I FAILED at buying a cheap MacBook (this thing is a disaster!)

Use my code "LUKEMIANI" or link rize.io/u/luke... to be the first 1000 people to get a 25% discount off your first three months with Rize.
A few months ago I tried to buy the cheapest M1 MacBook Air in the world. Instead, I bought this load of garbage that made me regret waking up that day. Today I'll go through what I bought, why I'm sad, and why this thing is a complete load of crap!
Follow me on Twitter: / lukemiani
Follow me on Twitch: / lukemiani
Join my Subreddit! / lukemianiyoutube
This video is sponsored by Rize
Gear:
iFixit Pro Toolkit: amzn.to/3bYIzdM
Panasonic Lumix GH5: amzn.to/3b3oMtj
Leica 12-60MM Lens: amzn.to/3hQ5URf
Sennheiser MKH 416: amzn.to/31zGwt2
Zoom H6: amzn.to/2ECYSk6
Sennheiser MKE 440: amzn.to/2JRwIRU
Edelkrone SliderOne V2: amzn.to/33mTZmt
Amazon Links are affiliate codes and generate small commission to support the channel
#apple #mac #shopping #techtips

[@lukemiani]

I really blew it this time folks, enjoy my misfortune! This laptop really suckssssss Thanks to Rize for sponsoring, use code "LUKEMIANI" or link rize.io/u/lukemiani to be the first 1000 people to get a 25% discount!

[@khaz606]

Contact your bank and ask for a chargeback, as Item not as described. It's a logic board issue, not IO.

[@TrueShashwat17]

turn your 2019 macbook air into a m1 macbook air then lol

[@TrueShashwat17]

just like you did with your imac and wii

[@papayuki3590]

try contacting rossmenn repairs on this as i am sure he would love to see why this board is fed up

[@Omer-es7wo]

hi luke. send it to me. i need it for app development.

[@rhiantaylor3446]

The picture is part of the description so, unless they explicitly said they were using a stock photo, they haven't sent you what you bought. Ebay usually comes down on the side of the buyer in any dispute, I am told.

[@darwiniandude]

Yeah I'd try to return it.

[@justsomeguy5103]

I concurr. Had a similar issue. The seller agreed to refund a sum for the difference between the model pictured and the one I received.

[@daniyalkhizar]

But eBay would also say that he didn’t read the description. They still take the side of the buyer though

[@AyrisX86]

@@daniyalkhizar eBay *really* likes to take the buyer's side though. Once, I had somebody claim their phone never arrived, and despite providing a tracking number, they refunded her.

[@daniyalkhizar]

@@AyrisX86 oh no! Did eBay make you pay the money? I don’t think eBay would let Luke return it because he’s had it for months already

[@MacinMindSoftware]

Although as others have pointed out, that's atypically bad performance and heat for that model, I enjoyed your reactions. Things are so good now. My MBP M1 Pro uses about 4-5 watts and runs lower than body temperature to play KZbin videos in Safari.

[@cindykhoh434]

I use my base model M1 MacBook Air daily as a professional machine and despite having 5 desktops and about a dozen safari tabs opened in different windows including KZbin, the CPU us usually always sitting at near idle with temps never going above 35c. I'm still amazed! great video, it really shows how underrated the M1 MacBook Air really is and also shows how sh*tty the intel models were just a couple years ago!

[@Argameus]

The M1 Air is not underrated at all, what are you talking about?

[@xalataf3365]

How’s RAM usage? 8GB’s been quite a pain on my M1

[@tsalVlog]

@@Argameus If you are only watching on apple-friendly channels, it's not underrated. If you watch gaming / other intel-centric channels, you'll see a lot of people slamming the M1 because it's ARM. It's also a good way to tell someone is an idiot that doesn't know what they're talking about, so I guess it's an easy way to spot bad channels? I guess?

[@RbAgsts718]

I was looking at it. It’s kind of small. Used to a bigger screen.

[@LucienSabre]

@@RbAgsts718 ​ Small? The MacBook Air M1’s screen has a native 2560×1600 resolution. For a _non-gaming_ laptop, that’s huge.

[@steveoc64]

I got this exact model back in 2019 just to do a coding presentation at a conference. Paid for itself in 1 trip. Still use it daily as an after-work hacking machine, with just a terminal, text editor and compiler As long as it's not running any other junk, it's still a really snappy and useful machine for coding and debugging. It actually flies, and runs cool and quiet. God bless it's little dual core processor, 8gb ram and 128g SSD. It's a lovely laptop, and worth keeping.

[@thrallfaec6130]

This reminds me of the time when I got my M1 MacBook Air.It popped up for equivalent of around $567 US (2600 Polish Zloty to be exact).It was sold as is, un tested since they couldn't create an account to test it for whatever reason.Took a shot in the dark and bought it.Turned out to have a corrupted macOS installation that refused to create an account and liquid damaged keyboard (just sticky keys, everything worked fine).I was awed when it activated and reinstalled the OS and eventually got me into the desktop.8GB of RAM, 256 SSD and 39 cycles on the battery, all inside a laptop that looked to be used very little.

[@rocheuro]

ja tez myslalem o Air ale jednak wziąłem Mini. M1. - mega zadowolony chociaz ciekawi mnie ekran w Air.

[@flamingkillermc2806]

1 bad deal, but he has like 100 good deals 😂

[@ThatOnePaulGuy]

A thousand nos for every yes! Or a thousand yeses for every no, I suppose oops

[@torstenmadsvin1153]

Exactly haha and he still had to make a 10 minute video whining and moaning on KZbin

[@ifiwantyoutofeel]

Always greedy

[@a.olareks3653]

That’s crazy, I bought a MacBook Air 2015 from them, it came without the changing adapter had to contact them for it and they shipped it right away, I’ll say there packaging and listing team needs a lot of work to do, but unlike other sellers on eBay, they respond to inbox fast!

[@tsjmcgrath]

Ah. I can relate. I have an early 2020 Intel MacBook Air provided by my workplace, and an M1 MacBook Air for personal use. My job often involves using InDesign or even Premiere Pro. It is… painful. Even video calling runs really badly - which is critical to my day to day work. The Intel Airs of that generation are genuinely atrocious, yet I’m constantly amazed by how much my M1 can do.

[@preethaml2614]

Dude m1 didn’t exist in 2019 😂

[@awii.neocities]

@@preethaml2614 Read it again. they said they have an early 2020 macbook air

[@bmwloco]

Looks like a working mac, none the less. It's worth something.

[@zsharpmnr]

I love your videos! Thank you so much for the great content!! I never thought that you'd *ever* manage to get a bad deal on a MacBook... 😬😬😬

[@kevino8739]

I've bought from them before and they've had a number of laptops mislabeled. I usually tell them if I notice something off just because they are pretty honest sellers.

[@crystalthewolf8945]

Happy I didn't "upgrade" to one of these from my 2017 MacBook Pro, I'll definitely continue to use that instead

[@Kay_Emm_]

I currently have a bid in for a 2016 15” MBP. I’m gonna ‘hackintosh’ Ventura on it and use it as my daily. It’ll be my first Mac so I’m buckling in for an adventure!

[@CeasarBergonia]

The best way to get deals on Mac is online Apple refurbished or open box. Purchased a M2 MBA base as a Open box for $850. Previous owner must have bought and return. It still had 11 mths, 3 weeks on its base Apple care.

[@Epicgamer_Mac]

Fuckdammit, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Luke get a bad deal!

[@alevalleys]

Before the M1 MacBook Air came out, all MacBook Airs were trash. I was planning since 3 years buying a MacBook, and the only valid option that I could see at the time, was buying a MacBook Pro. Now OBVIOUSLY I have the M1 MacBook Air. Thanks god I started hearing things about the M1 months before. So happy now. Also sorry for you Luke, that MacBook were a crime.

[@heyboat1]

Very happy I upgraded from a 2015 MacBook Pro 13" to a base model M1 MacBook Air. I can't imagine how much regret I would have had if I went for an Intel Air to save money.

[@chumbusthings]

- Buys broken 2019 Intel MBA - Complains About Buying broken Intel MBA Chad

[@DerekDavis213]

Even expensive MacBooks can be a disaster: -unable to run Windows properly -not good for gaming -no upgrades or repairs -tiny 'chicklet' keyboard -no USB A ports

[@madbradfreeman]

Thanks for sharing your failures as well as successes! Refreshing!

[@georgeh6856]

The eBay listing had the wrong model in the photo for this MacBook. That should allow you to return it. False advertising.

[@Sez_Sonic]

While I do like the new M-Series MacBooks, I'm not really a laptop user so I decided to go for a 2017 MacBook Pro as an on-the-go device. And honestly so far it's served me very well! It can handle light web browsing while messaging people without even breaking a sweat!

[@casperes0912]

Listing: 2019 MacBook Air Luke: Oh no! It's a 2019!

[@bradavon]

Thousands of people use laptops that overheat. Assuming it doesn't shutdown of course, you could absolutely sell it with a faulty USB port. The only thing actually wrong with it is the single port. Apple fans all seem to forget thousands of people only have a few hundred bucks to spend and will make do.

[@ahmedkamal3977]

HEYYYYYYYYY LUUUUUKEEEE You can get the entire top case replaced (Keyboard, battery ect.) for free under the quality assurance program. If they find issues with the logic board they usually replace that as well, which is what happened with me.

[@techwitht9504]

6:37 I’ve got to agree with this point here. I have the 2019 model as well with the latest Mac OS. Daily tasks feel sluggish & slow (especially multitasking whilst using Chrome) and it gets hot quickly. This is why I now resort to my M1 Imac for productivity. Would not recommend this laptop in 2022!

[@jacobperez8921]

In 2022 nobody should be buying pre-M series Macs. Apple silicon is a night and day difference versus intel chips.

[@garryhall9660]

Wow and your alarm bells did not ring when the picture did not match the descripion?

[@theatremusician]

It said very clearly in the description that it's a 2019 MBA. You didn't read it before you bought it?

[@graphicsgod]

He said in the video the picture was wrong, and he was hoping the seller got the type of MacBook wrong.. He was hoping on an M1 Air.

[@theatremusician]

@@graphicsgod relying on "hope" on eBay auctions is foolhardy at best.

[@NapTuazon]

That happens Luke it's alright just move forward.

[@reiyv139]

A few weeks ago, I suddenly had high cpu activity when watching youtube videos on my older intel macbook pro. Turned out the culprit was that damn new 'ambient mode' on youtube. Aftern turning this off, everything went back to normal.

[@jbar_85]

I’ve never heard of Ambient Mode on KZbin. I’ll have to check that out.

[@Charted]

7:27 this would literally be unacceptable even on the Windows side of things

[@CarlosStorms]

Luke, I think it is about time you begin learning board repairs, it is unavoidable!

[@sam_cs_49er]

The way to tell if MacBook with M1 chip vs Intel chip from 2016-19 is the direction pad design. The 2016-19 have the left and right buttons in full size, while the m1 has left and right buttons similar to pre-2015 MacBooks

[@zsamps]

The early 2020 has the same keyboard as the M1 and it's intel

[@sam_cs_49er]

@@zsamps same with the 2019 16 inch Intel MacBook Pro and 2020 Intel MacBook Pro

[@ultraviolettp3446]

Because you are the ONLY trustworthy Fruit Fly on youtube that consistently gives honest feedback on Fruit products, I feel for you with this purchase. You didn't even have to make this video, but because you are honest, you did which increases your cred with me. I concur that if this is not what you were led to believe in the description as the computer you were buying, I'd contest the purchase. I can't stand when the description does not match the product delivered. Kudos to you for remaining the only source of Fruit company content that can be believed. I hope you get some money back if you contest this product. Because of your videos I have recommended a Macbook air M1 to a friend who has a 2011 Macbook pro. I too will be buying such a M1 computer in the future because it marks a change in the Fruit company from intentionally building stuff that they knew was bad to shifting toward efficiency in power. Keep up the great work.

[@bihamdabih]

Yes! This is what I've been waiting for.

[@drakata27]

I own an M1 base Air and im still amazed how light, fast and efficient it is. I am a Computer Science student and for me it is the best laptop given the value it provides. I never thought I would say this about MacBook Air because the old intel were overpriced trash and I have always been windows user

[@bobberardino9760]

I would love to see you get a 12” MacBook and convert it to M1 Apple Silicon.

[@Abel_DG]

That won’t be possible

[@AvWijk85]

lol

[@corbinthornbury1694]

Not possible

[@eboymario]

Not possible

[@mahay155]

1 tab on intel air 100 degrees vs my M1 Air 28 degrees without fan 😂

[@jameslenney]

Unlucky, Luke. It’s a nice problem to have: “I invariably get good deals but I finally got a dud”.

[@bdavali4342]

I'm watching this video on a 2015 Macbook Air and it's running 34°C. There's got to be something else very wrong with yours, Luke!

[@zsamps]

One member of my family has this exact same laptop, but in rose gold, and yeah, it's an absolute *dumpster fire* compared to another family member's M1 MacBook Air. It's shocking because they look nearly identical on the exterior. However, the performance, battery life (especially), and quietness of the M1 are about 100x better than the 2019s. The 2019 MBA is about 1/3 as quick compared to my 2014 ThinkPad T-series, and it's just as loud as the ThinkPad. it is surprising that two identical-looking computers can be so drastically different from each other.

[@jesusangelaguinaga4044]

O...M...G...I d always seen you as a very lucky guy. Well. It happens. The only ones who dont fail are those who do nothing. Keep on the good work. Deep hug.

[@dirtymusicassette]

i had that one, on Catalina it was pushing 80 Safari tabs (+3 KZbin tabs). Suffering? Of course. But never stopped working. Now I'm on M1 Pro and seems limitless.

[@LeeStewart]

You could just sell the display. The most expensive component on the MacBook. It's better than admitting defeat and giving up. I had thermal issues with my 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro. Opening up one application and the fans would spin very loud. Hence why I sold it for an M1.

[@siriax1691]

I vote you do a short where you take a chainsaw to this laptop. All while a buddy sensually plays the Bakers Street chorus on a saxophone.

[@BreceLuu]

Looks like a thanksgiving give-away. I'm so happy that I've got a good deal for my MBP 16 M1 Pro with 32GB. Coming from a MBP 15 2013, this upgrade has been a game changer for me and it was worth the wait. I'm glad Apple ditched the inefficient Intel CPUs.

[@MathewSchaffer]

Idea for content: See if this laptop has crash detection. What do you have to lose?

[@dawnpoint]

Ha. I use a 2020 Intel MBA for work and own an M1 MBA and it's not even a comparison. Every day I long for 5pm when I can get back on my M1 machine.

[@robsquared2]

Time to fill the defective port with epoxy.

[@fuelvolts]

Hey Luke, I own this exact laptop and I don't have nearly the throttling/speed issues that you do. On Ventura. I wonder if there's another issue with yours that is causing it pin/heat up? Possible the fan is clogged? It's no M1, for sure, but it's a decent laptop for normal Office apps/media viewing.

[@realroyale6991]

It's pretty misleading since he's screen recording which definitely would use a fair amount of CPU

[@cjmhall]

Same here. Mine is moderately fast and has never gotten hot. I have never heard the fan running in the 3 years I’ve owned it.

[@olivierpericat9224]

Maybe it's related to the broken logic board / USB port. This logic board is sick obviously.

[@tomburke5311]

Interesting video - I felt your pain. However, I am a bit puzzled as to why you thought it would be an M1 MB Air. I get that the photo is wrong (it's an M1 machine), but I think the description is correct, so actually haven't they sent you what they described? On the reliability front, I agree with you that things have improved enormously. I've stopped buying Apple Care+. My household insurance will cover accidental damage and theft, and statutory protection will give me some cover in the case of a systemic failure.

[@miloshroom1]

watch the video again. he says the seller has a history of mislabeling things so he thought that maybe the title was wrong.

[@voljume]

You should visit Louis Rossmann's new repairshop to get this fixed 😅

[@jaketaylor9961]

Get the butterfly keyboard replaced and apple will replace the logic board for free. My 2017 FN Keys MBP had one of its USB C ports die and they are soldered to the logic board. I didn't even mention it and didn't expect them to fix it, but hey they did!

[@ferrarishine9999]

You should go to Louis Rossmanns shop and learn board level repair! Would be a cool way to showcase his free workspace which is quite cool.

[@bibasik7]

The 2019 MacBook Air is so bad that it's SLOWER than a 2015 MacBook Air with a Core i7. What a piece of junk!

[@dstinnettmusic]

You can almost certainly get your money back. You got a different product than what you ordered.

[@franci2a]

“One Safari tab, one KZbin video at 1080p” sounds like my Surface Laptop 3, sometimes that laptop too starts with fans going wild on basic tasks for no reason

[@skip741x3]

the dude wasnt even watching it in 1080p let alone 4k...it was playing at the 480p setting but had no assist from HW decoding, everything likely done on the cpu... with HW decoding, it wouldnt of hit more than 3-5% cpu

[@electricstrider2665]

Good video! Nice 2 know even the "pros" make mistakes!

[@DoRC]

Why didn't you just return it. If the image didn't match what you got the seller would have been forced to take a return no matter what their policy is.

[@764music]

Damn… man I’m sorry… I’m also into buying and repairing MacBooks too… jeez id be devastated 😢

[@davidkachel]

Hmmmm, I own that exact Macbook Air. I don't even want to say what I paid for it, but... !! I have decided to ditch Apple products after 30 loyal years. But, they have stopped being loyal to me, so I returned the favor.

[@matthewdavisson]

I never buy anything that states “sold as is” and “returns not accepted “.

[@ColinsCity]

Watching this on my 2015 15" MacBook Pro and seeing how diabolical the 2019 MacBook Air is, is quite shocking honestly, I would have thought it would be better than this. I used to always stay away from the MacBook Air's because I knew they were bad but it's good to know the M1 and M2 MacBook Air's are much better these days. I have always wanted a Gold MacBook haha

[@AyrisX86]

Could you tear down the Mac and sell the individual parts (excluding the logic board and damaged USB-C ports), like you did a while ago to recoup some of the loss?

[@MultiTelan]

Not even just that one. I went from an early 20 air to a late 20 air. Same result. From TJmax just starting up to a computer that has never exceeded 45 degrees in a mid generation refresh just because of M1.

[@tuckerdc0744]

measuring this with my 2008 MacBook pro that I'm using right now my cpu is running cooler and faster to load youtube than a 2019 MacBook air? that just doesn't make sense

[@deanwaters8792]

I'd buy this with the broken board as a project to try and fix the board it's self rather than replacing it. If you do plan on selling it please post something.

[@gamersinghking4167]

Oh dear. A chromebook is faster than that thing.

[@jamonleecarter8698]

Hey, since you blew it, want to donate it for my college? Need a laptop asap for my spring semester

[@maertenerwin1119]

You can sell it for part like the screen and top/bottom case

[@bradavon]

Under 400 bucks for a MacBook. What did you expect? I don't get the complaint.

[@christianadamo]

my 2020 Intel MacBook Air had the fan on just while watching this video😂

[@Darthwriter]

I have a couple customers with this 2019 Air and they don't throttle like that at all. I feel like there may be something else wrong with it. Thanks for the vid though.

[@mtunayucer]

Ye thats kinda insane. I have far less powerful devices that dont use cpu that hard while watching youtube videos.

[@xxslaygirllllxx6559]

i used to have a 2019 macbook air and the bottom would like get so hot

[@JamesTenniswood]

I just got rid of mine, £400 in the UK. Thank God it really wasn't a good machine. The m1 version is night and day

[@jocorn52]

You should send it to @tronixfix to see if he can fix the logic board.

[@jesse.rodriguez]

Yes! Collab? @tronicsfix

[@00SNIVY00]

Wonder if there could possibly be a collab with Louis Rossman, maybe you could learn what the issue is and fix that board issue!

[@Jbscddnz]

I bought one of these pieces of junk at full retail price in January 2020. Jump to December 2020, something 10x faster that doesn’t go past 30 deg C

[@michealadebz]

It’s like the 2017 MacBook video all over again

[@redphone1438]

Maybe you can replace the faulty io connector, and then you can actually fix that USB C port.

[@christiantan5341]

I had to use this for CAD at school (it sucked)

[@christiantan5341]

I actually got a burn from touching it

[@bub7391]

I had a 2018 MacBook Air (practically the same one) and have had a bad experience with it, now I have the M1 MBA and am very pleased by how it performs. The second I saw the thumbnail I already knew it was bad.

[@TeddyBearGaming999]

I used to own one of these as my daily and I upgraded to M1 in February. This thing was terrible, especially with the cooling

[@iFixJapan]

I bought 2019, finally i sold it again, i can't use to edit my video, got hot very quick

[@lincsfencingandgardeningse9128]

Surley if you didn't get the right laptop you can send it back as its doesn't match sellers listing

[@thomasdovi851]

Find a nice lake, wind up, and see how many times you can get it to skip!!

[@RbAgsts718]

I think you can get a deal on Woot. They sell MacBooks. On some laptops they are factory refurbished. Probably not the Mack’s.

[@UKAbandonedMineExplores]

I'd just use it with a hub, problem solved. Wow, how can a 3 year old Mac perform that bad? I have a 13 year old imac that watches youtube, no issues?

[@Alex.Kirkpatrick]

Watching this on my M1 MacBook air, first mac. Just chuckling

[@TimurTripp2]

The high CPU usage and temps were likely due to the fact that you were also recording the screen, which is a task that requires video encoding to happen in the background. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t be that high from playing a KZbin video, even on a dual-core.

[@julesslegers7063]

Maybe use it as a storage server if not able to sell at all?

[@tolgaa2613]

i couldnt even watch a movie.. it would heat up and switch off 10-15mins through.. i never bought a macbook since

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

I have this MacBook and it is in fact my best MacBook so seeing you grilling it makes me feel pretty bad. You are not wrong though. It doesn’t feel any faster than my 2013 Air or even my 2010 MacBook although it does have a better screen. Had I known better I wouldn’t have bought it last year for 600 bucks but all I saw was it was so much cheaper than any other MacBook that new at the time. It struggles to play 2D games in windows boot camp. It did come with a barely used battery though and for watching KZbin it actually works fine.

[@JRomeSr.]

if you dont want it ill take it! I have always loved the design of the 2018/2019 macbook air.. just throwin that out there!

[@kevino8739]

I can try and replace that burned connector for you!

[@Spencerwarner71]

My advice…. Cut your loses in half buy reselling it back on eBay for $200 as it is stating a working MacBook Air with the usb fault you mentioned by my experience using eBay you should at least get half your money back, better than being stuck with a “”working laptop”” just sitting there collecting dust

[@Katoptrys]

I watched this on a 2015 13" Macbook Pro. Which is an ancient dual-core 5th gen equipped machine. And it's somehow a far better experience than that Air

[@usuallyroamingrob3427]

I've had a base model 14inch MacBook Pro since the first week they were in the stores. Its by far still the best computer I've ever owned.