2017 MacBook Pro logic board failure under normal use

[bfaubion]

Same here. But this was a 13" 2019 MacBook Pro, 256gb drive. Had it for 6 weeks and was working fine, all of the sudden the finder locked up and I had to do a manual shutdown (hold the power button). After that it wouldn't turn back on. Funny enough, it did make a battery chime sound whenever I plugged in the power cable. I didn't have it connected to an external display, or anything like that. However, I do use a USB-C hub, but who doesn't?!

I read a reply where someone said they've seen more logic board failures when computers are powered through a USB-C hub, and for some reason the computers are extra finicky and prone to logic board failure. Hard to believe the newer MacBooks could be so sensitive.

Did the apple tech call, tried all of their solutions and eventually had to take it to an Apple service provider, who took care of it, no fee to me for the board replacement. His only comment was "logic board failure". I'm really bothered by this. At this point, I keep no important files on the actual hard drive, all cloud sync or external drive. Still have an older MacBook Pro, which is humming away as a backup.

I think there is definitely some manufacturing quality control at fault here. With so many random logic board failures, they've got to be aware of the problem, and probably internally decided to continue as is and just fix the issues as new models progress and consider the collateral of logic board replacements less than owning up to a larger replacement program. In any case, I actually have purchased AppleCare, with the expectation of more issues in the future based off what I was reading. Should I or any of you expect these computers to fail like this? No. But I prefer to use a Mac because of certain software, and frankly.. I like Mac. I'll be reconsidering though on my next purchase if things haven't changed. Will definitely be looking out for class action lawsuits as well.

 

[AdoniasRdeCNeto]

This isn´t a trustworthy company. How could a macbook last fewer than 2 years?! I´ve purchased mine on december/2017. It was a MacBook Pro mid. 2017 without touch bar. Now it is dead, dead, dead. The repair service accused the logic board. The logic board fried itself. I did nothing harmful to my ex macbook. Herafter, I´m waiting the normalization of commerce in my region due to coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, in the best scenario, I´ll endure some months withuot my 1.400 dollars machine - that one that lasted 2 and a half years.

Let´s say to the whole world: stop hyping these machines. They´re beautiful, but they lack confidence. You cannot trust your work to these macbooks after 2017. They´re a pile of electronic trash.

 

[pshufd]

This isn´t a trustworthy company. How could a macbook last fewer than 2 years?! I´ve purchased mine on december/2017. It was a MacBook Pro mid. 2017 without touch bar. Now it is dead, dead, dead. The repair service accused the logic board. The logic board fried itself. I did nothing harmful to my ex macbook. Herafter, I´m waiting the normalization of commerce in my region due to coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, in the best scenario, I´ll endure some months withuot my 1.400 dollars machine - that one that lasted 2 and a half years.

Let´s say to the whole world: stop hyping these machines. They´re beautiful, but they lack confidence. You cannot trust your work to these macbooks after 2017. They´re a pile of electronic trash.

Apple's MacBooks haven't been what we've expected of the company for 2016 to 2019 models. They made great MacBook Pros from 2012 to 2015 and I have a 2014 MBP 15, 2015 MBP 15 and a 2015 13 and they're all great and working just fine. I've read a lot about the 2016-2019 models and I wouldn't touch them given the reports here of the problems. This is why you have review sites.

Apple was coasting on how good their 2012-2015 models were.

My previous MacBook Pro was the 2008 MBP 17. It died in 2018. That's what I expect out of a system: 10 years.

 

[Nevada92]

I've seen a similar failure of a MBP 2017 - and it was not one but multiple components which had to be replaced - by a top notch third party engineer, not an Apple workshop.

Apple needs to be more responsive to these sort of faults - even if they are a year or two outside warranty.

We pay a substantial price premium for Macs - especially in Europe - and they need to give us a Rolls Royce service when things go wrong. Macs are still fantastic computers but because the tolerances are so small in today's machines, the opportunity for failures is higher - at least that's the way it seems.

 

[pshufd]

I've seen a similar failure of a MBP 2017 - and it was not one but multiple components which had to be replaced - by a top notch third party engineer, not an Apple workshop.

Apple needs to be more responsive to these sort of faults - even if they are a year or two outside warranty.

We pay a substantial price premium for Macs - especially in Europe - and they need to give us a Rolls Royce service when things go wrong. Macs are still fantastic computers but because the tolerances are so small in today's machines, the opportunity for failures is higher - at least that's the way it seems.

Apple has good years and bad years. If you've been an Apple customer for a long time, you know that. So you're pretty cautious and you look for the good years to buy. They handled the nVidia problems of 2007-2008 pretty well. They didn't handle the 2011 problems all that well which is why we have the long thread on how to use it without the dGPU. 2016-2019 were regrettable years. My take is that you can get them fixed but they can just break again as the design problems aren't fixed. The 2019 16 and 2020 13 are a lot better from what I've read about them so far.

Laws to force companies to better support their products would help. But I don't see what incentive big companies have to support their products long-term if they have a monopoly in a space.

 

[Nevada92]

Apple has good years and bad years. If you've been an Apple customer for a long time, you know that. So you're pretty cautious and you look for the good years to buy. They handled the nVidia problems of 2007-2008 pretty well. They didn't handle the 2011 problems all that well which is why we have the long thread on how to use it without the dGPU. 2016-2019 were regrettable years. My take is that you can get them fixed but they can just break again as the design problems aren't fixed. The 2019 16 and 2020 13 are a lot better from what I've read about them so far.

Laws to force companies to better support their products would help. But I don't see what incentive big companies have to support their products long-term if they have a monopoly in a space.

And for those who remember what happened in 2006, the question is: Should I buy a MacBook Pro now or wait for 8-core A14 powered Macs in a few months time ? (historical note: When Intel Macs superceded the earlier PowerPC machines, the older Macs quickly became obsolete)

 

[pshufd]

And for those who remember what happened in 2006, the question is: Should I buy a MacBook Pro now or wait for 8-core A14 powered Macs in a few months time ? (historical note: When Intel Macs superceded the earlier PowerPC machines, the older Macs quickly became obsolete)

I think that a lot of people have said: if you need one now, buy on. That would be my approach as well. I don't need one now. I'd like one but I can't justify a 16 or a 13 (I like both of them). If you can't wait, then you really don't have a choice. I'm looking forward to the ARM systems for much better thermals. I actually don't need more compute horsepower - I'm looking for better thermals so that the devices last longer (longevity and battery life). I don't care that much about form factor either. I'd be happier if Apple made a MacBook Pro that was an inch thick with great cooling.

We have these discussions on the Alternatives to Mac forum. A lot of us go back and forth on Windows and macOS and some just use both of them. Apple sometimes makes it hard to be in the ecosystem.

 

[Serkan Tackiran]

I have Macbook pro 2017 13" without touch bar model. Last week same thing happen to me. I was just watching something on the internet and suddenly turned it off itself then never open again. I take it to the Apple directly then they send me mail like this
"
Regarding the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, 2 TBT3) with serial number zxxx xxxxx that you brought for service.

The device came with No Power issue.I have checked the unit and the issue is starting from the logic board.

To repair the unit i have to replace the logic board.

The price for logic board replacement is €515 included vat and usually it takes 3-4 working days to receive the replacement unit.

The price is exchange, the old spare part is returned to Apple.The replacement part will have a 90 day warranty.

In case you would not like to proceed with any repair there will be a charge of €30 inc.vat for the inspection."

I am really angry about it. I just bought this Macbook pro to use it at least 5 or 6 years. So disappointing.

 

[pshufd]

I have Macbook pro 2017 13" without touch bar model. Last week same thing happen to me. I was just watching something on the internet and suddenly turned it off itself then never open again. I take it to the Apple directly then they send me mail like this
"
Regarding the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, 2 TBT3) with serial number zxxx xxxxx that you brought for service.

The device came with No Power issue.I have checked the unit and the issue is starting from the logic board.

To repair the unit i have to replace the logic board.

The price for logic board replacement is €515 included vat and usually it takes 3-4 working days to receive the replacement unit.

The price is exchange, the old spare part is returned to Apple.The replacement part will have a 90 day warranty.

In case you would not like to proceed with any repair there will be a charge of €30 inc.vat for the inspection."

I am really angry about it. I just bought this Macbook pro to use it at least 5 or 6 years. So disappointing.

I'm shocked that there is no extended warranty program to cover this, especially since this is Europe. Do you guys do class action lawsuits or can you complain to a consumer commission?

 

[GumaRodak]

Looks like the good habbit is to sell for best price after warranty end and buy new....

 

[jerryk]

I have Macbook pro 2017 13" without touch bar model. Last week same thing happen to me. I was just watching something on the internet and suddenly turned it off itself then never open again. I take it to the Apple directly then they send me mail like this
"
Regarding the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, 2 TBT3) with serial number zxxx xxxxx that you brought for service.

The device came with No Power issue.I have checked the unit and the issue is starting from the logic board.

To repair the unit i have to replace the logic board.

The price for logic board replacement is €515 included vat and usually it takes 3-4 working days to receive the replacement unit.

The price is exchange, the old spare part is returned to Apple.The replacement part will have a 90 day warranty.

In case you would not like to proceed with any repair there will be a charge of €30 inc.vat for the inspection."

I am really angry about it. I just bought this Macbook pro to use it at least 5 or 6 years. So disappointing.

Since you just bought it, take it back to the seller and have them make it right. Sounds like they sold you a defective system.

 

[GumaRodak]

And i have to add, i work at power supply manufacturer, one of the biggest, and these circuit boards are very easy to repair, sometimes only stupid IC or cap, transistor needs to be replaced and its working again....so replacing whole board is very good business indeed

 

[Nevada92]

I have Macbook pro 2017 13" without touch bar model. Last week same thing happen to me. I was just watching something on the internet and suddenly turned it off itself then never open again. I take it to the Apple directly then they send me mail like this
"
Regarding the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, 2 TBT3) with serial number zxxx xxxxx that you brought for service.

The device came with No Power issue.I have checked the unit and the issue is starting from the logic board.

To repair the unit i have to replace the logic board.

The price for logic board replacement is €515 included vat and usually it takes 3-4 working days to receive the replacement unit.

The price is exchange, the old spare part is returned to Apple.The replacement part will have a 90 day warranty.

In case you would not like to proceed with any repair there will be a charge of €30 inc.vat for the inspection."

I am really angry about it. I just bought this Macbook pro to use it at least 5 or 6 years. So disappointing.

Complain to Apple - if enough people do so they may do something.
A top of the range computer should not be failing like this. When you buy a Mac you are paying for a quality product which will last.
There is clearly a fault in some of these machines which they should fix for free under a recall programme.

 

[Serkan Tackiran]

I'm shocked that there is no extended warranty program to cover this, especially since this is Europe. Do you guys do class action lawsuits or can you complain to a consumer commission?

I did not complain to Apple or trying lawsuit also. But I will definately do it now. I find this https://support.apple.com/13inch-ma...d that, in,eligible batteries, free of charge. But it says my macbook pro not eligible.

Even apple did not help me with recovering my datas to my harddrive from that "strange" ssd.

 

[Serkan Tackiran]

Since you just bought it, take it back to the seller and have them make it right. Sounds like they sold you a defective system.

They are not helpful because they want to sell their new products. I bought it at 2017 June.

 

[Serkan Tackiran]

And i have to add, i work at power supply manufacturer, one of the biggest, and these circuit boards are very easy to repair, sometimes only stupid IC or cap, transistor needs to be replaced and its working again....so replacing whole board is very good business indeed

I know they did not bother to repair it believe me. it is simple to change logic board completely for them. And they call themself Apple genius bar. its a Joke.

I will take it tomorrow another logic board repair service which they told me %90 chance they can repair it. We will see.

 

[swindmill]

Add my 2017 mbp w/o touchbar to the list. It just stopped turning on yesterday. I’ve had a lot of Macs, and never a total failure like this.

 

[Natzoo]

Add my 2017 mbp w/o touchbar to the list. It just stopped turning on yesterday. I’ve had a lot of Macs, and never a total failure like this.

Sadly, its form over function. I wish you the best if you deal with apple support. Maybe in a couple of years, some class action will come out about some hidden defects we don't know.

Please backup your devices to an external drive, or even two drives depending on the importance of the data. The T2 chip makes it impossible to restore data, even if one part of the mac goes bad, the whole thing is a dud.

 

[Serkan Tackiran]

Add my 2017 mbp w/o touchbar to the list. It just stopped turning on yesterday. I’ve had a lot of Macs, and never a total failure like this.

I reach apple last night about this. They keep saying "we have 1 year warranty for our devices" you can buy Applecare additionally. I said this looks like general logic board failure or manufacturing fault. The guy send me apple feedback link which I write everthing about this problem.

So we need to pay and get fixed our MPs to get our datas back.

 

[GumaRodak]

Good that there is 2y warranty in EU + you can buy additional 2-3y

 

[Serkan Tackiran]

******* Update ******

Hi guys again,

Finally I got repaired my laptop from local motherboard repair shop. it cost me 250 Euro and I got 6 month warranty. Now its time to sell this Macbook pro 2017 and switch to Windows again.

 

[eshroom]

Same here. But this was a 13" 2019 MacBook Pro, 256gb drive. Had it for 6 weeks and was working fine, all of the sudden the finder locked up and I had to do a manual shutdown (hold the power button). After that it wouldn't turn back on. Funny enough, it did make a battery chime sound whenever I plugged in the power cable. I didn't have it connected to an external display, or anything like that. However, I do use a USB-C hub, but who doesn't?!

I read a reply where someone said they've seen more logic board failures when computers are powered through a USB-C hub, and for some reason the computers are extra finicky and prone to logic board failure. Hard to believe the newer MacBooks could be so sensitive.

Did the apple tech call, tried all of their solutions and eventually had to take it to an Apple service provider, who took care of it, no fee to me for the board replacement. His only comment was "logic board failure". I'm really bothered by this. At this point, I keep no important files on the actual hard drive, all cloud sync or external drive. Still have an older MacBook Pro, which is humming away as a backup.

I think there is definitely some manufacturing quality control at fault here. With so many random logic board failures, they've got to be aware of the problem, and probably internally decided to continue as is and just fix the issues as new models progress and consider the collateral of logic board replacements less than owning up to a larger replacement program. In any case, I actually have purchased AppleCare, with the expectation of more issues in the future based off what I was reading. Should I or any of you expect these computers to fail like this? No. But I prefer to use a Mac because of certain software, and frankly.. I like Mac. I'll be reconsidering though on my next purchase if things haven't changed. Will definitely be looking out for class action lawsuits as well.

My MacBook Pro 2017 non touch is now displaying these exact symptoms. My serial is not covered by the SSD service program but I want to give it a go anyway. It seems to me this may be an SSD issue but does anyone actually know the symptoms that occur when SSD plays up under that service program? Thanks!

 

[brianmowrey]

My MacBook Pro 2017 non touch is now displaying these exact symptoms. My serial is not covered by the SSD service program but I want to give it a go anyway. It seems to me this may be an SSD issue but does anyone actually know the symptoms that occur when SSD plays up under that service program? Thanks!

Symptoms are not different than logic board blowout. Green light/ plug chime means the failure is downstream of the first few busses, but could still be different things. Repair person isolates to logic board by unplugging hard drives, memory, battery in turn (disclaimer, I’m describing what I watched my repair shop do on my machine), quick steps but unlikely to turn out to be the cause.

 

[Skeptic cynic]

Just an update, I have a 2019 MBP and two years later same issue.