Hi all, I just received my brand new Macbook Pro that was custom made to have 512 GB SSD coming directly from China. It's the 2015 model. I found that there was a smudge beneath the wrapping and more importantly some caked on dust on the lower outer edge of the screen. I found this surprising since I expect it should be flawless underneath that thin cover and for a new computer. Is this normal to see such imperfections for a brand new computer? Has this happened to you?
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.
Is this normal?
- Thread starter Mac2c
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ok I see where you're going with that. I order it through the Apple business team, not from ebay or anything shady. Yes it's from Apple. 2015 model is 2 years old right, but I expect all parts to be brand new. I didn't order refurbished.
No, but I'm not sure it counts as an imperfection unless it doesn't clean off.
No.
The smudge cleaned off, some parts of it dont' seem to clean off, it's hard to see on camera. Photo of dust you can see it looks bad I haven't tried to clean it yet, I want it to be there in case I return it.
[doublepost=1487371772][/doublepost]
That's what I thought, thanks for your reply. Whenever I buy anything like this such as a new monitor or screen (PC's) it's flawless, this is my first macbook and I see this.
Attachments
If you decide to return it, there's no difference if you clean (or don't clean) the screen. You don't need any reason to return within the return period.
I've cleaned it off with the included wiping cloth, somehow there was a dense amount of dust in that area and that made it look like it was caked on but it wasn't. Don't they check these things before shipping? I've never seen that with anything else.
The black plastic on the edge in the same area has some lighter part that just won't go away. It looks like it's excess plastic that didn't cut off cleanly at bottom left side. I could probably live with that but also noticed the magsafe wrapping was very scuffed. Attached pics. What would you do if you noticed all this stuff cumutively. Would you be concerned?
The black plastic on the edge in the same area has some lighter part that just won't go away. It looks like it's excess plastic that didn't cut off cleanly at bottom left side. I could probably live with that but also noticed the magsafe wrapping was very scuffed. Attached pics. What would you do if you noticed all this stuff cumutively. Would you be concerned?
Attachments
The apple store has business specialists for those who have a business. The guy I was dealing with from the apple store placed a web order over the phone for me for the MBP. Businesses get 6% discount so I couldn't order this myself online since the price is different, it was either I go in person and pay for it there and he would place a web order or I would pay over the phone, so that's what we did. Does it look suspect to you?
Last edited:
Not entirely. Here in India we have a corporate reseller system that gives about 10% discount because they do not operate retail channels where the cost of establishment jacks up. So, the idea is surely not suspect. Moreover, these corporate guys are listed on the Apple website and I talk to them over the phone and then go meet them. Most of them also operate retail channels, where the price is full MRP.
Since you went to a retail store, just return the piece and ask for a new one. Here in India we cannot return it. But if you can, do it and wait for another piece.
I should've made it clear that what I was trying to ask by saying "Does it seem suspect to you?" was in general does the issues/flaws I've observed seem something to be suspicious about with all things considered? The business program is legitimate and I don't have any issues what that.
I've never seen anything like this on any Apple product, and I've had quite a few now (iMacs, MacBook Pros, lots of accessories, iPhones, iPads, etc.). If it bothers you to the extend that you're writing about it here, I think you should've gotten it replaced already. If nothing else, then just to ease your mind.
You should be able to shop the Apple Business Store online as well. There are buttons to change the online store to be the education store, business store, and one more that I forget
Cool story. Nothing to worry about buddy. Even though we have Apples stores in our country I ordered mine through apple.com for the custom configured 2015 15" base model to 512GB SSD. I even had it replaced it due to some technical issue. Both of them came in with the exact issue like yours over the screen edges and the 2nd MBP also had a white smear near the SD Card slot. I was recording the whole unboxing experience as a proof for such issues. I started using the 2nd one regardless since these minor issues doesn't bother me at all. I just wanted it to give me the close to promised battery life of 10 hours which I wasn't in the 1st MBP. That's the only major factor that could vary with device to device. Within my 14 days of assessment I was happy with the device's battery life and decide to keep it. I would suggest you to do the same since Apple is giving you more than enough return period. Have seen a lot of people being frustrated over the battery life of 2016 & 2015 machines for the price they paid. The only thing we can do is to keep searching for the unicorn at least the close looking one.
Custom configured devices comes directly from China. Freshly made
@Mac2c It's up to you whether to waste time with replacement process. This kind of stuffs are expected even in a new machine that has been introduced a long back. I took 4 tries to get a uniform display on 13 inch 2015. Most of the 2015 machines are sold as new even though they are refurbished. What do you think Apple's doing with the returned/replaced devices?
Just an alternative fact...
Good to know, did you order any custom MBP or iMac's as well?
Also I've tried the business store for Canada at this URL http://www.apple.com/ca_smb_en/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch but it gives the regular pricing, no discount.
Thanks for your input but when did you order your MBP that had similar issues as mine?
Also you had to replace one for a technical issue, what was the issue for that one so I can check?
It seems rather odd to be seeing these issues as a "norm" when we're paying top dollar for these machines. Nowhere else have I seen this for anything new. I'm buying this because of the OS and the retina screen, that's the only reason, otherwise I'd just get a 1000$ cheaper laptop like the zen book 15inch with the same specs or even better specs that has a 4k screen and very slim design.
I've been testing the battery life and right now it's at 51% and I've been timing it at 4 hrs and 50mins, mostly using safari and did some App Store updates, watched a few videos as well earlier. Brightness is always around 50% or less in the daytime and 5% at night time.
Custom configured devices comes directly from China. Freshly made
@Mac2c It's up to you whether to waste time with replacement process. This kind of stuffs are expected even in a new machine that has been introduced a long back. I took 4 tries to get a uniform display on 13 inch 2015. Most of the 2015 machines are sold as new even though they are refurbished. What do you think Apple's doing with the returned/replaced devices?
You had to send it back 4 times?! What do you mean by uniform display, they were bent?
IMO these issues should not be expected or the norm, that seems ridiculous and unacceptable.
From my understanding the returned devices are sold under refurbished, so it's like an open box but they go under the refurbished label since there is no such thing as apples open box sales from apple stores.
Last edited:
That's not much at all. I get 12-13 hours with Safari at 50% brightness. Including YouTube videos. (2014 MBP)
Absolutely shouldn't be normal or OK, and from my experience, it isn't.
How uniform a display is usually refers to whether some areas of the screen are brighter than others. All screens will have some variations, but on higher end products, it should be impossible to discern by eye.
My iMac is custom, yes, and my last MacBook Pro was. Current one isn't. No problems with any of them.
For a 15"? That's excellent, especially with a battery that's a couple years old!
Yeah, it's a 15" one. Regarding battery ageing, I've always had good luck with that on my Apple devices, aside from my iPhone 4S. The battery reports 97% of it's maximum capacity from the factory. When I sold my 2011 to buy the 2014, it reported 94% health.
@Mac2c It's a common issue seen in the modern displays. More often in the OLED panels. Colors look different across the screen. One of my replacements had a bluish tint at the bottom, noticeable in white.
@casperes1996 Yeah. Nobody expects to go through this much of trouble for buying an Apple product. Not to mention the wastage of the time. That too make some people in Apple Service understand the problem is a great task.