Can I buy a new hinge for my MacBook air?

"After months of living in denial about what many called a serious flaw with the MacBook Air's design, Apple has finally come to their senses with the release of a recent support document. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2948

The support document details symptoms that include: lid not closing completely, broken or cracked plastic near one or both hinges, more than an inch of free play when opening or closing the lid, or the lid falls freely closed from a 30-degree open position.

If your MacBook Air has any of these symptoms you should bring it to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider - even if it is out of warranty and even if you've already paid for these repairs since you might be eligible for a refund."

"I'm not sure if ifixit has the hinges in stock, but I have seen the hinges listed on another site, so it is possible to replace them. the repair involves completely disassembling the LCD display/top lid including use of a sharp knife to separate the display bezel. if you need it, I can give you a link to a video guide with more detail on the procedure

one thing - I read somewhere that Apple acknowledges there were problems with these hinges and in some cases were repairing them even if out of warranty, or giving refunds if you already paid for a repair. See this Apple support document. you said your warranty expired but did you already bring your machine in to them to take a look?"

"APPLE WILL COVER EVERYTHING that is broken even if it's out of warranty!!! I bought my macbook air new in March 2008 and in 2010 my speakers busted and both hinges completely broke. When I mean ""broke"" the right one was complete detached from the base and the left one finally got detached last week (January 2011). The screen went blank and instead of a laptop I had two hunks of junk - a broken screen and keyboard base.

The apple website is no help and don't call customer service because if you don't have an extended service plan they will not help you. Though the website clearly states that the breaking hinges are a FACTORY DEFECT you can't speak to someone unless you have a warranty.

I made an appointment with my local apple store with their Genius Bar service. I explained what happened. They took it and replaced everything at no cost - The clam shell, the sound board, the hinges, and even a new 1.6 GH process/Logic board. I'll be honest I was almost crying when I saw what they did. Heck, they even cleaned it inside and out so it looks brand new. Apple went above and beyond what was broken. For this I am grateful.

I hope this helps. Go to a major market Apple Store like mine in Los Angeles(not a ma and pa or department store) because they'll give you the best (and free) service.

Good luck"

"http://video.answers.com/how-to-replace-...

I have not tried it yet, but here is the link to try and fix it yourself."

"Hi, I believe that the new macbook air is a bit sturdier and they changed the hinge. Hopefully the new hinge does not have problems but you should maybe give it a look on the internet, just to be sure.

Otherwise, I made the repair myself. It costed me about 70€ to get the hinge female part (the part that plugs into the circlips since the axis was ok as it is usually the case) plus the grey plastic. It is much better than 500€ even if I spent 2 hours to fix it following an online video after waiting 1 month to recieve the parts from Hong Kong. The most difficult was to reinstall the grey plastic since I broke a bit the new one but at least the hinge works fine now.

After paying 2100€ for this mac book air when the new model costed only 1700€ with slightly better performances just 15 days later. I say bye bye to mac because they will never see me back!"

Kaye is right ! Apple service has not served me either. I was asked to pay 125 euros to have the mac air hinges replaced. Why should the customers pay for Apple's huge flaw ? I have no intention of paying anything for that. All this nonsense about an out-of-warranty-repair is an outrageous LIE. I have been a mac user since 1989 and still believe in the superiority of Apple machines. Yet, like Eric, I say bye bye to mac, too.