Some background first . . .
Most folks who follow the latest happenings in the Macintosh world know about the discoloration that’s been reported in about 20% of the new white MacBooks. After a scant two to three weeks of use, the grey-white color of the palm rests and touchpad of affected MacBooks are turning a yellowish-brown hue that won’t wash off with any sort of cleaning product. The spots look kind of like pit stains. Of course, my ‘Book was part of that 20%.
Surprisingly enough, websites soon began to report that Apple had acknowleged the discoloration as a manufacturing defect (thanks to some screaming and complaining on Apple’s forums and from StainedBook.info), thus making it a warranty-covered repair. Still, there had not been (and, as of this writing, there still has not been) an official statement from Apple on the issue published on their website. So, I decided to see for myself . . .
My first step was to call AppleCare, Apple’s technical support arm. The representative, who apparently had never heard about the discoloration issue until my call, put me on hold for a few minutes so she could speak to a specialist, and when she came back, asked me a few questions about possible other causes for the discoloration. The questions were obviously “official Apple questions” of some sort, because it was quite plain from her tone that she was reading them from a script that she had been given. That, and they were identical to a set of questions detailed on a MacNN forums thread I’d read earlier that day.
A few minutes and a confirmation number later, she informed me that a box was on its way to me so I could ship my MacBook back to Apple for replacement of the top case plastics. This made is quite apparent that the reports were true: Apple had indeed recognized the discoloration as a warranty-covered defect. Only trouble with this route was that I’d be without my computer for two or more days . . . not exactly good when this is my work machine. I received the box the very next day, and decided to hold onto it just in case my next idea was a bust . . .
On July 4, I made an appointment at the Genius Bar and headed off to my local Apple Store. After explaining the situation to the Genius at the bar (who also had never heard of the problem until my visit . . . sheesh), he took it to the back room to discuss it with someone. After coming back out, he informed me that they’d order another top case for me and that I’d need to bring the computer back at that time. Pleased, I promptly cancelled my mail-in repair with AppleCare and tossed the box.
I received the call from the store on the 11th informing me that the part had come in, and I took the computer in around 10:30a on the 12th. They gave me an “official” time window of 48 hours until completion, but told me that since I brought it in early on a not-too-busy day, it’d probably be done same-day. Indeed, at 2:00p, Apple’s repair status site had the “Repair Complete” message next to my case number, so I headed back to the store after half a day of using a not-so-swift iBook G4 we have in the office. They brought my MacBook out of the back room, new plastics and all. No more pit stains.
So, good show, Apple. Recognizing what everyone expected you to brush off as “cosmetic damage” as the manufacturing defect that it was and deciding to do something about it.
It remains to be seen whether the replacement plastics (which supposedly have a different composition) will retain their lovely grey-white color. Watch this space for updates.
Tags: Macbook, Apple, Macintosh, AppleCare, Apple Store, Genius Bar, Apple Genius
21 comments ↓
I’m surprised that you don’t have any comments and you’ve been Macsurfered the whole day (if that’s not a word, it is now)! Seriously, it’s good to see Apple doing the right thing. Where do you get the 20% defect rate from? That seems awful high to me. BTW, I’ll be blogrolling ya later on tonight.
I think you just dissed iBook G4s, Rae. As the owner of one, I can only tell you that … this means wah!
Keepin’ it real, Geof.
I posted a link to this on MacNN’s iBook/MacBook forum . . . I’m surprised no iBook loyalists there have tried to tear into me. *laugh*
Apple #1 in support #1 in customer satisfaction. I would not expect anything less
A couple questions for you:
1. Did the new top case replace the trackpad button too? (I just bought my Macbook a couple of weeks ago too, and I’m sure there is some discoloration creeping through on the button specifically but not yet on the palm rests, and possibly the corner of the notebook.)
2. What did you do with your Macbook apps and personal files when you took it in for maintainance? Did you remove your files or setup an account for the service guys with an automatic login or something? (I just firewired my old Mac’s files and apps and have put some important files on here that I don’t want messed with).
Thanks for you reply,
SD
SD: To answer your questions . . .
1) Yes, they replaced the trackpad button as well. Mine had a little bit of discoloration on it, and now it’s gone.
2) I left my data files as-is (though I did back it up to an external HDD), and apparently they didn’t need to log in for any reason, because they didn’t ask for my login password. I suppose all they needed to do after they were done was to turn it on and make sure it came up to the login screen.
Your scenario was almost exactly like mine…the phone call to mac, the box, me going to the store instead. Exept my store gave me a new macbook, kept my stainbook, and did a data transfer of my old files.
I’m also wondering how long this new plastic will stay new looking.
Hi,
I am planning on buying a new macbook on the next couple of weeks, and i would like to know if the replacement top is showing any discoloration since you exchanged it. Also, i have heard rumors of the macbook getting inordinately hot. Anybody can confirm or deny such a thing, A Macbook is a substantial investment for me and i would like to get all the facts before i buy.
Thanks in advance.
Luis Rojas
Luis,
I used to own a MacBook Pro, then exchanged it for the MacBook. The Pro is infamous for getting hot (my pro sure did), but not the macbook. My macbook doesn’t get hot. So far, no stains on the replaced plastic.
Best,
Keith
Luis:
Unfortunately, the staining has re-appeared. The plastic they replaced the orignal with looked and felt the same, so I’m not all too surprised. I won’t be taking it back in for a while. Apple doesn’t seem to quite have their act together regarding this issue after all.
Well I took my MacBook to my local Apple Store and they are getting the new part soon and replacing the stained plastic. They guy said that the new edition plastic should solve the problem, and that the keys are held down differently. So I will have to see how this will play out too.
About the heat issue, just like any other notebook, it’s going to get hot after hours and hours of use. But I find my Macbook is really quite cool to touch. It gets a little warm after prolongued use, but when I’m on a desk, or flat surface, it really is not a problem.
But I love my MacBook, I gotta tell you. It is a fine piece of equipment. There are some issues with the plastic on the first edition models (which I happened to get) and my staining has been minor but hopefully, that problem will be solved this week with the fix. We’ll see.
I have minor stainings on my MacBook. They aren’t brown or orange but a faint yellow, primarily on the palm rests and on thr left of the mouse button. I was thinking of going to Apple Care to get my Book top replaced too, but now I’m not so sure after I read it isn’t “the right white” compared to maybe the screen and the front cover of the Book. Does anybody have pictures of how “new” the plastic really looks? Much thanks!
I’m starting to show signs of this about 2 1/2 months into having my MacBook. Should I keep it awhile then have the plastics replaced or are they using new ones yet?
The other thing I have to consider is that I’ve not purchase AppleCare yet and am coming up on needing to do that. How do I contact them after the first 90 days? It says on the website that you only get one call within the 90 day period.
Chel: AppleCare covers you through the first year overall, but only for the priority tech support call for the first 90 days. On the Macs I’ve owned, I’ve held out on AppleCare purchases until late in my year cycle. AppleCare’s site is going to have all the information you’ll need.
I believe I had this problem on a “not so swift” iBook G4. When I tried to clean it, I ruined the trackpad and had to get the whole palmrest replaced. Might I make a suggestion to everyone who owns a MacBook…BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I still use an eMac and a 466MHZ iBook and a iBook G4, and the 466 is impossible to take apart and fix without losing something (a screw) are impossible to take apart, and the Parts???? $700 for a logic board… Are you freakin kidding me? The warranty saved me a bunch of times on the iBook G4, for 3 keyboards, a trackpad, the airport cable, and the logic board. Investing in the AppleCare policy is one of the best choices I have ever made…Next to switching to the Mac:) I do have a question to all MacBook users, are they worth the switch… I have heard that they are very fast but have many problems. Thank You.
HI… just FYI I have a iBOOK that started getting discolored and I used the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and WALA it looks like a brand new laptop. I am not sure it will work on the MacBook but give it a try… have the magic eraser loosen the discoloration / dirt and then have a damp rag to wipe it all away. The eraser seems to loosen it or lift it but then it kind of smears so that is why you should have the damp rag to wipe it all away.
Good Luck!
i’m glad i found this blog. i’ve been thinking about buying a macbook for a while now, and though i like the way the black mac looks, it’s a bit out of my price range. but i was also worried, with the risk of pit-hand stains, about buying a white mac. gpod to know it’s not a permanent injury.
my macbook is reaching the stage of DISGUSTING! i really need to get the plastic replaced…
hi:) is this staining/marking problem only with the white macbook’s? is the same problem occurring with black mb’s? perhaps a reason to spend the extra $100 to avoid time and pain of having to replace and replace.
cheers.
Great article! Really helped a lot! Thanks!
Are they still doing any sort of replacement? I got a brand new Macbook (2.1 GHz Core2 Duo) and the thing collects stains much more quickly than my iBook G4 did. I have to clean it every week, and it has never quite gotten back to the original color.
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