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16’ MacBook Pro Dies - Only a year old - I have to pay $700
- Thread starter geach
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“Should have bought AppleCare” lol that’s so rude. Statistically speaking AppleCare is more likely to be a waste of money than to save you money. I never buy it.
Only time will tell if the 16” x86 MBP is a reliable device, but to be honest it sounds like you just got unlucky. No matter how expensive something is, there will always be some models that fail for no discernible reason. Sorry that you got the short end of the stick.
The phone support people have the most authority to override protocol, so if you really want, you could probably finagle a free repair by asking for a manager and doing some decent social engineering. Be really polite and make up some sob story, while emphasizing that it’s only 2 months out of warranty. You’d be surprised how often you can win.
Only time will tell if the 16” x86 MBP is a reliable device, but to be honest it sounds like you just got unlucky. No matter how expensive something is, there will always be some models that fail for no discernible reason. Sorry that you got the short end of the stick.
The phone support people have the most authority to override protocol, so if you really want, you could probably finagle a free repair by asking for a manager and doing some decent social engineering. Be really polite and make up some sob story, while emphasizing that it’s only 2 months out of warranty. You’d be surprised how often you can win.
We didn't need warranties back in the 80s. My 80s computers still run great today.
Macbook Pro 2010 needed repair.
Macbook Pro 2017 needed repair.
it is not wise to disregard apple care with today's Apple. Its a different company now.
Agreed
For the price premiums Apple generally demands, they should simply include a better/longer warranty out of the box.
So much with Apple is "bend over, touch your toes and prepare for some Customer Sat"
it is literally a lottery. Its a silicon lottery. And the systems today are so much more complex than your 80s machines. So yeah, you've been lucky. Buy a warranty!!!
check your credit card benefits if you had purchased on CC. You may have some extended warranty
"Pandemic production" seems to have really netted some less than satisfactory QC on Apple products in the last 18 months. I've never bought AC for any of my Macs, but I'm definitely leaning towards doing so when I upgrade my 2015 MBA for a 14" MBP when released.
Well, they're right. Look, I know it sucks . . . majorly, but how would you feel if you bought AppleCare, and found out Apple was giving AppleCare warranty service to people who didn't buy it? If Apple felt the hardware should be warrantied past a year as part of the base purchase price, their standard warranty would be more than a year.
Again, it sucks and I'd be pi$$ed, but you did know all this going into the purchase and assumed the risk of not taking an extended warranty.
I know Apple has done out-of-warranty service as a courtesy in some cases before depending on the situation, but by definition a courtesy cannot be expected, demanded, nor complained about if it's not given.
Again, it sucks and I'd be pi$$ed, but you did know all this going into the purchase and assumed the risk of not taking an extended warranty.
I know Apple has done out-of-warranty service as a courtesy in some cases before depending on the situation, but by definition a courtesy cannot be expected, demanded, nor complained about if it's not given.
I had a 2012 first gen retina that after about a year and a half the batter swelled up and it interfered with the trackpad. I eventually sold it for $500 for parts and then a month later found out they had a recall and were swapping out units for new 105 or 2016s. I got suckered. I think with apple laptops it is important to get AppleCare, and if you are a teacher or student you can buy if at a discount. They don't even require you to verify it, (no cheating!!). I think any purchase over $2000 should have some kind of protection in it. Yeah apple makes good computers mostly but stuff always happens and after getting burned on the retina mbp I will always get AppleCare because its not like you can fix most of the components yourself like back in the day. Check out a guy named Lous Rossmann in New York, he has a repair shop and YouTube channel where he could probably fix your issue, real talented guy.
I have used the Australian consumer laws multiple times to get replacement technology.
Apple, Samsung, Hp etc have all replaced hardware or refunded due to my knowledge in this area.
they all try it on until they know they can’t…..
However, if it was only 1 year I would be buying Apple care.
consider this: Apple Care for that device is about $269. Thus the true out of pocket cost is about $450.
Going forward, I always consider getting Apple Care. But I take a look at the cost for Apple Care vs replacement cost. In some cases the cost of Apple Care is large percentage of the actual replacement cost; especially true in the case of accidental damage. But for a 2000+ computer, a three year insurance package for about 12% of the replacement cost is a fair price.
And I do feel bad for you. 😢
Yes I still can’t believe how much companies still try to avoid it hoping the customer doesn’t know their rights.
When I called apple about my AirPods Pro not working they tried to tell me it would be $418 for a repair (despite purchasing them new for $399) as it was “out of warranty” despite the website even stating it was still within ACL warranty
Wow, I’ve been on macrumors for years, but never posted anything and I didn’t think this would ever get a response. So, thank you!
I am a die hard apple fan, and have stood by them for every product/purchased every product, and I will die by Apple. But like, its a $2,400 computer ($2,600 with tax) I shouldn’t be worried about it failing in a year. If I had dropped it, or spilled something on it, or maybe even ran a really intense program that somehow made it crash, sure I should have to pay. But saying “hardware failure happens” like, duh, I should have known, shame on me for trusting your top tier computer, is not a valid argument.
I tried calling their customer service line several times, because they have always been good to me in the past with waving fees/replacing/fixing my products, but no luck this time.
Anyways, they charged me $730, so i’m guessing the logic board was replaced and I lost all my files (yes, my bad for not backing it up). GOOD NEWS, I called my credit card company, and turns out they do have a supplemental warranty that takes over when the manufacturers warranty expires. They basically confirmed that my laptop was eligible and they would refund the amount to me as long as it wasn’t due to physical damage (which it wasn’t).
TLDR: I love apple. ”Hardware failure” is not a valid excuse for a top tier laptop. I was charged $730. My credit card company is likely going to refund me the amount. THANK YOU!!!!
I am a die hard apple fan, and have stood by them for every product/purchased every product, and I will die by Apple. But like, its a $2,400 computer ($2,600 with tax) I shouldn’t be worried about it failing in a year. If I had dropped it, or spilled something on it, or maybe even ran a really intense program that somehow made it crash, sure I should have to pay. But saying “hardware failure happens” like, duh, I should have known, shame on me for trusting your top tier computer, is not a valid argument.
I tried calling their customer service line several times, because they have always been good to me in the past with waving fees/replacing/fixing my products, but no luck this time.
Anyways, they charged me $730, so i’m guessing the logic board was replaced and I lost all my files (yes, my bad for not backing it up). GOOD NEWS, I called my credit card company, and turns out they do have a supplemental warranty that takes over when the manufacturers warranty expires. They basically confirmed that my laptop was eligible and they would refund the amount to me as long as it wasn’t due to physical damage (which it wasn’t).
TLDR: I love apple. ”Hardware failure” is not a valid excuse for a top tier laptop. I was charged $730. My credit card company is likely going to refund me the amount. THANK YOU!!!!
This is a lie, I live here and you get 1 year of Apple Care just like in USA but the prices of apple products are often 40% more.
Apple care only gives you 1 year of warranty. That's how it works. You think that apple should just give free replacements of computers 5+ years after people bought them? Get real.
Apple repair is expensive because everything is glued/soldered together. So even if there's only one part broken, they have to replace mostly the whole thing. Example, the screen. If something's wrong with the LCD panel, they cannot just open the screen and replace the panel, they have to replace the whole screen. Thus it's pricey.
And yeah, it sucks. But it's not Apple exclusive. As we all want thinner and more sleek-looking laptops, things get more integrated and expensive to repair. Getting Apple Care is almost a must for Apple laptops.
$700 is better than spending another $2000. And yes, if I bought a $2000 laptop, I would've bought an extended warranty of some sort. I even bought extended warranty for my phone because I know these things get expensive to repair due to the integrated components.
All laptops can die or have hardware issues. Just like any computer. That is why its best to get the 3 year coverage on it especially laptops as they take abuse being carried places. If you spent $2500, a little more wouldn't have mattered.
I have a feeling it's more motivated by the need for the "support/repair" to generate a profit, and it creates a ripple effect on the whole design and production part to be "less nitpicking." I think there were news about how the genius bar in retail stores were "forced" to focus on profit-generation under the Burberry lady (correct me if I were wrong). That lady has left Apple, but I have a feeling whatever policies are still in place today.
First, things turned out well for you. Not because of Apple, but thanks to your CC company. So that's a good thing.
About the above, you should be worried about that $2400 computer from Apple failing as much as you should worry about a $10k or $50k computer failing from the same company or others. These are electronics and electronics can fail, no matter the cost, no matter the manufacturer, no matter the age. Statistically most components fail either in the first few weeks/months of usage or towards their expected end of life. But every now and then somewhere in between. There is no way around this.
Some form of insurance in a country like the US might make sense. But since the vast majority of hardware won't have issues, it might also be a waste of money. For what it's worth, I personally would not have bought AC for a $2.4k laptop. I would have bought it (actually I have) for a fully specced version, which is closer to $7k. Other countries are better off when it comes to warranty, but usually pay higher prices. Unless you buy a lot of hardware via B2B, you can easily get 30%-50% off for Hardware from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple (not iPads, iPhones or Watch) in most european countries.
Moral of the story, never expect any hardware at any price to be bulletproof and work forever.
take this to a second hand computer repair shop. they have these allover the planet even several in Bali Indonesia.
there could be a frayed display connection or just a bad transistor.
some person had their MacBook Pro not working, brought that to a NYC apple store, they said 1,200 to fix.
they bought that to a repair shop, he pushed the display cable down, and voila, worked- no charge too!
this was in 2018 and their is a video of this experience online and on CBC television.
i have done wonders to get my MacBook air 2010 working were apple recommended i buy a new one
this was in 2015.
they are trained to gouge every cent out of everyone who walk through those doors now.
don't spend your time worrying about what "other people" may be getting. just cover yourself.
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I'm not. Just putting things in perspective for why we shouldn't expect Apple to just hand out free AppleCare repairs to people who haven't purchased AppleCare.
my distrust of apple manufacturing has reached a level that I didn't even remember buying applecare+ for my iPad Pro this year. I guess I just did it automatically..
my distrust of apple manufacturing has reached a level that I didn't even remember buying applecare+ for my iPad Pro this year. I guess I just did it automatically..
I'm actually the opposite. I've had so few issues with Apple products over the years, that I basically never purchase AppleCare. I think I may have purchased AppleCare once very early on for an Apple device, but the only time in recent memory was for my 2019 iMac, but that was just because I spent so much money on it, I figured I might as well spend a little more to be safe. Haven't had to use it, thankfully.