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TinyMito

macrumors 6502a
Nov 1, 2021
863
1,226
I guess one way to avoid imperfection is the get the early stock models at the store. They are made a month or two before release (I assume now they are all sold out including mine). Those custom on order now is in rush mode. Yikes
 
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Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
My 14-inch CTO MBP arrived yesterday after a month of waiting and 5 weeks of using my old 2015 11-inch MacBook Air with 4GB of RAM as my main computer after selling my M1 MBP.

The computer is awesome and I have no regrets with my config, but, unfortunately, I noticed a mark on the side right next to the headphone jack. It's easily visible without any magnification required. I can't tell if it hit something or is scratched, but I'm reticent to mess with it and make it worse. It's not really noticeable in use, but annoying still.

Everything else is working fine and I'm a bit hesitant to return it just for this. Given how much I paid for it, I would like it to be without such blemishes out of the box. But where I live the config I need is not available in the store and getting a replacement means I will have to wait probably another month. I'll be traveling for 3 weeks leaving in mid-December and I really need my Mac during this time.

I think I'll likely just live with it, but it's just disappointing that the first mark on the machine wasn't even made by me but came that way from the factory.

And yes, I know, this is a minuscule problem in the grand scheme of things.
 
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Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
My 14-inch CTO MBP arrived yesterday after a month of waiting and 5 weeks of using my old 2015 11-inch MacBook Air with 4GB of RAM as my main computer after selling my M1 MBP.

The computer is awesome and I have no regrets with my config, but, unfortunately, I noticed a mark on the side right next to the headphone jack. It's easily visible without any magnification required. I can't tell if it hit something or is scratched, but I'm reticent to mess with it and make it worse. It's not really noticeable in use, but annoying still.

Everything else is working fine and I'm a bit hesitant to return it just for this. Given how much I paid for it, I would like it to be without such blemishes out of the box. But where I live the config I need is not available in the store and getting a replacement means I will have to wait probably another month. I'll be traveling for 3 weeks leaving in mid-December and I really need my Mac during this time.

I think I'll likely just live with it, but it's just disappointing that the first mark on the machine wasn't even made by me but came that way from the factory.

And yes, I know, this is a minuscule problem in the grand scheme of things.
So I think I'm not going to ask for a replacement. Apple offered, but it will take another month for my CTO build. It's visible but small and otherwise everything is perfect. It's also in a spot that you don't really look at and I really can't afford to be without it while I'm traveling.
 
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Karoz

macrumors newbie
Nov 13, 2021
8
4
Not sure I can call this a decent damage or manufacturing issue, but just to throw this in here so people can have a laugh on how closely I inspect my new gadgets haha. It's not a scratch or a dent, tried rubbing it off but looks like a dust under the coating... Otherwise my new MPB is flawless! And I won't be returning of course, I think there is a bigger chance of getting even worse issues with a replacement.
 
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Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
Just to show the slight scratch/blemish on my machine. It is really small and only visible at certain angles and lighting, but it's there.

M1 Max MBP Scratch.jpeg
 
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Jára Tyky

macrumors 6502
Apr 9, 2020
355
231
I'm not letting Apple QC off the hook, but you guys are really reaching here with some of these.

If you don't like spending three grand on a laptop, then don't. But your brand new laptop is going to get more scuffs and scratches in its first month than any of these miniscule dots you're highlighting.

Relax. I'd be more worried about Apple's software QC and management's love affair with shareholders than I'd be about a spec on the edge of my laptop.

Sheesh. :rolleyes:
You are not true. I sold MacBook Pro 2018 to my friend and he was surprised and shocked that there was no marks, no scuff. It was like brand new. He told me that I should sell it for more money. I told him that I take care of my things.
So, if you do not care about expensive things, that does not mean that there are not people who actually do care..
 
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Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
Well it would've angered me...but if you don't want a replacement, I'd ask for compensation in some way...free AirPods or something.
It does bother me and I did ask if they could give me something since they wouldn't give me an express replacement. Apple ended up giving me a refund of $200 to my credit card, which I thought was nice.
 

ChronicLynx

macrumors regular
Aug 5, 2018
104
135
What do you guys think about this? Scratched out of the box right above the HDMI port (on the lid). There's another lighter scratch next to it but hard to show on camera. Not a huge deal since you can't see it in use, but still sucks it came like that brand new. It's also not noticeable under regular viewing conditions unless you're inspecting closely.

I could swap it out although the replacement could potentially have worse issues. Other than that everything is perfect.
 

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tmoerel

Suspended
Jan 24, 2008
1,005
1,570
What do you guys think about this? Scratched out of the box right above the HDMI port (on the lid). There's another lighter scratch next to it but hard to show on camera. Not a huge deal since you can't see it in use, but still sucks it came like that brand new. It's also not noticeable under regular viewing conditions unless you're inspecting closely.

I could swap it out although the replacement could potentially have worse issues. Other than that everything is perfect.
Lend it to me for a few days and I will add some more of those for you. It is a tool and tools get wear and tear!
 

TechRunner

macrumors 65816
Oct 28, 2016
1,351
2,338
SW Florida, US
What do you guys think about this? Scratched out of the box right above the HDMI port (on the lid). There's another lighter scratch next to it but hard to show on camera. Not a huge deal since you can't see it in use, but still sucks it came like that brand new. It's also not noticeable under regular viewing conditions unless you're inspecting closely.

I could swap it out although the replacement could potentially have worse issues. Other than that everything is perfect.
If everything else is perfect, I would not enter the replacement lottery for that. Use and enjoy it in good health!
 
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Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
What do you guys think about this? Scratched out of the box right above the HDMI port (on the lid). There's another lighter scratch next to it but hard to show on camera. Not a huge deal since you can't see it in use, but still sucks it came like that brand new. It's also not noticeable under regular viewing conditions unless you're inspecting closely.

I could swap it out although the replacement could potentially have worse issues. Other than that everything is perfect.

I wouldn't replace it. I had a similar issue (see my posts above) and decided not to replace it for such a small minor cosmetic issue. You might want to ask Apple for some type of compensation. I did this and was expecting maybe some AirPods or something but they gave me a $200 refund for customer dissatisfaction.
 

Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Aug 15, 2019
5,867
6,544
Upstate NY . Was FL.
Really shameful to see QC at Apple getting lower. Last year I bought a MBA and MBP both M1. Hawk eyed me didn’t see any physical imperfections on either of them.

Edit actually I lied. My first MBP M1 had those blemishes around the glass edges like the above photos. SMH. Seems like the factory are not taking down times to recalibrate their tooling. Aka rushing to meet demand.
It wouldn’t be so bad if apple gave a $50 credit for each blemish. 😂👍🏼
 
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smokesletsgo

macrumors regular
Oct 23, 2013
166
140
This thread is just nuts. What a waste of resources.

But I doubt it's a problem, these machines probably get resold to more reasonable people than nutjobs freaking out about tiny barely visible dots.
 
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MBP14_Returner_2022

macrumors newbie
Mar 17, 2022
9
0
This thread is just nuts. What a waste of resources.

But I doubt it's a problem, these machines probably get resold to more reasonable people than nutjobs freaking out about tiny barely visible dots.
It's about I dont got a product that fulfills as the product description, which I paid for 2 000 dollars. Even the XPS 13 on 1300 dollar of the Dell have a better QC. Let's say you are going to buy a Macbook Pro for your wife or other familymembers and will you give this one with defects to her/them. And will you tell them to stop complain and just take it like a iSheep?
 
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James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
IMO apples aluminium finishes have quite bad QC lately, and under very close inspection literally every aluminium Apple product I have owned will have some sort of imperfection to varying degrees, it all depends how fussy you are really.

This is why I always opt for silver where available as these imperfections are less noticeable, lately it’s about a 50/50 chance if you get a device that has a nick, chip or dent right out of the box.

I am actually convinced that Apple resell returned units as new, especially when the marks are really minor, as some people will just accept it whereas others won’t.
 
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Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Aug 15, 2019
5,867
6,544
Upstate NY . Was FL.
IMO apples aluminium finishes have quite bad QC lately, and under very close inspection literally every aluminium Apple product I have owned will have some sort of imperfection to varying degrees, it all depends how fussy you are really.

This is why I always opt for silver where available as these imperfections are less noticeable, lately it’s about a 50/50 chance if you get a device that has a nick, chip or dent right out of the box.

I am actually convinced that Apple resell returned units as new, especially when the marks are really minor, as some people will just accept it whereas others won’t.
Good point. I remember my brand new MBP M1 having 4 charge cycles out of the box. Was bought and shipped from Costco.
 

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
Good point. I remember my brand new MBP M1 having 4 charge cycles out of the box. Was bought and shipped from Costco.
Yeah I think pretty much all macs have a certain number of charge cycles out of the box for testing purposes, my previous made to order MacBook had 5 charge cycles out of the box… so I think that’s normal.

But I am certainly convinced that Apple must refurb and resell returns as new… for example when I returned a brand new sealed iPad to an Apple store once, they actually removed the cellophane and inspected the device before issuing a refund… so basically they lost like 30% of the retail value of that brand new item by choice… I am almost certain that would have been resealed and sold as new…
 
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