Macbook Pro

Cyan

Hi, can anyone help? I bought a refurbished macbook pro in Sept 2008 from the apple website, it had a years warranty. It has since gone out of warranty and I didn't extend the apple care plan when it expired as I didn't have the money at the time. In the past couple of months, the laptop screen has been going pinky red intermittently. My housemate looked up the issue, and found that a certain batch of laptops with a particular videocard were faulty, and that apple had admitted this and would repair for free. So i took it to the apple genius bar, and the lady tested it for this issue, and confirmed that the video card fault wasn't causing the problem on my computer. She told me that there were two other possible causes, either the display or the logicboard, each costing around £400 to fix. Obviously, after paying over £1000 on the laptop, I'm not happy about this!! Is there anything I can do? Surely a laptop shouldn't be faulty just under 2 years old? I bought it with a credit card, and I have insurance with Smile and Insure.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Have you considered asking them to test it in a repair workshop rather than where the sales staff work? (They did exist - I used to run one back in the dark ages of the power mac).

But it was a refurb, so has gone wrong at least once before. Probably with the video card. Which is why you got it so cheap. So they may agree to deal with it out of goodwill first.

Cyan

Trying to actually get a proper person at Apple to write or speak to is the main issue. It wasn't a cheap laptop though - cost the same as my car!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Cyan wrote: »

Trying to actually get a proper person at Apple to write or speak to is the main issue. It wasn't a cheap laptop though - cost the same as my car!

Well, relatively cheap - compared to pristine, non refurbished, it would be cheap.

Try this from the contact us tab on the Apple Store - you may need to turn on the charm over the phone, but I am sure they should be able to come up with something useful. If not, you can always try again in a couple of days and try to get someone else - muttering that you are thinking of upgrading once this is resolved could smooth negotiations, as obviously, having a working refurb frees you up to spend more on an upgrade!


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Cyan

Yeh, tried the number - massive wait time!! And went to the genius bar in the Apple Store. Thanks anyway!!

adam.mt

Until a few months ago I worked at an independent Apple authorised service centre so I can assist.

Particular 15" MacBook Pro models around the age of yours did indeed have an inherent fault, well more accurately were prone to one. It's to do with the packaging of the Nvidia graphics chip on the logic board.

Apple have acknowledged this and provided service centres with a software tool to determine whether particular computers are potentially affected or not. Thus, if the tool is run and produces an error code then Apple will pay for the repair even if the machine is out of warranty (up to 3 years old I think, from memory).

However, if no code is produced then the chip isn't at fault and the repair is dealt with normally (free within warranty or Apple Care, chargeable outside). Unfortunately, Apple's customer care line often tells any person with a display fault that it's likely the Nvidia issue and it'll be fixed for free; however, when they bring the machine in and it's tested up to half the time it's not! This results in unhappy customers, but guess that's kind of off topic!

Thus, you need to get your computer properly tested.

If indeed it's not the Nvidia chip fault then if it's less than 2 years old you may still have a claim through the EU 2 year 'fit for purpose' rule, which Apple indeed honour in the UK for consumer (not company or education purchases) so you can ask to proceed that way. It's fairly straight-forward though involves getting a few forms filled out, you providing your receipt, and a couple of days to get Apple HQ to agree to the repair. This is above your strict legal entitlement though* so please do be nice when you request it (and don't start demanding!).

[* The EU two year rule hasn't been written into UK law; rather we have a 6 year rule, but that requires you to prove the fault which can be involved and costly]

Cyan

Hi thanks for that. My mac is 17" one. And it has the same card listed in this text copied from the apple website;

" Symptoms
In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within four years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.

What to look for:
Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
No video on the computer screen (or external display) even
though the computer is on

Specific products affected:
MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
MacBook Pro (Early 2008)

These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008 "




However, I went the genius bar at Apple - and told the lady about this, and she did a test using an ipod attached to it to see if it was that same issue. But she said it wasn't - saying the only other 2 things it could be were the display or logicboard.

Cyan

So basically - it isn't that fault, as it's been tested. But surely a computer that's under 2 years old shouldn't be breaking like this? I paid around 1,200 for it and have taken care of it.

I'm not sure whether as I bought it on a credit card I can do anything there (although the card was paid off for this at the time). Or if my insurance can do anything - as it seems a bit confusing. I'm with a laptop and mobile insurers, and i've read a couple of different things in the past.

But this following text is from their website;


"C. Breakdown
WHAT WE WILL COVER
Electrical or mechanical breakdown that occurs outside the manufacturers guarantee period.
WHAT WE WILL NOT COVER
An excess fee for all claims which must be paid before your claim can be approved. If your claim is for a laptop, there is a £75 excess fee for each claim.
If your claim is for an iPhone, the excess fee is £100 for any claim
For all other items, there is an excess fee of £25 for UK claims and £75 for international claims.
Repair or other costs for:
• routine servicing, inspection, maintenance or cleaning;
• loss caused by a manufacturer’s defect or recall of the electronic equipment;
• replacement of or adjustment to fittings, control knobs or buttons, batteries or aerials;
• repairs carried our by persons not authorised by us;
• if the serial number has been tampered with in any way.
• wear and tear or gradual deterioration of performance.
. Any loss or damage caused by the failure of any electrical or computer equipment, software, micro-controller, microchip, accessories or associated equipment to correctly recognise and process any calendar date or time.
. Any breakdown relating to laptops."


So - it looks like from this I could get it fixed and pay an excess??

The problem is intermittent - but it's never good when the whole screen goes pink, and I have to switch it off and on a few times to get it back to normal. Also - the machine makes a very loud noise sometimes, like it's going to take off??

adam.mt

As I said you could try asking for a claim under the EU Directive which covers products for 2 years; whilst I was working at the service centre I processed a claim for one (despite the fact it doesn't strictly apply to the UK*!). Alternatively, it looks like you could claim under your insurance.

As long as it was a standard purchase, and not a business one or through Education discount, you should be covered (unless there's been changes in the last 3 months, but I doubt it!). There's a pdf file the service centre/genius bar will need to download from the Apple Support Site, complete (they need your signature plus proof of purchase), and then submit to GSX with the repair task for Apple to consider. Once approved, the repair should be free.

It sounds like the LVDS cable has been damaged since the fault is intermittent. Possibly it wasn't quite routed properly. Does for instance the pink hue appear when you move the screen hinge? Has the machine ever been repaired before?........... oh, I see it was refurbished; thus, that might indeed be the case, whoever repaired it possibly didn't route the cable perfectly.

The noise will be the fans spinning up; they most probably have got full of dust and other debris. A clean should resolve it. Failing that they can be replaced cheaply (well, the fans are cheap and easy to fit - if you have to pay labour then it might not be due to minimum charge etc). But mention it at the same time as the claim and you'll be okay.

[* - On the Apple Support Site (not accessible by customers) it's available for all of the EU and doesn't mention anything specific about the UK. With the case I processed it was Apple Customer Services who told me about it and to process the customer's claim using it, so they obviously recognise the directive!]

Cyan

Update on this........

Well after I posted this initial post - the intermittent problem with the screen going pink, seemed to stop. Then on my birthday in August, it died - screen went completely blank............

I kept meaning to do all the things suggested above, but like most things in my life, it got overlooked......so here I was with a broken laptop - just under 2 years old, cost £1200 to buy. I thought of several options, perhaps going to my credit card company, then my laptop insurance (don't even get me started on that one!!!), and complaining to apple. I rang apple a couple of times, who were not that helpful really - basically, my laptop was out of warranty, so I had to pay - as I mentioned at the start, I had previously been quoted roughly £400 to fix either the logic board, or the display. Apple then suggested during another phone call that I take it to a local apple authorised repair shop rather the the Genius bar, as the genius bar can only spend 15 mins with me. They gave me the address and i rang up, the lady was nice enough, and she said that they would take my mac and put it on the diagnotics machine overnight. I was about to go to the place, when I decided out of curiosity to ring a place in Ardwick Manchester that had fixed a previous Mac for me - I explained my problem, and the guy said it sounded like the video card issue I had read about. I took it in later on, and the guy there did a quick test there and then, and said it was just that - and that it was free to fix. He told me they would replace the logicboard as this was part of the videocard - all free!!! It took a week to fix, and I got my mac back in working order. I was really pleased with the service of this place in Ardwick, and that the intitial man I spoke was knowledgeable and helpful.