Powerbook repair: Go to the store or call Apple?

[AlBDamned]

Hi all,

My Powerbook has just suffered lower RAM slot failure which, I understand, means a new logic board. It's well within warranty and I was hoping some of you might be able to offer advice on the best course of action.

Do I:

•*Ring Apple, get them pick it up/I send and do it that way?

•*Take it into the Regent Street store in London and have them look at it?

I figure i will lose it for a few days which at this moment in time is annoying but not not as bad as it could have been (i.e happening last month or next month).

Not having ever returned anything to Apple directly before, I've checked out online, Genius bar bookings at Regent Street but it's always full and I don't want to stroll up on Saturday morning with it because the place is always bursting.

What should I do? Can anyone tell of any recent UK repair stories, Apple store or otherwise?

 

[spinne1]

Hi all,

My Powerbook has just suffered lower RAM slot failure which, I understand, means a new logic board. It's well within warranty and I was hoping some of you might be able to offer advice on the best course of action.

Do I:

•*Ring Apple, get them pick it up/I send and do it that way?

•*Take it into the Regent Street store in London and have them look at it?

I figure i will lose it for a few days which at this moment in time is annoying but not not as bad as it could have been (i.e happening last month or next month).

Not having ever returned anything to Apple directly before, I've checked out online, Genius bar bookings at Regent Street but it's always full and I don't want to stroll up on Saturday morning with it because the place is always bursting.

What should I do? Can anyone tell of any recent UK repair stories, Apple store or otherwise?

Ring Apple and ask them what you should do. They will either have you send it in or send you to a repair facility.

 

[Applespider]

Not having ever returned anything to Apple directly before, I've checked out online, Genius bar bookings at Regent Street but it's always full and I don't want to stroll up on Saturday morning with it because the place is always bursting.

If you have Applecare, call Apple and get them to send you a box. You may however be told to take it into the store anyhow or to a repair centre. It sometimes seems to depend on what mood they're in. But at least if they send you a box today, it might be on the way back before Saturday...

I think they changed the Genius Bar booking system so that you can only book online for the same hour period rather than all day. If you go into the store, you can book all day long.

I've taken something on a prebooked (Procare) appointment at 11am before on a Saturday morning. And at that point, the next appointment time was 1230. I suspect if you got there when it first opened, you'd get an appointment time before 12 - at which point you go and sit in the Starbucks round the corner until 15 minutes beforehand!

Lastly, if you send it in, make sure you take out any 3rd party RAM you have in it. Otherwise, they might just send it back with the RAM in a jiffy bag saying that was the problem...

 

[AlBDamned]

Thanks guys, going to call them at lunch and see what they say then...

 

[AlBDamned]

Hang on a sec: Would this problem count as a 'support incident'? I.e, am I going to get charged £35 for calling them? I don't have Applecare yet and it's out of the 90 day support , but if I'm going to get stung for £35 I may as well buy Applecare right now?

 

[Applespider]

Hang on a sec: Would this problem count as a 'support incident'? I.e, am I going to get charged £35 for calling them? I don't have Applecare yet and it's out of the 90 day support , but if I'm going to get stung for £35 I may as well buy Applecare right now?

Yup particularly if you were going to anyhow... although IIRC, if it is proved to be a hardware problem, you get your £35 back.

 

[AlBDamned]

Yup particularly if you were going to anyhow... although IIRC, if it is proved to be a hardware problem, you get your £35 back.

Update: Spoke to Applecare who gave me a case number and referred me to my local AARC, which is about 200 metres from my house, Honeylight Computers in Wandsworth. Spoke to them and they said they could/would do the repair there and it would be an estimated 5-10 working days...

Still not sure whether Regent Street would be a better option but this one is certainly much, much easier and they seem to check out OK. Two weeks seems a long time though

One good thing seeems to be no request for £35 - yet. Apple care for Powerbooks is pricey too, but not as pricey as a new logic board I suspect.

 

[AlBDamned]

Update:

Bit the bullet and rolled up to the Regent Street Apple store at 9.25am on Saturday. I was 8th in line and by 10am when the store opened there was about a 50-75 people waiting to see a Genius.

By 10.15, my Powerbook was in their hands and I was getting a repair sheet. Supposedly, a new logic board will take 5-10 days but we will see...

The 'genius' said he didn't think it was anything to do with software updates, just the logic boards in general failed a lot. Good stuff. Also, he said had I bought it a full Apple store or from Apple directly, they would replace it. But seeing as I bought it from a 3rd party store, they are only liable to repair it and replacement lies with the 3rd party store. Fair enough. I saved over £300 when I bought it so I'm not complaining. Just hope it comes back ok.