Palmrest Cracked Four Times - Apple response

[submariner]

Just wanted to share my positive experience with Apple regarding the well-known topcase cracking issue.

The topcase on my Macbook has cracked four separate times. I had it replaced under Applecare three times, and on the fourth I spoke with Customer Relations and voiced my frustration. They offered to replace it with a brand new unibody Macbook or let me upgrade to the 13" Pro for $200.

The important thing is, if its not too late, to have every crack documented. Every time you call, they keep a record of what you say.

 

[mrsir2009]

Haven't had any issues with my 13" MBP yet, but if I do I know it won't be too much of a pain in the ass... ;-)

 

[spikedscott]

Just wanted to share my positive experience with Apple regarding the well-known topcase cracking issue.

The topcase on my Macbook has cracked four separate times. I had it replaced under Applecare three times, and on the fourth I spoke with Customer Relations and voiced my frustration. They offered to replace it with a brand new unibody Macbook or let me upgrade to the 13" Pro for $200.

The important thing is, if its not too late, to have every crack documented. Every time you call, they keep a record of what you say.

My case has now cracked for the third time on my early 2008 Macbook, going to get it sorted next week. Do you think I would be able to see if i can get a replacement in store? Or would I have to ring Applecare? Or will I have to wait until the case cracks for the fourth time? (works out about every 6 months or so) This would be the first time I would've rang Applecare because I normally just take the laptop to an Apple store to get it sorted there. Don't know if this makes any difference but I'm from the UK so I don't know how consumer rights differ between here and the US?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[submariner]

Not sure if you still needed advice...

But I would definitely ring up Applecare, more specifically Customer Relations. They have more more authorization than the typical Apple manager. Make sure that you mention that you have had it repaired before (though they will surely know), and that you don't have the time to keep taking your computer in or that you are reliant on it daily. I am a college student, so I stressed the importance of my Macbook for papers/studying/finals.

It also depends highly on how helpful your particular Customer Relations agent is. I would definitely call back if the one you get is not helpful.

In your case, I bet they will ask you to give them one more chance to fix it. When mine cracked for the 2nd and 3rd time, the replacement topcase was supposed to be a redesigned model to be more crack-resistant. I'm sure they will tell you this and offer to replace just the topcase. This might be your only option now, but at least you now have opened up a dialogue about your problem. If you case, get the contact information for the agent that helps you. When it cracks for the 4th time, and most likely it will, try to contact that same person again.

 

[dreamsINdigital]

Even if you're out of warranty, they replace cracked palmrests right? I have the first revision MacBook from 2006 and I have a crack on the palmrest.

 

[submariner]

Out of Applecare, they should replace the topcase. However, for a complete machine replacement, I think you are out of luck.

 

[Synchromesh]

They do replace palmrests out of warranty. If you keep getting cracks in those palmrests there is a good chance you'll get a new system at some point.

 

[spikedscott]

Thanks for the help guys, greatly appreciate it

Should hopefully have palm rest and top case replaced when Apple call back to say parts are in stock, lets hope 3rd time lucky ey

 

[bri65]

top case crack FN key

Hi there. I am writing to you from Italy where in July 2008 I baught a white 13" macbook. After a year the bottom case showed craks all over. a couple of months later a crack developed on the top case near the FN key. More recently the charger has stopped working. I have had more hardware problems with this laptop than I have had with 15 years worth of other computers all put together.

I attach the photo of the top case crack. My question is if in the US Apple are changing the top cases, under an extended guarantee, which have the problem you see below? Also, I have never had a charger stop working on me. Are they changing the charger?
I ask these questions as in Europe they seem to be reluctant in doing so. they call the crack "accidental damage", which means that I broke it, and "cosmetic" which means that it is not important and therefore worthy of their attention.
I would appreciate some feed back. I will be going to Canada for a couple of weeks at the end of the month and was considering bringing the Macbook with me to see if the Apple centres take a differnt view on the matter.
thanks and ciao!!

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

 

[Xenophon]

By all means, try it in Canada! Not sure if it'll work but I know from personal experience that the main mission of Apple staff in continental Europe and Asia (except Japan) if you walk in with a problem is to try to brush you off as quickly as possible, AppleCare or not. They'll invent anything to make you pay out of your own pocket for the repairs.

I sympathize with you though, I've had my unibody alu macbook for 18 months now and this 'premium' machine has already given me more grief than my previous 3 pc laptops together over the last 8 years.

As far as I can see, the only remaining reasons for paying the Apple tax are the OS and the esthetics of the machines. Certainly not the specs or technical quality.

 

[R94N]

Was that supposed to be a known design flaw with the MacBook? I can't remember.

 

[Kebabselector]

My 2006 Macbook has started to crack again, anyone recall how long it is before they refuse to fix it?

 

[Barkaritaville]

I just got my Dec 2006 macbook back from the Apple Store were they did the HD replacement for free and also fixed my topcase for free as well. I had two cracks in my case but interestingly enough they said only the crack at the front of the case (were the screen touches it when closed) was covered but the other crack to the left of my keyboard was not. It did not matter though as you could not fix one without fixing the other. Only downside was that they did not have the parts in stock so I was out of a computer for seven days. I also had the adapter replaced for free as well about a year ago no questions asked. I've known of others who have had luck getting their cases repaired as well. I almost did not take mine in but then I read about the HD replacement program for the early macbooks so I figured there was a good chance they would fix the topcase if I had it in for something else. By the way, the HD was replaced with a higher capacity on then the one I had as they did not make the old size any more. I have searched for any Apple document stating anything about topcase replacements out of warranty but have not found a thing. The adapter and HD replacement programs are documented however so anyone should be able to have those parts replace without any trouble if you have those issues as well.

 

[submariner]

Hi there. I am writing to you from Italy where in July 2008 I baught a white 13" macbook. After a year the bottom case showed craks all over. a couple of months later a crack developed on the top case near the FN key. More recently the charger has stopped working. I have had more hardware problems with this laptop than I have had with 15 years worth of other computers all put together.

I attach the photo of the top case crack. My question is if in the US Apple are changing the top cases, under an extended guarantee, which have the problem you see below? Also, I have never had a charger stop working on me. Are they changing the charger?
I ask these questions as in Europe they seem to be reluctant in doing so. they call the crack "accidental damage", which means that I broke it, and "cosmetic" which means that it is not important and therefore worthy of their attention.
I would appreciate some feed back. I will be going to Canada for a couple of weeks at the end of the month and was considering bringing the Macbook with me to see if the Apple centres take a differnt view on the matter.
thanks and ciao!!

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

If you somehow get a crack in the palmrest area, they should replace the entire top case. Im not suggesting to intentionally break it, but you can try to accelerate the wear.

 

[Kebabselector]

I just got my Dec 2006 macbook back from the Apple Store were they did the HD replacement for free and also fixed my topcase for free as well.

Great, mine was bought Nov 09, so only a month difference. My original HDD is now an external, but I don't think that should matter too much that said I'm sort tempted to stick the original drive back in, just in case.

Probably will pop in to the Solihull (uk) branch as they changed the top for me last time. May also try to take my iPhone in as welll as it has a bit of dust inside.

 

[dreamsINdigital]

I just got my Dec 2006 macbook back from the Apple Store were they did the HD replacement for free and also fixed my topcase for free as well. I had two cracks in my case but interestingly enough they said only the crack at the front of the case (were the screen touches it when closed) was covered but the other crack to the left of my keyboard was not. It did not matter though as you could not fix one without fixing the other. Only downside was that they did not have the parts in stock so I was out of a computer for seven days. I also had the adapter replaced for free as well about a year ago no questions asked. I've known of others who have had luck getting their cases repaired as well. I almost did not take mine in but then I read about the HD replacement program for the early macbooks so I figured there was a good chance they would fix the topcase if I had it in for something else. By the way, the HD was replaced with a higher capacity on then the one I had as they did not make the old size any more. I have searched for any Apple document stating anything about topcase replacements out of warranty but have not found a thing. The adapter and HD replacement programs are documented however so anyone should be able to have those parts replace without any trouble if you have those issues as well.

Good to know. That's the same thing I'm about to do. The hard drive on my 2006 MacBook died a long time ago, and I replaced it, but I still kept the original hard drive because I was sure they would recall it. I'm going to slip it back in and get it replaced to keep as a spare. What size hard drive did they replace yours with?

I haven't heard about the adapter replacement before. Why did you get yours replaced? I don't have any issues with my adapter, but would they replace it anyways if I brought it in?

I have a crack on my palmrest and also a hairline crack on the shiny outer plastic near where the magnet is located on the screen. Hopefully they'll replace both.

 

[Barkaritaville]

Good to know. That's the same thing I'm about to do. The hard drive on my 2006 MacBook died a long time ago, and I replaced it, but I still kept the original hard drive because I was sure they would recall it. I'm going to slip it back in and get it replaced to keep as a spare. What size hard drive did they replace yours with?

I haven't heard about the adapter replacement before. Why did you get yours replaced? I don't have any issues with my adapter, but would they replace it anyways if I brought it in?

I have a crack on my palmrest and also a hairline crack on the shiny outer plastic near where the magnet is located on the screen. Hopefully they'll replace both.

They replaced my original 120 with a 160 (not a big difference but nice all the same). I too had my drive die about a year ago and saved it so I just popped it back in and put back my original shipping memory just in case. They also upgraded me from Tiger to Leopard as well as installed the latest version of iLife on the drive. I thought I was going to just get an unformatted drive back but they set it up good. I'll probably put it in an external enclosure as well. The adapter was replaced because the wires at the brick end became frayed inside and shorted out (leaving me with a melted little mess of rubber/plastic). There is an article at Apple support that explains under what conditions they will replace it and it did not have an end date like the HDD replacement does. I just took it into my local Apple Store and they replaced it no questions asked as well.

Magsafe Replacement: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1713
HDD Replacement: http://www.apple.com/support/macbook/hd/repairextension/

 

[bri65]

If you somehow get a crack in the palmrest area, they should replace the entire top case. Im not suggesting to intentionally break it, but you can try to accelerate the wear.

you read my mind!!
will give you an update after my trip to Canada
All this said, it is sad that a brand like Apple should intentionally downgrade in terms of quality to compete with the rest on the same pathetic level!! I guess that in producing quality you have the burden of higher costs. Their clients did not seem to mind!! Their loss!!

 

[AlphaDogg]

I also had the adapter replaced for free as well about a year ago no questions asked. .

I have had my charger replaced twice, under warranty, no questions asked!

 

[dreamsINdigital]

When they replace the topcase, do they always replace the entire piece including the keyboard and trackpad?

 

[Kebabselector]

The Mouse, Keyboard and top plate are all part of the same unit so when they replace the top plate the whole lot changes.

 

[Kebabselector]

Took it in and Apple are fine to replace it again. This time it's slightly different though as they are also replacing the Monitor bezel. So hopefully it'll last this time. I didn't get it done straight away as they haven't got the parts. I should be able to drop the Macbook book in Tuesday for same day fix.

Also whilst I was there the genius replaced my iPhone screen for the dust issue. He did say it was probably the dustiest iPhone he'd seen!

 

[X5-452]

I have an original Rev A MacBook from 2007 that has had the top case crack 4 times. I had extended Apple care on it, but that expired last year as the machine is now 4+ years old.

I literally spent 45 minutes on the phone with Apple today talking to a "senior advisor" who in the end told me that my computer was out of date, but since this was a known issue for me, that they would still honour repairs on it.

I guess that's nice since they'll replace my casing, but still, a new computer would have been nice....

 

[bri65]

Macbook crack

UPDATE - I have just got back to Italy after my vacation in Canada. While in Toronto I took my Macbook to the Apple Store and without batting an eyelid, they changed the top case at no cost. They also gave me, FREE, an old never used charger that they had, as the new stile ones with new attachment, did not work on my laptop. Apple Italy and Apple Europe (Ireland) refused to do anything about the crack or the charger!!

I find it disgusting that in Italy and probably in the rest of Europe, we pay so much more for Apple products but receive less consideration when it comes to the after sales service. Being treated as 3rd class citizen is something that i do not accept!!!

I will not let this matter drop here! I don't see why the rest of the world should subsidise the lower prices of Apple products in N. America. Thank you Apple Toronto. No thank you what so ever to Apple in general!!!!

Hi there. I am writing to you from Italy where in July 2008 I baught a white 13" macbook. After a year the bottom case showed craks all over. a couple of months later a crack developed on the top case near the FN key. More recently the charger has stopped working. I have had more hardware problems with this laptop than I have had with 15 years worth of other computers all put together.

I attach the photo of the top case crack. My question is if in the US Apple are changing the top cases, under an extended guarantee, which have the problem you see below? Also, I have never had a charger stop working on me. Are they changing the charger?
I ask these questions as in Europe they seem to be reluctant in doing so. they call the crack "accidental damage", which means that I broke it, and "cosmetic" which means that it is not important and therefore worthy of their attention.
I would appreciate some feed back. I will be going to Canada for a couple of weeks at the end of the month and was considering bringing the Macbook with me to see if the Apple centres take a differnt view on the matter.
thanks and ciao!!

[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

 

[Xenophon]

Glad you got it sorted out. Unfortunately I can only confirm that Apple Europe/Asia (outside Japan) are MUCH more restrictive in agreeing to repairs than Apple America.

AppleCare should get you the same level of service everywhere. We're paying more for the privilege of getting screwed.