DEAD MBP2018 Touch, hat in hand looking for advice...

[wharf_rat]

Hello all

I have a 2018 Macbook Pro touch bar (4 thunderbolt) that is as dead as can be and I'm desperate for advice. Some relevant background info: of course after a few months purchased the MB suddenly went dead. Trackpad wouldn't click, power button would boot. I closed the lid, unplugged the charger and when inserted again the Mac would make that "bong-power attached" sound. Lift the lid and it would boot right up and back to normal.

It gave me bad vibes but what could I do really? I don't have Apple Care, I just hoped it was some weird thing and that was that. Then it happens again, so I do the same thing and it works.

Flash forward to a couple days ago when it happens again. Running nothing crazy, Google Chrome, Preview, Logic, iTunes, and this POS MB does it again. And now the Mac doesn't make the "power attached" sound when I attach the power cable, the trackpad dosen't click, and the power button obviously dosen't boot. I've tried resetting the SMC but no results.

This leaves such a bad taste in my mouth, what can I realistically do? This glued together machine the consumer can't do anything with, the first Mac I saved and saved for, bought new, and it takes a dump like this after a year and a half? iBook from 98' running strong, 09' Macbook running strong after HD replacement, I never had an issue with either of those that I spent a fraction of $ that this Dead useless MBP cost.

I hope someone out that can assuage my feelings on this. Honestly it's depressing. I just don't know what to do. Help!

Thank you!

 

[nickdalzell1]

Maybe the battery has crapped the bed? I sure hope my 2019 version doesn't have this issue...

 

[Fishrrman]

Ummm... do you have a brick-n-mortar Apple Store anywhere near?
If so... why not make an appt. at the genius bar and let them have a look at it?

 

[Ruggy]

Good advice there: if you can get to an Apple store and let them have a look at it then do it.
They will firstly be able to use diagnostic tools to examine it and give you an idea what's wrong and they are pretty good at helping you out if something has died unexpectedly in my experience.
If it's user damage, then there's not much you can do but pay but if a part has died, then they very often will fix it for you Apple care or not.
Anyway, no better advice than get it to Apple really and they have a pick up service too although it's definitely better to deal with someone face to face.
Sorry for you. A real pain.

 

[wharf_rat]

"Genuis Bar" ehh not totally sold on. I'll call at this point but my faith in them is low. (A friend had a sleep issue with a Mac Pro a few years ago and the "Geniuses" were convinced he was full of ****, he sends a video of the problem happening and their response "Uhh Yea I noticed you don't have an Apple(TM) keyboard and mouse hooked up and....." what a bunch of nonsense, and of course it was the fricking motherboard on the POS. Basically....eh, it seems to be my last option but 2020 Apple is a far cry from 2000 Apple. I tell you what those cheap Windows laptops look real good right now. First and last time I sink that kind of money into a fricking computer. Apple aint what it used to be. Nostalgia is expensive.

BTW: Not user damage the firggin thing has sat on my desk it's entire existence, working until it decides not to. ughghg...

 

[profcutter]

Well, you’re right that Apple isn’t what it used to be, and the machines aren’t as groundbreaking, durable, or ahead of the pack as they once were. That said, did you buy this machine new or used? Is it less than one year since you bought it? Did you buy AppleCare? The lesson many of us have learned is to never buy without AppleCare. I think taking it to the Genius Bar is a good idea, they might be able to give you the fixed price option.

 

[wharf_rat]

I bought it new summer of '18. Currently sitting unplugged hoping for the battery to discharge and maybe it will recognize power. what else do you do with an aluminum brick?

 

[nickdalzell1]

"Genuis Bar" ehh not totally sold on. I'll call at this point but my faith in them is low. (A friend had a sleep issue with a Mac Pro a few years ago and the "Geniuses" were convinced he was full of ****, he sends a video of the problem happening and their response "Uhh Yea I noticed you don't have an Apple(TM) keyboard and mouse hooked up and....." what a bunch of nonsense, and of course it was the fricking motherboard on the POS. Basically....eh, it seems to be my last option but 2020 Apple is a far cry from 2000 Apple. I tell you what those cheap Windows laptops look real good right now. First and last time I sink that kind of money into a fricking computer. Apple aint what it used to be. Nostalgia is expensive.

BTW: Not user damage the firggin thing has sat on my desk it's entire existence, working until it decides not to. ughghg...

Sounds an awful lot like the 'Genius Bar' is Apple's version of Best Buy's 'Geek Squad'

that being said, I have tried Windows 10 and it's not even close. Try scrolling on a touchpad on one. It sucks, jitters all over and Microsoft Edge doesn't support Adblock. I'm spoiled by my Mac experience. I couldn't get used to scrolling on Windows again. I have to force myself to use Win10 at work and it's awful. Slow, always trying to update whenever it wants (I no longer believe in updates or having to relearn the UI when it changes), scrolling is garbage, the amount of ads on Edge (just Internet Explorer renamed) is awful, and a third party browser feels less optimized (Firefox supports Adblock and so on but performs awfully). This is on a work machine with 12GB RAM and a 2TB HDD. It performs a lot like an old 486DX running Windows 95.

 

[profcutter]

Yeah, if you’re lucky, Apple has a fixed price option, where you pay a flat rate for repairs, they send the machine to the depot and you wait 10 days to get it back. It used to be 300 dollars, but it may have gone up. It’s at the genius’s discretion as far as I can tell, so be super nice and courteous and maybe they can help you out.

 

[MacBH928]

Yup, Apple laptops sucks in quality control and its made worse that you can not fix it and made worse that its super expensive. I'd move to Windows side of things honestly if you require a laptop or go the Apple way but be ready for the risk.

What I would do in your situation is just send it to Apple, I am sure they can fix it for whatever fee it is. What I believe this is, is that you got a "lemon" from the factory, this thing was not built correctly. If Apple is a nice company, they should replace it.

 

[lgjay]

You might want to start considering a windows alternative. I wouldn’t put too much faith in Apple’s support. It most likely will be just a waste of time and a hassle to deal with them.

Heck, it’s just not worth it anymore spending thousands of dollars on a Mac whose qualities on both hardware and software often cannot be guaranteed. It’s just too much a stake for a laptop computer.

 

[Fishrrman]

You've been given good advice -- take it to an Apple Store genius bar.
Doing this will cost you nothing more than the time for the visit.

If you don't want to do that... well... put it back into the closet.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Perhaps the OP lives in one of the many cities who doesn't have an Apple Store? I'm in that boat myself--if something of mine breaks, out comes the multi-meter and soldering iron. I always love that I learned repair skills. Comes in handy a ton

 

[vkd]

You said you'd reset the SMC but what about the NVRAM? Start it up holding the Command + Option + P + R keys, it should reset and start again. Let this happen 2 or 3 times and then let it go to full startup.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Does anyone know if the MBP runs off the battery even when on AC? Like it's dependent on the battery actually being connected in order to power on? If the internal battery somehow got shorted internally, it's quite possible it shut down for some sort of safety.

When my PowerBook G4 was totally dead as in doornail (no sound at all, even with power connected) I ended up pulling the PRAM battery and it works fine now.