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Anyone has a 2011 MacBook Pro (15" or 17") without a problem?

R

robertparker

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2016
22
1
As I was sitting at the genius bar with my 2011 MacBook Pro 17" waiting for it to be serviced for the video issue, I saw two other people at the bar with their 2011 MBP 17" for the same issue.

Apple called me later and told me that my MBP passed all the diagnostic tests and that it must be software issue. I am not sure that I believe you, Apple. It's not like you lied to me before.

Anyway, are there anyone out there with a 2011 MacBook Pro (15" or 17") that has never had any hardware issues?
 
robertparker said:
Anyway, are there anyone out there with a 2011 MacBook Pro (15" or 17") that has never had any hardware issues?
Click to expand...
There's still plenty of people with 2011 machines not failing, though I do wonder if they have ticking time bombs (so to speak).
 
My 15'' Late 2011 failed with the GPU issue about a year ago, got a free repair but I had to wait 1 week before turning it in because apparently only the statement for the free repair program wasn't enough, they had to wait until the official start date of the program if they were to repair my laptop for free.
 
I have a Late 2011 15" MBP.

I had the GPU failure, and Apple replaced all the needed parts. The process was rather quick, 3-4 days if I remember correctly.

This was several months ago, and so far everything is working.
 
Late '11 15" MBP

Had a GPU failure in 2013, paid for it, then was refunded after they announced the replacement program for it.

Besides that (maybe a 3 day turn around), it is the best laptop I've owned and I've used it practically every day. If you can get a good price on it, I def think it is worth it since they'll repair the most common failure for free.
 
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robertparker said:
Anyway, are there anyone out there with a 2011 MacBook Pro (15" or 17") that has never had any hardware issues?
Click to expand...
- Depends how you look at it. My Early 2011 was in for the video issues in March last year and got a new logic board. So I guess you could say that my current machine hasn't had any hardware issues. Probably will at some point, though.
I'm lucky enough to have an effective warranty on that repair until March 2018.

I hope you manage to get it repaired before the programme ends next month.
 
We have 5 2011" 15" machines. One of them failed in 2013. The other ones never had any issues. They will be replaced this year though, starting to get too old anyway.
 
mikecalderone said:
I have a Late 2011 Apple Macbook Pro 17 still working great. I did put a SSD drive and added memory to 16gb.
Click to expand...
Yeah an SSD is what I'd like to go for next. But at this point, I may want to upgrade from this i5 2.3ghz processor in my 13" when I go off to college in a year. I'm not sure though.
 
ron1004 said:
Set "gfxCardStatus" to Discrete Only and run graphic intensive apps.


My late 2011 17" was repaired in Sept 2014, which was before the repair program was announced, and they refunded my money later.

In the shop it passed all their tests, .......but could boot past the blank grey screen.
Click to expand...

I experienced the same.
 
Late 2011. Hard drive died 6 months ago. No GPU trouble despite daily intensive use.
 
I wonder what the statistics are for people who force the use of the HD 3000 only. I bet there are far fewer failures, if any. Obviously you may need the power of the AMD GPU, but if not, then I see no reason to use it at all.
 
My 15" early 2011 model had the graphics card break last week. Just had it fixed under the replacement program - which is ending soon, so I'd consider myself quite fortunate.
I do feel like all those models are time bombs honestly. I hadn't used it regularly for over a year which probably kept it from breaking sooner.

I'm curious to know if any of the rmbp models have similar defects as I'm likely to buy one this year.
 
No issues with Late 2011 MBP 17" 2.5ghz so far, running 2 SSDs & 16 GB ram.
[doublepost=1453820082][/doublepost]
556fmjoe said:
I wonder what the statistics are for people who force the use of the HD 3000 only. I bet there are far fewer failures, if any. Obviously you may need the power of the AMD GPU, but if not, then I see no reason to use it at all.
Click to expand...

I think the issue is more heat related which can deteriorate the crappy soldering of the dGPU. Taking some precautions might help against failure - (elevate MBP instead of lap or bed use, SSD's instead of spin drives, istats fans set a little higher, periodic maintainance as in blowing out dust and keeping fans clear etc..)
 
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robertparker said:
...
Click to expand...
My previous MacBook Pro 15" late 2011 GPU failed in December 2015. It has been replaced for free. I'm stress testing it since then when it's not used and will continue to do so until the end of February. It's quite subjective so I might be wrong but it seems the replacement throttles earlier - this is how they've "fixed" the problem. :(
 
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robertparker said:
As I was sitting at the genius bar with my 2011 MacBook Pro 17" waiting for it to be serviced for the video issue, I saw two other people at the bar with their 2011 MBP 17" for the same issue.

Apple called me later and told me that my MBP passed all the diagnostic tests and that it must be software issue. I am not sure that I believe you, Apple. It's not like you lied to me before.

Anyway, are there anyone out there with a 2011 MacBook Pro (15" or 17") that has never had any hardware issues?
Click to expand...
My 15" is still chugging along fine. I use the GPU lots because I use an external monitor all the time except when traveling. If it dies now I will just buy a new MBP and then decide what to do with the carcass. Maybe have it repaired then sell it. While it still works fine I will keep on using it since the SSD upgrade makes it plenty fast.
[doublepost=1453861867][/doublepost]
556fmjoe said:
I wonder what the statistics are for people who force the use of the HD 3000 only. I bet there are far fewer failures, if any. Obviously you may need the power of the AMD GPU, but if not, then I see no reason to use it at all.
Click to expand...
I do that when traveling but my external monitor on my desk forces use of the GPU. That's well over ½ my use.
 
glenthompson said:
My 15" is still chugging along fine. I use the GPU lots because I use an external monitor all the time except when traveling. If it dies now I will just buy a new MBP and then decide what to do with the carcass. Maybe have it repaired then sell it. While it still works fine I will keep on using it since the SSD upgrade makes it plenty fast.
[doublepost=1453861867][/doublepost]
I do that when traveling but my external monitor on my desk forces use of the GPU. That's well over ½ my use.
Click to expand...
Wait, using an external monitor uses the GPU more heavily? I have a 13" early 2011 MBP and for the first time ever I bought a thunderbolt to HDMI adapter yesterday to use on my little TV. I'm using it now. I don't/won't use this 24/7, but when I have time to relax, I'll likely be taking the laptop upstairs to use this bigger monitor.
 
GPU failure on my 2011 15" MBP about 15 months ago, had it reballed, GPU has been fine ever since.
HD failure about a year ago, took the opportunity to put in a 1 TB SSD. (Time Machine back up worked perfectly for me, although I've seen posts about possible better options.)
 
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