Broken Factory seal on my new Macbook Pro

[Merkava_4]

What is wrong with the computer other than the remote
possibility that it has someone else's fingerprint on it?

 

[acesam]

You paid for a factory sealed MBP, you didn't get a 100% factory sealed MBP. Call Apple tomorrow! there is nothing else you can do. If you're not happy with your purchase return it.

 

[Ivan P]

Not really. I offered some tangible evidence of that and I am seeking others' insights/experiences. But in any case, you are quoting me entirely out of context.


I don't plan on getting upset with them if they don't. I think I stated that I would hope they'd overnight it but that's the ideal scenario. The ideal rarely happens. It's good to hear that they do things quickly.


You're talking about the extended AppleCare warranty?


Yes it does say 'estimated expiration date' and the terms and conditions do say essentially 'upon date of delivery'.

Dude, have you had a really, really close look at the seal on the plastic? I just looked in the boxes of my two MacBook Pros (one is from early 2009, the other is mid 2010). At first glance both of the stickers on those looked like they had been clean cut, but if you look at them closely they actually have little perforations to make tearing easier. That's why it came apart with very little effort, and that's why it's such a clean cut through it.

 

[cookieronster]

What makes you so sure? Actually I got it several days after the registration date, I never got that far, and it was not connected to the 'net any way, so the only possibility is that it was pre-registered by someone. So far only one person has said their machine was pre-registered the day before it left the warehouse as in my case. That's not yet a consensus is it?

Well, I have unboxed 3 MacBook Pro's in the last 2 weeks, 1 i5 and 2 i7's. All of them but one were registered when the computer was started, and it was ordered from the website--it was registered on the 4th while it shipped to me from Shanghai on the 6th of Sept. When you do the snow leopard boot up process it asks you to enter in your APPLE ID and when you click next it will have a registration form already filled out, all before it even presents the desktop for the first time.

This overlooks the fact that it may not have been intentional.

What?? That's why I say "if". If someone went through the trouble to reseal a MBP box to factory spec, would they slip on the plastic sticker?[/QUOTE]

That's yet to be seen.

How is it yet to be seen? You unboxed it, don't bet on calling Apple and having them say, oh you're right someone must have opened it and used it before we sent it to you.

Who cares if they paid twice the amount of a new high end Windows/Linux laptop for a brand new much-hyped Apple laptop and possibly got a used one? Obviously I must or I wouldn't have posted. Neither would others in other threads on this and other forums I imagine. New is NEW.

I am giving you evidence that suggests your MacBook is new, if anything the worst possible case scenario is that someone else might have touched it. It has been about a week since the Applecare suggests the warranty began what could have happened in the period that you have owned the computer?

Again, you are jumping to conclusions without any evidence,

Like i said, 3 mbp's in the last week alone. I checked my registration status online and the dates were always 2 days behind from when I actually turned them on. Two of them followed this criteria, while one of them, an i7 CTO did not. it was from the apple store online, and had the date from when it shipped to me, minus 2 days.

Could you elaborate on this? What is your personal experience with this seal?

Let's put it this way, Apple made the packaging in a very specific way. The top tape cannot be cleanly pulled off, only cut open. I tried pulling it off cleanly but it wasn't working (pulled the paper from the box). This is for obvious reasons, one of them likely being so that customers do not return the laptop back USED declaring it as new (and in turn sell that to people who will complain about getting a used computer). The sticker behind the MBP follows this protocol, if it were thick and required pressure to rip then it would be more than possible to just peel it from the top and reseal the macbook. It is meant to be easily torn.

 

[Merkava_4]

Perhaps a fingerprint dusting kit might be in order.

What would Marg Helgenberger do?

 

[AppleCorp]

Greetings All,

Please excuse the long winded peice below but thsi entire issue is very confusing to me 7 needs to be explained, thx in Advance

New here so please excuse the ignorance of my statement or question but I'm planning on getting a macBook Pro 13" by Xmas or @ the latest Apr/May as it sounds like there will be some kind of upgrade with these.

As this entire Registration Process that Apple seems to Deem to be an Act of G*d on their part really confuses me.

I Don't Understand why they have taken it upon themselves to Register Your Product for You b4 it's shipped or you take it out of the Retail Outlet.

Since None of the Consumer Electronics I have Ever bought were preregisted by either the Company of the equipment I bought being any of the high end Cameras I purchased over the years even expensive Digicams, as well as some very expensive High End Audiophile Equipment, none of my PC's Notebooks, or Monitors were ever Registed by the Retail Outlets or the Product Company themselves either by scanning the S/N or Product#'s etc @ the Cash Register!
It was All left to me as the Consumer & Owner of the product to do so on my time. Even some of the Store Demos that obviously not been registed it was left for me to do so.

The reason for the confusion on my part as to Apples attitude on doing this b4 hand seems to me that you as the Consumer or Customer are in a way gettin gripped off since as soon as they scan or preRegister your warranty clock is ticking which in the end if for some odd reason it takes a few extra days to get to you in the end those few extra days could mean all the diff between your warranty/productc being be honored or not.

The shipping date/transit time should be on their/shippers dime [in case of any damage or delays & not yours is the way I see it.

So as I am considering buying one in the future, would someone please expalin to me why they do this as a forced act on their part.

Thx for any helpful info on this issue for me.

Cheers,
AC

 

[MartyF81]

Greetings All,

Please excuse the long winded peice below but thsi entire issue is very confusing to me 7 needs to be explained, thx in Advance

New here so please excuse the ignorance of my statement or question but I'm planning on getting a macBook Pro 13" by Xmas or @ the latest Apr/May as it sounds like there will be some kind of upgrade with these.

As this entire Registration Process that Apple seems to Deem to be an Act of G*d on their part really confuses me.

I Don't Understand why they have taken it upon themselves to Register Your Product for You b4 it's shipped or you take it out of the Retail Outlet.

Since None of the Consumer Electronics I have Ever bought were preregisted by either the Company of the equipment I bought being any of the high end Cameras I purchased over the years even expensive Digicams, as well as some very expensive High End Audiophile Equipment, none of my PC's Notebooks, or Monitors were ever Registed by the Retail Outlets or the Product Company themselves either by scanning the S/N or Product#'s etc @ the Cash Register!
It was All left to me as the Consumer & Owner of the product to do so on my time. Even some of the Store Demos that obviously not been registed it was left for me to do so.

The reason for the confusion on my part as to Apples attitude on doing this b4 hand seems to me that you as the Consumer or Customer are in a way gettin gripped off since as soon as they scan or preRegister your warranty clock is ticking which in the end if for some odd reason it takes a few extra days to get to you in the end those few extra days could mean all the diff between your warranty/productc being be honored or not.

The shipping date/transit time should be on their/shippers dime [in case of any damage or delays & not yours is the way I see it.

So as I am considering buying one in the future, would someone please expalin to me why they do this as a forced act on their part.

Thx for any helpful info on this issue for me.

Cheers,
AC

Because your warranty begins at time of sale on your receipt. Not the first time your turn it on, or when you "Notify" the company by filling out a silly form.

Any of the "Cameras" or whatever else you have purchased in the past the warranty is based on your receipt date. If you wait a month before you send in the "Form" it is still based on the date of purchase.

 

[aristobrat]

So as I am considering buying one in the future, would someone please expalin to me why they do this as a forced act on their part.

When customers buy the AppleCare extended service plan to go with their Mac, that plan requires enrollment ("activation"), and that enrollment has to be done before the Mac's included 1-year warranty expired.

A lot of customers aren't as thorough as you and never enroll their AppleCare. This leads to huge issues down the road when they come in for a repair thinking they're covered, when the reality is that because they never enrolled, they have no coverage.

So about two years ago, Apple changed to auto-enrollment. When you buy a Mac + AppleCare from them, they'll enroll the AppleCare automatically for you. Even if you don't buy AppleCare, they start the 1-year warranty for you.

Registration requires associating your Mac with your Apple ID. That part is done via the Setup Wizard that runs when you do a clean install of the OS. I could reinstall Mac OS X on my 5-year old, no-warranty-left Mac now, sell it to you, and when you turn it on and set it up, that Mac will then be registered in YOUR name.

 

[foobaz]

Speaking of tone, don't take this the wrong way man, but your tone hasn't been all too friendly to certain people here. You mildly attacked one poster to defend another a few posts earlier. We're all here to help and that guy that you mildly attacked was trying to help you. It's counterproductive for the OP to ask for help but end up fighting the people that are offering help.

How was that in any way "mildly" attacking? That person was very rude to me in his original post, he made broad assumptions and accusations, and was in general arrogant and very unhelpful, and then he insulted the other poster. I guess I have a right to defend myself and any one else I see fit. You seem to have no problem in defending your buddy's indefensible reply.

If I were you, I would keep yours, you didn't have my experience. If Apple exchanges yours you could end up with a dead pixel and they don't exchange for 1 or 2 dead pixels. If you were to exchange that one they will require a restocking fee.

Don't worry, I have considered that possibility too. I've read about people exchanging their new machine for a minor defect only to get another one that had a worse defect. And I don't look forward to the exchange process. It will take time and be a real hassle I'm sure. I am carefully considering my options right now but thanks for the heads up.

You paid for a factory sealed MBP, you didn't get a 100% factory sealed MBP. Call Apple tomorrow! there is nothing else you can do. If you're not happy with your purchase return it.

I will definitely call them but the jury is still out on whether it is used or not. I'm still trying to gather evidence one way or the other but some people do make that difficult.

 

[puma1552]

I will definitely call them but the jury is still out on whether it is used or not. I'm still trying to gather evidence one way or the other but some people do make that difficult.

Truthfully, you have no way to prove it. Zero, zilch nada. If you didn't take an unboxing video, then you have no grounds.

Trust me--you'd KNOW if had been opened, there wouldn't be a doubt. Even if you take what I said above as a truth, have you ever tried to rewrap an Apple laptop in the cellophane? I have. It can look pretty good, but it is absolutely unmistakable for having been completely out of the paper and then rewrapped.

Your computer is new dude, enough people have already told you how Apple's registration works too. My custom CTO machine, which I tracked from China, was registered before it entered this country.

 

[foobaz]

At first glance both of the stickers on those looked like they had been clean cut, but if you look at them closely they actually have little perforations to make tearing easier. That's why it came apart with very little effort, and that's why it's such a clean cut through it.

No, as I mentioned, the cut is below the rather coarse perforation line. That's what raises a question in my mind. The cut is not clean but rather slightly ragged, like it has been cut with a dull blade. And it is right at the edge of one of the ends of the plastic wrap:

The sticker behind the MBP follows this protocol, if it were thick and required pressure to rip then it would be more than possible to just peel it from the top and reseal the macbook. It is meant to be easily torn.

OK, so you're saying that you have had the experience yourself that, when you peel off the clear wrapping on the machine itself, the paper seal tears without any effort whatsoever? I'm not talking about the perforation, but the paper itself outside the perforation. I ask this because my experience was that it required no effort at all, like it was already cut, and I want to know if others have had the same experience. I'm trying to get some consensus.

 

[puma1552]

And it is right at the edge of one of the ends of the plastic wrap:

Of course it is at the edge of one of the ends of the plastic wrap, thats where it would be.

After looking at your pic and looking at mine closer, mine is EXACTLY the same, a little below the perforation. It's a sticker on a piece of plastic, Apple isn't wasting time making sure that the perforation is absolutely 100% dead on the seam of where the pieces of plastic meet.

Dude, it's new.

If you still don't believe, just take it back and be done with it. Get another one, and realize that it will be exactly the same as the one you have right now, and then hopefully you'll see that it's a new machine.

The box was factory sealed, wasn't it?

OK, so you're saying that you have had the experience yourself that, when you peel off the clear wrapping on the machine itself, the paper seal tears without any effort whatsoever? I'm not talking about the perforation, but the paper itself outside the perforation. I ask this because my experience was that it required no effort at all, like it was already cut, and I want to know if others have had the same experience. I'm trying to get some consensus.

I've had that experience on both my computers. Have you tried watching any unboxing videos like I suggested showing exactly 0 effort needing to be applied to tear the sticker in anyone's video?

 

[HLdan]

OP, thank you for posting that pic of your seal. I just checked mine on my perfectly sealed and brand new 15" MBP. This is the one I mentioned earlier that is a replacement from the one that was truly sent to me opened. Hopefully this puts your concerns to rest. Check out my pic. As you can see from the red arrows, the seal was not ripped from the perforation. I'm sure that's the way it tears for most. If this doesn't convince you then deal with Apple, the forum can't help you any further.

 

[jtopp]

OP, the white sticker comes clean cut on all of them--watch any unboxing video. In fact, I'm looking at the original cellophane for mine, which was a CTO, and it too is clean cut. Why? So that it's easy to open it. Look at the unboxing videos, nobody struggles to rip the sticker in half, it just pulls right open along with the rest of the cellophane, because it's precut to do so.

Your computer is new, but there is no way to convince you otherwise, so return it.

Not true, I just bought mine from the Apple store in troy MI a few days ago and I broke my seal using my car keys while sitting by the fountain at the mall. Pain in the aaa.

I wouldn't worry about it through, sometimes quirky things like that happen. Inspect the machine and make sure there are no scratches and try to enjoy your purchase.

In the end you could return it and get a bad Mac in an ironic twist of fate. Sometimes people get caught up in the smaller problems and miss out on enjoying life. You have a new mac, use it.

 

[puma1552]

Not, true, I just bought mine from the Apple store in troy MI a few days ago and I broke my seal using my car keys while sitting by the fountain at the mall. Pain in the aaa.

The computer, not the box itself.

 

[foobaz]

OP, the white sticker comes clean cut on all of them--watch any unboxing video. In fact, I'm looking at the original cellophane for mine, which was a CTO, and it too is clean cut. Why? So that it's easy to open it. Look at the unboxing videos, nobody struggles to rip the sticker in half, it just pulls right open along with the rest of the cellophane, because it's precut to do so.

This is the most intelligent and helpful suggestion any one has made. I can't believe so many people made videos of the 'sacred unboxing' but I'm glad they did. There is quite a range of techniques. Anywhere from using a utility knife to just ripping it open. Oddly, the one from slashdot had a good-sized gap when he turned it over fresh out of the box. I can see that the seal does rip very easily and, from what I could see in the not-so-sharp videos, the edge, in some cases, is not that ragged.

Your computer is new, but there is no way to convince you otherwise, so return it.

No, that is an unfair statement. I am just skeptical. That's all. I need some good arguments and evidence before I'm convinced. Your suggestion and the resulting video finds are the most convincing evidence so far. Thanks for that and congratulations for the smart thinking.

 

[foobaz]

OP, thank you for posting that pic of your seal. I just checked mine on my perfectly sealed and brand new 15" MBP. This is the one I mentioned earlier that is a replacement from the one that was truly sent to me opened. Hopefully this puts your concerns to rest. Check out my pic. As you can see from the red arrows, the seal was not ripped from the perforation. I'm sure that's the way it tears for most. If this doesn't convince you then deal with Apple, the forum can't help you any further.

OK, that looks just like mine. Thanks for sharing. One more question--did it tear really easily, by just pulling on one corner of the plastic wrap and "unzipping" the edge?

 

[AppleCorp]

When customers buy the AppleCare extended service plan to go with their Mac, that plan requires enrollment ("activation"), and that enrollment has to be done before the Mac's included 1-year warranty expired.

A lot of customers aren't as thorough as you and never enroll their AppleCare. This leads to huge issues down the road when they come in for a repair thinking they're covered, when the reality is that because they never enrolled, they have no coverage.

So about two years ago, Apple changed to auto-enrollment. When you buy a Mac + AppleCare from them, they'll enroll the AppleCare automatically for you. Even if you don't buy AppleCare, they start the 1-year warranty for you.

Registration requires associating your Mac with your Apple ID. That part is done via the Setup Wizard that runs when you do a clean install of the OS. I could reinstall Mac OS X on my 5-year old, no-warranty-left Mac now, sell it to you, and when you turn it on and set it up, that Mac will then be registered in YOUR name.

IC, I wasn't aware of hte seperate AppleCare & reg Warranty issues, thx for the info on that.

Cheers.

 

[BobbyCarbn]

If your MBP looks and performs flawlessly, its time to move onto something else. If its jacked up then request a new one. Take a low-level look at when the system log files started being written to. This will be the tell-tale when the OS started keeping track of things.

Otherwise, be very grateful that this seems to be the largest problem currently on your plate at this stage of your life.

 

[cookieronster]

OK, so you're saying that you have had the experience yourself that, when you peel off the clear wrapping on the machine itself, the paper seal tears without any effort whatsoever? I'm not talking about the perforation, but the paper itself outside the perforation. I ask this because my experience was that it required no effort at all, like it was already cut, and I want to know if others have had the same experience. I'm trying to get some consensus.

Ok so now you're saying it's "like" it was already cut, in prior posts you were saying that it was most definitely cut before you opened the box...and for the record, how in any way was I being rude to you? I think you're a bit too sensitive.

 

[HLdan]

OK, that looks just like mine. Thanks for sharing. One more question--did it tear really easily, by just pulling on one corner of the plastic wrap and "unzipping" the edge?

Yes, the plastic wrap has a sticky material on it. That's the only resistance I felt. It was very smooth and easy to remove the wrapping which causes the seal to tear. It certainly didn't feel like a paper rip. This is my 3rd Macbook in the last 2 years, I had 13" MBP and a Macbook Air and now my 15" and the tearing of the seal has all been the same.

BTW, have you even turned it on as of yet? How does it look?

 

[alphaod]

The sticker is designed to be easily broken, so you can't peel it off on the sides. It is not made of paper.

It's often used in gray market sales especially with seller than provide you their own warranties, so they use these types of stickers on screws and such; there is almost no way to remove them without breaking them.

Also mine teared off the same way.

 

[deeesea]

....Is everyone serious in this thread? or is this some kind of joke?

 

[alphaod]

I bought my MacBook Pro the first day of release in the morning, so is there is zero chance someone returned this.

This is what my seal looks like:

I hope this satisfies you so you don't have to worry about this any longer.

 

[sdsvtdriver]

2 pages over a sticker.

2 pages over a sticker. Is yours cut like mine?

2 pages over a sticker. Did yours tear easily or did it require force? If the latter, how much force measured in pounds per square inch?