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errol

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
323
95
Just wondering how common something like this is? Apple is fixing it under warranty. I plan on getting a 11" model when the new ones are announced and am wondering if I should heed SSD failures by getting extended applecare.

Thanks
 
I've owned 5 Air's since the 2010 model through the 2012 model, and I've never seen an SSD fail - it's also not something you hear much on these Boards, so I'd say it's just bad luck.
 
Not very common at all, 2010 MBA still going strong with Toshiba SSD. Wonder if it's the connector?
 
My 256GB Samsung SSD from a 2011 13" MBA borked. It didn't quite totally die, but it did bork pretty good :) . It is apprently super rare though, and it took me a while to narrow down the problem to the SSD because the symptoms were so unusual.

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To answer your question about getting the extended applecare; an SSD replacement costs close to $1000 depending on model and timeframe. However, if the computer is in good condition and not too old, Apple offers a flat-rate fix-anything-thats-wrong-with-it which costs $280 -- not much more than extended applecare.

Depending on your habits, technical knowhow, and availability of other insurnace, I don't think applecare is worth it. I come to this considering what it doesn't cover: accidental damage and theft. I'd rather pay $100/yr for a low-deductable property protection policy and deal with filing claims than pay for applecare.
 
Just wondering how common something like this is? Apple is fixing it under warranty. I plan on getting a 11" model when the new ones are announced and am wondering if I should heed SSD failures by getting extended applecare.

Thanks

Apple is changing the warranty to a subscription. We don't know the details but you have to compare the costs and see if it is a good deal.
 
Just wondering how common something like this is? Apple is fixing it under warranty. I plan on getting a 11" model when the new ones are announced and am wondering if I should heed SSD failures by getting extended applecare.

To answer the question: I think failure within the first year is very bad luck (for Apple :D ). If you are in the UK, I'd say it is not normal for an SSD drive to fail within two years. After two years time, if you sell a MBP with broken SSD on eBay, and add the money you would have paid for AppleCare, you are not _that_ far away from a refurbished MBP which would be better than your 2 year old one anyway. You'll lose a bit of money, but not that much.

But you always have the choice to wait 11 months and 29 days until you buy AppleCare. If your Mac worked fine all the time, don't buy AppleCare. If you have the impression that your Mac is not as stable as you'd like it to be, buy AppleCare.
 
The flash in my rMBP failed when it was 5 months old. It was straightforward for them to diagnose and fix, but the genius said it was only the second flash drive they had seen fail in 5 years - so it's clearly not that common.

The only downside was it was 12 days from the genius appointment to getting it back fixed, because the part wasn't one they usually stock.
 
Same here!

I've had my 2012 13" MBA's SSD replaced about a month ago due to more and more frequently recurring system freezes. After firing it back up, it would take at least five minutes (no difference between leaving it off for that time span or trying again and again) for it to be able to boot up again properly. Within these five minutes I would get a folder with a question mark in it, which basically tells you no boot device found.

When I tried to back it up, it failed even more frequently so that I knew it had to be the SSD. I kinda got everything important off it, but it was a pain in the ass, since it kept freezing every 5-10 minutes.


Got my SSD replaced easily on warranty.
 
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