I ordered a MacBook Pro the day the first Intel Macs were announced. I got it the second day that people were getting deliveries. It was the high-end model, with all the fixin's other than the upgrade from 2.0 GHz to 2.16 GHz CPU.
This thing has been a nightmare.
I had the initial battery issue happen to me two weeks before Apple admitted it was a problem. (Took me a week to get the battery replaced, and a week later, Apple openly admitted it and opened up simple swaps to anyone.)
I had the logic board replace to solve the "screen whine".
I have had FIVE batteries replaced due to maximum capacity dropping far too fast. (All had dropped to less than 50% original capacity in less than 80 discharge cycles.) Thankfully, Apple has always done right by me on this one. Even after the official battery replacement period expired, they replaced one for me; and during the official replacement period, they replaced two that weren't even officially covered.
I paid for a logic board swap last year (out-of-warranty) to resolve graphic corruption and random crashing issues. I thought this would be the end of all my issues.
My hard drive died a couple months ago (not really surprising, it was heavily used; including being used as an always-on "desktop" for about a year and a half, which I know notebook drives aren't meant for.) Replaced with a new 320 GB drive.
My AirPort card went on the fritz. Put in an 802.11n "Mac Pro" card, I think the antenna wire is loose, though....
But, last week, my one "good" battery (technically #4, in use since late 2007, it had 79 cycles, and still had 80% original capacity,) decided to putter out. All battery meter utilities say it has a capacity of 65535 mAh (out of a theoretical maximum 5500, and the fact that it matches the maximum value of a 16-bit integer is likely not a coincidence,) and it only lasts 2 hours now, dying with no warning. Battery #6, replaced in June of 2009, had already started suffering the fate of all prior batteries, 50% capacity at 53 cycles, as of a couple months ago.
I'm sick of this thing. My numerous battery issues have had me leery of the integrated batteries in the Unibody models since they started. I likely would have gotten an Air a couple years ago if not for my battery woes; and while the i7 MBP is *VERY* compelling, I just don't trust Apple's batteries any more. (My wife's 2006 Core Duo black MacBook has been through three batteries, all of which died prematurely, although none as rapidly as my MBP's.) At this point, it MUST be the MBP itself that is killing the batteries.
But, Apple Support (possibly) comes to the rescue again. Apple used to have crappy support, but make moderately reliable systems. Now they have incredible support, but the systems seem to be crappy... I took my MBP in today, and the Genius is sending it off to their repair depot for a logic board replacement, and will swap out both of my prematurely-failed batteries for no charge, even though the system is now more than 3 years beyond its original warranty, more than a year past its longest possible AppleCare warranty, and more than six months past the paid fix warranty.
Next week we'll see if it FINALLY gets its issues resolved. (Well, I really won't know about the battery thing for a couple more months, of course, since it takes a few months for the battery issue to pop up.)
This thing has been a nightmare.
I had the initial battery issue happen to me two weeks before Apple admitted it was a problem. (Took me a week to get the battery replaced, and a week later, Apple openly admitted it and opened up simple swaps to anyone.)
I had the logic board replace to solve the "screen whine".
I have had FIVE batteries replaced due to maximum capacity dropping far too fast. (All had dropped to less than 50% original capacity in less than 80 discharge cycles.) Thankfully, Apple has always done right by me on this one. Even after the official battery replacement period expired, they replaced one for me; and during the official replacement period, they replaced two that weren't even officially covered.
I paid for a logic board swap last year (out-of-warranty) to resolve graphic corruption and random crashing issues. I thought this would be the end of all my issues.
My hard drive died a couple months ago (not really surprising, it was heavily used; including being used as an always-on "desktop" for about a year and a half, which I know notebook drives aren't meant for.) Replaced with a new 320 GB drive.
My AirPort card went on the fritz. Put in an 802.11n "Mac Pro" card, I think the antenna wire is loose, though....
But, last week, my one "good" battery (technically #4, in use since late 2007, it had 79 cycles, and still had 80% original capacity,) decided to putter out. All battery meter utilities say it has a capacity of 65535 mAh (out of a theoretical maximum 5500, and the fact that it matches the maximum value of a 16-bit integer is likely not a coincidence,) and it only lasts 2 hours now, dying with no warning. Battery #6, replaced in June of 2009, had already started suffering the fate of all prior batteries, 50% capacity at 53 cycles, as of a couple months ago.
I'm sick of this thing. My numerous battery issues have had me leery of the integrated batteries in the Unibody models since they started. I likely would have gotten an Air a couple years ago if not for my battery woes; and while the i7 MBP is *VERY* compelling, I just don't trust Apple's batteries any more. (My wife's 2006 Core Duo black MacBook has been through three batteries, all of which died prematurely, although none as rapidly as my MBP's.) At this point, it MUST be the MBP itself that is killing the batteries.
But, Apple Support (possibly) comes to the rescue again. Apple used to have crappy support, but make moderately reliable systems. Now they have incredible support, but the systems seem to be crappy... I took my MBP in today, and the Genius is sending it off to their repair depot for a logic board replacement, and will swap out both of my prematurely-failed batteries for no charge, even though the system is now more than 3 years beyond its original warranty, more than a year past its longest possible AppleCare warranty, and more than six months past the paid fix warranty.
Next week we'll see if it FINALLY gets its issues resolved. (Well, I really won't know about the battery thing for a couple more months, of course, since it takes a few months for the battery issue to pop up.)
