Apple Launches Repair Program for Late 2013 Mac Pro Video Issues

[Aldaris]

It might soon go the way of the Xserve, 17" MacBook Pro and Aperture.
I expect we'll know one way or the other by WWDC.

If there isn't a tease by/up to then, I'm afraid you're right. Which is sad, I for one and in the market for one, but am not ready to anchor myself to a 2-3 year old machine. Looking for a TB3 option, and quite possibly will have to begin looking at windows based workstations...

I don't like the direction that Apple is headed purely for the consumer market.

 

[Moustache]

Please can someone send a link to the official apple communication about this?
At the apple store here in Toronto they don't acknowledge the existence of such a repair program for the MacPro.​

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

It might soon go the way of the Xserve, 17" MacBook Pro and Aperture.
I expect we'll know one way or the other by WWDC.

They'll either move it, or kill it would be my guess.

I haven't heard that market penetration has been epic... It's a very expensive toy. If I had the cash, I'd probably buy one, but it would be in the living room/office, not stuck under a desk.

 

[Robert.Walter]

FYI I talked to Apple Support about this program. Since I am having similar issues. They stated to me that if your Mac Pro falls outside the manufacture date and is consistent with these issues. It is still applicable for the program.

Is this a sign of Apple's goodwill and customer satisfaction efforts, or a sign that Apple doesn't have its QC and supplier traceability under control?

Pro-tip: it's a clear sign of the latter.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

The more I hear this the more it sounds like Apple is at fault here and NOT made IN U.S.A!

 

[Michael Scrip]

It's rather sad that Apple has allowed the Mac Pro to become so dated, but I think part of the reason has been suppliers... AMD and Intel. Have they provided adequate upgraded processors since 2013? Intel, for sure, fell behind on their processor roadmap, so that may be a contributing factor. But I think an interim refresh may have been worthwhile for Apple to save face, at least.

So are workstation PCs from other manufacturers stuck using old processors too?

Do HP and Dell still use Intel Xeons from 2013?

 

[chama98]

Please can someone send a link to the official apple communication about this?
At the apple store here in Toronto they don't acknowledge the existence of such a repair program for the MacPro.​

I am thinking that this story isn't true! I have been on Apples web site and spoke to Apple today and they didn't know anything about it!

We need a link and more definitive proof please.

 

[Bubba Satori]

So are workstation PCs from other manufacturers stuck using old processors too?

Do HP and Dell still use Intel Xeons from 2013?

Negatory.
Or 7000 series Radeons, for that matter.

But when you have a captive customer, why not?
When you know that a large percentage of your audience
won't buy anything else, you can sling them anything you want to,
including three year old gear, at three year old prices.
When sales go below a certain point, chuck the trashcan into the dustbin,
and with a straight face declare that there is no longer a market
for professional Apple desktops. Magic.

 

[SamEllens]

What's so good about this, Jimmy?

What I'm reading above is - MacPros that shipped from Feb15 have known faults. Discussion forums since Feb15 have noted this fault. Now, in FEB 2016 - a year later - Apple pulls its finger out and creates a Repair Program???

That is NOT good. That is poor!

Yay for anyone who may have an affected MacPro and NOT suffered symptoms to date, who can get a free repair... Boo for all the poor people out there with this machine, who have had an incredibly expensive paperweight sitting on their desk for 12 months!

...

They come with a year warranty. Anyone who experienced this problem in the last year would get it fixed for free. No paperweights.

 

[jblagden]

Actually you didn't.

Apple dumbed down Disk Utility, and removed all of the RAID options, yes. This annoyed me too. The new Disk Utility is ridiculously feature-less.

BUT, you can still do RAID with El Capitan. You do need to use command line tools, but the support is still there. From what I understand there's a new version of Disk Utility coming back with the features added back in under the new "look".

It's pretty silly how they are doing this...

I can't help but wonder how many complaints it took for Apple to decide to restore those features to Disk Utility.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Negatory. Or 7000 series Radeons, for that matter.

But when you have a captive customer, why not? When you know that a large percentage of your audience won't buy anything else, you can sling them anything you want to, including three year old gear, at three year old prices. When sales go below a certain point, chuck the trashcan into the dustbin, and with a straight face declare that there is no longer a market for professional Apple desktops. Magic.

Kudos for the term "captive customer"

That explains it well.

The dangers of relying on a single OEM to handle everything.

If you're a Windows shop... and the unthinkable happens... you can switch from Dell to HP for your workstation needs. Or Lenovo. Or custom builds.

But Mac users must rely on Apple, and Apple alone. Don't like what they're offering? Tough. There is only one company who makes OSX computers. You're at their mercy.

It's kinda scary for someone to run their business on such a premise.

 

[milo]

True but apple no longer supports 2009.

In what way? It still runs the latest OS and software. And if it doesn't break down it doesn't need hardware support.

 

[SSDGUY]

If there isn't a tease by/up to then, I'm afraid you're right. Which is sad, I for one and in the market for one, but am not ready to anchor myself to a 2-3 year old machine. Looking for a TB3 option, and quite possibly will have to begin looking at windows based workstations...

I don't like the direction that Apple is headed purely for the consumer market.

Apple's negligence toward the pro market (Mac Pros and high end displays) is a big reason I'm less of an Apple fan than in earlier times, starting in '93. In the past I'd proudly engage in the Mac vs PC banter, iPhone vs Android, or otherwise. I would encourage friends to buy Apple. Now I just don't care. Instead I now encouraging friends to buy what they can afford. I bought a 5K iMac last month because I prefer OS X and needed a powerful machine (to replace my hardware-bug-ridden 2011 macbook pro) but didn't want to spend the $'s on an outdated MacPro and very stale thunderbolt display. It was not my optimal choice.

 

[pat500000]

In what way? It still runs the latest OS and software. And if it doesn't break down it doesn't need hardware support.

According to MR, in case you didn't know about it, it doesn't support hardware. Officially, 2009 is now considered legacy. They may still run os x; however, they have the power to continue or discontinue supporting 2009 for os x.

 

[pier]

Just curious...are continuing to support apple by buying their products? I'm just asking because I seen people who say something similar and still support them.

Out of desperation I bought a rMBP after that incident because I had a tight deadline and had to go work on site (I develop interactive stuff for museums). That was the last Apple product I've ever bought.

After that I switched to Android and unless something extraordinary happens my next laptop and desktop machines will run Windows. Not because of that incident, but because Apple computers have terrible value these days if you take into account price vs performance / usable life / repairs / upgrades. I love OSX, been using it for over a decade, but Apple hardware just doesn't cut it for me anymore.
[doublepost=1454986022][/doublepost]

This is not Apple's fault if AMD make shi*tty GPUs. They have ALWAYS made shi*tty GPUs. Remember the MacBook Pro 2012 ? One of the most RMAed laptop Apple ever made, and it was simply because of the GPU.

That argument is not black and white. It could be argued that those GPUs were over heating because of Apple's obsession with slim computers. People use AMD GPUs on gaming rigs all the time that beat the **** out of those chips, but I've never seen more GPU fails than on Apple machines. I know it's just anecdotal data but thanks to Apple's lack of transparency it's all we are left with.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Those GPUs from AMD were designed based upon Apple's custom design specs. They co-developed the product together. The ignorance never gets old.

 

[pier]

Those GPUs from AMD were designed based upon Apple's custom design specs. They co-developed the product together. The ignorance never gets old.

It seems you are actually reaffirming my point.

 

[pat500000]

Out of desperation I bought a rMBP after that incident because I had a tight deadline and had to go work on site (I develop interactive stuff for museums). That was the last Apple product I've ever bought.

After that I switched to Android and unless something extraordinary happens my next laptop and desktop machines will run Windows. Not because of that incident, but because Apple computers have terrible value these days if you take into account price vs performance / usable life / repairs / upgrades. I love OSX, been using it for over a decade, but Apple hardware just doesn't cut it for me anymore.
[doublepost=1454986022][/doublepost]

That argument is not black and white. It could be argued that those GPUs were over heating because of Apple's obsession with slim computers. People use AMD GPUs on gaming rigs all the time that beat the **** out of those chips, but I've never seen more GPU fails than on Apple machines. I know it's just anecdotal data but thanks to Apple's lack of transparency it's all we are left with.

Out of desperation is understandable especially with work. I agree with performance...actually in general about apple products becoming degrading.

 

[cosmichobo]

...

They come with a year warranty. Anyone who experienced this problem in the last year would get it fixed for free. No paperweights.

Gee, it amazes me how many people think that is acceptable, but then it does depend on the culture you are from. Here in Australia, the government thinks it's better to have customer confidence, and thus has laws to protect them, rather than business. Apple's website in Australia now has disclaimers that they abide by Australian Consumer Laws, so things like 1 year warranty really mean nothing - it's about the expected quality of a premium priced computer...

 

[JamesPDX]

An Inconvenient Challenge:

Apple could avail themselves of this silly MP game by officially allowing clones. Then those of us who want pro machines can have our ProTools PC's, HPZ840's, and Boxx machines. The pros and semi-pros would be happy. The single-USB port MacBook fans would be over the moon. Apple could just provide the OS and continue to focus on their many Lifestyle Products, and maybe a TV show here and there.

And just to clear up confusion over companies that greenwash their product line, whatever it may be: Any company or person who makes a public claim to "cares about the environment" should be legally obligated to provide a 10 year, full replacement warranty on any device that costs over $1000 USD -because not everything can be recycled and what can be recycled requires a lot of energy and waste by-products. Cables? 5 years for plastics, foils and copper, etc.? What? You're crying about cables and connectors with real warranties? Man up, take a lap, then take some engineering lessons from Neutrik and Belden: Build it better, not thinner.

 

[antonis]

Negatory.
Or 7000 series Radeons, for that matter.

But when you have a captive customer, why not?
When you know that a large percentage of your audience
won't buy anything else, you can sling them anything you want to,
including three year old gear, at three year old prices.
When sales go below a certain point, chuck the trashcan into the dustbin,
and with a straight face declare that there is no longer a market
for professional Apple desktops. Magic.

It's even worse than that. Many people believed - myself included - that a Pro workstation machine would follow the expected support lifecycle. That there would be upgrades. Not just newer versions of the whole machine (although, there isn't even that). Yes, it had some weird design decisions to begin with, but if Apple did what everyone expected for such a machine, I don't think there would be a huge issue.

Who could have thought back in 2013 than the long anticipated new Mac Pro would just serve the purpose of "can't innovate my a**" phrase and then left out in the cold.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

See? AMD has video problems as well.

Time to move back to nVidia!

Why?
[doublepost=1455026339][/doublepost]

It's even worse than that. Many people believed - myself included - that a Pro workstation machine would follow the expected support lifecycle. That there would be upgrades. Not just newer versions of the whole machine (although, there isn't even that). Yes, it had some weird design decisions to begin with, but if Apple did what everyone expected for such a machine, I don't think there would be a huge issue.

Who could have thought back in 2013 than the long anticipated new Mac Pro would just serve the purpose of "can't innovate my a**" phrase and then left out in the cold.

Yep. They could have easily upgraded to the similar Haswell CPU (a modest upgrade) and Hawaii-based GPUs (a big upgrade) from the Intel and AMD. But, they didn't.

 

[jblagden]

An Inconvenient Challenge:

Apple could avail themselves of this silly MP game by officially allowing clones. Then those of us who want pro machines can have our ProTools PC's, HPZ840's, and Boxx machines. The pros and semi-pros would be happy. The single-USB port MacBook fans would be over the moon. Apple could just provide the OS and continue to focus on their many Lifestyle Products, and maybe a TV show here and there.

And just to clear up confusion over companies that greenwash their product line, whatever it may be: Any company or person who makes a public claim to "cares about the environment" should be legally obligated to provide a 10 year, full replacement warranty on any device that costs over $1000 USD -because not everything can be recycled and what can be recycled requires a lot of energy and waste by-products. Cables? 5 years for plastics, foils and copper, etc.? What? You're crying about cables and connectors with real warranties? Man up, take a lap, then take some engineering lessons from Neutrik and Belden: Build it better, not thinner.

They allowed clones once, I think it was in the 90's, and it nearly killed them. And when companies started making IBM clones (in the 80s?), they effective kicked IBM out of their market by selling more crappy clones.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

An Inconvenient Challenge:

Apple could avail themselves of this silly MP game by officially allowing clones. Then those of us who want pro machines can have our ProTools PC's, HPZ840's, and Boxx machines. The pros and semi-pros would be happy. The single-USB port MacBook fans would be over the moon. Apple could just provide the OS and continue to focus on their many Lifestyle Products, and maybe a TV show here and there.

And just to clear up confusion over companies that greenwash their product line, whatever it may be: Any company or person who makes a public claim to "cares about the environment" should be legally obligated to provide a 10 year, full replacement warranty on any device that costs over $1000 USD -because not everything can be recycled and what can be recycled requires a lot of energy and waste by-products. Cables? 5 years for plastics, foils and copper, etc.? What? You're crying about cables and connectors with real warranties? Man up, take a lap, then take some engineering lessons from Neutrik and Belden: Build it better, not thinner.

Clones?

Not the answer... Nope...

 

[milo]

According to MR, in case you didn't know about it, it doesn't support hardware. Officially, 2009 is now considered legacy. They may still run os x; however, they have the power to continue or discontinue supporting 2009 for os x.

That doesn't answer my question, what is meant by "supporting"? It's long out of warranty so any repairs would be paid ones. If they still have parts available they're going to take your money and do the repair.