Apple repair could potentially take 4 months and there's nothing you can do about it?

[baryon]

I went to an Apple service center today because my "still-within AppleCare" MBP has a weird spot on the screen. They said they'll fix it for free BUT they also have to fix any other issue they find with the machine, so likely a swollen battery, which means the entire top case, which means the entire keyboard, and I have a custom ordered keyboard so the parts are very scarce and I might have to wait 4 months or more until the parts arrive. They cannot only fix the screen issue. They cannot tell me how long it's going to take before I sign my machine away indefinitely. They cannot let me have my machine back while we wait for the parts to arrive. They also cannot give me a replacement machine in the mean time. This is not because they're trying to piss me off, but because Apple's parts ordering system is so insanely strict that it won't even let them see what parts are available let alone order them until the repair is underway.

I'm seriously considering just living with the screen spot and swollen battery and not worrying about resale value, as 4 months without my machine is also going to cost me a lot of money. But I paid for AppleCare and I feel like I could get these problems fixed for "free" and it's just so tedious that I don't know what to do.

Is this just a way for Apple to ensure people don't use their repairs services? I don't understand how this makes sense. Why not order the parts, and call me when the parts arrive so I don't have to be 4 months without a machine that is required for pretty much my entire professional and non-professional life?

 

[Imperial926]

I thought my recent experience of a battery with just 300 cycles needing replacing was bad enough. They quoted 2 weeks and it would have to be sent away. In my case it should have been a standard item, repairable on-site.

In your case and mine we have a situation where the product is deemed worthy of a professional and yet this poor service would say otherwise. They should give you a new machine in the light of the delay. Otherwise they should never have offered the Apple Care.

At present it's proving extraordinarily difficult to justify buying a laptop when these issues exist. During my visit to the Genius Bar I met another person with exactly the same problem.

Apple have not asked me for feedback but I am not going to buy another laptop in the near future due to this experience. Meanwhile my laptop is on a power cord and have been saying nice things to my home-built Windows PC which I can fix myself if needs be.

I hope you find a good resolution to your problem.

 

[laptech]

This is what happens when you opt for 'custom' instead of 'standard'. If the swollen battery has done ANY damage to the top case it would need replacing and because it's a 'custom' item it would need to be made to the 'custom' specs which can take months.

Also, as far as i am aware Apple Care is not like car insurance where if your are inconvenienced for x amount of days you can be given a hire car. Apple do not provide 'hire' macbooks when a repair can take a long time but please correct me if I am wrong on this.

 

[smoking monkey]

Well that sucks. So they have said there is no user error? If so then that's unacceptable to be honest.

I'd ask to speak to a manger and then push it higher up the chain until a satisfactory resolution can be found. 4 months!?!? Why can't they order the parts and let you know when they arrive and then give them the machine? I bet they can. You're just not talking to the right person.

Don't take no for an answer, yet don't be an ****** about it. Be understanding and try and get the person on your side and get them to answer several questions that have a "yes" answer to them before you ask what you really want from them. And also talk about what you really want without directly saying it in the lead up conversation. Plant the seed of thought. The moment you show any frustration or anger and the chances of success dramatically drop in scenarios like this.

 

[Imperial926]

Despite all of that, or perhaps because of it, where does this leave the apparently 'valued customer'? I for one have had to take a long, hard look at purchasing such an expensive item again. I now work almost entirely from home so, based on the support I have received (or lack of it) I will not commit such large sums to a tool that cannot be adequately supported.

 

[Pilot Jones]

Don't take no for an answer, yet don't be an ****** about it.

The answer to almost every question in life.

@baryon there is no way it should take that long and you should not be willing to comply with such an absurd request. Try different avenues.

Maybe go to a different Apple store. You could also try an Apple Authorized Service Center instead.

IDK where you live, but if there is more than 1 Apple store around you, chances are the wait time for repairs at Apple Authorized Service Centers will be significantly smaller because most people would go directly to Apple, when this is a perfectly viable and vetted option by Apple themselves.

I've also always found Apple's Chat & Phone support to be absolutely top notch. Every time I have contacted them, they've gone out of their way to help me out. I don't think they'll perform magic like getting you a loaner device or something, but if you present your case clearly, they may help you sidestep this absurd timeline that is being offered to you.

 

[maflynn]

I might have to wait 4 months or more until the parts arrive.

Sadly, this isn't an Apple thing, so many business are still being adversely affected by the supply chain woes.

Is this just a way for Apple to ensure people don't use their repairs services? I don't understand how this makes sense

Again, this isn't Apple trying to screw over consumers, they'd repair if they could, they just don't have the parts.

I get the frustration and having little options to choose from

 

[baryon]

Thank you for all your answers. I am unfortunately in Hungary where there are only Apple Authorized Service Providers and Resellers, no "Apple Stores".

The thing is I did speak to the shop's manager, who was very kind and did check on the online system for parts. He said literally cannot access the parts ordering system until I officially hand over the machine and sign the agreement that I have sent it in for repair, he just has a general idea of wait times based on previous repairs. After which they are not allowed to hand it back to me until it is in perfect condition, regardless of what I say. They are locked out of Apple's system until the repair is officially requested.

And the repair could very well take 5 days, but it could take 5 months, so I have to be prepared for that. There is no way to tell in advance, and there is no way to cancel the repair before it's completed.

Other repair centers will use the same system, there won't be any English keyboard parts in the country. Same deal everywhere.

The craziest thing is: There is nothing wrong with my keyboard. And I don't want my battery fixed. But if they find that the battery is bulging they HAVE to fix it, and if they fix the battery, they HAVE to replace the keyboard because it's glued to it. So the whole thing is just ironic and ridiculous, I just have a small faint mark on the screen, which they could fix in 5 days if that was the only issue.

 

[TightLines]

This is what happens when you opt for 'custom' instead of 'standard'. If the swollen battery has done ANY damage to the top case it would need replacing and because it's a 'custom' item it would need to be made to the 'custom' specs which can take months.

Also, as far as i am aware Apple Care is not like car insurance where if your are inconvenienced for x amount of days you can be given a hire car. Apple do not provide 'hire' macbooks when a repair can take a long time but please correct me if I am wrong on this.

Whats custom about it?… they use the same parts in all the MBP models… it won’t take that long unless they are having supply chain problem with the replacement parts.

 

[chrfr]

This is what happens when you opt for 'custom' instead of 'standard'. If the swollen battery has done ANY damage to the top case it would need replacing and because it's a 'custom' item it would need to be made to the 'custom' specs which can take months.

The top case is a standard item. There are different ones for the different colors and different keyboard layouts, but that's it. Apple is not making a special part here.

 

[symphony1010]

Surely this is also about build and ease of servicing. I have always understood that a laptop has to be seen as an expensive disposable item but Covid-related shortages and delays have highlighted the short-term thinking that delays what used to be simple processes like changing a battery.

 

[anthonylambert]

Thank you for all your answers. I am unfortunately in Hungary where there are only Apple Authorized Service Providers and Resellers, no "Apple Stores".

The thing is I did speak to the shop's manager, who was very kind and did check on the online system for parts. He said literally cannot access the parts ordering system until I officially hand over the machine and sign the agreement that I have sent it in for repair, he just has a general idea of wait times based on previous repairs. After which they are not allowed to hand it back to me until it is in perfect condition, regardless of what I say. They are locked out of Apple's system until the repair is officially requested.

And the repair could very well take 5 days, but it could take 5 months, so I have to be prepared for that. There is no way to tell in advance, and there is no way to cancel the repair before it's completed.

Other repair centers will use the same system, there won't be any English keyboard parts in the country. Same deal everywhere.

The craziest thing is: There is nothing wrong with my keyboard. And I don't want my battery fixed. But if they find that the battery is bulging they HAVE to fix it, and if they fix the battery, they HAVE to replace the keyboard because it's glued to it. So the whole thing is just ironic and ridiculous, I just have a small faint mark on the screen, which they could fix in 5 days if that was the only issue.

The way apple does repairs is a huge fail for business users. With faults that aren't terminal they don't let you continue using the machine while they get the part in. So you could be trying to work without a machine for months!
I guess in lots of cases people decide to buy another machine! Maybe not always another Apple !

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I'm seriously considering just living with the screen spot and swollen battery"

You DO NOT want to do this.
The swollen battery is a fire and explosion hazard.
Ever seen what happens when one of these things "lets loose"?

In any case, again -- you DON'T want to keep using a Mac with a swollen battery.

SEND IT IN and get it fixed.

If you have to, buy (or rent) a replacement while it's away.

When it comes back, you can either return to your MBP and sell the replacement, or... make the replacement your "new" Mac and sell the old one when it comes back repaired.

And one thing I always ask when a swollen battery is reported:
Are you one of those folks who leaves it plugged into the charger all the time?

 

[baryon]

OP wrote:
"I'm seriously considering just living with the screen spot and swollen battery"

You DO NOT want to do this.
The swollen battery is a fire and explosion hazard.
Ever seen what happens when one of these things "lets loose"?

In any case, again -- you DON'T want to keep using a Mac with a swollen battery.

SEND IT IN and get it fixed.

If you have to, buy (or rent) a replacement while it's away.

When it comes back, you can either return to your MBP and sell the replacement, or... make the replacement your "new" Mac and sell the old one when it comes back repaired.

And one thing I always ask when a swollen battery is reported:
Are you one of those folks who leaves it plugged into the charger all the time?

Yeah I plug it in most of the time. But with my previous Mac, I used in on battery all the time and the battery puffed up too, and the Apple service guys told me it's because I had too many cycles in it (400 cycles in 5 years – wouldn't say it's that many). So now I plug it in all the time and have 230 cycles on a 3 year old machine. Honestly it seems like Apple batteries just puff up after 2-3 years no matter what you do and destroy whatever is in their way (like the trackpad). And then a "repair" means literally swapping out half of your machine which is of course expensive, or at the very least takes so long that it's not worth doing.

I've owned 3 MacBook Pros so far (2008 Unibody, 2013 Retina, 2019 16 inch) and every single one eventually got various screen defects and they all got a swollen battery. And every single time it was an absolute, total nightmare to get them repaired (both price-wise and time-wise). The Retina even got the screen problem again one year after the repair. That's why I really want to get this fixed this time before AppleCare runs out and then sell the machine. And then maybe get a normal desktop PC that I can repair myself and be done with the whole ordeal for good.

 

[Graham Caracas]

Three spotted screens, 3 cooked batteries, sounds like you've been abusing these machines from day one.
Think about getting something that can handle the type of work you do. Thoughts and prayers.

 

[KaliYoni]

it seems like Apple batteries just puff up after 2-3 years no matter what you do

I was going to add some detail to what Fishrrman said, but this article and these videos are better than anything I could write:

Help, My Laptop Battery Is Swollen! Now What?

Laptops and phones are lasting longer than ever, and as a result, batteries swelling from age and overuse are an increasingly common problem. If you're dealing with a bulging battery, here's help.

www.pcmag.com

 

[baryon]

Three spotted screens, 3 cooked batteries, sounds like you've been abusing these machines from day one.
Think about getting something that can handle the type of work you do. Thoughts and prayers.

Oh surely this means I've been abusing them and it's not Apple's computers being extremely prone to malfunctioning for no reason. Do some research about the failure rate of Apple computers, please. Just to cite few examples: Retina image retention, short ribbon cable breaking, screen yellowing, image coating flaking off, GPU "bad bump" solder failures in Unibody MacBook Pros, Butterfly Keyboard, just to name a few that I'm personally familiar with.

Do you think the retina retention was due to abuse? Do you think the screen yellowing was due to abuse? And the non-reflective coating flaking off? How about the butterfly keyboard failures? Do you think a battery would swell up from abuse? What kind of abuse would that take exactly?

These computers have been sitting on my desk 99% of the time and I've been extremely careful with them. No, I've not subjected them to any kind of abuse whatsoever knowing how much money I've spent on them. Read up on the class-action lawsuits that happen every year before blaming me for abusing the machines. Stop making it sound like these computers are perfectly designed and they only fail when abused. They have an annoyingly high likelihood of failing even when treated with care and being incredibly expensive and nearly impossible to repair makes this problem a much bigger deal than with other manufacturers.

 

[mikethemartian]

Dealing with AppleCare sounds like having to deal with IT at work.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You ain't been taking care of your batteries right.
But that's for another thread.

Send it in and get it fixed.
That's about all I've got to say.

 

[baryon]

OP:

You ain't been taking care of your batteries right.
But that's for another thread.

Send it in and get it fixed.
That's about all I've got to say.

And... what makes you think that? Just because something malfunctions doesn't necessarily mean it's my fault, you know.

I use my computer normally, I have the battery saving feature on (stops at 80%), I discharge it maybe once or twice a week, otherwise it's plugged in. That's about as much as the average user is expected to do. How much better can you take care of your battery? By the way it's advertised as a 1000 cycle battery and I currently have 240 cycles in it.

I really do wish people stopped defending Apple when their hardware keeps failing. It's the whole "You're holding it wrong" mentality. It's so typical of the Apple community and very sad to see.

So you basically have nothing at all to say. I know it needs to be fixed, that was not my question.

 

[transphasic]

And... what makes you think that? Just because something malfunctions doesn't necessarily mean it's my fault, you know.

I use my computer normally, I have the battery saving feature on (stops at 80%), I discharge it maybe once or twice a week, otherwise it's plugged in. That's about as much as the average user is expected to do. How much better can you take care of your battery? By the way it's advertised as a 1000 cycle battery and I currently have 240 cycles in it.

I really do wish people stopped defending Apple when their hardware keeps failing. It's the whole "You're holding it wrong" mentality. It's so typical of the Apple community and very sad to see.

So you basically have nothing at all to say. I know it needs to be fixed, that was not my question.

With respect, I do agree with the other poster that there appears to be something you are doing that is causing the battery to bloat, something you might not even be aware of/at fault for that is causing the battery to become damaged.

This battery technology is not unique to Apple, lithium polymer is a common battery form used by dozens of other products and companies, and bloating is quite rare. It is possible that you are causing it without intentionally doing so, for example, the current flow in your area might be inconsistent, causing damage to the cells in the battery. It might also have spikes in the grid that small electronics can't handle well. There are many unknowns here, and while Hungary is not a 3rd-world nation like sub-saharan Africa or other places, it is not France. I think you might find value from having the lines in your home checked and verified over a one week period to confirm that the electric flow is stable, consistent and not prone to spikes, low/high amplitudes, etc.

 

[mikethemartian]

With respect, I do agree with the other poster that there appears to be something you are doing that is causing the battery to bloat, something you might not even be aware of/at fault for that is causing the battery to become damaged.

This battery technology is not unique to Apple, lithium polymer is a common battery form used by dozens of other products and companies, and bloating is quite rare. It is possible that you are causing it without intentionally doing so, for example, the current flow in your area might be inconsistent, causing damage to the cells in the battery. It might also have spikes in the grid that small electronics can't handle well. There are many unknowns here, and while Hungary is not a 3rd-world nation like sub-saharan Africa or other places, it is not France. I think you might find value from having the lines in your home checked and verified over a one week period to confirm that the electric flow is stable, consistent and not prone to spikes, low/high amplitudes, etc.

You realize that one of the purposes of a battery is to act as a buffer of charge and provide a constant voltage across its terminals. You are basically telling him he needs to buy a UPS with a battery in it to regulate the voltage across the battery in his laptop. The battery in his laptop should already be able to do that itself.

 

[symphony1010]

I think the wider question here is about ease of repair. A battery that is plumbed into the computer is not a great idea when these things can become problematic and have a finite life. In one sense Apple seems to say that when your battery is ailing you need to just buy another laptop. That was really what I was told when I visited the Apple Store in the UK. I expected an on-site repair that day for an item with the word 'Pro' in the name.

Nevertheless, I can see that the modern trend for thin, fast and efficient machines involves certain compromises. In order not to just become embittered I consider I will just buy a new one around the 5 year mark and live with it. The Windows laptop market is not competitive so that's just the way it is.

 

[VaruLV]

With respect, I do agree with the other poster that there appears to be something you are doing that is causing the battery to bloat, something you might not even be aware of/at fault for that is causing the battery to become damaged.

This battery technology is not unique to Apple, lithium polymer is a common battery form used by dozens of other products and companies, and bloating is quite rare. It is possible that you are causing it without intentionally doing so, for example, the current flow in your area might be inconsistent, causing damage to the cells in the battery. It might also have spikes in the grid that small electronics can't handle well. There are many unknowns here, and while Hungary is not a 3rd-world nation like sub-saharan Africa or other places, it is not France. I think you might find value from having the lines in your home checked and verified over a one week period to confirm that the electric flow is stable, consistent and not prone to spikes, low/high amplitudes, etc.

I wonder what's the laptop
charger for?

 

[richinaus]

The way apple does repairs is a huge fail for business users. With faults that aren't terminal they don't let you continue using the machine while they get the part in. So you could be trying to work without a machine for months!
I guess in lots of cases people decide to buy another machine! Maybe not always another Apple !

You are not a business if you don't have any contingency plans in place for the main tools of your job.

Also build a relationship with the business team and buy your computers with your business account.