I'm waiting for my shipping label from Apple. Never had a problem with the loose battery cover, just push the four little claws forward a little bit and they'll claw in very tightly, problem solved. But a yellowy Chi-Mei LCD panel and grinding optical drive seemed a bit much to me, especially since I know how brilliant the LG panel looks and how quiet the optical drive can be. If the next one comes in and still has a yellow Chi-Mei panel, then I'll have to consider returning it. Sometimes things just don't work out.
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New MacBook Pros (Late 2008) Now Shipping With More Defects Than Ever Before!
- Thread starter mawsoccer
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Apple is not the same company it was 3 years ago. It never will be.[/QUOTE]
And thankfully so !
Unfortunately, quality control is the way it is with every large company nowadays looking to save a buck manufacturing their goods in China. Now matter what you think, they are a business and their first priority is making money for their shareholders....thats it. They do that by bringing us new and innovative products that we all (most anyways) love and use on a daily basis.
In looking at it from the big picture they are making an amazing product and it is only getting better with every update and change. That being said they will have issues with production and not everyone will be happy with their product. If they are running at a 90% satisfaction rate they are doing great. My guess is that they are close to that. When you are not happy with your product they do their best to make it right. In my opinion, they are by far the best company I have ever dealt with when it comes to issues and problems. I originally had the Air and they replaced it with the Pro. When the new model came and I had issues with the video card
they replaced my 5 month old Pro with the new late 08 model. Pretty amazing service. In listening to the complaints that everyone is having the common denominator is ' this is my 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th replacement and...' Apple is trying guys just dont give up. If it takes 8 then so be it.
I am a lucky one and my Pro is fantastic. My keys may not be perfectly level or straight but man... I LOVE MY PRO
Let Apple have the opportunity to make you happy and they will....but remember they are a business, its all about the $$$$$$$$
And thankfully so !
Unfortunately, quality control is the way it is with every large company nowadays looking to save a buck manufacturing their goods in China. Now matter what you think, they are a business and their first priority is making money for their shareholders....thats it. They do that by bringing us new and innovative products that we all (most anyways) love and use on a daily basis.
In looking at it from the big picture they are making an amazing product and it is only getting better with every update and change. That being said they will have issues with production and not everyone will be happy with their product. If they are running at a 90% satisfaction rate they are doing great. My guess is that they are close to that. When you are not happy with your product they do their best to make it right. In my opinion, they are by far the best company I have ever dealt with when it comes to issues and problems. I originally had the Air and they replaced it with the Pro. When the new model came and I had issues with the video card
they replaced my 5 month old Pro with the new late 08 model. Pretty amazing service. In listening to the complaints that everyone is having the common denominator is ' this is my 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th replacement and...' Apple is trying guys just dont give up. If it takes 8 then so be it. I am a lucky one and my Pro is fantastic. My keys may not be perfectly level or straight but man... I LOVE MY PRO
Let Apple have the opportunity to make you happy and they will....but remember they are a business, its all about the $$$$$$$$
Well I just recieved my MBP (my first Mac) this past friday. I can't spot any defects except that mine did have a tiny hit on one edge. Honestly, the small ding doesn't really mean much to me because its so small and you have to really look to be able to find it. Using a ruler it is about 0.5mm wide. I'm very happy with the computer and the Mac experience is really spoiling me.
Anyways, I was scared to order mine because of all the complaints I hear on here but I'm glad to say everything is pretty much perfect.
Anyways, I was scared to order mine because of all the complaints I hear on here but I'm glad to say everything is pretty much perfect.
I did not say that all of them had problems. The title is sarcastic first of all and meant to draw people thinking about buying one of these new machines.
2nd of all ... I'm doing something about it and wasting my time at the same time. Its called talking to Apple Care and having them casually set up more and more RMAs and telling their facility in China to ship more and more products without using any quality control before shipping them to a customer that has already received 3 cosmetically defective machines.
I'm a frickin student for Christs sake ... its not like I have time to chat with Apple every single day and explain my problem over and over again and get transfered 50 times only to have to explain my problem to each new person.
I also cant have these charges on my card because I only had money for 1 and only planned on needing money for 1.
How can you tell the difference between the screens. Is there some hardware note in sys profiler or something?
I also cant have these charges on my card because I only had money for 1 and only planned on needing money for 1.[/QUOTE]
I feel your pain but maybe you just need to accept small cosmetic issues which allot of the reported problems are and love your computer. If not, refund your money and head over to the Windows forums
I feel your pain but maybe you just need to accept small cosmetic issues which allot of the reported problems are and love your computer. If not, refund your money and head over to the Windows forums
I wouldn't have a problem if Apple wanted to send my machine to Colorware to get painted to cover the cosmetic defects... but the chance of that are highly unlikely... much like the chance of me returning accessories I bought for this machine after I have waited more than a month to get a machine that actually looks decent.
True about the trackpad, there is also now a story on the flaws with the new laptops on Apple Insider, not the cosmetic ones but the stuff like the sleep faults and trackpad faults etc all of which Apple have acknowledged.
But am I reading that you say the drop in Apple's quality control is because it's priced it's computers more competitively?
Well I have no idea what rock you've been under to suggest Apple's laptops are priced more competitively now? The new Mac Book costs a lot more then the old model did. And the Mac Book Pro I just sent back cost me about $150 more then the Mac Book Pro I brought last November. This is in the UK so no Apple have in no way reduced prices. And with the customer base, if the customer base increases, you make more money, so therefore you invest that money to ensure you still make quality computers.
I can also say that PC laptops are still far cheaper then Apple's.
Also out of every electronic device I have ever brought I have only had to send my MB Pro back due to defect and also a 360 which I changed to a PS3 after the 3rd replacement.
So that's 2 things. One I expected to go faulty, one that I expect to be totally 100% perfect out the box as it cost a fortune. I have brought many other rev A products and every one was flawless and cheaper.
I have a CTO machine and it's fine. Your case is the exception, not the norm, as much as you may like to believe it is.
People have issues and they come here to complain. People who don't have issues have no reason to come to complain about anything, so the ratio seems outrageously bias towards negative responses.
Are people receiving poor quality MacBooks? Sure. Is everyone? No. Are 90% of them unacceptable? Nope. Are 50%? Nope.
MacRumors is NOT, as unfortunate as this may sound to you, the best pool to base any statistics on. Normal consumers don't come here, or even know of its existence. These consumers probably think that everyone is receiving perfect notebooks, just as we all seem to think no one is. We are all subject to our environment, and this is no exception.
So yes, while you may have a 100% failure rate so far - many, many more have walked away 100% satisfied.
I have, and many others have. You just don't hear us. Complainers are louder than praisers.
While I feel for you and your misfortune, there's no reason to jump to conclusions about quality control. I've gone through 4 360's. They began to die around 6 months after manufacturing, so it's going to take a lot to make me think anyone's quality control is awful.
This stuff happens with new designs. Manufacturing processes have to be zeroed in on, they don't just start off perfect. As Rev A adopters, we're the beta testers. Expect problems, they're only natural.
Seems to be certain batches of the MPB's with problems, as in batches that shipped to users' specific regions. And also, when the standard config is looked over to make a BTO, it seems users are encountering "fitting and denting" issues.
I live in South Florida, and have not seen any threads on this board about users near me with any major problems.
Perhaps we can start an accounting of people with said issues and where they live in the world?
On Apple's side, of course there are going to be more defects and quality issues. There are more Apple products than ever being made overseas and this new UNIMBP is the first of it's line. It's gonna take them time to get feedback on the problems, and THEN, they will start to really tighten quality when they start seeing the number of returns and complaints.
But, of course, you paid for it. So if you aren't happy voice your opinion here just like everyone else is entitled, but don't let it get pointlessly negative by saying F Apple. That's not necessary.
I live in South Florida, and have not seen any threads on this board about users near me with any major problems.
Perhaps we can start an accounting of people with said issues and where they live in the world?
On Apple's side, of course there are going to be more defects and quality issues. There are more Apple products than ever being made overseas and this new UNIMBP is the first of it's line. It's gonna take them time to get feedback on the problems, and THEN, they will start to really tighten quality when they start seeing the number of returns and complaints.
But, of course, you paid for it. So if you aren't happy voice your opinion here just like everyone else is entitled, but don't let it get pointlessly negative by saying F Apple. That's not necessary.
If your view on the machine is that it is "crappy" then why on earth would you want it replaced. If you don't like the machines you buy, just stop buying them.
If you go into System Preferences > Displays, then click on Color, and select Color Profile button. Scroll down to #13, "Apple make and model information", look at Model. If it ends with 9C85, I think that's Chi Mei. 9C84 is LG.
How are you getting so many shipments from China? I can't even get one to Europe in three weeks!I'm on my 3rd machine (2nd replacement) and Apple still can't seem to get it right.
They clearly have some quality control issues and since mine is BTO it is coming straight from Shanghai and appears to not have any kind of quality control procedures whatsoever.
1st machine: loose battery cover and scratches right out of the box
2nd machine: even looser battery cover and even more scratches right out of the box
3rd machine: better battery compartment (not as noisily loose, but still loose) and a nice little dent in the frame by the optical drive right out of the box.
For $2600 I sure as hell am not accepting any imperfections in my machine.
I'm also not planning on wasting any more time on these new MacBooks with 0 quality control shipping straight out of China.
I'm about ready to call Apple (for the 6 or 7th time) and ask if they have ever had someone switch from a Mac to a PC. Because thats what I feel like doing.
Theses are the crappiest machines they have ever created and they don't seem to give a crap.
It usually takes about 5 days for me to get it in the middle of the US.
They have been using expedited shipping on my replacements though so it only took 2-3 days.
I would be a little concerned if I hadn't recieved mine in 1 week, muchless 3 weeks.
I am in the same boat, but heres the deal:
As a student, you have plenty of access to Lab machines, and Library computers. Sure they arent your "new" Mac, but they will do until you get one.
Why if you couldnt afford a second one being charged did you have it put on your Credit Card is beyond me? Like I said, if you cant afford the second machine being on there, it was wreckless to put it on there in the first place!
APPLE refunds usually go rather quickly, like 5-6 days (way less than they "tell" you)
Just my .02
Im sure itll work out. It is a true shame the situation is what it is for you. Honestly though, its been made a bad situation by Apple, and youve just made your situation somewhat worse.They will sort it out, but if I were you, I would return the machine, get all my money back, and wait a few weeks, or find something else.
my experience
hard to really gauge how many MBPs have been returned due to HW faults without having actual official figures.
For last two weeks I thought mine was fine, until realised I had a dodgy Caps Lock key that didnt always respond when pressed. Contacted Apple yesterday and have sorted out a replacement, hopefully this will be The One
I not angry or anything about it as I kind of expected this kind of thing from a Rev A product. Saying that though, I can understand how frustrating it may be for people on their 3rd, 4th or even 5th replacement. Surely that is unacceptable.
Anyway, here's hoping my replacement is free from HW faults and good luck to rest of you
hard to really gauge how many MBPs have been returned due to HW faults without having actual official figures.
For last two weeks I thought mine was fine, until realised I had a dodgy Caps Lock key that didnt always respond when pressed. Contacted Apple yesterday and have sorted out a replacement, hopefully this will be The One
I not angry or anything about it as I kind of expected this kind of thing from a Rev A product. Saying that though, I can understand how frustrating it may be for people on their 3rd, 4th or even 5th replacement. Surely that is unacceptable.
Anyway, here's hoping my replacement is free from HW faults and good luck to rest of you
For last two weeks I thought mine was fine, until realised I had a dodgy Caps Lock key that didnt always respond when pressed. Contacted Apple yesterday and have sorted out a replacement, hopefully this will be The One
Hmm, have you tried that out on another MBP though?
There was a thread by a MBP user who asked whether needing to press the Caps Lock key harder was normal and in fact maybe even a feature. Several other users responded that it was indeed a feature that the Caps Lock key be pressed longer (rather than harder) so as to prevent accidental activation. So you can't activate the Caps Lock key at touch-typing speed as far I can tell.
Active market expansion means lousy quality control. Quality control is tedious and expensive and detracts from market expansion.
Computers are both made in China and made with new technology. A combination of these factors decreases quality of the product. I guess we would have to live with it.
Personally, I am looking for an opportunity to install Hackintosh on a Lenovo laptop for my next machine. I do not value this aluminum block crap - functionality is more important to me than "sturdiness". Give me a block of black plastic that just works and I will be happy. "Just works" is no longer Apple's motto.
Computers are both made in China and made with new technology. A combination of these factors decreases quality of the product. I guess we would have to live with it.
Personally, I am looking for an opportunity to install Hackintosh on a Lenovo laptop for my next machine. I do not value this aluminum block crap - functionality is more important to me than "sturdiness". Give me a block of black plastic that just works and I will be happy. "Just works" is no longer Apple's motto.
I've been "lurking" on this thread for a while but I couldn't stand to sit on the sideline any longer. I too am a longtime Apple customer that is somewhat horrified with the quality control on the new Macbook / Macbook Pro line. On one hand, I thought I was an Apple customer for life because of OSX, but on the other hand, I am now in a desperate search for an alternative OS. I am currently waiting for my 3rd Macbook Pro to be shipped to me. The previous 2 were sent back as both of them had large visible dents straight out of the box. The 1st box was actually opened and resealed again when I received it. All I can say now is that if the 3rd system is not satisfactory, I am seriously planning on cutting my losses. I will not only request a refund, but I will sell my iMac, Mac Mini, iPhone, Airport Extreme, etc., and make a point of boycotting Apple. In addition, I will make a point of sharing my experience with everyone I know. I tend to be the "tech guy" in my social circle, and I suspect that if I am able to influence even half the amount of people I normally do, Apple will lose a lot of customers. Since when is it asking too much to spend $2500+ on a new laptop, and get a "new laptop".
Yeah, this is a 'feature' of the keyboard. Same with the Eject key actually - there was a big storm after a OS X update which changed the eject key behaviour from instant-eject to ejecting only after the key is pressed momentarily.