MacBook Air 2013 troubles

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Hi

I have a MacBook Air 2013 that started having issues just out of warranty. About 5 months ago, the screen went black and I couldn't turn it on, despite trying an SMC reset. I was flying out from Dubai (where I live) to Sydney (where I'm from) that day, so when I arrived in Sydney took it to the Genius Bar, the guy did his own SMC reset and it magically started working. He did a diagnostics and couldn't find anything wrong with it. I took it home and I couldn't turn it on again so I made another appointment with the Genius Bar but before the appointment it just started working again all on its own and worked fine for a few months.

In April, it did the same thing, I tried an SMC reset and nothing. I was a week away from visiting Sydney again, so I waited until I was back to take it to the Genius Bar. Again, the man did an SMC reset and it worked (I don't know why I can't do the reset). Again he couldn't find anything wrong, even opened it up to take a look. Said he was puzzled at why it was doing it (he had to do a couple of SMC resets, as when he turned it off it wouldn't restart), he did an update and thought that might fix the issue and I took it home. Yet again a couple of days later it stopped work again and two days later it started working on its own again.

Then three weeks later (and back in Dubai) it's stopped turning on yet again. I took it to a local authorised service place, the guy looked at it quickly and said it needed a new motherboard at a cost of $700! When I mentioned how the Genius Bar had always gotten it to work he insisted this was a different problem. He said he could tell that diagnostics had been run recently but that he couldn't turn on the machine (is that even possible?) I know that he didn't try and SMC reset, just opened it up.

I'm having trouble believing him as he looked at it for such a short amount of time (literally 3 minutes, if that) and it is exactly how the computer has behaved before.

I'm unsure what to do. Do I trust him and get a new motherboard? He said that all the information on the computer would be retained, is that true?

Anyone else had similar issues?
 

bobtomay

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15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Based on your description, I have no problem believing there is some intermittent problem with the motherboard causing the same issue repeatedly and will likely continue to get worse until it will not restart no matter what is done to it - possibly that is already the case.

As to whether to get a new motherboard, $700 to fix a 2 yr old machine is definitely a personal choice

Replacement of a motherboard does not affect the data on the drive.

There are a couple of techs here that do repairs for a living. One of them may have another idea.

(As much as I hate to say it, as I do not purchase extended warranties - period, as much as you apparently carry this notebook around, I would probably get the extended warranty in your case if you decide to go the new route instead of repairing.)
 
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(As much as I hate to say it, as I do not purchase extended warranties - period, as much as you apparently carry this notebook around, I would probably get the extended warranty in your case if you decide to go the new route instead of repairing.)


Mmm thanks bobtomay. I might seek out a second opinion too. I just thought if there was an issue the Apple guys would have picked it up.

I don't normally carry it around much, just two trips in the past five months, before that it was sat at home.
 

bobtomay

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No tech (edit: I'll revise that to - it is highly unlikely that any tech) is going to find an issue that causes the computer to not start while it is working.

Every tech should start with the simple troubleshooting steps (as in a SMC reset). If it works after that fix, they will stop looking.

It is nearly impossible to investigate an intermittent problem on a piece of electronics while it is functioning.
And no repair tech that is on the clock is going to.
Although, they may have an idea based on their experience as to what fixes a particular type of issue in the majority of cases.
 
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OK, so I took the Macbook to another technician who found the same issues as the Apple guys. After attempting a few SMC resets he got the machine going again. (thank goodness I didn't replace the motherboard!).
He kept it for two weeks to see what it was doing and said he couldn't find any true fault. He said he didn't think it was the motherboard (as the Apple guys also said to me). His suggestion was that I had a USB connected for an extended period of time which may be causing the SMC confusion.
His advice was to reinstall the OS and hope for the best.

Has anyone experienced this? What's the best way to reinstall the OS?
 
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I have never seen an OS problem causing the fault description you have described. Go ahead and reinstall the OS, I suspect the fault will in time reoccur.

In all instances I've seen when repeated SMC resets have been required the logic board is failing. As mentioned above, if the MBA is working no diagnostics will identify a problem. If you had AppleCare it would have been straight forward to replace the logic board, out of warranty intermittent faults pose problems. If Apple or an AASP replaced your logic board as the most likely cause of failure, and by some obscure chance it didn't fix the problem, they are not able to reinstall your original logic board and you would obviously demand a refund. Therefore they will be reluctant to suggest the logic board is failing, unless you accept, likely in writing, that the logic board is only being replaced as the most likely cause of failure and no refund will be offered. If the fault was solid there would be no problem. It's a difficult situation.
 

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