Apple reportedly offers logic board replacements for some 2018 MacBook Air units

By Aaron Mamiit Published June 30, 2019

Apple has reportedly identified a logic board issue in a “very small number” of MacBook Air units, and is offering a free replacement for components of affected computers, according to internal documents that were distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers.

The documents, obtained by both 9to5Mac and MacRumors, refer to the main logic board in the Retina, 13-inch, 2018 MacBook Air with certain serial numbers. Apple will contact the owners of the affected computers through email to inform them of their eligibility for a free logic board replacement. Customers who want to have their devices checked, if they think they are affected, may bring their laptop to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider to have it inspected.

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The specific issue with the logic boards was not clearly specified, just that it had something to do with “power.” There have been previous reports from back when the 2018 MacBook Air was launched of the computer not powering on at all, according to 9to5Mac, which may be linked to this free logic board replacement. However, the connection remains unclear, due to the vague description of the logic board issue.

Apple will authorize coverage for the free logic board replacement within four years of the original purchase of the 2018 MacBook Air, so for now, owners of all the affected units will have no problem attaining the repair.

Apple has not yet publicly announced the replacement program, possibly due to the limited number of affected MacBook Air units. The latest item in the Exchange and Repair Extension Programs section of the company’s official website remains the battery recall program for the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which was announced two weeks ago.

The battery recall program for the Retina, 15-inch MacBook Pro units sold mostly between September 2015 and February 2017 was launched due to possibilities of overheating that may pose as a safety risk. Affected units are eligible for a free battery replacement.

Since the start of 2018, counting only the major recall and repair notices, Apple has launched five programs involving its MacBook computers. The logic board replacements for certain MacBook Air units would have been the sixth, but it may not count due to its limited reach.

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