Louis Rossman on soldered SSD

[BigMcGuire]

Really.

You should see the ones on his Youtube videos and Reddit.

He at one point told someone "never listen to elon bootlickers" which was edited to "elon stans". Since then I believe he deleted the comment as I can't find it anymore. Either that or the YouTube comment search sucks.

Clearly he despises Elon judging by the videos he makes and anyone in the comments defending Elon will trigger Louis. So much so he loses his temper sometimes and has to go back and edit his comments later.

Then there are some posts on Reddit which are too aggressive to post on here but check his comments history. He'll call his own customers ******* tools and he even admits he'll slander someone in the "heat of aggression".

I for one will stay far away from Louis as much as possible.

I have been a long time subscriber to his channel and I've watched a lot of his videos. Yeah, he's got strong opinions and he's not a passive person but that video where he responded to the comments in this thread (and one of those were my comment early on) - I thought was pretty level headed and cool. I linked the video earlier in this thread.

I don't get the love or hate for Elon. People are never going to do exactly what we like but I don't understand the love and hate for that guy. I have no desire to control Elon and it's my opinion that if you take anyone else and put them in Elon's position - most of us would do similar things - we're all the same species after all. I own a Tesla because I really like the car, I could care less about Mr. Musk.

You're more than entitled to your opinion and you're more than welcome not to like Mr. Rossmann. It's the freedom we have. I for one find the guy interesting, I've learned quite a bit from his videos, and found his discussion here to be enlightening. Is he perfect? I respond with, I'm not perfect so I don't expect anyone else to be.

I used to work at Wal-Mart for one of my first jobs. So re the customer posts... I completely understand lol. People go out of their way to make a difficult life even more difficult. I do not understand this.

I support repair shops like Mr. Rossman's shop. Unfortunately, my Apple devices have been pretty solid so I haven't been able to throw business his way. Despite my view that Apple is amazing, I like that Mr. Rossman points out flaws that Apple has. From a consumer standpoint, I've found Apple's hardware to be really well made. Always good to look at all sides of the coin, even if one does not agree with it or like it. Again, is Apple perfect? Nope.

 

[maflynn]

Clearly he despises Elon judging by the videos

You know, seeing this, makes me like and respect Rossman even more. Clearly he's a great judge of character

 

[tripsync]

I have been a long time subscriber to his channel and I've watched a lot of his videos. Yeah, he's got strong opinions and he's not a passive person but that video where he responded to the comments in this thread (and one of those were my comment early on) - I thought was pretty level headed and cool. I linked the video earlier in this thread.

I don't get the love or hate for Elon. People are never going to do exactly what we like but I don't understand the love and hate for that guy. I have no desire to control Elon and it's my opinion that if you take anyone else and put them in Elon's position - most of us would do similar things - we're all the same species after all. I own a Tesla because I really like the car, I could care less about Mr. Musk.

You're more than entitled to your opinion and you're more than welcome not to like Mr. Rossmann. It's the freedom we have. I for one find the guy interesting, I've learned quite a bit from his videos, and found his discussion here to be enlightening. Is he perfect? I respond with, I'm not perfect so I don't expect anyone else to be.

I used to work at Wal-Mart for one of my first jobs. So re the customer posts... I completely understand lol. People go out of their way to make a difficult life even more difficult. I do not understand this.

I support repair shops like Mr. Rossman's shop. Unfortunately, my Apple devices have been pretty solid so I haven't been able to throw business his way. Despite my view that Apple is amazing, I like that Mr. Rossman points out flaws that Apple has. From a consumer standpoint, I've found Apple's hardware to be really well made. Always good to look at all sides of the coin, even if one does not agree with it or like it. Again, is Apple perfect? Nope.

It's fine if you like him but you highlighted something that is pretty focused on something that was contradictory to the things I've seen him do.

If you like him despite his aggressive and insulting behavior then that's fine. Just wanted to point out he's not always level head and is often at times insulting and very hostile. 👍

 

[tripsync]

Everyone who has customers has stupid customers. And we swear at them and call them names. Sometimes in public. If you didn't you'd probably explode from internalising all the pain.

Sorry, if you do that, I'm never doing business with you. You can have the most racist/obnoxious/transphobic/aggressive customer and you should still deal with it professionally. You should never resort to calling someone a ******* tool as a business. That's just tells me you have a short temper. If I have a problem with the product I purchased from you, I'll feel hesitant to go to you for help. I feel like you might just blame me for the issue even though it's not my fault at all.

Imagine if Tim Cook went to someone at a genius bar who was acting self entitled to some free battery replacements and called that person a ******* tool. That won't go over good with many customers even though we'd hate that customer.

 

[Analog Kid]

If you like him despite his aggressive and insulting behavior then that's fine. Just wanted to point out he's not always level head and is often at times insulting and very hostile.

Musk and his angry horde are an unlikely group of victims to defend from insulting and hostile language...

 

[ArkSingularity]

I feel like you might just blame me for the issue even though it's not my fault at all.

So you and I agree. It is very important to take care of your customers and to treat them with respect. How do you feel about instances where Apple has blamed their customers when things have gone wrong?

You aren't getting a good signal? You're holding the phone wrong.

You got a mysterious error on your phone six months after you last got it repaired and got a screen replaced? Well, it's your fault for going to an independent repair shop.

You got your MacBook screen replaced by a third party? Fine, we will disable true tone.

You experienced data loss because of a failed SSD on your 2019 MacBook Pro (a model known to have higher SSD failure rates)? You lost data because of another failure that burned out the logic board, and now can't get your data? Well, you should have backed it up, there is no defect here.

Louis Rossmann is not perfect, nor do I agree with him on everything. But he has 4.9 stars backed by over 1,700 ratings on Google, and has made a business taking care of customers who have fallen through the cracks. You're telling me that he's a hostile, aggressive, disrespectful person who has a short temper and who is blaming his customers when things go wrong?

 

[tripsync]

So you and I agree. It is very important to take care of your customers and to treat them with respect. How do you feel about instances where Apple has blamed their customers when things have gone wrong?

Has Tim Cook ever said ******* tool? Nope.

You aren't getting a good signal? You're holding the phone wrong.

FYI Steve Jobs never said those exact words. Says a lot when someone keeps repeating that phrase. Big difference between saying "Just avoid holding it in that way" and "You're holding the phone wrong". Avoid holding it in that way doesn't put blame on the customer. "You're holding the phone wrong" is putting the blame on the customer.

 

[ArkSingularity]

Has Tim Cook ever said ******* tool? Nope.

Find me someone who hasn't, then let's compare the reviews. When I need a repair that Apple themselves has turned me away from (or been unable to do for an affordable price), I'll take the guy with 4.9 stars.

Words (and mistakes) aside, he has a track record that speaks for itself IMO.

 

[tripsync]

Find me someone who hasn't, then let's compare the reviews. When I need a repair that Apple themselves has turned me away from (or been unable to do for an affordable price), I'll take the guy with 4.9 stars.

Words (and mistakes) aside, he has a track record that speaks for itself.

Turning away is not the same as saying ******* tool.

 

[ArkSingularity]

Turning away is not the same as saying ******* tool.

This is perhaps the difference between you and I. I'd rather take the person who tells me the truth with a blunt edge than the person who tells me a lie with a smile.

 

[tripsync]

This is perhaps the difference between you and I. I'd rather take the person who tells me the truth with a blunt edge than the person who tells me a lie with a smile.

Entire would full of humans with no filter would be chaos actually.

 

[ArkSingularity]

Entire would full of humans with no filter would be chaos actually.

Yes it would. And so would a world where everyone is afraid to tell the truth for fear that it might offend.

 

[tripsync]

Yes it would. And so would a world where everyone is afraid to tell the truth for fear that it might offend.

Sounds like they should tell the truth but with a filter for the sake of being professional. That doesn't sound like Louis to me.

 

[ArkSingularity]

Sounds like they should tell the truth but with a filter for the sake of being professional. That doesn't sound like Louis to me.

Rossmann's 4.9 star rating seems to suggest he's not doing too terrible of a job to me.

There will always be some who disagree, and that's fine.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Sounds like they should tell the truth but with a filter for the sake of being professional. That doesn't sound like Louis to me.

I found proof of Louis Rossmann being violent and angry, intent to cause harm.

- violence against a horsefly. (First 30 seconds).

Sorry... trying to be funny

 

[tripsync]

Rossmann's 4.9 star rating seems to suggest he's not doing too terrible of a job to me.

And how much of that is based on making Youtube videos that confirms consumer bias against Apple's capitalistic practices vs genuine repair?

EDIT: lol

 

[LambdaTheImpossible]

And how much of that is based on making Youtube videos that confirms consumer bias against Apple's capitalistic practices vs genuine repair?

EDIT: lol

What the?

That’s a perfectly reasonable review and reply. And I don’t even have a problem with the screen price.

Where it is really at: People will bitch about paying for a phone repair when they broke something while blowing $1200 to change some oil and filters on their Mercedes once a year.

 

[tripsync]

What the?

That’s a perfectly reasonable review and reply.

I think you need to understand what I stated.

 

[ArkSingularity]

And how much of that is based on making Youtube videos that confirms consumer bias against Apple's capitalistic practices vs genuine repair?

EDIT: lol

You're making assumptions about the political motivations of his customers and his viewers. One review doesn't necessarily prove that claim.

 

[tripsync]

You're making assumptions about the political motivations of his customers and his viewers. One review doesn't necessarily prove that claim.

Never said it proved anything. It supports my claim.

 

[Analog Kid]

Never said it proved anything. It supports my claim.

It doesn't support your claim. Nothing in that review is incorrect.

Look, I also feel that Rossmann's channel is more heat than light and I’m not a fan of legislating design decisions. No point in me reiterating why. But he can be the face of those YouTube rants and still have happy customers. Those customers may be happy in part because they believe in what he's doing politically or even just as a service to the community and that means they're more accepting of things with him that they may not be with others-- but that doesn't make their happiness any less legitimate.

If you're going to look at this through the capitalistic lens you raised, you have to see it that way. It doesn't matter why people value his services, it only matters that they do. Just like it doesn't matter if people value Apple products because the marketing makes them feel good or if it's because those products help those people be more profitable. Both are forms of value.

And bringing Musk and his freedum of speak carnival into this is laughable. Their whole ethos is that speech isn't free if you can't be an ******* to someone's face. There are people who deserve protecting online, but that lunatic horde aren't the people I'd start with.

I don’t expect I’ll be a customer or subscriber any time soon, and while I don't advocate just lashing out at your customers and calling them all ******* tools, it seems like there are enough non-tool customers that are satisfied enough to keep him in the black.

And there are times when you just have to speak truth to tools.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

And how much of that is based on making Youtube videos that confirms consumer bias against Apple's capitalistic practices vs genuine repair?

EDIT: lol

archive.org it baby! I was 4.9 on google maps before i did my first youtube video!

Less reviews, but same rating, dating back to my first repair. Back then was using an extension cord to plug in my soldering iron at herald square park before I could afford a "real" office I've always had an of service mindset. It means we come to work earlier, leave later, and enter our 30s with more gray hair(and less of it) - but it's a small price to pay for a good reputation.

Admittedly, I have used higher salaries as a crutch. We pay better than other companies in the industry as opposed to the michael gerber way of running a business - coming up with procedures/policies that allow someone making close to minimum wage to do the job right 95% of the time. but, the people who work here genuinely give a crap about the customers. I make sure everyone understands that what sits between us and working at a ubreakifix/CPR for $12-$17/hr is that people who walk in feel like we exceeded their expectations, and did a good enough job to be worth telling everyone... the day we become "normal" is the day our differentiating factor goes away, and we're all stuck finding something else to do for work, and I don't think anybody wants to do that. They get that, and so do I.

in terms of tools, the last time I recall calling a customer a tool was someone who claimed we made their macbook weigh more after a repair. he asked if i used leaded, or unleaded solder. I replaced one 0201 resistor for pulling up SMC_RESET_L on the PP3V42_G3H line. We spent 45 minutes arguing. I have about 3000+ videos, so my memory isn't always going to be correct, but... I stand by calling that person a tool. Was making something up to be difficult to get a discount because they were mad they got a parking ticket after we told them they shouldn't park in front of the store. One of those people who wants everyone to share in their misery.

and I’m not a fan of legislating design decisions. No point in me reiterating why.

Honestly, we might agree more than I thought. For the most part, I don't care how it's designed, as long as we get access to what we need to be able to fix it. The whole iphones-use-lightning-instead-of-USB-C wasn't ever an issue that I felt in my gut personally aggravated by.... use lightning, USB-C, a cochleae, whatever - as long as you make the part available so your own authorized service technicians aren't telling customers it's irreplaceable when it is, I'm good.

The user removable battery decision I was on the fence about, and more pro it now - but that is completely separate from right to repair, and is not something I've ever personally put lobbying dollars behind. Right to repair is about making parts/manuals available, it isn't about telling the manufacturer they have to have their design approved by Mitch McConnell & AOC. That is a world I genuinely shudder to imagine living in. I've made sure any right to repair bill I have been a part of hasn't mandated specific design decisions, outside making the bare necesseties required to perform a repair available to the owner of the device or a service shop.

 

[darkmatter343]

There isn’t a single company on this planet—okay, maybe a few—that are your friend and give 2 ____ about you as a consumer. When the day ends, they care about the bottom line, and if they can win some customer service award on the side—bonus For them.

Unless you’re looking at a $400 best buy special laptop, I woulnd’t buy any laptop from any manufacture without extended warranty and that’s especially true for Apple products. As good as Lenovo’s are, I wouldn’t buy a $1500 X1 Carbon without coverage because 1) the parts normally aren’t available on eBay, & 2) I don’t have the time nor the patience.

Obviously everyone is going to have a different take on Apple, positive or negative; you love them, you hate them. though personally I feel there’s a much larger picture I focus on which is what I think some people forget when they rip into a company for xyz And their practices because let’s face it, most companies if not all are companies for a reason—to make bank.

I know very well Apple is Anti-Consumer, and when/if I buy an Apple product I already go into the purchase knowing they don’t have my best interest in hand. The shareholders are the only ones they want to circle-jk with 😢.
If my family used Androids I’d be using an Android, and in all honestly I love the Pixel phones but; my parents use iPhones, my spouse has an iPhone, my kids use iPads and one has an iPhone; we all use Find My to see where we are; my mom uses a Mac mini because it’s just easier for her (for years she used XP, then I switched her to Linux dressed up as XP, but eventually even that was cumbersome though it made my life easier to SSH in and fix stuff); So for convenience we are predominantly an Apple family, though not by my choice.

I’ll give Apple my money for a MacBook Pro or Air, but I go into the purchase knowing the engineering behind it is questionable, and the bad design decisions they’ve possibly made. Maybe it’ll last a year and crap out; but maybe it’ll last 5-10 years. I don’t care either way. My time is worth more; I don’t touch an Apple product unless it has Apple care, because at the end of the day if the SSD fails, I can drive 5 minutes; walk into the Apple store and more times than not walk out with a replacement device. Same goes for Dell, Lenovo, HP, [insert your brand] although with all PC manufactures it’s a little crappier since you have to ship the device in more times than not. And don’t get me started on Dell Inspiron, HP Pavilion etc quality… 😬

I don’t have much free time currently, and so conveince is worth more to me than worrying about a possible drive failure. IF you do buy a MacBook knowing about its design flaw, and fail to buy the Apple care—well 🫡 Most people buying a $1000, $2000, 3000$ MacBook aren’t interested in purchasing another $300 in warranty they feel they may never need, and so I get that’s where the argument lies—the consumer shouldn’t have to blindly bus a product the corporation selling it to them designed in a faulty way. But that’s the world we live in now. Corporations are self and shareholder interested only, and you are a number that shows up on the bottom line. Go into your Apple purchase knowing that; take the risk of buying or not buying the warranty; and live with and enjoy your purchase.

This is written by a PC technician whois been in the business since the 90’s; I’ve worked at an Apple store as well (privately owned Mac store); I’m MacOS certified; A+ yada yada, but I also started off selling PC’s in the early 2000’s for Best Buy so I know consumers get pissed off. “No I don’t want to spend another $400 on warranty, I thought you said this was an amazing laptop, so is it or is it trash?” — month, year later they come storming in “wtf!” 🤷🏼‍♂️

Side story.

I visited the Genius bar the other day to have my kids iPad replaced, he thought it served a dual purpose as a flying projectile (wall 1 — iPad 0). There’s this lady with an iPhone 13 Pro Max, bent like a banana demanding a replacement, but she’s arguing she can’t see any bend; holding it close to the guys face saying there’s no bend, and the poor Genius Bar tech is patiently trying to show her it’s got more bend than her bedside table 🍆

 

[darkmatter343]

in terms of tools, the last time I recall calling a customer a tool was someone who claimed we made their macbook weigh more after a repair. he asked if i used leaded, or unleaded solder.

🤣 Oh the amount of times I’ve been there as a tech back in the day, eg; customer comes in to have NIC installed, 2 weeks later comes back with the CDRom tray half hanging out yelling “You did this when you installed the network card!”

 

[exlxaxd]

More reliable, lower profile, higher performance, larger battery. All wins from soldering parts to the board. The downside is that the very small number of people who like to tinker, can't.

It goes beyond “tinkering” though… There’s another huge downside that I’m surprised more people aren’t calling out here: By soldering RAM and SSD to the board, Apple empowers themselves to price these components as high as they possibly can — and boy, do they ever.

Their strategy is obvious when you consider they still sell $1600 laptops with a “whopping” 512gb SSD and 8gb of RAM. Customers that buy such a machine are most likely ignorant about how pathetic these specs are for that price in 2023… And they’re more easily upsold to a 2TB SSD for “only” $600 more.

Comparing prices for the latest and greatest M.2 SSDs to what Apple charges for similar storage upgrades (when configuring a new machine) reveals that they’re likely charging at least ~300% more than what you’d pay if you could buy your own SSD and pop it into a socket.

Soldering the SSD to the logic board doesn’t make it perform better. It makes it more efficient for Apple to manufacture, and easier for them to tie their hands as they price-gouge their customers on basic components. I believe the line goes something like: “Remember, you can’t upgrade later, so make sure you get the most storage you can afford.” And the same tactic applies to RAM sales as well.