MacBook Pro
From Appledefects
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The MacBook Pro Release Date: February 14, 2006 Base Price: USD$1999 |
MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh laptop computers developed by Apple Computer for the professional market. First announced on 10 January 2006 at the Macworld Expo by Apple CEO Steve Jobs[1], the MacBook Pro was immediately available for pre-sale at online Apple Stores worldwide, with deliveries beginning in mid-February 2006[2]. The MacBook Pro is the successor to the 15-inch and 17-inch models of the PowerBook G4 series, and is the first Macintosh laptop to be powered by the Intel Core Duo processor.
The MacBook Pro is currently available in two size configurations: a 15.4-inch model first introduced on 10 January 2006 and last revised on 16 May 2006; and a 17" model first introduced on 24 April 2006.[3]
Alongside the iMac Core Duo, the MacBook Pro represents Apple's first computers to feature Intel processors instead of PowerPC processors; a transition that is expected to be complete by the end of 2006. Since the introduction of the MacBook Pro, other lines have followed, including the introduction of the Intel Core powered Mac mini on 28 February 2006 and the consumer line of laptop computers, the MacBook on 16 May 2006
Defects
Swollen Battery
Batteries are randomly expanding, destroying themselves. Check above link or see the following pictures for examples: http://flickr.com/photos/26719522@N00/457679057/in/set-72157600072939498/
Hard Drive Failure
Seagate drives with a Firmware revision of 7.01 seem to have a critical manufacturing flaw.
How to determine if your drive is one of these mentioned:
In System Profiler, look under Serial-ATA for the Revision, which shows the firmware of your hard drive. You will see “Model” and if it begins with letters “ST9” then it is a Seagate drive. If yours is Revision 7.01 (only Seagate drives have this number) you should perhaps consider backing up your data immediately.
More information:
- MacRumors: Apple Acknowledges Reports Of MacBook Hard Drive Failures (2007-11-26)
- RetroData: Important notice » Users of Apple Macbooks
High Pitched Squeal
- A high frequency squeal emits from the left side of the computer, near the keyboard. Disabling the second core of the processor or running a program that prevents the processors from being idle will eliminate this sound (like PhotoBooth). Apple acknowledges the issue in a recent KB article.
- AppleCare representatives have been instructed to tell customers the noise is part of normal operation and is not a defect.
Ticking/Clicking from underneath the delete key
- MBP Owners have noticed that fans are starting to go bad in the MBP. The result is a ticking, or a clicking sound coming from underneath the Delete key. In some cases, it sounds like the fan blades are hitting something. This video demonstrates the problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdQvf3WPKKA
Electric Shock from MBP while plugged in for charging
- When my MBP is plugged in I get an electric vibration (mild shock) feeling. Sometimes, when typing, I will get a painful shock from just above the disk drive. This mild electric vibration occours simultaneously with the hissing sound other users are hearing.
other Users remarks:
- I have verified that it is the grounding issue when you feeling the electric vibration. The electric vibration correspond with the AC current, i.e. if you are in the US it is around 60Hz. If you are experiencing this shock even if the MBP is plugged into a grounded socket, then the grounding for the building is defective. The way I tested it was going outdoors, getting a long metal stake about 4' long and drive about 3' or more into the dirt ground. Then get a 3-prong to 2-prong converter with a ground tab, attach a wire from the ground tab to the metal stake and then plug the 2-prong into the electrical socket. This will get rid of the mild shocking sensation. Almost all computers use their case for grounding its components, and when there is no grounding, electricity will make its best effort to find its way and usually is is through the user. Another way to test it is by standing on thick rubber pads and touching nothing else except the computer; you will notice that the shock isn't present.--Rsriprac 19:28, 5 August 2007 (MST)
- Note: I get the same thing from my Powerbook and PC laptops, but it's because I have pretty bad electric cabling where I am. I am not sure why exactly, but static electricity tends to build up. Sometimes it actually zaps me. This might not be the MBP's fault. --Nikster 04:33, 27 June 2006 (MST)
- My experience is that this is true for all Aluminum portables from Apple when using the two-prong duckhead. When using the grounded extension cable this issue goes away. --codepoet
- Note to the above user- I have a Powerbook that exhibits this same issue, and I'm sure grounding has nothing to do with it, as sometimes with a properly grounded outlet and the extension cable I will get shocks, while half of my time in China using the 2-prong plug will not have problems (the other half of my time is spent suffering through the shocks.)--Jamar
- MacBook Pro Issuing Electric Current Video from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPdtDHjr3QM
- Same Issue here, with grounded cable and with or without any external things plugged in. The point is, that the electrical shocks (I measured 8-9V app.) do not come from the surface of the case just above the disk but only from the side-face of the aluminium panel. I got "cracks" between the aluminium panels and this tiny plastic frame, and exactly these are the sites, where I can measure the electricity and where I get shocks. So the coating of the panel might be insulating...
- I haven't found yet the reason why it sometimes hits me and sometimes not. Wiring here in this house is quite good, never had any problems with that, and my old TiBook had no such problem to deal with. --ceUs 12:28, 8. August 2006 (CEST) (I changed the layout a bit and tried to get it more readable)
- I noticed the creeping current first when I had my MacBook Pro for two months already. Suddenly, while I was typing some text, I felt a prickling at my forearms. I checked and detected a slight vibration all over the casing. I got the impression that it comes from the cable transformer. When I plugged in my Ethernet cable, the vibration disappeared. Over a USB cable, it encroached upon my external hard disk. This, the excessive heat and the battery problem (mine already has been exchanged by Apple) makes me a bit disappointed. The MacBook Pro in other respects is a very fine machine, it's a great pity that these issues downgrade it. Hopefully Apple will do something about it and maybe all the users who already bought this computer will be more happy with their investment.
- I think you will find that this is an RF shock because 1. On my machine it stops when the AIRPORT card is turned off (I tested this by creating a shock and then gettting a friend to move the mouse to disable Airport WHILST I was tingling... as soon as the Airport disables it stops instantly). and 2. it is most noticable when you touch an edge of the case. Both of these point to RF radiation being the culprit. I think Apple may need to address this as there are clearly some health and safety concerns here. --jennyd60
- After 6 months ownership I noticed a fuzzy vibrating sensation in my palms against the casing as I typed. Then I began to get prickly zaps in my left wrist against the edge of the case. I measured up to 50 volts AC between the case and my hand. Unplugging the charger fixed the problem, but I like to work with it plugged in. I came to this site and read these posts, following codepoet's suggestion I tried the grounded extension cable for my charger. This fixed the problem for me.
- For people trying to find a single cause for the electric vibration/shock: there are multiple causes. For some people, it's due to faulty grounding for the AC socket that the MacBook Pro is plugged into; for others, it will be due to a defective power adapter, or not using the three-prong AC cable that comes with the power adapter; for others, it will be due to faulty Airport circuitry or its antenna causing radio frequency emissions to leak into the metal case. Some people may have more than one of these problems, and there may be other causes as well.
- My issue is a little bit different: When I move my hand over the metal surface (on the screen or keyboard part), it feels like the mac is vibrating. But only when moving the hand, not when just touching it. Also it only happens for me when the powercable is plugged off and the Mac runs on battery.
Heat
- Users have reported extreme heat issues. Heavy load on the MacBook Pro can make the machine hot to the touch. It is possible to burn yourself if your skin is sensitive to heat. Apple's tech support line will inform you that this machine is *not* meant to be used on your lap, hence it being called a "notebook". Apple has stated that it can not guarantee the machine will run within specifications if used on your lap.
- The strip of metal above the FN keys at the top of the keyboard becomes unreasonbly hot.
- The area of the MacBook just below the keyboard becomes hot to the touch.
Heat-related Keyboard/Trackpad Issues
- After using the laptop for a while (1+ hours), then rebooting, the keyboard and trackpad will cease to function. The problem resolves itself if the computer is allowed to cool off.
- The problem is more common when the battery is being charged.
- The problem is due to a break that develops in the ribbon cable connecting the keyboard and trackpad to the logic board. This is most likely a result of pinching from the walls of the battery housing due to heat induced expansions or external pressure. Replacing the ribbon cable solves the problem. The ribbon cable is packaged with the topcase replacement part from apple.
Improperly applied thermal grease
- This is how much thermal grease Apple recommends applying to the MacBook Pro logic board.
- Users have reapplied the thermal paste properly (using far less than what Apple is suggesting) and reported extreme temperature drops. It should be noted, that if you attemp to reapply thermal grease you will void your warranty with Apple. This link describes the process: Wayback Machine's archive of Something Awful forum's guide to reapplication of thermal paste. (Original link is dead.)
The basic fix is to remove all the old thermal paste, then usually to apply a thin layer to just the tops of the three chips, using a high-quality thermal paste such as Arctic Silver 5. But as Xypher's post below points out, some MacBook Pros may have too THIN a layer of thermal paste on at least one of these chips, since part(s) of the heat sink may not make good contact with the chip, requiring a thicker layer sometimes than what even Apple applies.
Before and After
- Pictures of an opened MacBook with too much Thermal Paste:
- Temperature readings before reapplication of Thermal Paste and After:
Before: 
After: 
Mooing Fans
- The MacBook Pro has a fan just below the right side of the keyboard which has problems properly engaging. It will start up, and then immediately stop, over and over again. The resulting sound is best described as a "moo".
- Listen to The Moo
Humming Fans (C2D)
So far I only heard this on the newer C2D MBPs with their new fans rotating at 2000rpm. This sound is not constant. It appears for about 2-3 seconds with "silence gaps" of about 3-5 seconds. it sounds like one (or both) fans are producing some form of resonance. I used the tool "fan control" to check if this changes at a different speed. Setting them to 1700rpm nearly solves this issue. Setting them to about 2500rpm makes the humming go too, but of course the fans are louder then. So far I confirmed this issue on 5 MBPs (only C2D). I checked the serial numbers of some humming and some non humming mbps...the humming ones have production date year 2006 week 46 production number within week < 9000. the non-humming one has a production number within week > 11000
MacBook Pro 1.83 Fan noise- DIY repair
It is possible to completely silence fan noise (and in some cases even revive a failed fan) on older MacBook Pros. The fan noise comes from grease wearing off of the fan spindle. To repair it yourself:
Tools needed:
- Torx T-9 and Phillips #00 (or #000) screwdriver - RadioShack 640-2973
- Grease - RadioShack 640-2301
Steps:
- remove the offending fan, as shown in many online tutorials;
- remove the two #000 Phillips screws holding the fan into the fan's metal case;
- pull the fan blade off. It is held in place magnetically, so this does not cause damage. (See notes below)
- apply a tiny amount of grease to the fan's spindle. This "spindle" is the short metal shaft sticking out of the black fan assembly.
- Reassemble.
This works perfectly!
Notes:
- You must use a lot of force to remove the fan from its magnetic base.
- While the entire fan can be safely removed from its magnetic base without damage, the individual blades on the fan are extremely fragile. Be especially careful not to break any fan blades when removing the fan from its magnetic base.
- Make sure you lift straight up when removing the fan from its magnetic base. If you try to lift at an angle you will bend the base or brake a blade.
- Be careful not to bend the thin aluminum case you need to remove the fan from. Otherwise when you reassemble the fan, the blades will scrape across the other side of the casing, slowing or stopping it.
- The fans may spin loudly for the first 30-60 seconds after being re-assembled and installed, but should quiet down after that.
Melting MagSafe Adapter
- Users have reported MagSafe adapters to get so hot they begin to melt and burn, causing damage to the adapter and the laptop it is plugged into.
- Even with the old iBooks, the chargers had problems fraying. Other 3rd-Party companies, such as MacWizards offer better quality chargers, but they will reduce the battery life per charge. Not such a great tradeoff. THe key is to not over-charge your Macbook Pro.
Swollen Battery
Here's a case of a MacBook Pro with a swollen battery. The battery had swelled and had even separated some to the point where it was pressing up on the underside of the track pad area causing the button not to work.
Hissing LCD
- At the bottom of the display (near the vent area) there seems to be a high-pitched hissing noise, presumably (?) emanating from the LCD (as the sound is consistent from one end of the lid to the other).
Uneven LCD
- The bottom of the LCD is noticeably brighter than the rest of the display, with a translucent white stripe (no affiliation to the band) stretching from one end to the other. In addition, dark corners have been reported at the bottom of the 17" screen (resembling triangular shadows). Seeing this too on the 15" Core 2 Duo, both on the initial delivery _and_ the replacement.
- A dark vertical band or shadow appears across the middle of the 15" LCD screen. This can be fixed by applying pressure on the outside of the top case (press the Apple symbol inwards gently).
Band in LCD
- At the bottom of the LCD an band appears. MacBook Pro is unusable under any OS.
- This is not a video card problem (tested on external monitor)
- The MacBook Pro is 18 months old.
- There is a Thread here about people having same problem : link http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6698227
- I found the issue and repair it for 1 cent !!!
- 1 - Disassemble the screen as explained on ifixit
- 2 - Disassemble the LCD (remove the two screws at the bottom) and gently remove the aluminium case, see link http://www.scribd.com/doc/8237/macbookpro
- 3 - On the left, there is a small black band (PU foam, about 1 mm thick by 5 cm long and 5 mm wide) that seems to press on LCD connectors. Make
that band thicker and longer to reestablish the connection - I used two layers of cut out piece of a bicycle tube
- 4 - That's it !! A repair for 1 cent ... againts Apple SAV full screen replacement .. 1000$+ !!!
Blue, Turquoise, or Red Lines Down Screen
- There are lines down the screen resulting in extremely annoying artifacts when trying to view pictures. This is especially prevalent in Time Machine because of its graphics.
- This is accompanied by a buzzing sound from the upper right corner of the laptop near the Esc key. It is probably a fan rubbing against the LCD cable.
- The sound and pattern changes based upon the screen position.
- This happens most during the morning, when the laptop is cold.
- I have not abused this laptop in any way.
Here are some pictures. The first is in Time Machine. The second is in System Preferences.
- Update: This problem has gone away. Very weird...
- Another experience of the same problem: After my machine being on battery and on standby, it started having black and red intermittent lines just like the pictures above. I tried restarting, and then tried restarting into BootCamp to see if it was OSX related and Windows had the same problem. It seems it is most visible is just 'off-black' colours, but not black. This is really worrying.
- I'm experiencing the same problem. I have mostly the Red/Pink stripes (like on the photos). I to had a period when it went away. Now it just shows up and goes away, but mostly I have only a little distortion on the screen. It shows up only on some shades of luminosity, for ex. on the shades made by windows in OS X when the background is white. On very dark places, almost dark sometimes (not so often as the red ones) appear greenish stripes. In my opinion this must be a failure of the LCD of some kind. The graphics card should be OK because when i plug in a external display (any kind of display, LCD, CRT or TV) the picture is normal. I'm going to change the LCD in the MBP so when i know if its the LCD or not I'll let you know. (It could be also possible, although in my opinion it is very unlikely, that it is a mechanical damage on the video cable)
I tried it with a different display, and it looks like it has to be the video card chipset because the pink stripes appeared on the new screen to. The interesting thing is that now, when i screwed my Macbook Pro back together the screen works normal. The only think that i changed is that I removed the tape that that held the video cable on the right side of the motherboard. I thought it might influence the chip on witch it was. I assumed it was one of the Video Card chips and it might influence the cooling of the chip. I also pushed the video cable harder into the slot on the motherboard.
- Video of the problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz7V5J8XG68
Someone else on a polish Apple forum, myapple.pl had the same problem, so I adviced him to remove the tape holding the video cable onto the logic board and clean the video cable slot and push it in again harder and it worked in his case also, so it is almost 100% sure that it is the video cable slot, you need to clean it or just push the cable harder into the slot. Yeah!!!
Big dot on LCD
- Dot bigger than one pixel appear after few day of use, and this is very annoying specially at this area, and this doesn't seem to be a dead pixel.
[NOTE: Seems to be internal LCD leakage. My MBP started with a 1-pixel "dark dot" and, 1 month later, it covered 6 pixels in a 3-by-2 pixel rectangle] -Frosty
- My MBP 17" has the exact same problem. I have about six of these dots on my screen.
My previous PB G4 17" suffered from mysterious colored vertical lines on the screen. How lucky can you get?
Growing crystal failure
- Without any influence some crystals inside the LCD seem to be broken and this failure spreads over the display.
- Day 2:
- Day 3:
- Day 7:
- Day 9:
Scrambled display
- After 2-3 hours of work, the display is scrambled
[Felix] 11.10.08 - Apple has released a tech note yesterday which suggests that these errors are related to a defective Nvidia graphics chip.
"If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.". Also, refunds are offered to those who have already paid for repairs related to this issue.
See MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues
-> the logic board has been replaced by apple: ok now
[Xypher] Actually, I think I know exactly what the problem is. My own MacBook Pro C2D 2.16, the fans ran constantly. I am a certified technician so I brought it into my shop and pulled it apart, and realized that the thermal paste was not coming in contact with the northbridge at all. I re-applied a good layer of OCZ Ultra 5+, sealed it up, same thing. Same thing was occuring. Then, I put on a thick layer (onto just that chip) of the Sin Etsu crap Apple sends us, and low and behold (after using 1.5x as much as I should have) it worked beautifully. I think the problem is simply that there was not enough thermal paste on the GPU so it was not contacting the heat pipe, causing it to overheat. The problem isn't a defective logic board. It was just that the thermal interface was bad. I know this is it because otherwise it would have been happening constantly.
I can tell however that you have a first-gen CD MacBook Pro, so I think the problem is the opposite, too fucking much thermal paste. Just my $0.02
[Xypher] Yep, my appologies, I noticed only after I posted that, that there was a status circle to the right of the webcam, in which case it is a CD and not a C2D, so yep, I would have to agree that there was too fucking much thermal paste.
01.12.07 - my macbook display goes berserk within a few minutes of turning it on. the display literally scrambles and looks like white noise, like an old black and white movie that's fallen off the reel. it looks like this:[[1]] this problem happens every time, within 20 minutes of restarting the computer (which gets rid of the problem) when my MB is hooked up to a another monitor. there is no rhyme or reason for the scrambling, and i'm not doing the same action every time. interestingly, while the display on the macbook is scrambled, the computer works, and the second monitor remains clear. it requires a reboot to fix it temporarily but it always comes back. my macbook is not under warranty.
![[1]](http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3276jo7.jpg){kind=link}
[Schnoberts] 03.03.08 - i had the same thing occur, though the screen locked up as well and the logs said:
Mar 3 18:53:16 zzzz-macbook-pro kernel[0]: NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel timeout! Mar 3 18:53:41 zzzz-macbook-pro kernel[0]: NVChannel(GL): Graphics channel exception! status = 0xffff info32 = 0x3 = Fifo: Unknown Method Error
I then had the display lock up (no scrambling, but this time I was also using a second monitor) with the same log errors 6 days later.
Macbook Pro 2.4 ghz - purchased 27.02.08.
Horizontal lines, Distorted graphics, Triangled Color Gradients leading to System hangs thru Damaged GPU ATI X1600
- Many Users experienced a effect of "Distorted Video". For short it looks like this:
or that:
and it causes your system to hang after a while.
- it's your ATI X1600 GPU, if you are affected
- The errors you see are stored in your graphics in your memory. They created by your damaged GPU you even can drag and screenshot them
- your GPU is damaged and the only solution: Replace your Logicboard, we experienced by other users with AppleCare
- the problem, is well known by us but ignored by apple: (link to apple discussions display anomalies)
-> http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1697470&tstart=0
- there is a similar Problem about that with NVIDIA GPU's in this case apple is replacing your board for free?
-> http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377
- it's heat related but it occurs at 50, what shouldn't be.
- this problem is getting worse and if you have some pixels first, the lines, system hangs and colored triangles will follow later on, be sure
- answer from mac genius are 'replace motherboard' no further detailed information. If you don't have AppleCare, a Original Note from AppleCare: "Buy a new Mac"
- If you are affected and may don't know it yet: First error you will see is a single green pixel, which you can drag around if it appears in a window
- there is a online petition where you can sign if you are affected. They are trying to fix this up for us, go here:
-> http://petition.theatypical.net/
Intermittent video output for 30" Apple Cinema Display
- After 2-3 hours of work with a 30" Cinema Display attached, the display intermittently goes black for a fraction of a second. This repeats more and more frequently until the display stays black. Increasing fan speed seems to reduce but not eliminate the problem: the display "blinking" will still eventually occur. The problem does not occur at all with a 20" Cinema Display. The problem occurs with 23" Cinema Display too. Is it possibly related to the dual video output of the 30" display?
- Possibly related problem: Google Earth shows partially scrambled images, which Google Earth community forums seem to consider as graphics driver problems.
I actually have a similar problem to this. I have a MBP 17" and the LCD often DIVIDES / Breaks diagonally into little squares (bout 10x10px) evenly once it's awake from its sleep, the fan is blowing hard, the computer is in heat and it crashes. The only way for me to make it over is to press the off button (forced it to shut down) Any Idea what causes this? I notice more often it happens after I leave ut uncharged for a while (battery low) or after I travel with it while it's asleep.
Funny thing is it happened to my dad's mac book pro 17th too! I took mine to an Apple service center and now the problem has got worsen!... now everytime I turn on the laptop the question marked folder appear for bout 5 sec.. then it shows the scrambled screen then it boots the OS... Anyone please help!!!
(misza)
Defective Batteries, Battery Recalls, etc
- Many MacBook Pro batteries are defective or buggy, some were even quietly recalled. Some batteries don't hold a full charge, some discharge unreasonably quickly, and some inappropriately cause CPU shutdown at lower battery life (between 28% and 33%).
Jason O'Grady from powerpage.org and ZDNet discusses both the "33% bug" and quiet recall of batteries in detail at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=209 and http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=189 respectively.
Battery Damage caused by heat
- Excessive heat from the MacBook Pro can cause the battery to fall apart. If you experience this please shut off your machine and call Apple Tech Support, as it can be very dangerous.
- Swollen Battery
Blown Speakers
- The speakers on the MacBook often sound like they are blown, particularly the left speaker. The defect is quite noticeable if you reboot the machine with the volume turned all the way up. The Apple startup sound will cause the speaker to pop and crack everytime.
Random Shutdown
- MacBook Pro users have reported random shutdowns. Users have reported good success in getting these machines repaired or replaced. It is thought that heat and/or a bad motherboard causes the problem.
- In at least one case, using a 15" MBP, a user went to Control Panel > Energy Saver and set it back to the defaults. The user had set it to Never put the computer to sleep, and hasn't had a shutdown since it was set it back to the 10-minute default.
Charged Battery, but MBP shuts down when unplugged
- This just started happening to me a few hours ago. My original battery wasn't keeping its charge, but had too many cycles to qualify for the replacement program, so my current battery is new. OSXHints contains a thread for this specific issue, so it would appear to be widespread (one Apple CRT claims to have fixed dozens of these). The upshot: Take it to your local Apple store or repair shop.
Underclocked ATI graphics
- Apple has underclocked the ATI X1600 graphics chip from ATI's recommended speed of 475MHz to 310MHz (35% slower) and the graphics memory chip from 470MHz to 278MHz (45% slower) presumably to reduce the temperature.
Poor Build Quality
Warped casing
The design of Powerbooks and MacBook Pros are such that even the slightest misalignment of the internal components can cause the casing to bend up. This is most noticeable around the hinges and trackpad areas. Also, the (LCD) lid may be warped, preventing it from closing evenly. Apple will replace products with warped/defective cases if you ask them to (normally within 14 days of delivery).
Loose lid hinges
Loose lid hinges are another common problem with MacBook Pros. Due to the weight of the lid, tilting such a computer forward more than (around) causes the lid to fall shut, effectively preventing use in a reclined position. (If you're a DIY kind of person, go to http://www.radtech.us/Products/Glides.aspx and get one of their Glide kits which let you manually adjust the display hinge tensioning- instructions included.)
flickr photoset of warped MacBook Pro lid
Photo of warped case
Photo of crooked eject key
= Loose case screws =
Every month or so, and anytime you notice that the keyboard surround/wrist support seems to become somewhat detached from the lower case, you need to get hold of a tiny philips (star) head jeweller's screwdriver and go round the case, retightening each and every screw. There are four on each side. If you don't do this, eventually the screws are likely to fall out without your noticing. WARNING: Just tighten to pinch tightness, don't over torque or you'll bust the screwhead and/or possibly scratch your case when the screwdriver slips out of the screwhead.
=Scratched / corroded wrist support area around mousepad ===
This seems to be a problem common to early MBPs, and I've seen references elsewhere saying it had to do with the heat issue. If you take off your watch whenever you're typing you'll at least not add to the problem.
Faulty keyboard
Randomly dropping letters while typing makes the machine unbearable, especially for commercial use, due to time wasting text corrections. New MBPs seem more affected than older machines. Bluetooth keyboards work fine. Replacements seem to show the same problem, partly because Apple's stock of replacement parts is from the same stock Apple uses for assembly of complete MacBook Pros, and partly because the cause in some MacBook Pros is a software bug, so Apple has yet to come up with a fix for this. It is likely that many users haven't realized yet that it is a problem with their machine and not with their style of typing.
The problem has been discussed at length since July 2007 without any helpful response from Apple as of today, the 10th of Nov 07. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1036890&start=0&tstart=0
Corrosion on MBP Topcase
This issue is due to the material used in the casing. It has nothing to do with electric shocks, but rather a chemical reaction between the skin and aluminum. A small number (from my reading ~1.5%) of people have acids in their sweat that eat away at aluminum. This is called "aluminum pitting."
- Simply look at the images below and see how my MBP is looking now... what a shame, I'll try to get my money back. In reality its worse than on the second picture... it covers an area of about 4,5*5cm (equals appr. 1.8*2 inch) --ceUs
- I also have a VERY minor case of this corrosion. I believe it is caused by the Electric Shock from MBP mentioned above (1.1.5). In my case the corrosion is just above the DVD drive where my wrist rests during trackpad use. The electric earthing causes a tingle on my wrist and I'm guessing the tiny "sparks" eat away at the aluminum.
- This problem started to form within days of my MBP being brand new. Right now the spots cover every area where my palm rests on the left side. Here is a ghetto picture somewhat depicting it. I also have not experienced the shocks people have been speaking of.
Kernel Panics due to Wireless Driver
- It appears the Wireless driver can randomly cause kernel panics on the MacBook Pro, heavily discussed on Apple's own discussion boards: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2447525#2447525
Wifi signal drops
- a bunch of us are having horrible problems with the Wifi dropping out (in Windows and OS X). You'll surf fine for 20 second and it pauses for a minute then BANG the pages load and you're good for another 20-30 seconds.
I agree! Sometimes the wireless connection becomes unusable! I was able to narrow this down to pinging my wireless access point. (This eliminates the randomness of the internet.) Sometimes I have about 20% to 40% lost packets. When the package is not lost entirely, the roundtrip time for packets from the mbp is statistically longer than from my other wireless computers. I have run this test not only on my personal wireless network, but also on four other unrelated wireless networks. I have checked and eliminated the obvious, like interference from neigboring WiFi networks. However, I could not duplicate the problem at the local Apple store.
GiredHoon 21:49, 12 March 2007 (MST) I have been able to identify and isolate this problem on my earlyish MacBook Pro. This is 100% due to overheating. I often use my MBP closed with a KB/mouse and monitor. Long story short, blowing a fan combined with elevating the MBP off the table solves this. If the MBP remains flat to the desk its underside will get super hot and is directly related to the number of packets being dropped. This took months between multiple wireless APs, different antennas and control computers but I am confident in this causal relationship. I have a feeling the heat is not enough to cause system wide failure, but rather localized to the airport, perhaps this is in such a "sweet spot" the fans fail to compensate. I'll be on the phone to Apple support or in an Apple store tomorrow and will attempt to follow up. Replication on demand may become a problem...
- Check if both fans are running (AHT will tell you if there's a problem). See if increasing the fan speed (with smcFanControl for example) can alleviate the problem. Simon 00:39, 13 March 2007 (MST)
- I can concur with the heat issue. I normally use my MBP while plugged in to mains and on my stainless steel bench (perfect heat sync). If I unplug it and move over to my coffee table, it starts dropping in and out of the wireless network almost immediately. Default settings seem to slow fans on battery power, so the MBP is less efficient at cooling while on batteries. Shame, but I guess the MBP is a fairly hefty piece of kit, so for true portability I should have gone for the smaller unit. Other than this problem (and the clicking fan under the delete button) my MBP has been excellent! Rstichno 21:27, 20 November 2007 (AEST)
Headphone Jack microswitch failure
- There appears to be an issue with the headphone jack thinking it has an optical connector plugged in which causes speaker output to fail and the digital red beam inside the jack stays lit. see http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2117797� for more details.
Broken Vertical Blue Lines Appear Down Display
- It would appear this is temperature / humidity related: in colder/damper ambient conditions broke blue lines appear running down the display. They're faint and look something like iron filings lined up along a magnetic field, making the picture appear "dirty" with a blue tint (this is not the well documented blue tint problem). Now that it's November, I cannot get rid of the blue lines. Anyone else seen this?
-Verfied (seperate user to original poster). This has happened twice to my MacBook Pro (late 2007), both under high humidity/temperature conditions. The 2nd time, the right blower fan (the same side as the GPU) had failed causing the GPU to sit around the 80 degree mark, not under load. Replacing the fan helped relieve the issue.
- This appears only on the laptop's display (at least for me) and not on an external VGA display using Apple's adapter.
- (A grey line in the menu bar is normal, it is part of the GUI)
I hate these blue lines. I have had them from about a week after I got my MacBook Pro (Jan 2008, 2.6Ghz) . I can never replicate it at the apple store, hence they will never do anything to fix it. I get them about 80% of the time I use the laptop. Seems even more often when its plugged into an external monitor. Makes this laptop useless for doing graphics work. I MISS MY POWERBOOK! I would give anything to get rid of this and get back my old powerbook.
-- Jason Perr, ACN, Apple Certified Trainer Final Cut Pro.
Super Sensitive Lid Sensor
- There seems to be an issue with some lid sensors where they are overly sensitive and a closed Macbook Pro will wake from sleep when bumped gently or picked up. This issue is apparently more common in the 17" variant and usually requires some pressure on the lid to notice. My 15" was supposedly the worst example of it my local apple service centre had seen. In my case, the problem was tracked down to a fault in the top case and after it was replaced it disappeared.
ATI x1600 Graphics & Windows/Boot Camp
- When running any guest operating system (Windows Vista or XP, or even Ubuntu etc!) C2D Macbook Pro with the mobility x1600 graphics chipset displays green/blue fuzz across the screen. Originally it was only present after waking the computer from sleep, but after EFI 1.4 update it is now present constantly. Apple "support" say it's a software problem, even though it shows on everything but Mac OS X, and only shows on the built in display (external displays do not show the problem). It could possibly be related to Apple using substandard LCD's or it could be problems with the ATI chipset, it all depends if Apple used the cheap lcds in the newer models with the Nvidia chipset, which doesn't appear to show this issue. There have been multiple threads on Apple forums about this issue which have been deleted, censored or locked down.
I've got the same problem, but I haven't got the cure for it. Could anybody help me with that? Could anyone fix his or her MacBook pro after this problem?
Headphone Out Static Noise and Pops
- The headphone audio output in some computers exhibits significant noise and random R2D2-like sound effects. Sound activation is also preceded by a loud pop as is sound system deactivation. Problem first reported mid-2007 and as of May 2008 still persists in the newest models of the MacBook Pro.
- In some of the mid-2007 Macbook Pros, there have been problems with the optical/analog audio toggle switch getting jammed. This problem may be indicated by a red light, which sends the optical signal, out of the headphone port, failure to activate internal speakers, or just a problem with sound in the headphones. Forums on the Apple site (probably posted by consumers) say a "toothpick inserted at the 7'o clock position will fix the switch error."
- Another problem that some have had is a ringing noise in the right internal speaker, with no other sound coming out of it (even during the chime at boot). It goes away when headphones are inserted, but proceeds even when the audio is muted. This is not a software issue, as far as can be seen. Apple phone services do not understand the problem and recommend it be taken in for service. It's the best idea for those with warranty. For the rest of you, it is a loose wire or contact on the inside. A good sound smack, as any caveman instinct would cause you to do, does the trick for a while. You might want to open it up, if you have any experience with these computers, and solder it right up.
chronological (by first post) discussions of the problem
- 06-10-2007 Review: MacBook Pro (15" LED):
- 06-19-2007 Apple - Support - Discussions - Hisses, crackles and high-pitched tones ...:
- 07-16-2007 Macbook Pro Headphone Noise at xijio::blog:
- 07-31-2007 Apple - Support - Discussions - popping speakers ...:
- 08-02-2007 MacBook Pro and Sound - decremental melody:
- 08-03-2007 Hissing with macbook and earphones - Notebook Forums and Laptop Discussion:
- 08-16-2007 headphone out static - Mac Forums:
- 08-19-2007 MacBook Pro Audio Output Quality - ehMac.ca:
- 10-05-2007 DM Blog ~ MacBook Pro Problems:
- 10-27-2007 Macbook Pro Audio Out Headphone Noise - Mac - Apple:
- 11-12-2007 Apple - Support - Discussions - Popping Noise is BACK! Leopard 10.5 + ...:
- 12-22-2007 Apple - Support - Discussions - Static noise from laptop ...:
- 01-17-2008 Apple - Support - Discussions - audio noise when using DVI out ...:
- 02-28-2008 Does the Penryn Macbook Pro the hissing/popping audio issue like the SR MBP? - Mac Forums:
- 03-03-2008 Apple - Support - Discussions - Headphone noise,oscillation.beeping, ...:
- 03-19-2008 Apple - Support - Discussions - Various audio problems with macbook pro ...:
- 03-22-2008 Apple - Support - Discussions - Macbook Pro '08 - noisy headphone out ...:
- 08-07-2008 Apple aware of issue