If you bought a MacBook Air in the last year, you might need to take your laptop to your local Apple store. The company on Friday announced that certain flash storage drives used in previous generation MacBook Airs are vulnerable to failure. Affected drives shipped inside MacBook Air models shipped between June 2012 and June 2013 will be replaced free of charge, but Apple hasn’t gone into any further detail.
To check if your laptop is one of the lucky ones, you’ll need to take a quick trip to the Mac App Store and click on ‘Updates.’ Choose the MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.1, which will test your drive. If so, you’ll be directed to Apple’s support pages, which will provide you with the necessary instructions for getting your flash storage replaced.
If you’re among those affected, Apple recommends you don’t update your OS or install any new applications and back up often until you get your flash drive replaced. Of course, Apple also recommends that you back up your data before you bring your computer into the Apple store as well.
Apple’s repair program covers affected MacBook Airs for three years after the first retail sale of the unit so be sure to get your flash storage replaced before then.
