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fpenta

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 30, 2016
231
126
Hey everyone

After ordering, canceling, buying refurb 2015" and return them etc.. I finally made the decision to go for the new 2016 15" maxed out with 2.9 ghz, 1TB, 460.
This is because the price for a refurb 15" 2015 maxed out with 2.8, 1TB and 370x at the Apple Store is 3000€ here in Europe and there are no other way to get them.
Having the possibility to use an educational discount I went for the newer model for 600€ more.

I know about all the possible issues of this specific model and for this reason I'd like to know all the things that I should check (and how to do them like specific programs etc..) once the MacBook Pro arrives based on users reviews: how to test battery life and what to see exactly? Make glitches appear? Loose Touch ID? Scratches? Etc..
If you could summarize the problems found so far on the 15" would be easier for new users to check!

Thank you!
 
Last edited:

BondFancy

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2016
341
386
Hey everyone

After ordering, canceling, buying refurb 2015" and return them etc.. I finally made the decision to go for the new 2016 15" maxed out with 2.9 ghz, 1TB, 460.
This is because the price for a refurb 15" 2015 maxed out with 2.8, 1TB and 370x at the Apple Store is 3000€ here in Europe and there are no other way to get them.
Having the possibility to use an educational discount I went for the newer model for 600€ more.

I know about all the possible issues of this specific model and for this reason I'd like to know all the things that I should check (and how to do them like specific programs etc..) once the MacBook Pro arrives based on users reviews: how to test battery life and what to see exactly? Make glitches appear? Etc..
If you could summarize the problems found so far on the 15" would be easier for new users to check!

Thank you!
I've personally heard of the following with respect to both the 13" and 15", some are quality of life issues, and some are actual problems. It's hard to tell for certain which are hardware issues and which are software issues, but here's the list I've heard of, I am sure I am missing some and that some have been fixed (or rare):

General UI Lag (applications folder, mission control, etc.)
Touch bar freezing
Touch bar artifacts appearing on main screen
Keyboard keys not working, or spitting out multiple characters on one press (Some reported after extended use the problem would correct itself, i.e. "break in" period)
Poor battery life (3-6 hours on light use)
Charger not working on any ports (Can be caused by the cable/brick or port itself)
Graphical artifacts (Has appeared on iGPU and all 3 dGPU variants, 10.12.2 seemingly fixed a lot of it)
Adobe media encoder crashing
Scratch on left or right speaker grill
Loss of wi-fi from dongles (Typically from poor shielding on cables)

I'll update if I think of any others.

Edit:
Waking while closed
Loose/wobbly touch ID button
Screen brightness not uniform
Bluetooth not appearing
Speaker Popping (Fixed with firmware update)
 
Last edited:

SomeGuy2112

macrumors regular
Apr 23, 2015
192
104
For what its worth, I've had a 13" and exchanged it for a 15". Both have been absolutely flawless thus far.
 
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bizack

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2009
611
399
Keyboard is monocrhome
Charging requires plugging the laptop in
Metal chassis scratches easily when you drop it on the ground
Display can be shattered when punched
USB-A plugs don't correctly fit into USB-C ports
Webcam can't shoot 4k videos
Fake speaker holes probably means other fake things on the laptop
Touch Bar is more like a Touch Strip, can cause confusion
Large trackpad makes my hands feel small
Was going to send the kids to community college, spent the money on a MBP instead
 

New_Mac_Smell

macrumors 68000
Oct 17, 2016
1,931
1,552
Shanghai
Keyboard is monocrhome
Charging requires plugging the laptop in
Metal chassis scratches easily when you drop it on the ground
Display can be shattered when punched
USB-A plugs don't correctly fit into USB-C ports
Webcam can't shoot 4k videos
Fake speaker holes probably means other fake things on the laptop
Touch Bar is more like a Touch Strip, can cause confusion
Large trackpad makes my hands feel small
Was going to send the kids to community college, spent the money on a MBP instead

:D

No issues on mine, no need for a check-list to get yourself riled up about every nuance.
 

idark77

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2014
529
421
Add to the list:
- TimeMachine backup issue
- Audio stops working and you need to restart
- "Coil Whine" + "Capacitor Whine"
 

BiteSizeThumb

macrumors member
Nov 28, 2016
49
24
I actually notice the waking while close. Sometimes I'll sleep to a youtube video of some sort, and close my screen in the middle of the night. I'll wake up in the morning and a video would still be playing... What's that all about?
 

New_Mac_Smell

macrumors 68000
Oct 17, 2016
1,931
1,552
Shanghai
I actually notice the waking while close. Sometimes I'll sleep to a youtube video of some sort, and close my screen in the middle of the night. I'll wake up in the morning and a video would still be playing... What's that all about?

Do you have a schedule in energy preferences? Maybe an app is preventing sleep?
 

brvhrt

macrumors member
Apr 14, 2015
70
181
Keyboard is monocrhome
Charging requires plugging the laptop in
Metal chassis scratches easily when you drop it on the ground
Display can be shattered when punched
USB-A plugs don't correctly fit into USB-C ports
Webcam can't shoot 4k videos
Fake speaker holes probably means other fake things on the laptop
Touch Bar is more like a Touch Strip, can cause confusion
Large trackpad makes my hands feel small
Was going to send the kids to community college, spent the money on a MBP instead

10/10

Well played.
 
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