rMBP 15inch - Apple Refusing to Repair - Any alternatives or a Deadweight

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Apple

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  fungi79 on 20/04/2015 - 18:33

  Is the SSD on the rMBP pretty easy to get to or did you have to rip the whole thing apart to get to it? If it was completely pulled apart then they're probably within their rights to refuse to repair it seeing they don't know what else might be damaged. But if it wasn't, I would go back and say all you've done is take the SSD out and clean the fans and it isn't water damaged, they're pretty reasonable and I've always found them easy to deal with.

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    ballsofsteel on 20/04/2015 - 18:37

    The SSD is pretty straight forward if you follow the iFixit Guide.

    yeah but they claim the water damage markers show signs of water damage. I dont even know where they are located nor have i seen them before.
    I spoke to them and they claim that it is their policy on not repairing things that are water damaged.

    Pretty frustrated at the fact that they wont even bother repairing it even for a fee though. What im left with is essentially a deadweight now.

    Ill try AASP's tomorrow and see what they think

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      fungi79 on 20/04/2015 - 18:42

      Try calling Apple directly and explain your issues, obviously tell them how disappointed you are and how it is going to discourage you from buying more products from them in the future etc etc.

      The apple store refused to replace a magsafe cable that started to spark but after calling I had the cable replaced. This was about 1 1/2 years ago.

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        tonyjzx on 20/04/2015 - 19:34

        you need to ask for evidence of water damage

        'water damage' is a get out of jail card when they dont want to do the repair

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        ballsofsteel on 20/04/2015 - 19:45

        @tonyjzx: I am assuming they mean the LSI's have been changed to red. In that case can i still demand evidence of actual damage caused by water?

      • 

        ukmark on 20/04/2015 - 20:42

        +2

        @ballsofsteel:

        Yes you can. You can see signs of spillage on mainboard (or logic boards if you are apple). We have repaired "pink" macs under warranty when the customers have said there was definitely no liquid spilt on them - it always needed a CSR code tho, which involves the customer calling Apple and pleading their case. Oh, and you cannot be denied warranty for opening your computer yourself - you can be denied warranty on any parts you break in this process though.

        Call Apple and say there is 100% no chance anything got spilt on your MacBook. Above all though, be nice and never get angry with them. Firm but polite and respectful.

      • 

        nikey2k27 on 21/04/2015 - 09:04

        @ballsofsteel: Demand it tell you spent time north Queensland that what i told told them as LSI go low red in our wet season.

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  modsec802 on 20/04/2015 - 21:01

  How did you open it since Apple has proprietary screws?

  You could sell as is no warranty on eBay. You'll probably get a bit from someone who thinks they can repair it.

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  Bonsaichop on 20/04/2015 - 21:40

  +1

  From my own experience in the IT service/support industry usually liquid damage is new news to the owner, commonly it's someone else in the household/work that's actually done it and has not admitted to it.

  The actual Apple service guys (going to the 'Genius Bar' at an Apple owned store) usually want to bend over backwards for customers if they can. They don't want unhappy customers either! So if they say it's beyond economical repair usually it is. The big issue with liquid damage is they may quote just a logic board, but if the issues end up being other components as well down the track they take the blame on not doing the diagnosis right in the first place, then all of a sudden you've dropped $1200 on a logic board, only to have 3 weeks later something else fail (topcase/keyboard assembly, I/O board, cables, battery, DC power board, wifi card, LCD) that you need to pay for and it'll just keep spiralling out.

  If you purchased your laptop with a credit card, perhaps see if there is any insurance on purchases with that card? Quite a few have them and the Apple guys will be more than happy to provide you with a quote I'm sure.

  ** I'm no advocate for Apple, but they're service in my experience has always been great.

  edit If you want to purchase they logic board they won't sell it to you, it's just their policy. However you can usually go through an authorised reseller and order the part through them.

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  p1 ama on 21/04/2015 - 01:00

  Just goes to show that having a bunch of guys in blue t-shirts standing around thinking they know what they're talking about doesn't equal good service. Apple is just good at marketing, what they've always been good at. Their whole image of good service is drummed up by their marketing department. Situations like yours happen all the time - I know of people who are pressured into buying Apple Care (which is practically worthless).

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    pjcook on 21/04/2015 - 07:29

    Can't agree with you about Apple Care, I have had 2 iMacs and had Apple care with both, the latest one had a network port failure after 3 years and all it took was one phone call and the next day there was a technician at my door with a new motherboard. 2 hours later all up and running.

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    slewis69au on 21/04/2015 - 07:54

    I am with paulsterio. Three different people at the company i used to work for in Singapore had repairs refused due to "water damage". None of those device had been water damaged they had simply been operated in the Singapore humidity! And if you google for it you'll find lots of examples of water sensors being set off by excessive humidity (specifically by condensation when going from one environment to the other). We called Apple we pled with the store and pretty much got blank looks.

    YMMV - their reputation can't be pure marketing but Apple have been assholes about warranty and device failures plenty of times (non replaceable batteries, antenna gate, fitting early gen iphones with shitty radios and blaming AT&T, etc) but that seems to be forgotten in the RDF.

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      theo96 on 21/04/2015 - 15:26

      -2

      But there are no Aaple Stores in Singapore — authorised resellers are not quite the same thing.

      • 

        slewis69au on 22/04/2015 - 07:47

        Really? We never thought of going to Apple direct either - like by going to this website http://www.apple.com/sg/support/ or calling them.

        Thanks for the "tip" - but we contacted Apple direct and got nowhere.

        As i said YMMV - one of my friends had his iphone5 connector replaced FOC at a Reseller outside warranty.

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  ballsofsteel on 21/04/2015 - 01:16

  Well, I will update this thread shortly.
  Still pretty annoyed that Apple only admitted the defect so recently though, people have been complaining for years.
  My Macbook died right before they issued the statement on the 20th of February which prompted me to "tamper" with the device to recover my data and cleaning out the fans, Somehow I fear that this is why they are refusing to replace the motherboard for free.

  Ill try an Apple authorized Service center tomorrow, see if they can repair it for free via the apple replacement program. Highly Doubt it though.

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  backpaqer on 21/04/2015 - 09:16

  Water damage? Insurance claim!

  Here's some interesting side reading as to why the things are so friggin hard to repair. I'd love an apple, but I will settle for one inside a VM running on a windows machine…

  http://betanews.com/2015/04/19/apple-must-have-shares-in-hor…

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  timmypete on 21/04/2015 - 16:39

  From the original post:

  They said there is no possibility of repairing as it would cost as much as a new macbook? Does anyone know what I can do in this case? Or do i just chuck the macbook in the bin?

  If you end up unable to progress on the repair front, possibly. I know of people sourcing LVDS driver boards off eBay and repurposing old laptop screens, and a Retina display would make for a sick photo frame. Looking here and here, small time hobbyists have done it already, so it wouldn't surprise me if factories in China are starting to fab their own cheaper boards. Otherwise, I'd try and sell it for parts on eBay or Gumtree, as I'm sure people would be after parts and it's better for the environment than just throwing it in the bin (don't forget to remove the SSD, or at least do a secure wipe if you go down this route).