Timothy Arends1

Q: What to do with a Mac that's a lemon?

I've had this Mac Mini for just over 90 days but well under a year. Since I got it, I've had nothing but problems.

 

It's hard to determine for certain whether some problems are hardware or software-related, but I've tried every software based solution that I or Apple support could think of, including re-downloading and reinstalling the OS, erasing and reinstalling the OS, erasing and reinstalling the OS and not using the Migration Assistant (manually restoring my files).

 

Each download of the OS takes 48 hours at my connection speed, and I had to do it several times. I had to make several trips to the Apple store in the next state. During my last trip, the Genius Bar even reinstalled and manually transferred over all my files to avoid reinstalling a corruption.

 

Still having problems. This troubleshooting has stretched well over two months, causing me to lose all productivity in the meantime.

 

My latest problem is the Mac Mini will stop sending a picture to the display. The display is getting a signal from the computer, as the onscreen menus indicate as much. I tested it with both an apple and 3rd-party display. I took the Mac Mini to an authorized service center and they indicated that they could not reproduce the problem, and when I brought it back home it was working fine. Today, I booted up the Mac and the problem is back.

 

The Mac is out of its 90 days full support period but still under the 1 year limited warranty, but I know these intermittent problems are very hard to reproduce and troubleshoot, but they still ruin one's productivity.

 

This whole experience is causing me to sour on the Mac. I am ready to just throw this thing in the trash and buy a refurbished model. It can hardly be worse than this one.

 

I am just inquiring whether Apple has a "lemon" policy before I do this.

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Aug 8, 2016 11:54 AM

Close

Q: What to do with a Mac that's a lemon?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Aug 8, 2016 12:01 PM in response to Timothy Arends1
    Level 9 (53,571 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 8, 2016 12:01 PM in response to Timothy Arends1

    Please download and install EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com/

     

    Run it and post the report here.

  • by tbirdvet,

    tbirdvet tbirdvet Aug 9, 2016 9:09 AM in response to Timothy Arends1
    Level 4 (3,008 points)
    Aug 9, 2016 9:09 AM in response to Timothy Arends1

    What display and how are you connecting to the display?  Could be a cable/connector issue since the techs. cannot duplicate issue on their displays.

  • by Timothy Arends1,

    Timothy Arends1 Timothy Arends1 Aug 9, 2016 10:57 AM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 2 (298 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 9, 2016 10:57 AM in response to Allan Eckert

    Unfortunately, I can't run the test because the Mac Mini is still not sending an image signal to the display (even though the display is detecting its presence).

     

    I tried leaving the Mac unplugged from power for 24 hours. Today, I also tried disconnecting and reconnecting all cables. Same issue.

     

    The reason for my original question is that some companies have "lemon" policies that kick in which they will refund the purchase price or replace it with another unit in if the customer is having problems even after extraordinary troubleshooting attempts.

  • by Timothy Arends1,

    Timothy Arends1 Timothy Arends1 Aug 9, 2016 10:55 AM in response to tbirdvet
    Level 2 (298 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 9, 2016 10:55 AM in response to tbirdvet

    It 's not likely the display/cable because when I had the problem before, and had access to an Apple Thunderbolt display, the Mac had the same issue even when tested with the Apple display.

  • by Timothy Arends1,Solvedanswer

    Timothy Arends1 Timothy Arends1 Aug 12, 2016 11:59 PM in response to Timothy Arends1
    Level 2 (298 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 12, 2016 11:59 PM in response to Timothy Arends1

    If anyone else is interested, I talked to Apple and they said they consider a Mac a "lemon" if three or more part replacements have to be performed within the warranty period, so my Mac doesn't qualify.

     

    My productivity is shot, all the same.

     

    (P.S. I'm one who believes Macs aren't constructed with the same build quality as they once were.)