My MacBook
Published on 5 Nov 2007 at 6:11 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under apple, applecare, macbook, repair.
A few days ago I posted my trusty MacBook for sale on Craig’s List. I ended my listing by saying “personally I consider it to be one of the nicest laptops I’ve ever used,” which is ultimately true.Yesterday I ended up a site that lists many different MacBook issues. As I read the list I recognized having had many of the same problems with my MacBook. I still consider my MacBook to be one of the nicest laptops I’ve ever used - primarily because of Mac OS X.The large list of problems with MacBooks can be found at appledefects.com. Here are the ones my MacBook has suffered:
- Random shutdowns - Oddly, the random shutdowns didn’t surface until nearly a year after I got the machine. When it first happened, the battery was replaced. It continued and in fact, this was one of the most recent repairs to my machine (this time replacing the logic board again), so I’m not sure that it’s actually been fixed.
- Ticking Fan Noise - This one was incredibly strange, and probably not the same issue described at appledefects.com. My MacBook would tick, like a watch, after it was shutdown. It would tick even with no battery or power connected at all. It would about once per second for several minutes. Perhaps someone left their watch inside my machine during one of it’s many repairs.
- Palmrest discoloration - I bought my MacBook at my local Apple Store on the morning it was released and within a week the palmrest was a nasty shade of yellow.
- Destruction of Media inserted into Superdrive - my superdrive destroyed the Tech Tools Deluxe CD that I came with the AppleCare I bought for the machine. The store replaced the disk, and the superdrive.
- Airport reception is defective or unstable - my airport connect would drop, and refuse to reconnect giving only a cryptic message about there being an error connecting to the desired network. This must have been fixed with some software update as it’s not happened in several months.
- Poor quality display - The display has always had a very splotchy look. Topped with the fact that it’s 6-bit and dithers the image (contrary to Apple’s assertation that the MacBook can display “millions of colors”) the LCD is subpar. My display has been replaced a few times. Most recently it had developed some dark spots, and a 4″ white line across the middle of the screen. The geniuses at the genius bar tell me it’s my fault, that they’re “bruises” from me applying too much pressure to the display. They replaced the display anyway, this time with one that has two dead pixels.
- Poor build quality of the bottom case - Loosening the screws at the back of the machine a quarter turn takes care of this.
- Cracking cases - My palmrest cracked on the right side, as well as the bottom case plastic just below that. The topcase was replaced, once again. I didn’t complain about the crack in the bottom case because it’s barely noticeable, doesn’t bother me, and I didn’t want to overwhelm the geniuses.
- Display failure - Another issue my display has had is that it will shut off, usually before the machine is even completely booted. A new logic board seems to have fixed this.
- Improperly sealed case - This is perhaps the most annoying issue, because it seems to be laziness on Apple’s part. Inevitably after coming back from repair there is a noticeable gap between the topcase and bottom case.
- Inappropriately low speaker volume - Even at top volume I can barely hear the sound coming from my MacBook. The geniuses have told me that this is normal, and I guess it could be. The speakers are pretty much useless though. I’ve never asked for that to be repaired because I almost always have the sound muted.
- Bad trackpad button - I absolutely hate the feel of my MacBook’s trackpad button. Since my topcase was recently replaced, the button is “stiff” again. However, it will become mushy to the point where it can’t be clicked on either side. Very annoying.
- Battery failure - I had this as well as the random shutdowns. The replacement battery did the trick on this. The quickest repair of them all, about 5 minutes at the genius bar to get a new battery.
My MacBook has been repaired more than a dozen times now, and in one stretch it was gone for a month! I plan to replace it soon, which is why I was selling it.My MacBook never sold on Craig’s List and I’m not sure what I’ll do with it instead. I may put it on eBay or just hang on to it for a while longer. After reminiscing about all these problems, I’m not sure I can in good conscience sell it to someone else.It does have AppleCare, at least.
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