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Apple Warns Customers Not To Close Its Laptops With A Camera Cover Attached:
Though it might strike some people as obvious advice, Apple has published a support page that warns MacBook owners not to close their laptop with a camera cover in place. Damage like a cracked display could result, according to the company, because "the clearance between the display and keyboard is designed to very tight tolerances." MacRumors spotted the advisory, which Apple posted on July 2nd.
Those little plastic camera covers with a sliding mechanism are super common nowadays. Heck, I remember getting one as a holiday gift from The Verge's parent company, Vox Media. But they could spell disaster for your laptop screen if you shut the laptop with the cover still on, and Apple's laptop repairs are extremely costly. Even with AppleCare+ accidental coverage, the deductible isn't cheap.
Instead of using a cover, Apple says that customers can trust the green LED beside the camera on a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air that illuminates whenever the camera is active.
Apple does acknowledge that some people have no choice in the matter and might be required to use a camera cover by their employer. In those cases, the company says the cover should always be removed before closing the laptop.
Not just apple laptops but all of them. Have any of my fellow Soylentils besides myself suffered damage to your laptop due to this?
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Sunday July 12 2020, @05:49PM (2 children)
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon can take a sliding camera cover, but there are multiple generations of the computer, and I can only vouch for the one I use, so YMMV.
For those who say to rely on the camera light: I'm too lazy to google it (if the articles still even exist anymore), but it's been known for a long time that it's possible to activate the camera without the light. If it's controlled by software, it can be hacked.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2020, @06:19PM (1 child)
It was a design mistake where the camera could be powered without the light being lit. The light should be receiving power through the same wiring that the camera does without any switches in between. The light itself doesn't tell you if the camera is recording, it's telling you that it's powered and could be recording. But, they opted to power them via separate switches and to make those switches software controlled. It blows my mind a bit that nobody thought this would be abused.
Realistically, even if they did it correctly, there still should have been an integrated cover as taking photos can also be a bit of an issue and you're far less likely to see the light if you're just in the room.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by jimtheowl on Monday July 13 2020, @04:35AM
Unless they thought they would be the only ones "smart enough" to abuse them.