That video shows your MBP wrapped in a plastic case - don't you think that might be contributing to the overheating issue? Or am I missing something here?
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2017 MacBook Pro 13 non-TB Review
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That video shows your MBP wrapped in a plastic case - don't you think that might be contributing to the overheating issue? Or am I missing something here?
Apple Genius staff were happy with the hardshell case and confirmed it was not contributing to the problem. They sell some themselves.
We also tested without the hard-shell case for 2 weeks and it made no difference.
Thanks for the suggestion in any case, no pun intended
OP has gone through 2 units with the exact same problems (3 if you count the second unit that had all of its parts completely replaced), so you can't just say the OP is "whining".
Driving a 4K screen, doing normal stuff like web browsing, in clam shell mode is a perfectly normal use case especially at £1500+. People do this all the time. I myself included because I don't like multiple screens with different physical sizes.
Really man? It's not because of people having over expectation, it is because of people having way under expectation and too willing to compromise while paying for the taxes that gives Apple too much leeway to do whatever the **** they feel like to.
The new MacBook Pro's are overpriced trash. I dread the day I have to upgrade my trusty Early 2015 MBP. The 2015 models were the last great laptops that Apple made. It's such a shame that all this nonsense happened to you. That's absolutely ridiculous for such an expensive product.
Agree 100%.
I had to borrow money to get a 2015 macbook pro again so I can work again.
He went through 3 units of the same model, which totally proves what I was saying -- This model is not designed to satisfy his specific needs. period. and he was too stubborn to realize that.
The argument you guys are trying to make is pretty bizarre to me. "Because I pay X amount of money, I need to get Y". It's like saying I paid 300k for a Ferrari so why can't I fit a family of 5 in it ?! Well, that's because they didn't design it for that genius... Just because you throwing money at something, doesn't mean it's gonna do the stuff that it wasn't engineered to do perfectly. In the current 2016/2017 lineup only 13" TB and 15" models were engineered to handle his needs perfectly. Just like how 15" model is the only one capable of smooth 4k/5k editing thanks to its dGPU and quad-core CPU.
I think people have been pretty vocal about the general MacBook Pro problems such as the terrible keyboard, useless touch bar, crappy battery life, the dongle BS, old processors. And Apple is aware of them. But this thread is about one guy who didn't do his research.
Also if you don't need MacOS and don't mind a bit of unpolished experience and the Microsoft's precision trackpads, then buy the Windows laptops. They are good enough for most people. Why are you so loyal to Apple and acting like a partner with attachment issues ??!
I'm personally upgrading from a 2010 MacBook and prefer MacOS for design and development. So I'm gonna deal with it and no I don't mind the Apple tax because I did my research, I did try 4 other alternatives, and I don't need a 15" screen. What I need is a stable portable machine that let me be productive and this model has met enough number of important criteria for me to compromise on the keyboard and dongle situation.
You as a buyer must know your criteria and see if buying the MacBook Pro 2017 is worth the compromise or not regardless of how much it costs or what Tim is cooking in his office.
For my current work projects I need MacOS. Once these projects are done, I will look at something else.
The tragedy is that in many ways Apple do create amazing machines and an great OS. The best trackpad in the industry. It means I don't need to lug around a mouse. My 2015 had the best battery life I ever had on a laptop, showing 14 hours remaining when new. I didn't need to carry around a charger. The screen quality and colour accuracy was good enough and far better than most laptops. They 2015 keyboard was a joy to use. The OS was similar enough to UNIX/Linux which works a treat for me. It wasn't open like Linux, but I made the choice to have great power management, great font rendering, great "just works" peripherals, great apps. And macOS had far less bloatware compared to Windows, especially Windows from a 3rd party. No more "registry" or "driver" or "antivirus" issues like the you regularly got with Windows.
Yes I'm saying good things about Apple. But Apple past - 2015. My wife's 2012 iMac is still working perfectly for her. Unlike all the windows machines she'd had constant problems with in the past.
That's why it is such a tragedy what has happened with the 2016/2017.
Apple definitely fumbled with the MacBook Pro line in 2016/2017. With the release of iMac Pro, I do believe Apple has a newfound dedication to the “Pro” audience both on a hardware and software front. I am very eager to see what Apple brings to the 2018 MacBook Pro both in performance/battery life but also improved general reliability...butterfly keys anyone. I do believe 2018 is the year we will see a newfound level of both performance/effeciency of the Macbooks but also a level of MacOS stability we haven’t seen in a long while.
He shared a video of himself watching a video on BBC iPlayer while connected to a monitor and the fan was blasting and temps in the 90's.
Sorry, but if the £1000 laptop wasn't 'designed' to be capable of watching a video in 2017 then just what was it designed for?
Clearly OP got a lemon or dare I say it two lemons... but the fact is he went through apples return/replacement process (having faith Apple would make it right) rather than returning for a refund, he's now outside any return window and he's left with a machine that's been rebuilt completely and still is more or less faulty and incapable of doing the simplest tasks both because of the hardware ramping up for no good reason and components coming apart or just failing to work. And Apple are saying 'it's not our problem'.
What would you rather he do, throw it in the trash and move on with his life? Most people don't have that much disposable income.
I have just bought one of these to allow me to continue working while Apple fix my 2016 13" tbMBP and I'm quite surprised by it. The fans kick in regularly and the air they are pushing out is super warm. I very rarely had this with last years tbMBP. The main difference is the ram 8gb vs 16gb and the processor is slightly less powerful but I'm still a little surprised at how warm this thing gets.
The final legal letter was sent to Apple earlier this month.
In January I begin legal action.
I am advised that often big companies don't pay up even if the judge rules against them. It's then a matter for bailiffs turning up at an Apple location in the UK and taking assets.
I'm not sure whether broadcast images of bailiffs fit with Apple's carefully nurtured image of a wholesome trendy and hip company.
In January I begin legal action.
I am advised that often big companies don't pay up even if the judge rules against them. It's then a matter for bailiffs turning up at an Apple location in the UK and taking assets.
I'm not sure whether broadcast images of bailiffs fit with Apple's carefully nurtured image of a wholesome trendy and hip company.
If it ever comes to that, please, PLEASE... Post images on this thread. I will enjoy them.
And I will make sure my current employer sees them as well. Just so that he doesn't spend any more money on ovepriced gimmicky MBP's (as of 2016).
Thanks in advance
Keep the pressure on good man - I *had* $2500 ready to spend on a new 2017 MBP and will be holding off indefinitely in some small manner of "protest"/solidarity. Terrible to see a company cycle the issue and not see the end solution (refund) being the optimal outcome for both parties.
Good luck.
Good luck.
I had the original Macbook 12" that I really liked for its form factor and weight for travelling. Unfortunately I had to sell it because it underperformed when connected to an external monitor in the office. Everything was very choppy. Of course, the 5W CPU without active cooling couldn't keep up.
The 13" nTB has a slightly more powerful 15W CPU with active cooling. It performs as expected, but uses the full range of 15W with max. cooling to do the job. I know this behaviour from my Surface Pro 4 i7 with a similar CPU. The 13" TB has better cooling with 2 fans and would probably work well with the use case of the OP.
I doubt that Apple is at fault here. The OP just picked the wrong model for his needs.
Myself, I waited until December 2017 to get a new Macbook because I was not sure if I would like the TouchBar, or the big TouchPad. The keyboard I already knew from the 12" I had. Reading this thread, reassured me to not go with the 13" nTB. I now have a maxed out Macbook Pro 15" 2017 model which I like better every day I use it.
I'm proceeding with a small claims court procedure.
I've been advised that Apple will likely ignore the judgement.. which then means bailiffs.
For about 2 months now I've been using a 2015 macbook pro ... because it works and I need to work. The 2017 is sitting back in its original packaging doing nothing, except looking sorry for itself.
Update 44 - 11/01/2018
- Today I issued apple with formal court action.
- I have been advised that Apple is likely to ignore the legal judgement if it is not in their favour, in which case the next step is "enforcement" and bailiffs.
I admire your stamina, really. And I totally feel you, just went through something similar with my 2016 13" non-TouchBar model. Not nearly as bad as your experience but similar overall. Purchased from Apple's Refurbished Store in April 2017 and had it hooked up to an external 4K display as well. Keyboard failed for the first time in July 2017, had to send it in and get the entire top case replaced. Keyboard failed again in October 2017 but this time I had to keep using it until December because there was no way to do without it at work until Christmas. Sent it in a second time, and this time Apple decided to "reseat some keycaps" and "run the hardware test" to fix the issue. Suffice it to say that it didn't fix s..t so I had to take it in a third time and they replaced the top case again, this time for a 2017 keyboard.
In the meantime, since my livelihood depends on a working laptop with fully working reliable keyboard, I decided to get a used 2015 MBP instead and give up on the new models. The butterfly keyboard is about as reliable as a flashy Italian sports car - you look at it weird and the doors fall off. Heat and specks of dust are its two arch-nemeses, and there was no way I would fork out even more money for an AppleCare warranty extension only to have Apple replace my keyboard for the next two years every couple of months. After that I'd be looking at $500 every time the keyboard failed, or $1,500/year at its current rate of failure. The keyboard is defective by design and not meant to be used anywhere other than a clean room cooled down to slightly above freezing to keep the thing cool and dust-free. I've been on the phone with Apple Support for hours and hours trying to return that thing for good but no dice. I would have been more than happy with store credit that I would have immediately spent on a new fully specced 2015 MBP. But, according to several senior advisors that I have spoken to there is absolutely no way that Apple USA is ever going to take a laptop back for a refund or store credit once it's past its return window of 90 days. The only thing they were willing to offer was a replacement if that final third repair attempt turned out to be unsuccessful as well. In other words: I would've received a 2017 model with the exact same defective unreliable keyboard.
Long story short: since I had already purchased a 2015 MBP that I needed for my job I decided to not fight with Apple any longer and call it a day. Given that the official trade-in value of my MBP was estimated at $700 (I'm not joking: 8 months old $2,000 laptop in mint condition is valued at less than $700 by Apple) I sold it in private after it had received its brand-new keyboard and battery. Suffice it to say that my total losses including Thunderbolt 3 Dock and various USB-C peripherals amount to roughly $300. Considering that AppleCare would have cost me $250 it seems like a fair deal.
That's why I absolutely admire your stamina and I wish you all the best in getting your money back. Good luck!
In the meantime, since my livelihood depends on a working laptop with fully working reliable keyboard, I decided to get a used 2015 MBP instead and give up on the new models. The butterfly keyboard is about as reliable as a flashy Italian sports car - you look at it weird and the doors fall off. Heat and specks of dust are its two arch-nemeses, and there was no way I would fork out even more money for an AppleCare warranty extension only to have Apple replace my keyboard for the next two years every couple of months. After that I'd be looking at $500 every time the keyboard failed, or $1,500/year at its current rate of failure. The keyboard is defective by design and not meant to be used anywhere other than a clean room cooled down to slightly above freezing to keep the thing cool and dust-free. I've been on the phone with Apple Support for hours and hours trying to return that thing for good but no dice. I would have been more than happy with store credit that I would have immediately spent on a new fully specced 2015 MBP. But, according to several senior advisors that I have spoken to there is absolutely no way that Apple USA is ever going to take a laptop back for a refund or store credit once it's past its return window of 90 days. The only thing they were willing to offer was a replacement if that final third repair attempt turned out to be unsuccessful as well. In other words: I would've received a 2017 model with the exact same defective unreliable keyboard.
Long story short: since I had already purchased a 2015 MBP that I needed for my job I decided to not fight with Apple any longer and call it a day. Given that the official trade-in value of my MBP was estimated at $700 (I'm not joking: 8 months old $2,000 laptop in mint condition is valued at less than $700 by Apple) I sold it in private after it had received its brand-new keyboard and battery. Suffice it to say that my total losses including Thunderbolt 3 Dock and various USB-C peripherals amount to roughly $300. Considering that AppleCare would have cost me $250 it seems like a fair deal.
That's why I absolutely admire your stamina and I wish you all the best in getting your money back. Good luck!
Thanks - and the only way Apple will listen and act is:
- If people spread the message about what is really happening with the 2016/2017 MacBook Pros .. and not deny the magnitude of the problem .. as some have done.
- People make a noise publicly - Apple fear for their PR and reputation, which is the only thing that allows them to charge ridiculous prices. Also Apple monitor twitter and forums like this - my legal subject access request confirmed they do this.
- People keep asking apple for the 2015 models, and not buying the 2016/17 models.
- And people take legal or class action. We know this works - look at the iPhone battery/slowdown issue.
Myself, I predict huge problems for Apple once people's warranties run out - imagine paying £700 every 2 month for a keyboard replacement ...
Apple are either extremely arrogant, or suffer incredible organisational dysfunction. Both are bad for their share price.
Update 44 - 11/01/2018
- Today I issued apple with formal court action.
- I have been advised that Apple is likely to ignore the legal judgement if it is not in their favour, in which case the next step is "enforcement" and bailiffs.
It’s really crappy that you have had this experience and that it’s had to come this far (as to involve the courts). Personally I’ve found Apple’s customer service to be great, I’m sure this doesn’t represent the company as a whole and is probably a handle full of cases where this has happened. Still it is really horrible that you have had to do all of this and I hope you get it sorted out with them.