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.
how much would it cost change soldered faulty ram
- Thread starter al404
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yup, the entire logic board has to be changed.
However, RAM is far less likely to fail after time. RAM almost always either fails right from the start (wear and tear principles don't apply to RAM), so don't worry about it.
Flat rate USD 300-ish repair.
In all my computing history, I've never encountered failed RAM over time. The only faulty RAM I've encountered are the ones that fail right out of the box.
cjmillsnun
macrumors 68020
Out of warranty you are looking at either a new logic board or someone like IARossman (on this forum) to desolder and resolder the chips.
It won't be impossible, but will not be easy.
That said, although PC Ram fails, the most common reason is electrostatic discharge, due to people opening it up, something that is unlikely to happen on the the rMBP.
It won't be impossible, but will not be easy.
That said, although PC Ram fails, the most common reason is electrostatic discharge, due to people opening it up, something that is unlikely to happen on the the rMBP.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
rMBPs don't even use HDDs anymore. They're SSD-only. The SSDs are replaceable, but nobody makes 3rd party parts on it.
How about this, soldered RAM on the rMBP will not fail, because most RAM failures are due to electrostatic discharge. Since you can't even get at the RAM chips with your hands (without opening it up), electrostatic discharge is highly unlikely.
Besides, you're not even supposed to open up the back panel, then that way, you can be sure that you will not damage anything.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Exactly, I can't recall seeing a MBP failing because of a bad ram module. I'm sure it happens but its a rarity.
I think more likely some damage occurred that caused the ram module to fail, and if that died, what else did. To put it another way, getting the ram replaced and re-soldered may not fix the MBP.
OP, I know you were complaining about Apple's warranty practices in the thread but I think overall buying a broken laptop is a risk that make cause you to spend more money then you want.
sorry i may not explain correctly
i want to buy a new macbook pro mid 2014, now i have a early 2011 and works fine for me but retina display and the ability to scale down and have more room on desktop it would be a great upgrade
what really hold me i s the fear to have some soldered part fail, so i'm wondering how much would cost me to replace something like RAM in a official Apple store out of warranty since apple care id about 20% of macbook pro price
I had quite a few mac, a 24 imac and a 27 imac both with apple care
and on 3th year both had monitor issue
apple product are good but may have problems
so i was wondering how much could it cost to fix a soldered and glued macbook pro of warranty
i want to buy a new macbook pro mid 2014, now i have a early 2011 and works fine for me but retina display and the ability to scale down and have more room on desktop it would be a great upgrade
what really hold me i s the fear to have some soldered part fail, so i'm wondering how much would cost me to replace something like RAM in a official Apple store out of warranty since apple care id about 20% of macbook pro price
I had quite a few mac, a 24 imac and a 27 imac both with apple care
and on 3th year both had monitor issue
apple product are good but may have problems
so i was wondering how much could it cost to fix a soldered and glued macbook pro of warranty
How about this, soldered RAM is far less likely to fail (right next to impossible, in fact), because the user cannot cause electrostatic discharge to it, since it's soldered.
Just don't open up the back panel and nothing will go wrong.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
I see, I thought you were looking to buy a cheap (but broken) MBP, pay a little money and then repair it.
What you're saying is you want to buy a new MBP and are concerned that the ram modules may fail. I've been using a 2012 rMBP and (knocks on wood), its been running like a champ.
Also check your local consumer laws, you may have longer coverage then you think you do
even on PC, ram usually comes with "lifetime warranty", if your build the pc yourself. that should give you an idea of how robust ram chips are. the processor is also soldered to the motherboard
The best thing to do is call your local Apple Store (if there is one) and ask them. Typically, when it's out of warranty, there is a flat-fee repair option which is around $300-$350 here in the U.S. The price in Italy may be similar.
Also, since the RAM is soldered, but in almost any other laptop is removable, they may take that into consideration and cut you a break on the fee.
Finally, AppleCare is expensive, but worth it - I just had a 3-year-old MacBook Pro have a graphics card fail (common issue for that model) and Apple gave me a brand new retina MacBook Pro in exchange. I basically got a $3,199.00 computer for the price of $239 AppleCare (student priced at the time).
Also, since the RAM is soldered, but in almost any other laptop is removable, they may take that into consideration and cut you a break on the fee.
Finally, AppleCare is expensive, but worth it - I just had a 3-year-old MacBook Pro have a graphics card fail (common issue for that model) and Apple gave me a brand new retina MacBook Pro in exchange. I basically got a $3,199.00 computer for the price of $239 AppleCare (student priced at the time).
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
I think you're worrying about something that isn't really an issue. If you are concerned about the warranty length, then splurge and purchase the extended warranty.
Based on experience, soldered on RAM is much less likely to fail than socketed one. The chips in the socketed RAM are often stressed more. At any rate, I think it's quite curious that you are concerned about RAM chip failure but not about the dozens of other chips that have been soldered for ages. Besides - just in few years we will move to soldered-on RAM completely. The need for more performance and energy efficiency dictates this.
Soldered RAM failures are fairly rare, unless you put a notebook into extreme temp ranges where expansion/contraction does enough to loosen the RoHS solder and the average person isn't likely to do it unless they flex/bend their rMBP/MBA in which the expansion/contraction results in serious enough warping.
During the iBook G3/G4(128mb/256mb) and 12" PowerBook G4(256mb) era having a faulty soldered RAM required a whole logicboard replacement(or find a shop that did chip replacements) and a few PC makers had onboard RAM on their compact models in similar price points, RAM failures don't need electrostatic discharge as sometimes the chip itself wasn't up to spec in the binning process or it failed for other reasons such as abuse from case flex damaging the logicboard.
Failure rates of soldered RAM after 2yrs is extremely rare, you have a higher chance the screen flex cable, LED backlight/fuse or battery dies before suffering a RAM/SSD failure. My 10yr old 12" PowerBook G4 is still running this long with just a HDD replacement, Apple wouldn't have attempted it again outside of the MacBook Air if reliability wasn't up to their standards. Consumers want a war of thinner notebooks, expansion/user serviceable parts goes out the window.
During the iBook G3/G4(128mb/256mb) and 12" PowerBook G4(256mb) era having a faulty soldered RAM required a whole logicboard replacement(or find a shop that did chip replacements) and a few PC makers had onboard RAM on their compact models in similar price points, RAM failures don't need electrostatic discharge as sometimes the chip itself wasn't up to spec in the binning process or it failed for other reasons such as abuse from case flex damaging the logicboard.
Failure rates of soldered RAM after 2yrs is extremely rare, you have a higher chance the screen flex cable, LED backlight/fuse or battery dies before suffering a RAM/SSD failure. My 10yr old 12" PowerBook G4 is still running this long with just a HDD replacement, Apple wouldn't have attempted it again outside of the MacBook Air if reliability wasn't up to their standards. Consumers want a war of thinner notebooks, expansion/user serviceable parts goes out the window.
cocoua
macrumors 65816
I GOT A 2012 retina 15" broke after 4 years... 2,6ghz 16 GB RAM, 512GB SSD lasted 4 years, plus battery almost dead, the repair was 975 USD
this is not acceptable by any means
Sterkenburg
macrumors 6502a
No offense, but... what's the purpose of necroing this 3.5 year-old thread? A used 4-year old laptop, Mac or whatever, can indeed fail and if so it has to be repaired out of warranty. It sucks when it happens to you, but there isn't anything unacceptable nor strange about that.
