Retina MacBook Pro delivered without operating system installed

[TheMacBookPro]

As title states.

My Retina MacBook Pro was delivered today- I ordered it directly off the Apple Online Store and it shipped from the Quanta factory in Shanghai, not a reseller or warehouse. Sealed box and everything.

When I booted it up, it went straight into Lion Recovery. Found that a bit odd, so I confirmed that the keys weren't stuck and checked Disk Utility- 499.9GB total capacity (I ordered the 512GB SSD), 499.4GB available

Figured I would just install Lion so selected the second option (Reinstall OS X), connected it to my Wi-Fi and hit download. Estimated time: 60 hours and slowly increasing. After confirming that there wasn't anything wrong with the connection (connected my PC laptop to the same network and downloaded an IPSW file off Apple's servers, hitting around 500KBps) I let it sit for several hours. After noticing that the download bar wasn't moving much, I hit cancel, turned it off then tried again. Nope, still ridiculously slow and yes I did try several known functioning networks.

Gave up and called Apple- they gave me the option of exchanging it, but a replacement would take 3-4 weeks as it would be at the back of the queue. Escalated to a supervisor- they're sending over a Lion USB recovery drive via snail mail, I'll have to wait about a week before it arrives. Says I should call back after it's sorted to see if there's any 'compensation for your time' they can offer.

Eventually I downloaded the Mountain Lion preview (blazing fast direct off Apple's servers), loaded it onto a flash drive with TransMac then installed it without any issues. It's currently downloading the DP update at a reasonable 200KBps. Clearly, not an issue on my end.

Just wondering whether or not this has happened to anyone else before (both the slow download and no OS loaded)

tl;dr MacBook delivered without OS loaded, Lion internet recovery takes forever, Apple offers to send Lion USB recovery drive, eventually just loaded ML DP4 and downloads off Apple servers on same network are just fine, anyone else?

 

[zackkmac]

When the MacBook Pros were first released I ordered a 17" model, and it arrived with no OS. Luckily it came with OS X recovery discs, but I had to wait on it to install Tiger before I could enjoy it.

 

[-Ken-]

This happened to me last year with a MBP, fortunately I had a Snow Leopard disc. Same ordering situation, directly shipped from China.

How did you get yours so quickly?

 

[skywalkerr69]

LOL thats funny, sucks for you but if you saw that on TV you would laugh.

 

[VacantPsalm]

...Says I should call back after it's sorted to see if there's any 'compensation for your time' they can offer...

Honestly that sounds pretty awesome, especially since you were able to grab a ML DP so you can still play around with your new rMBP.

 

[Stetrain]

Unless they special made the USB key with the version of Lion that ships on the RMBP, it probably won't work because it won't have the necessary drivers.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

I've just found another thing that needs fixing... I can't redownload iLife since the App Store doesn't think I've already 'purchased' it. Another call to tech support...

When the MacBook Pros were first released I ordered a 17" model, and it arrived with no OS. Luckily it came with OS X recovery discs, but I had to wait on it to install Tiger before I could enjoy it.

This happened to me last year with a MBP, fortunately I had a Snow Leopard disc. Same ordering situation, directly shipped from China.

Hm, so it's happened before. Interesting. Thanks for letting me know. Makes me feel a bit less unlucky

How did you get yours so quickly?

This isn't considered that fast haha, there are several people in the US who received theirs last week. I ordered minutes after the store came back up, 5-7 business day shipping estimate at that time. Came one day early lol

LOL thats funny, sucks for you but if you saw that on TV you would laugh.

Seeing as how you're a stockholder, you shouldn't find this very funny. Your manufacturing company is sloppy and now your company is going to give me freebies, meaning you'll lose some of your profit

Honestly that sounds pretty awesome, especially since you were able to grab a ML DP so you can still play around with your new rMBP.

I'm happy now, wasn't very happy when it wouldn't boot into OS X after it arrived Having to figure out how to restore a DMG to a flash drive in Windows wasn't fun (my iMac is at my office, and I can't wait 24 hours with the shiny laptop staring at me!)
I wonder what 'compensation' they're willing to offer. Probably a $20 gift card or something to shut me up lol.

Unless they special made the USB key with the version of Lion that ships on the RMBP, it probably won't work because it won't have the necessary drivers.

That's a good point actually. Doesn't it check for updates before installation or something like that though? I'll have to ask later.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Looks like they also forgot to stick the spec sticker on the back too...

Unless they don't stick them on CTO macbooks any more?

 

[zurichuk]

I'd happily take this scenario, if it meant it got delivered 2 weeks earlier than currently scheduled

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Haha, you should've just put your order in immediately after the launch

I'm happy how this situation has ended- the rep offered an iPhone case but I talked him into sending me a free iPad Smart Case

 

[luthrar]

Compensation

This is terrible. Please keep updating on what happens and of course what compensation Apple finally offers. I think given that you have spent a significant amount of money, you should really receive sizeable compensation.

As title states.

My Retina MacBook Pro was delivered today- I ordered it directly off the Apple Online Store and it shipped from the Quanta factory in Shanghai, not a reseller or warehouse. Sealed box and everything.

When I booted it up, it went straight into Lion Recovery. Found that a bit odd, so I confirmed that the keys weren't stuck and checked Disk Utility- 499.9GB total capacity (I ordered the 512GB SSD), 499.4GB available

Figured I would just install Lion so selected the second option (Reinstall OS X), connected it to my Wi-Fi and hit download. Estimated time: 60 hours and slowly increasing. After confirming that there wasn't anything wrong with the connection (connected my PC laptop to the same network and downloaded an IPSW file off Apple's servers, hitting around 500KBps) I let it sit for several hours. After noticing that the download bar wasn't moving much, I hit cancel, turned it off then tried again. Nope, still ridiculously slow and yes I did try several known functioning networks.

Gave up and called Apple- they gave me the option of exchanging it, but a replacement would take 3-4 weeks as it would be at the back of the queue. Escalated to a supervisor- they're sending over a Lion USB recovery drive via snail mail, I'll have to wait about a week before it arrives. Says I should call back after it's sorted to see if there's any 'compensation for your time' they can offer.

Eventually I downloaded the Mountain Lion preview (blazing fast direct off Apple's servers), loaded it onto a flash drive with TransMac then installed it without any issues. It's currently downloading the DP update at a reasonable 200KBps. Clearly, not an issue on my end.

Just wondering whether or not this has happened to anyone else before (both the slow download and no OS loaded)

tl;dr MacBook delivered without OS loaded, Lion internet recovery takes forever, Apple offers to send Lion USB recovery drive, eventually just loaded ML DP4 and downloads off Apple servers on same network are just fine, anyone else?

 

[Orange Furball]

So they only gave you the smart cover?

Although, the lion USB is cool too. Sell it on ebay when your done

 

[TheMacBookPro]

This is terrible. Please keep updating on what happens and of course what compensation Apple finally offers. I think given that you have spent a significant amount of money, you should really receive sizeable compensation.

They're sending out an iPad Smart Case (which I was going to buy anyways) and the Lion USB recovery drive. I don't really need anything else... they can't give out gift cards apparently, and I don't need a SuperDrive or a Magic Mouse/Trackpad (already have a SuperDrive from my Air and a Mouse from my iMac, and the computer already has a built-in trackpad).

So they only gave you the smart cover?

Although, the lion USB is cool too. Sell it on ebay when your done

Oops, I meant Smart Case. They're sending me a Lion USB recovery drive and the Smart Case. I'm not too happy with my current snap on rear cover and Smart Cover since it won't stand up properly and I like the look of the Smart Case.

Is there something else I should have pushed for? Lol

I was thinking of selling the Lion recovery drive but I'm not sure if the USB recovery drive actually worth anything, not too many people need it I think. Might wipe it and use it as a fancy flash drive, or throw Mountain Lion on it when that comes out so I'll always have a way of going back to stock without a huge download

 

[Orange Furball]

Oops, I meant Smart Case. They're sending me a Lion USB recovery drive and the Smart Case. I'm not too happy with my current snap on rear cover and Smart Cover since it won't stand up properly and I like the look of the Smart Case.

Is there something else I should have pushed for? Lol

I was thinking of selling the Lion recovery drive but I'm not sure if the USB recovery drive actually worth anything, not too many people need it I think. Might wipe it and use it as a fancy flash drive, or throw Mountain Lion on it when that comes out so I'll always have a way of going back to stock without a huge download

I would have asked for a free iPod or something

Milk that corporate cow! You got a good deal though. The fancy flash drive is worth the hassle I suppose.

Although I have heard the smart case isn't all that good. But I have never used one. (I'm all android. No iOS for me)

 

[TheMacBookPro]

I would have asked for a free iPod or something

Milk that corporate cow! You got a good deal though. The fancy flash drive is worth the hassle I suppose.

Although I have heard the smart case isn't all that good. But I have never used one. (I'm all android. No iOS for me)

LOL. I tried asking for an iPod classic and he just laughed.

I've heard it isn't great, but it certainly looks like it would work for my needs. I just want a case with the smart cover logic that will stand up properly in the folded position. I can probably return it for a gift card or something if I don't like it though.

 

[Orange Furball]

LOL. I tried asking for an iPod classic and he just laughed.

I've heard it isn't great, but it certainly looks like it would work for my needs. I just want a case with the smart cover logic that will stand up properly in the folded position. I can probably return it for a gift card or something if I don't like it though.

You should have freaked out and escalated it more I bet you could've got one. It would probably take a few hours of being on hold waiting for that darn music to stop.... not worth it the more I think about it.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

You should have freaked out and escalated it more I bet you could've got one. It would probably take a few hours of being on hold waiting for that darn music to stop.... not worth it the more I think about it.

I honestly think their maximum compensation is ~$99 in accessories or something like that.

I'm happy enough with the Lion USB drive and Smart Case- that's still $120 worth of goodies. They could have just told me to just download the recovery and bugger off or tell me to go to the Apple Store to get it fixed.

Oh and before I forget- they gave me three download codes to re-download iPhoto/iMovie/GarageBand off the App Store. Just glad I'm getting what I paid for.

 

[numnutz2005]

I was thinking of selling the Lion recovery drive but I'm not sure if the USB recovery drive actually worth anything, not too many people need it I think. Might wipe it and use it as a fancy flash drive, or throw Mountain Lion on it when that comes out so I'll always have a way of going back to stock without a huge download

If u had an image of the recov drive that would actually help me out. I went all the way to delaware to get the maxed retina display mbp and when i got home and turned it on i noticed i cant boot into anything not even the built in recovery hd partition on the machine. It took 3 hours to get to the mall to get this damn thing so i dont want to have to send it to apple and cant return it because i would have to either drive all the way back to de or pay the normal tax but no disks boot on this damn thing! I mean how can a company like apple release a machine with no way to image it in the event that something like this happens?? I spent like 3500 bucks after my discount and now its literally a silver backlit paperweight and cant be used at all until they provide some kinda solution for me cause the stores cant reimage it either!!!!

 

[sireShonBohn]

If u had an image of the recov drive that would actually help me out. I went all the way to delaware to get the maxed retina display mbp and when i got home and turned it on i noticed i cant boot into anything not even the built in recovery hd partition on the machine. It took 3 hours to get to the mall to get this damn thing so i dont want to have to send it to apple and cant return it because i would have to either drive all the way back to de or pay the normal tax but no disks boot on this damn thing! I mean how can a company like apple release a machine with no way to image it in the event that something like this happens?? I spent like 3500 bucks after my discount and now its literally a silver backlit paperweight and cant be used at all until they provide some kinda solution for me cause the stores cant reimage it either!!!!

Can you install Windows on it?

 

[TheMacBookPro]

If u had an image of the recov drive that would actually help me out. I went all the way to delaware to get the maxed retina display mbp and when i got home and turned it on i noticed i cant boot into anything not even the built in recovery hd partition on the machine. It took 3 hours to get to the mall to get this damn thing so i dont want to have to send it to apple and cant return it because i would have to either drive all the way back to de or pay the normal tax but no disks boot on this damn thing! I mean how can a company like apple release a machine with no way to image it in the event that something like this happens?? I spent like 3500 bucks after my discount and now its literally a silver backlit paperweight and cant be used at all until they provide some kinda solution for me cause the stores cant reimage it either!!!!

Use Internet Recovery if you can't even boot into the Recovery HD. Cmd-R during startup IIRC.