Dirty White Beauty

August 18th, 2006 | Apple

Dirty Palmrest of the white MacBook

I did not know that my white MacBook will get dirty when I bought it. And I am not happy with it. The machine works very well, I’ve got three operating systems installed on it and I like the performance. But - not the way the wristpad has faded out the color and how dirty it looks.

Not especially after seeing the cute black MacBooks that we got two weeks ago. The black ones don’t have the problem with the palm rest and even have a better trackpad I feel. I heard a couple of friends say that Apple will change the palm rest of the machine and that is a known issue.

Well, indeed it is a known issue. Apple Support also mentions it. But my Apple dealer said he has the same problem with his MacBook and he is not aware of a policy from Apple on this. Guess I will have to call Apple office in Bangalore now.

Even the glossy screen does not get cleaned easily.

Is there a solution to this?

Update (19 Sep 2006): I called up the Apple Care call center, got details of a local service center and got the palm rest area changed. It took some time for them to get the supplies, but the replacement was done on the spot and my MacBook is not a Clean White Beauty!

9 comments ↓

#1 sharninder on 08.18.06 at 5:41 pm

Yes. This is a known problem and theres not much you can do about it other than taking it to Apple Support.

Lesson learnt: Never, ever buy a v1 product Thats the reason I’m still sticking to my ibook g4

#2 Nirav on 08.18.06 at 6:06 pm

This I believe is v2. I held off until it came since the v1 had heat problems with the battery.

#3 Nirav on 09.19.06 at 4:26 pm

I finally got a replacement (yes, free) for the palmrest area! Now my MacBook looks better!

#4 anne on 02.13.07 at 11:31 pm

My white macbook looks exactly like that one in the picture, i have clean hands so this is a major insult to see it look that way in under 6 months time. so what if they replace it? it’ll turn that way again in a short time. what can u do? what cleaning solution can u use?

#5 Nirav on 02.14.07 at 10:41 am

Hi Anne,

Please talk to your nearest Apple Care service center. They should be able to replace the palmrest area. That should fix it for you.

I got the replacement, and it’s much better now.

:Nirav

#6 Dips on 07.31.07 at 10:03 pm

I was planning to buy a white macbook within a week, but this is making me reconsider. The black macbook was my first choice, but I’ve handled one and its a magnet for fingerprints. So I figured the white one would be less maintenance. Is discolouration a widespread problem? How dirty/scratched is your white macbook now? And how did those black ones fare?

#7 Nirav on 08.01.07 at 12:37 am

I personally think the Black one gets dirtier. It looks very oily after a while and gets a lot of dust in Indian conditions. I still have decolorization on the palm rest, but I have got used to it now. As a matter of fact, two days ago, there was a small chip off near the edge, which I have now covered with transparent tapes.

Vishal got his keyboard and palmrest replaced on his black MacBook last month. One of the keys broke and the dealer replaced the whole thing. Good for him, since it was still under Apple Care.