Thank you APPLE! Free MBP

[maestrocasa]

I'm just too excited and had to share:

Apple has agreed to replace my late 2007 MBP (2.2GHz) with a new unibody MBP, free of charge!

I've been using apple products since the glory days of the IIe and have never had trouble like I've had with this MBP.

Here's what's been done so far:
replace display (twice) -- 1st, dead pixels. 2nd, dead backlight
replace Logic Board
replace Optical Drive
replace audio card
and now the optical drive has failed again.

I swear I baby this thing. It's never anywhere except in a case or on a desk. but it does move a couple times a day. Anyone else have major problems with the 2007 MBP?

an interesting side note: I have applecare on this machine (Thank God!). I've never, ever purchased applecare before (i'm not really an extended warranty kind of guy), but just felt like I should get it with this machine. Was it a premonition? A sign from some sort of higher power? A moment of stupidity that happened to pay off this time? or maybe it's just a good idea with modern Apple machines? What's your take on AppleCare?

I do have to say that Apple was friendly, gracious, and speedy in dealing with this replacement issue. Thank you Apple for great service!

 

[MacModMachine]

glad to hear....my 2007 was also replaced in jan 09

unibody now....i had 3 logic board (video card failures)

before they insisited i take a new machine...

i also had 3 year applecare which they refunded my leftover apple care and i repurchased a new one for the unibody so its like a new notebook

 

[miles01110]

AppleCare is nearly always worth it. I've been responsible for about a dozen Macs in the past few years, two of which have required major repairs. Those two repairs easily cover the cost of getting AppleCare for a dozen machines.

 

[GoCubsGo]

To be more percise you're simply getting a new machine, it wasn't free. The money spend on the 2007 model, the time you wasted sending it back and forth to Apple, explaining your issues over and over again, and of course gas if you had to actually drive. In short, the "upgrade" you get with the replacement (upgrade being an updated machine) is compensation for time wasted.

All in all Apple did the right thing but I have to admit after the third repair I would have started making waves. Your patience paid off.

 

[maestrocasa]

To be more percise you're simply getting a new machine, it wasn't free. The money spend on the 2007 model, the time you wasted sending it back and forth to Apple, explaining your issues over and over again, and of course gas if you had to actually drive. In short, the "upgrade" you get with the replacement (upgrade being an updated machine) is compensation for time wasted.

All in all Apple did the right thing but I have to admit after the third repair I would have started making waves. Your patience paid off.

Right you are. And considering that the closest apple authorized service center is 75 miles away, I've spent a fair bit of time and money dealing with that machine. OK, so not free, but a friendly and fairly priced upgrade

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Congratulations, that is a great story and all credit to both you and Apple. One of the reasons I eventually switched to Apple was the fact that they honour their warranties - two iPods died under warranty a few years ago (battery issues) and both were replaced swiftly, without any attempt to seek refuge in contractual small-print.

Re Applecare, I bought Applecare for my 2008 MBP; thus far, I have not needed it, but it gives peace of mind and I would recommend it to anyone.

Cheers and good luck

 

[PDE]

To be more percise you're simply getting a new machine, it wasn't free. The money spend on the 2007 model, the time you wasted sending it back and forth to Apple, explaining your issues over and over again, and of course gas if you had to actually drive. In short, the "upgrade" you get with the replacement (upgrade being an updated machine) is compensation for time wasted.

All in all Apple did the right thing but I have to admit after the third repair I would have started making waves. Your patience paid off.

Agreed. I have received a few 'free' replacements from Apple over the years and each time I'm thrilled and excited. When I calm down to think about it, I realise that it's really the least they could do given the repeated issues I had experienced with those computers. Still, it's nice to get a replacement and get rid of a problematic unit! Enjoy!

 

[Hellion]

Hey I had a Powerbook replaced before by the at the time new Core Duo Macbook Pro with 1 1/2 years left on Applecare and got no refund... ahh fooweee

 

[marbles]

I hear one or two stories like this and happy hat people get sorted eventually but man it's a struggle to deal with applecare sometimes , more so I hear of problems with macs , especially over the last few years, quality has gone down IMHO since 2005

~d

 

[acurafan]

the fact that you encountered enough problems to justify a brand new model says a lot about apple's quality...i do understand warranty service is part of life, having that much issues to get a new one would peeve me off.

i buy a laptop i expect to have the original until i get rid of it down the road. but i'm glad applecare did the right thing for you.

 

[5DollaFootlong]

I'm just too excited and had to share:

Apple has agreed to replace my late 2007 MBP (2.2GHz) with a new unibody MBP, free of charge!

I've been using apple products since the glory days of the IIe and have never had trouble like I've had with this MBP.

Here's what's been done so far:
replace display (twice) -- 1st, dead pixels. 2nd, dead backlight
replace Logic Board
replace Optical Drive
replace audio card
and now the optical drive has failed again.

I swear I baby this thing. It's never anywhere except in a case or on a desk. but it does move a couple times a day. Anyone else have major problems with the 2007 MBP?

an interesting side note: I have applecare on this machine (Thank God!). I've never, ever purchased applecare before (i'm not really an extended warranty kind of guy), but just felt like I should get it with this machine. Was it a premonition? A sign from some sort of higher power? A moment of stupidity that happened to pay off this time? or maybe it's just a good idea with modern Apple machines? What's your take on AppleCare?

I do have to say that Apple was friendly, gracious, and speedy in dealing with this replacement issue. Thank you Apple for great service!

wow the same exact thing happened to me when my 2008 white macbook went under 2 hard drive changes, 1 fried usb port, 1 whitespot display, and one optical drive. After that, the manager volunteered to give me 2.4 ghz unibody macbook which was $300 more than the original one i had purchased. i love apple service

 

[Warranty Voider]

I love applecare. I don't know why my friends don't get it when they buy new apple products, but it has always paid for itself. For example, I recently got my logic board and super drive replaced. It cost apple about $980. IMO, not getting an extended warranty is just stupid.

 

[kkim0228]

IMO, Apple should have provided you with a fully functional laptop long time ago. Considering your time and energy spent to fix the computer, the frustration, and the hours spent without the laptop, I hardly see why you should feel thankful at all towards apple. I mean, I know I would be pissed and condemning Apple instead of praising it. How many repairs was it again?

What should have happened is that you got a fully operational laptop in 2007, worked the crap out of the laptop, and you felt your money well spent. After all, your time is the most valuable resource.

 

[JCastro]

Glad to hear that you were taken care of. Hopefully this one will not have any of the problems that that one had.

 

[Sn0wball]

Sounds like Macs and other Apple stuff (iPods, etc.) have more hardware problems than PC laptops!

I was looking at paying the (significant) extra to get a Mac (even though they have poorer specifications than PC laptops) due to Apple's supposed "it just works" reliability (I wouldn't have enough money left over for AppleCare) and its advertising claims in the PC guy vs. Mac guy adverts.

Think I'll seriously have to re-assess my laptop buying strategy...

PS. I should hope they bloody well did give you a new laptop after what you went through! Anywhere else that would be par for the course. And Mac stuff in particular costs the earth (supposedly for a higher quality product).

 

[Eddyisgreat]

I admit I think Apple users are a bit used to sort of looking for problems. I know I am. Most people don't even know what battery health is, yet I check mine every month (and just had the battery replaced on my 11 month old macbook pro, which was under the 80%/300 rule).

Now, I run the Apple service diagnostics (don't ask me for it) every month also which tests pretty much everything. Fans, logic board, bluetooth, temp reporting etc etc. I would like a new machine, but honestly I would like for my machine to just work, and for the most part it has. Its held up so far, but if issues begin to crop up I will more than likely speak to apple. This never happened on any of my Windows boxes because OEM's would simply swap the part over and over and over until *i* bought a new computer.

Infact, my screen is starting to show a teeny tiny hint of discoluration. Am I going to complain? Uh, yeah. why? because it shouldn't be there!

 

[dhd]

I have a 2007 SR 2,2Ghz MBP, To me is a great machine but I had the screen and logic board replaced because problems with the GeForce 8600M GT graphic card in the first 6 months of use. Fearing the worst and being a laptop carried to school everyday I purchased applecare on ebay. It was the first time I bought an extended warranty, but it was a good investment as two months ago the superdrive started to give problems with burning dvd'd and the battery didn't last more than 45 mins. It was repaired but now suddenly I can't burn dvd's (DL this time)

I think i got a sort of lemon as my colleague's macs don;t have any problem...

 

[maestrocasa]

I have a 2007 SR 2,2Ghz MBP, To me is a great machine but I had the screen and logic board replaced because problems with the GeForce 8600M GT graphic card in the first 6 months of use. Fearing the worst and being a laptop carried to school everyday I purchased applecare on ebay. It was the first time I bought an extended warranty, but it was a good investment as two months ago the superdrive started to give problems with burning dvd'd and the battery didn't last more than 45 mins. It was repaired but now suddenly I can't burn dvd's (DL this time)

I think i got a sort of lemon as my colleague's macs don;t have any problem...

yep. the GeForce 8600 seems to be a lemon. You seem to have had the exact problems I did. The first optical drive replacement was for it failing to burn DVD+DL. WTF? I guess the SR2.2 MBP had some bad runs.

I really have to say to the poster who said mac users are used to looking for problems, (and to the potential 'switcher' who now thinks macs aren't worth it) that I really have never had any serious problems with any apple machine in 25+ years. Most of them have kept going strong long after they were 'obsolete' Even though I spent a lot of time dealing with problems on this particular machine, I still strongly recommend Mac to all my friends. Apple's quick response in all repairs and in this replacement has reinforced my opinion.

 

[angemon89]

I wish my logic board would fail 3 times... lol

 

[Eddyisgreat]

I really have to say to the poster who said mac users are used to looking for problems, (and to the potential 'switcher' who now thinks macs aren't worth it) that I really have never had any serious problems with any apple machine in 25+ years.

No I'm speaking directly towards the Macbook Pro generation. I'm also not saying that You specifically were looking for problems. But in the era of the 8600m gt, the slightly off/warped top case, mag safe issues, swollen batteries etc, the community is more sensitive to these issues and will act a bit more proactively vs. just letting problems go to the wayside. This is of course easier since we have Apple stores available to diagnose. I've had machines from the color mac, the power mac, the emac, pismo powerbooks, stylewriters, g4's, g5s, mac pros etc etc. Each had their little quirks here and there but pretty solid machines all around.

 

[mikes70mustang]

Sounds like Macs and other Apple stuff (iPods, etc.) have more hardware problems than PC laptops!

I was looking at paying the (significant) extra to get a Mac (even though they have poorer specifications than PC laptops) due to Apple's supposed "it just works" reliability (I wouldn't have enough money left over for AppleCare) and its advertising claims in the PC guy vs. Mac guy adverts.

Think I'll seriously have to re-assess my laptop buying strategy...

PS. I should hope they bloody well did give you a new laptop after what you went through! Anywhere else that would be par for the course. And Mac stuff in particular costs the earth (supposedly for a higher quality product).

most pcs are so cheap you just throw them out and get new. And most people only come on here to talk about problems. Prob 95% or higher of the mac users no nothing about computers and just wallow in blissful ignorance. So it never crosses their mind to find out how to make the most of their mac and go on here. Just like, almost all of the people ive talked to w unis, didnt know the screen was glass. Nor did they know it could easily crack like reg glass.

 

[Scottsdale]

I always think Apple owes the person who goes through so much MORE THAN just a free upgrade. I had an original MBA, and it was simply unusable. I have returned MBPs and had multiple fixes, and I hate going without my Mac for several days. It's sad, but we all need a Mac and a backup Mac.

Yes, Apple sometimes replaces Macs with newer ones, but no it's not usually enough to makeup for wasted time on the owner's behalf to begin with.

I want to hear a story of a free Mac upgrade, and in addition 50% off any other product for the hassle!

 

[phreebees]

most pcs are so cheap you just throw them out and get new. And most people only come on here to talk about problems. Prob 95% or higher of the mac users no nothing about computers and just wallow in blissful ignorance. So it never crosses their mind to find out how to make the most of their mac and go on here. Just like, almost all of the people ive talked to w unis, didnt know the screen was glass. Nor did they know it could easily crack like reg glass.

PC's that are specced similarly to any macs are usually way cheaper than their mac counterparts, but that does not mean they are cheap enough to throw away everytime something happens. Where did you get that 95% statistic from? From my experience, mac owners are more likely to be apart of a mac forum than a pc user would be a pc forum.

 

[Aboo]

I always think Apple owes the person who goes through so much MORE THAN just a free upgrade. I had an original MBA, and it was simply unusable. I have returned MBPs and had multiple fixes, and I hate going without my Mac for several days. It's sad, but we all need a Mac and a backup Mac.

Yes, Apple sometimes replaces Macs with newer ones, but no it's not usually enough to makeup for wasted time on the owner's behalf to begin with.

I want to hear a story of a free Mac upgrade, and in addition 50% off any other product for the hassle!

Sometimes they do give you something FREE. I know someone who had to get 2 repairs on his 23" ACD, that Apple finally decided to replace it with a 24" LED Display and he got a free ipod touch to boot. That is pretty nice of Apple to do!

 

[shiunn]

oh do I ever wonder when my turn will come to have a replacement (or newer model) machine.

I've heard of stories how a black macbook was replaced with a Macbook pro unibody (upper range); of course, not before going through several repairs and haggling.