Damage to my White Macbook

Starky · Jun 28, 2007

Part of the case started to tear a few weeks ago and now two shards have come off of it. These can be seen in the pictures below.

I'm very disappointed in this seeing that I have owned my Macbook for less than six months, always carry it in a soft case and have never dropped or bashed it.

So a couple things, what do you suggest I do and has anyone else had this problem with their case? I live in Scotland which currently has no Apple stores in it.

Don't wanna start putting polystyrene cement on it either

cwa107 · Jun 28, 2007

Looks like defective materials to me. Since you can't take it to an Apple store, I'd give Apple a ring and arrange for it to be repaired at a depot under warranty.

I would not attempt to glue the pieces as this would make it difficult to open your Mac's case.

Starky · Jun 28, 2007

Ok I'll give them a ring and maybe send them some pictures of it. Annoyed about this because the Macbook is such a nice looking piece of kit, now it looks like a hobos laptop! ;P

But this isn't normal? I can see the beginning of a tear at the other side also.

Cheers for your response

cwa107 · Jun 28, 2007

Starky said:
Ok I'll give them a ring and maybe send them some pictures of it. Annoyed about this because the Macbook is such a nice looking piece of kit, now it looks like a hobos laptop! ;P

But this isn't normal? I can see the beginning of a tear at the other side also.

Cheers for your response

I've heard complaints of staining on white Macbooks, but not of plastic pieces cracking (unless it was dropped or otherwise abused). Of course, I'm taking your word for it that there has been no excessive force applied to it at any point in time.

That whole palm rest assembly should be easily replaceable. Whether Apple take your word for it, as I did, is another story. They tend to be very customer friendly, so let's hope they don't give you any trouble.

Starky · Jun 28, 2007

Ok well it is evening over here so I will call them tomorrow during the day, they have been very friendly with me in the past, all their reps over here are Irish and I tend to get on with Irish people hehe.

Would be nice to restore it to its former beauty. The only other thing is that the Macbook logo below the screen has left a mark above the keyboard when it has been closed. Meh.

BananaPancakes · Jun 28, 2007

My Macbook has the exact same crack in the exact same place, but I didn't get Applecare so I'm just living with it. I'm pretty sure it's due the Macbook's faulty design. Since the Macbook has those little plastic "stoppers?" placed at the top of the screen, when it's closed and pressure is applied to it, it will easily crack.

Yup. Just a heads up for anyone who's carrying a Macbook in their school bag with a textbook in it: buy a case.

Starky · Jun 29, 2007

Oh.. yeah I just noticed those little plastic bits... the other crack that is beginning is exactly under the other one. I take my macbook to University everyday so that's probably why...

Trust Apple to come up with an unportable laptop :'(

Starky · Jun 29, 2007

Just off the phone to Apple, the guy thinks that it's possible that I can have it repaired under warranty but I need to go into town tomorrow and have a local company evaluate it.

Fingers Crossed!

jc1350 · Jul 1, 2007

Thanks to this thread I've been keeping an eye on my 1 month old mackbook and it's starting to do the same thing. There are 2 shiny/worn areas right where those nubs touch the keyboard cover.

The first thing I thought when I opened the macbook for the first time and noticed no rubber pads was "huh...that's not a good idea, but they must know what they're doing." Guess I was wrong.

I'm going to buy some rubber or foam rubber pads (like the kind for cabinet doors) to see if that help. I guess I finally have a complaint about this computer.

chrisiw · Jul 1, 2007

Starky said:
Oh.. yeah I just noticed those little plastic bits... the other crack that is beginning is exactly under the other one. I take my macbook to University everyday so that's probably why...

Trust Apple to come up with an unportable laptop

Sorry to hear about your problem with the case, I have had mine for about 4 months now and no problems at all, I do travel with it sometimes but not at as much as you do, I would think that you will have no problem with getting it sorted out ok, I found the staff in the Apple Store at Southampton UK very helpful when i had to check a few things out. I think that Apple are very good when it comes to sorting a problem. This should not happen though to a newish laptop. I love my MacBook but think that there is plenty of room for improvements to the case, as i find it a bit plastic eeee, and the sharp top edge is a right pain .

Starky · Jul 1, 2007

The repair centers have been closed all weekend so I'll be taking in on Monday to see what they think.

Yeah I need to think of a way to keep it safe if I get it fixed because I will be using it as frequently for the next few years.

JuanGuapo · Jul 2, 2007

My buddy had the same thing and they replaced it under warranty... the replacement case seems to have a different texture (thicker?).

Starky · Jul 2, 2007

Took it to the repair place today. The woman there was great, kept on going on about how she couldn't wait to get her hands on an iPhone when I pulled my Macbook out it's case (it's not released in the UK yet). She confirmed that it was through use and not abuse since there was no sign of scratchs or bashes.

So basically they are going to contact apple and then repair it, should be under warrenty and they will probably replace the case.

Only problem is... it's going to be 5 - 10 days! A week without my precious laptop... it's going to be hard hehe but I'm relieved it went well

They should have courtesy laptops like they have courtesy cars :Smirk:

cwa107 · Jul 2, 2007

Starky said:
Took it to the repair place today. The woman there was great, kept on going on about how she couldn't wait to get her hands on an iPhone when I pulled my Macbook out it's case (it's not released in the UK yet). She confirmed that it was through use and not abuse since there was no sign of scratchs or bashes.

So basically they are going to contact apple and then repair it, should be under warrenty and they will probably replace the case.

Only problem is... it's going to be 5 - 10 days! A week without my precious laptop... it's going to be hard hehe but I'm relieved it went well

Very cool.

They should have courtesy laptops like they have courtesy cars

Not a bad idea, seriously. You know what else would be a good idea - keeping an extra model of each Mac. Swap hard drives and memory, and there you go - instant repair, with no waiting.

chrisiw · Jul 3, 2007

Starky said:
Took it to the repair place today. The woman there was great, kept on going on about how she couldn't wait to get her hands on an iPhone when I pulled my Macbook out it's case (it's not released in the UK yet). She confirmed that it was through use and not abuse since there was no sign of scratchs or bashes.

So basically they are going to contact apple and then repair it, should be under warrenty and they will probably replace the case.

Only problem is... it's going to be 5 - 10 days! A week without my precious laptop... it's going to be hard hehe but I'm relieved it went well

They should have courtesy laptops like they have courtesy cars

Im pleased that they are going to sort it for you, i thought they would without any hassle, I didnt know that there was an Apple store up in Scotland near you though, our one in Southampton is a real cool place some nice gear in there, its always very crowded in there though.

Chris

Aptmunich · Jul 3, 2007

You could always take it to one of the authorized resellers to get fixed: Scotsys springs to mind...

Starky · Jul 3, 2007

It wasn't an apple store, you are correct in saying that there is none in Scotland. One should be opening soon on Buchanan street in Glasgow though

Yes Scotsys was on the list of people to visit but a company called S3 interactive was closer (in clydebank). So I was of course wondering how good their service would be since they were not apple but there were apple certification certificates on the walls and stuff, a few of their staff were using iMacs and they handled everything very pleasantly. Bonus!

chrisiw · Jul 3, 2007

Starky said:
It wasn't an apple store, you are correct in saying that there is none in Scotland. One should be opening soon on Buchanan street in Glasgow though

Yes Scotsys was on the list of people to visit but a company called S3 interactive was closer (in clydebank). So I was of course wondering how good their service would be since they were not apple but there were apple certification certificates on the walls and stuff, a few of their staff were using iMacs and they handled everything very pleasantly. Bonus!

Thats good that they have got u sorted ok, I think that Apple have a very good name as regards problem sorting, even if its one of the agents. let us know how it all goes.

Chris

Starky · Jul 5, 2007

Woohoo typing this from my lovely fixed Macbook!

Only took a couple days and they replaced the lower case (about £50, $100) under warranty. So naturally I'm very impressed and happy with Apple, I'd post a picture of the laptop but it looks the same as any other Macbook hehe.

If anyone else has this problem then I urge you to get it fixed while you are still under warranty. The guy at the store today said that it's a problem with the materials used during a certain manufacturing period and Apple know about it so they can handle it very quickly.

Starky · Jul 5, 2007

Woohoo typing this from my lovely fixed Macbook!

Only took a couple days and they replaced the lower case (about £50, $100) under warranty. So naturally I'm very impressed and happy with Apple, I'd post a picture of the laptop but it looks the same as any other Macbook hehe.

If anyone else has this problem then I urge you to get it fixed while you are still under warranty. The guy at the store today said that it's a problem with the materials used during a certain manufacturing period and Apple know about it so they can handle it very quickly.