How to approach Apple for a replacement? (11 months RMBP)

[alyshehata]

Hi guys,

I've had a retina macbook pro for about 11 months now. It's almost out of warranty but I'm working on getting Apple care. My problem is that the screen (which was flawless) started to make cracking noises when opening or closing. I took it to the genius bar where they happily replaced it. However, it took about 6 days to get it done.

With the new screen, the noises are gone, however the screen is noticeably yellow-er than my old one. This is a samsung screen so no IR or anything. However, the screen is yellow and it gets really annoying when hooking it up to an external display.

How should I approach apple for a replacement? I'm a student and I was barely able to make it through those 6 days apple had it for. What would be the best way to demand some accommodation? I don't mind if they can fix it within the day or maybe the next day. But 6 days is just too much. Is there anything I can tell them to either give me a replacement or try to do it on the spot? I don't have too much experience with Apple Support.

Also, I've read that people have had success with apple phone support where apple would send you a replacement and you send the old one back. How does that work exactly?? Thanks

 

[James_C]

This is always a tricky one. Although the screen may appear to have a slightly different characteristic to the last, from Apples point of view is the screen within acceptable manufacturing tolerance? When you take the machine into the store they will test it.

I had a screen problem with my rMBP (image persistence) and I got mine exchanged after I had it for 8 months or so. However this was mainly because of service issues with the store that I went to. There are no hard and fast rules as Apple stores appear to have a lot of discretion. It all depends who you speak to and how your approach your request.

Given that you are almost out of warranty and your machine has only been in for repair once, it is less likely that you will be offered a full exchange. Generally speaking you would need to history of multiple failures to be offered an exchange. Although you may feel that 6 days is a long time for a repair, most people would feel that is a reasonable time for a repair. I think mine was 7 days.

In summary i think you may find it difficult to get Apple to agree to a full replacement, and you may find that Apple views the screen to in tolerance anyway. However you best success would be to explain you have already been inconvenienced by one repair and the you still have a problem with the replaced screen. Be polite at all times, and if you are not getting any joy with the tech, politely ask to speak to the manager. Going back to the original store that you bought it from also helped me as well (the store manager indicated that he would help because I had bought it from his store in the first place.)

I can't comment on sending your machine back to Apple as I have not used that service, and I don't think Apple offer that in the UK anymore, unless you are in the normal return period (30 days from purchase).

 

[alyshehata]

This is always a tricky one. Although the screen may appear to have a slightly different characteristic to the last, from Apples point of view is the screen within acceptable manufacturing tolerance? When you take the machine into the store they will test it.

I had a screen problem with my rMBP (image persistence) and I got mine exchanged after I had it for 8 months or so. However this was mainly because of service issues with the store that I went to. There are no hard and fast rules as Apple stores appear to have a lot of discretion. It all depends who you speak to and how your approach your request.

Given that you are almost out of warranty and your machine has only been in for repair once, it is less likely that you will be offered a full exchange. Generally speaking you would need to history of multiple failures to be offered an exchange. Although you may feel that 6 days is a long time for a repair, most people would feel that is a reasonable time for a repair. I think mine was 7 days.

In summary i think you may find it difficult to get Apple to agree to a full replacement, and you may find that Apple views the screen to in tolerance anyway. However you best success would be to explain you have already been inconvenienced by one repair and the you still have a problem with the replaced screen. Be polite at all times, and if you are not getting any joy with the tech, politely ask to speak to the manager. Going back to the original store that you bought it from also helped me as well (the store manager indicated that he would help because I had bought it from his store in the first place.)

I can't comment on sending your machine back to Apple as I have not used that service, and I don't think Apple offer that in the UK anymore, unless you are in the normal return period (30 days from purchase).

Thanks for the reply. Here is a link comparing it to my external monitor. Kind of a pain getting used to the color switch. http://imgur.com/c9gKAGk I'm going to go there tomorrow and see what I can get.

 

[Apple fanboy]

So the screen has a yellow look to it? I suggest you buy or borrow a screen calibration tool like a ColorMunki or Spyder 4 and calibrate the screen. If you're a student you might get one from your school to borrow.The fact that it looks different from your last screen does not make it faulty. It probably has a different profile thats all. Also what you refer to as yellow is probably more realistic than apples default very bright and cool colour profile.

 

[ValSalva]

So the screen has a yellow look to it? I suggest you buy or borrow a screen calibration tool like a ColorMunki or Spyder 4 and calibrate the screen. If you're a student you might get one from your school to borrow.The fact that it looks different from your last screen does not make it faulty. It probably has a different profile thats all. Also what you refer to as yellow is probably more realistic than apples default very bright and cool colour profile.

Agreed. As long as the yellowing is uniform it can almost always be corrected. It's when a discoloration is localized to a portion of the display that it's considered defective.

 

[tcphoto]

I believe that calibrating it will solve the problem. BTW, I would suggest that you buy AppleCare before your warranty expires which will give you an additional two years of coverage.

 

[alyshehata]

So the screen has a yellow look to it? I suggest you buy or borrow a screen calibration tool like a ColorMunki or Spyder 4 and calibrate the screen. If you're a student you might get one from your school to borrow.The fact that it looks different from your last screen does not make it faulty. It probably has a different profile thats all. Also what you refer to as yellow is probably more realistic than apples default very bright and cool colour profile.

Well, I'd still rather have the whites look white instead of yellow. But then again, I do feel like getting used to this shouldn't be too bad.

Agreed. As long as the yellowing is uniform it can almost always be corrected. It's when a discoloration is localized to a portion of the display that it's considered defective.

Now that you said this, I'm becoming a little paranoid. I feel like the right side is a little dimmer than the left side. When i look at it from the center, that's how it feels. If I tilt slightly to the right, the screen is uniform. Is that a common problem?

I believe that calibrating it will solve the problem. BTW, I would suggest that you buy AppleCare before your warranty expires which will give you an additional two years of coverage.

I tried calibration. It works to an extent. However, the more you get closer to pure white, the dimmer the LCD gets.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I tried calibration. It works to an extent. However, the more you get closer to pure white, the dimmer the LCD gets.

The trouble is you are used to looking at an overly bright monitor, because thats how apple ship then by default. Then when it becomes dimmer (and more natural looking) you think it's to dim. What did you calibrate it with?

 

[scbond]

Best option is to speak with Apple about it. If it's a fault then they will correct it despite there being no warranty on replacement parts.

 

[fskywalker]

Well, I'd still rather have the whites look white instead of yellow. But then again, I do feel like getting used to this shouldn't be too bad.



Now that you said this, I'm becoming a little paranoid. I feel like the right side is a little dimmer than the left side. When i look at it from the center, that's how it feels. If I tilt slightly to the right, the screen is uniform. Is that a common problem?



I tried calibration. It works to an extent. However, the more you get closer to pure white, the dimmer the LCD gets.

Search on the forum for calibration profiles for Samsung displays, I re-calibrated mine and it looks white, not yellowish as before.

 

[sarthak]

It would not be considered defective the entirety of the display has a warm tint. Some batches have a preset colour temperature of ex. 6500K, if you find it to be too warm for your taste, you can calibrate it. Setting it to 7000K or greater will result in a cool white colour.

Calibration can be done by yourself in a couple of minutes. Profiles from other users most often distort particular colours as they aren't intended to be used universally.