Help! Macbook keeps crashing

[Cerano]

Dear friends, I bought a Macbook to replace my MBA last week in Singapore.

I have since returned to Canberra but my Macbook keeps crashing.

Initially I migrated my MBA to my MB via migration assistant. I installed my apps like Spotify, VLC, Chrome, Office for Mac and after use it would often hang without response. I ignored it for abit but then once it got stuck at the startup apple logo it wouldnt boot regardless of how many times i force shutdown.

I thought it might be the migrated copy having issues so i called apple and the phone guy guided me to do a safe boot and to verify the ssd via disk utility. Everything checked out fine and i restarted and it booted normally.

After this, it started crashing again at the desktop making it practically unusable. So i did a fresh install of osx and took care not to migrate any of my data.

Yet this issue came back again. What kind of recourse can i get? Can i get a replacement? Im so annoyed its a brand new unit and i havnt had a chance to really use but its crashing so much it's unusable.

I called Apple again and they set up an appointment here at the apple store at canberra

 

[Cerano]

Forgot to mention tried everything from resettingf nvram pram smc all doesnt help

 

[Theozz]

Well, Apple give a 14-days window to bring it back and get a refund. But since you didn't buy your MB at the Canberra Apple Store, I don't know whether you can use this 14-days or not...

In every case, I would ask for a replacement since it's unusable as it is for the moment

 

[Cerano]

I bought mine from the istudio at the airport. I called Apple on the phone and they asked me to bring it down to the Apple Store

 

[tbirdparis]

As far as I know, the 14 days return with no questions asked applies worldwide. It's just the date of purchase that counts, so personally I'd make sure I got to the Apple Store within that window. They call this 14 day period "DOA" (dead on arrival), or at least they used to, and basically it means that if there's anything defective about a machine they shipped you, you're entitled to a new one, _not_ a repair.

btw, since when did Canberra get an Apple Store??

 

[Cerano]

Not sure but its been here for quite a long time. Ive got the receipt though and everything

 

[tbirdparis]

Honestly I don't think you'll even need the receipt. They'll take the serial number of the computer from system info and that will tell them everything they need to know. It sounds like if your problem is so clearly recurrent and has persisted even after a full reinstall, they should not need to be convinced to give you a fully new replacement. Of course if your machine is a CTO that isn't in stock, this might mean waiting a few weeks for it to be reordered. But if not, and they have identical stock, you could end up leaving the store with a new box. This is how it went for me once with a defective iPad mini which I had bought in LA. It would just randomly quit apps all the time and also would just shut down for no apparent reason. I took it to an Apple Store in Paris well and truly after the 14 day period but still very much within the warranty period (I think it was not even a month in), and they swapped it for a new one instantly.

One thing I did do was: I took some video with my phone showing exactly how it was crashing and shutting down all the time, just in case for some reason it decided not to do it in front of the guy at the Apple Store. You might want to consider doing that, so you can instantly show them some evidence of how the machine is failing. Good luck.

 

[Cerano]

Hi mate

Thanks for the advice! I took the videos as proof. Mine's a base model so hopefully should be fine. Thanks so much and i hope apple makes it right

 

[Cerano]

Hi guys

Brought my unit in to the genius bar. Genius told me it might be a software issue (though im not sure since i did a fresh install and the issue recurred).

Am waiting for the MB to be reimaged now. Such a pain since its only less than a week old.

They told me since its purchased overseas they will do a repair and not a replacement though even though its so new.

Should i ring up Apple Singapore to insist on a replacement if the problem recurs? The retailer is a reseller and they do not have a strict return policy

 

[Queen6]

Let Apple follow their process and see what transpires. I doubt there is much value in calling Singapore at this stage.

Ultimately Apple will either repair or replace the MacBook, equally I can see your frustration.

Q-6

 

[tbirdparis]

Hi guys

Brought my unit in to the genius bar. Genius told me it might be a software issue (though im not sure since i did a fresh install and the issue recurred).

Am waiting for the MB to be reimaged now. Such a pain since its only less than a week old.

They told me since its purchased overseas they will do a repair and not a replacement though even though its so new.

Should i ring up Apple Singapore to insist on a replacement if the problem recurs? The retailer is a reseller and they do not have a strict return policy

If indeed you're still within the 14 day period from the initial purchase, you should be in your rights to claim it as a DOA and demand a new machine. I suppose they will have to agree that the machine is defective.. But back in 2007 when I ordered a core2duo MBP on the online store, it arrived with a number of dead pixels. I didn't take it into a store at all, just called Apple and told them I wanted to return it for a new one and mentioned that I knew about the DOA policy. They immediately agreed, I sent it back and got a replacement.

 

[Cerano]

Let Apple follow their process and see what transpires. I doubt there is much value in calling Singapore at this stage.

Ultimately Apple will either repair or replace the MacBook, equally I can see your frustration.

Q-6

Honestly i would not accept repairs on something this new being less than a week especially since it came this way DOA. I would rather enact the lemon law in the consumer protection act in Singapore. Costs only $10 to file a case with the small claims tribunal.

Just a quick update, i spoke to a senior advisor from Apple Singapore and they're working on a replacement for me but they need me to go back down to the Apple Store to have it documented as a hardware issue

 

[Cerano]

If indeed you're still within the 14 day period from the initial purchase, you should be in your rights to claim it as a DOA and demand a new machine. I suppose they will have to agree that the machine is defective.. But back in 2007 when I ordered a core2duo MBP on the online store, it arrived with a number of dead pixels. I didn't take it into a store at all, just called Apple and told them I wanted to return it for a new one and mentioned that I knew about the DOA policy. They immediately agreed, I sent it back and got a replacement.

Thanks mate will reiterate the doa policy if asked

 

[tbirdparis]

Thanks mate will reiterate the doa policy if asked

Just FYI, the DOA that I reported back in 2007 (with the MBP that had dead pixels) just happened to be in Australia where I was at the time. Therefore there should be no problem in theory that this policy applies over there. I doubt they could have changed the policy especially because it seems to be an international policy of Apple in general. I'd be quite firm about it personally, I wouldn't want a brand new machine to start life already having been prised open for repairs especially considering it seems to have been defective from the start.

 

[Cerano]

Just FYI, the DOA that I reported back in 2007 (with the MBP that had dead pixels) just happened to be in Australia where I was at the time. Therefore there should be no problem in theory that this policy applies over there. I doubt they could have changed the policy especially because it seems to be an international policy of Apple in general. I'd be quite firm about it personally, I wouldn't want a brand new machine to start life already having been prised open for repairs especially considering it seems to have been defective from the start.

I concur too. What they told me today was that due to Australian consumer law they replace for australian sets but since i bought mine in Singapore they can only repair.

I have to insist on replacement from the Singapore side which I did.

Ill be firm on this not to worry i wouldn't accept a brand new unit being prosed open too

 

[Cerano]

Hi guys

Extremely unprofessional experience with the Apple Store here at Canberra.

So i brought my MBr in for the second time and they ran diagnostics. During the first attempt it crashed in front of the Genius so she force restarted and it ran successfully.

So she wrote a report saying that there were no hardware faults.

Yesterday's visit had me a reimaged MBr and i took a video clearly showing time and date after the reimage that the issue was still occurring so its definitely not software based its hardware.

The Apple Advisor on the phone told me that he needed the store to confirm a hardware fault before they can issue a replacement although its just a few days only and despite being DOA. Thus I have to check in the device for 1-2 weeks.

I said no problem and let them check it in.

So basically for now im like a ball thrown around in Apple's bureaucracy because of a DOA not even of my fault and i have so many videos to prove it

Can you guys tell me how i can escalate this?

One way is to lodge this with the small claims tribunal in Singapore under protection from the lemon law. I will also go public on several forums and outlets.

Can you guys also provide me with an email or contact of apple's senior management? Thanks so much

 

[Queen6]

Disappointing I rather expected that they would follow through their process and replace the rMB, Apple in general have good aftersales service

tcook@apple.com I would also ask to speak with the store manager

Q-6

 

[Cerano]

Disappointing I rather expected that they would follow through their process and replace the rMB, Apple in general have good aftersales service

tcook@apple.com I would also ask to speak with the store manager

Q-6

I was actually more shocked by the behaviour of the Apple Store employees... Granted they were friendly but I was speaking to a genius and told her that the Apple Advisor was going to call back in a minute. She nodded and she took the previous customer's laptop in and didnt come out. After 10-15mins, I got another employee to look for her and he went in and came out 10 mikes later before he told me "shes on break and i didnt want to disturb her"

Im like wtf the customer is standing here at the bar on the line with another Apple Employee who is waiting for you and you were aware of that (eventually they got another genius to go in and ask her whats the issue instead of her just coming out) and she goes on break. Quite shocking indeed

 

[Cerano]

Im reproducing my email to IStudio (the retailer) and Tim Cook in full. I just sent it several hours past, hope I get a reply. Also to put this in perspective, there are no Apple Stores in Singapore so your only physical store choice are these terrible retailers. If anyone has any contacts or emails to apple i'd really appreciate it.


Dear IStudio,

I recently purchased a Macbook Retina from you on the 15th of July at your T3 store outlet. I returned home to find the unit physically fine but when turned on would consistently crash.

I called in to your store on the 17th of July but was advised by your staff to approach Apple Service Center instead despite it being less than a week old and being defective on arrival.

On the 20th of July, the unit refused to boot as it was stuck on the Apple screen thus I immediately called Apple and they guided me to boot in safe mode. They mentioned it might be a software issue but after a restart it worked fine for awhile. However the issue of crashing recurred.

I thought it might be due to OSX corruption from my migration thus I did a clean wipe of the SSD and did a fresh reinstall taking care not to migrate anything. Unfortunately the issue persisted after that first reinstall.

By then I had a flight to Sydney in the evening and could not have it replaced in Singapore. Thus when the issue persisted, I called Apple in Canberra on the 21st of July at 3.30pm and Cody asked me to head down to the Apple Store in Canberra on Thursday.

I did so yesterday and was advised by the genius that it might be a software issue and that she would perform a fresh image. If the issue persisted then it would definitely be a hardware issue.

I thus brought my Macbook back home to test and found that the same issue recurred thus showing its a chronic hardware issue.

I immediately called Apple and was advised by a wonderful advisor to bring it down to the Apple Store. The next morning at 9.30amI went down to the Apple Store yet again in order to get assistance. I was asked to wait for 3 hours and i returned at 12.30pm before having the genius test it through diagnostics. During the initial test, the MacBook crashed on her in front of her eyes and she had to force restart it before running a test successfully. The diagnostics returned that the hardware fault could not be detected and. I then spent the next few hours putting the Apple Advisor in touch with the Apple Store employees but to no avail and no resolution only that they would continue to test it.

In summary, I have spent multiple days lodging multiple calls to Istudio, Apple and making multiple trips to the Apple Store. I have documented the issue clearly and in videos attached. Yet this is to no avail as I have yet to reach a suitable conclusion.

All I want to do is have a replacement MacBook that works as it should be. No customer should be put through the nightmare that I have especially if Apple is purported to be such a customer centric company. This is a brand new Macbook that I have yet had the chance to use that came defective on arrival of no fault of my own.

I hope to hear back from you on a suitable resolution soon.

 

[Cerano]

Just a short update. Consulted with experts, believe its a ram failure issue out of the box. Unfortunately this is soldered on the mobo thus whole logic board replacement is necessary.

The Apple Genius clearly didnt know what he was saying when he told me he couldnt rule out a trackpad failure LOL

 

[Ulenspiegel]

It is really disappointing. I can't understand why they wouldn't replace it.
Some cases are inexplicable.

I wish you luck OP!

 

[Cerano]

It is really disappointing. I can't understand why they wouldn't replace it.
Some cases are inexplicable.

I wish you luck OP!

Thanks mate. The way this situation is being handled... Man its not right

 

[tbirdparis]

Might be worth taking a look at Apple's doc regarding the returns policy and the DOA conditions. I just found some info online that, unless I'm reading it wrong, says you're allowed to return a product within 14 days for a refund even regardless of any hardware issues. I'll copy and paste an extract of it below along with the link. So in theory, if they keep giving you the runaround with trying to avoid confirming there's a fault you could just sidestep the process entirely, get a refund and just buy another one right in front of the unhelpful staff...

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/AsiaGeneric/Images/salespoliciesedindiv.html

7. Your Right to Return the Products

7.1 If you are not satisfied with your Apple purchase of a pre-built product, please call 133 622 for a Return Material Authorization (RMA) request within 14 calendar days of Apple issuing your Order Confirmation. If the item is returned unopened in the original box, we will exchange it or offer you a refund based on your original method of payment.

7.2 The product must be returned to the Apple warehouse within 14 calendar days of the issuance of the RMA.

7.3 All products must be packed in the original, unmarked packaging including any accessories, manuals, documentation and registration that shipped with the product.

Please note that Apple does not permit the return of, or offer refunds for the following products:

1. Product that is custom configured to your specifications
2. Opened memory
3. Opened software
4. Electronic software downloads
5. Personalised iPods
6. Software Up to Date Program Products (SW upgrades)

NOTE: Apple recommends that you (1) use a carrier that offers shipment tracking for all returns and (2) either insure your package for safe return to Apple or declare the full value of the shipment so that you are completely protected if the shipment is lost or damaged in transit. If you choose not to (1) use a carrier that offers tracking and (2) insure or declare the full value of the product, you will be responsible for any loss or damage to the product during shipping.

Return to Top

8. Dead On Arrival (DOA) Product: System Failure Out of the Box

8.1 An Apple-branded hardware product is considered DOA if it shows symptoms of a hardware failure, preventing basic operability, upon its first use out of the box. If you believe that your product is DOA, please call Apple Care Technical Support at 133 MAC (133 622) within 10 calendar days of the invoice date. Apple Care Technical Support will determine whether the product is DOA and offer you the following options:

8.2 Replacement: The same product that you ordered will be shipped to you at Apple's expense. An Apple Store Sales Support representative will contact you within 24 hours of your call with the replacement product delivery details and the procedure for returning the DOA product.

8.3 Service: You may have the product repaired; however, once serviced, the product is no longer eligible for replacement.

Product must be deemed DOA by Apple Care Technical Support within 10 calendar days of the invoice date in order to receive a replacement unit.

 

[Cerano]

Apparently that only holds for apple units and not reseller units though... Anyways i shot an email to Tim cook...

Also that only holds for Apple Australia because of strong customer protection laws unlike Singapore