Linus Tech Tips - Is the MacBook Pro 2018 REALLY Bad?

[Naimfan]

Is the 2018 "really bad?" No. And yes.

No - it's a 6 core machine with up to 32 GB of RAM, which is what a lot of people were asking for. It's reasonably well put together, the keyboard is slightly better than the 2016/17, the screen is good, and the speakers are the best I've heard in a laptop.

Yes - In practice, there's very little throughput difference from the 2.2 to the 2.6 to the i9 (the 2.2 I have scores higher than my colleagues i9 on Cinebench's CPU test; presumably due to thermal throttling). And the design remained the same, with USB-C only, a flimsy feel, a still-crappy keyboard, the frippery that is the touchbar, absurdly oversized trackpad with poor wrist/palm rejection, poor battery life, and ridiculous pricing.

 

[Queen6]

Is the 2018 "really bad?" No. And yes.

No - it's a 6 core machine with up to 32 GB of RAM, which is what a lot of people were asking for. It's reasonably well put together, the keyboard is slightly better than the 2016/17, the screen is good, and the speakers are the best I've heard in a laptop.

Yes - In practice, there's very little throughput difference from the 2.2 to the 2.6 to the i9 (the 2.2 I have scores higher than my colleagues i9 on Cinebench's CPU test; presumably due to thermal throttling). And the design remained the same, with USB-C only, a flimsy feel, a still-crappy keyboard, the frippery that is the touchbar, absurdly oversized trackpad with poor wrist/palm rejection, poor battery life, and ridiculous pricing.

"Sad but True" what a disappointment the Mac has become, sacrificing everything to impress the shallow. So much potential wasted. Once Apple sought the high ground, today Apple only seeks your $$$$, looking to Nickel & Dime at every opportunity

Q-6

 

[Hanson Eigilson]

For me it's not that it's a bad computer as such, it seems somewhat within the realm of usual ultrabook problems for the most part, the problem is that we have no choice to get a higher performance laptop. There is only the pro that can not handle pro workloads and you just have to pretend to be happy about it. They did finally switch to ddr4 though, so there is that.

It's like some sort of game, Apple pretends they are selling a pro laptop, we pretend we need that pro laptop to do pro work so they issue one, everyone at work pretends it's a good laptop or maybe the some beancounter starts to get involved and you know what happens.

 

[Queen6]

For me it's not that it's a bad computer as such, it seems somewhat within the realm of usual ultrabook problems for the most part, the problem is that we have no choice to get a higher performance laptop. There is only the pro that can not handle pro workloads and you just have to pretend to be happy about it. They did finally switch to ddr4 though, so there is that.

It's like some sort of game, Apple pretends they are selling a pro laptop, we pretend we need that pro laptop to do pro work so they issue one, everyone at work pretends it's a good laptop or maybe the some beancounter starts to get involved and you know what happens.

Can this be upvoted 10K...

Q-6

 

[Ma2k5]

For me it's not that it's a bad computer as such, it seems somewhat within the realm of usual ultrabook problems for the most part, the problem is that we have no choice to get a higher performance laptop. There is only the pro that can not handle pro workloads and you just have to pretend to be happy about it. They did finally switch to ddr4 though, so there is that.

It's like some sort of game, Apple pretends they are selling a pro laptop, we pretend we need that pro laptop to do pro work so they issue one, everyone at work pretends it's a good laptop or maybe the some beancounter starts to get involved and you know what happens.

All the issues aside, I do find the biggest problem is that the MacBook is only good at a very limited set of apps. You have to scour this forum to see how many tines someone said a certain program is being slow, killing their battery or heating the machine up - only to be told that you should use another program instead because it isn’t “optimised” for Mac. This really hurts macOS as these apps run candidly on low end Windows machines - so the user ends up being less productive as they change work flows to adjust to macOS which should never be the case. This isn’t Apple’s fault that the software doesn’t work great on their machines (probably) but it still sucks for the end user.

 

[mdnz]

All the issues aside, I do find the biggest problem is that the MacBook is only good at a very limited set of apps. You have to scour this forum to see how many tines someone said a certain program is being slow, killing their battery or heating the machine up - only to be told that you should use another program instead because it isn’t “optimised” for Mac. This really hurts macOS as these apps run candidly on low end Windows machines - so the user ends up being less productive as they change work flows to adjust to macOS which should never be the case. This isn’t Apple’s fault that the software doesn’t work great on their machines (probably) but it still sucks for the end user.

For example, I It's hilarious when people suggests using Safari when someone wants to Chrome or Firefox. Imagine you're a new Mac user and get those kind of advices.

I understand why devs aren't optimising for Mac. I'd say it's largely Apple to blame because their hardware is way too expensive for the average consumer so the market share is really low.

 

[Ma2k5]

For example, I It's hilarious when people suggests using Safari when someone wants to Chrome or Firefox. Imagine you're a new Mac user and get those kind of advices.

I understand why devs aren't optimising for Mac. I'd say it's largely Apple to blame because their hardware is way too expensive for the average consumer so the market share is really low.

I don't know if anyone else had positive experiences like me with regards to iPhone/Android sync with Windows 10, but it has impressed me. I don't miss the iOS integration with macOS - I actually prefer the Windows implementation of it. No hand-off or iMessages of course, but it'll do.

 

[macintoshmac]

I don't know if anyone else had positive experiences like me with regards to iPhone/Android sync with Windows 10, but it has impressed me. I don't miss the iOS integration with macOS - I actually prefer the Windows implementation of it. No hand-off or iMessages of course, but it'll do.

Which is what? Could you go into slightly more detail? Not using Windows anymore since long, got curious.

 

[Hanson Eigilson]

All the issues aside, I do find the biggest problem is that the MacBook is only good at a very limited set of apps. You have to scour this forum to see how many tines someone said a certain program is being slow, killing their battery or heating the machine up - only to be told that you should use another program instead because it isn’t “optimised” for Mac. This really hurts macOS as these apps run candidly on low end Windows machines - so the user ends up being less productive as they change work flows to adjust to macOS which should never be the case. This isn’t Apple’s fault that the software doesn’t work great on their machines (probably) but it still sucks for the end user.

I profoundly disagree that programs running slow on macOs is not Apple's fault, my experience developing software for IOS but also macOs is one of never ending syntax changes, the code you wrote last year wont run this year because something has to be spelled out cbcd instead of abdc, sure abcd is "more logical" but when stuff changes constantly, both syntax and performance implications you just get lazy, the more code you write (all those little extra optimisations) means more code to re-write and debug and it get's so old and it takes more will than I can muster to put much effort in at all. Meanwhile on both windows and linux stuff just runs, for decades, and performance stay's the same on the same hardware so making stuff performant is rewarding, and it stay's performant.
So maybe that makes the touch bar more important, spending extra time making sure everything is performant is such a temporary bandaid anyways, so I might as well spend half the day sending happy emoji's and stuff.

Can this be upvoted 10K...
Q-6

haha don't deserve it, i'm part of that problem too.

 

[Ma2k5]

Which is what? Could you go into slightly more detail? Not using Windows anymore since long, got curious.

https://www.lifewire.com/how-windows-10-works-with-android-iphone-and-windows-phone-2377621

For me, I like how it is a very hassle free way to get all my photo's (among other files) onto my computer. No need to use iCloud or play around with iTunes.
[doublepost=1536572790][/doublepost]

I profoundly disagree that programs running slow on macOs is not Apple's fault, my experience developing software for IOS but also macOs is one of never ending syntax changes, the code you wrote last year wont run this year because something has to be spelled out cbcd instead of abdc, sure abcd is "more logical" but when stuff changes constantly, both syntax and performance implications you just get lazy, the more code you write (all those little extra optimisations) means more code to re-write and debug and it get's so old and it takes more will than I can muster to put much effort in at all. Meanwhile on both windows and linux stuff just runs, for decades, and performance stay's the same on the same hardware so making stuff performant is rewarding, and it stay's performant.
So maybe that makes the touch bar more important, spending extra time making sure everything is performant is such a temporary bandaid anyways, so I might as well spend half the day sending happy emoji's and stuff.

I guess that is why I put "probably" in brackets . I mean I can understand for developers time is money and they will prioritise as required. It is how for example, the SnapChat dev team prioritise the iOS app rather than the Android app (Snapchat on Android had for a long time, really low res photo's because it was harder/longer to develop on Android for example. I think that is fixed now).

 

[Sonic]

as if things couldn't get any worse, last night and this morning it did the thing where it the wifi drops out, then it beachballs until being unresponsive forcing a lengthy restart process, because apps won't close properly and crash.

then during some light work in Unity (without the game running) it froze for 3 minutes then spontaneously logged out, losing an hour's work. i can barely get any work done on this £5k computer.

 

[Hanson Eigilson]

I guess that is why I put "probably" in brackets . I mean I can understand for developers time is money and they will prioritise as required. It is how for example, the SnapChat dev team prioritise the iOS app rather than the Android app (Snapchat on Android had for a long time, really low res photo's because it was harder/longer to develop on Android for example. I think that is fixed now).

Few purely rational people would invest the time and effort required on their own, it takes passion and grit to make good stuff, it was always easy to make a nice demo for IOS, but actually making performant, stable and backwards compatible software over time is (for me) harder on IOS specifically and macOs to some degree than on any other platform. But the demo's looks nice in no time at all. Everything is strongly tied together, newest IOS version requires newest Xcode version, requiring newest macOs version, requiring new programming language version which is likely to cause problems without that same version used in every single dependant library. I'm sure all of this is easy to sell to executives as a more well pruned and up to date environment than any other platform, but for this guy on the floor it feels incredibly fragile to work with, and I marvel that any organisations bother building full featured and performant app's on this platform of sand.
To fair this is not a new thing, it was a bit like this under Jobs too, but never this bad, especially not considering the age of both platforms. Sometimes I wonder if Apple has the exact same challenges and the reason they prune away so much functionality is not for user experience, but for code simplicity and maintainability.

 

[Sonic]

went through all the motions on the phone to Applecare today. 1 hour, 40 minutes. NVRAM reset, safe mode, all the usual suspects. then i did some light work and the machine froze and reset itself again within 20 minutes.

another 40 minutes call, they won't offer me a refund. 5 weeks old. i feel like i've wasted £5k. the crashing is one thing that may or may not be fixed in software ... but the fan noise and keyboard / touchbar are a nightmare for me, that will never get better. i don't want that to be my working environment. i thought i could get used to it but i didn't realise how much the fan noise especially would start to grate. i can at least get round the touchbar by using an apple USB keyboard.

they did some more checks and then reset my permissions on the home folder causing my dropbox to resync the entire thing (500k files). now the fans are maxxed and i can't work for hours in case of corruption. today i will have had zero uptime, as i must wait for dropbox to resync and hope their terminal command doesn't corrupt my installation i've barely had any decent uptime on this thing at all with this and the audio issues.

next i must buy an external HD, backup, and reinstall the OS (was hoping to avoid for a while as i'm still primarily on dropbox, but now i have a lot of apps installed and would like to clone the drive in case they kill it when i take it in for repairs / reinstall the OS, and i'm trying to minimise my downtime)

i'm trying to push for a downgrade, since they won't refund, so that i can recover about £1400 in options (2Tb -> 1Tb, i9 -> i7, 32Gb -> 16Gb), which were spent on a machine meant to be my main machine, but will now be relegated to the rare road trips i make. so that i'm only out £3000 instead of £4400 (plus applecare, leather sleeve) then i can invest that in a solid Windows desktop for my gamedev.

it's not looking likely - they suggested i see what i can get in the apple recycling program. for a brand new computer. they also said i couldn't invoke my UK consumer law rights unless the machine was repaired twice. i wish i'd never bought it

 

[SDColorado]

went through all the motions on the phone to Applecare today. 1 hour, 40 minutes. NVRAM reset, safe mode, all the usual suspects. then i did some light work and the machine froze and reset itself again within 20 minutes.

another 40 minutes call, they won't offer me a refund. 5 weeks old. i feel like i've wasted £5k. the crashing is one thing that may or may not be fixed in software ... but the fan noise and keyboard / touchbar are a nightmare for me, that will never get better. i don't want that to be my working environment. i thought i could get used to it but i didn't realise how much the fan noise especially would start to grate. i can at least get round the touchbar by using an apple USB keyboard.

they did some more checks and then reset my permissions on the home folder causing my dropbox to resync the entire thing (500k files). now the fans are maxxed and i can't work for hours in case of corruption. today i will have had zero uptime, as i must wait for dropbox to resync and hope their terminal command doesn't corrupt my installation i've barely had any decent uptime on this thing at all with this and the audio issues.

next i must buy an external HD, backup, and reinstall the OS (was hoping to avoid for a while as i'm still primarily on dropbox, but now i have a lot of apps installed and would like to clone the drive in case they kill it when i take it in for repairs / reinstall the OS, and i'm trying to minimise my downtime)

i'm trying to push for a downgrade, since they won't refund, so that i can recover about £1400 in options (2Tb -> 1Tb, i9 -> i7, 32Gb -> 16Gb), which were spent on a machine meant to be my main machine, but will now be relegated to the rare road trips i make. so that i'm only out £3000 instead of £4400 (plus applecare, leather sleeve) then i can invest that in a sold Windows desktop for my gamedev..

it's not looking likely - they suggested i see what i can get in the apple recycling program. for a brand new computer. they also said i couldn't invoke my UK consumer law rights unless the machine was repaired twice. i wish i'd never bought it

Ugh. That is the worst case scenario that i had in mind when I made the decision to return #3 and go another route. I didn’t want to get stuck with a $4K machine , that was never going to work right and if I was already having issues within the 14 day period, I didn’t see them getting worked out before the point of no return.

The Apple Recycling Program is a joke from my experience, it’s far less than what sites like Sell Your Mac will give and even those are poor compared to a private sale. Of course I realize that a private sale of a MBP that isn’t working quite right is a tough sale. But the Recycling Program was more “If we must take it we will give you this amount” kind of offer. In the US they only offer up to $1000 (About £780)? That would be insult to injury for a £5K, 5 week old laptop.

The catch-22 of the repaired twice if they tell you nothing is wrong and can’t /won’t repair. I feel for you

Who is the “they” you have been talking to about a return/exchange ? Local Store, Apple Care or Apple Sales Support?

 

[Vazza]

went through all the motions on the phone to Applecare today. 1 hour, 40 minutes. NVRAM reset, safe mode, all the usual suspects. then i did some light work and the machine froze and reset itself again within 20 minutes.

another 40 minutes call, they won't offer me a refund. 5 weeks old. i feel like i've wasted £5k. the crashing is one thing that may or may not be fixed in software ... but the fan noise and keyboard / touchbar are a nightmare for me, that will never get better. i don't want that to be my working environment. i thought i could get used to it but i didn't realise how much the fan noise especially would start to grate. i can at least get round the touchbar by using an apple USB keyboard.

they did some more checks and then reset my permissions on the home folder causing my dropbox to resync the entire thing (500k files). now the fans are maxxed and i can't work for hours in case of corruption. today i will have had zero uptime, as i must wait for dropbox to resync and hope their terminal command doesn't corrupt my installation i've barely had any decent uptime on this thing at all with this and the audio issues.

next i must buy an external HD, backup, and reinstall the OS (was hoping to avoid for a while as i'm still primarily on dropbox, but now i have a lot of apps installed and would like to clone the drive in case they kill it when i take it in for repairs / reinstall the OS, and i'm trying to minimise my downtime)

i'm trying to push for a downgrade, since they won't refund, so that i can recover about £1400 in options (2Tb -> 1Tb, i9 -> i7, 32Gb -> 16Gb), which were spent on a machine meant to be my main machine, but will now be relegated to the rare road trips i make. so that i'm only out £3000 instead of £4400 (plus applecare, leather sleeve) then i can invest that in a solid Windows desktop for my gamedev.

it's not looking likely - they suggested i see what i can get in the apple recycling program. for a brand new computer. they also said i couldn't invoke my UK consumer law rights unless the machine was repaired twice. i wish i'd never bought it

Sell it and take the hit imo.

 

[Sonic]

i don't know what to do. i think i might try and get it replaced. if i still get the same issues i'd have a stronger case for a refund. i wish i'd used it more in the first few weeks to discover that i can't deal with its fan / touchbar etc, but because of the audio issues i avoided using it and now i'm paying for that by not being able to refund it (they said i'm a few days outside of their 'occasional 30 days grace period')

if i'm not able to suitably resolve this (i'd settle for a machine whose fans only maxxed out when they were supposed to, that didn't freeze every 5 minutes), i'll definitely never buy another apple device. i've only used them since 2001, but enough is enough

 

[SDColorado]

i don't know what to do. i think i might try and get it replaced. if i still get the same issues i'd have a stronger case for a refund. i wish i'd used it more in the first few weeks to discover that i can't deal with its fan / touchbar etc, but because of the audio issues i avoided using it and now i'm paying for that by not being able to refund it (they said i'm a few days outside of their 'occasional 30 days grace period')

if i'm not able to suitably resolve this (i'd settle for a machine whose fans only maxxed out when they were supposed to, that didn't freeze every 5 minutes), i'll definitely never buy another apple device. i've only used them since 2001, but enough is enough

Make sure you are talking to sales and not the Apple Care team about an exchange. If you are already talking to sales, make sure it isn’t the first line of sales support. Stay calm and courteous, but insist on speaking to a supervisor. The first line sales support will only quote you policy and tell you what they can’t do, but the supervisors have leeway to override the options available to first line.

I do find it somewhat amusing though that anytime I deal with the supers, they will call you. They say that you can email them, but that they can’t email you back, because Apple policy is that they can’t put anything in writing.

Long story short is that they can do things they will tell you they can’t, but they don’t want anyone sharing written confirmation of it. At least that’s the appearance it gives.

Best of luck to you!

 

[forge002]

Are the 2018 MacBook Pros really as bad/problematic as I keep reading? I’m in the process of getting the money together to buy one for uni but every time I think, yes this is what I want I read yet another thread talking about problems and it makes me nervous about pulling the trigger in buying one.

I’m planning on getting the base 13 touch bar model, am I right in saying/understanding that a lot of the problems regarding heat problems etc are more limited to the higher end 15 inch models or is this something that is affecting both the 13 and 15, or is it depending on what people are planning to run on the systems?

Are the reported problems affecting a rather small amount of people when taking into account just how systems are sold? I mean when I read forums about other alternatives, such as say the Dell XPS 15, again all I see is page after page of problems with it. Maybe I should read everything with a pinch of salt.

 

[09872738]

I don't think the devices are as problematic as it seem here. While it is certainly not an exceedingly convenient experience when it happens to you I doubt this is the general case.
If you're just very unlucky things like described above can happen, irrespective of manufacturer

 

[Queen6]

Are the 2018 MacBook Pros really as bad/problematic as I keep reading? I’m in the process of getting the money together to buy one for uni but every time I think, yes this is what I want I read yet another thread talking about problems and it makes me nervous about pulling the trigger in buying one.

I’m planning on getting the base 13 touch bar model, am I right in saying/understanding that a lot of the problems regarding heat problems etc are more limited to the higher end 15 inch models or is this something that is affecting both the 13 and 15, or is it depending on what people are planning to run on the systems?

Are the reported problems affecting a rather small amount of people when taking into account just how systems are sold? I mean when I read forums about other alternatives, such as say the Dell XPS 15, again all I see is page after page of problems with it. Maybe I should read everything with a pinch of salt.

I think you need a little luck and you really need to understand your usage. The more complex the workflow and the harder you push IMO the chance of issue arising is more likely.

At least you have a 14 day window of return, so I'd push the computer as hard as possible and throw everything at it, any minor glitch I'd simply return it and purchase another, I wouldn't accept any level of repair just a straight return. If the second MBP reacted the same I'd return it for a refund simple as that and purchase another brand.

My problem would be that I have no return window and with a MBP costing $3K - $4K that's not a risk I'm willing to take as the computer would be for critical work purpose. As we see members having repeat issues with replacement MBP's this rather indicates to me the issues may run deeper than just the occasional slip in quality control.

Worst scenario is getting stuck in an endless loop of repairs, as with other design issues Apple is highly unlikely to admit any issue if one exists, and just replace the same components or worse still refurbished/reworked boards over and over.

Q-6

 

[antonis]

That is obviously another one of those Apple hate videos mostly geared towards people who can't afford Apple products.
Obviously Apple have made products that weren't 100% reliable, like every other manufacturer ever.
You can't just point to a bunch of issues on Apple products and draw conclusions. It just shows that you don't understand statistics, which have always shown that Apple products are consistently more reliable than the competition.

Desktop boards aren't any higher quality than what you should expect in a MacBook simply because of sales volumes. Also there are no VRM temperature sensors so how do you know they are running out of spec?

Guess again. This guy runs a business that repairs apple laptops.

 

[Gamer-Dad]

Are the 2018 MacBook Pros really as bad/problematic as I keep reading? I’m in the process of getting the money together to buy one for uni but every time I think, yes this is what I want I read yet another thread talking about problems and it makes me nervous about pulling the trigger in buying one.

I’m planning on getting the base 13 touch bar model, am I right in saying/understanding that a lot of the problems regarding heat problems etc are more limited to the higher end 15 inch models or is this something that is affecting both the 13 and 15, or is it depending on what people are planning to run on the systems?

Are the reported problems affecting a rather small amount of people when taking into account just how systems are sold? I mean when I read forums about other alternatives, such as say the Dell XPS 15, again all I see is page after page of problems with it. Maybe I should read everything with a pinch of salt.

Like with anything you purchase, there can be problems. I've had a 2017 i5 TB 13" that I exchanged for the 2018. No problems with either 13" models. I exchanged a 2017 13" TB i5 model for a 13" 2017 nTB model for my wife. Used a Time Machine backup, and her fan stayed audibly loud. Did a fresh install and solved that problem. The nTB was fine until my wife decided she wanted to go back to Windows and exchanged her MacBook to the Surface Book 2. My 13" 2018 i5 I exchanged again for the 15" 2018 2.6/512/16/560x. The machine other than 1 KP was flawless. However, I sent it back since B&H was having a sale Labor Day weekend and repurchased it locally at a Best Buy while I was visiting Delaware and got them to price match and $0 tax. That system was plagued with the chaotic spiking temps, fans on/off full speed, battery would never fully charge even after doing a battery recalculation. Just didn't feel right, especially after the 1 I just returned was problem free and ran nice cool and quiet. Quickly went back up to Delaware Best Buy (can't exchange here in MD as they would charge sales tax on the exchange) which is about an hours drive and exchanged it. New 1 performs just like my 1st 15", quiet, cool, and has been problem free.

So yes, there are problem machines and ones with no problems. You come to the forums and you read about all the problems. Those of us that don't have problems don't usually start threads, and you won't see many threads that say, "Hey, my MacBook Pro is awesome."

Just like any other computer, there are pro's and con's. The 2018 MacBook Pro's are no different. They are thin aluminum blocks with a hex core processor that runs warm while under load. Mine idles in the mid 30's with just sitting at the dekstop, high 30's to mid 40's surfing using Safari, 50's playing 4k video, and will ramp up to the low 90's with heavy loads. I use Mac's Fan Control to change my fan profiles, which I have come on at 65C and it does a nice job. Its a thin laptop and the heats got to get out somehow.

I've been pretty happy with mine. Coming from Windows land, its been nice. I have a custom built liquid cooled PC that I use if I want to game, but most of my gaming is on my XBOX One X.

If you want to purchase your Mac, go ahead and do it. If you see problems, DON'T WAIT to exchange it. Do it right away!

 

[Hanson Eigilson]

as if things couldn't get any worse, last night and this morning it did the thing where it the wifi drops out, then it beachballs until being unresponsive forcing a lengthy restart process, because apps won't close properly and crash.

then during some light work in Unity (without the game running) it froze for 3 minutes then spontaneously logged out, losing an hour's work. i can barely get any work done on this £5k computer.

maybe this old clip from 2012 explains why?
jump to 1:20:47 (not sure how to paste a youtube link set to a specific time here?)

 

[forge002]

I guess my biggest worry is that if I buy one and it runs fine for two weeks then after the return period I start experiencing problems, though I guess this could be the case with any product I buy.

I’m intending on using it for uni work, so nothing to intensive, plus it will be used for web browsing and watching Sky Sports etc plus the occasional light gaming, not modern AAA games as I have my gaining pc for that, just nice to have when I’m away from home as second machine.

Yes i know it maybe overkill for what I need it for and I’m well aware I can get a windows laptop for much less but I like the MacBook Pro and when factoring the student discount and the free headphones it is a pretty decent price.

One major thing about the MacBook Pro is I can actually go into an Apple store and actually try it. In the UK, shops are really poor in terms of stocking alternative windows laptops so cannot actually try anything else. For example I haven’t seen any Dell XPS 13/15 or Razer Stealth or Razer 15 in order to get a feel for them and UK shops dont generally allow you to order something, use and then return it.

 

[SDColorado]

I guess my biggest worry is that if I buy one and it runs fine for two weeks then after the return period I start experiencing problems, though I guess this could be the case with any product.

I would recommend that before your 14 days are up that you call sales and request an extension to 30, particularly if you have any issue at all in the first 14. It still doesn’t guarantee anything of course, but 30 trouble free days may set your mind at easy better than 14. That’s still a first date