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intellijel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 19, 2009
16
0
I have a late 2010 Macbook Air 11".

Kept in excellent condition and used with care.

Just 66 days after warranty expired (of course!) the ssd died.

What's worse is the poor way in which the system handles this. I get white screen of death (WSOD) and chime on boot since the stupid system gets stuck only looking for HD to boot from instead of timing out and looking for the USB stick or external drive.

You have to open the computer (again with Apples annoying pentalobe security screws), unhook the HD and THEN boot using the usb key. Once it boots you can go to preferences and set the startup target as usb volume.
After this you can reconnect the drive.

After all this annoyance I could confirm that the drive (1.2 year old device with no F$#@$ing moving parts) was dead.

The cost for replacement?? $601.15!!!!!!!!

This is completely unacceptable.

Of course I am going to buy a pentalobe screwdriver from ifixit and a 180GB (larger and faster than the apple one) from OWC and fix it myself for half the price.

I think the drives in apple products should be 5 year warranty and this is unacceptable for them not to offer a free replacement.
 

Jaro65

macrumors 68040
Mar 27, 2009
3,822
926
Seattle, WA
That's a real tough luck. I usually buy AppleCare for all my Apple products, and if not, I at least buy them with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer warranty. You would expect that a device with no moving parts would be quite robust, but...you never know.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
I think the drives in apple products should be 5 year warranty and this is unacceptable for them not to offer a free replacement.
Why not make them lifetime warranties on all parts and labor, so you never have to buy anything ever again! :rolleyes: It's no secret that Apple provides a 1 year warranty. It's also no secret that you had the opportunity to buy AppleCare, which would have extended your coverage for an additional two years. You elected not to do that. It's not Apple's fault that something died out of warranty. That's the way it works. What's unacceptable is for you to blame Apple for your failure to buy an extended warranty when you had the chance.
 

blesio

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2011
278
21
OMG, poor baby broke a toy? Come on, just live with it, get a replacement, you knew pretty well that you've got only 12 months warranty. Just go buy a new HDD or SSD and stop crying.
 

chrono1081

macrumors G3
Jan 26, 2008
8,446
4,146
Isla Nublar
Apple doesn't make the drives, not to mention I've never seen an SSD with a five year warranty. SSD's die faster than mechanical drives at the moment as they are still a newer technology.

A 1 year warranty is actually good too on a computer, many manufacturers offer 1 year parts, but only 90 days to 6 months on labor.

While your situation is unfortunate and I do sympathize, a 5 year warranty on a computer will never happen, its outside the computers lifecycle.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
Boom! Roasted!

I couldn't care less about this topic, but way to go on providing solid backup to refute a common, but incorrect, thought about computer part warranties.
No, not roasted. Just informed. There's nothing wrong with someone not being aware of current warranty availability of all hardware. chrono1081 didn't say there were no 5-year warranties. He said he'd never seen one, which is accurate. I simply gave him new information.
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,020
7,863
Of course I am going to buy a pentalobe screwdriver from ifixit and a 180GB (larger and faster than the apple one) from OWC and fix it myself for half the price.

I think the drives in apple products should be 5 year warranty and this is unacceptable for them not to offer a free replacement.

If you bought it with an American Express or platinum Visa or Mastercard (or one that says Visa Signature), chances are your manufacturer's warranty is doubled. Call up your card company and see if you can file a claim.
 

blueroom

macrumors 603
Feb 15, 2009
6,381
26
Toronto, Canada
Buying Applecare is buying insurance. Seems like a waste of money till you actually need it.

Considering the initial cost, repair cost and quality of service I'd say Applecare is a must have option for a Mac.

On that note make a Genius appointment anyway. The SSD should have lasted much longer than that.
 

chrono1081

macrumors G3
Jan 26, 2008
8,446
4,146
Isla Nublar

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
Buying Applecare is buying insurance. Seems like a waste of money till you actually need it.

Considering the initial cost, repair cost and quality of service I'd say Applecare is a must have option for a Mac.

On that note make a Genius appointment anyway. The SSD should have lasted much longer than that.
I easily recovered the price of AppleCare from the repairs on my Macbook. It has spent most of its life on my desk but things do happen. Now onward to its fifth birthday.
 

firewood

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2003
8,107
1,343
Silicon Valley
Buying Applecare is buying insurance. Seems like a waste of money till you actually need it.

Considering the initial cost, repair cost and quality of service I'd say Applecare is a must have option for a Mac.

Applecare is a major profit center for some insurance company. This means that if you can afford to gamble and have the cash to pay for serious repairs yourself, the long term odds are in your favor by not buying this extended warrantee. But people will sometimes lose bets even with winning odds. Choose your poison.
 

blueroom

macrumors 603
Feb 15, 2009
6,381
26
Toronto, Canada
Applecare is a major profit center for some insurance company. This means that if you can afford to gamble and have the cash to pay for serious repairs yourself, the long term odds are in your favor by not buying this extended warrantee. But people will sometimes lose bets even with winning odds. Choose your poison.

I usually avoid extended warranties like the plague. Applecare is what an extended warranty should be; big box retailers warranties not so much.
I've dealt with Apple for five repairs, all were replaced same day with a smile you almost feel as if they're sorry it broke on you.
Henry's Camera (4-8wks, gak), Best Buy (1 replacement then too bad for you), Telus (3wks they'll send it off for repair)
 

TheRealDamager

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2011
1,043
11
Applecare is a major profit center for some insurance company. This means that if you can afford to gamble and have the cash to pay for serious repairs yourself, the long term odds are in your favor by not buying this extended warrantee. But people will sometimes lose bets even with winning odds. Choose your poison.

I agree with you with the exception of a very few products, and laptops is one of them. When you combine high price, high cost of repair, and portability, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I think Applecare is a really good investment.

To the original poster - did you go to an Apple Store to discuss?
 

acro

macrumors newbie
Dec 10, 2010
16
0
Warranty

In Europe, or at least Holland, warranty is dealt with in another way...

When you buy a certain product it has a certain economical/endurance expected lifespan.

Say a washing machine has an expected lifespan of 8 years and it breaks down in 1 year and then again after 4 years... The dealer where you buy the WM will repair or replace it for free in the first year. After that there is a write of for every year there after. So after 4 years you would have to pay half of the repair cost.

A laptop has a lifetime expectancy of 4-5 years. With normal use it is supposed to keep working without a problem for that time. So after a year you would have to pay 1/4th or 1/5th of the repair bill.

This is pretty fair in my opinion.

I'd suggest talking to a genius in an Apple store and explain your case.


BTW. In Holland Apple care is sold but is considered by many as paying for insurance you really don't need. It does however remove the red tape in trying to get what is by law your right. Apple is known for bending the rules in that department.

BTW2 I had my iPod Nano 4Gb recalled a while ago due to supposed battery problems. I already changed the display at one time but could not get the back plate on again and ducked taped the whole thing (without the back plate) and send it to Apple. Last week I got a brand Nano 8Gb in the mail.

NICE!

Splendid work I must say. Thanks you Apple!
 

ajohnson253

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,751
0
Reading this makes me want to get AppleCare soon. I just purchased an open box but unused MBA 13" mid 11'. I can get applecare anytime within this first year yes, or how does this work? Greatly appreciated for whom ever can answer this.
 

NutsNGum

macrumors 68030
Jul 30, 2010
2,856
367
Glasgow, Scotland
Reading this makes me want to get AppleCare soon. I just purchased an open box but unused MBA 13" mid 11'. I can get applecare anytime within this first year yes, or how does this work? Greatly appreciated for whom ever can answer this.

This is correct. Any time within the product's first year.

AppleCare is the only extended warranty I will ever recommend, as the service provided is beyond excellent in most cases.

There is anecdotal evidence on here of people having had machines replaced with new models after their computer has died in the last month of their 3 year AppleCare.

Pretay, pretay, pretay good.
 

ajohnson253

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,751
0
This is correct. Any time within the product's first year.

AppleCare is the only extended warranty I will ever recommend, as the service provided is beyond excellent in most cases.

There is anecdotal evidence on here of people having had machines replaced with new models after their computer has died in the last month of their 3 year AppleCare.

Pretay, pretay, pretay good.

okay great, I made a new thread by accident I could have just asked on here but, I do not have the original receipt of purchase that the original owner had when he bought it. Does that effect anything? I can still get AppleCare without it right? I just paid straight cash for the MBA and shook hands.
 

NutsNGum

macrumors 68030
Jul 30, 2010
2,856
367
Glasgow, Scotland
okay great, I made a new thread by accident I could have just asked on here but, I do not have the original receipt of purchase that the original owner had when he bought it. Does that effect anything? I can still get AppleCare without it right? I just paid straight cash for the MBA and shook hands.

As long as it's under a year old, which your model is, a receipt is not required.
 
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