After receiving the run around concerning the discoloration of select MacBooks, I am now pleased to relay the announcement that Apple admits yellowing is indeed a manufacturing defect.
- May 22nd: Receival of a shiny 2.0GHz white MacBook.
- June 10th: Subtle yellow hue begins to form which I am unable to cleanse with mild soap and water. I discover a small handful of MacBook users suffer from similar luck.
- June 14th: Publicly state on support forums that yellow discoloration has appeared in select areas. in search of a remedy, non-acetone nail polish remover is recommended. Red flag: Why in the world should I need to use a chemical created to remove nail polish on a less than one month old MacBook?!
- June 21st: Receive a ShieldZone Standard kit and apply the protective film to the properly cleansed palm rests and trackpad areas.
- June 25th: Yellowing forms underneath the ShieldZone kit in an area which was once white prior to film application. I immediately publish my findings in hopes that others may benefit from my experience.
- June 25th: Apple removes access to support thread which I create concerning the topic. By the end of the evening, Apple has removed the thread completely preventing any futher discussion. Throughout the day, I fall victim to a barrage of emails from Apple fanatics in an attempt to discredit my post.
- June 30th: Apple admits manufacturing defect.
If a durable plastic film - similar to the protective film applied to automobiles - can not prevent further discoloration on the plastic shell, the discoloration must be a defect of the manufacturing process. The discoloration is not caused by oil or perspiration.
Apple, to a certain extent, I understand the secrecy and censorship of the forum topics. I am aware of the likelihood that manufacturing defects exist. It’s my understanding that Apple Store reps & Applecare specialists are often left out of the loop concerning such matters (until they are made public). For that matter, I will disregard the attempts of employees to pursuade myself into thinking that the discoloration originated from these very hands.
And to those that believed bloggers were completely midleading, vile, and miscreants in their claims concerning yellowing MacBooks, a hat tip to you all. The voices of 30,000+ “bloggers” and commentors concerning an issue effecting a few thousand spoke louder than nothing at all.
11 Comments
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It’s a credit to you Derek that you stuck to your guns. Actually, it was your post that gave this whole issue credence for me. We went ahead and ordered one anyway, and I await any sign of discolouration. I can now feel more confident that should it appear, I have a leg to stand on in approaching Apple for a replacement—thanks to you and other bloggers who stood up despite taking a hammering from the disbelievers. So you have my personal thanks.
The question is, did the one we ordered have the replacement plastic already? It remains disappointing that we have to refer to “reports” of a change in plastics… Apple really should own up and make an official statement. Let’s hope this is forthcoming; it’s the right thing to do.
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They couldn’t cover this up forever, they just played the denial card until they had a solution to play. But its good to see them finally man up and fix this shit.
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I’m happy to hear they coughed it up!
My Apple product woes were temporarily solved yesteday when I got my replacement 30″ ACD without much trouble: 30″ ACD Troubles
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I’m glad that they finally acknowledged there was a problem. Was it really affecting thousands of laptops?
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Who knows what the real stats are. I doubt anyone will ever figure out. Figuratively speaking, the “thousand” refers to any Apple product users that have been kept out of the loop concerning hardware that was not up to par with expectations.
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Receival? Reception?
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Here’s the - hopefully - final follow-up to the entire ordeal.
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