Where can I find fail rates for different Apple products?

[charlieegan3]

I've had a bad experience with a 2012 retina MacBook Pro and I'd be interested to know how newer and other products differ, if at all, in their average reliability. I have a suspicion that the dedicated graphics has caused many of my issues and i'm aware this is likely an anomaly.

So far I've only been able to find summary information e.g. http://www.consumerreports.org/laptops/laptop-reliability-by-year/

I tried to do some research of my own but the forum search was a limiting factor. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/are-forum-searches-limited-to-500-results.1965916/

Any ideas?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I doubt you'll find any detailed information it is in the manufacturers interest to keep this out of the public domain.

 

[charlieegan3]

manufacturers interest to keep this out of the public domain.

Unless they were markedly better - which appears to be the case: http://www.computerworld.com/articl...cbook-air-takes-laptop-reliability-crown.html

 

[old-wiz]

Apple is never going to release failure rates. A lot depends on what you mean - failure of entire computer or of SSD or screen etc..

 

[charlieegan3]

Apple is never going to release failure rates. A lot depends on what you mean - failure of entire computer or of SSD or screen etc..

I had wondered if there might be someone that worked for Apple or a reseller on here that could talk from personal experience.

I asked this in store once and they offered to get me a list based on repairs at that store. I should have taken them up on the offer...

I know Apple aren't going to go full disclosure but I don't think it's unreasonable to guess that someone on here knows something useful on the matter.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Offhand - 2011 15/17s and 2012 retinas are obviously a no go
white uni MacBooks bottom plates
2012 cMBP 13" seem to have a very high failure rate for their HDD cables
other than that, nothing I can recall with regularity

 

[Weaselboy]

I remember seeing some data from Square Trade a year or so ago, so that might help you search. They sell third party extended warranties, so they were compiling claim data in the various brands.

 

[charlieegan3]

Offhand - 2011 15/17s and 2012 retinas are obviously a no go
white uni MacBooks bottom plates
2012 cMBP 13" seem to have a very high failure rate for their HDD cables
other than that, nothing I can recall with regularity

Thanks - good to know. I've got a 2012 rMBP and it's been causing a lot of pain. Do/did you work in a store?
[doublepost=1460057345][/doublepost]

I remember seeing some data from Square Trade a year or so ago, so that might help you search. They sell third party extended warranties, so they were compiling claim data in the various brands.

There's this report from 2009: https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

If there's a newer one that'd be interesting but I can't find one.

That said I'm personally interested in the variations between Apple's own ranges and years of release.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Apple Store for two years, then an AASP for another

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I had wondered if there might be someone that worked for Apple or a reseller on here that could talk from personal experience.

I asked this in store once and they offered to get me a list based on repairs at that store. I should have taken them up on the offer...

I know Apple aren't going to go full disclosure but I don't think it's unreasonable to guess that someone on here knows something useful on the matter.

Even if people working for Apple got this information they will have signed a confidentiality clause, you don't give a company that rich the opportunity to sue you by releasing confidential information.

 

[charlieegan3]

Even if people working for Apple got this information they will have signed a confidentiality clause, you don't give a company that rich the opportunity to sue you by releasing confidential information.

One time in a store they offered to get the information for me (when asked). This lead me to believe it wasn't a such a closely guarded secret after all.

 

[DeltaMac]

One time in a store they offered to get the information for me (when asked). This lead me to believe it wasn't a such a closely guarded secret after all.

I think it is unlikely that you would get more than just that store's own experience (regardless of what you think they told you )
There could be a large difference between one store's local records/experience, and the company's products as a whole.

 

[charlieegan3]

I think it is unlikely that you would get more than just that store's own experience (regardless of what you think they told you )
There could be a large difference between one store's local records/experience, and the company's products as a whole.

They only offered to get the stats for their store.

There could be a large difference between one store's local records/experience

All depends on the sample size, I think a single store could provide a suitable sample to make a reliable estimate.

 

[DeltaMac]

Go for it, then.
Hopefully, the info will be useful to you.
I expect that if the sample size does give you reliable information - company-wide - then those stats will probably be very close to what you already know from other sources, such as Consumer Reports.

 

[grahamperrin]

2011 15

MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues

I have a MacBookPro8,2 that was repaired within that programme. I assume that the batches of replacement parts are more reliable than the originals. Should I continue to treat the 8,2 as likely to fail?

(It's without a battery at the moment, and the Mac ceased to respond to the trackpad and keyboard not long after the video issue was addressed, I wonder whether the non-response symptom is somehow associated with the absence of the battery. A local AASP has offered to take a look, but I have not yet found time to pay a visit.)

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Yes, it was replaced with a board that uses the same card

 

[grahamperrin]

So it's just pot luck with the card on the board?

(I imagine that Apple would have arranged more reliable batches from the supplier. And/or knowing of the risk of failure, Apple might have performed tests on the boards to hopefully weed out the riskiest before supplying the boards to service providers..)

 

[charlieegan3]

I assume that the batches of replacement parts are more reliable than the originals. Should I continue to treat the 8,2 as likely to fail?

So it's just pot luck with the card on the board?

...I imagine that Apple would have arranged more reliable batches from the supplier.

These are the exact kinds of questions I was hoping to answer. My opinion on the matter is this: sometimes the replacement parts are more reliable (e.g. rMBP screen ghosting replacement), others they are the exact same. In the second instance parts fail for one of two reasons, they fail on their own under normal use OR they fail because of some interaction from another component (e.g. they are not adequately cooled).

This said this is based on my experience with my 2012 rMBP. I don't have any more data to draw from than my own (numerous 5+) repairs.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

So it's just pot luck with the card on the board?

(I imagine that Apple would have arranged more reliable batches from the supplier. And/or knowing of the risk of failure, Apple might have performed tests on the boards to hopefully weed out the riskiest before supplying the boards to service providers..)

AFAIK yes.

The last time this happened, someone took Apple to small claims court, as they weren't really fixing the problem so much as putting it off. I believe he won.