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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > 12 inch wobbling question

12 inch wobbling question
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Alerosport.com
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Nov 10, 2003, 01:32 PM
 
does anyone have the new 12 inch powerbook? And notice it wobbles.... its base is uneven or something?

Is there a fix for this? my screen also has a nice lil creek noise when u open and shut it.
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shabbasuraj
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Nov 10, 2003, 01:38 PM
 
this is known issue...

join the club...

not much you can do...

i suggest placing a dab of silicone on the suspect rubber foot...
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madmacgames
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Nov 10, 2003, 01:41 PM
 
mine has a little wobble, but I think my desk is not perfectly flat, because if I turn the powerbook about 15 degrees to the right, it does not wobble, and turning it 15 degrees to the left cause the wobble to get very bad.

I do not have a perfectly flat surface such as a glass table to test my theory on, but I would wager that it is not the powerbook, but the suface it is sitting on is most of the problem... and since the base of the 12" is so small, it does not take much to throw it off (for example a surface flat enough for the 15" or 17" might not be flat enough for the 12"... you are more likely to be sitting on or near one of the many imperfections most surfaces have, especially wood.)

now that isn't to say it might not be your powerbook. I've heard reports by some that theirs wobbles because the battery isn't aligned properly or something, but I haven't seen this with mine..
     
///Milien
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Nov 10, 2003, 01:57 PM
 
I too have a slight wobble, but it doesn't bother me too much. Better that than the white spots that 15 PB have been seeing.
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C-Bear
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Nov 10, 2003, 03:34 PM
 
It's a feature.

Seriously, though, almost everyone seems to report this, but it is minor. Think of it as a good excuse to start regularly placing a small cloth under you PB when using it on flat, hard surfaces; this'll take care of the wobble, and reduce the likelihood of losing one of your rubber feet (another 12" feature )
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Skypat
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Nov 10, 2003, 03:58 PM
 
Alerosport, there is an answer to your question in this thread :

Fellow 2000 says :

"I had the wobble issue also but I was able to fix it. I figured it out that it was wobbling because the battery had about 1mm of play it it, and since the rubber foot is on the battery, it makes the whole machine wobble. To correct this, I simply folded up a piece of paper and placed it in the corner of the battery compartment and then put the battery back in. Now the battery sits perfectly tight with no play in and and the laptop is rock solid. No wobble whatsoever."
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Thorin
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Nov 10, 2003, 05:48 PM
 
My housemates 12" rev B wobbled. He phoned Apple up, they said they'd replace it, no problem at all (because he'd phone within 10 days of receipt or something). His replacement came today - no wobble, but a dead pixel . This one did come with Panther disks in the box though, which saved him �15.
     
bkb
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Nov 10, 2003, 05:55 PM
 
Originally posted by C-Bear:
It's a feature.

Seriously, though, almost everyone seems to report this, but it is minor. Think of it as a good excuse to start regularly placing a small cloth under you PB when using it on flat, hard surfaces; this'll take care of the wobble, and reduce the likelihood of losing one of your rubber feet (another 12" feature )
Small cloth?!?! Is this a good idea. Wont' this intefere with the cooling process? I've got the wobble problem also - but it goes away when i plug in my power adapter and the battery heats up...
     
desillusion.com
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Nov 10, 2003, 06:11 PM
 
no wobble, no dead pixel, no latch problems here..

i must have had some luck for a change =)
finally here and absolutely flawless:
powerbook 12" 1ghz rev b combo 768 mb ram bt-mouse
     
poisonmonkey
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Nov 11, 2003, 12:05 AM
 
My book also used to wobble a whole lot.
I just use it till it get warm and the whole thing fixes itself up.

And by mistake i dropped it and it hasn't wobbled since...

and Creek noises is from the latch thingy not much you can do about it...
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OB1
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Nov 11, 2003, 03:18 PM
 
Work out which corner is too high, then hang that corner over the edge of your desk, rest your arm over your pb parallel to the edge of the desk its hanging over, now gently bend the offending corner upwards.

Sounds harsh? Worked for me. I was very gentle, used only one finger to bend it upwards a tiny ammount at a time.

I've done this twice now. Just this weekend my girlfriend threw my bag (with my pb in it) when I next used it, it was wobbling again. After some gentle persuasion, its back to being flat.
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phantomo
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Nov 11, 2003, 10:51 PM
 
Sorry to hear about thw wobble you boys & girls are experiencing. But I am happy to report mine is flat. I do get wobble when I bring it to work which I confirmed it is the desk's problem.

I used a ruler to check the flatness of the desk.
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(",)PB12
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Nov 12, 2003, 12:32 AM
 
For those experiencing the wobble effect I'd suggest getting the Podium coolpad.....solves the problem with added incentives....extra heat disipation
     
fraeone
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Nov 12, 2003, 02:56 AM
 
I would like to reiterate that many times this is because the battery isn't sitting completely flush. Add something in between the battery and the computer and maybe that will fix it.

The other great suggestion I've heard is to take a razor blade to the rubber foot on the part that is too "tall"
     
surfimp
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Nov 12, 2003, 02:57 PM
 
I thought perhaps mine was a wobbler but it turns out the desk wasn't perfectly level. Using it now on a glass table, there's nary a wobble to be had.
     
sirosisofliver
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Nov 12, 2003, 05:13 PM
 
I have the new 12", no wobbling here, or creaking sounds in the latch...so far so good!
12" PB, Rev B
     
Fellow2000
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Nov 13, 2003, 04:23 AM
 
Hey I got quoted from another thread, cool.

Anyway, like I said before, the wobble is easily fixed. I do the paper thing with about every electronic thing I own actually down to my portable phone. Battery compartments are never perfectly flush or tight, so adding a little piece of paper in the compartment makes it tight and fixes the problem. I have done this with my camera, powerbook, phone and calculator. Works like a charm
     
   
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