MacBook Airs struggling with overheating issues

Owners reporting hot laptop freezing

14 March 2008 10:12 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

It seems Apple's waif-thin MacBook Air is experiencing over-heating issues. Apple's support forums have pages of comments from owners reporting problems.

According to the feedback on the forum, the super-slim laptop, only launched last month, appears to overheat and grind to a halt, particularly when playing video or games.

One forum user writes: "My MBA would freeze up and then unfreeze and then freeze again, at an interval of about 10 to 15 seconds. This happens when I watch video on iTunes, QuickTime or even those flash-based videos such as YouTube... I suspect this is an overheating problem".

Another comments: "My MBA with SSD seems to overheat quit frequently. It happens most often when any internet video is playing or when iPhoto is running. Is this normal?".

Yet another user has problems too: "I noticed that even Aperture and iPhoto cause it heat up as well. Honestly, I find the heat uncomfortable to touch and don't think it is acceptable".

Apple issued an update for the MacBook Air this week with a fix for the laptop's fan, the patch called "SMC Update 1.0" is said to "fine tune the speed and operation of the internal fan".

Some users who have updated report that it has not fixed the issue: "Makes absolutely no difference", one forum user posted.