12in MacBook Flat Rate Depot Service

[JeffreyVB]

The battery life in my 2015 12in MacBook is getting worse and worse. 575 cycles. "Service Battery" message is showing. On battery power, I can almost sit and watch the battery percentage drop. Stopped by my local Apple store tonight to inquire about a battery replacement, and while they were at it, butterfly keyboard replacement. Was told that it was out of warranty (duh) and that the keyboard replacement program for this model had ended. My only option was to send it in for "Flat Rate Depot" service for $600 and that they would discount that service $400 to get me down to the cost of the battery replacement, $200. I will absolutely get this in writing. This would cover the battery, keyboard, and any other components that the service dept deemed needing replacement. Was told my laptop would be gone 5-7 business days, as the service department is backed up right now, that this is "their busiest time of year for repairs".

Any of this sound sketchy? Keyboard replacement program over for this model/year MacBook? Discounting a $600 service 66%? Full replacement of any component that service sees an issue with? Anyone had any experience in the Flat Rate Depot program?

 

[chrfr]

The battery life in my 2015 12in MacBook is getting worse and worse. 575 cycles. "Service Battery" message is showing. On battery power, I can almost sit and watch the battery percentage drop. Stopped by my local Apple store tonight to inquire about a battery replacement, and while they were at it, butterfly keyboard replacement. Was told that it was out of warranty (duh) and that the keyboard replacement program for this model had ended. My only option was to send it in for "Flat Rate Depot" service for $600 and that they would discount that service $400 to get me down to the cost of the battery replacement, $200. I will absolutely get this in writing. This would cover the battery, keyboard, and any other components that the service dept deemed needing replacement. Was told my laptop would be gone 5-7 business days, as the service department is backed up right now, that this is "their busiest time of year for repairs".

Any of this sound sketchy? Keyboard replacement program over for this model/year MacBook? Discounting a $600 service 66%? Full replacement of any component that service sees an issue with? Anyone had any experience in the Flat Rate Depot program?

The keyboard is covered for four years from the date of purchase from new, so there are certainly 12" MacBooks that have expired out of the program. https://support.apple.com/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks
Apple charges $199 for a replacement battery (which gets you a new keyboard anyway) so they're just offering you the regular price.

 

[ARK]

The battery life in my 2015 12in MacBook is getting worse and worse. 575 cycles. "Service Battery" message is showing. On battery power, I can almost sit and watch the battery percentage drop. Stopped by my local Apple store tonight to inquire about a battery replacement, and while they were at it, butterfly keyboard replacement. Was told that it was out of warranty (duh) and that the keyboard replacement program for this model had ended. My only option was to send it in for "Flat Rate Depot" service for $600 and that they would discount that service $400 to get me down to the cost of the battery replacement, $200. I will absolutely get this in writing. This would cover the battery, keyboard, and any other components that the service dept deemed needing replacement. Was told my laptop would be gone 5-7 business days, as the service department is backed up right now, that this is "their busiest time of year for repairs".

Any of this sound sketchy? Keyboard replacement program over for this model/year MacBook? Discounting a $600 service 66%? Full replacement of any component that service sees an issue with? Anyone had any experience in the Flat Rate Depot program?

Cant you just take it to an Apple Store?

 

[Ledgem]

Cant you just take it to an Apple Store?

That's what he did:

Stopped by my local Apple store tonight to inquire about a battery replacement, and while they were at it, butterfly keyboard replacement.

He's asking whether this sounds like something sketchy is going on, given the different prices being quoted and the steep discounts that are being discussed.

 

[ARK]

That's what he did:


He's asking whether this sounds like something sketchy is going on, given the different prices being quoted and the steep discounts that are being discussed.

Oh, yeah I see that now. Whoops.

 

[JeffreyVB]

Dropped it off Monday. ETA for return, as early as Thur, as late as Monday. Hoping for sooner rather than later. Spoke to a different rep at the store, he basically echo'ed what the other rep had said. Apparently the keyboard replacement program for my particular MacBook ended in early July, but they are going to replace it free of charge.

On a side note, I bought mine off eBay, allegedly from the original owner. As the rep Monday was pulling up the service records on my MacBook, I looked over and saw that the display was replaced in 2018. Is it possible to get a full service history from Apple? Would they download/print that out for me?

 

[JeffreyVB]

So, I got my MacBook from service and I am noticing an issue where the screen and processing to cut out randomly when I sometimes click on the track pad. Screen goes black. Processing stops, i.e. Spotify stops playing. I drag my finger across the trackpad to wake it up and everything is back to normal.

Possible loose, or kinked, connection from service? Have an appointment at my local store tomorrow to have them look at it.

 

[Apples n' Stone]

So, I got my MacBook from service and I am noticing an issue where the screen and processing to cut out randomly when I sometimes click on the track pad. Screen goes black. Processing stops, i.e. Spotify stops playing. I drag my finger across the trackpad to wake it up and everything is back to normal.

Possible loose, or kinked, connection from service? Have an appointment at my local store tomorrow to have them look at it.

Keep us posted mate, all the things I read on here are frightening for my 2015! Hope they can shed some light and that it is a service related issue rather than another repair (they should have done and did not).

 

[JeffreyVB]

Just dropped it back off at the store. The in store diagnostics passed. Tech is gonna skip the deeper diagnostics and just ship it out for a new logic board. No cost to me, as they are covering that under the 90 warranty for the repair. Should have it back in about a week.

 

[japanime]

Just dropped it back off at the store. The in store diagnostics passed. Tech is gonna skip the deeper diagnostics and just ship it out for a new logic board. No cost to me, as they are covering that under the 90 warranty for the repair. Should have it back in about a week.

Glad to hear that you got lucky with the free repairs. Apple told me the keyboard issues were due to a "swelling battery," despite the fact that I've had problems with the keyboard (and logic board, which was replaced once) ever since I bought the MacBook three years ago. I posted about it here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/kernel-panics-on-macbook-12-9-1.1980359/page-7#post-27747649

I recommend that anyone who still has a few days or weeks of warranty coverage remaining on their 12-inch MacBook get it to an Apple Store ASAP.