What happens after AppleCare ? My 2011 machine's GPU is dying...4 kernel panics yesterday and I can't take it to the service centre on a weekday due to work. But I have AppleCare on it so I will not be paying for this repair...but if you read reports....even the replaced logic board has the same issues and it will crap out after a couple of months...Apple needs to replace the machine but they will only keep replacing the logic board until my AppleCare runs out. After that...I will have to pay Apple AGAIN!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Did I spend twice as much over a Windows Notebook on a disposable piece of eye candy?
- Thread starter klinic
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
For me, everything that has broken has broken within the first 3 years + 1 through AMEX. That's basically 4 years of guaranteed operation.
If your logic board lasted for 3 years, the new one will probably also last 3 years. That's 6 years of operation, which isn't bad at all.
You are missing the point were things get replaced multiple times within 3 years.
IE: Some people have replaced their logic board twice within 3 years. Some even more. Some after replacing it, the new one blew just after 90 days. That 6 years now risks turning into 3 years and a few months...on top of that it is not 3 years of constant reliable use, it is 3 years of "oh my god, please turn on"
For me, I need my computers to last 5 years. That includes one year out of warranty, but that also gives 4 years for any defective part to break and be replaced. By the 5 year mark, I'm ready for a replacement, and everything after 5 years is just gravy.
I understand the defective GPU issue, and I have two MBPs that are the models with that potential issue. My 2007 MBP had the issue about 2.5 years in and apple fixed it. I personally haven't had it reoccur, and it's been about 7 years of ownership now.
To the OP, I am really sorry about all the problem. I know my first thoughts regarding cost are that if it is more expensive it is better. "Better" having a wide interpretation. Better in term of what? Longevity, speed, easy of use, beauty or durability. Probably all of the above. But the reality is that more expensive my not be better. You have to look at need vs cost. If a cheaper MacBook can do what you want and you send $4000 on a top end model. You really buying eye candy because you are spending more not because of need but because of want. (I am totally guilty of this just ask my wife).
If only the $4000 model would do what you need, then no you didn't waste the money because that is the only model that perform your tasks. It is too bad the machine didn't last longer. I am sorry.
I could be wrong, but I believe other manufacturers during this time had similar issues with similarly configured machines.
If only the $4000 model would do what you need, then no you didn't waste the money because that is the only model that perform your tasks. It is too bad the machine didn't last longer. I am sorry.
I could be wrong, but I believe other manufacturers during this time had similar issues with similarly configured machines.
What constitutes as a major component repair? My 2011 MBP screen (1680 x 1050) had to be replaced and now for the second time, my logic board is being repaired.
This isn't a documented policy as far as I know, but it is generally true. Apple replaced my 2006 MacBook Pro after several unsuccessful repairs. I ended up with a Mid/Late 2007 model that had the supposedly bad NVIDIA GPU, but I never had an issue with it.
The problem is, the repairs were on NVIDIA's dime, so Apple was willing to launch the program.
In the case of Radeongate on the 2011 MBPs, it was Apple's fault that they shoddily applied thermal paste. Throw in unleaded solder to the mix and you've got a nasty combination.
Radeongate also hit the 2011 27" iMacs, but a repair program was launched as those cards were easily replaceable. They weren't soldered to the logic board; rather, they were connected via MXM.
Displays and logic boards are considered major components. I should've also mentioned that it needs to be the same component. So in your case, they'll need to replace the logic board 3 times, then diagnose the logic board as the issue the 4th time around.
I have a nice 2011 PAPERWEIGHT! Thing is, I don't use paper anymore :roll eyes:
I can't even sell it, without doing a risky no guarantee logic board replacement!
I will scam Apple back, in the future, for this! You have been warned
I can't even sell it, without doing a risky no guarantee logic board replacement!
I will scam Apple back, in the future, for this! You have been warned
Incorrect assumption.
Apple invites you into an ecosystem of products with great UI that are all meant to work together. This is why you pay the premium.
Apple does not make hardware that lasts longer. Apple does not make a case that will survive being dropped off a ladder, or a cooling system that will stand up to intense usage, or a more durable product. Not at all. have
You can kill a 2011 MBP looping a 720p youtube video. I have, many times! We have refurbished laptops in our store window. Instead of having them off, I wanted to have a video of us performing repairs looping on all of the machines I had in the window. I managed to kill every Macbook Pro with a discrete GPU within two weeks. Thinkpad R400, T440p, and 13" airs with iGPU were just fine. It's a bad joke. It did nothing but loop a repair video, and it ****ing died.
People buy these expecting to use Final Cut Pro to edit high definition video. And it dies playing youtube videos.
I cannot kill my Thinkpad T520 mining litecoin with CUDA. I did it for two straight weeks without turning it off during the craze last year. It just kept chugging along.
You pay a premium for the experience. The OS. The integration with their products. The retail store treatment. The boxing of the products. The way it invites you to use it out of the box, without ever having to look at a manual, so long as you use the product the way they want you to. It's beautiful, if that's your thing.
You do not pay for more durable hardware. If you go in with that expectation, you will be very, very disappointed. The back covers are glued together. The cooling systems are junk. The hinges loosen easier. The keyboards send the water straight to the motherboard, and have power buttons integrated into them so getting a drop on the Z key keeps your power button from working.
You want a nice UI and nice packaging, buy Apple. You want something you can throw off a ladder and edit high def video in during a 120f desert storm, buy a Thinkpad.
You can't have both.
Each product has its merits depending on what you are looking for. Each product has its value.
----------
The thermal paste has been applied the same way from 2006 to the present. The only reason I do not speak of older machines is I rarely open them.
It's been the same type of application, of the same hardened crap from day one with Apple's Intel based mobile product line. The failure cannot be blamed on the paste alone.
Further, virtually nothing in 2014 uses leaded solder in the computing world. The Thinkpad with the quadro, and a single cooling fan, that I mined litecoin on without turning off for two straight weeks never failed. I even edit 40 mbps AVCHD with VDPAU hardware acceleration with it every now and then just fine.
No offence intended...but I am not sure how you are able to convince yourself that it is okay for laptops to fail within 3 years due to an inherent design flaw ? But it is your choice. I made the same choices all these years and I am now done with it. There is no way I can justify sinking my hard-earned money into Apple's disposable hardware.
My next laptop will definitely not be Mac. It will be a Windows laptop...hate the OS but I think I can get a decent deal on the hardware.
IMO, on one side, you have the aesthetically pleasing Apple Macbook Pro. The OS integrates perfectly with the hardware so you get ridiculous battery life that can't be beat, amazing performance, amazing boot times, and everything is made to work with one another. But you get **** durability, and a silly kb if you're used to a desktop...
On the other side, you have the aesthetic trainwreck that is the Thinkpad, with crap battery life, no cool MP3 player/phone/tablet integration, but that you can run over with a truck and it will still work. It is also the most productive I've ever been on a computer. I sit at my T520 and I feel better on that than I do on any desktop. Once you get used to it, you never go back.
Dell's precision, HP's elitebook, and everything else in the middle is just crap by comparison. The keyboard layout is strange,the durability sucks. You don't get any ofthe cool aesthetics you get with Apple, and you don't get any of the durability or keyboard/trackpoint productivity boost you get out of a Thinkpad. So I think they're junk.
Thinkpad & Macbook are two classes of cool laptops, for their own reasons. They both have their own flaws. The rest, IMO, are just a bunch of compromises & flaws.
By aesthetics, I don't just mean the body. I mean the design of the OS & the entire user experience.
Dell's Precision series have strange keyboards with numpads. I don't approve of that. And an off centered trackpad, which would make me rage very badly. I don't like my palm sitting on a trackpad, or mistyping because half the keyboard is 4" to the left of where it should be.
Electronic devices fail. Just because it's more expensive, it doesn't make it less likely to fail.
If you have a mid-2011 MacBook Pro which has the graphics issue - it's most likely still covered under AppleCare. If you chose not to protect it with AppleCare - that's your own fault. You had the option to take out the extended protection - and you knew, when you bought it, what the deal with out of warranty hardware issues is.
"It's your own fault."
You hear that? You spent three times what I did on a machine of equal specification. I dropped mine off ladders and ran boiling applications that would kill most laptop, and mine works. You just made regular use of your computer, and it died.
And it's your own fault.
God bless fanboys. God bless people who believe you should spend $300 extra on service after spending $1300 extra on a machine to be covered against its own defects.
Indeed, both do have its merits, but I am most certainly reminded as to why I am in the Thinkpad camp at the moment... which, btw, many of which come STANDARD with a 3 year warranty. Not that I've ever had need to use it in my Thinkpad owning lifetime.
"It's your own fault."
You hear that? You spent three times what I did on a machine of equal specification. I dropped mine off ladders and ran boiling applications that would kill most laptop, and mine works. You just made regular use of your computer, and it died.
And it's your own fault.
God bless fanboys. God bless people who believe you should spend $300 extra on service after spending $1300 extra on a machine to be covered against its own defects.
Indeed, both do have its merits, but I am most certainly reminded as to why I am in the Thinkpad camp at the moment... which, btw, many of which come STANDARD with a 3 year warranty. Not that I've ever had need to use it in my Thinkpad owning lifetime.
No need to resort to calling people fanboys.
So... would you expect a Porsche to never have any kind of failures, simply because they are more expensive than a Ford??
And all manufacturers have problems. You're a thinkpad user, so how about:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2128702/lenovo-recalls-thinkpad-batteries-for-fire-hazard.html
or the R61 graphics card failures?
But hey, it's cool to bash on Apple - right?
I'm an Apple fanboy and even I think your comment was excessively fanboyish to an extreme, telling the guy it's his own fault his machine has a defect but has to pay for repairs himself.
The difference is that in the examples above, be it Porsche, Lenovo or what-have-you, no one would put the fault on the consumer and no manufacturer would force said consumer to foot the bill for faults in their own products. That's why out-of-warranty recalls/repairs happen. I have no doubt in any of these examples above, it isn't the consumer who ends up footing the bill.
Warranty or not, Apple should own up to issues that may arise due to manufacturing errors. That's what service is all about and what brings value to their brand in the first place.
I've heard several people say this, but I haven't seen any confirmation that excess heat due to poorly applied thermal paste and lead free solder is really the issue. Do you have a source?
No one has been able to nail down exactly what is causing these failures.
I suspect the issues with the Radeon graphics card failures in the 2011 models is a multifactorial problem - which makes deducing how the failures occur an absolute nightmare. It could be any combination of a manufacturing flaw, heat control, firmware issues, and/or software that is causing it.
This might be why Apple has been hesitant to admit there is an issue because they may not even have a strong idea of exactly what is causing the failures.
My fault...yeah. Keep hearing that nowadays. I am at fault for many other things but not this one. My laptop has hardly been to bootcamp...I had got it for photography work but it never took off and I used it mainly for coding. I never ran servers on it for extended periods of time like my other Dell/Thinkpad toting friends did...
What is happening to the 2011 Pros is entirely Apple's fault. They took top dollar from us and gave us a product that was shoddily implemented. Why are you willing to forgive that ? Again, this is not a one off issue but rather a widespread issue. We came to Apple to escape the problems surrounding Windows and hardware. It was almost blackmail by Apple when they demanded such exorbitant prices but we paid up cause we wanted something that just worked reliably. And what happened ? Laptops started to crash...
I personally have lost my work on more than one occasion. Recently, I was interviewing for a company and I had to code a solution to a problem as part of their interview process. The laptop crashed 3 times during the 3 hour test; as if the interview jitters were not enough, the crashes just took my nerves on an overdrive! Tipping point right there!
I am not bashing Apple. You got it wrong. I am usually *that* guy who is waiting for the slightest chance to heap praise on the company. Converted quite a few of my friends and family to Apple. Hell, I have been called "fanboi" more than once! But with piss poor reliability like this, obviously those days are over. If we need Apple to be *that* company again, we need to be less forgiving and more demanding. After all, neither Apple is doing any charity by selling the laptops to us nor are we doing any charity by buying laptops from them!
And yeah, I have AppleCare. If I had to pay 700$ for a replacement, my reaction would not be so polite.
I am just pissed that Apple has once again left me at a place where I have to worry about the reliability of my daily work machine....my partner in bringing the bread home!
Last edited:
I couldn't agree more! I can't count how many times my 2011 MBP would crash in the middle of a Skype conversation with a sponsor or client, or while in the middle of rendering a scene in Premiere or Maya.
It is down right embarrassing to have to explain that it was just my Mac crashing after getting back online to a Skype conversation - one of my clients even snipped after I got back online: "really your Mac is crashing - that never happens to an Apple right?"
Evidently with the 2011 models it does - and Apple is all to happy to just ignore it as a "small minority of users" having issues. I'm happy Apple replaced mine under warranty! I'm one of the fortunate ones. But hearing these stories it really angers me that Apple won't take this up as the serious issue it is by acknowledging it and just dealing with it!
Last edited: