Need Help!!! 2012 MBA SSD failure?

[mayktoie]

Hi Guys,

My MBA looks like the SSD failed. Im unable to boot and I have created a USB drive as my OSX drive. System profiler doesnt see anything on Serial ATA.

It just went out of warranty (and i forgot to get AppleCare for it)

Is it pretty much an SSD failure? or can it be anything else?

 

[fark]

Hi Guys,

My MBA looks like the SSD failed. Im unable to boot and I have created a USB drive as my OSX drive. System profiler doesnt see anything on Serial ATA.

It just went out of warranty (and i forgot to get AppleCare for it)

Is it pretty much an SSD failure? or can it be anything else?

What else would prevent the normal boot process but allow booting off a USB drive?

 

[Mr Rabbit]

Is it pretty much an SSD failure? or can it be anything else?

The only other probably option is a logic board failure, which would be worse cost wise. You might try an SMC reset...

From Apple's SMC reset KB article
1 - Shut down the computer.
2 - Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
3 - On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
4 - Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
5 - Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

Depending on when it went out of warranty (a few days, a week, a month) you might have some luck calling AppleCare or Apple Customer Relations to see if a repair exception could be made.

Worst case you could replace the SSD yourself for likely half of what Apple would charge. Other World Computing has some SSD options for the 2012 MacBook Airs.

 

[mayktoie]

The only other probably option is a logic board failure, which would be worse cost wise. You might try an SMC reset...



Depending on when it went out of warranty (a few days, a week, a month) you might have some luck calling AppleCare or Apple Customer Relations to see if a repair exception could be made.

Worst case you could replace the SSD yourself for likely half of what Apple would charge. Other World Computing has some SSD options for the 2012 MacBook Airs.

Thanks Mr Rabbit. I've just tried an SMC reset but still can't detect the internal disk.

Could it be the logic board if all the other Mac functions are still working?

I was thinking of buying the OWC drive and replacing it on my own as my Mac is already 2 months out of warranty

 

[Mr Rabbit]

Yeah two months would be pushing your luck with AppleCare.

It IS possible that just the PCIe (SSD) slot on the logic board has failed but in all honesty I would place my bets on the SSD itself.

Replacing the SSD is pretty straight forward, iFixit has a guide that should walk you through the process - 13" MacBook Air SSD installation

 

[26139]

Sucks, but...

Ugh. That blows, but replacing an SSD is pretty easy.

Takes about a half hour if you're going slow.

 

[triple-tap]

If you are near an Apple Store, I would at least take it to the genius bar and ask them what they can do and get an estimate.

Many times, especially if you are a loyal customer (lots of apple devices or 2nd mac, etc.) they will go over and above the warranty period for stuff like that.

Even if they don't offer to replace for free, maybe they can tell you if they think it is the logic board or the SSD or something simply (maybe loose connection inside somewhere with the drive? who knows...).

 

[forestsprite]

I really wonder how common this is - I had the SSD on my 2012 Mac Air fail about three weeks ago, a month out of warranty. When I went to the Mac store they wouldn't budge about replacing it (which surpirsed me as I've had good luck with them before).

I have a new SSD coming in the mail, and have been booting with an external in the meantime. Still sucks though - most hard drive companies have warranties of three-five years on hard drives. Maybe my next laptop I'll think more seriously about Applecare. I'm used to Macs being more reliable.

 

[old-wiz]

Reading threads like this reminds me of how important it is to have complete backups. I prefer clones instead of Time Machine, so I don't worry too much about the internal disk going dead.

I would definitely take it to Apple and see what they say; if it's just the SSD, I would try to replace it myself and get a bigger SSD in the process.

 

[calvol]

Reading threads like this reminds me of how important it is to have complete backups. I prefer clones instead of Time Machine, so I don't worry too much about the internal disk going dead.

I would definitely take it to Apple and see what they say; if it's just the SSD, I would try to replace it myself and get a bigger SSD in the process.

What is a good clone software? I need to do this, because I have a lot of apps installed on VM's.

 

[old-wiz]

What is a good clone software? I need to do this, because I have a lot of apps installed on VM's.

I use SuperDuper, but CarbonCopyCloner is similar. Both work well. I have three external HDDs that I rotate for clone copies of the entire boot HDD. One is kept in a fireproof vault. I don't bother with Time Machine since my usage habits don't involve that much change on data/apps.

It is a LOT easier to recover if you have a clone than from a Time Machine backup. The clone boots easily and a lot faster than TM. Also the clone doesn't use up CPU/disk time when you are not making a copy.

 

[Dessureault]

You are not alone my friend! the 128GB Toshiba SSD in my 2012 13" MacBook Air failed on me a month ago, 4 days before the end of the warranty! Out of Warranty it would've cost me 857$. So ordering a SSD from OWC would be the best option

 

[Aylan]

You are not alone my friend! the 128GB Toshiba SSD in my 2012 13" MacBook Air failed on me a month ago, 4 days before the end of the warranty! Out of Warranty it would've cost me 857$. So ordering a SSD from OWC would be the best option

$857 for an SSD replacement? That is ludicrous! Was than an Apple price?

I am assuming one can get an SSD replacement and see if it works. If it doesn't then the OP can probably return the SSD. Hope it is just the SSD.

Backups are essential! Everytime a buddy of mine suffers data loss it ruins their life for a few days. I keep 2 backups in 2 different physical locations, but I have a bit of OCD.

 

[Dessureault]

$857 for an SSD replacement? That is ludicrous! Was than an Apple price?

I am assuming one can get an SSD replacement and see if it works. If it doesn't then the OP can probably return the SSD. Hope it is just the SSD.

Backups are essential! Everytime a buddy of mine suffers data loss it ruins their life for a few days. I keep 2 backups in 2 different physical locations, but I have a bit of OCD.

Yep, Apple price! http://d.pr/i/lYQQ

 

[Camaro6700]

I had the SSD fail on my 2012 MBA about a month ago too. It was 3 weeks out of warranty and the Apple store wanted around $300 to replace it. I went with the OWC for $190 with Envoy (in hopes of being able to retrieve data) and it was really simple to replace. It's not a good thing that so many people are having similar issues barely a year after purchase.

 

[mayuka]

My MBA looks like the SSD failed. Im unable to boot and I have created a USB drive as my OSX drive. System profiler doesnt see anything on Serial ATA.

Another guy just had the same trouble. He contacted Apple Care and got it repaired under warranty. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1615191/

 

[Appledreamer]

Another guy just had the same trouble. He contacted Apple Care and got it repaired under warranty. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1615191/

I have just bought a new 2013 macbook air, and i am reading that 2011/2012 SSDs are failing, i find this very worrying, and shocking that £1000 machine parts are failing. i now feel that i am going to have to get apple care or insurance.

 

[mayuka]

I have just bought a new 2013 macbook air, and i am reading that 2011/2012 SSDs are failing, i find this very worrying, and shocking that £1000 machine parts are failing. i now feel that i am going to have to get apple care or insurance.

These are just two incidents with the 2012 model and the Toshiba SSD. I think it's too early to read something out of it. You shouldn't worry. You can think about that again two weeks before your Mac turns 1 year old.

 

[old-wiz]

I have just bought a new 2013 macbook air, and i am reading that 2011/2012 SSDs are failing, i find this very worrying, and shocking that £1000 machine parts are failing. i now feel that i am going to have to get apple care or insurance.

Well..for any piece of hardware, a certain percentage will have some component fail. If you sell 1,000,000 machines and just 1% have an SDD failure, that's 10,000 failures. The people who have the failures are more likely to post on the forums; you don't open a thread that says "My MBA SSD is running fine!"

I always take notices of hardware failures with a grain of salt..or a pound.

Applecare can still be a good idea though.

 

[Presonance]

Add another one to the list. My SSD failed three weeks out of warranty. I'm not currently in a country where Apple operates, so I can't even appeal to Applecare.

 

[Mr Rabbit]

Another guy just had the same trouble. He contacted Apple Care and got it repaired under warranty. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1615191/

The difference though is they were only a few days outside of warranty, not a month or two. Something breaks 2-3 days outside of warranty, it's generally accepted that "the right thing to do" is for the company to take care of it. Something breaks a month or so out of warranty it's generally accepted that the company isn't slighting you by not covering it.

the Apple store wanted around $300 to replace it.

That was likely for a flat rate repair, where they send an out of warranty Mac to their repair depot to have any failures repaired for a flat cost of $300 ($310 maybe?). It's their method of meeting you in the middle to provide a reasonable repair cost once you're outside of warranty. So rather than pay $700+ for an SSD replacement, or $800+ for a logic board replacement, they will eat the cost and meet you (usually) towards the middle of the cost. The caveats though are that your Mac has to be less than five years old and damage free, since the repair has to be warrantied by Apple afterwards.

 

[scaredpoet]

I have just bought a new 2013 macbook air, and i am reading that 2011/2012 SSDs are failing, i find this very worrying, and shocking that £1000 machine parts are failing. i now feel that i am going to have to get apple care or insurance.

The hardware between the 2012 and 2013 models has changed quite a bit, so it's hard to take the failure rates of 2012 SSDs as an indicator of how the 2013s will fare. For one thing, the SSD manufacturers are different, and the interface has also changed.

That said, SSD is still a new technology with different characteristics than tired and true hard disk technology. If you plan on keeping your MacBook Air for a while, getting AppleCare would very likely be a wise choice.

 

[silvershamrock]

Yikes!

My 2012 MBA is purring like a kitten .... but this thread made me sit up and take notice (especially since it will be celebrating its first birthday in less than two weeks).

I just checked and I've still got time to buy the applecare for it. Thank you to the people who shared their warnings!

 

[simonsev]

My mid-2012 11 128 failed last week, 4 days of warranty was left, just made it to the Apple shop in time!

 

[eskimokind]

Now it is happened me to SSD is gone

My SSD failed one month out of warranty.

After it was frozen, I shot the Mac down, but it don´t wake up.

I have boot with an external drive and I can't see the SSD in the system.

Apple support told me to do a firmware update, when I start the update but it says I don´t need it.

What can I do now?

I have a mid 2012 macbook air with 10.8.4