Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Initiates Repair Program for 2011-2013 MacBook Pros With Video Issues
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I first bought my 2011 macbook pro as a portable way to work on my projects as a graphics and video designer. I bought the laptop when they were first released, but only after 2 years did my macbook pro finally started to show symptoms of breaking down. My warranty had just expired and there was nothing I could do but to pony up the money to get it repaired, but at the time the cost to repair it was almost the same to just purchasing a new Macbook.
So after 2 years of sitting on a non functional Early 2011 Macbook Pro collecting dust on the shelves, I was very surprised that Apple was finally willing to repair the many defected models that they should have been fixed a long time ago. So I decided to schedule an appointment as soon as possible on February 20 to meet with a Apple Genius, but after the genius examined my macbook, while running some diagnostic program, he came to the conclusion that, "the logic board was the problem, not the gpu."
The thing is I know that even if I were to replace the logic board, the gpu will eventually fail on this macbook. The price to repair was quoted to about $320 this time, but with only 90 days of warranty and after that if lets say my macbook were to act up again, I would be back to where I started. In the end, I decided not to pay up for something I feel that Apple should own up to as a company. Today was a waste of time! Thanks alot Apple for nothing.
Last edited:
Once you get your new mainboards and the warranty is out I suggest everyone to have their thermal paste replaced with something proper. This will keep your GPUs alive in the future. Thermal paste is meant to mostly fill the microscopic surface irregularities, not plaster the metal surface of the heat spreader to the point of acting insulating.
Sounds like these replacement boards will still have the same problem. We may be better off paying someone to reball the GPU and get Apple to reimburse us. Hopefully they will still reimburse you if you have someone else repair it after this Apple repair program has started.
For those whose laptops were refused to be repaired for free due to passing the goddamn test in store, here is my advice and is also what I'm gonna do when I bring my 2011 mbp in for repair some day later:
1. Talk to the online customer support before bringing it in. According to my personal experiences, those online reps are more merciful as their careers are highly influenced by our feedbacks provided after the chat is over, so they'll probably stand by our sides and say something like," Oh I'm sorry about what you've been through and I'm pretty sure they'll take care of it once you bring it in" to satisfy us, and DO NOT FORGET to make an appointment for service via them cuz the genius will see and read the conversation history where the online rep already "promised" to get the problem solved. It's hard for the genius to refuse you as they are supposed to be consistent with the online rep.
Don't call them. It's almost useless as you won't be able to keep any proofs.
2. Don't always be polite and smile at them. Raise your tones while talking and freak 'em out with your true angers. You should never let them lead the game.
3. If possible, take pictures when the issue occurs and send them to the online rep through the chatting window(If my memory doesn't go wrong, the window supports file transfer, and if it doesn't, you can still show them to the genius).
Sorry for being wordy, but I hope it'll help you all though it may not 100% work. Gluck on battles, folks!
1. Talk to the online customer support before bringing it in. According to my personal experiences, those online reps are more merciful as their careers are highly influenced by our feedbacks provided after the chat is over, so they'll probably stand by our sides and say something like," Oh I'm sorry about what you've been through and I'm pretty sure they'll take care of it once you bring it in" to satisfy us, and DO NOT FORGET to make an appointment for service via them cuz the genius will see and read the conversation history where the online rep already "promised" to get the problem solved. It's hard for the genius to refuse you as they are supposed to be consistent with the online rep.
Don't call them. It's almost useless as you won't be able to keep any proofs.
2. Don't always be polite and smile at them. Raise your tones while talking and freak 'em out with your true angers. You should never let them lead the game.
3. If possible, take pictures when the issue occurs and send them to the online rep through the chatting window(If my memory doesn't go wrong, the window supports file transfer, and if it doesn't, you can still show them to the genius).
Sorry for being wordy, but I hope it'll help you all though it may not 100% work. Gluck on battles, folks!
That was the complaint with similar repair programs. Its good that apple is stepping up to the plate but its really a temporary fix.
Given Apple's horrendous dGPU track record, my next Mac will be an iGPU only.
Yes as some one who has worked with electronics, it`s more related to "thermal shock" with the cycle of components rapidly heating and cooling. Apple needs to get off this thin & quiet path, it`s not "cool" when your 2K notebook becomes a brick due to inadequate cooling, theres good reason why PC counterparts are generally thicker, with a far greater cooling capacity.
I for one will not buy another Apple portable with dGPU as they are all time bombs IMO, personally I have been lucky to date, equally as this forum more than adequately demonstrates many have not been so lucky.
Only saving grace is the reduction power requirements and thermal output of newer CPU & GPU`s or you would see a lot more Apple portables on the junk pile.
I use OS X for OS X, I want reliability and versatility not to impress at the "coffee shop" Retina`s cooling is significantly better, equally the 15" with dGPU still runs close to the max and frankly Apple`s history with portables with DGPU is far from stellar.
I would still recommend a Mac, equally not with DGPU as Apple`s priorities are far misplaced...
Q-6
FWIW, it's not the lead-free solder being used to connect the chips to the logic board, it's the BGA solder on the chips themselves that is causing the problem. That stuff has a lower melting point than the lead-free solder that's used to attach the chips to the logic board. "Baking" the board in an oven isn't "reflowing" the board, it's softening the BGA solder and re-establishing the connections to the logic board ... it's not softening the lead-free solder, unless the logic board reaches a sustained temperature of at least 220 degrees celsius or so. At that point, other parts on the board will most likely be cooked along with the melting of the lead-free solder.
The lack of proper cooling, poor application of thermal paste, and the crappy quality of BGA solder all combined is what causes this problem. Any repairs that will be done will most likely eventually fail again, because it will have the same crappy chips on it.
I've re-applied the thermal paste on my mid-2012 MBP ages ago (idle dropped by 12 celsius on mine), but am waiting for AppleCare to expire on mine (or now waiting until this program expires) before I go down the road of drilling holes into the bottom of the chassis to improve air flow.
A little more food for thought for those that would doubt:
If it were the lead-free solder being used to attach chips to the PCB causing this issue, then you would see issues with the CPU as well (and probably before any issues with the GPU would appear.) It's the BGA solder that's being used on the GPUs, but if the systems had better cooling and proper application of thermal paste, this issue might not occur (or not occur as often at any rate.) Part of me wants to point the finger at whoever manufactures the chips for NVIDIA and AMD (since they've both been involved in these types of problems,) but I can't help but also point the finger at Apple for not doing a better job on the cooling side.
The lack of proper cooling, poor application of thermal paste, and the crappy quality of BGA solder all combined is what causes this problem. Any repairs that will be done will most likely eventually fail again, because it will have the same crappy chips on it.
I've re-applied the thermal paste on my mid-2012 MBP ages ago (idle dropped by 12 celsius on mine), but am waiting for AppleCare to expire on mine (or now waiting until this program expires) before I go down the road of drilling holes into the bottom of the chassis to improve air flow.
A little more food for thought for those that would doubt:
If it were the lead-free solder being used to attach chips to the PCB causing this issue, then you would see issues with the CPU as well (and probably before any issues with the GPU would appear.) It's the BGA solder that's being used on the GPUs, but if the systems had better cooling and proper application of thermal paste, this issue might not occur (or not occur as often at any rate.) Part of me wants to point the finger at whoever manufactures the chips for NVIDIA and AMD (since they've both been involved in these types of problems,) but I can't help but also point the finger at Apple for not doing a better job on the cooling side.
Last edited:
I've been waiting for a MBP refresh to see if they've gone maxwell for the dGPU, as heat could potentially be a lesser issue. But after seeing this thread (and having a 15" MBP Radeongate issue, and having the laptop reflowed 3 times to keep it running), Im rethinking my strategy and starting to think suggestions such as yours are the only safe bet. Broadwell and Skylake have some nice iGPU enhancement in store, granted not maxwell by any means, but could be the best reliability to performance ratio in the MBP world later this year.
Yes, that`s how Apple work, they will keep replacing the failing Logic Boards, with the same junk, with a very limited warrantee. Apple have been doing this forever just search the forum, you will quickly find that some have been through multiple Logic Boards and still left with a ticking "time bomb".
Apple should be forced to replace all theses faulty systems, with new alternatives, then and only then Apple might be more realistic about the components and design of their portables, equally right now Apple cares less especially thanks to MS and Windows 8 being such an abomination they can sell all they can produce....
Q-6
Last edited:
For me is the only realistic solution, given Apple`s disastrous track record with portables and dGPU`s. I am sick and tired of babying Apples finest due to the inadequate design of the cooling system.
My newest MBPr is the 2.8 13" and it runs significantly cooler than my 15" MBPr with exactly the same applications & load, nor do I observe any significant slowdown and it`s quieter. On the next refresh (CPU generation) I will replace the 15" equally no dGPU. Yes the Quad Core is faster in certain applications, so I will replace the 15" with another sans dGPU, I would rather have the benefit of a larger SSD, than the dGPU that will very likely result in premature failure...
Q-6
Now that peeps have had a day in the US and Canada to bring in their 2011 MBP's I have a question. Have any of you had the GPU reflowed outside of Apple by a 3rd party, or other work done on your MBP by a 3rd party, and has this presented a problem when claiming an Apple free repair for you afterward?
I agree with you, modern igpu is enough for me and larger ssd is also important for me.
I'd suggest Unigine Valley which runs on OS X. I won't comment on the rest of the post which I've removed from the quote.
Connected to their network via a lan cable their tests which took a long time to complete came back all clear, even though they could not get anything displayed on my MBP's screen - it was still packed and sent for repair and the repair card stated "logic board replaced".
That's Apple quality - 100% garbage
My pre unibody MBP failed with the 2007/8 nVidia issue and now this rMBP is just starting to have problems, when this one dies I'll be buying somewhere else - not sure if I can put up with Linux, so maybe back to Windows.
I thought I was buying quality, turns out I'm just paying for incompetence and pretty gadgets.
I keep seeing Jony Ive telling he made it thin so it would fail earlier !!!
My pre unibody MBP failed with the 2007/8 nVidia issue and now this rMBP is just starting to have problems, when this one dies I'll be buying somewhere else - not sure if I can put up with Linux, so maybe back to Windows.
I thought I was buying quality, turns out I'm just paying for incompetence and pretty gadgets.
I keep seeing Jony Ive telling he made it thin so it would fail earlier !!!
In some ways sure, but the same page also says -
----------
I've had the same mindset, but am finding it too hard to switch to something else, and untangle myself enough from the Apple ecosystem (there are a lot of brilliant app developers making mac only apps, that really work well for me). But in saying that, if I was switching, my favourite so far is ElementaryOS, love the way it works and am dual booting it now on my MBP.
Took it in last night. Luckily it failed the VST test and will be repaired under this program. They said they had the part in stock and expect it to be ready to pickup on Sunday. Pretty happy with the speed. I have worries about the replacement board and whether or not it has the same issues, but this is better than nothing.
That's my concern. My late 2011 MBP 15" suffered from this issue 10 months ago, and now won't even power up. I'm going to attempt to drop it off at the Apple Store, and I can anticipate them claiming that because it won't power up they can't determine if it suffers from the issue.
If I leave the Apple ecosystem, it will be to move to ElementaryOS.
And computers will continue to fail costing people time & money in productivity and general personal inconvenience. Likely same as the last extended cover for GPU`s people will have to fight to get service.
The replacement Logic Boards will be no better than the failed units, this is a certainty same as the Nvidia 8600GT debacle and how many got "screwed" with that one?
Thankfully the Duel Cores are getting powerful enough, and we now have the option to "ditch" the dGPU on the 15" equally those that need the dGPU for are stuck in the same game. Apple are not any better at designing the hardware, they just choose to run is closer to the limits and the result is obvious.
I am from an industry where we run sophisticated electronics packages at the absolute limits of present technology, and you can be assured that mitigating "thermal shock" and cooling is high on the list of "getting it right"
Q-6
If it`s anything like the 8600GT program it will just be a refurbished board and they are even more prone to failure. Personally I have my doubts how Apple actually "refurbishes" these boards, to me a new dGPU and reflow is a minimum, equally heat gunning the board to death or heating in an oven the appropriate temperature can often revive a dead dGPU, equally it will fail again in quick time.
Personally I would give Apple a chance, if the issue reoccurred I would look to a professional service and have a new dGPU reflowed with leaded solder, at least this would guarantee 2-3 years of solid use...
Q-6
I guess you got very lucky. The so called Genius was very clear to tell me as long as the computer passes the test they will not repair it under the program.
They ran the same test on my, looks like a very old useless outdated test. All the thing does is show a progress bar. It doesn't even do a pattern test that you can see on the screen. Now that I can easily reproduce the issue using GPU Test I'm going to make them repair my at no charge. Then after that I hope to soon get rid of the machine so it's someone else's problem. It's shameful that Apple does stuff like this replacing junk with junk that will fail again with the same issue.
-Mike
----------
Apple doesn't refurbish anything. They use a low class third party like everybody else who no doubt does crappy work with so called refurbishing. Probably equivalent to the refurbishing Comcast does with their junk cable boxes that fail constantly.
-Mike
Am too invested with OS X, equally there is some very serious hardware available on the Portable Workstation market on the PC side, have always shy`d away from a "Hacintosh" however Apple`s obsession with thin & light is killing the MBP...
Q-6
At the very least they should revise the board to address the real issue so it doesn't re-occur in a few months. Just send them to a real electronics company that has real experience which in the US unfortunately its pretty non-existant.
-Mike
----------
I would make them replace the LCD, stuck pixels is a manufacturing defect forget about what every manufacture says about this, at the end of the day nobody in their right mind would accept stuck pixels on a new laptop they just purchased. Make them replace it.
-Mike