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Apple Products Not Made To Last

J

johnnyhow

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 20, 2008
135
0
Has anyone else experience a problem with apple products, where it seems just over the year warrenty, your ipod, or mac starts to play up?

I bought a Macbook in September 2007, I was always extremely careful with it, only used it for home use (barely ever took it out to uni or friends), and used the disc drive only when putting cds onto itunes, or watching installing software. Yet, by December-January of 2008, the Disc drive was making funny noises, and stopped working. Again, I never overused it, nor did I underuse it, I was always careful with my macbook, and yet the drive just went. I can't afford to replace the drive, nor can I afford to purchase a new computer, so I've continued using it.

My ipod 120g, which I got for Christmas last year, has recently started to play up. It frequently freezes, sometimes doesn't show up on the computer, etc. Now for both of these products, the warrenty expired either days or a couple of months after these problems occured, so I have no help from apple.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this phenomenom? To me it seems almost as if Apple only design their products to last a year, expecting people to upgrade and thus fork out more money. Let me make this clear that I love using Mac OS x, it's pure quality, fast and efficient, but the hardware just doesn't match it's quality. I really wanted to continue to be a mac owner in the future, and yet, I refuse to fork out yearly for an upgrade.

I know there is the option of a 3 year warrenty with apple, but it costs an absolute bundle, $400 if I were to buy the $2000 (aussie dollars) macbook pro, so I won't be doing that. Also, I don't think it's ethical to expect your customers to fork out approx. 20% of the cost price for a guarentee that your machine won't break down for 2 extra years.

To me, Apple is, Apple has become, the Microsoft of the 21st Century.
 
Umm... Call me a fanboy, my experience says that Apple's products are built much better then their PC competitors, with the exception of say the Tough Book.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
Umm... Call me a fanboy, my experience says that Apple's products are built much better then their PC competitors, with the exception of say the Tough Book.
Click to expand...

Same here. I have the 80GB (going on 3 years old) iPod and use it every day for hours and it works great still. I have 2 Macbook, and other stuff and all working great so far over a year later.
 
I am also not a fanboy, and have seen things I don't like about Apple. But their stuff is tough and their operating system is very stable.

OS 8.1 on a PowerTowerPro 180 - I used this operating system for two years and never had any substantial issues while I had to reinstall Windows 98 on my PC several times over the same period. When I got the computer with OS 8.1 on it, it was three years old having been installed with OS 7.x back in 1996.

1999 iBook with OS 9 - still works even though the modem port cracked two years ago but this laptop is as tough as nails

2000 Power Mac with Jaguar - just gave this one away in perfect working condition, no issues

2005 Mac mini with Tiger - I use this daily, no issues
 
My original mac mini g4 was still running strong when I sold it last week....I think that is a pretty good life span for a computer.....

...I will say though that I bought the last edition black macbook, the battery swelled and seperated 2 or three months past warranty, I called apple and they told me they would sell me another.....I was a bit miffed, not what I expected from them,

I realize they can not stand behind a product forever but when something happens that is an obvious manufacture defect then you would expect more....needless to say I am not quite so much the fanboy after this happened to me.

funny part is they told me if it had damaged the macbook they would have done something, but since the battery busted out the bottem instead of the top if was considered normal lol
 
I have the same experience with my macbook. The iSight camera died just a few months after the warranty expired. The whole machine was a mess from the start, with tons of bluetooth issues, a dead hard drive and a cracked body. And also from someone who mainly just used it as a desktop computer. Regret not getting applecare for it.

My ipod Shuffle died right out of the box after 1 use. Apple replaced it no problem. My old Applevision monitor died right after the warranty expired. That was a huge loss of money.

But all 3 of my Powermacs were rock solid excellent computers that I used a ton of hours. So it's all luck.
 
I'm using a powerbook g4 from 2004 as my primary computer, and the only ipod I use is three years old. I've had to replace the ac adapter for the powerbook and I'm thinking about ordering a new ipod battery from ifixit. That said I will always purchase an extended warranty for portable products as it seems like they either last right around a year, or five years ++.
 
Like any other electronic device that is mass produced, there are going to be problems that come up no matter what. Its just unavoidable sometimes. I think Apple's quality prior to 2001 was better than its been since. Even so, all the machines listed in my sig are working and fully functional. My 3rd gen 15GB iPod is still my primary music player and I've never had any issues with my 12" Powerbooks. I could also list dozens of problems I've faced with my MacBook Pro's, iBook G3, and TiBook, but that would take too long. Superdrives in these Intel machines do seem to be complete crap though.
 
johnnyhow said:
To me, Apple is, Apple has become, the Microsoft of the 21st Century.
Click to expand...


Your complaints see to be about Apple's hardware. Microsoft is a software company. They are also still around. So besides for Microsoft being the Microsoft of the 21st century, what's the comparison.

Take a look at your car. Without regular maintenance it would not last. Oil changes, tires, filters, batteries, etc, etc.

I mean you can leave your car in the garage and barely touch it, but you'll still need to do maintenance on it.

My 06 Mac Pro is still going strong. Besides for a busted screen that was my fault, my 07 Macbook Pro is stlll kicking, and this unibody mac book feels brand new.

Now my iPhone and iPod are a different story, however these devices get banged up with daily use, sadly these types of devices will not last forever. Just taking the maintenance seriously will help get more life out of the machine.
 
Mercury7 said:
My original mac mini g4 was still running strong when I sold it last week....I think that is a pretty good life span for a computer.....

...I will say though that I bought the last edition black macbook, the battery swelled and seperated 2 or three months past warranty, I called apple and they told me they would sell me another.....I was a bit miffed, not what I expected from them,

I realize they can not stand behind a product forever but when something happens that is an obvious manufacture defect then you would expect more....needless to say I am not quite so much the fanboy after this happened to me.

funny part is they told me if it had damaged the macbook they would have done something, but since the battery busted out the bottem instead of the top if was considered normal lol
Click to expand...

yeh I think you're experience is kind of like mine. The older products, like pre-2005, seem to be built strong and tough, but the later ones aren't as durable.

Glad to see though, that not everyone is having this problem, I'd say that they have cut costs in manufacturing, that probably has unfortunately resulted in more faulty products, but ofcourse there would be plenty of quality ones. Some of us are just unlucky.

I would have classified myself as an apple fanboy, but because their customer care is poor, I'm afraid I can't. I am, though, a big fan of the OS, which is why it makes it hard to leave the brand.

I agree that apple can't give warrenties for life, seeing as computers aren't made to last that long, but I think it should be a law for companies to provide reasonable warrenties that ensure the product you buy will last as long as it's supposed to. In the case of a laptop, I would say 2 years would be good, as most problems seem to occure in the second year. I even think it's fair to call 2 years for an ipod warrenty. For an iMac, I think the warrenty should be at least 3 years.

One thing I know for sure is, I won't be ordering any future macs (if I do ever end up going with them again) online, because purchasing at a retail store can usually ensure a cheaper warrenty.
 
synth3tik said:
Your complaints see to be about Apple's hardware. Microsoft is a software company. They are also still around. So besides for Microsoft being the Microsoft of the 21st century, what's the comparison.

Take a look at your car. Without regular maintenance it would not last. Oil changes, tires, filters, batteries, etc, etc.

I mean you can leave your car in the garage and barely touch it, but you'll still need to do maintenance on it.

My 06 Mac Pro is still going strong. Besides for a busted screen that was my fault, my 07 Macbook Pro is stlll kicking, and this unibody mac book feels brand new.

Now my iPhone and iPod are a different story, however these devices get banged up with daily use, sadly these types of devices will not last forever. Just taking the maintenance seriously will help get more life out of the machine.
Click to expand...
You're right about my mac-MS comparison, didn't think that through.

But I don't agree that an ipod/ a mac can be compared to a car. Certainly with a car you can do things to maintain it, but what can you honestly do with a mac? You can't change the disc drive every year, it's expensive! There's nothing wrong with my battery, so that doesn't need maintenance. The ram and HDD are fine. So really, there's not much you can do to maintain a mac. I've been as careful with it as I can.

Same with my ipod, I don't expect it to last aslong as my sony walkman from '96, but I do expect it to last longer than 12 months! I think that's a fair expectation on my part. I'd like to get, and I think it's reasonable to get, 3 years use out of an ipod. My ipod nano first gen is still running fine, although the battery probably needs a change, but that lasted me 3 years fine. I want to be able to use my Classic for another 2 years. Just so you know, I'm not rough with it, I keep it covered at all times, and don't knock it around at all.
 
I dont think apple designs anything to fail at a time. Ever. But things just break, especially when your working with mass manufacturing and big business. My MacBook just started getting this green line thats 1px thick that runs down the entire screen. My 1 year limited warranty expired dec. 12th 09..
 
Apple products are not made to last, but not because of what you think. It's called planned obsolescence, where the product will become obsolete after x amount of time. Maybe they use the lack of an upgradable video card or RAM or battery to do this, or maybe it's the use of materials that easily scratch or dent to make it appear old before its time. Apple does all of this, and yes, they are designed to be replaced often.

The fact that your CD drive broke is unlucky, but don't for an instant think that Apple wants you to keep using their products for 7 years.
 
omeletpants said:
Nonsense thread. Tell me exactly how you program to fail after a year?
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How is this a nonsense thread unless you're an apple employee? Obviuosly I didn't literally mean that apple planned their products to die after a certain amount of time.

I also understand that they don't want you to use something for 7 years- in fact my plan is to replace a computer every 2-3 years. I think it's fair then, to expect your mac to last longer than 1 year.
 
That's why you buy AppleCare.

I had a Black MacBook with AppleCare. The Hard Drive died 3 times.

Apple replaced it for free, with a MacBook Pro 13".

Apple is known for their stellar support, so that's something you should take advantage of. Here in the US, I can get AppleCare off of eBay for around 50% off, pretty cheap, mind you. (Now, you can get into all the things about buying AppleCare off of eBay- There are threads for that)

Happy holidays to you, sir.
 
johnnyhow said:
How is this a nonsense thread unless you're an apple employee? Obviuosly I didn't literally mean that apple planned their products to die after a certain amount of time.

I also understand that they don't want you to use something for 7 years- in fact my plan is to replace a computer every 2-3 years. I think it's fair then, to expect your mac to last longer than 1 year.
Click to expand...

Because I have been in the electronics and computer business for 32 years for 3 of the biggest companies in the world. Here's a newsflash for you: electronic components fail. For anyone to paint a conspiracy theory that says a company sits there and plans for failures and obsolescence is clueless. It's doesn't happen. You think there is a Vice President of Obsolescence that arranges this. Total nonsense by anyone that buys into this lame conspiracy theory because you just don't know what you talk about.
 
omeletpants said:
Nonsense thread. Tell me exactly how you program to fail after a year?
Click to expand...

From been an Apple/Dell/Compaq warranty tech, I can say all three companies want their stuff to be good. Nobody plans to build a machine that will tank in a year.

What Apple has is a stronger industrial design with a stronger case and a stable operating system. It is very rare, when comparing Apple to the other two, to see a major failure of hardware or software within a year, or two. The Macs I have had, several of them, and the ones my parents have had, all lasted until they became obsolete. No big hardware issues, and no software/operating system issues to speak of (compared with Windows).

The only place I have heard about hardware or software issues with Macs are within the context of a huge group, 400000 members here, where a few people have issues. For context, take a look at PC related sites and problems people have, especially around Microsoft Windows.
 
I think the bottom line in my specific case is It would have cost the company very little to replace my defective battery and it would have continued my warm and fuzzy about apple products.....I am not abandoning apple but I probably will not speak as positively about them to people in the future.

I will mention a second rant now, I just took delivery of a new mac mini, got ready to hook it it up and no vga adapter....I mean I know dvi is taking over the world but don't most people who are buying a byomak aren't they expected to have an older monitor? So I got to stare at my new shiny mac mini for three days while I waited for apple to send me an adapter......I pretty much let them have it when I called reciting this argument so at least they did not charge me for sending it.

so whatcha think....should mac minis include a vga adapter....I can not help but think about all those pissed off people Christmas morning lol....if it says it does not come with it at the mac store it was not obvious to me.
 
While I do feel that the quality of the hardware has declined in recent years, I don't think it has declined by much.

In addition, Applecare is a godsend. As long as you have it, you're pretty much covered for 3 years (unless you drop it/spill something on it!).
 
Macbook

I have a macbook from early 2006 and I am yet to even take it in to be serviced. Not a thing wrong with it, and my only complaint actually is that since upgrading from tiger to snow leopard, it takes longer to sign in my account. Other than that, it works perfectly.

The darn thing is finally starting to physically break though, to no fault of its own. I toss it around too much, and the case is cracked in a few places, the screen is cracked, it sounds like its going to break in half when I open it, but it runs like a champ. No hard drive issues, no graphics issues, no disc drive issues, nada.
 
Generally I think Apple products have good build quality, better than average.

We have had a fair share of problems though, particularly related to MBP battery, power supply & cable and sleep problems. The Mighty Mouse certainly wasn't built to last.
 
My TiBook from 2002 still works fine, my 1G iPod from the same year still gets 7+ hours of battery life...my parents' Power Mac G4 is still humming along... otoh, my iMac G5 died after 4 years.
 
There's more than a few disgruntled Apple customers suffering from misbehaving products. I've noticed over the years that the real problem Apple is vunerable to the quality control and subsystem defects of their vendors and subcontractors and a design philosophy (thin & small) that results in engineering challenges for electronic components.

Whether it's batteries, caps or diodes, LCD panels, or the scratch resistance of iPod shells . . . the party directly affected is the consumer that shelled out premium money for a quasi-luxury item and now has a pile of junk well before its useful life is over. What does one do with an Intel iMac that has a non-functional LCD?

Apple isn't the only company that has this weakness. Mercedes-Benz' reputation suffered at the hands of its subcontractors, like Robert Bosch and Siemens, whose quality control processes weren't preventing component design failure.

What would truly be impressive is for the company to call those vendors to task, address customer issues and commit to quality at all stages in the future. Perhaps the loss of income from reduced Apple Care insurance policies sold would be too big a blow to Apple. :D
 
omeletpants said:
Because I have been in the electronics and computer business for 32 years for 3 of the biggest companies in the world. Here's a newsflash for you: electronic components fail. For anyone to paint a conspiracy theory that says a company sits there and plans for failures and obsolescence is clueless. It's doesn't happen. You think there is a Vice President of Obsolescence that arranges this. Total nonsense by anyone that buys into this lame conspiracy theory because you just don't know what you talk about.
Click to expand...

johnnyhow said:
Obviously I didn't literally mean that apple planned their products to die after a certain amount of time.

I think it's fair then, to expect your mac to last longer than 1 year.
Click to expand...

Please remember to read the post you're replying to next time.
 
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