People love to bring up laws... but the reality is when the law gets involved the only people that win are the attorneys since they get paid no matter what 🙃
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Terrible Quality Control - MacBook Pro 14”
- Thread starter jha
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You don’t need an attorney for warranty laws. If you had documentation and proof, Apple would replace it with out taking 10 K loss. Something is missing here. Who hires an attorney for a small claims court cases on warranty.
You need to post proof of these defects. We are trying to help because 12 exchanges isn’t normal, and if that is the case, Apple should be held responsible.
Apple didn't sell me the Range Rover I took the $10k loss on. Have to been to small claims? Have you been to court period as a plaintiff? Apple HAS replaced the defective devices. This is not the point of the thread.
I didn't ask for help. Apple has taken good care of me. I am I business customer that everybody at the retail location is familiar with. I was asking if anyone has experienced similar quality issues. If not - maybe it is just the batch. I have already escalated this with Apple so future devices hopefully don't experience the same QC issues.
Ok if the point is on quality defects. Post the defects you found. It will be helpful for any one purchasing to see if they have the same defect.
I will post the video of the loud hinge shortly when I get home
Here is the one I am keeping. Not a big deal but it came like this out of the box. Almost all the ones I got had scratches that were visible under regular lighting (NOT just a flashlight). Usually the scratches were on the bottom of the screen, and the black piece under the screen is scratched up as well.
Attachments
Here is a video of the hinge noise that ALL but 2 made. And some were much louder. You can find many other threads on hinge noises and creaking.
It’s odd. I personally highlighted the 12 returns because that would’ve seemed crazy to me had I not been waiting since April for a display that doesn’t have issues. So from my experience this year versus every other year for 20, I am too experiencing a drop in quality control. At least on the Pro Display XDR.
Same here with noticing a drop in quality. Hope it’s on their radar. Sad you’ve had so much downtime with a premium display. I’d buy one over the studio display I bought if I didn’t read many similar threads about quality concerns.
Sure, seems like a long shot, QC can't possibly be that bad.... Maybe I should buy my first lottery ticket ever with these odds.
Apple quality has been steadily declining over the years. I have been through 3 exchanges for my MacBook Pro and the third one still isn't perfect. The bottom plate is slightly loose on the right side, but I have just given up. I wish they invested more in quality control. They can't be charging premium prices if they can't offer premium quality.
Hope this changes. We need to be vocal and put it on their radar or else they won’t prioritize it. Suggest emailing Tim Cook - I did and executive relations is gathering my feedback and looking into it. I didn’t ask for compensation… just to improve QC down the road because I want to keep buying these devices.
I ordered the 14-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) on launch day. Out of the box, one spot on the screen was really bright and Apple took it back. After a few weeks I received a replacement and there was already 7 battery charged cycles. Since I have AppleCare+, I decided to keep this unit and opened another work ticket.
At work, we deploy the 14-inch MacBook Pro as standard and I haven't heard any complaint at all. I should receive the M2 Pro as my work upgrade in a few weeks.
At work, we deploy the 14-inch MacBook Pro as standard and I haven't heard any complaint at all. I should receive the M2 Pro as my work upgrade in a few weeks.
AFAIK the hinge noise is a known issue, and many Macbooks aren't 100% silent if you sit in a dead quiet room and open the lid. If the noise was as loud as in your recording, I'd probably have returned that as well. Because it might suggest that there could be some strain on the display or the glass, and who knows, maybe after a couple dozen or hundred open-close cycles it shatters.
My point being, few people inspect their device so closely. Of course if you receive a couple devices with obvious flaws you'll eventually start looking more closely at the replacement. But imagine someone who gets your current 14" on the first "try" and has no reason to assume that there might be a scratch anywhere and just starts using it. Maybe that person notices the scratch on the notch in the sunlight a couple weeks later and thinks they caused it themselves.
So there might be minor quality issues (cosmetic only) that people don't notice or they think it doesn't warrant a return.
There is also a chance that these devices came from the same affected batch if they were within a similar time span and from the same place. They might have gotten a shipment with 80 devices or so that takes a couple weeks until they're all gone.
I am sure the quality issues are all real, but a dozen replacements and not a single flawless device even though these are sold just fine by the millions around the globe, it's unlikely that all these come flawed and Apple wouldn't have caught on already. If Apple authorized 11 replacements for the same single purchase then clearly they know something's up. If they thought you are just making it up they'd have told you to shove it long ago. Honestly, I'd bring that one back to the store too and ask them whether this scratch is normal and if that warrants another replacement. If it's a model they got in stock, at that point you should open it in the store with them and at least check it right there and then for the most obvious visual flaws.
Of course then there is a risk of the next one being worse. There's this saying that if you do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, you might wanna change the approach. Not many options unless you can go to a different store.
(If these were all BTO with weeks of wait time in between I'd be surprised, then they should be different batches, possibly different suppliers...)
I think I see what might be going on: For the current Mac with the scratch that is only visible with a flashlight, I can tell you from my experience that I have never looked for faults that closely. For all I know my 14" could have the same scratch near the camera and I would not know since it's not part of the actual screen.
My point being, few people inspect their device so closely. Of course if you receive a couple devices with obvious flaws you'll eventually start looking more closely at the replacement. But imagine someone who gets your current 14" on the first "try" and has no reason to assume that there might be a scratch anywhere and just starts using it. Maybe that person notices the scratch on the notch in the sunlight a couple weeks later and thinks they caused it themselves.
So there might be minor quality issues (cosmetic only) that people don't notice or they think it doesn't warrant a return.
There is also a chance that these devices came from the same affected batch if they were within a similar time span and from the same place. They might have gotten a shipment with 80 devices or so that takes a couple weeks until they're all gone.
I am sure the quality issues are all real, but a dozen replacements and not a single flawless device even though these are sold just fine by the millions around the globe, it's unlikely that all these come flawed and Apple wouldn't have caught on already. If Apple authorized 11 replacements for the same single purchase then clearly they know something's up. If they thought you are just making it up they'd have told you to shove it long ago. Honestly, I'd bring that one back to the store too and ask them whether this scratch is normal and if that warrants another replacement. If it's a model they got in stock, at that point you should open it in the store with them and at least check it right there and then for the most obvious visual flaws.
Of course then there is a risk of the next one being worse. There's this saying that if you do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, you might wanna change the approach. Not many options unless you can go to a different store.
(If these were all BTO with weeks of wait time in between I'd be surprised, then they should be different batches, possibly different suppliers...)
Thanks for the reply. I agree it must be bad batch. And I get a lot of natural light at home, so the scratches I noticed were without a flashlight.
Not worth rolling the dice for another (the scratch is on the bezel anyways). Just hope QC improves. The creaking was what a majority of the exchanges were for. Had the same issue with M1 14” and 16”. I never returned both and ended up giving them away. At the end of the day, it’s just a tool. But like anything else, don’t want a damaged/defective brand new purchase.
What's the backlighting under the keys like? It seems very uneven to me; i.e. light shines through the gaps and on some keys and not on others. It's due to the mounting (?) being plastic and not metal. I've seen a wide variation in store too. Keys 4 and L tend to have wide gaps compared to others. Really noticeable when using the MBP on your lap. Not so bad on a desktop. I have a 2011 MBP and I think the build quality is noticeable much better (though heavier) than the 2023 MBP.
Tim Cook has been focused on costs in recent years, so product quality hasn't been the same. Obviously, people on MacRumors will try to defend every decision Apple makes.
I was going to say this too. Apple refurbished ones are individually and more carefully inspected and renewed, instead of coming to you straight out of the factory with the minimal standard QC and leaving it up to you to go back to them with any defects.
Refurbished Mac - 14-inch - MacBook Pro
Save up to 15% on a refurbished MacBook Pro. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.
www.apple.com
Last edited: