One of the hinges on my MacBook Air detached, and a crack appeared, all rather suddenly and with no apparent cause. When I took it to an Apple Store, I learned that because of the way the laptop is assembled, it would be necessary to replace the entire display to fix the problem. Initially, I was told that this costly repair would not be covered by the AppleCare extended warranty because it was judged accidental damage.
I investigated further and found out that other Airs have experienced the exact same hinge problem. Armed with this information, I went to another (smaller and less busy) Apple Store, where they immediately agreed to make the repair under AppleCare. My Air is now fixed, and I'm once again a happy Apple customer.
If you have an Air and it has broken in this way, let Apple know you're aware that this is a common problem and insist that it should be covered by warranty. And if you have an Air and it's still okay, consider not lifting and carrying it in one hand: someone suggests this is what leads to damage on the fragile hinge, and I think that's a reasonable theory.
aryayush 52 months ago | reply
Hello.
We’re writing a story about MacBook Air hinge damage on Macworld (which describes Apple’s reluctance to cover it under warranty and uses your experience as one of the examples) and would like to use your image alongside it. Would you be kind enough to grant us permission to do so? It will duly be credited to you, of course.
Thank you.
lunacow 52 months ago | reply
I would be happy to grant permission for Macworld to use any of my photos of Air hinge damage. Let me know if you need any more information about my experience. Glad to hear this issue is getting coverage!
aryayush 52 months ago | reply
Thank you! And here’s the article, if you’re interested: www.macworld.com/article/139107/2009/03/well_give_you_app....
Enjoy. :)
lunacow 42 months ago | reply
Update: 11 months later, my hinge broke again in the same way. Apple now recognizes this as a defect that they'll repair whether or not your Air is under warranty:
support.apple.com/kb/TS2948
I no longer think the problem has anything to do with lifting and carrying the laptop with one hand, because I've avoided doing that since the first time it broke. I believe the issue is that they didn't design the hinge to accommodate the inevitable loosening over time, so the display starts to catch on parts that it didn't previously make contact with, and that leads to the breakage.