How Reliable is a top case replacement?

[Sebastian79]

How Reliable is a top case replacement? I mean how much can I trust apple technicians. I keep wondering whether they can lose a screw, mess up with the assembly, etc...

Am I exaggerating? or should I worry? They ordered a top case for replacement because after replacing my speakers twice, it still did not solve the buzzing on certain frequencies and they claim that it can be from the speaker grills being clogged with dust particles...

Should I just live with the buzzing speakers? or have the top case replaced?

 

[maflynn]

For me the quality of work was top notch. I had a battery replacement on my 2012 rMBP and the work done was excellent.

 

[kohlson]

I mean how much can I trust apple technicians.

In my experience, I've never issues with Apple repairs. This includes depot repair where Apple Store sent my MBP to an authorized repair facility (which included a top case). Apple also repair my daughter's 2016 13-MBP (keyboard kerfuffle) and they found the root cause of a problem - one which the Apple Store people ignored and dismissed to her face.

OTOH, I have had MBAs repaired at an independent, and the results were uneven. In one case, the repairs totaled over $400. They were unable to correctly diagnose and fix it for the long term. The Apple Store tech fixed it for $120, and called to ask, basically, who had butchered it before they got to it.

If you're not getting satisfaction from Apple, ask to speak with the head tech or manager. For them, this shouldn't be a guessing game.

 

[chris_b]

I recently had a 2016 MBP repaired. I dropped it off at the Apple Store and they sent it out for repair to a depot. They replaced everything but the display (top case, motherboard, io card, TB3 ports and some other stuff). Came back in perfect condition however I had a new wireless issue. I took it in and they sent it to the depot for almost two weeks. Got it back and they replaced the motherboard (again) and something else related to wireless.

This time the bottom was sticking out in the back center so the laptop wobbled left and right, it did not sit flat. I had to take the bottom cover off and I found a screw that was jammed in at an angle. I pulled it out and reseated it then replaced the bottom. Laptop is as good as new, I did not complain a second time (I complained about two repairs and over two weeks of downtime already).

My laptop was in the depot the second time when they announced the keyboard recall. I'm sure they were busy and overlooked that one screw while rushing. Was easy for me to fix and I'm just happy to have an amazing laptop again. I was getting really frustrated with the temp Dell laptop I was using.