2015 MacBook Pro lamination issue, very minor. Will Apple still fix it for free?

[lambertjohn]

I own a 2015 15" MBP, and in several places on the screen, the lamination is coming off in tiny circle-shaped splotches. It's nothing major, and when the computer is on, the screen is colorful and clear. Still very usable. My question is: is there a certain percentage of the screen that has to have a lamination problem before Apple will replace my screen at no cost?

In my case, I would say, less than ten percent of my screen has a lamination problem, just little splotches here and there. The other ninety percent is perfect. But it appears that more and more of the screen is peeling away as time goes by, albeit very slowly.

So if I take this thing into an Apple store and show them the problem, are they going to say that not enough of my screen is defective to qualify for a free replacement screen? Or will they replace it no matter how minor the lamination problem is? I kind of want to get this issue taken care of before it grows into something huge and the free replacement program is no longer available.

Thanks all!

 

[chabig]

I think you need to ask Apple not us. You've got nothing to lose by taking it in.

 

[SDColorado]

I own a 2015 15" MBP, and in several places on the screen, the lamination is coming off in tiny circle-shaped splotches. It's nothing major, and when the computer is on, the screen is colorful and clear. Still very usable. My question is: is there a certain percentage of the screen that has to have a lamination problem before Apple will replace my screen at no cost?

In my case, I would say, less than ten percent of my screen has a lamination problem, just little splotches here and there. The other ninety percent is perfect. But it appears that more and more of the screen is peeling away as time goes by, albeit very slowly.

So if I take this thing into an Apple store and show them the problem, are they going to say that not enough of my screen is defective to qualify for a free replacement screen? Or will they replace it no matter how minor the lamination problem is? I kind of want to get this issue taken care of before it grows into something huge and the free replacement program is no longer available.

Thanks all!

I don't know if it will be a matter of how much of your screen is affected as much as it will be a matter of your purchase date. I believe the repair program for that was extended until October 16, 2017, OR three years from your original purchase date, whichever is longer.

But if you purchased that 2015 in the year 2015 or at least more than 3 years ago, they may deny your claim based on that. Of course, you will never know until you try and Apple does seem to have some discretionary power to cover issues beyond the published dates.

Let us know what they tell you if you are outside 3 years.

 

[BuCkDoG]

Colorado is correct on this. Take it into the Apple store and see what they can do for you.

 

[applesuxlel]

Hi, I just recently had my 2014 13" MBP retina screen repaired because of the coating coming off and would like to share my experience. The repair program for this was actually extended to four years from original date of purchase. I brought my MBP in to the apple store in January 2019 only to find out it was purchased on November 2014 (it was a gift so I did not know the exact purchase date) so I was just 2 months out of the coverage period and was not eligible. The genius bar rep told me I could try calling apple care to see if they would make an exception for me as a sort of a hail mary attempt, and I did.

The call went something like this: I called 1800aplcare, I told the phone rep about my issue and politely asked if they could cover my repairs as a one time exception. Delamination started on my computer last summer and slowly started getting worse, despite me only ever using a microfiber cloth to clean the screen. My issue was exactly the kind this repair program was supposed to fix and fell into the exact time frame specified by apple but I had not bothered to bring it in because I had no idea the purchase date was different than the date I received the MBP due to it being a gift. The phone rep then told me she did not have the authority to do that and will escalate to a senior advisor who did. The senior advisor then spoke to me briefly and agreed to make an exception for me. Brought my MBP back to the apple store from the appointment made with the senior advisor on the phone and got a new display replaced within a week.

Hope this helps

 

[R2FX]

I own a 2015 15" MBP, and in several places on the screen, the lamination is coming off in tiny circle-shaped splotches. It's nothing major, and when the computer is on, the screen is colorful and clear. Still very usable. My question is: is there a certain percentage of the screen that has to have a lamination problem before Apple will replace my screen at no cost?

In my case, I would say, less than ten percent of my screen has a lamination problem, just little splotches here and there. The other ninety percent is perfect. But it appears that more and more of the screen is peeling away as time goes by, albeit very slowly.

So if I take this thing into an Apple store and show them the problem, are they going to say that not enough of my screen is defective to qualify for a free replacement screen? Or will they replace it no matter how minor the lamination problem is? I kind of want to get this issue taken care of before it grows into something huge and the free replacement program is no longer available.

Thanks all!

There's a replacement program for faulty aintireflexive coating which is valid up to 4y since your purchase date, regardless whether you have Apple Care or not. Antiglare coating started coming off all of a sudden on my 2014 MBP 15" 3.5y since I purchased it - took it to authorised service center and 5d later was rocking new display

if you face strouble I can PM you S/N for my machine as well as my friend's who had same issue as me at the same time (I'm in Saudi Arabia, he's in Austrialia)

 

[lambertjohn]

Thanks for all the input everyone. You've been very helpful. I've had my 2015 for two years. Bought it from the Apple refurb store, so I am considered the original owner. I'm going to to ahead and take it in and see what they'll do for me. Although it's an older MacBook, it's still a great one and I'm hoping to get a few more years out of it. I'll let you know what Apple does for me, if anything.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You may be covered under "StainGate".
But take it to a brick-n-mortar Apple Store (NOT to a 3rd-party provider).
You have nothing to lose by doing so.
But... DON'T put this off. Make that appt. today.

 

[PlayUltimate]

My daughter's was repaired in Jan. Worth taking it and asking.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I got mine fixed (an early 2015 13 inch MBP), but it was it was in September of 2018. They even cleaned up the chassis, it looks brand new when I got it back. I noticed it started crashing and hanging a lot over the past 5 months, make sure you perform a repair permissions just in case you get them to work on it.

 

[PROFESS0R]

This.

I think you need to ask Apple not us. You've got nothing to lose by taking it in.

 

[lambertjohn]

I think you need to ask Apple not us. You've got nothing to lose by taking it in.

These are the kids of replies that are shallow and unhelpful. I posted here to see if anyone else has been in the same situation as me and what their outcome was BEFORE I haul my bony butt up to an Apple store. You know, so I know how to handle the situation, what to say, what to do, tips on which way the outcome might go (hopefully in my favor.) I'm always going to ask macrumors members first before I pursue any course of action with any problem I might have with my computer. That's just being smart and prepared for whatever curveball Apple throws at me when I do finally get up to the store. End rant.

 

[Fishrrman]

Now that "the rant" is over -- did you make an appt. at the Genius Bar to have them look at it?

That's really the only reasonable course of action, and chabig was completely right to suggest it.

 

[Painter2002]

These are the kids of replies that are shallow and unhelpful. I posted here to see if anyone else has been in the same situation as me and what their outcome was BEFORE I haul my bony butt up to an Apple store. You know, so I know how to handle the situation, what to say, what to do, tips on which way the outcome might go (hopefully in my favor.) I'm always going to ask macrumors members first before I pursue any course of action with any problem I might have with my computer. That's just being smart and prepared for whatever curveball Apple throws at me when I do finally get up to the store. End rant.

@chabig comment is actually the most helpful advice. Maybe it came off wrong, but this is something that is best to simply take to Apple to see if they will resolve the issue. Odds are they will cover the repair, because they currently still have an active repair program for the anti-reflective coating on most retina model MacBook and MacBook pros.

As for best ways to get the repair corrected for no cost, just be courteous and explain the situation politely and see what they can do. Don’t act mad or frustrated. You might mention a thing that you heard about a repair program for the anti-reflective coating on retina models and would like to see if it can be fixed under that program.

Besides that, not much other advice we can give on this one, especially without photos. Try that and let us know what they say!

 

[CPTmom2wp]

OP:

You may be covered under "StainGate".
But take it to a brick-n-mortar Apple Store (NOT to a 3rd-party provider).
You have nothing to lose by doing so.
But... DON'T put this off. Make that appt. today.

Thanks for the advice. I live 2.5hrs away from the nearest Apple Store but have an excellent third party Apple certified repair shop I use that is only 1.0 hrs away. They said I missed the deadline by a few months. They apologetically quoted $785 to replace the screen as they were handing it back to me. Uhhh......no. I didn't realize that I might be able to get a different answer at the store or request an exception. Worst I can do is end up without a repair and a delaminated screen like I have now.
Sorry for the late response, was just looking for this topic and advice is still relevant.