Apple Says 2011 MacBook Pro No Longer Eligible For 'Video Issues' Repair Program

[macTW]

I have this problem. It is intermittent. I have decided not to follow up on it. However, I have also set decided not to buy another MacBook Pro.

Someone help me understand this logic...

"I have a six year old laptop. It has a known issue an I'd had years to get it fixed. I didn't, so now I decided to never buy from this line of laptop again."

Am I missing the common sense?
[doublepost=1495469562][/doublepost]

For all who read this, especially those who are would-be 1st time Apple owners. All of the stories of faulty products are not exaggerations and are not rare occurances. I have been an Mac user since 2001 when i bought my first BTO Macbook Pro which had multiple video chip failures with multiple repairs needed, screen went out and needed replaced, my next products were (x2) 2011 iMacs, both had video chip failures, failed hard drives and now half of one of the screens is dark. Theres been multiple iphones from the 3GS (volume rocker fell off), 4 (bad antennae design), and currently the SE (havent had long enough to find its weakness, but have learned my lesson to use the assistive touch instead of physical buttons). So Apple is not "premium" in anything other than the price tag. Apple made us pay for every repair. Now, I am clinging onto the 2011 iMacs because my next, if there is one, computer will be some kind of PC, hopefully someone will have a hackintosh by then that runs macOs I can build that wont be a huge ordeal, but there is no way I will ever pony up another dime to support the dips##ts that design these machines with cheap parts that consistently fail and are expensive to repair. So buyer beware. You have been warned.

"All stories are not exaggerations or rare..."

Speaks about his own personal story and comments on none of the stories he wanted to convince people were plentiful...

 

[Bacillus]

Aaahh, there will be a way to push that 2016 MBPro down the throats

 

[Vjosullivan]

Apple did far more for their customers than any PC vendor here, so your decision to not buy a macbook (if based on this failure) is flawed...

Yep. They charged me over £500 to replace the logic board, earlier this year. Far more than any PC vendor would charge for an equivalent board.

 

[Otis Bagotis]

They refused to repair mine in January saying they did not have parts.

I had the same problem. First had mine "repaired" in September of 2015 and they just replaced the logic board with the same faulty design and it crapped out on me again in January. I don't live near an Apple store but I did call customer service and they were no help at all. They wouldn't even sell me a replacement part, said they were out of stock. The thing that sucks the most is I just barely upgraded the harddrive to an SSD and moved the original HDD to the superdrive bay not even 3 weeks earlier.

I'm now stuck using my crappy HP business computer that I really only bought for the one client I have who still uses Quickbooks for Windows.

Now that I'm out of college I don't have a need for a laptop anymore so I'm thinking of buying a used 27" 2012 iMac so I can cannibalize the memory and SSD out of my macbook and also get a monitor out of it. I have a hard time buying a new laptop for $2,000+ that doesn't have any user replaceable parts.

 

[neurophysicist]

Hello,


Probably missing something very simple, but if the program expired on December 31, 2016, why are they now saying they won't take Early 2011 models?

My Early 2011 with 16GB RAM/500 GB SSD worked incredibly well. Never had any issues until February 2017 when the graphics failure happened (I was using the MBP and then the screen slowly turned completely white). I confirmed with Apple that the graphics test failed (the genius used their testing tool to confirm it), but they refused to take it in for repair, saying the deadline had passed. I also called Apple support the next day, and they also refused. I'm just a little confused what the difference is between this announcement and what (I thought) was already the case with the program expiring on December 31, 2016.

This is extremely frustrating; the laptop worked incredibly well, so I wanted to get it fixed. I sent it in to the ps3specialist (after reading many good reviews and even contacting someone that had their GPU reballed by him). Service was quick and he sent it back soon. Unfortunately, I still had the same exact issues (as if the model wasn't even fixed at all): whenever I would turn on the 2011 MBP, it would never finish the boot process (progress bar would not finish); if booted in safe mode (the bar would finish, but the computer would never proceed); or if booted from external or recovery partitions (the screen was grey and the GUI menu with all the OS X utilities would be missing). He offered to take it again because of the 30 day warranty, but by that point I figured I would just get a brand new model, since I needed it for my work and I figured having a Retina screen would be beneficial (and the performance from a 6 year newer machine would be helpful). I also figured I could salvage my 16GB/500GB SSD into my Mac Mini.

For time and work related reasons I purchased the 2016 15" MBP (1 TB SSD, Radeon Pro 460). I was aware from posts last Fall on MR that some users had graphics issues, but I needed a new machine badly and figured I would get the latest hardware (and if the issues happened to me within the first 5 years, AppleCare would cover it.) I use gfxcardstatus to track which graphics card is being used; ever since I obtained the 2016 model, anytime the discrete graphics card is triggered, the mouse locks up and there is a noticeable lag for some time. Additionally, starting today, I've started to see the red pixels all over the screen (which seems to be common for 2016 users with the GPU issue ). I'm shocked it happened this early on; I never had a serious issue with the 2011 until shortly before its death 6 years later. I'm not sure if it was an El Capitan (2011 MBP) vs Sierra (2016 MBP) issue, but my 2011 definitely ran smoother. I've been quite disappointed that my 2016's performance often lags behind my 2011. I feel like I should not have even paid for the upgraded discrete graphics card (I'm using some very basic graphics in Jupyter Notebook in Python which trigger the AMD card, and the red patches come back ). It is not remotely intensive. I don't play computer games either.

I came to MacRumors today to look for any threads regarding the 2016 TBMBP graphics issue which just started in the last few minutes for me, and was shocked to see this post about the 2011!

To summarize:

1. Probably missing something very simple, but if the program expired on December 31, 2016, why are they now saying they won't take Early 2011 models?
2. Anyone else here with experience with ps3specialist/GPU failure?
3. Anyone else that was able to get the logic board replaced after December 31, 2016?
4. (Off topic) Other than forcing the integrated card only, any luck with the graphics issue on the TouchBar model?
5. (Off topic) Seriously considering a 2015 MBP; if the graphics issue persists, would I be able to get my money back/trade in the touch bar model?
6. (Off topic) Clarification: From what I understand, the Hackintosh consists of running a modified version of macOS on non Apple Hardware; noob question, but what is the legality of this? I assume Hackintosh setups are mostly desktop; are there laptop configurations people have made? My luck with 2 GPU disasters in a row doesn't give me much confidence in MBPs

Extremely disappointed in the lack of quality, especially with regards to the GPUs and heating issues in these MBPs. Their testing needs a lot more work, especially considering how expensive these MBPs are (the 1TB SSD + AMD Pro 460 + AppleCare makes it close to $4,000 USD).

Thank you for any replies to my questions above; always appreciate the help I get on MR.

 

[CasinoDave]

I wasn't aware there was a problem with the video card on early 2011 Macbook Pro laptops until I saw in the news about the program ending, after it ended, I have a Macbook Pro 17 inch. It has an SSD, 8GB RAM and a 2.3GHz i7 maybe that eased the strain on both the GPUs? (automatic graphics switching used as well).

I'm OK really I never had any problems with six years of daily use up until now (June 5 2017) my graphics will suddenly start jumping around big blocks or garbage and the mouse pointer becomes a vertical line. Occasionally the mouse pointer disappears the computer freezes and then reboots itself, sometimes a "grey screen of death" requiring a hard shutdown i.e. 4 second press of the power button.

Sure it's a six year old laptop but I got my money's worth but it would have been nice to get an email from Apple letting me know before Dec 2016 deadline.

edit: I should add that I think the Automatic Graphics Switching (AGS) has saved my Macbook it must use the Intel Graphics 3000 adapter when the AMD Radeon HD 6750M fails or overheats. I had Automatic Graphics Switching enabled since I got my Macbook but only recently tried turning it off I think that is when my graphics went bonkers. On this same Macbook I also have Win 10 via dual booting and it wasn't even usable the graphics were so garbled. I wonder how Automatic Graphics Switching works and in Bootcamp is it on or off or is AGS even an option.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

they announced this fraud announcement to get my 5 computers I am trying to fix them since April to be out of the program because I gave them hard time.

please sign my petition and share it and we will get them in court for class action law suit for stealing our money

I get that you are pissed. I'm not 'pleased' either, but I also have to admit that it was am what, 7 year-old computer. Seven years old is a 'long time' in the PeeCee business.

Suing them to support old stuff is rather counter productive. (Anyone have a IIcx? Wanna sue them to make them support it?) What are they required to support products for in the EU? (That is one of the many reasons there is such a drive to kill the EU, BTW)

I'm actually better off with the replacement I have as it's faster, and better in so many ways.

I'm ready to move on. I'm NOT ready to join a lawsuit to force them to repair/recover/replace old systems that are already out of date and unsupported/nearly unusable.

Sorry...

 

[weckart]

Suing them to support old stuff is rather counter productive. (Anyone have a IIcx? Wanna sue them to make them support it?) What are they required to support products for in the EU? (That is one of the many reasons there is such a drive to kill the EU, BTW)

A minimum of two years for the EU. It has been 6 years since 1979 in most of the UK, so killing off the EU isn't going to make things easier for manufacturers.

To be honest, even dissolving the EU won't result in a repeal of consumer protection laws. I cannot see any individual government taking a hatchet to those with any hope of staying in power for very long.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

A minimum of two years for the EU. It has been 6 years since 1979 in most of the UK, so killing off the EU isn't going to make things easier for manufacturers.

To be honest, even dissolving the EU won't result in a repeal of consumer protection laws. I cannot see any individual government taking a hatchet to those with any hope of staying in power for very long.

Yet in America, the party in power is taking away healthcare, the environment, education, and sanity...

'It Can't Happen Here', and it did. NEVER underestimate the power of fear on ignorant people. Sinclair Lewis would be disgusted. PT Barnum would be laughing an evil laugh...

 

[weckart]

Yet in America, the party in power is taking away healthcare, the environment, education, and sanity...

'It Can't Happen Here', and it did. NEVER underestimate the power of fear on ignorant people. Sinclair Lewis would be disgusted. PT Barnum would be laughing an evil laugh...

Oh, I do get that. Our prime minister has threatened to take a chainsaw to human rights legislation under the guise of fighting terrorism, after having said days before that the terrorists will never win. There are enough gullible fools to go with that volte-face but woe betide anyone who even thinks of curbing their shopping powers.

 

[funkybrewster]

man...i really, REALLY don't get why they stopped supporting this program for my laptop. they sold the defective units, they admitted the problem and extended the repair window. these units don't stop failing just because apple decides to stop repairing them. my late 2011 mbp is having the exact same video problems as everyone else but it started occurring after they discontinued support.
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Not really a way for Apple to fix the issue as the faulty parts were AMDs. AMD isn't making those GPUs any more.

it's so weird, whenever apple sells faulty or ships units with viruses preinstalled, it's always someone else's fault? in fact, the faulty components in this case were the lead solder joints that apple used to affix the amd units to the logic boards. i'm not aware of other manu's having problems with the same amd units, but if you have citations i'd love to read them!

 

[throAU]

man...i really, REALLY don't get why they stopped supporting this program for my laptop. they sold the defective units, they admitted the problem and extended the repair window. these units don't stop failing just because apple decides to stop repairing them. my late 2011 mbp is having the exact same video problems as everyone else but it started occurring after they discontinued support.
[doublepost=1499095617][/doublepost]

it's so weird, whenever apple sells faulty or ships units with viruses preinstalled, it's always someone else's fault? in fact, the faulty components in this case were the lead solder joints that apple used to affix the amd units to the logic boards. i'm not aware of other manu's having problems with the same amd units, but if you have citations i'd love to read them!

We are currently having a raft of failures on 2011 Elitebook 8560/8570 machines with AMD GPUs in them (Radeon HD 6750/6770) with the same sort of failure.

 

[sracer]

man...i really, REALLY don't get why they stopped supporting this program for my laptop. they sold the defective units, they admitted the problem and extended the repair window. these units don't stop failing just because apple decides to stop repairing them. my late 2011 mbp is having the exact same video problems as everyone else but it started occurring after they discontinued support.
[doublepost=1499095617][/doublepost]

it's so weird, whenever apple sells faulty or ships units with viruses preinstalled, it's always someone else's fault? in fact, the faulty components in this case were the lead solder joints that apple used to affix the amd units to the logic boards. i'm not aware of other manu's having problems with the same amd units, but if you have citations i'd love to read them!

This is why the current Apple macOS devices I own will be my last. My MBP suffered from this issue and Apple refused to fix it because it didn't pass the test. The problem got worse over time to the point where it never fully booted up to get to the point of running their test.

Add to that, they actually didn't FIX the problem, they replaced the motherboard with different motherboards that had the same defect... meaning that it would fail again... but most likely AFTER the repair program ended.

 

[OcelotWreak]

I guess I'm one of the 'lucky' owners of the Early 2011 17" MBP. Mine had intermittent graphics errors early on in its life which I assumed was just FCP problems or 'cosmic rays' until I read about the large-scale problem. However, my issues gradually went away (!), so by the time the end of 2016 deadline arrived, I decided to roll the dice and keep my known defective unit rather than get a replacement board that had the same problem.

So far my ol' 17" MBP has taken a lickkin' but kept on tickkin'. Yes, I will get a new one one of these years, but it has been such a wonderful work horse and runs the latest macOS so why tempt fate to 'fix' the issue? And by 'fix' I mean probably make the issue worse...

 

[Amacdo1]

This is not the case in Europe as there is protection for consumers upto 6 years(?) I learnt this from an apple employee based in Ireland who's job it is to train the Euro Apple Stores about their obligations. This worked for me. Now the 6 years period has come to end.

Does anyone know whether NY consumer law would allow for implied warranty of merchantability beyond four years, as is the case in Europe? In Europe, it's six years. Can't seem to find similar information for NY, where I purchased by my MacBook Pro 15 inch on Feb 2012.

 

[emilykgoodman92]

Last night I had a major problem with my 2012 15 inch MacBook Pro. All of a sudden my hard drive starts making a loud clicking noise and then after several minutes the device completely shuts off. I try to power it back up and I get a white background with an icon of a file folder with a gray '?' flashing. For the last two years my screen has been distorted and sometimes even would start flickering and shut off from time to time. I would bring it in to the Genius bar and either the screen would act fine at the appointment therefore they could not help me or they simply told me it was an issue with my Internet browser. My hard drive would also have a rattling sound from time to time that Apple could never figure out, which now has lead to my hard-drive completely bottoming out. Of course I am no longer under AppleCare for my device, however when I first brought my device to get all these problems looked at I was.

I have an appointment at the Apple store on Saturday in which I'm expecting them to tell me there is nothing they can do since it is out of warranty and applecare has expired. Is this indeed what they will tell me? Is there anything that I can do to prevent having to drop a grand on a new laptop when the issues should have been taken care of when I had AppleCare? I saw online about the MacBook pro repair extension program for graphic but it said that it ended in 2016 or four years after you bought your device. Am I completely out of luck?

 

[weckart]

I saw online about the MacBook pro repair extension program for graphic but it said that it ended in 2016 or four years after you bought your device. Am I completely out of luck?

Sounds to me like your hard drive bit the dust. It happens. Nothing to get too worked up about. Just replace with an SSD and enjoy the speed bump.

 

[emilykgoodman92]

What do you think is the cause of my screen flickering and becoming distorted?

 

[weckart]

What do you think is the cause of my screen flickering and becoming distorted?

Could be:

a) A loose cable
b) A fried graphics chip
c) Some corruption from the failing hard drive.

 

[Phonephreak]

Did they ever really fix the issue? Last I recall they were just replacing the logic boards with no real fix, meaning all these machines are doomed to die the same death they did last time.

Nope. Just installed another defective mb.

 

[Pdq]

FYI
This problem is also happening on PC laptops.

I have a bunch of HP elitebook 8560s at work that are failing with the Radeon GPU in them, and have been failing for a while.

HP extended 3 yr warranty is well and truly up, HP haven't done anything to offer extended warranty.

All the vendors use the same GPUs and all will have similar issues when there is a GPU fault.


Apple did far more for their customers than any PC vendor here, so your decision to not buy a macbook (if based on this failure) is flawed...

The reason it is so prevalent on the MBP is because all the 15s had the AMD GPU in them. The HPs in question could have been ordered with integrated only, Nvidia, or AMD; only the AMD ones in this case are failing.

Nvidia had problems a couple of years earlier - similar problem, Apple did a similar extended repair program. Don't believe any of the PC vendors did.

[doublepost=1511319119][/doublepost]I am not prepared to give Apple much credit on how they handled the problem. I have a late 2011 Macbook Pro, and have brought the laptop to them each and every single year at least since 2013, and not once did Apple every mention the repair program. The laptop quit working completely in May 2017 and went to the blue screen. I first went to Apple who wanted to charge me $560 for a new motherboard, so I went to Central Computer in Sunnyvale, after Apple wanted me to pay $560 for a new motherboard. Central charged me $220, but I also had to replace the ram, which was told damaged, probably due to heat. 60 days later the video went out, Central fixed it again, and 3 weeks later it went out again.

I called Nvidia and they advise that they can't sell parts as a replacement, so if Apple isn't willing to sell the parts there is nothing you can do. I suspect a different type of solder would like fix the problems, perhaps something with iron or cobalt in it, but I am not an expert. I read some things online for potential lead free replacement solders that seem to have a better profile than what Apple was using.

At this point i see the real issue of not being able to get a replacement graphics card as opposed to a soldering issue, even though the solder is the problem for why there were so many failures. I would appreciate someone making recommendations on sources for the graphic's logic board and suitable replacements for the tin/silver solder.

Dave

FYI
This problem is also happening on PC laptops.

I have a bunch of HP elitebook 8560s at work that are failing with the Radeon GPU in them, and have been failing for a while.

HP extended 3 yr warranty is well and truly up, HP haven't done anything to offer extended warranty.

All the vendors use the same GPUs and all will have similar issues when there is a GPU fault.


Apple did far more for their customers than any PC vendor here, so your decision to not buy a macbook (if based on this failure) is flawed...

The reason it is so prevalent on the MBP is because all the 15s had the AMD GPU in them. The HPs in question could have been ordered with integrated only, Nvidia, or AMD; only the AMD ones in this case are failing.

Nvidia had problems a couple of years earlier - similar problem, Apple did a similar extended repair program. Don't believe any of the PC vendors did.

[doublepost=1511319308][/doublepost]

Nope. Just installed another defective mb.

Where can I get a different logic board than what I have now? Apple won't help me.

 

[logicstudiouser]

Where can I get a different logic board than what I have now? Apple won't help me.

eBay or Powerbook Medic would be most reliable places to get a replacement logic board, but not sure it will be worth the hundreds of dollars you will likely have to pay for a laptop that is pretty old now. I wouldn't throw too much more money at it, not worth it in my option considering that it likely will be a future problem faced with the replacement part.

Have you considered baking the logic board in the oven? I have seen some people on YouTube do it and claim it works. Disclaimer: do at your own risk, I have never done it.

 

[piscesmuse]

okay so I have the MacBook Pro 2011 OS X Yosemite 15"

I made a lot of things and i send it to repair but it ****ed again. I needed to take one file out so I tried remove the AMD drivers and i got my file but it's all glitchy and I can't use my programs.

So I use heavy programs for music production but I'm trying to save my computer by the instructions of @AppleMacFinder ,, the problem here is that the CD drive doesn't work and I'm trying to make a USB drive to force the MBP to ALWAYS use Intel integrated GPU but I can't either.

Can someone help me?

 

[tnicely83]

I'll trade you my MacBook Air

I know this is old, but anyone that is reading this just:

Rethermal paste both the gpu and cpu.
That said, it is not super hard, but time consuming. Get an ifixit guide and take your time. I went to school for computer science, but if you have never touched the inside of a laptop; have it done cause your probably going to break something.

Heat causes the failure and the thermal paste that Apple puts on was done very bad. If you apply it the correct way the gpu never goes over 75 degrees, and that’s really pushing it.

Mine is 7 years old, and I have never had an issue; not once.

I use a laptop cooler too.

2011 MacBook Pro 15.4 hi res anti glare 512 gb ssd 16 gb ram ati 6750m 1 gb

 

[0150817]

Heat causes the failure and the thermal paste that Apple puts on was done very bad. If you apply it the correct way the gpu never goes over 75 degrees, and that’s really pushing it.

Most of the time, since the 2008 models, the problem is not the GPU.
They get way hot, and temperature cycling will damage the silicon over time, but the issue that caused the problems with these machines was not the chip itself but a tantalum capacitor in the power supply for the GPU, which was incorrectly specified and never designed to operate for so long in such a hot environment. Eventually it becomes leaky, causing the power supply to become unstable.
Since Apple don’t do component level repairs, they replaced the entire logic board. The real fix if you find someone who can do it costs 1p in parts.