Lawyers Researching Possible Class Action Lawsuit Over 2011 MacBook Pro Graphics Issues

[MacBH928]

I think Apple top management are so rich that they change their computers every 6 months or so, or even get free ones. For a company that makes expensive computers, which are made in a way difficult to repair(RAM soldered in the motherboard), with expensive repair parts, guarantee should be at least 5 years.

When they offer you a 1 year guarantee its like they are saying "We kind of know it won't last much longer than that", otherwise why wouldnt they offer 2 or 3 year guarantees ?

I owned an iMac for 7 years and a macbook for 5.5 years, other than the superdrive, nothing failed and its of a great quality. But just for those rare instances where something might happen, they should replace/fix for free. Not everyone can come up with $1500 if their computer failed after 3 months after warranty .

 

[irnchriz]

Where there's Blame there's a claim!

Ambulance chasers, ambulance chasers everywhere

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Someone should send an email to Tim Cook, or tweet Apple, about why they refuse to support their customers. Perhaps some publicity should be taken by Consumer Reports as well. Apple has turned into a bully.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Apple eventually offered a no-charge replacement for the ATi 1900 XT cards that shipped with first gen Mac Pros so there is some precedent for them addressing things, it just takes a long time.

 

[Plutonius]

That's exactly what happened to me and they replaced it for free.

They told me pay up if you want it fixed. It was a known problem with the MacBook Pro and I had Applecare (they knew of the problem during the time period I had Applecare) but they wouldn't do anything about it (my Applecare had expired when the GPU finally died). There is no way I'm ever getting Applecare on any future purchases.

 

[Tech198]

This could of been a case of "buy Apple care"

Its like saying not insuring your house, then when someone breaks, expect the insurance company to cover.

If may not have helped here, but at least its a first step.

Then again if everyone know me, like Apple does, would be constantly complain...

It worked when i got a free phone,, people should try it,, makes ya feel batter at the end.

If i don't like something, they sure as hell will know about it, and if it cheesed them off... Good, that;s my goal ...

 

[wrrzzelbbrrmmff]

They told me pay up if you want it fixed. It was a known problem with the MacBook Pro and I had Applecare (they knew of the problem during the time period I had Applecare) but they wouldn't do anything about it (my Applecare had expired when the GPU finally died).

I insisted for one hour, spoke with Genius' manager, telephoned with his manager, etc. Finally they replaced the logic board for free. You should have insisted more...

 

[LethalWolfe]

This could of been a case of "buy Apple care"

Its like saying not insuring your house, then when someone breaks, expect the insurance company to cover.

Things break, no one is arguing that, but if a brand new product comes direct from the factory with a fatal flaw built into it that's a different situation.

 

[FlamingFoxx]

This could of been a case of "buy Apple care"

Its like saying not insuring your house, then when someone breaks, expect the insurance company to cover.

If may not have helped here, but at least its a first step.

Then again if everyone know me, like Apple does, would be constantly complain...

It worked when i got a free phone,, people should try it,, makes ya feel batter at the end.

If i don't like something, they sure as hell will know about it, and if it cheesed them off... Good, that;s my goal ...

AppleCare can only cover you for 3 years if you buy the best version - these are 2011 laptops, the applecare on mine (I have two of the 2011 laptops) would have expired already and I've just started experiencing the issue - as have a lot of other people. Sure there are some people who had the issue within the AppleCare timeslot, but the point is there is a serious defect with these computers and people shouldn't have to have purchased an extended warranty to cover something that shouldn't break after three years of regular use.

I seriously hope this gains some traction, my sisters 2011 is in the process of dying and it's really hard to figure out if there's any point in waiting for apple to set up a replacement program.

 

[eroslws]

This could of been a case of "buy Apple care"

Its like saying not insuring your house, then when someone breaks, expect the insurance company to cover.

If may not have helped here, but at least its a first step.

Then again if everyone know me, like Apple does, would be constantly complain...

It worked when i got a free phone,, people should try it,, makes ya feel batter at the end.

If i don't like something, they sure as hell will know about it, and if it cheesed them off... Good, that;s my goal ...

AppleCare is a ripoff. Best Buy's, while steeper in price, guarantees you a new laptop every three years when that "accidental" coffee spill happens.

 

[charlituna]

If people would purchase Applecare like a smart person would do, I'd bet 90% of these would have been covered when they noticed an issue. Just sayin.

yep. Too many folks are buying into the false junk of "Apple's stuff is perfect even they say so" when Apple has said no such thing. And then when they don't cover their butts they rant and rave that Apple failed. Makes me wonder what they do when they buy a lotto ticket and it doesn't win or they have a job interview and don't get their perfect job.

Well, hell, maybe Apple should just cover everything.. for free. Your 1990 Mac got dropped and shattered? Screw it, you get a 2014 for free. They're rich, why not, right?!

That is an attitude that pops up here a lot

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AppleCare does not solve the underlying technical problem.

You haven't proven there actually is an 'underlying technical problem'. Not in the sense you are implying which seems to be that Apple knew they were using a **** component and won't admit it.

If that was true we would be seeing a lot more reports of issues and Apple would have taken action a long time ago.

With anything there is a margin of error, acceptable failure rate etc. For all we know, out of all the units sold versus those with any issue much less this one, the actual count could be well within tolerance.

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I have to say Apple replaced mine for free despite the MBP being out of warranty and applecare. The replacement was done under EU law, so might not be applicable to everyone.

Who brought up the whole EU law issue. You or Apple. I bet it was you. Which is why they likely did it to shut you up, not because they felt you were in the right. Happens quite often.

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Things break, no one is arguing that, but if a brand new product comes direct from the factory with a fatal flaw built into it that's a different situation.

Seems to me that a "fatal flaw" would take far less than a year to show itself. And appear on far more units. Making that phrase rather hyperbolic

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AppleCare can only cover you for 3 years if you buy the best version

untrue. there is only one Apple Care for computers and it is 3 years from date of purchase, has been for a good 5 years.

and I've just started experiencing the issue - as have a lot of other people.

Curious, this is a FATAL FLAW, its a DESIGN FAILURE. And it is just now happening after 3 years. Amazing that Apple designed this crappy component to wait to fail until you had no coverage. I bet they have a kill switch in the computer. Probably have an Apple Script set up to read everyone's warranty status and flip the switch when you are screwed.

 

[koruki]

my 2011 17" never had problems. I recently changed to a 2014 rMBP 15" and its got some issues with sleep wake display. Apple tech said they would fix it, replaced the entire logic board which cost about 90% of the system. It was free since the machines 2 months old but now the issue is still there...

 

[Hustler1337]

It certainly is a design issue. The problem is NVidia and AMD compete so aggressively that they don't consider long term relaibility in their designs. This is why we see flip flops every couple of years with these guys having excessive failures in the field.

Apple most likely is trying to stick AMD with the bill, AMD is most likely blaming Apples design. In the end they are probably both right. Apple has attendance to produce mechanical designs that run hot which is almost certainly part of the problem.

The bigger issue becomes this, what is a reasonable expectation for reliability or run time in a MBP? Beyond that what are the real failure rates? Let's face it a few people whining in an on line forum tells us nothing about how many machines actually failed out of the entire production run. Is it less than 1%, 5% or 20% because it does make a difference.

A reasonable expectation for the life of a MBP should be at least 3-4 years imo, especially when you consider the price of the machine relative to notebooks of other manufacturers and also the perceived quality of the machine in terms of build quality. In UK consumer law, a 'reasonable' period is judged by factors such as price and quality, amongst many others.

Also, I suspect the failure rate would be quite high - it almost seems inevitable that all the 2011 MBPs with the dedicated GPU will experience the GPU failure at some point in their life. Some will experience it earlier than others with those relying or placing stress on the dGPU more likely to experience the failure sooner due to the increased stress they place on it. Mine is still running, but I suspect that's because I am forcing my MBP to use the integrated graphics instead and running the fans at a higher speed since hearing about the 'Radeongate' saga. Looking to sell mines off very soon before it blows up

 

[GuitarDTO]

Is mine susceptible?

I have mid 2011 MBP, with "Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB graphics". Is mine one of the problem units??? Sorry I don't know anything about this : ( It's ran like butter since day 1. Primarily used for Photo editing and internet browsing

 

[cmaier]

I insisted for one hour, spoke with Genius' manager, telephoned with his manager, etc. Finally they replaced the logic board for free. You should have insisted more...

My 17" early 2011 MBP died twice with this problem. The second time 1 month after applecare expired. I was very polite and they quickly agreed to fix it for free again.

 

[D.T.]

AppleCare can only cover you for 3 years if you buy the best version - these are 2011 laptops, the applecare on mine (I have two of the 2011 laptops) would have expired already and I've just started experiencing the issue - as have a lot of other people.

untrue. there is only one Apple Care for computers and it is 3 years from date of purchase, has been for a good 5 years.

I’m confused, FlamingFoxx said AppleCare covers you for 3 years, you indicated that was untrue, then clarified by saying its 3 years. Looks to me like you’re both saying the same thing[?]

AppleCare is in fact 3 years total on a notebook, or in terms of P&L, an additional 2 years over the basic 1 year factory warranty.

Per FlamingFoxx above, I have a 2011 MBP 15” (2.3 i7/6750/HR/AG BTO model - MacBookPro8,2) that just had its AppleCare expire (I was actually the second owner, but I bought it in Jan ’12, about five months into the original owners warranty/AC).

I’m not having any issues, but I am slightly concerned as it’s my main business/development machine.

 

[cmaier]

I have mid 2011 MBP, with "Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB graphics". Is mine one of the problem units??? Sorry I don't know anything about this : ( It's ran like butter since day 1. Primarily used for Photo editing and internet browsing

Probably. There is a little less evidence about the mid-2011's vs the early-2011's, but there seem to be sufficient reports of mid-2011's dying as well.

 

[Hustler1337]

I think Apple top management are so rich that they change their computers every 6 months or so, or even get free ones. For a company that makes expensive computers, which are made in a way difficult to repair(RAM soldered in the motherboard), with expensive repair parts, guarantee should be at least 5 years.

I agree with you there. If Apple stopped making their laptops so difficult to self-repair without facing a huge repair bill or having to be at the mercy of Apple, there would be less reason to point a finger to Apple for any matters.

Of course the GPU is soldered on and extremely difficult to self-replace, as with any other laptop. But the fact that it is soldered means that Apple should be the one responsible for faults which cannot be rectified by the end-user as it's a core part of the machine itself.

 

[cmaier]

Curious, this is a FATAL FLAW, its a DESIGN FAILURE. And it is just now happening after 3 years. Amazing that Apple designed this crappy component to wait to fail until you had no coverage. I bet they have a kill switch in the computer. Probably have an Apple Script set up to read everyone's warranty status and flip the switch when you are screwed.

For *many* people (there are thousands of posts on the Apple forums) the failure happened far earlier. It seems to depend on how much the discrete graphics is used, average temperature over time, etc. Mine failed twice, once at around 18 months and again around 37 months. Both times Apple replaced the main board for free. When the first one occurred, it was already a well-known phenomenon- I researched it at the time and found thousands of reports, and when I brought it in the geniuses said they'd been getting a bunch of them in with the same issue and they didn't even have to run diagnostics - they could tell it was the same thing just by powering it on. I'm sure that in the year or two since then there have been many more folks with problems.

 

[Celtic Warrior]

I experienced this issue on my old macbook pro as well last year, which costed me around 600 $ to repair. I'm glad that I sold it.

 

[cmaier]

I experienced this issue on my old macbook pro as well last year, which costed me around 600 $ to repair. I'm glad that I sold it.

The good news is the price is coming down - the first time mine failed it would have been $800, and this last time a couple months back would have been $400.

 

[bawbac]

Why are people defending Apple in this case?
The amount of reported issues should subject this as a recall.

It's not an isolated issue. It's broad and catastrophic.

 

[cmaier]

I did too with my 2007 MBP - Apple didn't even consider giving me a new machine... then it has happened with my 2011 once so far.

Yeah, the 2007's had this issue as well. (Sadly, I replaced my 2007 with a 2011. I have the best luck...)

 

[FlamingFoxx]

I have mid 2011 MBP, with "Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB graphics". Is mine one of the problem units??? Sorry I don't know anything about this : ( It's ran like butter since day 1. Primarily used for Photo editing and internet browsing

I actually think your laptop will be fine. The issue is with the AMD graphics cards, but since yours just has the Intel it probably is affected - or at least I sincerely hope so for your sake. Would be greta for your laptop to continue working fine!

 

[cmaier]

I actually think your laptop will be fine. The issue is with the AMD graphics cards, but since yours just has the Intel it probably is affected - or at least I sincerely hope so for your sake. Would be greta for your laptop to continue working fine!

His doesn't just have the intel. He obviously just clicked "about this mac" and even on machines with discrete graphics it just shows:

"Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB"

You have to do a system report to see the discrete graphics.