I've seen loads of people's MBPs (including myself) get problems after less than 5 years. Why is this?
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Why are MBPs so prone to issues
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People say this a lot.
You're reading a forum basically dedicated to addressing problems, that's why you have that idea.
There are millions and millions of Macbooks out there that are fine.
Macbooks actually probably have less problems, and when they do the service is excellent.
You're reading a forum basically dedicated to addressing problems, that's why you have that idea.
There are millions and millions of Macbooks out there that are fine.
Macbooks actually probably have less problems, and when they do the service is excellent.
I've kind of come to this because I have a computer from the 20th century that has less problems than Macs I've known.
As per the other person. He's right. Of the millions of Mac's sold, you are seeing the few who had a problem on the forum. People don't make posts to talk about how their Mac is doing fine.
My Macbook Pro is still working great, and won't waste my money on a Windows laptop anytime soon. Not to say that Windows laptops are bad. Some of them are good, and made to last, but personally there are qualities in Mac's that simply are not present elsewhere.
My Macbook Pro is still working great, and won't waste my money on a Windows laptop anytime soon. Not to say that Windows laptops are bad. Some of them are good, and made to last, but personally there are qualities in Mac's that simply are not present elsewhere.
My current Macbook Pro will be 5 years old this dec. This was the first unibody macbook, I have only had issue with the battery, besides that its been going strong. I did upgrade the ram and the hard drive on it. Hoping for a new macbook pro to be released next month so i can order it and hope it lasts as long as this one did.
^^
This. I'm on my third MBP and not one of them has caused me any issues at all. My current rMBP doesn't run hot, freeze up, or exhibit any of the symptoms others have posted on these boards...BUT. This is a site which is part dedicated to those who do have issues, so you are bound to see them. For the most part, I'd say that MBP owners on the whole are happy with their MAcs.
I have two MBPs in my house, mine, its a year old and so far problem free and my other for my wife that I bought in 2009 - that too is problem free
There are so many various reasons for everything that its difficult to say. I can talk about my experience though and say that I had a MacBook Pro (2,2) from 2006 to 2011 and never had single problem with it. In 2011 I gave it to some friends and they're still using it today as their primary computer.
I now have a 2012 cMBP that I bought used here on the MacRumors marketplace and so far it's been a solid machine.
YMMV
That's like saying your CD player never had problems but your MP3 player does. Computers today are doing a lot more, have more components, and therefore have more areas that can fail. When you're producing millions of anything a few are bound to have problems.
Over the years I've had 3 mac minis, 1 macbook, 2 macbook pros, and 0 problems.
My only iDevice I've had an issue with is my iPhone4S which developed a sticky sleep/wake button and was replaced under Applecare.
My only iDevice I've had an issue with is my iPhone4S which developed a sticky sleep/wake button and was replaced under Applecare.
I think a larger sample is required to make the judgement.
In surveys time and time again they show that MBP are the most reliable or in the top echelons of reliability.
Apple top for reliability in PC world survey 2010
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/30/apple-smokes-the-competition-in-reliability-survey/
Consumer satisfaction (a core component of which being did it break) 2012 PC world. Apple is top for (1)laptops less than a year old (2) home laptops (3)work laptops
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400793,00.asp
There is a jd power one too but I cant find it. Its buried under all the links to the iphone jd power surveys.
This tends to be why most people have stories opposite to yours. eg "I got a Mac because my friends machines tend to be more reliable" etc.. The only things you do tend to hear for reasons not to get a mac are, can't afford one or I want something for gaming and want more power.
This certainly can't be the norm. I have nothing to base this on other than my own experience which I won't bore people with.
But just comparing the build quality of Macs to everything else out there leads me to believe the macs you've encountered were being used as boat anchors or door stops.
If you take a survey in a hospital, you'll come away with the assumption that most people in the country are sick or injured. The same is true if you try to get a reading on MacBook Pro reliability by reading a forum which is dedicated to helping people solve problems. Even if you add up all the problems reported in this forum and others, you'll still have a very small fraction of the million plus Macs sold every month. Overall, MacBook Pros are quite reliable, with a very small percentage of exceptions, as is normal, considering the number sold.
I have a late 2008 unibody macbook pro. I use it daily for intensive graphics work and I've dropped it from table height twice.
I haven't really taken care of it, but it's taken care of me. It's been to hell and back and it works perfectly after 5 years. I believe (anecdotal) that Apple computers have much higher than average reliability.
You could just be unlucky. As others have mentioned - no one seems to come on this forum to post that their macbook pro is working perfectly fine. They come here to post when something is wrong.
I haven't really taken care of it, but it's taken care of me. It's been to hell and back and it works perfectly after 5 years. I believe (anecdotal) that Apple computers have much higher than average reliability.
You could just be unlucky. As others have mentioned - no one seems to come on this forum to post that their macbook pro is working perfectly fine. They come here to post when something is wrong.
They're not. Your perception is that is the case.
No idea. You're assuming that you have a statistically meaningful sample to derive a broad trend. The next person can "see loads of people's MBP's without any problems" and reach an entirely different conclusion. Neither sample really means anything with regard to MBP's in general.
One data point is even less of a basis than "loads" for extrapolating a trend. One data point doesn't even define a line, much less a trend.
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I could have written exactly the same thing, except I purchased mine in October, IIRC.
First battery wore out and was replaced. Upgraded RAM and added an SSD. Zero defects or abuse-induced problems.
MBP is a great machine no problem but there might be some or major problem is the software like Lion OS X. 
I have an '03 PB an '07 MB, an '09 MBP, and a '10 MBP. I just sold and 05 PM, an '06 MP, and an '09 MP not a single problem with any of them.
If you want to see issues, check out the Samsung laptop forums....
Because laptops are generally mistreated more than desk tops, they typically have more issues... the big battery, that a desktop doesn't have, being most of them. With that said, we've owned quite a few apple laptops over the years, from the 1400 through Wallstreet through the current rMBP. Not an issue besides batteries and the Wallstreet hinge. Performance was the only reason we upgraded.