MBP- My first impressions JUNK!!!!

[Scottfire]

I'm going to start by apologizing for my current attitude, I'm aggravated and disappointed.
I do an extreme amount of research and time before buying anything. I have close to $5000 coming from Apple in equipment right now in the mail. ie software, Airport Extreme, printer, etc etc.
My wife calls me at work and says your MBP 17" came in the mail today, I beg her to bring it to me at work, she does and its like Christmas all over again cause she knows how long I've waited any how let me get to the story.
1 Hour in to playing with my new MBP and the screen goes into a dark sleep mode. I can't wake it up. Call Apple "sorry we gone home for the night" so I go on line..........yes, I reset the pram holding down this and that at start up etc etc....and that doesn't work.
Apple online says download updates; now this makes me mad. I spend $3000 on a lap-top and it freakin doesn't even come with the most recent updates?????????????????? What the h@ll???? Come on this is an Apple MBP not a Dell or Gateway. You'd think Apple would have the common since to make sure they ship a computer with current updates! No, mine needed 6 different updates and that didn't help my dark sleep screen that wont wake up.
NOTE: there was a little flicker in the screen and it went to sleep.
So, I spent my first hour playing and the next 4 hours trying to fix this NEW computers glitches. Still no fix.
I think I have made a horrible mistake by crossing over to Apple.
SV

 

[mad jew]

Sounds like you got a dodgy unit. They should be pretty good about replacing it.

 

[swiftaw]

No mass-produced product can maintain a 0% defect rate whilst remaining affordable. Products come with a warranty for precisely this reason.

 

[Scottfire]

Yes, you both are right............and again I apologize for my frusterated post. Its just so very disappointing, been waiting and saving and working overtime for months to get this machine and almost sleepless at night waiting for it arrival and now this....................
I'm going to keep the faith though and see what happens.
SV

taliz...........huh?? Can't figure out your post, two comes next yes.......

 

[aquajet]

No mass-produced product can maintain a 0% defect rate whilst remaining affordable. Products come with a warranty for precisely this reason.

Why is this so difficult for some people to understand?

I spend $3000 on a lap-top and it freakin doesn't even come with the most recent updates??????????????????

These computers are sealed in a box. Do you really expect Apple to unpackage their unsold computers every time a software update is released, and then repackage the unit, and repeat as necessary for subsequent updates? I mean, you do realize how terribly impractical this would be, right?

With that said, return the computer and ask for a new machine. This certainly passes as dead on arrival.

Edit:

I'm going to keep the faith though and see what happens.

Okay, good. Allow Apple to rectify the situation and I'm sure you'll be pleased.

 

[Scottfire]

I stand corrected. Yes, you are right.

 

[CedarPoint182]

Scottfire, I know how you feel. I've owned 3 Apple computers in the last 3 months and they've all had problems. New computers shouldn't be coming out of the box warped, with casing damage, or shutting off randomly. I know that these things will happen occasionally, but it never happened with any PC laptop I owned. It just seems like this is happening too much with Apple computers, and for new Apple users who pay the premium price to get an Apple its pretty frustrating.

It seems like Apple has great ideas for their products, but can't seem to get their manufacturers and repair people to live up the "Apple image". I just returned my MacBook after numerous failed repairs, and got a MBP instead. There is some minor case warping, but at this point I don't really care. I just really know how this guy feels. After putting down so much for an Apple product, it really is just disappointing.

 

[DigitalN.]

personally never had an issue with any Apple I have ever purchased, except for my uncanny ability to break screens.

 

[Zmmyt]

I feel sorry for your bad luck.

That's why I expect every electronic I buy to be DOA (Dead On Arrival) just to make sure I'm not too disappointed when it happens; seriously.

Hope everything works out well for you.


-cheers

 

[typerlover]

Good luck with the mbp. Ive had two so far and quality is interesting to say the least. Too bad we're all hooked on the machines though, so there must be a lot more good than bad!

 

[itsbetteronamac]

While I am the biggest Apple fan there is, I to feel that their products are pretty sucky at times. (I am okay with this because my increased productivity makes up for the times it spends getting fixed) I have had more problems with my Powerbook/MBP than I can imagine. Problems in order:

1) Video Card Died within 12 hours of purchase
2) LCD White Spotting
3) RAM fried
4) Logic Board Died
5) LCD Color and Lighting Issues

*Given brand new MBP because of all my problems*

6) Keyboard and Trackpad Died (Replace Top Case Assembly)
7) Bluetooth Module Died

So all in all I feel your pain man. Don't get me wrong I love Apple. But their build quality sucks major booty some times.

 

[Scottfire]

Wow,
Not feeling too confident now after reading your replies. I think I will see how things go at Apple store tomarrow and that will decide if I go back to PC or not.
With my PC I was always battleing bugs virus etc but never in 6 years and many hours of use did I have hardware issues with my Dell. Hmmmmm......

 

[spork183]

Wow,
Not feeling too confident now after reading your replies. I think I will see how things go at Apple store tomarrow and that will decide if I go back to PC or not.
With my PC I was always battleing bugs virus etc but never in 6 years and many hours of use did I have hardware issues with my Dell. Hmmmmm......

my wife swears by her dell laptop. we use it to heat the house on cold nights. just shut the lid, pop it in the laptop bag, and wait for the heat to come on as the processor goes balls out in some misguided attempt to remain awake. but no worries, the battery hasn't exploded in over a month...

every maker has their share of problems. I think that Apple's is exacerbated by the fact that for many years, they didn't. Recently, it seems like they are making up for lost time.

 

[Chundles]

Wow,
Not feeling too confident now after reading your replies. I think I will see how things go at Apple store tomarrow and that will decide if I go back to PC or not.
With my PC I was always battleing bugs virus etc but never in 6 years and many hours of use did I have hardware issues with my Dell. Hmmmmm......

Welcome to the wonders of online forums. Nobody comes here to proclaim that they have a perfect machine. The main reason places like this exist is to help the few unlucky folks who have problems so the majority of the people on this site (which represent a tiny percentage of the Mac community) will have had some problems.

Early on in the period of ownership is when hardware is likely to show it's not quite right. That's why there are warranties and you should put yours to good use, as should anyone with problems. The more companies need to do warranty repairs the more they'll invest in QC to ensure they don't need to do more in the future.

Sorry you've had problems, and yes, PCs have the same problems at probably the same rate (we all use the same hardware now remember - there's no such thing as "special Apple hardware" except the logic boards of course) but you've come to a friendly place where we'll help you get the right advice as quickly as we can.

So ring Apple, explain to them calmly the state of your laptop and ask them what they are prepared to do to remedy the situation.

Oh, and yeah, you're going to have to download updates, they don't unpack everything everytime a new update comes out - luckily it's a very straightforward procedure.

Hope you've got everything under control, don't hesitate to ask for help.

You've made the right decision, this is just an unexpected speedhump.

 

[valdore]

guess I'm lucky, my one mac I've ever owned (bought it in Nov.) seems to be flawless. so far anyway.

 

[spork183]

Welcome to the wonders of online forums. Nobody comes here to proclaim that they have a perfect machine.

guess I'm lucky, my one mac I've ever owned (bought it in Nov.) seems to be flawless. so far anyway.

exploded that myth...

 

[kalayci]

I am waiting on new upgrades to hit MBP before I make a switch to Apple. However, I can clearly understand the disappointment Scottfire had. To be honest, I would be disappointed too. If I end up spending $3000+ for a laptop I expect quality to be good. I am not saying flawless but good. However, even on this forum there are so many users are complaning about issues that Apple should catch at the production line. Issue like, misallignment, hardware issues, battery, fan problems, etc..

You can get a loaded 17" HP laptop for $1600 and loaded 17" MBP is $2800. It is apples and oranges however 80% of the time you use it for same purpose and one cost 12 more Benjamins.

Long story short, I will get a 17" MBP and if there is one little thing that makes me uncomfortable (misallignment, wierd noise, dead pixel, etc) I will take it back to the apple store.

 

[valdore]

exploded that myth...

now that i think about it though, there are times when my macbook seems thirsty for more ram. especially if parallels is running.

 

[spork183]

Long story short, I will get a 17" MBP and if there is one little thing that makes me uncomfortable (misallignment, wierd noise, dead pixel, etc) I will take it back to the apple store.

What's wrong with you people? Part of the joy of owning a mac is turning a blind eye to criticisms of the platform. It's like that gorgeous little thing you thought was perfect until you found out she was tone deaf and had ugly toes. Get with the program. Apple's quality control (could also insert "customer service, tech support, innovation, secrecy, ego"...) is second to none. It's positively unamerican to criticize the steve.

meanwhile, back in the real world, if you want a perfect machine, steal valdore's...

 

[MACDRIVE]

No mass-produced product can maintain a 0% defect rate whilst remaining affordable. Products come with a warranty for precisely this reason.

That's absolutely right; you only have a 9/10 chance of getting a bad one.

On the bright side, that leaves you with a 1/10 chance of getting your perfect dream machine.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

That's absolutely right; you only have a 9/10 chance of getting a bad one.

On the bright side, that leaves you with a 1/10 chance of getting your perfect dream machine.

That means by the time you're done sending your nine machines back and receiving new ones from Apple, your machine is obsolete anyway!

 

[mojohanna]

Someone help me out here cause I don't remember the specific numbers but (those of you who work in customer service will know) if someone has a problem with a service or a product they will tell 4 people about their experience. For those who have a good experience, they are not likely to say anything.

For example, when was the last time you wrote an email to a company just because they did a great job and met your expectations 100%? Now, when was the last time you wrote a company a email cause you were pissed about their service or product?

Forums are a poor place to do product research prior to making a purchase, IMO. It is very difficult to find unbiased information. They are a great place for finding help and learning about new things.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Someone help me out here cause I don't remember the specific numbers but (those of you who work in customer service will know) if someone has a problem with a service or a product they will tell 4 people about their experience. For those who have a good experience, they are not likely to say anything.

I'm in the middle of a HUGE issue with Office Depot and a defective chair (to the point i should have gone to the hospital for my head injury). I spoke the Executive Level Problem person the other day, and she expressed just this to me. That all Office Depot HAS at this point is their Customer Service, you can buy office supplies anywhere.

She THANKED me for taking the time to relay my bad experience - that without hearing about them, they can improve and fix the problem. That for every 1 person that actually TELLS them what is wrong, 9 don't - but tell their friends and so it goes on down.

I will say that the way they have handled the issue since Thursday (we won't discuss the Monday-Wednesday ignore), i have been impressed at both the Corporate Level AND the local level, and will be letting them know that. I"ve worked customer service in retail - makes me really picky, but a bit of courtesy goes a long way.

To the OP - glad you are giving Apple the chance to make it right - i'm truly sorry as a Mac user that you got a bad one I hope the fix is somewhat "painless" and quick.

PS - for the record - i'd NOT recommend the "Matrix" chair at Office Depot.

 

[bgerber]

Is this a case for buying REFURBs?

I am another life-long Windows user/victim who is about to crossover. The candor and sound thinking in this thread is just what I need to keep in mind.

As I reflect upon the astounding sales success of Apple in the last year and I accept the comments in this thread about the "risks" associated with buying a Mac from a production line that is struggling to keep up, I wonder if it would make more sense for some of us to study the ever-changing list of refurbished machines?

I know that I would be sacrificing the "new car smell" but I think I would get the same Apple Care package. Any thoughts about there about the attention to detail that a refurbished machine gets in that pipeline compared to the new machine pipeline that we are discussing in this thread?

Thanks

 

[phantasmagoria]

As I reflect upon the astounding sales success of Apple in the last year and I accept the comments in this thread about the "risks" associated with buying a Mac from a production line that is struggling to keep up, I wonder if it would make more sense for some of us to study the ever-changing list of refurbished machines?

I don't think it makes much difference to be honest. Ending up with a dodgy machine is the (bad) luck of the draw as it is with any purchase you make and, as highlighted here, is the experience of the minority, so don't let it influence your purchase decision. You will always hear of plenty of issues if you hang out at forums like these because, as already mentioned, that's why they exist - to help solve people's problems! The majority of satisfied consumers without a greater interest in Apple won't have a need to visit here.

I'm a recent switcher too, and have bought an iMac and a MacBook Pro in the last three months. The iMac was a refurb and arrived in immaculate condition. The MBP was new and also arrived perfect. I've been very happy with both my purchases. I will probably buy refurb in future, however, purely because I had a trouble-free experience at a great price.