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Apple replaced my 3 year old MBPro with a new one, advice needed.

H

HockeyGuy

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 17, 2008
45
0
Ok so I need some advice.

My previous macbook pro was almost out of its 3 year applecare protection, so I decided to take it in for this annoying high frequency noise that it was making. Turns out they had to send it away. Long story short... after 30 days... they lost my laptop somehow and had to replace it with a brand new April 2009 Macbook Pro. They completely redeemed themselves for how upset I was with them... I mean a brand new mbpro after my older one was already 3 years old? Sounds amazing, right?

Well here is the deal... immediately with the brand new mbpro they sent me, I was having problems. The computer completely froze and required a restart at least once every 2 days. The airport card would randomly turn itself off and would not turn back on unless I did a restart. I got “Kernal Panics” every once in a while when using some programs, which required a restart...

I spent a lot of time on the phone with applecare, them trying to diagnose the issue... after days & hours with nothing fixing the problem, they wanted me to bring it into the store.... So it spent 10 days at the Apple Store, they couldn’t “duplicate” my problems, but decided to replace my Airport card with a brand new one..

Turns out, the new airport card stopped the random freezing of the machine, but my airport card STILL completely shuts off now at least once every 2 days... so the problem is not fixed... After another call to AppleCare, they want me to sent it to their Repair Center so they can replace the Logic Board....

All of this is extremely frustrating. I am a real estate agent and use my laptop almost every hour of everyday.... It is extremely inconvenient for me to be without my computer.

I’m looking for some advice for you all... do I call customer relations and demand they send me a new machine, one that works? Am I being greedy considering they already gave me a brand new mbpro? Do I just live with the problems and pretend that they don’t exist? I mean I have still been using it since April even though I have had to put up with the restarts and airport card not working... its not like it doesn’t work completely...

Any comments or advice anyone has I greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
 
You do not sound like you are being greedy or trying to scam Apple at all to me. You certainly have an issue that needs to be sorted asap. I always use applecare and would expect to be looked after as you should also. I hope Apple can sort out your issue without much further delays :)
 
I would not consider yourself picky over this, these problems are making your computer difficult to use and should be fixed because of this. I really don't have much to add other than that, hopefully replacing the logic board will fix these problems, keep us updated if there are any more problems after you get it returned.
 
Do you have Snow Leopard? Make a large video of you working on your computer then when it shuts off or stops working, you have video and can show them. Also they have on record that they replaced an airport card already. So then after I had the video, I'd go to the Apple Store again.

Sincerely,
Mel
 
Hey OP,

I've been through and done exactly what you are, multiple times.

I think that it would be smart to give Customer Relations a ring, during the weekdays, and explain to them the hardships which you have endured.

What you have gone through is not at all acceptable, and they should take care of you. All you need to do now, is mention that the previous machine was lost, had major issues to the end of it's life, was out for over 30 days in the depot with no resloution, and now the only few months old machine fails to satisfy you in any way.
 
While I definitely understand the how the OP might feel in terms of asking for too much since Apple replaced his 3 year old machine with one of the newer Unibodies which is much better than what he had before, regardless of Apple giving him a great replacement, the OP deserves a WORKING machine. I would definitely call customer relations, don't bother dealing with Applecare repair anymore. Don't "demand" anything, there's no reason to have that mentality, you just got a lemon, things happen. Just explain to CR, in a calm manner, the whole situation and tell them that you would just like to have the replacement, "replaced" because it's a lemon. There's no reason to go through more repairs on a replacement machine that you just got. Apple CR should be very reasonable about this.
 
I have found that Apple goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service. However, it can be a rather painful process when it comes to resolving an issue. It is great that they replaced the previous machine but you obviously received a lemon. I have received two replacement machines in the past and have a bit of experience in this area. I would suggest that you call Customer Relations and explain the situation. It is not out of line to request a machine that is problem free when you receive it.
 
No way you're not being greedy, you're entitled to a perfectly working laptop like you had (minus the high pitch noise).

Keep calling till you get everything sorted, but be nice to them ;)
 
Thanks for all the replies

Thank you to all of you that replied, I appreciate all of the great input! After reading everyone's comments, I am going to be calling Apple's customer relations department when they open tomorrow morning. I'll be persistent but still respectful. Apple has always come through for me in the past so I will give them another shot.

Thanks again and I'll check back tomorrow to hopefully drop some good news.

_/_\_
 
Ok, so after 30 minutes on the phone with AppleCare and Customer relations, unfortunately I didn't have any success. I explained everything to them and although they told me they were sorry... they said at least point the only option was to send my laptop in for repair. I am upset but at the same time I didn't feel like I had anything else I could say to make them reconsider. I already dropped it off at FedEx this morning after the phone call. I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks again for the advice and comments.
 
Update!!

Apple story

Hey guys.. wanted to update everyone. As I mentioned, I ended up having to send my MBPro in for a replacement logic board. I sent it in last Monday and just received it back this morning, a 7 day turn around time, I was impressed.*

However, I am speechless once again after opening up the box up and turning my laptop on. Everything starts out fine, I log in, start up Safari to do some browsing, and as I type in a web address, my computer freezes!! I waited 5 minutes... still frozen. I closed the screen to see if it went to "sleep".. nope! This was ONE of the issues that the laptop was sent in for.*

I can not believe it... they replaced my Logic board and my airport card (for the 2 time).*

I just left a message at Customer Relations and got a call back fro
*another representative who told me I need to make an appointment at a retail store for them to diagnose the issue. I told him it was already diagnosed twice before, but he could care less. He was sorry about the whole thing and the inconvenience but said that's all he can do. I told him I would like a new machine, a replacement, because I feel that I got a "lemon". He replied that lemon laws don't apply to computers and that he can't help me until I go back into a store and see a Genius...

Is this unacceptable??

I mean the first repair took 10 days at the Apple Store and they replaced the airport card.

The 2nd repair it was sent into the repair center to have the logic board replaced as well as another airport card.*

This is extremely frustrating.*
 
HockeyGuy said:
I told him I would like a new machine, a replacement, because I feel that I got a "lemon". He replied that lemon laws don't apply to computers and that he can't help me until I go back into a store and see a Genius...
Click to expand...
That's not what these guys say:
http://www.computerlemonlaw.com/rights.html

Keep pushing Apple to rectify your problem, but if it seems like they're not acting in good faith, it seems like there's a bunch of lawyers out there who will be more than happy to sue on your behalf. Don't give up until you've gotten a satisfactory machine.
 
Ok, so AirPort and Logic Board was replaced. The only thing left would be the HDD and RAM assuming they reusing the RAM and HDD and just swapped out the Logic Board. Hate to say it, but you're going to have to call them back. I would expect Apple to replace your MacBook Pro again.
 
Last time I checked, they lost your MacBook Pro. They gave you a new one as a replacement, your replacement MacBook Pro was faulty.

I mean would you accept a faulty just cause you've used it for a few years. Another point, do you want to go and buy a new MacBook Pro voluntarily? Just go back to them and stop worrying!
 
nuncupatory said:
That's not what these guys say:
http://www.computerlemonlaw.com/rights.html

Keep pushing Apple to rectify your problem, but if it seems like they're not acting in good faith, it seems like there's a bunch of lawyers out there who will be more than happy to sue on your behalf. Don't give up until you've gotten a satisfactory machine.
Click to expand...

You are so naive about the American legal system. From your own source consisting of ambulance chasers:

If the company is unwilling or unable to make successful repairs, the company has breached its warranty obligation to you,


So far it seems Apple is taking reasonable action to remedy the OP's problems.
 
Richard1028 said:
You are so naive about the American legal system. From your own source consisting of ambulance chasers:

If the company is unwilling or unable to make successful repairs, the company has breached its warranty obligation to you,


So far it seems Apple is taking reasonable action to remedy the OP's problems.
Click to expand...
You apparently failed to read the part where I first said "Keep pushing Apple to rectify your problem." The rest of my comment about seeking legal advice relates to if Apple does not attempt to resolve said problem in a satisfactory manner. He's already had two repairs with this new replacement computer and gone through a lot of inconvenience, so he asked for a different computer, but the Apple Customer Relations peep he talked to stated that lemon laws don't apply to computers. Obviously there are lawyers out there who feel otherwise (hence the link).
 
Ok well since I am trying to be persistent here, I called back again and spoke to another Customer Relations specialist. This guy seemed much more understanding of my problems, but still insisted that I go see an Apple store Genius. If the genius confirms I have a "hardware failure", the customer relations specialist said to call him back specifically and he will "help me out further".... and from what I got out of how he said that.... that means he will replace my computer with a new one.

Lets hope the Genius I see tomorrow is understanding.

If anyone wants to see a video or picture of my problem private message me, I recorded 2 different incidents to show the Genius.
 
post the vids on youtube.

it may answer my questions:

What do you mean by 'computer freezes up'? Does the cursor stop blinking? Does the mouse move?

what do you mean by 'airport shuts off'? Does it go gray in the menu bar or does it lose the waves ?
 
When you are in a situation where you urgently need a computer without any downtime there is only one real solution, no matter if you are PC or Mac. Keep a second machine around in your vicinity as a fall back option. This second machine can be a very low end, simple and cheap machine (my main machine is a very high end MBP, my fall back option is a 2006 Mac mini) and of course hook them up to your external time machine disc every now and then.
Doc
 
Maybe its a wireless network issue, since they cant duplicate it in store, thats the only difference I see between locations.
 
nuncupatory said:
but the Apple Customer Relations peep he talked to stated that lemon laws don't apply to computers. Obviously there are lawyers out there who feel otherwise (hence the link).
Click to expand...
The Apple rep is correct. Lemon laws apply to automobiles and legislation has been specifically written for this.

If you're not an attorney stop giving legal advice. It's people like you that drive the price of everything into oblivion.
 
Richard1028 said:
The Apple rep is correct. Lemon laws apply to automobiles and legislation has been specifically written for this.

If you're not an attorney stop giving legal advice. It's people like you that drive the price of everything into oblivion.
Click to expand...

Just to add, Apple doesn't have a lemon policy. Apple replaces computers at their own discretion and shouldn't be categorized as a lemon policy. I'm not sure if a lemon law or policy applies to computers or not, but 3rd party sellers such as Best Buy may offer an extended warranty (not AppleCare) that has a lemon policy stating that after x repairs or failures, they will replace the product. This should not be associated with Apple in anyway.

As for the OP, it really is unfortunate that you've gone through a lot of downtime but my advice is not call them up with an attitude that Apple does owe you a new computer. If Apple feels like they need to give you one, they will but in the meantime, continue to work with them.
 
Could be something as simple as a bad hard drive, they tend to freeze the machine and can also be responsible for slows and stalls. (HD going bad tends to freeze the clock and only leaves the mouse moving)

Of course, the memory can also be an issue if kernel panics are an issue.

---

With the new machine, you may still experience some airport drops with non-Apple base stations, but people get those when connected to some Netgear and Linksys wireless stations -- especially when they haven't had their firmware updated in a long time.
 
Great news to report back to you all. I ended up going to the Genius appointment, they confirmed that I have a hardware failure still. I called the Customer Relations rep back and he confirmed, they are sending me a brand new 2.53 GHz MBP. All the trouble I went through was worth it as I am getting a great upgrade with the integrated battery and sd card slot.

I've been tracking it online and it will arrive at my house this Tuesday, I'm very excited to have a working MBP again!

I decided I am going to start with Snow Leopard from scratch and not migrate All of my files/applications over using time machine. Instead I will keep all my old stuff on my external HD and just bring over my pics/music. The reason Im doing this is because with my previous MBPro, the one I just got replaced, I used time machine to "merge" everything over from my OLD original mbpro. This was one of the problems the Applecare reps / geniuses thought was causing my airport card to stop working and computer to freeze. Any thoughts on this?
 
It could be migrating a corrupt file or two, so I definitely advise you to do a clean install/no migration like you said.
 
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