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My lid doesn't close evenly
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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I experienced this sort of uneven resting and lid closing on several MacBooks over the years. I was/remain quite certain the machines were never wrenched, knocked or twisted to the brutal extend that the chassis or lid would deform. More careful measurements on each chassis revealed that the lower cases were out of square, out of flat. The issue turned out to be swollen batteries, revealed when I took them apart. It doesn't take much deformation to make them look and feel weird.
How much higher? It's a 5 year old laptop, so I wouldn't worry about it if it's not a large gap.
Be careful trying to straighten it yourself, as any twisting motion on the screen may crack it.
Be careful trying to straighten it yourself, as any twisting motion on the screen may crack it.
I checked for this. It does not look bent or warped anywhere. The screen and base look straight
It's not much higher, but you can see it. If I just press down a couple times then it closes fully
My battery does not give full day worth of use anymore but still decent. I can leave it unplugged for a good bit before needing to charge. Long enough to sit in a coffee shop if I wanted and finish a coffee while browsing the web
I think the point that @ipaqrat was trying to make, is that a swollen battery could adversely affect keyboard, trackpad functionality, but also cause some case deformation. And indeed the lithium ion battery can still hold charge, but produced gases could still cause the swelling concurrently. It's actually quite easy to rule out just by removing the lower lid for a visual inspection and all you need is a P5 pentalobe screwdriver. Perhaps just make sure that's indeed the correct size prior to ordering one.
Here is just a random photo of what swollen batteries will look like. Normally these are flat and relatively squared off but you can see how rounded/ swollen they can become.
@Alpha Centauri is right. Pardon my omission: In each of my affected machines, the batteries still functioned, and the laptops remained generally operational. I used my warped laptops as they declined in their old age, though I would have fixed/replaced them if I'd known, then, what we now know about the volatility of LiPo batteries, i.e., the elevated risk of fiery explosion.
Be judicious taking apart a Mac with a warped case, even if it's just the lower cover. It might not go back together, especially if it's the swole-battery issue. The panels might not be simply twisted or bent, they might be stretched, and will contract when disassembled. Macs are so precisely machined, that even the teensiest divergence can ruin it.
If you suspect the swole-battery issue, consider just using Apple for the repair, if they're still capable. It will be expensive, but they should make short work of it. I used to charge right into DIY repairs, but now I attempt repairs only on gear I don't mind destroying.
If you suspect the case is simply warped, or the hinges or screen simply out of rack, then consider just living with it. Trying to bend it back might do the fatal damage, unless you strip the case down to bare metal. THAT is a daunting, error-prone chore, akin to working on wristwatches - for which one can at least still get parts.
Be judicious taking apart a Mac with a warped case, even if it's just the lower cover. It might not go back together, especially if it's the swole-battery issue. The panels might not be simply twisted or bent, they might be stretched, and will contract when disassembled. Macs are so precisely machined, that even the teensiest divergence can ruin it.
If you suspect the swole-battery issue, consider just using Apple for the repair, if they're still capable. It will be expensive, but they should make short work of it. I used to charge right into DIY repairs, but now I attempt repairs only on gear I don't mind destroying.
If you suspect the case is simply warped, or the hinges or screen simply out of rack, then consider just living with it. Trying to bend it back might do the fatal damage, unless you strip the case down to bare metal. THAT is a daunting, error-prone chore, akin to working on wristwatches - for which one can at least still get parts.
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