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2011 MBP GPU failure

Trebuin

Trebuin

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 3, 2008
1,494
272
Central Cali
Well, sadly my 2011 MBP's GPU failed resulting in the screen tearing in the boot menu and the hardware test. Odd that the hardware test says everything's ok. It won't boot on my backup drive, primary drive, or bootcamp. Also sucks that I'm on my deployment and it went out. At least Apple is sending a box to my home so I can mail it out as soon as I get back.

Does anyone know how much longer it will be covered once the board is replaced?
 
December 31, 2016

Honestly, Apple should come up with a more permanent solution than just resoldering the GPU.
 
Trebuin said:
Well, sadly my 2011 MBP's GPU failed resulting in the screen tearing in the boot menu and the hardware test. Odd that the hardware test says everything's ok. It won't boot on my backup drive, primary drive, or bootcamp. Also sucks that I'm on my deployment and it went out. At least Apple is sending a box to my home so I can mail it out as soon as I get back.

Does anyone know how much longer it will be covered once the board is replaced?
Click to expand...

My dGPU failed in my 2011 MBP as well, and when I inquired at the Apple Store, they said that it would be covered for the standard 90 days only. Once it was repaired under the replacement program, it wouldn't be covered again under that same program again if it failed. Their rationale was that it had been repaired with a part that supposedly didn't have the manufacturing defect, so they wouldn't/shouldn't cover it anymore. According to multiple employees, I would be responsible for paying out of pocket to get it fixed if it failed again outside of the 90 days.

Considering that there are people who have needed to get their logic boards replaced multiple times, I'm pretty sure that Apple is lying straight to our faces about this being a permanent fix, too. In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to this issue, and presents some strong evidence affirming this idea. Mine was repaired 10 months ago and it is still going strong, however I know that it is only a matter of time before it bites the dust again. Overall, these 2011 MBP's are just not going to be long lasting machines. This is why I am currently planning on upgrading to a 2016 15" MBP (without dGPU!) when they are released.
 
Warranty for mine once it was replaced, and it was this very same week, is six months. Maybe that has to do with European regulations.

Now, after the issued replacement, the sleep indicator doesn't work anymore. The MBP (17-inch, Late 2011) does sleep, though. I've complained about it but still have to hear from the Apple Service folks.

Also, the internal hard drive has developed bad sectors, 56 no less, and SMART test status came up as failed. This was not the case before the logic board replacement and while a vague statement I assume it had to do with the stress test service guys ran on it. Needless to say, they can dismiss it by saying five years old drive it was bound to happen or whatever they find apt.

Brad9893 said:
In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to this issue
Click to expand...
Could you point us/me in the general direction? TIA

Question: I used to think that once the logic board was replaced, your Mac serial number won't show up anymore; it does. I guess was mistaken. ??
 
Trebuin said:
Does anyone know how much longer it will be covered once the board is replaced?
Click to expand...
AFAIK most service centres give 3-6 months warranty on repair. Apple covers this problem up until December 2016 (as mentioned before), they've prolonged it from February 2016 - who knows, maybe they'll prolong in December again.

So as it stays at the moment if you MBP late 2011 breaks up again in the end of December and they fix it again, you will be covered up until March 2017 at most.
[doublepost=1465630739][/doublepost]
Dorothy Gale said:
Question: I used to think that once the logic board was replaced, your Mac serial number won't show up anymore; it does. I guess was mistaken. ??
Click to expand...
You can always see it on the bottom case as they only change logic board inside. I don't remember if System Info showed new serial number after replacement on mine.
 
Dorothy Gale said:
Warranty for mine once it was replaced, and it was this very same week, is six months. Maybe that has to do with European regulations.

Now, after the issued replacement, the sleep indicator doesn't work anymore. The MBP (17-inch, Late 2011) does sleep, though. I've complained about it but still have to hear from the Apple Service folks.

Also, the internal hard drive has developed bad sectors, 56 no less, and SMART test status came up as failed. This was not the case before the logic board replacement and while a vague statement I assume it had to do with the stress test service guys ran on it. Needless to say, they can dismiss it by saying five years old drive it was bound to happen or whatever they find apt.


Could you point us/me in the general direction? TIA

Question: I used to think that once the logic board was replaced, your Mac serial number won't show up anymore; it does. I guess was mistaken. ??
Click to expand...

It probably has to do with the European regulations. I just got the 90 days here in the US. Whenever I took mine in for service, in addition to replacing the logic board, they also replaced the optical drive because their tests on it showed that it was faulty (even though I don't use it and it wasn't there for that). It is apparently policy to replace anything that is broken at the same time it's in for service for no extra cost (this doesn't include the battery), so I am surprised that they didn't address the HDD issues. Perhaps it's down to regional differences.

After looking, I can't find the website that I saw about the issue almost a year ago now. Here is another one, but I don't think it has anywhere near the same amount of information to be honest. http://mbp2011.com

j1104638 said:
AFAIK most service centres give 3-6 months warranty on repair. Apple covers this problem up until December 2016 (as mentioned before), they've prolonged it from February 2016 - who knows, maybe they'll prolong in December again.

So as it stays at the moment if you MBP late 2011 breaks up again in the end of December and they fix it again, you will be covered up until March 2017 at most.
[doublepost=1465630739][/doublepost]You can always see it on the bottom case as they only change logic board inside. I don't remember if System Info showed new serial number after replacement on mine.
Click to expand...

There is no new serial number after logic board replacement. Your new logic board has the exact same serial number as the original, and it will match the one on the bottom case. I believe they use some special software tool that allows them to set the serial number on the new logic board so that everything will line up properly and they can track your machine appropriately.
 
Trebuin said:
Thanks for all the replies. This makes me feel a little better.
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I'd still look to replace the computer sooner then later. They've not sold a 2011 MBP for some time, so the replacement you're getting was a logic board that failed earlier. Basically you're living on borrowed time.
 
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Dorothy Gale said:
@Brad9893 et al. Thanks for the clarification on the serial number.



Why is it so expensive to fix then? :eek:
Click to expand...

It's probably because they decided to charge a regular price for an admittedly irregular situation. Usually if you need a new logic board you will get a new, fresh one. However, with the sheer number of failed 2011 machines that have needed new logic boards, I am assuming that the existing new stock that they set aside back in 2011 to cover future replacements until the product reached either vintage/obsolete status was exhausted long ago. This means that they when they take the old board out during the repair of a MBP, they set it aside, repair it, and then put it in another 2011 MBP that comes in for logic board replacement in the future.

The above is an assumption, but I think it's correct. I do believe that Apple has handled this debacle extremely badly. They should have admitted it sooner and replaced the machines with new ones, since even the replacement program is extremely subpar.
 
Brad9893 said:
It's probably because they decided to charge a regular price for an admittedly irregular situation. Usually if you need a new logic board you will get a new, fresh one. However, with the sheer number of failed 2011 machines that have needed new logic boards, I am assuming that the existing new stock that they set aside back in 2011 to cover future replacements until the product reached either vintage/obsolete status was exhausted long ago. This means that they when they take the old board out during the repair of a MBP, they set it aside, repair it, and then put it in another 2011 MBP that comes in for logic board replacement in the future.

The above is an assumption, but I think it's correct. I do believe that Apple has handled this debacle extremely badly. They should have admitted it sooner and replaced the machines with new ones, since even the replacement program is extremely subpar.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you're right, replacements are just "refurbished" logic board from MBPs which have had the issue perviously.

I've been lucky so far with my early 2011 (touch wood), but I know two people who've had their logic boards replaced. Luckily, neither have gone bad again, but I think it's only a matter of time.

Replacing it with a brand new model might be asking a bit much, but I do wonder what the cost of the programme is to Apple. Would it've been cheaper to actually fix the issue and manufacture new boards or properly refurbish old ones, as opposed to constantly replacing them?

I just hope mine lasts until Apple finally release their Skylake machines. At the moment, my FaceTime camera only works intermittently, it refuses to start up for about 15 minutes when it runs out of battery and the fan makes a clicking sound at high speeds. The battery and fan are easy replacements but I've been ready to replace the whole laptop for about a year, so it hardly seems worth putting more money into this one.
 
cambookpro said:
I'm pretty sure you're right, replacements are just "refurbished" logic board from MBPs which have had the issue perviously.
Click to expand...

That is indeed the case.

cambookpro said:
Replacing it with a brand new model might be asking a bit much, but I do wonder what the cost of the programme is to Apple. Would it've been cheaper to actually fix the issue and manufacture new boards or properly refurbish old ones, as opposed to constantly replacing them?
Click to expand...

For the 15-inch, Apple doesn't even need to redesign the logic board: the logic board from the 2012 model fit nicely into the 2011 body.
 
iMacC2D said:
Apple always refurbishes boards. Whether the machine is 5 years or 5 weeks old has little effect on it. I had a Logic Board replaced nine months into owning a 2012 13" MacBook Air (when it was current) and the replacement logic board was a reworked unit. I suppose it makes sense to replace a burned up component or two and repurpose an existing board than to manufacture an entirely new one. This considered, they could probably charge a little less for them though.
Click to expand...

I was told, the replacement logic board they put in mine was new rather than a refurb. Didn't believe them at all, but the technician assured me it was a new board.
 
The real "solution" for the 2011 (15-inch) model is to replace the logic board with the one from the 2012 (15-inch) model.

This is unfortunately something you have to do with your own dime since Apple won't pay for it.

Had Apple released a 2012 (17-inch) model, I would have done a logic board swap too.
 
Thought, in the event apple wants to charge me for whatever reason, would it be possible at that time to request them to charge me and install the 2012 logic board?
 
Trebuin said:
Thought, in the event apple wants to charge me for whatever reason, would it be possible at that time to request them to charge me and install the 2012 logic board?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this is not something that Apple is willing to do.

You might be able to find a third party that is willing to do the swap.
 
Got home and sent it out yesterday, got it back today. Talking about a quick turn around. Yes, it was the graphics card and now has a 90 day warranty. I'm suprised my initial test does not have it reaching 100c anymore, but it does hit 90. I'm not looking forward to the next failure.
 
I'm wondering if Apple has found a solution for this this considering the temps I'm seeing. The CPU is hanging around 95 and GPU doesn't go over 80 anymore before either downclocks. Before, both would go up to 100. I have already read that the boards to fail again, but these posts are the ones from mid-last year. If it's going to fail, I'd rather it fail again before my next deployment so I don't end up without a way of calling home like the last two weeks of this last one.
 
I originally had the issue with my early 2011 MBP fixed by Apple under the repair program in 2015.

Been fine until this week when it reboots unexpectedly, then won't boot, starts heating up and the fans kick up a storm.

Turns out the repair program ended December 31st, 2016.

This isn't looking like being a good year for me...
 
colmaclean said:
urns out the repair program ended December 31st, 2016.

This isn't looking like being a good year for me...
Click to expand...
Correct, the program had an expiration date and to state what may already be obvious. They've been repairing the laptops by using previously failed laptops that have been reballed. Basically not correctly the defect, just making it work. Given the pool of decent and good 2011 machines drying up, the failure rate has only increased. I'd say that its time to give up the ghost and move on.
 
colmaclean said:
I originally had the issue with my early 2011 MBP fixed by Apple under the repair program in 2015.

Been fine until this week when it reboots unexpectedly, then won't boot, starts heating up and the fans kick up a storm.

Turns out the repair program ended December 31st, 2016.

This isn't looking like being a good year for me...
Click to expand...
I had my 2011 MBP reballed over two years ago for a couple hundred bucks and it's still working fine. I don't know what the average extended life reballing adds, but it's probably worth looking into.
 
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I'm now looking into getting my MBP re-balled / re-flowed.

Given that it's got 16Gb RAM and a 1TB SSD, it's still sufficient for my needs and I see no reason for upgrading just yet.

A similar-specced Touchbar MBP would cost upwards of €3400. Thanks but no thanks!

Currently using my fallback machine (early 2008 MBP), and am pleased by how well it continues to function.
 
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