New MacBook Air Has a Record 8 Liquid Contact Indicators

Apple has put a record 8 liquid contact indicators in its new MacBook Air, according to HardMac and Kodawarisan.

Apple began including these LCIs in its iPods and iPhones in 2007 and added them to its MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks in 2008. Since then the indicators have been used to deny warranty service to customers.

Unfortunately, the sensors are not 100% accurate and have caused Apple to refuse service to customers with legitimate issues. Customers have found that the sensors can be tripped by humidity and temperature fluctuations.


Apple, of course, says the sensors "are designed not to be triggered by humidity and temperature changes that are within the product's environmental requirements described by Apple."

In April, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple alleging that the company knowingly denies warranty service based on unreliable LCIs.

Apple is aware that external Liquid Submersion Indicators cannot be relied upon to establish with any reasonable degree of certainty that a Class Device has even been exposed to (much less damaged by) liquid. Plaintiff is informed and believes that independent testing has demonstrated that Liquid Submersion Indicators can be triggered by, among other things, cold weather and humidity that are within Apple’s technical specifications for the Class Devices.

Read More [via HardMac]