Apple Will Repair New MacBook Airs With Faulty Logic Boards For Free

Viswamitra Jayavant - Jul 12, 2019

Apple once more found a problem in its Mac line-up, this time with its new 2018 MacBook Air when some refused to power on at all. A free repair programme was issued.

Apple has had a very bad couple years with its Mac line-up. Not only the Macs are losing their luster amidst a very competitive market, they constantly run into technical problems. So bad were the recent MacBooks that quite a lot of class-action lawsuits had been filed to get Apple to acknowledge and fix the various issues, particularly with the ‘Butterfly keyboard’ that seem to jam or break-down at the slightest hints of dust or debris.

This is just one of the myriad of problems that MacBooks have faced in the last three years. Two weeks ago, the company issued a public recall of the older 15-inch MacBook Pros due to “fire risk.”

2018 Macbook Pro 02 100764569 Large — Apple is taking hits from customers for bad keyboard design, faulty screen. And now a public recall is underway for 'fire risks' with the MacBook Pros.

And now the brand new, completely re-designed MacBook Air is quite literally not turning on.

The company has acknowledged (After quite a lot of frustration and outrages from its customers) that “a small number” of 2018 13-inch Retina MacBook Airs were shipped with faulty logic boards and started a free repair program. Some customers reported that when they got their brand-new MacBook Air, instead of feeling happy with their purchase, everything went downhill quickly when the device refused to power on.

527011 Macbook Air 2018 — Some of the new MacBook Air flat out refused to power on.

So if you’re the unfortunate owner of a faulty MacBook Air, heading to the nearest Apple Store and you will be able to get it fixed for free.

The logic board acts as the 'brain' of the computer, and according to Apple documentation, the problem seems to stem from parts of the board responsible for "power." The company did not go into the specifics and refused to make comments about it.

2018 Macbook Air Logic Board — The 2018 MacBook Air's logic board.

It seems like the problem exists on a batch scale, as they know the serial numbers of those that are affected and had sent emails to the owners to let them know about the program. Inside of the mail are instructions to take their device to an Apple Store or an Authorised Service Centre to get the logic board fixed for free. Reports also suggest that the program will cover the affected machines for four years from the computer’s original purchase date.

The program is still relatively new, so it has yet to be listed on Apple’s “Exchange and Repair Extension Programmes” section.