New MacBook Pro Speakers Are Most Affordable to Repair Since 2015

[groundcontrol]

The keyboard on my 2016 15” MBP was replaced twice and should have been replace a third time but the double tapping keys issue came back after the four year cutoff. Occasionally the cursor also jumps to another spot on the page, which is extremely frustrating. Using a Bluetooth keyboard helps me work around these issues.

The left speaker on my 2016 MBP also flaked out (harsh static and noise) so now I shift audio to the right speaker (or use bluetooth earbuds). A repair shop that I trust told me the speaker can’t be repaired unless the entire motherboard is changed/replaced, which of course I won’t do on a now 8 yr old machine.

I’m planning to get a 2024 M4 Pro machine soon. Hoping I don’t have such headaches with it as I had with my 2016 device.

 

[bollman]

Now if only Apple could do something about the little holes in the aluminium for the speakers being difficult to clean. I’m quite fastidious about keeping my MacBook clean to maximise resale value when it’s time to upgrade, but getting tiny bits of debris out of the speaker holes is quite difficult to do. Perhaps I should risk blowing out the speakers with some loud bass heavy music to dislodge things? 😉

OMG what's up with this obsession with resale value?
Buy it, drive it like you stole it and worry about resale later

 

[bollman]

Oh, and btw; I don't buy used computers. Disgusting. You never know where it has been
And I never bother to sell either, they stay in the cupboard until too old and get recycled.
I threw out a bunch of PowerBooks lately.

 

[nathansz]

Now if only Apple could do something about the little holes in the aluminium for the speakers being difficult to clean. I’m quite fastidious about keeping my MacBook clean to maximise resale value when it’s time to upgrade, but getting tiny bits of debris out of the speaker holes is quite difficult to do. Perhaps I should risk blowing out the speakers with some loud bass heavy music to dislodge things? 😉

This such a bizzare way of thinking to me

If I buy something to use the last thing I’m thinking is “how much can I resell it for?”

 

[lfaa]

My 2010 MBP blew out a speaker sometime in 2015. I dont remember ever maxing out the volume since I didnt use it for listening to music. Just medium volume for youtube stuff.

The sound coming out of those speakers is very weak, no bass, useless for music. On my 2010mbp, the left spkr is out. No way this old mac is connected to my stereo gear and has all my music.

 

[3304614]

This such a bizzare way of thinking to me

If I buy something to use the last thing I’m thinking is “how much can I resell it for?”

If the thing someone is using is known for having a relatively-high resale value, then it becomes a thing many people think about. Nothing bizarre about that.

I know some people here have a lot of money and the resale market isn’t a huge concern for them. But some people here re-sell their older products to help fund the purchase of newer products.

Also (just in general) there is nothing weird with wanting something to be… you know… clean, lol. Regardless of resale, I also wouldn’t want tiny speaker grill holes to be gunked-up with gunk. 😂

 

[840quadra]

I am stil impressed by the acoustics that Apple is able to provide on MacBook devices, and previously iBook / Powerbook machines.

When it was new, the mid 2015 MacBook Pro speakers were near the top in quality, far later my 13" M1 was impressive with how much more mids and bass it would provide over the 2015. Here and now, my 14" M1 & M3 Pro produces some great sound quality where I often don't feel the need to connect to a BT device.

My laptop compared to colleagues HP, Dell, Lenovo laptops, We use mine in conference calls without an external speaker. It isn't even a fair fight.

I honestly can't wait to see / hear the full case refresh acoustics on later Macbooks.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Sounds like you got a lemon; bummer. And it also sounds like the person doing your repairs may have been sloppy. Except for the keyboard replacements my 2016 MBP [2.9 GHz i7] traveled 365 days/year and still works flawlessly except that apps/OS RAM demands are now too much for the 16 GB RAM.

Edit: P.S. I am one of the few that actually liked the touch bar. ;~)

my unit was absolutely not a lemon.
How do I know this? Because as I said, in my original post, it was replaced three times.
I don’t mean the keyboard was replaced, I mean, the computer itself, the entire thing, was replaced.
So I had the initial machine in 2016, another in 2017 and a third in 2019.
All three machines had major issues.
The first one had a keyboard that died, but it was within the first 60 days of purchase so they just completely replaced it.
The second one lasted two years, but did need a keyboard replacement in the meantime. Eventually, the entire thing had to be replaced because the webcam completely died.
And while the third unit didn’t face any issues as big as the first two, by that time the Skylake chips were 3 years old but felt like 7.
It was slow, it would constantly beach ball, and the touch bar crashed a lot.
And there are a lot of similar reports online, and several macOS fresh installs did nothing.

Given that those 2016 machines are the ones that caused Apple to accelerate their work on their own silicon for their computers, plus the fact that almost every decision made with a 2016 version has been completely reversed now, I’m going to say that all three of my MacBook Pros were not lemons.
The computers were just bad, it was a bad generation, and it will be looked back on as one of Apple’s biggest blunders.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Oh, and btw; I don't buy used computers. Disgusting. You never know where it has been

What does it matter?
It’s not like AirPods or Watches where it has literally been attached to someone’s body.
Buy it, disinfect it, wipe the drive and it’s like there never was a previous owner.
We are talking about slabs of metal and glass.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

And I never bother to sell either, they stay in the cupboard until too old and get recycled.
I threw out a bunch of PowerBooks lately.

Okay, but why?
You are literally throwing away potential money.
Assuming the machine is in good working order, selling and buying used is extremely smart.

 

[surfzen21]

The sound coming out of those speakers is very weak, no bass, useless for music. On my 2010mbp, the left spkr is out. No way this old mac is connected to my stereo gear and has all my music.

Yeah comparing it to my 2023 mbp its like night and day.

I remember using garage band to record guitar tracks on my 2005 Powerbook and thinking it sounded good during playback 🤣

 

[svish]

Good move. Cheaper repairs are always welcome. But without AppleCare, will not be surprised to see repair cost being high as usual. As for self repair, repairing it seems like a very complicated process. Don't think it is worth it to do self repair.

 

[bollman]

What does it matter?
It’s not like AirPods or Watches where it has literally been attached to someone’s body.
Buy it, disinfect it, wipe the drive and it’s like there never was a previous owner.
We are talking about slabs of metal and glass.

That is the thing. How can you be sure where it has been? Have you ever opened up a used computer? Yuck! And, there is almost no way to clean the keyboard thoroughly, God knows what gunk is stuck under the keys.
Well, it seems some people here are obsessive about not using their computers battery, using gloves when typing and overall using it in an sterile environment to maximize resell value, but most people don't.
I see a lot of "used" computers at work, and most of them, I'd rather not touch with my bare hands.

 

[InnSuu]

I've never had to repair a speaker after 20 years of owning MBPs.

Did you often play sound through them at maximum allowed volume?

 

[biffuz]

I bet they're making things easier to repair to make it cheaper for them to do warranty repairs and refurbs (perhaps manufacturing too), and they end up selling more parts; enough to counterweight the loss in missed sales of new units (people just keep it broken or buy used).

 

[russell_314]

I bet they're making things easier to repair to make it cheaper for them to do warranty repairs and refurbs (perhaps manufacturing too), and they end up selling more parts; enough to counterweight the loss in missed sales of new units (people just keep it broken or buy used).

I agree with you that they’re motivated by profit, but I think you’re misguided as to how they are motivated. Apple is not a multi trillion dollar company because they don’t care about profits. All companies have this same motivation or at least they should have. The ones that don’t go bankrupt.

I don’t think they’re motivated by profit from selling parts but rather profit from making their company look good. Some people will choose a brand if they think it is more environmentally friendly. Apple would likely make more money selling someone a new laptop rather than a few speaker parts. The reality is the few laptops they lose sales from repairs aren’t going to mean anything to their profit margin. Most people replace products rather than repair them.


In the end, everyone should like this regardless of the motivation because it’s going to mean less waste. Unfortunately, most people get caught up in consumerism so I’m not sure how much benefit this is. We’ve all seen the “Should I upgrade my M2 MacBook that I bought last year to the new M3 MacBook” posts. People get hyped up by advertisements and getting the shiny new thing. I’m not immune from this either. The only upside is maybe some of these components are being recycled.