Macbook Pro (Retina, mid-2012) Issues and Possibility of Replacement

[wonster]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to ask you guys what you think I should do about my rMBP, seeing as there are various issues with it and I'd like to either have it fixed or replaced.

Issues from purchase (September 2012):
Significant creaking/popping sound whenever I lift the Macbook up or rest my wrists to type.
When Macbook is warm and wrists are resting on it, as I type, some of the keys don't work.
Ghosting on the screen, particularly after close of Microsoft Word.
On the Mail application, occasional jumbling of email title and sender lines.
When Macbook is cold, trackpad is very stiff, making loud sounds. It seems to be attached from the two top corners, so I often have to press in the bottom corners to get it working properly.

I made the mistake of accidentally pouring some soda onto the Macbook a couple of months ago; thankfully nothing with the performance of the Macbook itself was affected except for the sticky keys. Seeing as I go to school miles away from the nearest apple store, I took the liberty of taking off some of the keys and cleaning them, which has helped but I also broke the left shift key in half (ugh!!!) but it still works.

What should I do to get my Macbook fixed or replaced? I noticed that on the warranty, accidental spills and disassembly voids your warranty, but seeing as most of the problems occurred before the spill, would Apple fix or replace it free of charge?

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[abc123]

You could try your luck. I have had warranty work done on a laptop with liquid damage before, but not repair work on the keyboard. I also don't think my model had liquid sensors, and the work was carried out by a third party not apple (and I notice that this company are no longer apple certified for warranty repair work haha).

If you have no proof that the problems started before the spill you probably won't get far. The keyboard problem sounds very much like something that would be caused by liquid damage.

 

[thundersteele]

Unless you are extremely lucky, none of the liquid sensors got tripped, and the technician that repairs the laptop is blind, there is no chance of a replacement or a warranty repair. If you are lucky they offer you a flat rate repair.

 

[Brian Y]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to ask you guys what you think I should do about my rMBP, seeing as there are various issues with it and I'd like to either have it fixed or replaced.

Issues from purchase (September 2012):
Significant creaking/popping sound whenever I lift the Macbook up or rest my wrists to type.
When Macbook is warm and wrists are resting on it, as I type, some of the keys don't work.
Ghosting on the screen, particularly after close of Microsoft Word.
On the Mail application, occasional jumbling of email title and sender lines.
When Macbook is cold, trackpad is very stiff, making loud sounds. It seems to be attached from the two top corners, so I often have to press in the bottom corners to get it working properly.

I made the mistake of accidentally pouring some soda onto the Macbook a couple of months ago; thankfully nothing with the performance of the Macbook itself was affected except for the sticky keys. Seeing as I go to school miles away from the nearest apple store, I took the liberty of taking off some of the keys and cleaning them, which has helped but I also broke the left shift key in half (ugh!!!) but it still works.

What should I do to get my Macbook fixed or replaced? I noticed that on the warranty, accidental spills and disassembly voids your warranty, but seeing as most of the problems occurred before the spill, would Apple fix or replace it free of charge?

Thanks for your help guys.

a) That's normal - it's the bottom case flexing. Reseating the bottom case may help though.

b) It will get warm - it's a computer!

c) Ghosting is a known issue with these. If it's really bad, have Apple replace your screen.

d) That's a software issue - deleting the Mail plists may fix it.

e) That's perfectly correct - the trackpad is hinged at the top. You cannot press any of them at the very top of the trackpad.

f) This is probably the cause of your keys not working (and possibly the trackpad feeling sticky).

Overall - the screen is a warranty problem, the keyboard isn't, so you'll likely get a free LCD replacement but will have to pay to replace the top case as liquid is not covered by the warranty.

You won't get a replacement - Apple wont outright replace a 7 month old liquid damaged laptop, and it's unrealistic to expect them to.