I now have a crooked MBP :(

While rushing to catch a plane, my computer bag, which was sitting on top of my carry on, flew to the ground. With my luck, the computer bag did not lend on its face or on its back; instead, one of the corners hit the ground and I heard a loud "thump". At that point, I already knew what happened.

Below is the description of the damage. I'll upload pictures when I get back home from the conference (connected through my tethered Nokia E71 at the moment).

When I removed the computer from the bag, I realized that the left-top corner took the hit. Unfortunately, this seems to be the weakest point of the unibody design with the port openings and the speaker holes on the 15" MBP. The ethernet port is the most damaged. It was squished pretty badly and the left speaker had a bulge. While at the gate, I just pushed down the bulge on the speaker and it went down quite a bit. In addition, I pulled up the top edge of the ethernet port and it moved up a bit as well. Currently, the shape of the ethernet port is not a perfect rectangle, but rather a bit trapezoid The last piece of this little saga is the lid. Unfortuantely, the lid is pushed from that corner about a mm to the rigth. So, looking from the top when the screen is closed, I can see a mm of the bottom portion on the left side, and there is a 1 mm screen hang over on the right side. The opening/closing feels as tight as before, and there is no friction. Luckily, no damage to the glass/screen.

Surprisingly, everything seems to be working so far. The magsafe adapter fits and charges -even though there is a 0.5-1 mm gap between the tip and the charger now. I haven't tried inserting an ethernet cable yet, but I'll have to make it more rectangle before it can actually accommodate one... Once I am back home, I'll remove the bottom cover and try to push everything down as much as I can and take some before-after shots.


Now, after the long description -due to lack of pictures- here's my question: If I wanted to replace the unibody frame, how much would that cost me at an Apple location, as well as at an authorized repair center? Would the replacement body include the hinges for the screen as well (since the screen is crooked by a mm to the right at the moment).

Thanks for any help in advance, and I hope you'll never experience the initial shock of removing a computer from a bag after it hits the ground. It could have been worse though (I am typing from my "crooked" MBP).

 

Before you get to the point of paying anything, exactly how long have you had your MBP for? And did you buy it on a credit card? If yes and within 3 months, chances are your credit card (most do now) has 'purchase protection' for lost, stolen, accidentally damaged/broken good etc.....

 

Wow, I feel sorry for you in the fact that that happened. You ar lucky in the fact that you didn't have one of the previous Macbooks though, apparently they have some major flexing issues and I'm guessing if you had a previous model some joins would have split. Hey, at least it still works, I wish you best of luck trying to fix the chassis.

 

That's a good suggestion (I always forget about these credit card services). However, this was not purchased with a credit card.

 

If it was a plastic casing, it would have been broken for sure. This was just a very bad angle to hit. The bag has plenty of padding and I never thought that any fall would damage it; however, the corner pretty much passed all the energy to the MBP despite all the padding. I dont think it would have been any different unless it was a hard case.

Right now, I am happy that it still works with some cosmetic defects - given that I can still make the ethernet port somewhat rectangle to accommodate a cable

 

Well.... I managed to get some pictures at small sizes. Here is the damage

impact corner:









left front edge:



right side:



As you can see, the screen "turned" slightly clockwise from the impact corner leaving the chassis exposed on the right side and the left front corner when viewed from the top.

Should I try to get this repaired or just punish myself for not being too careful and use it like this? Of course it all depends how much the fix would be

 

It shouldn't be too hard to fix. It doesn't look all that bad.

 

Lids are expensive, Because it's all one piece, (Screen, iSight, Airport, Bluetooth) And the hinge.

You might want to go and sit on a toilet before clicking this link.
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts...te-2008-Early-2009-Display-Assembly/IF161-001

I'd take it into a Apple store, and see what they say, they might be able to fix it cheaper then DIY.

 

My last powerbook had extactly the same accident, but mine was on the other side, where the ethernet port used to be.

At first I was really annoyed try every single possilbe way to fix it, afterward, in a few month didn't care anymore, as it works...

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll first take it to the university bookstore where it was purchased. At the time, they said that they are an authorized Apple repair facility. Let's see what they'll say. Once I get a figure from them, I'll stop by the Apple store and compare the price and how they'll fix it.

If it ends up being too expensive, I'll take the bottom cover off and try to make the ethernet port more square and use it like that...

What I worry is that if they only offer replacing the chasis, will the screen still be crooked? As I said I dont know how the screen hinges are structured on MBPs.

Thanks again for the replies.

 

According to the following tear down, steps 13 and 14, say that the screen is attached to the upper case by 6 mm Torx screws.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/MacBook-Unibody-Display/781/1

 

Unibody notebooks FTW......

 

Believe me... If this was any other laptop with a plastic casing (let's say a 15.4" Gateway), it would have been in pieces. Years ago my wife dropped her Compaq laptop at a similar angle while at a conference, and I had to superglue at least 15 pieces of plastic in different sizes. Even though there is some cosmetic defects (hopefully fixable when I return), the MBP is fully functional.

If you ask me, it is indeed "Unibody notebooks FTW...."

 

Lol,according to someone else,a say a gateway or dell latitude would be just fine with only maybe a ding or crack in the plastic. I dunno....i'd say my laptop would explode into a million pieces from a mid/high drop.
No matter what notebook it is,its better to spend the extra bucks and get a more rugged case so that the computer doesnt end up damaged.
Youre lucky though that the warp in the MBP case didnt crack the motherboard.

 

aluminum

 

If the ethernet works then I wouldn't even bother fixing it. Nothing major damaged so save the money.

 

tenderidol, I'm really sorry to hear about your MBP accident.

Anyway, I'll appreciate it if you can share with us the cost of fixing your MBP's cosmetic damages.

 

Well I dropped my plastic nx9420 onto hardwood on the corner and it didn't break in anyway.

Ok so I'm cheating because there is a magnesium alloy subchassis underneath

Best of luck in fixing your laptop. Maybe you should consider a case that will better protect your MBP. I'd expect my computer to be pristine inside its case. That's' what they're for aren't they?

 

I have my macbook in a hardcase, but I don't know if even that would've saved it from a corner drop.

I kind of feel that a decent plastic casing would've absorbed the impact a little better if it wasn't super rigid. An aluminum case would definately crumble since it's too rigid to bounce to distribute the force.

 

can't really comment I have the 08 early refresh and to be honest I've dropped it a great number of times but have not yet suffered any problems with it.... I don't have unibody just assumed they'd be more strengthened. Good to get more feedback on this though

 

Thanks again for chiming in guys/gals.

Even though uMBPs feel really solid when you hold them in one hand from any corner, a fall like this shows how the aluminum crumbles under a corner hit even inside a well-padded bag. As I mentioned in the original post, that particular corner with the port openings must be the weakest point (my luck). Then again, everything is functional.

Since everything else around it works and there is no structural damage inside (i.e., all the copper connectors are straight and intact), I assume that the ethernet will work too (crossing fingers). Besides, the housing is there to hold the cable anyways. If I can't get the ethernet port to be square again, I can modify the ethernet cable on my desk to have a slightly trapezoid shape (of course I'll have to carry another one in my bag just in case I need to plug it in somewhere with "regular" ethernet cables) I hope that it wont get to that...

More and more I look at it, I think I am going to use it in its current shape. If something else happens down the road, then I can get it replaced and have a new chassis if necessary. Regardless, I'll ask few places to see what the estimate is going to be...

 

if you got time and a rubber mallet, you can remove the bottom case, invert it on a flat protective surface and gently pound the bottom of the case.

 

that's a nasty bruise.. i read somewhere on macrumors that somebody managed to make his become less awful...try to search for it...

 

I haven't looked for that particular post, but I think I made mine "less awful" after 30 minutes of massaging and gentle push/pull

The last port that I haven't tested (e.g., the ethernet port) worked as well even before I tried to bend its shape to a square. After I removed the bottom panel, I used small, soft plastic tools to "open up" the crushed aluminum on both sides. Luckily -or unluckily in the case of the accident- it wasn't too hard to bend it. Of course, it's not 100% back to what it was before, but I can definitely live with it this way...

Someone mentioned that I was lucky, because the upward movement of the chassis at that corner didn't break the motherboard. After opening the bottom panel, I realized why it didn't happen.... The magsafe connector is on a small, separate circuitry right next to the main board and it is secured by two screws. That particular portion was pushed upwards little bit with the impact, but since it is not continuous with the main board, it didn't break anything.

 

Really?

I've dropped my Thinkpad onto a very hard floor without a scratch

 

same with the M17x the aluminum casing is much thicker then the MBP and i have had mine fall off the bed,couch ,hand .... its invincible

 

It's all about the "angle". Please bring your ThinkPad to me, and I'll drop it exactly the same way I dropped my MBP and we'll see how it holds up.

 

Gladly.

I got accidental protection on mine.

 

Off topic but, surfasb, what is your need/use for a laptop, and 2 additional tablet PCs?

Are you a student? If so, wow, looks like students have more money than they claim...

 

You mean a laptop and three additional tablet PCs. So I can walk around and chat with the lovely assistants, point at something on my tablet and pretend to be working.

And I haven't even listed the desktops....

 

LOL, ya my CF-18 comes in handy for getting noticed and chatting up lovely assistants too.

Glad im not the only one collecting computers

 

You know they also swoon over your good looks.

"The coffee machine is THIS way."

 

I have an 8 year old panasonic toughbook cf-50, I bought it used and it was well used quite a few scuff marks and minor scratches all over it . Since I have had it I have probobly dropped it at least a dozen times on various surfaces, the worst being it sliding off my lap in my truck onto concrete and hitting on one of the sides with no bag or protection just the computer, besides "scuff" marks all over this thing everything works perfectly and is intact, granted its a toughbook it still has "plastic casing".

 

Yeah, we've been down this road before. The plastic Tupperware v tin foil debate.

Then again, Tupperware has gone through formal testing and has proven to be tough. Tin foil on the other hand........

 

I can't claim which to be tougher but you can have a rough idea what it will become depending on what damage was inflicted.
Soft Metal (Aluminium) --> Malleable
Plastic --> Rigid
So you will seldom see dented plastic laptops
Usually they will snap or break but still the shape will be maintain for Aluminium the chances of snapping or breaking could lower but denting is always a possibility.
Nevertheless by rights you should be taking care of the computer so it shouldn't really matter.

 

the anodized aluminum is so easy to get scratched. i envy my friends with their plastic laptops...but when i hold my laptop in my hands, there's no creak and bending..this makes me feel proud of my tin foil..

 

that angle you are talking about will likely not even crack the thinkpad roll cage. it is pretty hard to break. The mac 'feels' stronger but it's not, I have offered to take my thinkpad and smash it against any apple and I still haven't had any takers.

Mac wonderful peice of engineering, but they aren't thinkpads. almost everyone knows this.

 

As many of you know something similar happened to me with my non unibody macbook pro. They told me $600 to replace the bottom casing.

 

True.

The interesting thing is this guy's MBP fell off of a rolling carry on. I'd confidently drop my laptop from the desk and that has more height.

 

Yeah. We all get it know after repeating this 100x times that Thinkpads (or any other PC laptops for that matter) are strong and superior and MBPs are just thin foil, etc etc. It's getting obnoxiously repetitious now. I created a thread to show MBP owners how a fall like mine can damage their computers and was hoping for some repair advice, etc. Instead, which seems to be the usual case in the Apple forum, the thread was filled with people who dont even own a Mac and provided countless comparisons to what would hypothetically happen to their computers, how they are better, etc etc.

I was going to nominate few "non-Mac owner frequent posters" in this thread - and in the Apple forum in general- for the Jervis961's brilliant post, but it's too late now. All the criteria were met perfectly

Just to add one more thing... When I was a at the DELL forums while owning two XPS m1330s, I've seen many posts regarding the built quality -or the lack thereof- of m1330 laptops including the ones I owned... I knew what those issues were, because I received a replacement for one of the laptops after 5 repair attempts and received numerous next day service for the other laptop for problems. I was still happy at the end since the problems were resolved to an extent, and I tried to help people with similar built quality issues, etc. However, during those times, I NEVER saw a Mac owner posting in those threads and saying "well, that's what you get for buying a "high end" DELL computer" or something similar. Keep in mind that this was DELL's $1,200-2,300 lappy at the time, and the models I ordered had $1,900+tax sticker price (of course I paid less than half of that). After I moved to the Apple side, it is amazing to see how many non-Mac owners are active in this forum and take every opportunity to spill their guts. Tells a lot about the personality and the mentality of owners on both camps (I am not generalizing this to everyone; just to few around here).

 

Thanks for your reply (I remember your case and the pictures). I haven't had a chance to get an estimate, but most likely I'll just use it this way - especially, since I corrected most of the bending after removing the bottom plate.

 

We were just rising to the challenge. Not trying to put down anyone. You asked and we delivered. Like friggin Papa Johns baby.

Well, you know, a thread like that would never get started in the Windows forum cause we know better. A bunch of us "non-Mac owners" in fact do own Macs. We just don't advertise every friggin computer we own in our signatures. Just the ones we use most frequently. For example, I have all laptops in my sig. Yet I advertise no desktops. It could mean two things. Either a) I have no desktops, (unlikely for a geek with that many laptops) or b) I have a few desktops but don't bother to list them.

Most of us tend to use the New Post tracker. So we post across forums.

We are here also as a precautionary tale. If don't want a computer that deforms when dropped from a carry-on, there are options. If you want to know the true strength of a "plastic" laptop, we can make a comparison.

 

That statement was made after someone like yourself mentioned how strong his Thinkpad was... I didn't ask anyone to compare their laptops to an MBP.

Well... it is clear that around here you just need to post anything and wait for the non-Mac owners to flood the thread with their "helpful" opinions. I now understand why Mac owners become more defensive over time. As I said I was in the DELL XPS forums without the need to defend myself to a Mac owner when the back panel of the laptop just popped out one day without any force, or when the webcam stopped working at day 3, or when the screen started to have random flashes and was replaced 3 times, or when the DELL technician destroyed the bezel while trying to put it together, etc, etc, etc... It is simply because, nobody from the Mac forums bothered to "post across forums" to point out how inferior that product was for the sake of being there as a precautionary tale.

You've been a member for a while. Where were you to alert other prospective m1330 owners when I was having all those problems, since you mentioned that your comments on the MBP build quality is there to help others? May be you were busy here "helping" Mac owners

 

Oh but I believe you did make comparisons first. I clearly remember these posts when reading through the first time. No response necessary.

In the WNSIB forum. When someone wants to buy a $1000 gaming laptop, PC users don't chime in "Good thing you don't want a Mac, cause otherwise the list would be none!!!!! :laugh:"

Or when someone drops their laptop, no PC users is going to say "Good thing it wasn't a MAC cause otherwise your laptop would be KROOKED!! HAR HAR!!"

PC users are rarely if ever be the antagonists. Just look at our ads versus yours.

Mac users usually don't need to post across forums. You have one forum. Apple here. PC users have HP, DELL(and their 100 sub forums), ACER, GATEWAY, ASUS, LENOVO, WINDOWS, WINDOWS 7, and on and on. So we are left with little choice but to use the New Post function to scour the forums for updates. We don't post across forums out of spite. We do it out of function.

I'm sorry you had to experience an accident with your laptop. No one would wish that on a fellow user. You can try to play the victim here, but clearly you brought the comparisons down on your self buddy.

 

OP has requested that the thread be closed, and since its already turned into a PC v Mac thread, its now closed.