2011 Macbook Pro dilemma (video card recall) -

[scrapple]

So I have one of those early 2011 Macbook Pro's that have the video card issue. Apple knows this and has offered to fix everyone's for free (until Feb 2016).

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Well, my MBP just crapped out on me with the issue. The problem is that I am deployed overseas and wont be home until end of October. I shipped the MBP to my wife who has offered to bring it in for the fix, but I am kind of worried in the following:

1. I upgraded the HD to an 512GB SSD
2. I upgraded the RAM to 8gb
3. I did a workaround for it so that it would at least boot into the os (red lines all over the screen) so I could back up the pc. Well, after doing this a few times the OS finally crashed and it wont boot at all.

My question is basically if my wife took this in for repair, would they deny it because it has the upgrades and also that it doesn't boot (OS crash).

HELP! It sucks not having a PC over here and I am not spending $$ on a new one.

 

[cambookpro]

The hard drive and RAM are both classed as user serviceable by Apple so you won't have any trouble. Here's the 2011 manual, showing how to replace them: https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1567/en_US/macbook_pro_15inch_early2011.pdf

I wouldn't worry about it not booting, would probably be seen as a result of the GPU failing.

 

[austinpike]

I don't think you need to worry about being denied coverage, but personally I would want to document the upgrades somehow. Is your wife handy enough to open the case and take pictures? If nothing else get the Apple rep to note the upgrades when she takes it in.

 

[Brad9893]

I took my MacBook Pro in for repair because of this exact issue a few weeks ago. It wouldn't boot properly either. The progress bar below the Apple logo would stop, the screen would go white, and then it would start booting all over again. It would do this over and over. Not booting properly is just a symptom of the issue and will help you rather than hinder you. They didn't even attempt to boot my machine anyways. I just told them I was there for video card failure under the replacement program, and they just did a VST to verify the diagnosis.

The RAM and HD are user serviceable, as was already mentioned, so they won't deny you over that either. However, Apple seems to frown upon user upgrades and prefers to have the machines be in their original "Apple approved" state. I upgraded the RAM in my early 2011 MBP to 16GB and was assured that it wouldn't be a problem, however, when I got the machine back I was handed an envelope back with the machine. When I inquired as to what it was, I was told that it was the RAM that had been in the machine when I dropped it off. They had removed my upgraded 16GB and put 4GB in its place (the amount it came with when it was new). I asked why they did this, they said something about always returning the machine in a first party state and only using Apple parts. Apparently, using Crucial RAM in my machine rather than Hynix is a no-no. This was completely pointless and a pain. Having to open up the system and put my 16GB of RAM back in was easy, of course, but it would have been nice if they had just used the perfectly good RAM that was in there when it was sent to them.

I still have the stock HDD in my MBP (unfortunately), so I am not sure what they would have done with that if I had upgraded to a third party SSD. If the repair facility yours is shipped to follows the same procedures (mine went to Tennessee), you might get your machine back with 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD and your third party upgrades in an envelope.

Overall, everything should be fine though. They won't deny your free repair over booting issues or third party upgrades, but prepare for a possibly having to reinstall your RAM and SSD.

 

[Cuniac]

I just had my MBP replaced a few months ago for this issue and here is what happened.

First off my MBP had a 1TB HGST HDD inside at that time (Now SDD) that I had put in. When I took it in, as always Apple gave me a disclaimer that they may have to wipe the hard drive. At this point I had a fairly recent backup in my TimeMachine so I was not too worried but it was a few months old.

What Apple did for me with the help of a Credit Card was purchase an external HDD from the Apple store, they imaged my hard drive in my MBP to that external and held onto it until my computer came back. When it came back my data was still there so they never wiped it but I did hang onto that External for two days after just to make sure. After that I took that external back to Apple and did a return. This Buy, Image and Return idea was from an Apple store employee so they were totally cool with it. I cant imagine having your own ram in there would cause any extra issues just make sure your wife tells them its there when she is dropping it off.

 

[MagicBoy]

As long as the RAM and HDD pass the diagnostics test you shouldn't have a problem. Mine went in twice with an 8GB Crucial RAM kit and an SSD fitted. By the final failure I'd refitted the original Apple RAM and HDD, as they were likely to replace the laptop.