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Completely dead 13" tbMBP

RobinInOR

RobinInOR

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 14, 2014
504
337
i came home to a completely dead tbMBP. My new baby! I thought it might have been my power strip (MBP plugged into LG monitor plugged into strip), so i've got it plugged into another outlet now. It was working last evening, so not sure when this happened.

Not a peep out of it. For a completely discharged battery, how long should it take before theres enough power to start up? Im terrified its more than just a discharged battery, I need some reassurance. :):(
 
Is there any way to tell if it's charging?

It shouldn't take long at all before it's able to boot while plugged in.
 
I think it's a goner. It's been plugged in for hours, nothing. I've tried different bricks/cables, different outlets. No flicker, no touchbar, no reaction to the power button. Since there aren't any lights anywhere I can't tell what it's doing.
So I guess I've got to take it to the store and have them send it off - approved store is 40 miles away, apple store is 400 miles away :).
 
That's unfortunate to hear. Hope you report back updates on the situation.

Also hope you have a backup computer you can use while that one is off to the shop.

Did you contact Apple support directly?
 
Just called them. They had me do the SMC reset sequence, which I had already tried. So off to the store it goes.
I was hoping someone had another sequence of keystrokes to wake this from a coma. :)
I've got iPads and iPhone and my old iMac, so I'm covered for electronics. It's just going to be hard to wait for the repair.
 
Good idea, except for the part of the instruction 'turn on...'. Nothing happens when I use the power button, or plug in power. Tried it anyway, no go. Good thought though..:)
 
Just as an update to my sad story :(
Local store just called, and the motherboard has fried itself or something along those lines. Its being shipped to Apple tomorrow and they said standard turnaround is 7-12 days. Our store doesnt have the tools to recover the ssd, but maybe apple can use that tool that someone posted about.
I miss my MBP!
 
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Main logic board died. They didn't have any more detail than that. They also don't have parts to repair, so they are ordering a new computer. Didn't sound like it was going to be refurbished, if they don't have parts available. Unless parts are allocated to different channels, I guess.

They also didn't have an ETA for it, so the waiting game goes on. If I put in my model online that would be delivered next week, so I'm guess I'll still have some waiting to do.

Next learning experience, how to restore from a Time Machine backup. I've never had to do that before, hopefully it's a non event o_O
 
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ext learning experience, how to restore from a Time Machine backup. I've never had to do that before, hopefully it's a non event
Click to expand...

This should give you a fairly good overview:

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/08/01/new-mac-from-time-machine-backup/

It's a fairly straight forward process, so you shouldn't have any issues . Sorry to hear about the logic board though. I know what it's like to get a brand new shiny and have to almost immediately RMA it [Not with Mac, but with Razer products].
 
RobinInOR said:
Main logic board died. They didn't have any more detail than that. They also don't have parts to repair, so they are ordering a new computer. Didn't sound like it was going to be refurbished, if they don't have parts available. Unless parts are allocated to different channels, I guess.

They also didn't have an ETA for it, so the waiting game goes on. If I put in my model online that would be delivered next week, so I'm guess I'll still have some waiting to do.

Next learning experience, how to restore from a Time Machine backup. I've never had to do that before, hopefully it's a non event o_O
Click to expand...

when did you order/receive the computer?
 
Mine did a slightly similar thing and they replaced the logic board. Took 6 days from drop-off at Apple store to me picking it up earlier today.
 
happyslayer said:
Mine did a slightly similar thing and they replaced the logic board. Took 6 days from drop-off at Apple store to me picking it up earlier today.
Click to expand...
Nice! One of the bad things about living in the middle of nowhere - no Apple stores! I always expect things to take a long time. Since I wasn't near a store, i'm in a different channel so there weren't parts available for repair. I'm not driving 250 miles when I don't mind waiting :)
 
RobinInOR said:
Main logic board died. They didn't have any more detail than that. They also don't have parts to repair, so they are ordering a new computer. Didn't sound like it was going to be refurbished, if they don't have parts available. Unless parts are allocated to different channels, I guess.

They also didn't have an ETA for it, so the waiting game goes on. If I put in my model online that would be delivered next week, so I'm guess I'll still have some waiting to do.

Next learning experience, how to restore from a Time Machine backup. I've never had to do that before, hopefully it's a non event o_O
Click to expand...

Did they offer to recover your data for you?

That's one of the drawbacks of having fully-soldered storage... when the logic board dies, your stuff is gone.
 
Nope. I mentioned it to the original Apple support manager, but the way this seemed to be going through without an Apple Store involved makes it really difficult. It's me -> Connecting Point -> Apple Support -> repurchase -> back to Connecting Point -> me. I'm under the impression this is going through like a brand new purchase, so I'll have to ask them if my warranty dates are reset.

I have a TM backup that's 2 weeks old, so if that process goes well I won't have too much stuff to reinstall. Might have to redo my homebrew, libdvdcss and apache rebuilds but that didn't take too long. All I was really using this for was a Handbrake ripping station for all of our dvds.
 
I hope Apple sorts everything out for you and it all turns out well.

Maybe I am wrong here, but I feel like they should be serving data recovery on a silver platter to you, and that they should bear the full burden of handling any & all shipping logistics and costs to do the recovery in an expedient manner. If they are going to choose to solder the SSD to the logic board (something that was arguably more of a design choice more than a requirement), then when a defect in their own product is the cause of a system failure, I just feel like the only impression they should give is, "this will be simple, fast, and free: your location does not matter and we will take it from here."
 
I agree. It was 2 out of the 3, simple and free. Fast, not so much. :) I haven't had to do anything for shipping, I dropped it off at the local third party store and will pick up the new box from there, so that's nice.

I do wish they did a data recovery, I did mention that on the original repair order, but I get the feeling that Apple is still scrambling a bit to get ahead of all their problems. I expect some level of disorganization on a new launch, but after 3 months I would have expected a little more organization between their repair systems, support, Apple Store repair systems, etc. They seem fragmented. I think my laptop with the SSD, wherever it physically is, isn't in the same physical location that my new box will be coming from, so that's probably why I won't see data recovery.

I do have to say that the guy I worked with from Apple Support was wonderful. He called a couple of times, emailed me a few, much more contact than my local 3rd party store. I wasn't too fond of his 'they've placed an order for a new system, but don't have an ETA because of availability.... it'll get there when it gets there'. Sounds like the repair team is a wee bit frustrated as well.
 
I've had a few experiences with Apple Support myself where the people I spoke to were exceptional but the system as a whole didn't seem to all be on the same page. Hopefully they get that act together and the system you get back works flawlessly. It's a really nice computer and one you invested quite a lot in...it would be nice if they also handled the data recovery aspect.
 
Friday Morning Apple Support told me it was in Portland OR, with delivery Monday. Yay! Actually, the store called me on the way home Friday to say it was there, so I changed course and picked it up.

Time Machine restore went flawlessly. I don't see any obvious flaws yet - keyboard feels the same, screen looks the same. Haven't had it on battery yet, so don't know if it will be any better than my last one - I usually got 6-7 hours out of it. Nice thing it came with 10.12.3 already installed - I had only been on 10.12.2 before. Checked the manufacturing date on my battery - it says Feb 1 2017 so it's a nice fresh one! My old system had a battery from mid October I think it was.

"Funny" story about picking it up. Get to the 3rd party store, they bring out a plastic container with a bare MBP and separate cord/power supply, saying 'here you go, we got it this morning'. Me all meek and mild "uh, this is supposed to be a brand new system, why isn't it in a box"?

"Oh, they never ship this stuff in a box..."

WTF? I look at the serial number as he's printing up the paperwork - it was my dead one! LOL, if I hadn't been paying attention...

I had kind of a hissy fit, and then they finally found the new one. Boy, you've got to watch these guys...
 
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