Turnaround

Sending away my beloved MacBook Air is always difficult.  But earlier this week, I had to do it.  I had noticed awhile back that the volume indicator in my menubar was grayed out.  Not needing sound except very occasionally, I didn't investigate further; I leave the sound off on my laptop as a rule, and only think about turning it on if I'm watching a YouTube video.

And then the moment came two weekends ago when I wanted to look at a YouTube video, and tried to turn on the sound.  No dice -- the volume indicator that comes up when you hit the speaker buttons showed a circle with a line through it.  Opening up the sound pane in system preferences revealed that the computer wasn't "seeing" any sound output devices.  No headphone sound ... no speaker sound.

Time to Google and see if anyone else had experienced this.  Yep, turns out this is a known issue on MacBook Airs and other MacBooks, where the Audio Flex Cable needs to be replaced.  Check AppleCare status -- still have more than 100 days on my warranty.  (Always get AppleCare on any computer or phone purchase.  Always.)

Call AppleCare.  I'm prepared for a long conversation, since even though I've researched the issue, the techs usually want to go through a diagnostic process on the phone.  Very pleasantly surprised to find that the tech accepts my assessment of the problem prima facie; the first question he asks after "what's the problem?" is "do you want to mail it in or take it to a store?"

Mail it in, of course!  (The nearest store is two and a half hours away.)  The box arrives on Tuesday; I take it to the FedEx location to drop it off Wednesday at 11 am.  Thursday morning I get an e-mail from Apple saying they've received it.  Thursday afternoon I get an e-mail from Apple saying they've fixed it and it's on its way back.  Friday morning Noel signs for it.  Friday evening I turn it on and hear the pleasing startup chime that says, "Yep, we fixed it!"

Did I mention that I love my MacBook Air?  I do.  It's my favorite computer that I've ever owned.  And I'm so glad its minor sound problem has been fixed, that it's back in my hands, and that I'm writing this blog post on it.