Warranty Advice

[JesseW6889]

I have a 4 month old, 13" Air (bought brand new) and light horizontal lines are showing up in most areas of the screen.

I contacted Apple and they said I qualified under the warranty for hardware repair, but that I would have to leave my laptop at the store while they fixed it. As a first time Mac buyer who spent $1,500, I'm a little upset to say the least.

I don't want a refurbished one and I don't want to wait, as anyone who depends on their laptop knows 'a few days' isn't acceptable. The tech support guy from Apple said they would only give me a new one after 3 separate repairs and that other than that it was up to the store manager, but that there was no chance that would happen.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Should've bought a Dell. They actually come to your house/office with the parts and do the job on the spot

Seriously though- what do you want them to do? They probably have to order the parts and allocate a slot for the tech to fix your machine. You aren't the only customer you know.

In the repair business 'a few days' is actually quite reasonable.

 

[jenzjen]

If your car needs a repair, do you demand a new car, or that it is fixed immediately? Repairs take time, that's just a fact of life. You either deal with it, or go get a rental car.

If you really can't be without your laptop and do not have another computer that you can use, you can buy another one and return it within the 14 days with no penalty since they no longer charge a restocking fee.

 

[ZipZap]

Take it in for a diagnosis. Take it back while they order parts. Bring it back when they are ready tom complete the repair.

Safe to say your unit will spend most of its time at the Apple store sitting on a shelf.

 

[aristobrat]

Take it in for a diagnosis. Take it back while they order parts. Bring it back when they are ready tom complete the repair.

IMO, that's the best bet.

OP, I don't know of any consumer manufacturer that's going to give you a replacement for a 4-month old computer that just needs a simple repair. Not even Sony does that, and their Air-equivalent models typically cost more than what you paid for your Air.

Slight rant, but I don't undestand why some people who "can't be without their computers" don't take the time to research how warranty repairs work on a machine that they're considering before they make the purchase.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Slight rant, but I don't undestand why some people who "can't be without their computers" don't take the time to research how warranty repairs work on a machine that they're considering before they make the purchase.

Yeah it's a little surprising how many people don't understand the process of a repair. At least Apple has a store you can physically go into for a repair, most manufacturers only have "authorized repair centers", or nothing at all.

As for the time it'll take for the repair, I remember when I had my old aluminum macbook, I took it in, they said they had to replace the entire logic board to fix my problem and said it would take a couple days to fix, so I left it there. About 3 hours or so later they called me and said it was ready to pick up. Now that is what I call timely repair service.

 

[aygie]

I have a 4 month old, 13" Air (bought brand new) and light horizontal lines are showing up in most areas of the screen.

I contacted Apple and they said I qualified under the warranty for hardware repair, but that I would have to leave my laptop at the store while they fixed it. As a first time Mac buyer who spent $1,500, I'm a little upset to say the least.

I don't want a refurbished one and I don't want to wait, as anyone who depends on their laptop knows 'a few days' isn't acceptable. The tech support guy from Apple said they would only give me a new one after 3 separate repairs and that other than that it was up to the store manager, but that there was no chance that would happen.

Any advice would be appreciated.

As with any man made product things can go wrong, the most important thing for a company in this situation is how they react to the issue. 3 days is far and beyond what other computer company's offer.

In my region (UK) Sonys turn around time is 14 days and HPs is "up to 6 weeks", to me that's appalling.

Don't be disheartened, Apples customer service is usually second to none and if you really need a machine they'll give you a loan one.

 

[Jordan921]

I have a 4 month old, 13" Air (bought brand new) and light horizontal lines are showing up in most areas of the screen.

I contacted Apple and they said I qualified under the warranty for hardware repair, but that I would have to leave my laptop at the store while they fixed it. As a first time Mac buyer who spent $1,500, I'm a little upset to say the least.

I don't want a refurbished one and I don't want to wait, as anyone who depends on their laptop knows 'a few days' isn't acceptable. The tech support guy from Apple said they would only give me a new one after 3 separate repairs and that other than that it was up to the store manager, but that there was no chance that would happen.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Expecting them to repair it on the spot is pretty ridiculous. You think you are the only person that has issues? Being that it's only a couple day turnaround I don't think that is unreasonable at all.

 

[anon.ymous]

God, I hate when someone says, "I paid x number of dollars for this product and nothing should be wrong with it, and if there is something wrong with it I should get special treatment above and beyond what is in the standard warranty."

So if you bought a $700 Mac mini, then it would be cool to have it break and be without a computer for days because you didn't spend a ton of money on it? (see my bitterness from my time working retail during college?)

Computers fail. They're mechanical devices. If you're unhappy with the Apple quote, go to an authorized Apple repair technician and have them do it.

 

[wordoflife]

Like honestly, do you expect them to diagnose your laptop, order the parts, replace it, and have it ready for you in 15 minutes? You aren't the only person who is getting their laptop fixed. What advice do you need again?

 

[Beaverman3001]

What else did you expect? They are offering to repair it like they should. You don't suddenly earn a new device, that isn't in the warranty.

 

[JesseW6889]

Just got done reading everyone's comments, and the first thing that comes to mind is: Wow! Haha, Thanks for the honesty!

I don't have any Apple stores near by, and the horizontal lines have been there, intermittently, from the beginning. At first they were so faint, I wasn't sure if I was imagining them or not. 4 months later, its noticeably.

I guess its just because I equate a unit that requires a repair to a lemon. One that will most likely have other issues (as has been my experience). That being said, I'd be happy with a replacement refurbished one, but as many of you have stated, maybe I'm just asking for the moon.

The main question I was (am) asking was concerning how I should handle the warranty service. Most, if not all large companies are built on making and keeping the customer happy, and while I understand that their standard operating procedure involves an in-house repair, I also know the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak.

I know what the standard options are, what are my alternate options? Do I complain, go to an Apple Store, Call it in?

Our society as we know it was created by people, men like you and I. That being said, since our infrastructure wasn't divinely appointed by God, anything is subject to and able to be changed. It drives me nuts when people just accept things for 'the way that they are'.

 

[ZipZap]

To be fair to the OP and in my opinion....a premium priced Apple computer should not need service after 4 months.

Reality, you dont get better stuff cause you paid way more for it.

Also, dont be fooled by in house repairs...most service techs dont show up with the parts they need. They come and diagnose, order parts and then return to complete the service.

 

[ZipZap]

Just got done reading everyone's comments, and the first thing that comes to mind is: Wow! Haha, Thanks for the honesty!

I don't have any Apple stores near by, and the horizontal lines have been there, intermittently, from the beginning. At first they were so faint, I wasn't sure if I was imagining them or not. 4 months later, its noticeably.

I guess its just because I equate a unit that requires a repair to a lemon. One that will most likely have other issues (as has been my experience). That being said, I'd be happy with a replacement refurbished one, but as many of you have stated, maybe I'm just asking for the moon.

The main question I was (am) asking was concerning how I should handle the warranty service. Most, if not all large companies are built on making and keeping the customer happy, and while I understand that their standard operating procedure involves an in-house repair, I also know the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak.

I know what the standard options are, what are my alternate options? Do I complain, go to an Apple Store, Call it in?

Our society as we know it was created by people, men like you and I. That being said, since our infrastructure wasn't divinely appointed by God, anything is subject to and able to be changed. It drives me nuts when people just accept things for 'the way that they are'.

Your mistake was not insisting on a perfect machine from the start. Dont ever live with something, make them make it right while they are still obligated to do so.

You can squeak the wheel, but knowing how Apple works...you wont have much success. Follow my plan above as you computer is working so you can use it while they order parts.

 

[T4R06]

i thought if you go to apple store they will replaced it with a new one?

 

[RealScience]

i thought if you go to apple store they will replaced it with a new one?

Only within the first 14 days (i.e. the same amount of time you have to return the computer if you're not satisfied with it). They wouldn't make any money if they replaced a computer with a brand-new one every time there was an issue that could be repaired. It also just seems plain wasteful to replace the whole thing and then have to refurbish or scrap the old machine for parts when it could be made perfectly functional again.

As other people have said, *never* wait 4 months if there is an issue from the beginning. If you had taken it in right away, you'd have almost certainly gotten a replacement. If you wait several months, Apple (quite reasonably, in my opinion) assumes that the computer was acceptable on delivery and issues developed with use. Free repair is more than adequate in that case.

Edit: slight modification since I see now that you said you have no Apple Store nearby, but you also asked if you should go to one, so I assume one is within somewhat reasonable driving distance. If you are willing to drive there twice, this is your best bet. Call Apple Care again and see if you can arrange for an in-store repair through them (explain that you want to minimize the amount of time you don't have the laptop). Assuming it's possible to arrange a repair in such a way (this is where the squeaky wheel approach may come in handy if it's not a standard way of doing repair--it may not be something they're used to doing, but I don't really see a reason why they won't let you do it, it's just a matter of figuring out how to make it happen), the store would contact you when they had the part(s) and you would drop the machine off, then return to pick it up.