Hello all,
I have a rather long story to tell, possibly some other macrumors members can relate to or comment upon.
I am a longtime Apple user. My first was an Apple LC II, running system 7. I recently purchased my very first computer of my own, as a second year university student - a macbook pro. I bought my computer in second year because I wanted to wait until apple released the sucessor to the aging powerbook G4's.
I recieved my 1st MBP in late Feb, dismayed to find that it made a bizarre noise such as I had never heard in an apple laptop before. It was a little bit of a letdown, seeing as the iBook I helped my girlfriend purchase the semester previous seemed a much quieter machine. I was willing to live with this however, in exchange for the increased power of my machine. I believed that Apple would do something to fix that noise, either by hardware or software. Soon afterwards though, my computer developped many strange bugs. Dead pixels, trackpad problems, airport problems, keys popped off (yes under normal use), and the computer would randomly not boot. I contacted apple and after running thru the service gauntlet, and taking it in to authorized service repair centers and so on, they finally agreed to declare my machine DOA.
I recieved my 2nd MBP a couple weeks later. This one "whined" too, but again I was willing to live with the whine, as long as it was stable. About a month later, more strange issues started occurring. The fan on the right hand side of my computer began to "tick", adding to the cacaphony of the buzzing logic board. The fan noise was much worse however. Then, my harddrive began to make strange umphing noises and died. Apple again insisted that I take the computer to an Authorized Service Center, although I told them that the Diagnostics wern't finding any problems. Sure enough, I took my*computer in, and they replaced its harddrive but did nothing about the fan, as it "wasn't reporting any problems". I then found out that apple had authorized Logic board replacements for "whiners". I called applecare, who apparently had never heard of "whiney" MBP's, and were unaware of any replacement program. I was told that if I had a problem, I could take my computer in to a Service Center, and it would be diagnosed. Now, another strange problem has cropped up. My MBP can only run under AC power. Disconnecting the AC even with a battery in place kills the computer.
In total, I have been without my computer for about a month, due to the number of times it has been repaired/replaced. As a student relying upon his computer, I cannot afford the added stress of the unreliability of this model. I have lost data countless times already. Beyond this matter, for the amount that I spent on this machine, I am scared that if I don't purchase applecare, this machine won't even last me another year. Besides this, I feel like I have a $2500 patchwork quilt of computer parts, not knowing which part will need replaced next. I am currently trying to pressure apple for a refund, but what I cannot get back is my confidence in Apple's products and services.
PS.
As an interesting side note, my XBOX 360 died the other day. When I called microsoft, I did not have to wait on hold, I got through immediately. Within a couple minutes, they had shipped out a replacement box which I recieved the following day. Why can't apple show the same timely service? It took me 6 calls to applecare to get my macbook pro dealt with...
I have a rather long story to tell, possibly some other macrumors members can relate to or comment upon.
I am a longtime Apple user. My first was an Apple LC II, running system 7. I recently purchased my very first computer of my own, as a second year university student - a macbook pro. I bought my computer in second year because I wanted to wait until apple released the sucessor to the aging powerbook G4's.
I recieved my 1st MBP in late Feb, dismayed to find that it made a bizarre noise such as I had never heard in an apple laptop before. It was a little bit of a letdown, seeing as the iBook I helped my girlfriend purchase the semester previous seemed a much quieter machine. I was willing to live with this however, in exchange for the increased power of my machine. I believed that Apple would do something to fix that noise, either by hardware or software. Soon afterwards though, my computer developped many strange bugs. Dead pixels, trackpad problems, airport problems, keys popped off (yes under normal use), and the computer would randomly not boot. I contacted apple and after running thru the service gauntlet, and taking it in to authorized service repair centers and so on, they finally agreed to declare my machine DOA.
I recieved my 2nd MBP a couple weeks later. This one "whined" too, but again I was willing to live with the whine, as long as it was stable. About a month later, more strange issues started occurring. The fan on the right hand side of my computer began to "tick", adding to the cacaphony of the buzzing logic board. The fan noise was much worse however. Then, my harddrive began to make strange umphing noises and died. Apple again insisted that I take the computer to an Authorized Service Center, although I told them that the Diagnostics wern't finding any problems. Sure enough, I took my*computer in, and they replaced its harddrive but did nothing about the fan, as it "wasn't reporting any problems". I then found out that apple had authorized Logic board replacements for "whiners". I called applecare, who apparently had never heard of "whiney" MBP's, and were unaware of any replacement program. I was told that if I had a problem, I could take my computer in to a Service Center, and it would be diagnosed. Now, another strange problem has cropped up. My MBP can only run under AC power. Disconnecting the AC even with a battery in place kills the computer.
In total, I have been without my computer for about a month, due to the number of times it has been repaired/replaced. As a student relying upon his computer, I cannot afford the added stress of the unreliability of this model. I have lost data countless times already. Beyond this matter, for the amount that I spent on this machine, I am scared that if I don't purchase applecare, this machine won't even last me another year. Besides this, I feel like I have a $2500 patchwork quilt of computer parts, not knowing which part will need replaced next. I am currently trying to pressure apple for a refund, but what I cannot get back is my confidence in Apple's products and services.
PS.
As an interesting side note, my XBOX 360 died the other day. When I called microsoft, I did not have to wait on hold, I got through immediately. Within a couple minutes, they had shipped out a replacement box which I recieved the following day. Why can't apple show the same timely service? It took me 6 calls to applecare to get my macbook pro dealt with...
