My 2016 MBP 15" died without warning

[raholland]

I ordered the base model 15" touchbar MBP on launch day back in October (2.6GHz processor; only upgrade was to 512GB SSD). My computer also happens to be one of the ones suffering from the strange electronic popping noise on the keyboard. I never looked into addressing that problem, because it was so minor and rare.

Two days ago, I was working on it, it was plugged in and had been plugged in and charging for about an hour ... when suddenly WITHOUT WARNING it powered off.

I was able to get it to boot up once after that, and it said the battery was at 1% and that the battery was not charging. After a few seconds, it powered down again and never came back to life.

I took it to my nearest Apple store / Genius bar ... and they couldn't do a thing for it. They indicated that it seemed as if the logic board was no longer passing power. They said it needed to be sent off for repair.

Well, I can't go without my computer and I was panicked for a few minutes ... but after checking with "leadership" at the store, the tech I was working with agreed that they would take the computer back, give me credit for it, and sell me a new one.

Unfortunately for me, my latest Time Machine backup was from February. I've been slowly transitioning to Dropbox for Business for my work stuff, so that helped a bit.

TL;DR: Backup your computer now. You never know when it might die.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Time Machine keeps popping up, I haven't backed up in 45 days. Lets me go plug it in right now. Sorry to hear about your experience.

 

[leman]

Well, I can't go without my computer and I was panicked for a few minutes ... but after checking with "leadership" at the store, the tech I was working with agreed that they would take the computer back, give me credit for it, and sell me a new one.

That is some excellent customer service from Apple! Sorry to hear about your experience. Yep, you should always have a fresh backup and if you rely on your computer a lot, a way to quickly get a replacement machine.

 

[CaptRB]

Things like this can happen. Doesn't matter what machine you own.

So...

BACK IT UP!


R.

 

[raholland]

That is some excellent customer service from Apple! Sorry to hear about your experience. Yep, you should always have a fresh backup and if you rely on your computer a lot, a way to quickly get a replacement machine.

Yes, and it was only because I asked ... The tech said my options were: wait until they repair mine and send it back; or buy a new computer out of pocket and return it within 2wks to get my money back. After a few moments of me trying to come to grips with that, I said to him "Are you sure that there are no other options available?" He said, "I'll go ask."

When he came back he delivered the good news that they would take my computer as a return and sell me a new one.

 

[Apples555]

All your data is likely still on the SSD. Is there no way to access the internal data without the logic board on these new MBPs?

 

[raholland]

All your data is likely still on the SSD. Is there no way to access the internal data without the logic board on these new MBPs?

I was under the impression that if I went with the "repair" option, I would have received my computer back with my data intact. But I could be wrong about that. My decision was based on urgency ... I needed my computer to meet work deadlines Saturday, Sunday, and today. That was more important to me than getting 2 months of data recovered.

 

[jerryk]

Also, backup multiple places. Imagine if your home burned down. What would the impact be to your data?

Basic rule data is not safe until it is in 3 place, in at least 2 locations.
[doublepost=1494858222][/doublepost]

Yes, and it was only because I asked ... The tech said my options were: wait until they repair mine and send it back; or buy a new computer out of pocket and return it within 2wks to get my money back. After a few moments of me trying to come to grips with that, I said to him "Are you sure that there are no other options available?" He said, "I'll go ask."

When he came back he delivered the good news that they would take my computer as a return and sell me a new one.

Good thing you had a base model. A BTO user would have been out of luck, or would have had to accept a different configuration.

 

[icymountain]

Unfortunately for me, my latest Time Machine backup was from February. I've been slowly transitioning to Dropbox for Business for my work stuff, so that helped a bit.

Painful lesson indeed.

I would say the best is to have a seamless backup strategy. Risks include loss or death of a machine but also ransomware and other malicious viruses.
Dropbox and cloud solutions are good for many uses (but always have some offline, up to date machine, just in case). For those who work on source files, git and other version control are awesome when properly deployed. And for large amounts of data (photos, etc), I find multiple of external hard drive (that are not online at the same time) is a good protection. And indeed, in multiple locations.
I also re-evaluate my backup status regularly.

Everyone needs to do this work nowadays, unfortunately. If I lost everything I did since February, that would be extremely hard to recover...

 

[Apples555]

I was under the impression that if I went with the "repair" option, I would have received my computer back with my data intact. But I could be wrong about that. My decision was based on urgency ... I needed my computer to meet work deadlines Saturday, Sunday, and today. That was more important to me than getting 2 months of data recovered.

Good point.

 

[serkan]

Did you get a new one ?

How is the experience so far with the new machine ?

 

[montanaco]

Pretty awesome customer service! My 2013 TB had the same issue but I still had to wait for a replacement, despite asking for other options haha. Awesome that it worked out so well for ya.

 

[raholland]

Did you get a new one ?

How is the experience so far with the new machine ?

It is hard to describe, and some will say I'm imagining things ... but the new machine seems to be better. The keyboard is much better - noticeably smoother and more consistent across all keys, not as loud or "clackey". Everything else seems to be a bit more responsive.
[doublepost=1494871772][/doublepost]

Pretty awesome customer service! My 2013 TB had the same issue but I still had to wait for a replacement, despite asking for other options haha. Awesome that it worked out so well for ya.

Well, I think that the fact that mine is only 6 months old probably helped my case.

 

[serkan]

It is hard to describe, and some will say I'm imagining things ... but the new machine seems to be better. The keyboard is much better - noticeably smoother and more consistent across all keys, not as loud or "clackey". Everything else seems to be a bit more responsive.
[doublepost=1494871772][/doublepost]
Well, I think that the fact that mine is only 6 months old probably helped my case.

Thanks for the answer. I don't think you are imagining but the manufacturing could be getting better and better with the feedback they are receiving with the problems and the returns.

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[montanaco]

[doublepost=1494871772][/doublepost]
Well, I think that the fact that mine is only 6 months old probably helped my case.[/QUOTE]

I also got mine in the first batch, so mine was only about 5 months old when it died lol.

 

[Cergman]

Is Apple replacing these new touchbar MBPs now instead of repairing them? Mac replacements used to be extremely rare.

 

[raholland]

Is Apple replacing these new touchbar MBPs now instead of repairing them? Mac replacements used to be extremely rare.

I didn't get the feeling that what they did for me was a matter of policy.