Popular YouTuber Says Apple Won't Fix His iMac Pro Damaged While Disassembled

[macmanmass]

As porky pig would say......B'de B'de B'de..... Thats TIM folks!

Ugh. I miss Steve's Apple.

 

[AdonisSMU]

And as much I love my iPhones and Apple Watches this is one reason I will never buy a Mac of any kind. Not to mention overpriced. Linus can't fix it himself as he can't even obtain the parts and he's even willing to pay whatever it costs but they still refuse to fix it. Bloody pathetic and I hope this becomes a PR nightmare for Apple.

I will always build my own custom PC's, at least it something breaks it's damn easy to fix/replace. By a Mac, if it breaks due to your own fault there is a good chance it's now a paperweight.

Most of us don’t break it beyond repair and go on YouTube and say we want to sell it on eBay to some unsuspecting user. Damaged machines even after being fixed aren’t as good as new and referbuished machines.

I am almost positive the legal team looked at this and said nope.

 

[Regime2008]

I get the argument. Its flawed. He literally damaged the device beyond repair on purpose. Secondly if Apple give him all the pieces then he could just build his own iMacs. They have to give business secrets away. Not going to happen.

How can he build mac's, by getting a couple of parts? And what secrets are in the all in one? I haven't seen any magic or fairy dust in the disassembly videos? It's just a motherboard, processor, ram, etc, all crammed into a shell, with a screen attached. There are no secrets. If anything thermals are something to be worried about in pretty much every iMac in existence.

 

[4jasontv]

Most of us don’t break it beyond repair and go on YouTube and say we want to sell it on eBay to some unsuspecting user.

Really? Don't be like that. He said he wanted to fix it so he could sell it. And he never said he wouldn't disclose the repairs.

 

[BlargKing]

Or even paid-for repairs - which no company would take on. Some are so naive.

I'm willing to bet any other company would. If I disassembled my Lenovo right now, scratched off some of the PCB traces on the motherboard, and emailed Lenovo asking for them to put a new motherboard in at my own cost, I'm sure they would be happy to take my cash and put a new motherboard in it.

 

[Waragainstsleep]

Because I like OS X. Why are YOU here?

I'm helpfully explaining things to people getting needlessly incensed.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Really? Don't be like that. He said he wanted to fix it so he could sell it. And he never said he wouldn't disclose the repairs.

Everyone knows repaired devices always have lingering issues or are more likely to especially given the condition this machine is in.

It appears no authorized dealers would fix it either. So there is that.

I understand the need for fixing a desktop machine but this guy isn’t the one to stick up for here.

 

[341328]

This is why I don't use apple computers. This is shocking of Apple to not fix while being paid to do so.
[doublepost=1524095741][/doublepost]

if you think you're clever enough to open it up and modify it, you should be clever enough to fix it yourself

ridiculous

 

[BlargKing]

Everyone knows repaired devices always have lingering issues or are more likely to especially given the condition this machine is in.

It appears no authorized dealers would fix it either. So there is that.

"Repairs have lingering issues" Then its not repaired properly is it? I've had plenty of electronics go in for repair and they worked flawlessly for years afterwards.

 

[Stargaze]

if you think you're clever enough to open it up and modify it, you should be clever enough to fix it yourself

if Apple would SELL THEM THE PARTS they need to repair it themselves they would. However Apple is not only refusing to complete a repair they are also refusing to sell them the parts they want to fix it.

 

[dr34mc4st3r]

let me guess reading isn't your forte? He wants to PAY to repair it, I dont know how the hell warranty even came into this picture.

I believe there is additional warranty given by Apple after a repair.

 

[juri-han]

Do you think your laptop would have been repaired (and warranted) if you disassembled it and sent it back to the factory as a box full of parts?

No lmao but it came down to my word vs theirs and what if they said I tampered with it and voided my whole warranty? They did at least offer to fix it at a cost of $200 tho.... witch as I said after a back and forth they fixed it for free

 

[4jasontv]

Everyone knows repaired devices always have lingering issues or are more likely to especially given the condition this machine is in.

So you can't sell something that was fixed? There goes 90% of the used car market.

It appears no authorized dealers would fix it either. So there is that.

Cause they don't have the part. Because Apple isn't sending it to them...

I understand the need for fixing a desktop machine but this guy isn’t the one to stick up for here.

What? Why not? A customer got screwed over. It just so happens he has a platform to express his experience to millions of high end users who listen to him for advice.

 

[Waragainstsleep]

If Apple sells you a part and you screw up installing it so the part goes pop, you could try to claim that the new part was faulty and now its Apple's fault so they have to pay to repair your Mac, even if you agreed it was OOW originally. Maybe that part takes other parts with it so now Apple is liable for testing, replacing and fitting those too. Maybe it burns your house down. Now Apple is paying you millions because you mishandled two parts you had no earthly right to think you could install in the first place and your kids burned alive in their sleep.

You may not be aware but these expensive and high precision parts are sensitive to static electricity. Those shocks you get when you touch your car sometimes? If you can feel them they are several thousand volts and it doesn't take a fraction of that to destroy a logic board. You get many more shocks that you don't feel. And they don't necessarily kill the part right away. They might just do enough damage so they die in a week or a month. Equipment and precautions are required to prevent this damage. Many trained techs don't bother serving these, Youtubers almost certainly don't but Apple can hardly be expected to even try to train any idiot who wants to buy parts in these measures. It wouldn't work if they did.

Enjoy this gem on the subject:

 

[jeremiah256]

You won't have to worry about this issues in the future because soon enough you won't be able to do JACK on Apple's soldered together components.

Yeah, but unfortunately, it's not just an Apple trend.

One of the negative consequences of putting machine learning and AI in everything will be manufacturers claiming (and to be fair, perhaps rightly so) that the way their tech works together is so complicated and delicate, they can't just let anyone mess with it or update it for safety reasons. All brands are going to nickel and dime us in the near future.

I'm sure there's a perfect German word for how screwed we'll be in the next 5-10 years. All I could find was zukünftiger schmerz.

 

[AdonisSMU]

So you can't sell something that was fixed? There goes 90% of the used car market.



Cause they don't have the part. Because Apple isn't sending it to them...



What? Why not? A customer got screwed over. It just so happens he has a platform to express his experience to millions of high end users who listen to him for advice.

This computer is equivalent to being in a significant car accident that totaled the car.

 

[Waragainstsleep]

Cause they don't have the part. Because Apple isn't sending it to them...

An outright lie from ONE independent shop. Apple's logistics game is second to none. Those parts are available to service centres anywhere in the developed world next day delivery. Given the cost of the required parts, an AASP would be sensible to tread very carefully.

What? Why not? A customer got screwed over. It just so happens he has a platform to express his experience to millions of high end users who listen to him for advice.

He screwed himself. Companies cover their asses against dishonest and litigious customers all the time, why is it so crazy when Apple do it?

 

[Average Pro]

Couldn't watch more than 3 seconds (draw your own conclusion). Does the video qualify for click-bait?

 

[4jasontv]

This computer is equivalent to being in a significant car accident that totaled the car.

A totaled car: one that is cheaper to replace than fix. You can still fix it.
[doublepost=1524096926][/doublepost]

An outright lie from ONE independent shop. Apple's logistics game is second to none. Those parts are available to service centres anywhere in the developed world next day delivery. Given the cost of the required parts, an AASP would be sensible to tread very carefully.

If it was a lie from a shop Linus should share who is refusing service so customers know about their business practices. If Apple has a policy that puts repair centers at risk because they repaired any device in any condition, than Apple should be investigated. The cost of the part is meaningless since he offered to pay for it.

He screwed himself. Companies cover their asses against dishonest and litigious customers all the time, why is it so crazy when Apple do it?

Because there is no dishonestly or litigation? A customer requested a repair. It's only an issue because Apple strongarms repairs. How did he screw himself exactly? He could have taken it swimming. He still has the right to a repair at his expense.
[doublepost=1524096974][/doublepost]

Couldn't watch more than 3 seconds (draw your own conclusion). Does the video qualify for click-bait?

No. The video is fine.

 

[AdonisSMU]

A totaled car: one that is cheaper to replace than fix. You can still fix it.

Neither of us know how much it would cost. Secondly,

BMW does for several reasons, but the biggest one is liability. Imagine someone buys a BMW from a sleazy shop that improperly rebuilt a salvaged car. That customer goes to BMW for some unrelated repair/service and a week later they get seriously injured (or killed) in an accident where the cause was the fact the car was improperly repaired.

Who do you think the lawyers are going to go after? The shop that rebuilt the car or BMW? It's always those with the deepest pockets that get sued. The logic behind these types of claims (which I've seen lots of) is that the BMW dealer, being experts in BMW's, should have noticed issues with the car, and were negligent in letting the vehicle leave the shop. This is compounded by the fact that BMW would have the VIN flagged and the dealer would know it was written off. Therefore, they should have taken extra care when working on the vehicle to make sure it was safe to drive.

There was even a shop here where a customer brought in a vehicle for inspection which was clearly unsafe to drive. They told the customer it's not safe to drive and had them sign a waiver before they left the shop (they actually told the customer they should tow it away, but they refused). They got into an accident and guess who got sued? The shop for letting the vehicle leave in an unsafe state.

Another example of liability is Mercedes and training vehicles. They literally destroy them after use (most manufacturers sell them as demos or similar). I once investigated a fire in a brand new Mercedes where a battery cable had melted and caused some minor damage (perhaps $3,000). Mercedes gave the customer a new car and crushed the old one. I couldn't believe they'd crush a car with such minor damage. I asked them if any staff (like a Mercedes technician) could buy these cars for their own use. They stated nobody can buy them and they crush them to prevent them from ever getting into the hands of those sleazy shops who will repair anything to make a quick buck.

I have seen a lot of cases where shops would refuse to take a customers money. Moreso with the higher-end vehicles. I've also seen a lot of cases where they don't give a damn and will work on anything, just to make money.


This gets back to my previous post. Apple is acting like Mercedes here by preventing a severely damaged iMac Pro from being repaired and getting back into the market. Because if something goes wrong, you know who will get the blame.

 

[4jasontv]

Neither of us know how much it would cost.

The cost isn't important. It could $100k. The option to do so should have been made to him on his first attempt to have it fixed.

 

[ehrman]

On one side, they knowingly took apart the iMac Pro (voiding warranty) but on the other end, 3rd party repair shops should have access to the parts as necessary for these rare incidents so that customers can pay for out of warranty repairs.

Also, 1.4 million views in less than 24 hours. Regardless of Linus's right/wrongness, this is a text book PR nightmare.

Voiding a warranty because a customer services a product themselves has been illegal since the seventies. This very issue has been in all over the news for the past two weeks.

 

[robotfist]

Boohoo. Another rich ******* destroys some super expensive equipment in an attempt to gain Youtube views. I'm so tired of this kind of ****. There are genuine people in need out there and this guy is throwing $8000 down the tube and then complaining to the public when he can't get it back. I have no sympathy.

 

[AdonisSMU]

The cost isn't important. It could $100k. The option to do so should have been made to him on his first attempt to have it fixed.

I'm not sold on either side yet. I'm torn on this. I can see where it might pose an issue. However, I just don't think this is that case. The computer was totaled....ie... you can't fix it without replacing the whole machine.

 

[citysnaps]

I'm willing to bet any other company would. If I disassembled my Lenovo right now, scratched off some of the PCB traces on the motherboard, and emailed Lenovo asking for them to put a new motherboard in at my own cost, I'm sure they would be happy to take my cash and put a new motherboard in it.

Is that Lenovo a laptop, or other "sealed" computer - similar to the iMac Pro, which this story is about?

Or is it one where users are expected to open the case from time to time to install/replace cards?

Huge difference.

How about your mobile phone? Could you disassemble it, damage one of the modules, send the modules back in a box, and expect to get the factory to repair the device for a repair fee - inside or outside of warranty? And expect the repairs to be warranted for 90 days?