Looking for input on repair vs new laptop purchase

[ugahairydawgs]

I have a 2016 15” MBP 2.7/16/1TB. No current AppleCare coverage. Clean install of latest Catalina release done within the past week. This is a device used for both business and personal purposes. It’s my only computer for both places.

Several months back one of my Thunderbolt ports quit working for data transfer. It will still charge power, but no external drives or devices can get a consistent connection. More recently I have begun having an additional issue where the battery shows 30-40% on the meter and then poof...it hibernates until I connect it to power. I have chatted with Apple Support and they had me run diagnostics which came back clean. They then sent me to a local Authorized Service Provider and they ran some additional tests and those came back clean too. The tests for the battery all came back fine too. 84% of original capacity, 694 charge cycles. They inspected the port and found no sign of anything in there. They blew it out all the same, but the issue is still there. The theory at the ASP shop is that something is wrong with the logic board. The tech doesn’t have any hard evidence to back that up, just circumstantial based on the symptoms. The fix is ~$900, which I am hesitant to pay for a 3 year old laptop to fix a presumed problem. Does the theory of a bad logic board hold water for everyone here? If so what about the idea of paying nearly $1k to try and fix it?

All of these issues are happening on a machine with a fresh install of Catalina. I should also add that I had to do that fresh install several times because of sluggish performance and other software oddities that I was running into, although I have no way of really knowing if that is because of a hardware problem or just the general weirdness of Catalina

So it leaves me wondering which of my options are best. I can:

1.) Ride it out with my current machine that may or may not have a faulty logic board and/or battery.

2.) Pay the ~$900 to get the logic board replaced.

3.) Pay ~$4000 for a new laptop (base upgraded to 32/2TB + AppleCare + tax).

I’m not sure I love any of these options, but I lean toward #3 because going computer-less for several days waiting for a BTO to arrive down the road is not really something that would work for me if the logic board is bad on my current computer and that issue continues to cause additional problems.

Thoughts?

 

[staggerlee41]

For whatever it's worth, I dropped $500 into a then 4-5 old MBP to have a top case/keyboard replaced. Granted, it was $400 less than what you're potentially facing and not a logic board. I'm still using that 2012 MBP and it's working great for my needs. Similar principal to a car that's already paid off and in need of repair. Do you fix it and keep it on the road or do you dump it and get a new one with the payments that come with it?

Option 1 for me seems like it's not much of an option based on your statement that you don't know you want to be without a computer for several days. I don't blame you in that regard. That and the problem isn't going to go away.

Do you really need to go with that much of an upgraded notebook for your use case? I don't say that to be sarcastic, I genuinely don't know how much and for what you use it for.

Another option could be to look at an older one that's still NIB or out there on the used market.

 

[Plutonius]

All of these issues are happening on a machine with a fresh install of Catalina. I should also add that I had to do that fresh install several times because of sluggish performance and other software oddities that I was running into, although I have no way of really knowing if that is because of a hardware problem or just the general weirdness of Catalina

If you use time machine and you have a recent backup before you installed Catalina, I would start by loading the older backup and verifying if the problem is still there or not.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Do you really need to go with that much of an upgraded notebook for your use case? I don't say that to be sarcastic, I genuinely don't know how much and for what you use it for.

I do. I’ve been running into 5-6GB of memory swaps and hanging between 850-900GB of used space. So if I would spend $2800 to get into a similarly spec’d machine it would make sense to spend an additional $600 to get more head room all around

If you use time machine and you have a recent backup before you installed Catalina, I would start by loading the older backup and verifying if the problem is still there or not.

I don’t have a backup going back to before the issue started, but this is a problem that was there when Mojave was installed as well. I held off on upgrading to Catalina until the current version and only did that as a last ditch effort to troubleshoot this issue.

 

[Plutonius]

I don’t have a backup going back to before the issue started, but this is a problem that was there when Mojave was installed as well. I held off on upgrading to Catalina until the current version and only did that as a last ditch effort to troubleshoot this issue.

Sounds like a hardware issue then.

Unless you know what the problem is, getting a new machine might be a better bet.

 

[mmomega]

Whenever someone at the office says, I can't afford to go certain amount of time with a certain thing.
I ask, how much do you make per hour?
Divide the thing out by you take home pay per hour, because $25/hr does not equate to $25 take home/hour.

If whatever it is you think you can't afford to do with out costs more than you make in that amount of time. Then you can afford to do without it. Because purchasing it would cost more than you make.

For me if the purchase is business related then I HAVE to think of it as a business purchase and remove emotion from the purchase. The computer is then a tool and has a total cost of ownership over it's life.
If previous laptop cost $2,500 and required $900 in repair over 4 years of ownership. You can do the math and find out how much that machine costs you to own it. Then you can find out how much it produces.
Then you take the cost of a new machine, if it costs more, then it needs to produce more. If it can't produce more to offset the upgrade, then it is costing you more to own than the previous.
Don't let emotional purchasing cost your business money.

On an additional personal experience note I would suggest then getting some form of computer for either the business or personal side, even if it a refurbished or older mac mini to use for that other purpose and not have the "all eggs in one basket" issue. That feeling will cause people to spend irrationally due to a level of panic, when some little inexpensive backup machine could be well worth it's cost.
Some may not agree and that is ok. Just sharing some experience built over the years. Personal and business sides.

 

[_Kiki_]

looks like the battery is falling, so you can pay Apple for battery replacement and live with one faulty port, you still have 3 of them

Whenever someone at the office says, I can't afford to go certain amount of time with a certain thing.
I ask, how much do you make per hour?
Divide the thing out by you take home pay per hour, because $25/hr does not equate to $25 take home/hour.

If whatever it is you think you can't afford to do with out costs more than you make in that amount of time. Then you can afford to do without it. Because purchasing it would cost more than you make.

For me if the purchase is business related then I HAVE to think of it as a business purchase and remove emotion from the purchase. The computer is then a tool and has a total cost of ownership over it's life.
If previous laptop cost $2,500 and required $900 in repair over 4 years of ownership. You can do the math and find out how much that machine costs you to own it. Then you can find out how much it produces.
Then you take the cost of a new machine, if it costs more, then it needs to produce more. If it can't produce more to offset the upgrade, then it is costing you more to own than the previous.
Don't let emotional purchasing cost your business money.

On an additional personal experience note I would suggest then getting some form of computer for either the business or personal side, even if it a refurbished or older mac mini to use for that other purpose and not have the "all eggs in one basket" issue. That feeling will cause people to spend irrationally due to a level of panic, when some little inexpensive backup machine could be well worth it's cost.
Some may not agree and that is ok. Just sharing some experience built over the years. Personal and business sides.

backup computer it's an always good choice, I don't why people can depend from one device, it's ridiculous

 

[mmomega]

backup computer it's an always good choice, I don't why people can depend from one device, it's ridiculous

When you rely on that one device (whatever that device is to you) for more than one reason and then that device goes down and it literally costs you more cash for it being down than purchasing a secondary device, then it may make sense for you.

Back to the reason I left, it was an option for someone, not a requirement.

TETO

At my offices I have triple internet providers, dual phone service, dual modems, dual switches, dual battery backups, triple data backups. If my phones stop ringing, if internet stops working, now company income has reduced while expenses stay the same. Those additional backup costs save more cash than they cost. In my world, it isn't ridiculous in any way.

 

[MacBookGamer]

I have a 2016 15” MBP 2.7/16/1TB. No current AppleCare coverage. Clean install of latest Catalina release done within the past week. This is a device used for both business and personal purposes. It’s my only computer for both places.

Several months back one of my Thunderbolt ports quit working for data transfer. It will still charge power, but no external drives or devices can get a consistent connection. More recently I have begun having an additional issue where the battery shows 30-40% on the meter and then poof...it hibernates until I connect it to power. I have chatted with Apple Support and they had me run diagnostics which came back clean. They then sent me to a local Authorized Service Provider and they ran some additional tests and those came back clean too. The tests for the battery all came back fine too. 84% of original capacity, 694 charge cycles. They inspected the port and found no sign of anything in there. They blew it out all the same, but the issue is still there. The theory at the ASP shop is that something is wrong with the logic board. The tech doesn’t have any hard evidence to back that up, just circumstantial based on the symptoms. The fix is ~$900, which I am hesitant to pay for a 3 year old laptop to fix a presumed problem. Does the theory of a bad logic board hold water for everyone here? If so what about the idea of paying nearly $1k to try and fix it?

All of these issues are happening on a machine with a fresh install of Catalina. I should also add that I had to do that fresh install several times because of sluggish performance and other software oddities that I was running into, although I have no way of really knowing if that is because of a hardware problem or just the general weirdness of Catalina

So it leaves me wondering which of my options are best. I can:

1.) Ride it out with my current machine that may or may not have a faulty logic board and/or battery.

2.) Pay the ~$900 to get the logic board replaced.

3.) Pay ~$4000 for a new laptop (base upgraded to 32/2TB + AppleCare + tax).

I’m not sure I love any of these options, but I lean toward #3 because going computer-less for several days waiting for a BTO to arrive down the road is not really something that would work for me if the logic board is bad on my current computer and that issue continues to cause additional problems.

Thoughts?

I'd ride it out unless I absolutely needed all 4 of those ports.

 

[Mr Screech]

Go for the no or small upgrade.
You might squeeze another 2-5 years out of the machine.
// I'd at least wait to see the 2020/21 versions of the MBP which might have better displays and raw cpu power.

//misread

 

[Ruggy]

At 84% the battery is just on the limit. They say it passes but it won't pass when it's dropped a percent or two in a couple of months.
So that definitely needs changing.
You say they blew out the ports and couldn't see anything, but if the port is damaged or it is the logic board then they need to connect something and see if they can replicate the problem.
Obviously, you have tried another cable or two.
I wouldn't tell them to fix it and
offer a blank cheque especially if they haven't replicated the problem. They have the habit of just changing things in the hope that something will work.
If they can give you a better idea of what is wrong, you could have the battery changed and a proper investigation when it's open with an estimate of what it will cost.
If it's too much then a machine with a new battery and a duff port is still worth more second hand than it is right now and you'll know there's nothing more you could have done.
PS There's also the faint chance the battery is the problem.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

I wouldn't tell them to fix it and
offer a blank cheque especially if they haven't replicated the problem. They have the habit of just changing things in the hope that something will work.
If they can give you a better idea of what is wrong, you could have the battery changed and a proper investigation when it's open with an estimate of what it will cost.
If it's too much then a machine with a new battery and a duff port is still worth more second hand than it is right now and you'll know there's nothing more you could have done.
PS There's also the faint chance the battery is the problem.

That’s definitely the main issue I am running into. Everyone agrees there is a problem, but nobody can say for sure what or how severe it is. It could be the logic board, it could be the port itself, it could be the battery. Or some combination of all three. I agree that throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks is not a good strategy, so that’s why I feel kind of stuck here.

 

[Fishrrman]

As far as the "single USBc port with a problem" goes...
You have 3 good ports yet.
I'll take a guess that the physical connection in the port could be the source of the problems. The USBc connection port just doesn't seem as "robust" as the prior USBa ports were.

I'd just "work around it" by using the other 3 ports for your non-charging connections, and using "the bad port" for charging only.

About the battery...
Did you take it to an actual brick-n-mortar Apple Store genius bar?
If not, and if one is close, take it to them.
Let them check it out.

You might consider having the battery replaced.
It will run about $200, which should include parts and labor.
MAKE SURE you have an understanding about the price before you hand it over.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

You might consider having the battery replaced.
It will run about $200, which should include parts and labor.
MAKE SURE you have an understanding about the price before you hand it over.

That was actually my intention when I took it in to the ASP yesterday, but they told me that a battery replacement when diagnostics shows no fault is more. Was a little over $500.

 

[Fishrrman]

"That was actually my intention when I took it in to the ASP yesterday, but they told me that a battery replacement when diagnostics shows no fault is more. Was a little over $500."

This "ASP" of whom you speak...

Is that a brick-n-mortar Apple Store?
Or... is it something else?

$500 change a battery???
That's a RIP OFF price, plain and simple.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

"That was actually my intention when I took it in to the ASP yesterday, but they told me that a battery replacement when diagnostics shows no fault is more. Was a little over $500."

This "ASP" of whom you speak...

Is that a brick-n-mortar Apple Store?
Or... is it something else?

$500 change a battery???
That's a RIP OFF price, plain and simple.

ASP is the local service provider. In this case a chain called Simply Mac.

And I agree on the price there. When he told me I made him repeat because I thought I heard it wrong.

Made the call on this though. Cutting my losses with the current laptop and going to the 16”. Going to not be a cheapskate this time and get the AppleCare.

Thanks all for the input.