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Is there anything I can do?

E

eeriephenomenon

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 24, 2006
40
0
Miami, Fl
ok so I love my Macbook (it's a mid 2007 black model) but I seem to have problem after problem with it. As I recall, so far I've had my logic board replaced, hard drive replaced twice, battery replaced twice, a warped case that stopped the cds/dvds from ejecting, a faulty charger, and all of this in less than 2 years! Now I have a screen flickering issue thats beginning to become very troublesome and also my camera is not being recognized. From what I've been reading online the flicker issue it probably due to a faulty inverter that can take up to 2 weeks to replace! As a student, that relies on his computer daily to do his school work and take care of other daily tasks I don't know what else I should or can do. I've always been known as one that takes care of all of his electronic devices yet I can't seem to avoid these issues. I am thankful that I purchased Apple Care when I first got my laptop and so far (crosses fingers) tech support has taken care of me. But what's going to happen once my Apple Care runs out? Will I be stuck having to pay to fix these problems constantly or be forced to replace my laptop with money I already don't have? Is it normal for these devices to have so many issues? I would just like to have the peace of mind knowing that when I need to do a school project, write a program, or just do some research my MacBook is going to be there for me and serve its purpose. I will be making my appointment for the Boca Raton Apple store shortly for my current issues, earlier today there were no available times. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's not the problem I think it is... What would be your recommendation for me at this point? What can I do to ensure that these problems don't continue? At what point is my Macbook considered a lemon and considered for a replacement? :apple:
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Take all your repair invoices to your genius bar appointment and explain your situation. With this much trouble there's a high likelihood it'll be replaced there and then.
 
-Ryan- said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Take all your repair invoices to your genius bar appointment and explain your situation. With this much trouble there's a high likelihood it'll be replaced there and then.
Click to expand...

hmmm, thats a good idea... i have a bad habit of losing papers like these though once im done with them, any idea if i can get another copy of them somewhere?
 
If all your repairs were done by Apple, they should have the records.

I had a lemon G5 that was repaired four times during its AppleCare period and I very politely complained and Apple gave me a free Mac Pro.
 
They'll have it in the notes, provided Apple did the repairs. Just give them a call and ask for a replacement. Present your case first and explain that your a student and rely on your computer everyday. The worst they can say is no and even then you could tell them that should the next repair be unable to fix the issues, you will seek third-party assistance. Companies hate hearing those words.
 
Moof1904 said:
If all your repairs were done by Apple, they should have the records.

I had a lemon G5 that was repaired four times during its AppleCare period and I very politely complained and Apple gave me a free Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

pellets007 said:
They'll have it in the notes, provided Apple did the repairs. Just give them a call and ask for a replacement. Present your case first and explain that your a student and rely on your computer everyday. The worst they can say is no and even then you could tell them that should the next repair be unable to fix the issues, you will seek third-party assistance. Companies hate hearing those words.
Click to expand...

wow these are very good responses! this is exactly the advice i was looking for! ill see if i can get a copy of the records... so should i call in and have them email me the records or ask the genius on the day of my appt? im assuming they'll look it up via serial number...
 
eeriephenomenon said:
wow these are very good responses! this is exactly the advice i was looking for! ill see if i can get a copy of the records... so should i call in and have them email me the records or ask the genius on the day of my appt? im assuming they'll look it up via serial number...
Click to expand...

You don't need them. Once you bring up the repairs, the Genius will confirm by looking it up on the computer.
 
iLog.Genius said:
You don't need them. Once you bring up the repairs, the Genius will confirm by looking it up on the computer.
Click to expand...

thanks iLog! and thanks everyone for your quick replys! ill let you all know how it goes for me...

so im going to try to do a walk-in appointment today and see what they say... but im curious, has anyone else had any luck getting a free upgrade for having issues or things break every several months?

ok so i went to the apple store because i was unable to make an appointment online for the past week, they say they dont do stand-by appointments... ok... whatever, so i take the next step i can think of and contact customer service. they say that i would have to send it in for repairs and after i receive the laptop back, for 90 days im covered but after that im basically SOL. wtf? i mean almost everything i can think of on this laptop has broken and all they can tell me is that i have 90 days covered? for a company that is supposed to be top notch customer service im not seeing it right now. So i made the decision to wait it out to try to find another apple store because i cant do without this laptop, i need it for schoolwork and i also work from home 2 days a week, so having them keep it for god knows how long is not much of an option at this point. its really frustrating. i think im going to go ahead and do a chat or email them or something to try to get some sort of viable resolution here.


anyone else got any recommendations for me??
 
The turn around time for apple repairs sent in by mail is 4-6 days... usually they are around the 4 day mark. With all of these issues presented this is what you need to do. Call up Customer service again, and this time ask to speak to the customer relations department about a possible replacement. They should have all the issues on file as long as apple did the repairs. As long as you talk it out with the customer relations agent, they will probably set you up a replacement.
 
XmcbrideXprideX said:
The turn around time for apple repairs sent in by mail is 4-6 days... usually they are around the 4 day mark. With all of these issues presented this is what you need to do. Call up Customer service again, and this time ask to speak to the customer relations department about a possible replacement. They should have all the issues on file as long as apple did the repairs. As long as you talk it out with the customer relations agent, they will probably set you up a replacement.
Click to expand...

thanks mcbride... i will try this now, ill let you know how it goes.

so i called customer service again and was able to talk to a supervisor about my issue and maybe a possible replacement. He said that he wanted to make sure its a hardware issue before he even considers a replacement, which is understandable. I was told to run the diagnostic cd that came with my apple care package but it has been 3 years already and i dont know where it is nor when i can try and find it so he said to go ahead and download the TechTool Deluxe that was on the support page. I went though that reasonably quickly and repaired a small issue with my volume structure but i still seem to have my issues, well the camera issue at least because the other issue is not easy to recreate. so i called him back yesterday around 4pm and also emailed him and i have yet to here back from him, its 2:15pm now...

How long does it usually take for a supervisor to return a call or email back?
 
eeriephenomenon said:
so i called customer service again and was able to talk to a supervisor about my issue and maybe a possible replacement. He said that he wanted to make sure its a hardware issue before he even considers a replacement, which is understandable. I was told to run the diagnostic cd that came with my apple care package but it has been 3 years already and i dont know where it is nor when i can try and find it so he said to go ahead and download the TechTool Deluxe that was on the support page. I went though that reasonably quickly and repaired a small issue with my volume structure but i still seem to have my issues, well the camera issue at least because the other issue is not easy to recreate. so i called him back yesterday around 4pm and also emailed him and i have yet to here back from him, its 2:15pm now...

How long does it usually take for a supervisor to return a call or email back?
Click to expand...
I don't know, but if this route fails, please do make an appointment for a genius, even over the phone, because I had an issue on my old Macbook that meant the logic board needed replaced. I got a full computer replacement on the spot and walked out of the store with my RAM from my old laptop, my hard drive and my new laptop sealed in a box. Same thing for a broken iPod. But good luck at this stage :)
 
so i guess the question now is, if im hoping for a replacement, should i wait for this guy to call me back or should i go to the store? so far this is the only guy that has been in any way helpful to me...


what do you all think?
 
AppleCare

eeriephenomenon said:
so i guess the question now is, if im hoping for a replacement, should i wait for this guy to call me back or should i go to the store? so far this is the only guy that has been in any way helpful to me...


what do you all think?
Click to expand...

I would try calling the guy back.. No answer/call back in a timely manner then I would call your local Apple store (or one near you, if you have more then one.) and set up appointment. Then explain every thing that had gone wrong with it. The others are right Apple should already have records of all the repairs on the unit. It wouldn't hurt to mention who you talked to at Applecare.

IMO, I think you should get a replacement. You shouldn't have to put up with all those repairs.

Hugh
 
so ive been trying to reach this "supervisor" back since tuesday, still no luck getting in touch with him. no call back, no email back, nothing. seeing as they dont work on the weekends (as far as i recall) i cant imagine him being out of the office for both yesterday and today... then again i may be mistaken.

maybe i should try to get in touch with another supervisor?
 
so yes, i did call back and got another guy who was willing to help me. he said that he is the same level as the guy who i was talking to before which leads me to believe that the other guy want in fact a "supervisor". in any case he said that the first guy did try to call me back yesterday but was unable to reach me which i dont entirely believe since i left my cell phone number and i have it on me 24/7. so this new guy informaed me that they can give me a replacement but there is a good chance that it will be the white model! this blows because the white model also has a slew of issues including cracking, discoloration, the fact that its ugly, etc. im keeping my fingers crossed but im just waiting for the call back now.
 
Well the white one is the only model Macbook left so it makes sense. Just take the white one, its actually really powerful
 
ok this will be my last update, with great news... after making a few comments (about purchasing the premium model macbook and blah blah blah) they decided to give me the 13" MBP! yay!! im glad that apple still does come through for their customers, unlike other companies... but in any case i should be expecting a call tomorrow to set everything up :) hopefully i wont have any issues with this one!
 
Similar problem here!

The issue here is absolutely in sync with the thread starter.

Have a Black macbook with several issues.
Sent back and forth for repairs after repairs.

Today I was offered $999 white macbook to replace my $1499 Black macbook.
I'm aware of the product depreciation value but I wouldn't really want to settle with a white replacement.
I know its a spec bump, but how do I put this forward and get 13in MBP as replacement like the thread starter?

Any suggestions and comments welcome.
 
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