I think you should bring it up to Apple and see what they say. Unlike the blogger's case, I would support your decision to pursue compensation for the repair since it has certainly been attributed to the GPU failing.
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Blogger Victorious over Apple in Small Claims Case on NVIDIA GPU Failures
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Don't forget the yellowing screen display issues on the LED back-lit displays that was present on a LOT of shipped machines and the repeating keyboard problem that was eventually fixed in firmware.
This is nothing new.
Don't think Steve's passing is the reason for Apple taking this kind of approach.
As I've noted, Apple ignored the eMac capacitor issue, which they would have known about nearly from the time they sold the machines, yet waited not only until they started failing en masse, but another 6 months after that before offering a Repair Program.
Even then, Apple failed to mention the actual symptoms of the capacitor failures in the Repair Program wording, resulting in plenty of people not knowing that the Repair Program was for them.
Steve was in charge then...
i heard back from tim cooks office
i sent tim cook an email regarding this fiasco, and a woman in his office actually called me. her answer was "no". to everything. she just put her foot down, said no, and when i asked about the "continue to evaluate repair data" line she said "maybe in the future, but as it stands today... "no"
im suprised she took the time to call and tell me know. i sort of hoped that a real person would be more amenable to maybe getting my machine fixed under the warranty program, but .... "no"
so its last chance at the apple store, before i drop another $350+ into a 4 year old computer..
i sent tim cook an email regarding this fiasco, and a woman in his office actually called me. her answer was "no". to everything. she just put her foot down, said no, and when i asked about the "continue to evaluate repair data" line she said "maybe in the future, but as it stands today... "no"
im suprised she took the time to call and tell me know. i sort of hoped that a real person would be more amenable to maybe getting my machine fixed under the warranty program, but .... "no"
so its last chance at the apple store, before i drop another $350+ into a 4 year old computer..
Not sure why people downvoted these but this is true. If he had said, "ok, replace the logic-board", then when they test the machine before returning it to the customer, they would of noticed the faulty 8600M chip.
Some early repairs (logic board replacements) to faulty badcap eMacs resulted in the same bad logic boards being used... I was worried mine was going to come back with the bad ones after I'd wrangled my repair...
I completely understand his apprehension.
They don't use the same motherboard and just replace capacitors on it anymore. The whole motherboard which includes the 8600M within it, is replaced.
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My 8600 GPU failed too!
Apple charged $300+ to have it fixed. And Nvida flipped the bill? My failure was on a 2008 C2D 2.4. I did ask if they would upgrade it to the 2.5GHz with the 512 GPU as I was having to pay for the repair anyhow. The answer was no.
The Macbook pro still outlasted several HP and one Toshiba laptops, it's not that bad. But if the GPU is known to fail it should have been recalled. Kinda like all HP laptops ever made.
Apple charged $300+ to have it fixed. And Nvida flipped the bill? My failure was on a 2008 C2D 2.4. I did ask if they would upgrade it to the 2.5GHz with the 512 GPU as I was having to pay for the repair anyhow. The answer was no.
The Macbook pro still outlasted several HP and one Toshiba laptops, it's not that bad. But if the GPU is known to fail it should have been recalled. Kinda like all HP laptops ever made.
In one week's time I had 2 logic board replacements put in by an Apple store in my 15-inch Macbook Pro because of the defective NVIDIA GPU. The second replaced logic board is now clearly showing signs of a bad GPU, with geometric design pages popping up, distorted video, etc. So this would be 3 logic board replacements in less than 2 weeks to fix the bad GPU issue. The last genius I dealt with said the replacement boards are failing, and that is evident on Apple's discussion boards, with users talking about getting repeated logic board replacements because of the GPU. I was perplexed how this could be until I read Seattle Rex's account of his court experience with Apple, with Apple reps saying in court the replaced logic boards contain the same defective GPU that caused the problem to start with. That would explain why the boards are failing. Someone on this thread suggested that information provided by Seattle Rex about the same GPU on the logic board replacement was wrong. Can you please clarify that? Are you saying that the GPU is an improved GPU on the replacement boards from the original GPU? Why then are these replacement logic boards repeatedly failing?
The eMac issue was that before the Repair Program (June 2006), people who either paid for, or received a free repair after arguing their case, had the chance of receiving a replacement logic board with the same bad caps on them - thus would face the same issue within 18 months.
Of greater concern IMO, was that Apple must have known of the badcaps in the eMacs, as they were the same components as failed in the iMac G5 in 2005. Also Apple Service Technicians were reporting the capacitor failures in eMacs in mid-late 2005, yet the Repair Program didn't commence til mid 2006.
Simply because they have the same defective components that caused the original failure - compounded by Apple's poor thermal engineering that makes the inherent problem more likely to manifest itself on an Apple.
Grrreat.
I just got my early '08 MBP with the 8600M back today after it glitched up twice and then wouldn't boot. Thankfully I was three months before the 4-year warranty but eck...doing reading up on my "rev2" logic board replacement, it just sounds like the problem wasn't fixed, just replaced with more of the same.
Reason to get the upcoming MBP I guess.
I just got my early '08 MBP with the 8600M back today after it glitched up twice and then wouldn't boot. Thankfully I was three months before the 4-year warranty but eck...doing reading up on my "rev2" logic board replacement, it just sounds like the problem wasn't fixed, just replaced with more of the same.
Reason to get the upcoming MBP I guess.
Apple designs their products within the thermal limits that nVidia points out in their specifications - the only reason why other vendors haven't had problems is because many of them have a lot more leeway but that doesn't change the reality that Apple still designed their hardware according to specifications. How about instead of blaming Apple for designing things according to the nVidia specifications you blame nVidia for putting out a crappy product in the first place.
Wow. Apple fan to the last, eh? If Compaq, et. al sold me faulty hardware, then I would give my cash to someone else when it came time to replacement.
No offense, but how/why do you expect Apple to learn from mistreating their customers if the ones who are mistreated keep going back to them?
It doesn't make sense to me :-/
And yet, you are hanging around an Applecentric forum?
It comes down to the OS. Many Mac users wont choose Windows. Thus a PC user may be able to change hardware manufacturer with ease, however we MacOS users don't have that choice.
Certainly from what I've read RE this MBP problem, and my own badcap problems, it wasn't Apple's "fault" - they were victim to parts manufacturers. Though yes, the way they have handled the issues could be better.
I'm not sure how they could have handled it better given that they're still fixing nearly everyone's defective macbooks long past their warranty.
I'm not sure why anyone would compare this situation to another vendor given that they wouldn't offer support beyond the three year warranties (and I don't know how many people avail themselves of such a warranty on a compaq or Dell) and I've never had a windows laptop last four years unless I'm counting IBM thinkpads which were right up there in similar cost ranges as macbooks.
I'm not sure why anyone would compare this situation to another vendor given that they wouldn't offer support beyond the three year warranties (and I don't know how many people avail themselves of such a warranty on a compaq or Dell) and I've never had a windows laptop last four years unless I'm counting IBM thinkpads which were right up there in similar cost ranges as macbooks.
Then what is the alternative? You move from Compaq to Dell then to Sony then to Lenovo and you get the same software bundle - running the latest Windows. Many of us here run Mac's because we like Mac OS X with the hardware being secondary - believe me, if Apple offered the ability (legally and supported) to run Mac OS X (without hacks, cracks etc) on generic hardware you would find a decent portion of this forum would be doing that already. For all the faults of Apple what keeps me from moving is the other side of the fence - having lived there and experienced the fact that for 20 years Microsoft has done nothing in the way of meaningful improvement to Windows keeps pushing me back to Mac OS X.
Windows 8 under the hood looks nice but it is the same crappy win32 subsystem bolted onto an otherwise sexy kernel. It is akin to some how strapping the Mac OS X classic environment on top of a FreeBSD kernel and inheriting all the crappiness that comes form the Classic subsystem. Microsoft had the opportunity 20 years ago to release a gorgeous operating system inspired by OpenVMS but instead decided to bolt a sh-tty win32 subsystem to the kernel and here we are in 2012 with Windows 8 dependent on crappy technologies like GDI/GDI+, 20 years worth of common control and dialogues in use thus you have a complete lack of consistency when it comes to look, feel and just basic usability etc. Microsoft had their chance - they screwed the pooch and for people like me they've been giving one too many second chances.
Being a fanboy isn't a requirement for posting on these forums, so I suppose you'll just have to figure out a way to endure opposing opinion. You have my deepest sympathy.
What I am reading here is... no matter how badly Apple screws up with selling faulty hardware, you love MacOS so much that malfunctions or a system that breaks prematurely will not deter you from repeatedly purchasing products from the same manufacturer. Is that an accurate assessment of your statement?
It is Apple's job to fix/replace/refund faulty hardware that they sold to customers. Similarly, it is NVIDIA/Foxconn/Samsung/etc's job to fix/replace/refund faulty components that they sell to Apple. Bad capacitors are not Apple's fault, but are *certainly* Apple's responsibility to fix. Apple shirks that responsibility and many of you act like it doesn't matter.
Those of us of the opinion that manufacturers should behave just a bit more honorably have a hard time understanding loyalty to a company that would throw their paying customers under the bus like that.
You get a computing platform from a company that won't require years/months of litigation to rectify an issue that is their responsibility. ...or are you implying that a broken Mac is better than a thinkpad running Windows or Linux? If people do not vote with their dollars, then excepting regulation, companies who treat their customers that way are likely keep doing so.
Same question as before.... are you implying that a broken Mac is better than a thinkpad running Windows or Linux?
Microsoft are not angels, but you're certainly exaggerating when you say that they haven't done anything meaningful with Windows. It should be noted that even with Windows' huge market share, people still voted with their dollars. Win95 and Win2000 were lauded as revisions that made noticeable improvements to their software.... while WinME (and I guess Vista to some extent) were shunned. Even MS will sit and listen when people start hitting them in the pocket book. You Apple fans don't seem willing to do that.
Interesting point. Let me know if you can't see irony/hypocrisy.
I recently made a trip to the Apple Store in Central, in the market for a new computer due to an older model 2007 macbook pro black screen issue. I was not aware the problem causing the MBP turns up black screen due to an acknowledged failure of the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphic possessor and actually I did not know the recall until last week otherwise I would have got it repairs sooner. On May 14, 2012 I went to the IFC store looking for a new Mac and I bought along the old one to the genius bar in hoping to find out what went wrong with the unit. The genius who assists me on that day only did a PRAM resetting then told me the computer is dead without further explanation nor given a proper diagnosis procedure. So at that time, I had no idea what causing the black screen issue, instead I bought a new one on site and asked the same genius guy to take out the hard disk for me from the old one.
Couple days later, I started looking up some information on the web and varies different forums and saw the common NVIDIA’s problem that other users have had also been experiencing. Many of them have successfully got their unit repaired although in their cases, the units were beyond "four years of the original date of purchase" policy, so I thought to myself maybe I should give it a shot to see since this is actually coming from a defective processor. I never thought it would turn out to become an humiliation.
Due to the the hyped up atmosphere as being the only Apple store in HK and all these iPhone hoarders, it could easily make some arrogant people work there feel like riding on a high horse. When Hubert the manager said “the stuff that post on the Mac forums cannot be trusted” to me, at that point I knew I was hitting a dead-end. I don't give a rat's a** of what he says; what got me so mad was he raised his voice to my face and said, “Your computer is 4 years and 7 months old already”, I froze and felt like committing a crimes by using a Mac that old. I feel humiliated, as that would be the last thing I expect getting from an Apple store. There’s an unpleasant feeling that I felt awkward and uncomfortable when walking out the store. Every staff and their mother seemed to know the reason why I was there as someone who comes and begs for a repair service. The eye-rolling attitudes from those IFC store staff that show the sign of preconceived notion about my visit and the undercurrent contemptuous manner, which at a result certainly brings out the angry fighter in me.
After reading the Seattle Rex vs. Apple court case, it totally gave me a boost of confidence. The judge was appalled after knowing that as a matter of fact, the cost of repair was actually paid by Nvidia, which means Nvidia foot the bill not Apple corps. I am going to make an appointment with Consumer Council and Small Claims Tribunal Ordinance to address this issue. I know it very well the last thing Apple wanted is bad publicity and am certainly going to spread this all over the net and every media venues that could think of just for the sake to make a bigger noise. But please don’t get me wrong; the intention of doing this is neither an attempt to pull out the squeaky wheel gets the grease card nor an easy way seeking for a free repair service. At this point I couldn’t care less about the old MBP and I am not that keen on being that customer any longer either. The purpose of it is purely aim to those staff, if they wanted to prove me wrong with those crappy unnecessary humiliation and when the time I know it better what has been going on, I am going to fight for it until my last breath.
Thanks for reading and will keep you guys posted if still interested in further details.
Couple days later, I started looking up some information on the web and varies different forums and saw the common NVIDIA’s problem that other users have had also been experiencing. Many of them have successfully got their unit repaired although in their cases, the units were beyond "four years of the original date of purchase" policy, so I thought to myself maybe I should give it a shot to see since this is actually coming from a defective processor. I never thought it would turn out to become an humiliation.
Due to the the hyped up atmosphere as being the only Apple store in HK and all these iPhone hoarders, it could easily make some arrogant people work there feel like riding on a high horse. When Hubert the manager said “the stuff that post on the Mac forums cannot be trusted” to me, at that point I knew I was hitting a dead-end. I don't give a rat's a** of what he says; what got me so mad was he raised his voice to my face and said, “Your computer is 4 years and 7 months old already”, I froze and felt like committing a crimes by using a Mac that old. I feel humiliated, as that would be the last thing I expect getting from an Apple store. There’s an unpleasant feeling that I felt awkward and uncomfortable when walking out the store. Every staff and their mother seemed to know the reason why I was there as someone who comes and begs for a repair service. The eye-rolling attitudes from those IFC store staff that show the sign of preconceived notion about my visit and the undercurrent contemptuous manner, which at a result certainly brings out the angry fighter in me.
After reading the Seattle Rex vs. Apple court case, it totally gave me a boost of confidence. The judge was appalled after knowing that as a matter of fact, the cost of repair was actually paid by Nvidia, which means Nvidia foot the bill not Apple corps. I am going to make an appointment with Consumer Council and Small Claims Tribunal Ordinance to address this issue. I know it very well the last thing Apple wanted is bad publicity and am certainly going to spread this all over the net and every media venues that could think of just for the sake to make a bigger noise. But please don’t get me wrong; the intention of doing this is neither an attempt to pull out the squeaky wheel gets the grease card nor an easy way seeking for a free repair service. At this point I couldn’t care less about the old MBP and I am not that keen on being that customer any longer either. The purpose of it is purely aim to those staff, if they wanted to prove me wrong with those crappy unnecessary humiliation and when the time I know it better what has been going on, I am going to fight for it until my last breath.
Thanks for reading and will keep you guys posted if still interested in further details.
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If I were you, I would actually make use of that "hyped" atmosphere at the Apple Store, and go back in and ask them to test the machine for the chip failure. If they treat you the same way, make a scene... raise your voice so people nearby can hear... Say things like - As a registered owner, why wasn't I informed there was a known failure in these machines? And if it wont cost Apple a cent to get it repaired, why wont you repair it for me?
Don't be embarrassed this time if people are looking - make them embarrassed that they are not helping you.
Thanks!
It would actually be much more easier if they had told me at the first visit, the day when I took the unit for an inspection and remember I did ask them to take out the old hard drive which means I have given up the unit already. But when I found out about the whole shenanigan and NVIDIA is the one who's paying for the repairs and those snobs still gave me that attitude like i was asking for a liver. Sure as hell I will be going on a crusade for it!
You know what, this is very time consuming actually and it is totally not something enjoyable to me either. I just bought a new Mac and could just sell off the old damaged one at a cheap price and then blow that little money on some craps or make a donation to the local animal shelter. Alas, instead I insist to take the bumpy route. To prepare to go on for crap like this I have had spent awful lot of time surfing on the net, emailing, digging and gathering up every piece of information could find and put em together for references. The outcome might ends up another bruise and tears. By pursuing this further I am trying to defend my consumer right and see how Apple gonna handle this matter.
Argento,
It is supposed to be time consuming; they hope you eventually get tired and give up.
Good luck
Matt
It is supposed to be time consuming; they hope you eventually get tired and give up.
Good luck
Matt
Nope, already had a household iMac but at 17 and a student I couldn't afford my Macbook Pro! (Which at 22 and still a student is serving me quite nicely
)
Sad when Apple trieds to scam their own devoted consumer out of a repair, that is FREE to Apple.
How anyone/consumer can stand behind Apple on this decision is mind boggling.
How anyone/consumer can stand behind Apple on this decision is mind boggling.