Im lacking an Apple Store!

[tylerdurden9]

So after much debating about my new unibody mbp ive decided that im going to have to get it fixed. Its just too much money for a student to spend especially on a machine thats not perfect. My graphics card like many others isnt working properly. Im getting black screens when gaming and constant freezing. I got my macbook at the start of november and its been doing this from the start. It took alot of saving for me too get my dream machine and i think we deserve to have them working perfectly for the price tag we pay.

So my problem is there is not an apple store in Ireland. As ideally I would like to book a genius appointment and get it sorted. So what are my options? Do i send it off to apple to have it fixed? What if they do a diagnostic and they claim that its working fine? Do i get charged for this, what are my rights?

Id particularly like to hear from anyone with a unibody that has had a faulty graphics card, and how they got there problem fixed? Or anyone also lacking the facility of an apple store?

Comsidering my mbp is 3 months old and i didnt purchase apple care is a problem like a faulty graphics card covered by the standard apple care?

Any help would be much appreciated
Cheers

 

[kastenbrust]

Phone Apple, they will send a UPS van to collect it, and bring it back to you fixed in 3-14 days depending on the problem.

Faulty graphics cards are covered by Apple, however require a whole motherboard, sorry i mean 'logic board' replacement, which if you arn't in the 1st year warranty costs £500 or about that. So well done for getting it fixed now.

 

[tylerdurden9]

Yeah i think il give em a ring tomorrow and see what they say. I just wish there was an easier way to get it too them, One thing that im very concerned about is if they check it and deem it to be working sufficiently. Its a very intermittent problem, but a problem none the less. What generally happens if they find it to be working properly? Do i get charged? How do i fight my case. I feel talking to someone in person would be much more beneficial you know?

 

[Tallest Skil]

Do you have a MacBook Pro with the 8600M GT?

AppleCare for hardware is a one-year coverage, and they recently extended coverage of the 8600M failures for extra time, so you're good.

Intermittency is your only problem, but when I take mine in (because it's beginning to fail), all that I will need to do is plug in an external monitor and get TERRIBLE flicker, so it shouldn't let me down.

That last part is kind of an oxymoron, but you get the picture.

I love your country, by the way. It sucks that Belfast would get an Apple Store before Dublin, you know?

 

[MidwestStuck]

What they'll probably do is run your MBP through a few graphics card tests to see if there's anything wrong... that's what they did with mine when I went to my local Apple Store (though my MBP had a different issue). Just send in your computer and I'm sure they'll find the problem.

 

[JustGretchen]

you could also find a certain @apple.com email address that has been posted on these boards many many many times and attempt to write if you do not get any satisfaction, but I would suggest you phone apple first to see what the repair options are.

Be firm, but polite.