We expect Apple Service Centres (ASC) to receive a flood of ‘dud’ service requests. Both on the Intel and PPC platform. So long as the end users are running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
There’s no exact time line when this phenomenon started manifesting but we suspect that it has been latent since the launch of Leopard and possibly has a link with the iTunes development into enhancing the Air Tunes capability.
A myriad of users on both platforms have reported intermittent or persistent lack of audio and/or trackpad seizing on Leopard.
Before running down to your local ASC, you may want to read on first.
Most users don’t even realise they lost audio until they attempt to use the audio capability of their Macs. When they do, they will encounter Leopard’s ‘no audio output device’ symbol:
If you encounter this a quick check into your System Preferences, Sound pane will most likely also reveal the deceptive impression that you’ve lost your audio output device:
Trackpad seizing has also been reported although the lack of audio and trackpad seizing does not appear to have any correlation nor does it happen in tandem all the time.
The bad news is neither of these issues seem to be fixed in Apple’s latest Mac OS X 10.5.4 software update and no one from Apple seems available for comment on it.
However, before running in panic with white knuckles ready to pound on the Apple engineers at your local ASC, first ensure that your hardware isn’t faulty. If that can be confirmed then, save yourself the trip and like the rest of us, hope that Apple will remedy this in the next software update fix.
The root cause most likely lies in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and NOT your hardware.
There’s no rigourous test required to determine this. Simply restart your Mac and keep a keen ear out for the boot up chime that usually emanates from your Mac seconds after it restarts. If your Mac produces this chime then its almost certain there’s nothing wrong with your Logic board or speakers.
If your trackpad works on a whole and only stalls intermittently then your trackpad is also most likely in good working order.
For most users, a simple restarting of their Mac appears to cure the lack of audio issue but in some cases, the lack of audio is persistent. For these, audio output has been reported to be restricted to headphones only.
Again, like we have said, its a pain but there’s really no point to getting your Mac ripped open (have parts that don’t need replacing, replaced) after having to wave your white knuckles at the poor engineers at an ASC insisting they “do something about it”.
The only conclusion of this fiasco is more down time for your Mac and a maybe, less than pristine Mac after its been ripped open. Worse yet, your Mac is no longer under warranty and you PAY for it to have parts replaced, that don’t really need replacing.
For now, its probably more efficacious to pronounce your woes at Apple’s feedback web page or make a monkey of yourself at Apple Support forum until someone in Apple notices our common plight.