Apple Extends NVIDIA MacBook Pro Warranty to 3 Years

[MacRumors]

In October, Apple revealed that some NVIDIA-based graphics cards in MacBook Pros had been affected by a manufacturing defect announced in July. Apple stated that they would repair affected MacBook Pros within two years of the original purchase date free of charge.

Apple has since extended this repair policy for three years.

At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within three years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.

The reason for the extension is not detailed. Affected MacBook Pros may developed the following symptoms:

- Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
- No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

Possibly affected models include:

- MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
- MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
- MacBook Pro (Early 2008)


Article Link: Apple Extends NVIDIA MacBook Pro Warranty to 3 Years

[zunairryk]

old news

[MacManiac76]

At least they are owning up to the problem. Even though apparently these systems stated aren't supposed to be affected by the defect, they are offering an extended warranty in good faith.

[craigverse]

Does the problem look like this?



My 17incher started doing that about 9 months ago. :[

[five04]

Originally Posted by craigverse

Does the problem look like this?

My 17incher started doing that about 9 months ago. :[

No. The issue with the NVIDIA chips is garbled video or no video at all. Your problem is most likely caused by a faulty LCD or LCD cable connected to the logic board.

[vipergts2207]

Originally Posted by craigverse

Does the problem look like this?

My 17incher started doing that about 9 months ago. :[

It wouldn't hurt to go to an Apple store and see.

[Stridder44]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the SMC 1.3 firmware update the released only days ago.

[kymac]

good thing i spent 250 on applecare! and now its free to everyone ):

[CmdrLaForge]

Originally Posted by kymac

good thing i spent 250 on applecare! and now its free to everyone ):

Same here and I just bought it 1 week ago.

I am wondering how big the problem really is and if I should sell my Macbook Pro before the 3 years are up and get new one ?

[yudilks]

Originally Posted by CmdrLaForge

Same here and I just bought it 1 week ago.

I am wondering how big the problem really is and if I should sell my Macbook Pro before the 3 years are up and get new one ?

There is a major difference here. AppleCare covers all defects on your computer like LCD, HD, CDROM, logicboard. This extended warranty from
Apple only covers the NVIDIA related issue.

[goodcow]

Originally Posted by yudilks

There is a major difference here. AppleCare covers all defects on your computer like LCD, HD, CDROM, logicboard. This extended warranty from
Apple only covers the NVIDIA related issue.

The NVIDIA card is a part of the logic board. If your logic board suddenly died and the machine stopped booting, they would probably just swap it out regardless, thinking it was an NVIDIA problem.

[davidknackebrod]

Will this extended warranty cover the whole world?

[hajime]

Originally Posted by yudilks

There is a major difference here. AppleCare covers all defects on your computer like LCD, HD, CDROM, logicboard. This extended warranty from
Apple only covers the NVIDIA related issue.

I have had my LCD screen and battery replaced using AppleCare. You need it!

[ph0rk]

does the no video thing go away on a reboot? I've been having that for several months now with my MBP 2.4

[SeanMcg]

Originally Posted by five04

No. The issue with the NVIDIA chips is garbled video or no video at all. Your problem is most likely caused by a faulty LCD or LCD cable connected to the logic board.

I have seen this same issue affect dozens of Dell laptops. The display seen on that 17" is not inconsistent with what I've seen on the Dells. The OS doesn't matter here.

The only solution is to swap out the motherboard. However, I found out from one of the repair techs that Dell and/or nVidia aren't keeping careful track of the bad chips. (nVidia had no way to track the chips, which is why this is so hit or miss.) A bad chip can't be determined until something goes wrong anyway and will often pass diagnostics. Sometimes bad chips find their way right back into "repaired" machines. I hope Apple does a better job in this department.

Considering that this only covers you if you have a bad chip, AppleCare is still a wise choice. I think Apple is banking on getting money (or a settlement in kind of some sort) out of the class-action suit against nVidia, so this doesn't hurt them much and is good customer service.

[SeanMcg]

Originally Posted by ph0rk

does the no video thing go away on a reboot? I've been having that for several months now with my MBP 2.4

One of the problems with this issue is that until the chip is gone beyond help, the problems can come and go. It is a real PITA.

[martinmartin]

My MBP from around June 2007 had no video a few weeks back. Took it to the apple store and they sent it off for repair. The work order indicated that they replaced the whole logic board...so I'm curious if it was my video card that failed or if it was something else.

I also paid for AppleCare, but it was worth it in my case as they replaced the LCD Screen due to some bad pixels, as well as the Optical drive as it wouldn't burn dual layer DVDs...

I see the computer still has the 8600M - are the new units not as prone to failure as the old ones? If they are still faulty, I wonder why they're still being used.

[tersono]

My Sept 2007 17" hi-res MBP just started failing in the last few days. What a bummer - especially as I only put a new battery in it last month and it's my primary computer.

No I don't have Applecare - this is the first Mac I've owned in 22 years that has failed within 4 years of manufacture (and I've had quite a few - at one point I owned 7 Macs of one sort or another).

It's intermittent right now - only happens when the machine gets pretty hot, but it's obviously on the way out. Planning to give Apple a call later in the week - hopefully they'll sort it for me *fingers crossed*. Given the possibility of getting another duff one, I think the next move will be to sell it on and buy another Mac.

[SeanMcg]

Originally Posted by martinmartin

...
I see the computer still has the 8600M - are the new units not as prone to failure as the old ones? If they are still faulty, I wonder why they're still being used.

As I understand it, the entire chip run was not faulty, but nVidia has no way of identifying the ones that are. That's one of the reasons they initially told Apple that Apple wasn't affected.

The motherboards were produced en masse with the GPUs they got. Since the GPU's aren't removable, I am assuming that producing a whole set of replacement boards is cost-prohibitive.

One of the measures they took to prevent chip failure was to down-clock it via firmware. The heat produced at high speeds was ruining the chips. I'd be willing to bet that the replacement board has updated firmware.

[guzhogi]

This, or at least something to do w/ the graphics card, happened to my 2.4 GHaz 17 incher 3 times. Each time, I took it into my local Apple Store & they fixed it for free. The last time it was in the shop, a guy from the Apple store called me one day and said that while they fixed the graphics problem, they found other "issues" and gave me a free upgrade to a Penryn 2.5 GHz 17 incher. While I wasn't able to use my laptop while it was in the shop, at least I got a free upgrade.

[Dreamer2go]

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=709251

this is my issue
I think it's caused by the 8600M GT!

[JavaWizKid]

OMG I just bought Apple Care 2 days ago!!!

[Louis Abate]

That is great news for all the owners out their with affected machines. I had mine fail about a month ago. Started it up and had no video on primary or secondary displays. Brought it into an apple store and they fixed it the same day! Thought I had a logic board fail and was not happy about dropping $400 bucks to fix an out of warranty machine.

[stereoscott]

Last week after my MBP was running hot and fans were on full speed, I shut the lid the set it aside; the next morning the video was dead. I took it into the Apple store, they ran a diagnostic test to check for the specific NVIDIA issue, and it of course failed so they had to replace the logic board. This was over memorial day weekend; I took it in Friday at 2pm, and I had my computer back in my hands by Wednesday 9am (even though Monday was a holiday). Not too bad. All my data was in tact.

I'm wondering now that I have the new logic board, if I should still install this SMC update or just ignore it. I'd obviously like to prevent any future failures (I wonder if the new logic board actually fixes the design flaw, or if it just gives me another year or two before it fails, too?), but don't want to fix anything that's not broken.

You would think the SMC update actually helps the reliability of the NVIDIA cards, rather than encourages them to fail to "weed" out the bad ones, right?

[JavaWizKid]

I think Apple MUST have a good batch now because the SMC update lets the notebook get hotter without the fans speeding up and causing the GPU stress. Why would they do that when companies such as Dell are speeding up the fans earlier rather than later? They MUST have a good batch!! MUST!!!