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Guidance on continuing with Apple Repair on MP..

R

r00ky

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 9, 2010
39
0
Sum it up, the lock/unlock latch on the back of the Mac Pro broke. System is less than a month old, so it is covered by Apple Care.

I dropped it off @ the Genius Bar and they are informing me the entire case would have to be replaced. The latch itself is no longer serviceable.

Im a bit hesitant to be honest, ripping out EVERYTHING (logic board, HDs, PCI's, CPU, etc) just to put into a new case.

I don't mind that the latch doesn't perform, I could care less using tape to keep the side panel on. The computer is hid from view in my workspace. Its a tool to me, not a show piece.

The machine works great, and I don't want to risk dealing with the downtime that could occur if they had problems with the internal "gut" transfer, all just for a new case.

Thoughts?
 
The panel will stay in place even without being locked. However, transferring the internals to another case isn't really a big deal.

Swapping the ODD, hard drives and processor tray, and extension cards takes less than 5 minutes. The backplane is a little tricky, but nothing a handy technician couldn't manage.

Just let them do the repair. Swapping logic boards in Minis or MacBooks is way harder to do and every time I took those machines to my local AASP they did just fine.

Don't worry.
 
It's why you bought your warranty, isn't it?

Apple techs do this all the time. Just let them do it. The machines are built for these sorts of transfers.
 
If you haven't already bought the extended AppleCare, ask the store manager to give it to you. Tell them that your confidence is a bit, um, dented - and that essentially you are getting a "refurbished" product now, only 1 month after purchase. If the store won't, call AppleCare and escalate it.

Personally, after a month, if my MP needed to be taken apart and rebuilt I'd want something from Apple.

If they don't want to extend AppleCare, ask them if that then means that they don't have confidence in their own repair?

Sorry to hear about the problems... good luck... and, yes - I'd get it repaired. You paid for a fully functional system, you should get it.
 
snberk103 said:
If they don't want to extend AppleCare, ask them if that then means that they don't have confidence in their own repair?
Click to expand...

AppleCare repairs have their own warranty already.

Honestly, I don't see what the deal is. These machines were designed for this sort of work. This isn't an iMac, or a car. It's a computer tower, with removable components. I'm really not sure what the fuss is.
 
goMac said:
AppleCare repairs have their own warranty already.

Honestly, I don't see what the deal is. These machines were designed for this sort of work. This isn't an iMac, or a car. It's a computer tower, with removable components. I'm really not sure what the fuss is.
Click to expand...

Understandable GoMac. General hesitation of the unknown is what I'd chalk all this up to.

Thanks for the intel guys, seems like solid advice.

I bought the extended AppleCare when the machine was assembled.
 
r00ky said:
Understandable GoMac. General hesitation of the unknown is what I'd chalk all this up to.

Thanks for the intel guys, seems like solid advice.

I bought the extended AppleCare when the machine was assembled.
Click to expand...

It's true that a logic board swap is one of the most intensive repairs that can be done on a machine, but logic board failures aren't uncommon so these machines were really built to be able to make these sorts of swaps.
 
goMac said:
AppleCare repairs have their own warranty already.

Honestly, I don't see what the deal is. These machines were designed for this sort of work. This isn't an iMac, or a car. It's a computer tower, with removable components. I'm really not sure what the fuss is.
Click to expand...

In my experience, AppleCare repair warranties are 90 days, or the end of AppleCare, whichever is later.

If the system was nearly year old, and the latch broke... oh, well. Get it repaired and be happy it's under warranty. But just one month? This is just my personal opinion, but if my MP still had that "new computer smell" and it broke, I'd try to get something out of Apple.

That said, if they absolutely refused, that's fine as well. If they've fixed it then they've lived up to their end of the agreement. But it's good customer relations to offer something if your product only goes a month before needing warranty repair.
 
You already said you broke the latch in your last upgrade, so I would be content that Apple is fixing it for free.

As with rebuilding a machine, I've done that myself without any issues; sometimes you need to rip the machine apart piece by piece to clean it well.
 
Went ahead with the repair.

They turned around the new case install quickly. Dropped it off Sat, got it back Wed.

But guess what? Bluetooth doesn't work. Magic Mouse doesn't sync.

Multiple sets of batteries, different magic mouses.

Exactly what I wanted to avoid, more problems.
 
Sucks, call them again. Also, remember this is a Mac Pro, you shouldn't have to drive it to the Genius Bar since it is classified as a desktop machine, Apple will send someone to you.
 
jenzjen said:
Sucks, call them again. Also, remember this is a Mac Pro, you shouldn't have to drive it to the Genius Bar since it is classified as a desktop machine, Apple will send someone to you.
Click to expand...


That I didn't know. Thanks for the intel.

But, to be honest, we live literally 1.5miles away from an Apple Store. I would feel bad..

Just got off the phone w/them, obviously nothing they can do over a landline. I need to haul this MFer back in.
 
r00ky said:
Went ahead with the repair.

They turned around the new case install quickly. Dropped it off Sat, got it back Wed.

But guess what? Bluetooth doesn't work. Magic Mouse doesn't sync.

Multiple sets of batteries, different magic mouses.

Exactly what I wanted to avoid, more problems.
Click to expand...

Check the Bluetooth antennas, likely the tech forgot to reconnect them. Simple thing that they always forget. :)

(Real pain when they forget to hook them back up in a Macbook Pro. Had them do that a few times, and that's not user accessible...)
 
Part of buying a new MP is that you want it to work so I personally am glad you got the initial repair. I also have a new MP and would be seriously annoyed if something as simple as the latch broke (especially on a system where getting into it is key)

jenzjen said:
Sucks, call them again. Also, remember this is a Mac Pro, you shouldn't have to drive it to the Genius Bar since it is classified as a desktop machine, Apple will send someone to you.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that they ever came to you. I thought that 1 of the drawbacks with the applecare over other manufacturers was that you had to cart the 40lb system to them!
 
Last edited:
Was hoping to have this turned around sooner, as in same day. But doesn't look like it.

I'd like to think a brand new, 1 month old system that was just fixed that same day, and then had an immediate undiagnosed problem due to the quality odf service, would have been "triaged".

Maybe I'm expecting too much.

Is this worth perusing with a store manager when its ready? Or should I just zip it...and chalk it up to typical American Customer service.
 
r00ky said:
Was hoping to have this turned around sooner, as in same day. But doesn't look like it.

I'd like to think a brand new, 1 month old system that was just fixed that same day, and then had an immediate undiagnosed problem due to the quality odf service, would have been "triaged".

Maybe I'm expecting too much.

Is this worth perusing with a store manager when its ready? Or should I just zip it...and chalk it up to typical American Customer service.
Click to expand...

I'd mention it to the manager, but if I were you, I'd just pop open the side case to make sure the Bluetooth antenna was plugged in. It is, after all, why you bought a machine that you could open.
 
How can I access on site service?

ndraves said:
I didn't know that they ever came to you. I thought that 1 of the drawbacks with the applecare over other manufacturers was that you had to cart the 40lb system to them!
Click to expand...

+1 on this issue. How do I get them to come to me to do a repair? I've lugged it back and forth once so far for diagnosis of a bad FW800 port. Was told the part would arrive in 2-3 days and I would be notified. Then a 1 day repair.

I followed up on the part after 5 days with no notification of its arrival and was told they would check and I would be called. Waited another 2 days without a callback, and called them again...and again I was put off. Finally after 9 days I called again and the part is in. But I was told that the repair would take 5-7 days, not 1 day, to replace the circuit board with the front ports.

Based on my experience so far with the part delivery, I worry that their 5-7 day repair estimate will turn into my computer sitting there for a month waiting for repair. I can limp along without the FW800 port, but not having the computer is an issue. I would much prefer me keeping the computer and them coming to me when they are ready to do this repair vs. my computer gathering dust in their repair shop while I am out of business.

How do I go about arranging for on site repair of my MP under my Applecare policy?
 
Update on this:

I dropped the machine off on the 19th, after I had already picked it up the 19th from having the original repair done (new case). I told the genius bar lady my situation, that i was literally just here 30 mins ago, and that I am back due to new problems. And that this needed to be seen very soon.

I called them on the 21st (yesterday), they had no updates for me. They hadn't even opened it up per the tech.

I called today, they now say "we've ordered 2-3 parts for your repair". I asked them what parts and for what, they couldn't give me an answer on the phone.

I asked for a supervisor/manager right away, and waited 2 mins, and was told I would receive a call back.

What could have possibly happened from the moment I picked up my machine, carted it out to my car on a dolly, drove literally 1.5miles, and booted it up that would cause Bluetooth to cease working? Let alone, needing spare parts to be ordered?

Is this the level of service I should be expecting? For a machine to be repaired and not properly inspected before its release? You think if they had to rip out all the guts and place them in a new case they would have CHECKED EVERYTHING possible before allowing the customer to come get it.

Im convinced that is what happened, it wasn't properly inspected after the new case was installed, and here I am, 6 days of productivity down on a sub 30day old machine.

Thoughts, comments? Or should I just BOHICA....:(
 
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