Flash Drive Refund Question

[forestsprite]

So, I had my 2012 MacBook Air 128GB SSD fail just about a month over warranty late this July. When I was able to finally get to an Apple store in early August, I was told that it wouldn't be covered because I didn't have AppleCare. The Genius I talked to was rather condescending and was openly surprised when I told him I'd been able to run my laptop it in the meantime with an external. He took a long time to confirm that yes, my hard drive had failed, and then another long time to figure out if I'd need the $300 or $800(!) replacement part, which didn't include labour. I had already looked up how to replace it myself and knew the prices for OWC drives, and was appalled at the pricing: for a little over the same price I could have about double the hard drive space. I walked out and then replaced the drive myself, quite easily too.

Anyway, just recently I learned that Apple is now replacing the drives as part of a recall program. I have an appointment at the Genius Bar tomorrow. I've already called Apple and the representative I spoke too (this person very friendly) didn't initially know about the recall program, but seemed to think that I had a case but that he couldn't do anything over the phone and told me to go to a store.

Has anyone here managed to get a refund on their SSDs if they've already replaced it with a third-party part? Obviously I don't expect Apple to pay for the OWC drive, but I think it would be fair if they refunded me the money I would have had to spend on the Apple 128GB. Also, I'm not sure if I should put the failed drive back in my laptop, but I'm leaning towards not. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[jgc]

So, I had my 2012 MacBook Air 128GB SSD fail just about a month over warranty late this July. When I was able to finally get to an Apple store in early August, I was told that it wouldn't be covered because I didn't have AppleCare. The Genius I talked to was rather condescending and was openly surprised when I told him I'd been able to run my laptop it in the meantime with an external. He took a long time to confirm that yes, my hard drive had failed, and then another long time to figure out if I'd need the $300 or $800(!) replacement part, which didn't include labour. I had already looked up how to replace it myself and knew the prices for OWC drives, and was appalled at the pricing: for a little over the same price I could have about double the hard drive space. I walked out and then replaced the drive myself, quite easily too.

Anyway, just recently I learned that Apple is now replacing the drives as part of a recall program. I have an appointment at the Genius Bar tomorrow. I've already called Apple and the representative I spoke too (this person very friendly) didn't initially know about the recall program, but seemed to think that I had a case but that he couldn't do anything over the phone and told me to go to a store.

Has anyone here managed to get a refund on their SSDs if they've already replaced it with a third-party part? Obviously I don't expect Apple to pay for the OWC drive, but I think it would be fair if they refunded me the money I would have had to spend on the Apple 128GB. Also, I'm not sure if I should put the failed drive back in my laptop, but I'm leaning towards not. Anyone have experience with this?

I'm your man on this one, had the exact same issue and bought my own OWC drive.

Put your old, broken drive in. They have to run diagnostics on it. It sounds like you, just like me, have already had this done before. Doesn't matter, they have to do it again AFTER the recall was issued. If you put it in before you go, it'll speed up the process.

Apple cannot refund the money you spent on the drive. They can only issue refunds if you repaired through them (which I didn't, cost was ludicrous). I tried, absolutely NO room for budging on this. Strict company policy. All they could do was replace my broken SSD.

Here's where it (hopefully) gets good. After being told that they would order the part in for me (not in stock at the store), I get a call the next day saying there's such a huge company-wide constraint on the part that they'll have to replace my entire laptop. So I got the new 2013 model. I lucked out since I had CTO (upgraded RAM only) and they don't carry CTO in-stock. So I got the top of the line MBA as a replacement.

Best of luck tomorrow. Hopefully you get the new model as well. Doesn't give you your money back, but it's some consolation. I'm debating whether or not to keep the OWC drive currently.

 

[forestsprite]

I'm your man on this one, had the exact same issue and bought my own OWC drive.

Put your old, broken drive in. They have to run diagnostics on it. It sounds like you, just like me, have already had this done before. Doesn't matter, they have to do it again AFTER the recall was issued. If you put it in before you go, it'll speed up the process.

Apple cannot refund the money you spent on the drive. They can only issue refunds if you repaired through them (which I didn't, cost was ludicrous). I tried, absolutely NO room for budging on this. Strict company policy. All they could do was replace my broken SSD.

Here's where it (hopefully) gets good. After being told that they would order the part in for me (not in stock at the store), I get a call the next day saying there's such a huge company-wide constraint on the part that they'll have to replace my entire laptop. So I got the new 2013 model. I lucked out since I had CTO (upgraded RAM only) and they don't carry CTO in-stock. So I got the top of the line MBA as a replacement.

Best of luck tomorrow. Hopefully you get the new model as well. Doesn't give you your money back, but it's some consolation. I'm debating whether or not to keep the OWC drive currently.

Thanks so much, that's perfect! I ordered my Air online because I opted for the 8GB, so maybe I'll be in luck.

The only thing is my old failed drive is currently in the Envoy enclosure that came with my OWC drive, and it looks like the short screw won't come out - it's either stripped or I was sent the wrong screwdriver. I'd noticed it when I first put it in but figured it didn't matter because it was dead anyway. Oops. Maybe I should reschedule my Apple appointment until I get that worked out...

 

[cyber16]

Apple will NOT pay you back for a self installed 3rd party replacement part.
BUT they can offer you a limited $'s credit to be used towards most products they offer online excluding some such as the iphones, gift cards and such. They will give you some time to pick out a few things to equal that of what you spent on the replacement part and send it to you as a gift. The CSR will handle the whole process.

 

[jgc]

Thanks so much, that's perfect! I ordered my Air online because I opted for the 8GB, so maybe I'll be in luck.

The only thing is my old failed drive is currently in the Envoy enclosure that came with my OWC drive, and it looks like the short screw won't come out - it's either stripped or I was sent the wrong screwdriver. I'd noticed it when I first put it in but figured it didn't matter because it was dead anyway. Oops. Maybe I should reschedule my Apple appointment until I get that worked out...

Haha. I had the screw stripping issue as well. Got the drive into the enclosure, had to put it back in the MBA. Put my OWC drive back in, had to take it out again for the diagnostics. I got over a half-dozen new screws from the guys at the Apple store. Don't worry, they can fix stripped screws for you. They should have the parts and the screws in stock, likely for your enclosure too. No need to reschedule.

We were literally in the exact same boat with the CTO on the RAM only. Let me know how your visit goes/went.

 

[forestsprite]

I ran over to Future Shop in the morning and the tech guys let me use their screwdriver to get it out, haha. When I reassembled everything at home I put my working OWC drive back into the Envoy, but using a rubber band tight around the bottom instead of the screw until I can either get a new screw or proper screwdriver from OWC.

The appointment went okay (though are they ever on time there?). The tech did do the diagnostic over again and confirmed that it had failed and that I qualified for the replacement program. The cost would have been ridiculous if it wasn't free--$472 for the 128GB drive and $39 for labor, plus tax. I tried to get him to just refund me the value for the part only and not do the repair, but that wasn't going to happen.

As it stands now, my laptop is still at the store and should be done in less than a week. They were out of stock for parts at the store but not backlogged, which apparently makes a difference. The tech didn't seem bothered that I have 8GB of RAM instead of stock, so maybe there won't be a new MacBook for me. I'll have to see when they call, I guess.

 

[forestsprite]

Well, I got a call this morning that my laptop was ready to be picked up. Looks like there's no issue getting new drives anymore--I didn't get any upgrade, either whole laptop (you lucky bastard, jgc ) or hard drive size. Worst of all, when I opened it up to put my bigger 240GB back in, I found they'd put another 128GB Sandforce Toshiba in. Sigh.

In the meantime, not sure what the heck to do with a 128GB MacBook Air internal drive that I don't need. It's back in the Envoy now, with the bonus that it now actually works. I guess I can use it as a spare boot or for extra space, though with the limited size it's not great for storage considering pretty much any other drive you could get (especially at the price Apple charges). Probably not worth selling either. Double sigh.

 

[jgc]

Well, I got a call this morning that my laptop was ready to be picked up. Looks like there's no issue getting new drives anymore--I didn't get any upgrade, either whole laptop (you lucky bastard, jgc ) or hard drive size. Worst of all, when I opened it up to put my bigger 240GB back in, I found they'd put another 128GB Sandforce Toshiba in. Sigh.

In the meantime, not sure what the heck to do with a 128GB MacBook Air internal drive that I don't need. It's back in the Envoy now, with the bonus that it now actually works. I guess I can use it as a spare boot or for extra space, though with the limited size it's not great for storage considering pretty much any other drive you could get (especially at the price Apple charges). Probably not worth selling either. Double sigh.

Too bad it didn't work out nearly as well for you. Either way, it's good that Apple owned up to the issue and replaced the drive. I initially planned on selling it but I'm pretty lazy and don't need the money that badly so mine is in a similar type of limbo. I'm sure I'll find some sort of use for it.