MacBook Air software update targets ongoing freezing issues
Apple this week released a small software update to the MacBook Air's system management control (SMC) that it hopes will put an end to intermittent freezing issues that have plagued some early adopters of the ultra-thin notebook.
Specifically, the 551KB update fine tunes the speed and operation of the Air's internal fan, which is responsible for cooling the machine and preventing instances of overheating.
The fan, according to several users posting to Apple's support forums (1, 2) over the past two weeks, has failed to perform adequately thus far, resulting in random lockups that render the Air unresponsive for periods of about 10 to 15 seconds at a time, if not longer.
In most cases, the intermittent freezing would occur under CPU intensive operations such as digital video playback, downloading content from iTunes, and the use of resource-intensive applications such as Safari or FireFox.
In these instances, the MacBook Air's internal temperature would rise to abnormal levels, causing one of the system's primary processor cores to power down completely. The weight of the operations would then be shifted to the single remaining core, which would be unable to handle the load, eventually causing the systems to stutter and lock up repeatedly.
"I called Apple Customer Service in Italy, they said they knew about the problem, asked me to run some 'resetting' sequences, but the problem is still there," one Air owner wrote last week. "I really think it is a 'overheating' problem, it only happens when running heavy applications, like video playback or video chatting (skype)."
The issue has been particularly troublesome for Air owners who reside in warmer climates, as the surrounding environmental temperatures serve only to compound the overheating problem.
"Same behaviour here with my MacBook Air running 10.5.2," said another Air owner. "Things seens a bit worst to me because I'm in Brazil, São Paulo. This means 86º F is a ordinary day."
Unfortunately, a couple of owners report that they are unable to apply this week's MacBook Air SMC Update 1.0 because their MacBook Airs shipped out of Apple's manufacturing facilities with the update already applied. These users continue to report freezing issues.
"I download the the update but it told me I was already up to date," one said. "Fingers crossed for a fix soon."
Separately on Tuesday, Apple also released via iTunes iPod shuffle firmware version 1.0.4, which addresses a few bugs and enhances support for the just-release 2G version of the player.
Specifically, the 551KB update fine tunes the speed and operation of the Air's internal fan, which is responsible for cooling the machine and preventing instances of overheating.
The fan, according to several users posting to Apple's support forums (1, 2) over the past two weeks, has failed to perform adequately thus far, resulting in random lockups that render the Air unresponsive for periods of about 10 to 15 seconds at a time, if not longer.
In most cases, the intermittent freezing would occur under CPU intensive operations such as digital video playback, downloading content from iTunes, and the use of resource-intensive applications such as Safari or FireFox.
In these instances, the MacBook Air's internal temperature would rise to abnormal levels, causing one of the system's primary processor cores to power down completely. The weight of the operations would then be shifted to the single remaining core, which would be unable to handle the load, eventually causing the systems to stutter and lock up repeatedly.
"I called Apple Customer Service in Italy, they said they knew about the problem, asked me to run some 'resetting' sequences, but the problem is still there," one Air owner wrote last week. "I really think it is a 'overheating' problem, it only happens when running heavy applications, like video playback or video chatting (skype)."
The issue has been particularly troublesome for Air owners who reside in warmer climates, as the surrounding environmental temperatures serve only to compound the overheating problem.
"Same behaviour here with my MacBook Air running 10.5.2," said another Air owner. "Things seens a bit worst to me because I'm in Brazil, São Paulo. This means 86º F is a ordinary day."
Unfortunately, a couple of owners report that they are unable to apply this week's MacBook Air SMC Update 1.0 because their MacBook Airs shipped out of Apple's manufacturing facilities with the update already applied. These users continue to report freezing issues.
"I download the the update but it told me I was already up to date," one said. "Fingers crossed for a fix soon."
Separately on Tuesday, Apple also released via iTunes iPod shuffle firmware version 1.0.4, which addresses a few bugs and enhances support for the just-release 2G version of the player.
Comments
Thin, hot and bewildered!
The iMac revisited.
Graphic glitches in the MacPro ATI 2600 card
Freezes in the same card models.
MacPro nVidia 8800GT slower than ATI 2600 in pro apps
MacBookPro sleep issues.
MacBook flickering display
MacBook trackpad delay
MacBookAir Freezing
iMac 24" (white) displays breaking down (mostly just over the standard one year warranty period)
iMac 20" (alu) condense forming behind the glass cover of the display.
Fifteen years ago you know that your Mac was going to last longer than that was necessary, now a day's you are lucky if you can keep it running for three years! And o o o if you didn't buy AppleCare.
It is a really BIG SHAME. This is going to hurt Apple significantly in the nearby future.
blah blah blah.
Yeah, you really should stop.
New MacPro's don't wake from sleep.
Graphic glitches in the MacPro ATI 2600 card
Freezes in the same card models.
MacPro nVidia 8800GT slower than ATI 2600 in pro apps
MacBookPro sleep issues.
MacBook flickering display
MacBook trackpad delay
MacBookAir Freezing
iMac 24" (white) displays breaking down (mostly just over the standard one year warranty period)
iMac 20" (alu) condense forming behind the glass cover of the display.
No, no, no. That must be wrong. It must be people's imagination. Those things aren't really happening. Haven't you heard? Macs "just work"
now a day's
The word you are after is "nowadays". Whilst I'm on the subject, the plural of "Mac Pro" is "Mac Pros".
New MacPro's don't wake from sleep.
Graphic glitches in the MacPro ATI 2600 card
Freezes in the same card models.
MacPro nVidia 8800GT slower than ATI 2600 in pro apps
MacBookPro sleep issues.
MacBook flickering display
MacBook trackpad delay
MacBookAir Freezing
iMac 24" (white) displays breaking down (mostly just over the standard one year warranty period)
iMac 20" (alu) condense forming behind the glass cover of the display.
Fifteen years ago you know that your Mac was going to last longer than that was necessary, now a day's you are lucky if you can keep it running for three years! And o o o if you didn't buy AppleCare.
It is a really BIG SHAME. This is going to hurt Apple significantly in the nearby future.
I agree wholeheartedly that Apple has serious quality problems. And that they need to fix it before it affects them significantly.
You know what else? Increasingly, Apple's products (even software) seem to be designed for tech geeks rather than for the average user that was attracted to the Mac in the first place. What keeps them going with the latter audience is the continued simplicity of iTunes/iPod/iPhone/iPhoto.
This little piece of genius allows you to undervolt your MBA (less heat, same speed) and throttle the frequency (slow the thing down) when it reaches a pre-determined temperature (I use 75c as my threshold).
Since installing, I'm back into stutter-free HD video while downloading via iTunes.
Can you say, "Apple should be spanked for not getting this in the firmware the first time around?"
They do some things really well, but stuff like this drives me absolutely insane.
New MacPro's don't wake from sleep.
Graphic glitches in the MacPro ATI 2600 card
Freezes in the same card models.
MacPro nVidia 8800GT slower than ATI 2600 in pro apps
MacBookPro sleep issues.
MacBook flickering display
MacBook trackpad delay
MacBookAir Freezing
iMac 24" (white) displays breaking down (mostly just over the standard one year warranty period)
iMac 20" (alu) condense forming behind the glass cover of the display.
and not a thought of a problem with the mini!
SMC Fan Control
Ah ha. And why?
Because Mac's aren't having more problems than before.
How many Macs are effected by the problems you've listed? Do you have those numbers? If yes, I would like to see them so we can really discuss this in a serious matter, without the full picture it is just gossip.
There are 2 further points:
-Macs being sold; more products;more possible problems.
-Apple is always in the spotlight, for good and for bad reasons, if Steve Jobs farts the AAPL index will drop a few points.
Of course Apple should do their best to keep their hardware and software perfect, and I think they manage to do so pretty well compared to other brands.
My MacBook AIR (bought day one) worked perfectly this weekend in the sun in Palm Springs, I did however install the update today, you never know.
--Dave
New MacPro's don't wake from sleep.
Graphic glitches in the MacPro ATI 2600 card
Freezes in the same card models.
MacPro nVidia 8800GT slower than ATI 2600 in pro apps
MacBookPro sleep issues.
MacBook flickering display
MacBook trackpad delay
MacBookAir Freezing
iMac 24" (white) displays breaking down (mostly just over the standard one year warranty period)
iMac 20" (alu) condense forming behind the glass cover of the display.
Fifteen years ago you know that your Mac was going to last longer than that was necessary, now a day's you are lucky if you can keep it running for three years! And o o o if you didn't buy AppleCare.
It is a really BIG SHAME. This is going to hurt Apple significantly in the nearby future.
That's a load of crap. Duos had loads of troubles. Power Macs were notorious for their problems. They never for the 7100 or 6100 sorted. Quadras had loads of issues. G5 towers had enormous heat problems and then the water-cooled ones sprang leaks.
This good ole days stuff is for the birds. We just didn't have such large forums to hear reports from the field. Wake up.
I don't think Macs are the problem its this retarded Air. This was the stupidest move Apple could have made. Congrats on pissing off 95% of customers by creating this instead of tending to other products and now pissing off the 5% of trend monkeys who actually wanted it.
Having a bad day?