Apple Seemingly Unable to Recover Data From 2018 MacBook Pro With Touch Bar When Logic Board Fails

[TMRJIJ]

If only Time Machine backups wouldn't fail so often or get corrupted requiring starting from scratch. I guess you could always back up to the cloud. I'm sure that Apple will offer a half-assed solution that fails when you need it.

Never had a Time Machine backup fail before.

 

[Joe Rossignol]

So we have an article based on assertions and assumptions and no actual confirmation.

MR, given the site’s propensity for latching onto even the most minor things, is this article just a way to drum up traffic?

I appreciate the feedback. I really do. Sometimes we get things wrong — not often, I'd argue, but sometimes.

- The headline and article contain words like "seemingly" and "appear."
- Five different sources who work at Apple Authorized Service Providers agree with the headline.
- These sources provided several documents from Apple's internal GSX portal for technicians.
- I contacted Apple nearly 24 hours before publishing this article to give them a chance to clarify.
- I'll update if Apple does comment. Not denying there could be another way. Five sources don't believe so, and nothing in Apple's internal documents to suggest otherwise, so reporting as such.

 

[cmaier]

Yes they have, but I made no mention of the Time Capsule in my post. I have an Asus router which has the the functionality I mentioned. I also have a Synology NAS which also has Time Machine support.

I do think that Apple should release a standalone Time Capsule that isn't necessarily a Router as-well, perhaps just a WiFi client with a single Ethernet port to connect it to an existing network for the purposes of backing up just to make our lives easier but chances of that happening are slim to nothing.

I also have two synology ds3612xs that I use for backup.

Most people don’t. And most people like Apple because they get turnkey solutions from Apple.

So my point is Apple is taking away the turnkey backup solutions for its portable devices at the same time it is making this main board change.

Presumably Apple thinks all data should be stored in the cloud.
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True, but there are other backup solutions that come to mind that will keep a backup of your data automatically regardless of location so long as there’s an internet connection. Never put your eggs in one basket.

If a user doesn’t have an internet connection and their external is at home, there’s thumb drives that work great. The reality is hardware dies. This move by Apple ensures that it is clear as day what happens to your data in the event of a failure: catastrophic data loss.

Thumb drives are an absolute no-no in my profession.

 

[oldMacGenius]

I prefer to clone/image the entire drive (which is the OS and the apps...NOT the data) which is usually about 150GB these days. I image my drive every Friday and I keep the last 5 backups before nuking them. Freeware does this entire backup process.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who deploys this strategy. You’re the kind of Mac user that would be cherry picked right out of the Genius Bar queue for having everything ready to go.

If more people set themselves up for success, the Genius Bar would always be on time.

 

[sir1963nz]

Hey Tim... here is how being clean and green works
1. Upgrade, so instead of throwing away everything you upgrade the RAM and SSD, this is NOT possible with Apple
2. Repair , so instead of throwing away everything you replace just the faulty bits , this is NOT possible with Apple

Apples "green" credentials are now
Throw it away.

 

[erichui84]

People also forget that for most computers it is far more likely that a user would experience a storage failure (SSD or traditional hard drive, from my experience anyway) than any anything else.

If you are hoping that your important data can be recovered should there be any kind of hardware/software failure then I honestly think you need to rethink about your workflow, whether it is a desktop, laptop, removable/non removable SSD/HDD.

 

[bender7]

I have a MacBook Pro 15 touch bar that had a logic board failure last month. It’s not even a year old. Bought in Nov of last year. Data could not be recovered when I brought it to the Apple Store. SUCKS!

 

[oldMacGenius]

Thumb drives are an absolute no-no in my profession

For sure. Should be for everyone in business really. That being said, a corporate IT department should especially have some sort of secure backup solution behind a VPN.

 

[dantroline]

Never had a Time Machine backup fail before.

Sadly, they do fail. I keep a time machine but only for restoring files I might have deleted a few days ago, but restoring from a time machine doesn't always work when it's not to the original machine. Otherwise for things I want to keep I use an encrypted hard drive and do periodic mirror dumps of all my data in a cross-platform readable filesystem. My rules, apart from encrypt everything (and not using a platform-specific product):

1. Don't rely on data integrity of anything portable, or anything on a remote server (ie: cloud)
2. Keep backups in an unpowered storage solution
3. Keep a backup in a safe off-site location in case of fire/theft

But the article is interesting. In a way reassuring. The MBP is so glued together that no one can get it apart safely to restore data if it breaks. Nice.

 

[csurfr]

Given the reliance on time machine, Apple should consider selling a router that allows you to do wireless backups. How convenient would that be!

I see what you did there.

 

[jwwetzel]

With all personal files and documents going to iCloud, Dropbox, etc, and all software downloadable, and all music streaming, and all photos in the cloud...there's really no reason to have hardcopy backups anymore.

 

[shyam09]

I guess it's pitchfork time?

 

[PickUrPoison]

This needs a YouTuber video immediately. And make sure the thumbnail has a guy with a weird expression on his face posing his hands in a strange, un-natural manner

Joking aside, I’m more worried about users leaving it somewhere (on top of the car seemed to be popular at my previous job!), having it stolen or overwriting an important file than I am a data-killing hardware failure.

I don’t see how this changes best practices for data backup.

 

[Baymowe335]

Calm down. This was clearly done to PROTECT the data. The old way sounds too easy for someone to use that connector as a method of stealing data more easily.

If you don’t back up your data, it’s your fault.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

Except that Apple has also end-of-lifed time capsule, so things are going to be quite interesting going forward...

Time Machine works with more than just Time Capsule.

 

[citysnaps]

Wonder how many people here will wait until Apple comes out with a policy/response before jumping to conclusions. Hah, never mind.

Oc course everyone here backs up frequently, with multiple copies stored off site? Right?

 

[NT1440]

I appreciate the feedback. I really do. Sometimes we get things wrong — not often, I'd argue, but sometimes.

- The headline and article contain words like "seemingly" and "appear."
- Five different sources who work at Apple Authorized Service Providers agree with the headline.
- These sources provided several documents from Apple's internal GSX portal for technicians.
- I contacted Apple nearly 24 hours before publishing this article to give them a chance to clarify.
- I'll update if Apple does comment. Not denying there could be another way. Five sources don't believe so, and nothing in Apple's internal documents to suggest otherwise, so reporting as such.

Hmm, it was the use of those words specifically that gave the appearance of pushing something out without doing due diligence (but you have).

I guess my annoyance isn’t really the article but rather the inevitable pile-on these threads seem to become here, which has certainly accelerated in recent months as every apple news story has seemingly become the end of the world.

Good on you for going as far as checking the GSX though.

 

[allcapsnospaces22]

is this the “blame the customer” approach to Apple product ownership?

Forget that it was Apple’s decision to solder everything. Customers should expect LESS when paying a premium, right? Had they paid less, they could’ve bought a notebook where they could upgrade or replace or recover the internal drive should anything go wrong. Well done Apple in convincing customers to side with you rather than with other customers!

Um, yes. If the consumer is incapable of backing up their own data, they are responsible for the loss of data. 100%. Don’t be shocked, this has been the case with iPhones for 11 years, iPads for 8, etc. There are countless tools that can be used for backups. If you use 0 then you must not care about your data.

 

[Novus John]

That's a stupid move. The protocol for Time Machine is not open so the external implementations are often buggy and fail randomly. On top of that, Time capsules were cancelled this year.

 

[jonnysods]

Time Machine + Dropbox = this is a non issue for myself. Everyone should have at least one backup!

 

[jtmarine73]

Why would they make such an idiotic decision. I love my MBP, but stuff like this really makes me question ever buying another one.

 

[cmaier]

Calm down. This was clearly done to PROTECT the data. The old way sounds too easy for someone to use that connector as a method of stealing data more easily.

If you don’t back up your data, it’s your fault.

That makes no sense. The port doesn’t decrypt the data, it just lets you copy it off the main board.

 

[Kabeyun]

Well best factor in a decent sized back up system to your MacBook Pro purchase seeing as they killed of Time Capsules... usual Apple stupidity considering they used to make everything, now they expect the consumer to go elsewhere!
IMO if they pull a stunt less me this they should bring back the Time Capsules, because they worked over wireless and were relatively easy to setup.

Are there people out there who actually still don’t understand that you’re supposed to backup your computer?

Btw, setting up TM on an external or network volume is simplicity itself, and goes like this:
1. Connect hard drive.
2. When your Mac asks you if you want to use it for Time Machine, say yes.
3. If it doesn’t ask, select the volume in TM preferences.

 

[cmaier]

Um, yes. If the consumer is incapable of backing up their own data, they are responsible for the loss of data. 100%. Don’t be shocked, this has been the case with iPhones for 11 years, iPads for 8, etc. There are countless tools that can be used for backups. If you use 0 then you must not care about your data.

If only Apple sold some sort of appliance to facilitate time machine backups...
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Are there people out there who actually still don’t understand that you’re supposed to backup your computer?

Btw, setting up TM on an external or network volume is simplicity itself, and goes like this:
1. Connect hard drive.
2. When your Mac asks you if you want to use it for Time Machine, say yes.
3. If it doesn’t ask, select the volume in TM preferences.

0. Go to hard drive

Because Apple stopped the time capsule business.

 

[jtmarine73]

People love to whine. How hard is it to make backups for ****s sake? Apple has to engineer a port specifically so that your ass can be covered when you’re too lazy to make and maintain a backup when options like time machine exist and are so easy? Come on whiners.

You know how often my Time Machine fails? I also have carbonite, and I have to reinstall that monthly bc every update to iOS breaks it. This is a dumb move on so many levels.