Apple won't replace third faulty MBA with a Pro; what to do?

[Abazigal]

I sometimes wonder at the accuracy of these posts. Who are these people getting 6 faulty iPads or 3 faulty MacBooks in rapid succession? Seems like this would be rarer than striking the lottery. Sounds more like the op is simply trying to exchange his way up to a MacBook Pro and had no intention of keeping the air, however perfect it may be.

Apple has a very generous return policy, and it sounds like some people are trying to abuse this for their own petty gain.

Interesting name of the op by the way. Replace the first three letters and you get "GeeTheJerk". No one here smells a rat?

 

[2IS]

I sometimes wonder at the accuracy of these posts. Who are these people getting 6 faulty iPads or 3 faulty MacBooks in rapid succession? Seems like this would be rarer than striking the lottery. Sounds more like the op is simply trying to exchange his way up to a MacBook Pro and had no intention of keeping the air, however perfect it may be.

Apple has a very generous return policy, and it sounds like some people are trying to abuse this for their own petty gain.

Interesting name of the op by the way. Replace the first three letters and you get "GeeTheJerk". No one here smells a rat?

I'd have to agree. The fact that a full refund to put towards a rMBP isn't satisfactory to him is quite telling, as is his last response. It seems like he wants some form or another of a freebie. This type of behavior isn't any different from those who take advantage of the system in terms of unemployment and welfare. Just a bunch of entitled people looking for hand outs.

 

[scaredpoet]

But this is my third Air. If Apple really wants to solve the issue, how many faulty Airs do i have to get as replacements?

I would take it as a sign that you weren't meant to own an Apple product. Get your refund, and go buy a Thinkpad. While it's unfortunate that whatever is going on keeps happening to you, Apple's obligation here is to refund you your money, not give you something for nothing.

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I sometimes wonder at the accuracy of these posts. Who are these people getting 6 faulty iPads or 3 faulty MacBooks in rapid succession? Seems like this would be rarer than striking the lottery. Sounds more like the op is simply trying to exchange his way up to a MacBook Pro and had no intention of keeping the air, however perfect it may be.

The irony of it is, given the image persistence issues and occasional faulty discrete GPU design across-the-board, I would say he OP isn't likely to be very happy with a Macbook Pro, either.

 

[1k9]

If you want to solve the problem, get a refund and buy a pro.

What are you going to do if the pro has the same problem? Ask for a top of the line mac?

But this is my third Air. If Apple really wants to solve the issue, how many faulty Airs do i have to get as replacements? Eventually if they really want to fix the issue they will have to replace it with a pro, or else all I'll get is Airs with the same issue.

 

[jadAce]

Yeah . . . they aren't going to give you an rMBP. Period. Unless you buy it.

Apple customer service is awesome, but no company can have customer service that awesome.

 

[JerTheGeek]

The issue is real, see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1735009/

There's pictures and a bunch of other people with the same issue. I'm not faking it just to get a Pro, this is a legit issue, no need to be so harsh.

 

[Meister]

The issue is real, see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1735009/

There's pictures and a bunch of other people with the same issue. I'm not faking it just to get a Pro, this is a legit issue, no need to be so harsh.

I too think that there is a lot of stupid and insulting comments in this thread.
Returning a laptop 3 times is a major annoyance. They might have even given you a defective one on purpose since you are kid and kids tend to be less aware of their rights. I have experienced something similar with my first Computers. They just kept on giving me the defective model back.

I think you should document this and confront . I also think some compensation is in order. Bringing back a faulty machine costs time and money.

 

[Newtons Apple]

The issue is real, see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1735009/

There's pictures and a bunch of other people with the same issue. I'm not faking it just to get a Pro, this is a legit issue, no need to be so harsh.

We are not questioning that fact there might be a problem, we are questioning why you think you are entitled a MBPro?

Your thinking is flawed.

 

[2984839]

If it was my store, I wouldn't give you a MBP. The most you should get is either a replacement Air that works or a full refund of the purchase price, depending on which you prefer. If neither of those is acceptable to you, then tough.

 

[JerTheGeek]

I too think that there is a lot of stupid and insulting comments in this thread.
Returning a laptop 3 times is a major annoyance. They might have even given you a defective one on purpose since you are kid and kids tend to be less aware of their rights. I have experienced something similar with my first Computers. They just kept on giving me the defective model back.

I think you should document this and confront . I also think some compensation is in order. Bringing back a faulty machine costs time and money.

Thank you. Currently Customer Relations is working on this for me and is contacting the store to see if I can get a replacement 2014 Air. I do think this could help because it doesn't seem to be an issue with the newer Airs, just the 2013 ones. I also requested as you suggested that they maybe throw in 8GB of RAM or an i7 as a courtesy thing. I'll find out later today what they are going to do. And how would I document this with Apple as you said? Even if they give a replacement Air I would still like to tell them about my experience.

 

[crawler1975]

Thank you. Currently Customer Relations is working on this for me and is contacting the store to see if I can get a replacement 2014 Air. I do think this could help because it doesn't seem to be an issue with the newer Airs, just the 2013 ones. I also requested as you suggested that they maybe throw in 8GB of RAM or an i7 as a courtesy thing. I'll find out later today what they are going to do. And how would I document this with Apple as you said? Even if they give a replacement Air I would still like to tell them about my experience.

I wonder why you didn't insist on Apple giving you an rMBP instead? Isn't this you want?

 

[GoCubsGo]

I wonder why you didn't insist on Apple giving you an rMBP instead? Isn't this you want?

Because there are no grounds to upgrade him. He is entitled only to the same machine or similar machine available on the market today. He's not entitled to jump from one to the other just because. They also do not owe him anything more as a "courtesy" because the process is that they will attempt to repair and after so many repairs their best bet is to replace.

In my opinion getting a new machine is all that would be reasonable and necessary. I absolutely do not doubt the issue is occurring, I simply cannot fathom why anyone would think an upgrade to an entirely different machine is warranted or even a huge memory bump.

Should have bought the retina MBP in the first place if you wanted it.

 

[NT1440]

Because I have had three Airs with the same issue; a replacement Air isn't going to do anything because I have already had three with the same issue; and the two repairs on the first Air didn't work. If Apple really wants to fix the issue, the only way to do so is to replace my Air with a Pro.

No.

The way to fix the issue is to give you a full refund. If you want a more expensive product you've got to pay for it.

After working in retail for far to long, it's hard to see consumers as rational actors.

 

[crawler1975]

Because there are no grounds to upgrade him. He is entitled only to the same machine or similar machine available on the market today. He's not entitled to jump from one to the other just because. They also do not owe him anything more as a "courtesy" because the process is that they will attempt to repair and after so many repairs their best bet is to replace.

In my opinion getting a new machine is all that would be reasonable and necessary. I absolutely do not doubt the issue is occurring, I simply cannot fathom why anyone would think an upgrade to an entirely different machine is warranted or even a huge memory bump.

Should have bought the retina MBP in the first place if you wanted it.

I know there is no ground for Apple to upgrade him to the next product line. I was just wondering why he didn't insists (albeit it's a losing battle) since he wanted to have an rMBP as a replacement. And lucky for him, Apple is still willing to help after the first refund.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I know there is no ground for Apple to upgrade him to the next product line. I was just wondering why he didn't insists (albeit it's a losing battle) since he wanted to have an rMBP as a replacement. And lucky for him, Apple is still willing to help after the first refund.

But why insist? Insisting suggests he believes that he was damaged to a point where he should be unjustly enriched. Anyway, it doesn't matter because he can insist that Apple provides compensation over a brand new machine and Apple will do whatever they're going to do.

 

[AppleDApp]

Thank you. Currently Customer Relations is working on this for me and is contacting the store to see if I can get a replacement 2014 Air. I do think this could help because it doesn't seem to be an issue with the newer Airs, just the 2013 ones. I also requested as you suggested that they maybe throw in 8GB of RAM or an i7 as a courtesy thing. I'll find out later today what they are going to do. And how would I document this with Apple as you said? Even if they give a replacement Air I would still like to tell them about my experience.

Apple Feedback can help

 

[scaredpoet]

The issue is real, see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1735009/

There's pictures and a bunch of other people with the same issue.

1. That's your thread.

2. Other than you, one other person claimed to have the issue, but said it was "no big deal." One other guy also had the issue, no pictures though.

So, two people other than yourself, unverified.
That doesn't sound to me like "a bunch."

There was also this guy, who then said he couldn't replicate the problem.

 

[cmaier]

1. That's your thread.

No, no no. It's another guy with the same user ID

Seriously, though, to the extent it keeps happening to him on different machines, since it happens to almost no one else, seems like a software issue. He'll probably get it on a rMBP too. Something weird he's installed.

 

[scaredpoet]

Thank you. Currently Customer Relations is working on this for me and is contacting the store to see if I can get a replacement 2014 Air. I do think this could help because it doesn't seem to be an issue with the newer Airs, just the 2013 ones.

The only change in the 2014 MBA is a speed bump on some models. Otherwise, exactly the same in terms of hardware.

I also requested as you suggested that they maybe throw in 8GB of RAM or an i7 as a courtesy thing.

I wouldn't. Apple should kindly give you a refund and send you on your way. It's a shame you had a bad experience, but the likelihood of a resolution here aside from you getting you money back is very low. As I mentioned in your other thread, we're starting to get past the point where a systemic hardware issue is clearly the problem, and there might be something else going on here.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

But this is my third Air. If Apple really wants to solve the issue, how many faulty Airs do i have to get as replacements? Eventually if they really want to fix the issue they will have to replace it with a pro, or else all I'll get is Airs with the same issue.

If Apple really wants to solve their issue, they'll refund your money and ask you not to purchase any further Apple products.

I find it dubious that you would get three machines in a row with identical hardware problems, when there is only one other documented case of this. It is far more likely that this is an issue that you are causing in some way. Likely a software issue.

But the long and short of it is: No company "SHOULD" upgrade a customer because they have gotten a couple faulty items in a row. A long time ago, I bought a refurbished 12" PowerBook G4. It had a faulty DVD-ROM drive. I returned it and got a replacement. It had a faulty power system. After that, Apple DID replace it with a new, rather than refurbished unit. But it was a same-specification unit, not a higher-end 12" PowerBook G4, much less a 15" PowerBook G4...

You are not "entitled" to anything. Apple is under no obligation to replace a lower-end machine with a higher-end machine, regardless of how badly you want it.

That said, you could probably get them to swap the Air for a *REGULAR* MacBook Pro (not a Retina Display model,) if you ask for that, since it is roughly the same price.

Finally, your claim that "Apple knows this model is bad" is dubious - how would Apple "know"? Because one customer has returned two of them for the same problem? That seems much more likely "something this customer is doing" than "something inherently wrong with this model." (For comparison, my wife has the same model, and has no such issue, as do millions of other customers.)

 

[JerTheGeek]

That is kinda what I was thinking; there is a refurb 13' retina pro for the same price as the 2014 air in my specs; perhaps they would replace it with that since it is the same price

 

[AppleDApp]

That is kinda what I was thinking; there is a refurb 13' retina pro for the same price as the 2014 air in my specs; perhaps they would replace it with that since it is the same price

Or not because thats not the return policy.

Just accept the refund and by it yourself outright.

 

[cmaier]

Or not because thats not the return policy.

Just accept the refund and by it yourself outright.

Exactly. I once returned an iPad mini with some bad pixels in the return window, but didn't have the box. They just processed it as a return and purchase of the new one. Was better off that way anyway - warranty period reset. This guy seems to just want to be able to claim some sort of victory. Just take the refund and buy what you want.

 

[AZhappyjack]

That is kinda what I was thinking; there is a refurb 13' retina pro for the same price as the 2014 air in my specs; perhaps they would replace it with that since it is the same price

Just take the cash refund and purchase the refurb. Then when your software causes your "issue" on the new one, start the whining all over again.

 

[Blackstick]

Your first mistake was replacing the model with one of the same kind, twice over.

Apple can exchange like-for-like, or refund you completely. Anything above that is a exception and a customer service gesture that is between you and the store manager.

If I were you I'd take the full refund and select a retina MacBook Pro of your choosing. Upgrading your purchase has to be justified by the manager to corporate relations and approved in Cupertino... Refunds and even exchanges are bread and butter policy.

To go with the other posters, I can't see why you feel entitled to an upgraded model. When my Civic has issues, even many of them, Honda is only obligated to repair them, not give me an Accord for no additional charge...