don't even think twice purchasing AppleCare when such flaw in the product isn't taken care of. I wish to complain this to Apple Singapore, but i'm not able to find the proper channel so that i can write in, becoz this is totally not user end's fault, and my warranty has just expired.

[JonoMarshall]

The case cracks because the compound they replaced the discoloring models with is too brittle, the new models (and the replacement top case you will receive when going in for the repair) use a new compound that has had no issues thus far (13 months). Third time lucky it seems.

Apple will replace the top case even if you're out of warranty (if your model has uses the brittle compound). They're doing this as an "express" repair and it should take 1-2 working days.

If anyone tells you otherwise then I'd assume they're ill informed, Apple have recognised and apologised for the various plastic production problems and seem to be doing a good(ish) job at replacing them.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by JonoMarshall 

If anyone tells you otherwise then I'd assume they're ill informed, Apple have recognised and apologised for the various plastic production problems and seem to be doing a good(ish) job at replacing them.

I've heard they're doing a commendable job of replacing them if you're under warranty. I've read other accounts of people being treated poorly, and other accounts of support acting as if they have no idea of this issue. Do you have any links to suggest Apple is aware of the problem and replacing these parts even while out of warranty? Thanks.

Granted, the rant above is pretty trollish, but try to empathize with his issue. Brand new macbook with plastic cracking? Another person bought his 3 weeks prior to his post on Feb 12th with same issue? Did they just come out with this new, superior compound last week after making yet another product line of consumers R&D their machines for them? C'mon Apple. It's not like they just got into the mobile computing biz last year. This reminds me of the nano you couldn't put in your shirt pocket without looking like you drop-kicked it across a parking lot of sand paper and the Titanium (you know, what they make the space shuttle out of) Powerbook's hinge debacle, noisy workstation class machinery, poor convection cooling on original iMac, etc... If they're going to produce disposable machines, they need to reflect that in their pricing. Makes me wonder what R&D consumers will be running for Apple on the MacBook air.

*Already reports of poor performance, running flame-throwing hot, and Apple support advising customers to disconnect all cables and remove the non-removable battery.

[Beweglich]

Even though there are two different types of compounds, is anyone aware if Apple has been using the new compound in the recent Penryn Macbooks? Also I was wondering if the BlackBook compound was anymore durable? Does it really make a difference which color as far as durability?

[JonoMarshall]

After going through a few of these top case replacements for machines in and out of warranty (oldest was 17 months old I believe), I enquired about what was going on.

A genius bar supervisor came down and explained the situation (getting the plastic compound wrong... twice) and stated that as long as the cracking was consistent with the known brittle points and the machine had no signs of impact damage than they would replace the top case with the new compound version (whether in or out of warranty).

He may have been telling me what I wanted to hear, but he seemed very genuine. The fact that the repair is listed as an "express" job (which was shown to me) on the system points towards the fact that Apple recognize this (internally at least) as an embarrassing problem.

I would ask to speak to a supervisor if you're turned away, or would phone an Apple care representative directly (incidentally I have had the repair authorised over the phone after simply explaining the type/position of the crack and the model number of my machines).

Originally Posted by Beweglich

Even though there are two different types of compounds, is anyone aware if Apple has been using the new compound in the recent Penryn Macbooks?

I assume that Apple would have learnt something about these plastic compounds after going through these production problems so future versions of the MacBook that require this kind of top case shouldn't have any issues if the design of the units are similar.

Originally Posted by Beweglich

Also I was wondering if the BlackBook compound was anymore durable? Does it really make a difference which color as far as durability?

Yes, the BlackBook hasn't had any issues (as far as I know) with the materials used and so would be the better option if buying second hand. The current versions of the MacBook (if buying new) no longer have these problems (again, as far as I know).

Originally Posted by ebuddy

Brand new macbook with plastic cracking? Another person bought his 3 weeks prior to his post on Feb 12th with same issue?

If this is true than it would seem as if I have been lied to by the Genius Bar supervisor, but every time I have gone in for a repair I have been told that the new top case uses a new kind of compound and that the issue will not arise again?! (Surely such a statement would be dangerous to impart on customers en mass if it was a lie?)

[Caravaggio]

arjae,

I've the exact kinda crack, where're ya from? I'm from Singapore... Mine was rejected by the Service Centre authorized by Apple here, Sapura Service@Orchard - Apple EpiCentre (Diversitec Distributors). They just put it as end-user's fault, and they do not replace this but advice me to purchase AppleCare Protection Plan. I did asked for the cost or repair though, it's $100(labour fee) + $300(parts), a total of $400 repair.. i did not take the offer.

[djfookyu]

i have the same crack on the lower right but it hasn't broken off.i bought a new macbook in february so i guess it affects the newer ones as well. im going to take it in this week and see what they say

[Kapoyan]

Hello everyone,
I just noticed this problem on my Week 25 Apple MacBook.
I have an appoitnment with a 'Genius' at the Apple store in Glendale, CA today. Hopefully they fix everything as soon as possible.
I will be showing this thread if they give me any problems as this is clearly a fault behalf of Apple and not the user.
-Kapoyan

[Brien]

Originally Posted by Beweglich 

Even though there are two different types of compounds, is anyone aware if Apple has been using the new compound in the recent Penryn Macbooks? Also I was wondering if the BlackBook compound was anymore durable? Does it really make a difference which color as far as durability?

Originally Posted by JonoMarshall 

the BlackBook hasn't had any issues (as far as I know) with the materials used and so would be the better option if buying second hand. The current versions of the MacBook (if buying new) no longer have these problems (again, as far as I know).

Well, FWIW, I've had the top-case of my Blackbook (Rev. A) replaced once for cracks once, and will be taking it in to replace again shortly. Both times they were on the lip where everyone else seems to be having the problem. Hopefully they've fixed the problem by now. Of course, with the other issues I've been having I might end up with a new one, who knows?

[Mackan]

Originally Posted by Nodnarb 

Haha, I love how apple offers to replace it for free, yet "on deeper thought" that's not good enough for him... yes, it's a PITA, but Apple has replaced mine for free twice (OK, the last time took like 4 days, but it was right around xmas time) and regardless of the situation, a stupid design flaw would (that a company acknowledges and offers to fix for no charge!) in no way convince me to use PCs. Good luck bud.

So Apple has acknowledged the problem, describing it on their website? So that where ever I am in the world (at a reseller, Apple Store, etc) can get it repaired without problems?

In any case, I would also demand my money back if they just continue to replace the casing without positive result. Maybe if enough people do that, Apple understands they have to fix the real cause of the problem...

[Christopera]

11 months. Mine cracked at the screen foot this morning. Apple store here i come!