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Been offered a replacement - Should i take it?

J

jamin100

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 22, 2008
498
0
Here's the story.
I brought a refurbished whitebook from apple a month ago.
Within that month i've had to have the logic board replaced and the keyboard/topcase replaced.

Now the Isight light keeps coming on and stopping me from using the camera. It does this roughly every 4-5 boots. Its not a major issue but hey its an issue.

I've been through all the trouble shooting steps with support, such as resetting PRAM and SMC and they think that the logic board will need replacing again.

I'm not to happy with this as like i said its only a month old. I was recomended by the tech to call aftersales and explain the problem and request a replacement machine.

I was informed by aftersales that because it was a refurbished machine i wasnt elidgable for a replacement.

well i wasnt too happy about this so i sent an email off to Mr Jobs and one of his VIP customer relations people phoned me today. She's trying to find a replacement for me. I'm guessing it will be another refurb the same spec as i brought which isnt a problem.

The problem i have now is,

1. on my machine i have upgraded the HD
2. I have also upgraed the RAM
3. I have brought applecare

I know that i will be able to transfer the RAM and HD easily but what about the applecare. I literally brought it at the weekend and its still registering.

Dont get me wrong, At the time i was made and this is what made me send off my rant to steve. But over the weekend i just resided my self to live with it. The refurb I recieved was in really good condition and i was pleased with the cosmetics of the machine. I'm worried that if i do get a replacement it wont be in as good condition

EIDT: I've just recieved an email from apple with an order number for a replacement refurb
 
If you don't take the replacement, what are you going to do when something else break next week, and the week after?
 
IN August i bought a refurbished blackbook and the trackpad broke a total of 4 times and the hing broke twice. 3 weeks ago apple sent me a brand new aluminum macbook. I believe their policy is replacment no matter what. I just called apple care and asked for a new one and they said OK. Ask for a product specialist and explain your situation. YOu should get a new one.

EDIT:eek:k, well you got a replacment and apple care can be transfered
 
Yeh i've had the confirmation that i have another refurb on the way.
I've had the email confirming that it has been shipped and "should" be here tomorrow.

I get to keep the two macbooks side by side for a few days just to make sure everything is ok.
 
To be honest, that sucks. Future refernce, call applecare and ask for a product specialist right away. Thats why I got a new one and you didnt, no offence.
 
danvan21 said:
To be honest, that sucks. Future refernce, call applecare and ask for a product specialist right away. Thats why I got a new one and you didnt, no offence.
Click to expand...

Difference being though i only paid £529 for my whitebook which is the lowest model. There not really going to replace it with an aluminum one which costs over £900. I think the best i could of hoped for was the new revision whitebook with the superdrive. But to be honest as long as the machine i get works then i'm not bothered.
 
jamin100 said:
Difference being though i only paid £529 for my whitebook which is the lowest model. There not really going to replace it with an aluminum one which costs over £900. I think the best i could of hoped for was the new revision whitebook with the superdrive. But to be honest as long as the machine i get works then i'm not bothered.
Click to expand...

I think they only replace with a new model when your computer has been broken a few times (4 times seems to be minimum from what i've read). Otherwise, they'll replace it with the same model, which they still have in stock.
 
I've gotta say, it's surprising how many emails sent to Jobs are actually read and responded to....
 
molala said:
I think they only replace with a new model when your computer has been broken a few times (4 times seems to be minimum from what i've read). Otherwise, they'll replace it with the same model, which they still have in stock.
Click to expand...

Yes. Replacement option is only available when there are 3 hardware failures of the same type within a 12 month period. Otherwise, you will only get a repair. The replacement will be the same model if it is still available.

Molopo said:
I've gotta say, it's surprising how many emails sent to Jobs are actually read and responded to....
Click to expand...

You do know that it's not actually steve jobs answering the emails right?

danvan21 said:
To be honest, that sucks. Future refernce, call applecare and ask for a product specialist right away. Thats why I got a new one and you didnt, no offence.
Click to expand...

You didn't get a replacement because you called and asked for a product specialist. You got a replacement because of multiple consecutive failures. Technically, you could have asked for a replacement after your 3rd trackpad failure.

danvan21 said:
I believe their policy is replacment no matter what.
Click to expand...

That's just blatantly incorrect.
 
six.four said:
Yes. Replacement option is only available when there are 3 hardware failures of the same type within a 12 month period. Otherwise, you will only get a repair. The replacement will be the same model if it is still available.



You do know that it's not actually steve jobs answering the emails right?



You didn't get a replacement because you called and asked for a product specialist. You got a replacement because of multiple consecutive failures. Technically, you could have asked for a replacement after your 3rd trackpad failure.



That's just blatantly incorrect.
Click to expand...


i had a refurb and they replaced it with a brand new aluminum macbook. I was told by the product specialist that if a computer breaks 3 times then they will replace it with a new computer. If they no longer offer that computer, they didn offer the blackbook anymore, they will replace it with a computer with the same specs. So i got the 2.4ghz with 250gs of memory. That is their policy. The OP got screwed by a person who didnt know what they were doing.
 
danvan21 said:
i had a refurb and they replaced it with a brand new aluminum macbook. I was told by the product specialist that if a computer breaks 3 times then they will replace it with a new computer. If they no longer offer that computer, they didn offer the blackbook anymore, they will replace it with a computer with the same specs. So i got the 2.4ghz with 250gs of memory. That is their policy. The OP got screwed by a person who didnt know what they were doing.
Click to expand...

the OP didn't have 3 repairs - he/she didn't get "screwed".

If anything, the OP got the better end of the deal - getting a replacement with only 1 repair - not something apple does.
 
danvan21 said:
i had a refurb and they replaced it with a brand new aluminum macbook. I was told by the product specialist that if a computer breaks 3 times then they will replace it with a new computer. If they no longer offer that computer, they didn offer the blackbook anymore, they will replace it with a computer with the same specs. So i got the 2.4ghz with 250gs of memory. That is their policy. The OP got screwed by a person who didnt know what they were doing.
Click to expand...

sounds like you got an exceptional deal.
 
Can't you just swap back the original hard drive and ram?

I've also heard a lot of threads and stories about people buying refurbs and getting extras (extra ram, bigger hard drives, etc). Cross your fingers and hope this is the case.

Or tell them that you want YOUR hard drive in the new refurb. to the Applecare product specialist. When you've got them on the phone, verify with them that you'll be able to transfer the balance of your applecare to the new machine.

Apple is entitled to replace your unit with one that has the same or better original specs. If it's convenient for them to do so, they'll replace your unit with either a refurb or a non refurb model they've got sitting around. Go to a genius bar, and you'll probably see someone getting an older ipod replaced under warranty, and they'll pull out a small cardboard box with the same model ipod.

If its not convenient for apple to do this, they'll replace it with a higher spec'ed or new equivalent model.

Good luck.
 
ok, the replacement has been delivered today, which is great considering it was ordered yesterday and is now waiting at home for me.

Am i ok to just swap the hard drives out or will I have to re-install OS X again?

The computer should be exactly the same spec as the one i have already..
 
UPDATE:

Ok well i've had chance to look over the replacement now and all is not well.

1. The topcase has not been fitted to the machine properly and there is a gap about 3 inches long above the combo drive.

2. It appears that the screen does not sit properly when shut and therefore some parts of the screen touch the keys and there are some slight marks on the screen.

Have just emailed the woman who was dealing with my case so hopefully she'll get back to me tomorrow.

Ben
 
jamin100 said:
UPDATE:

Ok well i've had chance to look over the replacement now and all is not well.

1. The topcase has not been fitted to the machine properly and there is a gap about 3 inches long above the combo drive.

2. It appears that the screen does not sit properly when shut and therefore some parts of the screen touch the keys and there are some slight marks on the screen.

Have just emailed the woman who was dealing with my case so hopefully she'll get back to me tomorrow.

Ben
Click to expand...

... and thus why apple doesn't normally replace your computer on the first 3 repairs - there's a chance you'll just get a laptop that's worse off. For most people, they're better off just getting their laptops repaired. Who knows how many laptops you'll go through to get your "perfect" laptop.
 
jamin100 said:
Here's the story.
I brought a refurbished whitebook from apple a month ago.
Within that month i've had to have the logic board replaced and the keyboard/topcase replaced.

Now the Isight light keeps coming on and stopping me from using the camera. It does this roughly every 4-5 boots. Its not a major issue but hey its an issue.

I've been through all the trouble shooting steps with support, such as resetting PRAM and SMC and they think that the logic board will need replacing again.

I'm not to happy with this as like i said its only a month old. I was recomended by the tech to call aftersales and explain the problem and request a replacement machine.

I was informed by aftersales that because it was a refurbished machine i wasnt elidgable for a replacement.

well i wasnt too happy about this so i sent an email off to Mr Jobs and one of his VIP customer relations people phoned me today. She's trying to find a replacement for me. I'm guessing it will be another refurb the same spec as i brought which isnt a problem.

The problem i have now is,

1. on my machine i have upgraded the HD
2. I have also upgraed the RAM
3. I have brought applecare

I know that i will be able to transfer the RAM and HD easily but what about the applecare. I literally brought it at the weekend and its still registering.

Dont get me wrong, At the time i was made and this is what made me send off my rant to steve. But over the weekend i just resided my self to live with it. The refurb I recieved was in really good condition and i was pleased with the cosmetics of the machine. I'm worried that if i do get a replacement it wont be in as good condition

EIDT: I've just recieved an email from apple with an order number for a replacement refurb
Click to expand...

Ben, if you dont mind me asking...what was the email address you used to reach MrJobs, I am also looking to reach for the top.
Thanks
Todd
 
six.four said:
... and thus why apple doesn't normally replace your computer on the first 3 repairs - there's a chance you'll just get a laptop that's worse off. For most people, they're better off just getting their laptops repaired. Who knows how many laptops you'll go through to get your "perfect" laptop.
Click to expand...

I'm not expecting a "perfect machine" I know that i brought a refurb and that it may be marked slightly. But if i had recieved this as my first refurb then it would have gone back also. The fact that the case is not on properly is a big deal in my opinion.

imapfsr said:
Ben, if you dont mind me asking...what was the email address you used to reach MrJobs, I am also looking to reach for the top.
Thanks
Todd
Click to expand...

sjobs@apple.com
 
There's a big chance she might just get you a brand new one this time around!
 
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