It just occurred to me that while Apple refuses to provide loaner machines to professionals while their computers spend weeks at the repair depot, anyone can buy a new computer from Apple and return it within 14 days. So, if those 14 days during which your computer is being repaired fall in-between credit card billing dates, is there anything to prevent users from buying a new machine and simply returning it when the repair is completed or on the 14th day?
Dec 20
I’ll document it more completely in my blog but for now:
Yesterday at my first day of work at a 2nd web development company, the backlight on my Macbook’s LCD died.
In a nutshell:
May- Ordered macbook
June received Macbook DOA with missing key on keyboard
June\July – Sticky trackpad issue
Discoloration issue
-August\September — Random Shutdowns
outrageous hold time, depot repair
Computer shipped to WRONG STATE from repair depot
Computer finally received with tape still on bezel
and now I’m working full time, explained to Apple Customer Relations that I could potentially lose my job, but they don’t care.
So now another 2 weeks at the depot. Absolutely unacceptable. Am I happy with my Mac? Absolutely not.
Dec 19
My 15″ Core 2 Duo story was meant to make me cringe from the start. I had purchased a Mac Pro for my video/audio workstation and it was a quality machine and I’ve been extremely happy both with the performance and the service. It was time to upgrade my aging Dell 700m which worked flawlessly for two years as a location editing machine.
I waited, or so I thought, for the bugs to be worked out with the first generation portable hardware.
I ordered my 15″ MacBook Pro from Apple for my business. As an aside here I find it very funny that as a business if I order more than $5000 worth of hardware then I get a business discount which rather closely approximates the educational discount. Odd. Businesses pay more for everything from banking fees to wan connections, you name it chances are a business is paying more for the same thing; or maybe a little less because they’re buying so much of it but in that middle zone of small business it seems the only people Apple is charging full price for is the family user. Wow.
Lost my train of thought there.
Seriously though, my laptop arrived exactly one week later direct from Shanghai, China. I had opted for express shipping. I opened up my MacBook Pro box, pretty as it was, to notice to rather large socket adapters (type G if you check the link). I couldn’t believe it. The item was shipped to Alaska and then direct to Montreal. Why would I need adapters for the UK? Why I ask you?!
Over an hour on the phone and several Apple representatives had to confer as to whether or not I could even use the laptop as it may have shipped with international software which I may not have been allowed to have/use. Great start.
Last week I noticed they had actually shipped me a UK MacBook Pro and not just the plugs when I couldn’t find the “#” sign above the three – although now I know why they call it “pound.”
By the way it took three weeks for the cables with the appropriate socket connection to come. (And four phone calls.)
Then this past weekend (December 17th, 2006) my computer started processing data that continuously failed CRC checks. (IE I was compressing and uncompressing large amounts of data.) Moving the data to another machine worked so something was now wrong with the hardware. I would look into it the next day I thought.
I watched a DVD off the laptop with my wife. Two hours later I went to check my email. Black screen with “please reboot.”
Let me add that I’ve run the CPUs on this laptop at 100% using Apple’s QMaster and Logic Node (although it’s hard to use the latter to push the CPUs to 100%) extensively and I never had a problem.
Here, surfing the web, with no errant processess running, the laptop just shut down. And shut down and, yup, you guessed it shut down. Not only that, but it took over ten minutes to boot up after the first shut down. It then continued to shut down at an increasing pace until the latop could not be on for more than two seconds. Leaving it off for a number of minutes had no effect. Although I got to log in once but it shutdown again and then wouldn’t get past the spinning line thingy (I can’t imagine what Apple-ites call it – but I have some crude suggestions.)
So here I am, about to leave the province for the week following Christmas with a deadline looming and no computer to work on. How I wish I could rent one.
When this happened to Dells purchased for business they had a technician here the next day who fixed the machine on the spot. I won’t have mine back for “at least a week,” which I think is technical for “it’s Christmas and we really couldn’t care about your $2500 laptop and the money you’ll not be earning.”
It’s a sad sad state of affairs.
Even worse, my second call to Apple’s Customer Relations was fruitless. They’re disarmingly pleasant, but refuse to do anything.
I think I’m going to halt my business’ switch to Apple for the time being (since I get to call the shots), even if we’re only talking about a few servers and macbooks. If the MacBook Pro doesn’t come back fixed I’ll try to send it back for a refund. Thank heavens Quebec has some potent consumer-rights legislation so at least I don’t feel helpless.
Dec 16
Hello from Greece. It was painfull, to see your MacBook shutting down with no reason. The Random Shutdown problem start after 2 or 3 months after I bought it. I called the dealer, we send it to Service, I dont know what they did, and for 2 months now my MacBook works OK. ( I work everyday many hours with it). So thats all, if everyone of you has the same problem, take your MB to service and wait.
Dec 13
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=24988186
Dec 07
in an earlier post here i mentioned that my brand new macbook core 2 duo randomly rebooted on sleep. using the 14 return policy, i had it exchanged at the applestore. but surprise surprise the new one does exactly the same thing.
so i called applecare and told them the deal, and mentioned that the problem is all over the internet and i knew that apple was aware of it. i then said i wanted a full refund on the machine. the lady didn’t argue with me at all, and right away gave me a case number to take it back. she told me to take it back to the store and give them the number and they would refund it, even though it is beyond the 14 days.
i found it suspicious how easy it was. i think they know about it and are trying to reduce the damage by not pissing us off.
so if you have a defective macbook, demand a refund!
Dec 06
I have a 3 month old MacBook 2.0GHz Core Duo. It is of week 38 batch of MacBooks, according to the serial #. I’ve been having a problem where if I use the laptop on battery power alone it will shut off at around 20%, without a Low-Battery warning message. There is no way to prepare for the shut off and I would lose work. That was the problem 1 week ago. I’ve taken it to the ‘Genius’ bar and they suggested I update to 10.4.8 from 10.4.7. I’d already had all the firmware updates. So I updated to 10.4.8 and now my laptop shuts off sooner than 20%. Sometime 23% and sometimes 30%. This isn’t the Random Shutdown Syndrome of late as this happens ONLY when I’m running on battery.
I have uploaded a video to my YouTube page illustrating what is going on. There are 2 videos one showing what seems to be a Schizophrenic Battery and the other showing the MacBook shutting off. Here are the links:
Shutting off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MthEMoC5Ac
Schizophrenic Battery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7bSBUCmq8c
The first video shows the MacBook actually shutting off at around 23% battery power. It seems the battery status is not accurate or possibly the battery is malfunctioning as it should be telling me that the laptop will Go to Sleep and that I should save my work before it does so. When it finally does shut off it doesn’t go into Deep Sleep, which the Genius says it is doing. Why do I know this? Because you should be able to wake from deep sleep by pressing the keys, which is also what the Genius told me. I knew this already. I own a Pismo and iBook and I’ve never experienced this sort of problem. Also I know that it is not in Deep Sleep because if it is indeed in Deep Sleep why does it start up by pressing the Power Button? In the video, after it has shut off, I press the power button and the laptop starts up. (Indicating that it was indeed, off.) But shortly after starting up, it shuts off again, indicating that the battery is indeed out of juice.
I plug in to some power and start up again only to find that the battery power is in fact still at 24%. If the battery was dead then why is there still a charge left? I think the battery is malfunctioning. What do you think?
In the long sections where nothings moving I’ve sped up the video in order for it to fit into YouTubes 10 minute limit.
Dec 03
two weeks ago i bought a brand new off the shelf black macbook core duo from the apple store in toronto. it had battery problems (battery gave incorrect charging estimates and would not be recognized from time to time) and would reboot randomly when i closed it to put it to sleep.
i took advantage of my 14 day return and exchanged the computer for another. they transfered all my data over for me, which was nice. i thought my problems were over, until just now, i closed the lid and it rebooted!!
it hasn’t rebooted yet when i’ve been using it, just when it goes to sleep.
does anyone else have this? is this the same problem as RSS?
Dec 02
In May I purchased white MacBook – my first Apple computer. After 1 month started it’s “random shutdown hell”. I waited 3 weeks for repair. After 1 month after repair “hell” started again. So, I got rid off it and decided to buy version 2.0 MacBook Pro with brand new Core Duo 2 and “fixed all problems with previous versions”. It was few day ago. Next day IT SWITCHED OFF WITHOUT WARNING!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it!!!! I didn’t want to replace it with another one – I wanted my money back but Apple doesn’t want to do it. So, now I have unpacked MacBook Pro which I have to sell on Ebay.
I am IT consultant – Laptop is my primary tool and because of Apple I couldn’t normally work for last six months
I dont want to have anything with Apple trash computers EVER again.
I cannot wait when I get my money from EBay and buy decent toshiba Windows laptop – I WANT MY LIFE BACK!!!!
Apple gave back my money! My life is back! After 6 months fight I can work again!
If someone tells you bullshit that nobody switches back from Mac to Windows just tell them my story
Vista on Asus V1J – no more Apple again. I’m planning to sell my iPod cause I cannot look at bloody Apple logo
on it without vomiting
