The Tech Bench

MacBook Air with bottom case removed. Arrow shows expanded battery.

This is a first for us.

This is a customer’s MacBook Air whose battery expanded after being left in a very hot car for an extended period of time.

Usually the expanding battery phenomenon shows up in the original MacBook Pros (silver keyboard) and other external batteries. The expanding battery issue is normally caused by overheating of the battery itself, not external heat conditions. But enough heat and time can do this.

While the top case is bent and needs to be replaced, the logic board and other components are fine.

With it hot here and getting hotter, I know I’ll be cracking the window for my laptop this summer.

The MacBook Air is a sleek, beautifully designed laptop except for one thing, the hard drive.

In order to achieve it’s thin proportions, the Air uses a 1.8″ hard drive (most desktops use 3.5″ and most laptops use 2.5″)

1.8″ hard drives can be found in iPods, Zunes, and other ultra portable laptops (Sony T Series.)

What makes this 1.8″ drive even more expensive/ hard to find special is that it is very short (5mm instead of the standard 8mm) and uses different ZIF/LIF connectors depending on the rev. This can make upgrading or replacing the hard drive in the Air difficult.

So what drives and external enclosures work for which MacBook Air?

Rev A MacBook Air (Original MacBook Air)

There are 2 drives that we know will fit and work in the original Air. An 80GB Samsung that we install for $245, and a 64GB Samsung SSD (pictured) that is so expensive, that we don’t offer or recommend purchasing.

These drives are PATA and use the 40 pin ZIF/LIF connector. External enclosures for these can be found here and here.

Rev B and later MacBook Air (Late 2008 to 2009)

There are two drives that we know will fit, a 120GB and a 128GB SSD (available from Apple or AASPs like ourselves.) The interface is a SATA II LIF 1.8″ 5mm and we have not been able to find a compatible external enclosure.

Right now, most 1.8″ connections are proprietary to the laptop manufacturer (Sony and Lenovo use one interface, Apple uses another.) As more and more ultra-portables come to market, we should see some more standardization in the drive height and connectors (more capacity, lower prices.)

In the meantime, we’ll announce when any new MacBook Air compatible drives become available.

[ MacBook Air Repairs & Hard Drive Upgrades ]

Inside of a MacBook Air battery. The top casing has been removed to expose the interior.

The MacBook Air was the first of the current Mac laptop line to incorporate the “built-in” battery design. These newer generation batteries are wide, tall and very flat.

Like previous Mac laptop batteries, these batteries are made up of a a group of smaller packs. In this case, four separate battery packs are connected together.

These newer packs resemble large iPhone batteries whereas previous models looked more like standard “C” batteries.

The MacBook Air battery also incorporates temp sensors which provide not only battery temp, but are used to determine overall system temp as well.

So far these batteries have proven to be very reliable. The above battery was swapped after a liquid spill damaged the controller board.

MacBook Air Late 2008 2nd Generation Logic Board

The inside of a MacBook Air is just as slick as the exterior.

The logic board (pictured above) is small, clean and simple. The integrated RAM, thin heat-sink and short fan add to the low profile of the overall design.

While so far the MacBook Air logic boards have proven to be very stable, we do see quite a few liquid spills which require cleaning and repair. Replacing components on these units takes very precise workmanship. Working on the Air is definitely a tech favorite.

[ MacBook Air Repairs & Upgrades ]

Broken MacBook Air Hinge

The hinges on the MacBook Air can snap if the screen is “opened” too far.

While this might seem obvious, we see quite a few of these were the user states that the hinges snapped with very little pressure.

On older books like the 12″ PowerBook or first MacBook Pros, the hinges are beefier and need quite a bit of pressure before they’ll snap.

On all models of MacBook Air (and Unibody) extra care should be given when increasing the angle of the the screen (especially near the limit.)

In the case of broken hinges on a MacBook Air, we replace the entire upper section as the new upper sections incorporate a design change that strengthens the hinges.

If your MacBook Air’s hinges have cracked, you can select our free diagnostic for service.

Note: Some MacBook Air hinge damage may be covered by Apple even if your Mac is out of warranty. MyService or any AASP can let you know if your MacBook Air is covered for this issue.

[ MyService MacBook Air Repairs ]

A MacBook Air in the process of screen replacement.

MacBook Air’s are a great lightweight Mac laptop. Unfortunately, we see quite a few in with cracked or damaged screens.

The above MacBook Air is getting its LED screen replaced and we thought it was a good time to point out what lies beneath the display bezel.

1. Display Connection – This is the cable that provides the power and signal from the logic board to the LED.

2. Latch Magnets – These allow the Air’s lid to stay shut when closed. There are a set on each side.

3. Ambient Light Sensor (ALS) – This sensor lets the laptop know when the lights are dimmed . The system then lowers the screen brightness and turns on the back-lit keyboard. To turn the backlit keyboard on in a bright room, just place your thumb over the left side of the iSight camera to cover the ALS.

4. iSight Camera - The iSight camera assembly can be seen here with it’s light to the right of the camera.

5. Microphone - The mic assembly can be seen here.

6. Sleep Magnet - The sleep magnet activates sleep mode when the lid is closed. As the magnet gets close to the top case, there is a switch in the top case with two metal flaps that connect when the magnet  is in close proximity, thus putting the machine to sleep. When the lid is opened, the two metal flaps in the sleep switch in the top case re-open (their natural state) and the machine turns back on.

Once the display bezel is removed (a tricky process,) a new LED screen is installed and tested (the point the above Air is in) and the bezel is re-attached. Good as new.

[ MyService Screens Page ]