MBP Logic board failure

This is an update to my post on 2 April where I was told by both the Apple Support call centre and my local Apple store that I would have to pay for my logicboard to be replaced as I was two months outside of the logic board extended warranty.

Anyway - I wrote to Apple in California a week or so later and was contacted last week and fully refunded for the cost of the repair at my local Apple store yesterday - £361.20. Well worth the price of a recorded delivery letter to Cupertino, CA.

This went some way to restoring my faith in Apple although Seattle Rex's case (not an isolated one it seems), where Apple basically admitted they have (in some cases at least) been replacing faulty logic boards with - er - faulty logic boards, means my fingers are crossed - despite my local Apple store insisting that my replacement logic board is not part of the faulty batch which caused the probem in the first place. Mind you, 'fingers crossed' isn't really what you want with a Mac is it...?

Full text of my letter below:

Dear Sir/ Madam

Re. Macbook Pro W8749803X91 - “When you buy a computer, you want it to last. And a Mac will. That’s because a Mac is designed and built to be as reliable as it is beautiful.” (http://www.apple.com/why-mac/)

I am taking the step of writing to Apple head office in the U.S. in the apparent absence of any conventional customer complaints depart in the UK because of a recent problem with the NVIDIA graphics chip in my Macbook Pro.

My Macbook Pro suffered the notorious NVIDIA graphics chip issue on 27 March 2012 – just two months and five days beyond the four year period after its purchase during which Apple were prepared to replace the logic board containing the NVIDIA graphics chip for free. The issue was confirmed both by the independent store where I originally bought the laptop and the Apple store where I eventually had the laptop repaired. Neither the Apple store nor the Apple Support phone line (who I also contacted) were prepared to make an exception to the four year period in my case even though I was only just beyond it and had been completely unaware of the potential of my MBP developing this issue and despite the fact that various posts on Apple support forums allege that exceptions have been made beyond the four year point. In short, I do not believe I should have to pay for this repair and I have paid only under protest as stated on the store’s copy of my receipt.

There are several reasons why I do not believe I should have to pay for this replacement logic board but the crucial one is that this is NOT a case of ‘fair wear and tear’. According to my understanding, Apple originally investigated a number of complaints about failed NVIDIA graphics chips and discovered that NVIDIA were at fault. Apple then negotiated a three-year period (later extended to four after it was discovered just how many laptops were affected) whereby they would seek to replace the logic board for free in laptops with the NVIDIA issue and seek financial redress from NVIDIA themselves. Interestingly, as far as I can make out, Apple made no active effort to inform owners of MBPs likely to develop the fault beyond placing a notice on the Apple website which people would be unlikely to discover unless they were looking for it, which, in turn, they would be unlikely to do until they experienced the fault - which is exactly how I discovered it.

What is interesting about the whole situation is the complete contrast between the way Apple have dealt with this issue and the way an issue with the battery of the first-generation IPod Nano was recently dealt where customers were directly contacted and offered the chance to have their Nano replaced for nothing – a lot longer than four years after original purchase. I think the NVIDIA logic board issue should have been dealt with in a similar way. However, rather than a costly replacement of all logic boards for all returns (whether faulty or not) you could have simply offered to replace the logic board, should the fault occur, for the life of the machine. In the UK for example, the consumer has rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, whereby the consumer can seek redress from the retailer for electrical goods up to six years after purchase. Unfortunately for me, I was not aware of this until after the Apple store had begun work on my laptop after which it then became a more complex issue since I had then involved a third party. In any case, even if you were still replacing the odd logic board in 2013 or 2014 (or even beyond) surely it would be testament to Apple’s craftsmanship and therefore a potential PR triumph. Not all machines would have developed the fault so you wouldn’t have had to replace all of them or become involved in a costly recall and it would have reinforced customer loyalty and your reputation for customer service. I appreciate that the technical fault originally lies with NVIDIA but Apple contracted parts from them and they should be making NVIDIA continue to foot the bill. I understand Apple is quite a large and influential company, one would have thought it would have the clout to do this. A cynic might wonder whether Apple decided to contact first-gen. Nano customers and offer to replace their iPods for free because the cost of doing so was far cheaper than potential lawsuits in the event of a fire being caused by the original battery and the ensuing bad publicity and loss of business. A cynic might continue to wonder if Apple now felt it was so big that it could afford to alienate a considerable number of owners of MBPs (who were facing no health and safety issue except from extreme frustration) and lose their goodwill and custom rather than replace a part like the logic board which is much more expensive than, say, an iPod Nano. In any case, you can hardly be surprised that people expect their Apple laptops to last longer than four years. Apple customers pay premium prices and expect premium quality. In many cases this is borne out by the facts - for example the iBook which I bought in 2004 which served me well and is now continuing to serve a friend’s daughter well. It is also, tellingly, the basis of your advertising as per the quotation at the start of this letter.

What is particularly galling about the £360.61 that I have had to spend in replacing my logic board is that I had already spent £178.95 in January this year on extra RAM and a new Apple battery in order to ‘future-proof’ my MBP so that I could run it alongside a new MBP that I had intended to buy this year. Had I been aware of the NVIDIA issue I would have abandoned both the future-proofing of my current MBP and my apparently wildly romantic notion of expecting a Macbook Pro to last much beyond four years. Thus it is that my recent experience has left a sour taste in my mouth. If a Mac lasts no longer than a PC, all it effectively offers is a better operating system and external aesthetics and the question I have to ask as a consumer is, ‘is that something for which I am happy to pay two to three times the price?’

I have not enclosed hard copies of the receipt for my logic board replacement as I was assured by the Apple Store in Bristol that you are able to check these details by tracing my serial number – see top of this letter. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter.

Yours faithfully etc.

OUTRAGEOUS!
i sincerely hope you have written letters to Apple's PR department telling them you are about to go on a major offensive till they do the right thing and replace it for free...
i am more and more sickened by Apples strategy of Complete Denial regarding this issue. their GPU's are ***** and whether its the NVidia or the older ATI if you look on this forum and elsewhere you will see dozens if not hundreds of posts complaining about this problem.
and its seems mighty convenient that your GPU tested 'ok' - consider taking it to a third party for testing. BTW exactly how did they test it? did they tell you?
until we make enough noise about this Apple will continue to sweep it under the rug.
b

I AM ON A MISSION TO DO THIS HERE IN CHILE (SOUTHAMERICA), WHO IS WITH ME...??? MY MAC IS A YEAR AND A HALF OLD AND IS PRACTICALLY IN MINT CONDITION...!!!! CLEAN AND NOT ONE SCRATCH ON IT...... YET IT TURNED OFF, "AND NEVER CAME BACK ON AGAIN"... APPLE CERTIFIED TECHS CONCLUSION:

BUSTED LOGIC BOARD, AND HERE IN SOUTHAMERICA IT COSTS CLOSE TO $2000.00(YES YOU READ CORRECTLY, TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS U.S.)

ABSURD TO SAY THE LEAST.

DOESN´T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL.

A NEW MACBOOK PRO COSTS JUST A BIT OVER THAT PRICE, BUY A NEW ONE...??? MAYBE...

BUT, WILL IT DIE AGAIN AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF...???? WILL APPLE HELP ME IN MY TIME OF NEED...???? WHAT TO DO... WHAT TO DO...???

I am in Canada and have now had 3 instances of a black screen on start up in the last month!?
If I close the lid and reopen it, the screen comes on!??? This is worrisome regardless.
I'm not quite sure what to do just yet.

<Edited By Host>

I can see a market for 2007 Macbook users who will decide to go ahead and fix their MBP's themselves when disaster hits.

PS: In case you wondered: I'm one of 'em.

****** ITS MORE SATISFYING TO SPEND ENERGY AND TIME FIXING ONES OWN FAILED MACBOOK PRO THAN IT IS TO SPEND ENERGY AND TIME COMPLAINING TO APPLE ******

Nikos Lazaridis, as soon as I fixed my Macbook Pro I felt euphoric and wanted to write a book or a website about how to do it and to encouage others to do so. But until your comment, others in the Apple Community seemed more interested in complaining than fixing. Complaint may after hard work and stress result in a refund or replacement. But it still leaves the customer as a victim and dependent on Apple. All the informaton required to re-bake a MacBook Pro is available on the internet. So I encourage people to go for it and to "have a go". They may be surprised at what they can achieve if they try. And if they are successful they will feel much better about themselves (and their MacBook Pro!), than those who don't try and instead complain and/or buy a replacement MacBook Pro at very great expense. I do appreciate that not everyone is technically minded - which is why I thought of writing a book or website. But if I can rebake my MacBook Pro anyone can! I may be trained in Physics and have good attention to detail. But I have never been a DIY fixit man before (or since).

There are plenty of 'Laptop Repair shops" (in the UK) who will re-bake a MacBook Pro for less than £100 which is better than paying Apple another £1500+ for a new MacBook Pro. But yes I agree, the mindset of a person who is willing to not follow the crowd and instead "have a go" should - in theory - be very appealing to employers.

As an update ... My early 2008 Macbook Pro (and the once dead Optical Drive) is still working fine 4 months after re-baking it. However, one month later I perhaps got over-confident and tried to make my fans quieter by dismantling the Right Hand Fan and applying "fan lube". I think my tinkering misalligned the fan and now it sounds like a lawn mower when I play some Flash Videos which seem to "stress" the Macbook Pro taking it up to 80C (the CoolBook limit) and Fan speed over 4000rpm. I may choose to try and fix it or buy a new or second hand fan. But its not a big issue for me yet. Needless to say I didn't attempt to quieten the Left Hand fan!

I have also now used a device to wirelessly (over bluetooth) connect my Macbook Pro to my 2002 wirebased HiFi speakers. I sometimes get temporary audio "crackle" but wireless is very convenient and using good speakers is a "must" to get the most out of a laptop (or desktop). I have also attached my iTunes specific 300GB external drive to Airport Extreme via a powered USB hub, which means the 128GB storage I have in my Macbook Pro is no longer an issue for me - I can play iTunes from my wirelessly connected external hard drive. So I may not bother upgrading my MacBook Pro to a 256GB SSD. I should add that I only use my Macbook Pro as a desktop, so mobility is not an issue for me.

****** ITS MORE SATISFYING TO SPEND ENERGY AND TIME FIXING ONES OWN FAILED MACBOOK PRO THAN IT IS TO SPEND ENERGY AND TIME COMPLAINING TO APPLE ******

Apple in July 2012 gave me a new replacement computer because of the NVIDIA graphic card issue due to my computer having multiple repairs and continued graphic failures. I had a 15-inch Macbook Pro with the bad NVIDIA graphic card. Apple replaced it with a brand new 15-inch Macbook Pro. Yes, I am a happy Apple customer. But I do understand and feel for all the customers who have had the NVIDIA issue and who have not fared as well as me.

My 2008 Pro failed less than 3 months ago and was diagnosed by an Austin Apple store as having the graphic card failure. Apple replaced my logic board for free to fix it. I also had Apple replace my hard drive before I brought it home because a genius said it was beginning to fail. It wasn't long afterward that I had the same graphic problems and took it back to the same south Austin Apple store, which again diagnosed graphic card failure on my computer and replaced the logic board a second time.

Not longer that, I had the same problems show up a third time: no video, distorted video, the computer screen spontaneously dimming at times, geometric designs periodically popping up for a few moments and filling my entire computer screen, and other issues. I took it back to the same south Austin Apple store and got a jerk genius. He looked and saw I had two graphic card failures and right off told me that was not the problem again, though he clearly saw there were major video problems with the computer. He said the issue was Safari and he reinstalled it. That did not work. Then he said it was operating system and he wanted to keep it yet again overnight and reinstall it, though the operating system had just been reinstalled by Apple. He told me geometric designs suddenly popping up on my screen was normal and everything was normal, and that the video issue was probably just a minor thing. He said because Apple had installed new graphic cards with a NVIDIA fix on them in my computer, and it certainly wasn't the graphic card. He was very protective of Apple and basically telling me it was not Apple's problem. I decided I didn't trust him with my computer and told him I didn't want to give it up right now to get it fixed and left with my poorly working computer. When Apple sent me a customer survey to follow up on the visit, I gave the genius a scathing review. I was a most unhappy Apple customer.

For more than 2 months after that I basically had no video. I dealt with the dimming computer screen, geometric designs popping up on my screen, etc., just because I did not want to deal again with Apple. As my 90-day warranty for the last replaced logic board was nearing its end, I took my computer to the Apple store in north Austin, which is closer to my home. Here I got great service. The genius ran diagnostics and tried to fix the video and could not. I said I wanted a replacement computer because of the continued problems and that I was aware of the Seattle small claims court case where Apple reps testified that all the NVIDIA graphic cards available to repair computers with this issue were all defective, meaning, in essence, that a bad NVIDIA card would be replaced with another bad NVIDIA card when a repair was made, resulting in an unreliable repair. I said that meant Apple could not reliably fix my computer. I was very nice and matter-of-fact about it.

The genius looked at my history of multiple graphic issues in less than 3 months and went to talk to his manager, and they both came back and told me Apple was giving me a new computer. The manager said my continuing problems with the computer were unacceptable to Apple and a new 15-inch Macbook Pro replacement would be provided me. Truthfully, I was stunned, and asked them to repeat that.

I left the store less than 30 minutes later with my new Macbook Pro, joyfully shocked. Yes, I'm a happy Apple customer and will sing its praises to everyone I meet, but I get I'm a lucky customer on this issue. I’ve read the tons of complaints from Pro users left with broken computers because of the NVIDIA defect and feeling Apple left them high and dry. I think Apple needs to address the NVIDIA issue in such a way to take care of all its customers who unknowingly bought defective computers and are finding their computers dying prematurely. Apple will be better off with happy customers.

I would like to add that the genius and manager could not have been nicer to me in giving me a replacement computer and made me feel like a very valued customer. I was charmed and most happy.

I kind of hate to say all of that because I know how frustrated and unhappy so many Apple customers are over the NVIDIA issue, and so was I. I just want to set the record right beause I believe I ranted on this forum about how bad Apple was because of the continuing problems I had from the defective graphic cards. I guess I was fortunate to have quick failures with my replacement logic boards, resulting in my getting a replacement computer.

Apple has won me over with the replacement computer and the grace and professionalism displayed by Apple store reps when providing the replacement. I wish everyone could have the same good experience I had. Hopefully Apple will see a lesson in that and help make right the NVIDIA issue for all its customers.

Just to clarify my earlier post: I had three graphical failures with my computer before I got the replacement. My 2008 Pro failed in spring 2012 and was diagnosed by an Apple store as the NVIDIA GPU issue, and I was given a free replacement logic board. That replacement failed and I was given another free logic board replacement. When I had more graphical failures during the 90-day warranty period of the last logic board replacement, I was given a replacement computer. Original logic board plus two replacement logic boards all apparently failed. I will say that the Apple store did not definitively say my GPU had failed the third time when it gave me a replacement, though the graphical problems were the same problems I'd had all along. The Apple store manager just said I'd had enough problems - three computer failures of the same nature - to warrant a replacement.

See this is one of the problems I have with Apple. They are not consistent. ALL of these Mac's that had this NVidia problem should of been Replaced by Apple and or the bad graphics chip replaced with a different model that did not have any failures. Not just replacing the Logic board with SAME faulty graphic chip on it.

They repplaced your 4 year old computer with a Brand New model. Your problem was NO different then any other person with this same model. But yet there or, I would guess, Thousands of users that were told they were out of luck because they either were outside the 4 year period or Apple could not get the right CODE that stated it was the faulty graphics chip or the system had failed to boot to even run that CODE software.

But yet most of all Apple Mac fans will run right out and buy another Apple Product. Just what is wrong with that picture (Read that Users).

Hi guys, this is a small story (like most of here) and about one of Apple`S faces (at least how I see it). Yeah, like most of us, Apple has many faces. Funny,smart, generous, thoughtful (just look at that TV commercials on their website, how careful they do every detail and of course UGLY. So, here is a story aboutUGLY Apple`remark: Incomplete sentence face and my MBP.

But first, what is wrong with my MBP (early 2008) with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor? I bought it in Oct., 2008, with Apple care (thesame time). Two and a half years was quite happy time to use it if not count madly hot (left corner). Well, its Al body I thought. Yes, I have to use some coolingpads and so on. However, since most of the time it stays with me in office (where conditioners running all the time) it was acceptable. It works fine until Iupgrade it to Snow Leopard last summer. I purchased it (on AppStore), installed and problems come. Such as, fans running loud more often, body even hotter,sometime rebooting with no reason. I do normal office/research things no games, video editing just very very seldom. What I thought at that time aboutproblems is that due to software. So I decided to downgrade it back to Leopard. However, it seems it was too late. Just after a couple of weeks when Applecare expired, MBP did not start (or wake up, don`T remember how I finished that last day I`ve used MBP). And after some resetting, it did not show anyintends to go back to life. Indeed, it was few times “kernel panic” and no picture on the screen while MBP was running. Even so, after restart its runs fineagain. So I did not suspect anything.

OK, I`m out of warranty! What to do (it was last year, about November)? I already guess, since it did not run after a power button push, it must be beserious.And I guess it will cost a lot of money. I digged this forum, another places. Wow, I found, that actually my MBP is probably under 4 years-free replacement(due to NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT failure) program. How I know about it before? No recall, no other information, just some note on Apple`s website. So,couple of weeks later I took my brick/dead MBP to AASC (in Taiwan), left it there (they have many things to do), and in a couple days got a phone call: “wecannot start your MBP, so we cannot run a software test, so your LB/MB is dead, and you may want to replace it for ~500US?” “No, thank you!, but whatabout that Apple`s program for free replacement of failed NVIDIA?” “We cannot run software diagnostic soft, so we cannot generate a report, so we can onlyreplace MB for your money” WOW! (- 50 US$ for stupid test, which actually they did not even run).

I love MBP2008, I really do! But 500US$, just couple of weeks after ACare expired, and what about NVIDIA problem? nobody care! mmm.

After few months (my MBP stay in its original package and I used iBook4G (which >10 years old) of checking and digging info what to do with this situation (and BTW, 4 years is almost over) I decided to give another shot for AASC (here in Taiwan, but went to another place) few days ago.

Result expectedly the same! No soft test (of course its still dead brick), no code, no report. But they can change MB/LB (for my money).(-50 US$ for test they did not do).

OK Apple people! Please read this. It`s about your ugly face.

Do you treat everybody as dumb, idiots? It is even not ridiculous it's twisted minded to rely on some soft test and after it cannot run tell us your MB is dead (how you know? you even did not open a case!), it is rude and not responsible!! It is not smart at all!

Because:

1/ any software is written by people and intended to show ONLY WHAT IS PROGRAMMED TO SHOW!!!! NO MAGIC “Apple people”!

2/ No need to be a technician (computer?) or Apple “genius”, just to understand that what that “soft test” can show it is only symptoms but not a root cost. Andthe symptoms could be evident and visible or not evident and hidden (isn`t it obvious? or you “Apple people” never get to sick?). I guess, from Apple`s“smart” point of view using such a kind of test will cut most of the potential problems, and keeping its face (money?).

OK, I`m not a doctor, but probably it is easy to explain. You got sick, fainted, coma...whatever. In a hospital, doctor put something into your body (USB stickin your ***?) but no response, no code, no report. He tells your relatives/friens, you are dead, but he can change yours something (hart, head, leg? whatever).Dear “Apple people,” do you like such a kind of “doctor”? I guess you will ask for another doctor to do something more, don`t you? Be honest!

So this is what you do to us, people who trusted you, believe that “when you buy a computer, you want it to last. And a Mac will. That’s because a Mac isdesigned and built to be as reliable as it is beautiful.”(http://www.apple.com/why-mac/) and many other bla bla bla (need to add that it is only valid for 3 yearsand 1 month?)

You (“Apple people”) may say: “we have a policy” to do it in this way. OK, just like with above (USB test) example, “policy” made by people. Today is onepolicy, tomorrow is another. And I hope you (“Apple people”) will realize that the person who made such a kind of policy is intended to damage Apples`sgreat reputation which been earned for many years!

I do not want and do not have time to argue with AASC`s engineers and other stuff. they have to say what they were taught to say. According to Apple`s“policy”. They are small potatoes. I have my honor not to altercate with that people.

I`m not asking for mercy, what I want is to respect me as a sane adult person (not as a silly boy who will believe in a silly story about “magic” USB stick). Iwant normal investigation of the MBP2008 which shows what root cost of its failure. I want to know why I have to pay my (not easy earned) money for repairand make sure I`m not covering someone`s fault from my pocket. It is fair, isn`t it?

**** SECOND BAKING AFTER 4 MONTHS 99.5% SUCCESSFUL *****

The horizontal zig-zags of death appeared a few weeks ago and on 5th August, almost exactly 4 months after its first death, my MacBook Pro died a second time. The good news is that I rebaked and fixed it all in less than 4 hours in one evening. The bit of bad news is that it was only 99.5% successful this time. I have a small problem. I wonder if anyone can advise me?….

I have a small problem which may or may not have been caused by what I did when I first powered on my MacBook pro after the bake. In addition to having to reset the clock, there was a message about the name of my computer already existing, and so my “new” computer was being given the same name but with a suffix of “-2”. For some reason (it was late and I was tired) I decided at the time I didn’t like this and prompted by the warning message I use Preferences/Sharing to edit the “-2” from the computer name.

Whether its related or not, I get the following warnings when I reboot both the Airport Extreme and the MacBook pro

Do you want the application “mDNSResponder” to accept incoming network connections?

Do you want the application “configd” to accept incoming network connections?

I have WiFi ok, but when I later reboot my MacBook pro, without rebooting the Airport Extreme, I find that Airport Utility gives the error “Airport Utility was unable to find any Airport wireless devices”. On its own this would not be a big issue because I only use Airport Utility when I have a problem with WiFi. However, it causes (?) my problem - which is that Finder can no longer “see” the external USB drive which is plugged into the Airport Extreme.

I can make it “see” it by rebooting the Airport Extreme. However, I don’t want to do that every time I wish to use the external USB drives (which holds my iTunes library).

After much searching the internet I have added mDNSResponder etc to the Firewall to allow connections and I have also deleted com.apple.alf.plist. But this has not solved my problem. It is as though when I power off my MacBook pro, it “forgets” that I replied “Allow” to the above two messages. But it does not ask me the two questions again (they only appear after I have rebooted the Extreme).

I assume something is corrupted. I have a Time Machine backup just prior to the time when my MacBook pro died.

***** Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can permanently get my MacBook pro to allow connections to mDNSResponder and congifd bearing in mind that adding them to the firewall does not seem to do so? *****

Yeah, Apple dropped the ball on this one. I used to defend the integrity and genius of this company around campfires to PC groupies until my own NIVIDIA problem came up with my $2700 17" Macbook.

The Apple Store here in Zurich said they'd need $600 Francs to replace my logic board, and when I reminded them about the NIVIDIA crisis, they assured me that they had run the appropriate diagnostic tests and ruled this out.

So I sent my pride and joy to Hi-Tech Electronic Service in New York (www.newhitech.net) after reading praise for them online during a Google search. Sure enough, they fixed it without a logic board replacement. With shipping and everything, it was still over $300...but strangely enough there was some smug satisfaction in showing up the very company I'd formerly idolized.

Bad business, Apple...bad business. I've spent thousands over the years on Mac desktops, laptops, iPhones, iPods, etc., but I'll be keeping my mouth shut at future campfires.

Hey guys, reply to my own post...from MBP15, which is working now! 🙂

Yeah, its working just like before its happened few months ago. Apple agree to replace MB for free. And it really replaced it and for totally no cost for me.

Amazing!

I have to withdraw my angry post, no actually just part. Which about "ugly face". In fact the people I contact before were not Apple people at all. Just some small potatoes.

After second time they ask me for 500US$ to replace MB without real test I decided to talk to someone else from Apple, like AppleCare. I call to Singapore`s (I`m in Taiwan) office of AppleCare. The first time (it was 3 weeks ago, on Saturday afternoon) I have talk with engineer from tech support. He listened my problem and give conclusion that it is power problem! WOW! again! Genius! Even not seen MBP, on a phone he made a conclusion! Well I still insist it is not power, MBP has a light, DVD room can suck CD, there is sound from HD. So he politely ask me to call back and talk to AppleCare engineer. The other day I called, and again explain the same things. BUT!, quite soon the engineer ask me hold on, and in sometime later the manager show up (on a phone). Shortly, after brief explanation the problem she said that as exception I may get replacement by Apple. No detailed explanation why I`m so lucky. However, I pointed out, that I`d like to make clear, and want to know what is really wrong with my MBP15.

The amazing things happened after that talk. During next week I had several phone calls form that manager (Katrina) to confirm some details about MBP15. The funny thing was that local Apple service people doesn't speak in English. So AppleCare Singapore had a problem to communicate with AppleService in Taiwan. Anyhow they did. My MBP15 was send to real service for MB replacement and in 1 week I got it back!

But again! The experience to communicate with AppleCare was amazing! It was really care!

So, well unfortunately I`ve made my first impression looking at wrong faces. Sorry Apple! My apology!

In fact, after all I feel like I want to do for Apple something back.

Good luck guys!

Thank you Apple! Thank you Katrina! Thank you AppleCare Singapore! 😍

Patrick, if they gave you a "three month guarantee" on the fix, then they probably just re-baked/re-flowed the logic board so you may find your macbook dies again in 3 or 4 months. I'd advise getting in contact with Hi-Tec now just to confirm that they'll fix it again for free if it fails in the next year. Alternatively you could try re-baking it yourself if it dies in 3 or 4 months time.

I agree with that. Went down that road and sent my 2007 Macbook Pro to a specialised service company for computers. It worked for a month or so and then... there we go again.

My 2 pence on this matter: this particular line of laptop has a clear and unambiguous issue with the heat tolerance of its internal components, which results in internal overheating and eventual failure. It is a design flaw of the NVIDIA card and there is really nothing that can't be done to complete eliminate this problem. Unless you are an absolute minimal user (e.g. switch on, read e-mails, switch off and that's it), you are in line for this predicament.

So use your MBP taking its deficiency into account. If you throw computationally heavy tasks on your MBP, it will start overheating despite the ramping up of the fans. So, make sure you leave space at the bottom of the laptop to give it a chance to transfer some heat out through its bottom surface; never ever lay it on your duvet (it is a strong heat insulator). Install smcFanControl and keep an eye on the temperature as you go run different tasks. Pretty soon, you will know which tasks are generating too much internal heat and you will learn to anticipate that. If you see that your temperatures are too high too often, then max out the fans permanently. And naturally, if you live in a hot climate, your local environment is giving you a handicap - it makes a distinct difference to use your laptop in a 30ºC room in the summer than using it in a 20ºC one in the winter.

Botommline, it is far from a perfect machine in terms of that and the best you can do is somehow learn to live with this shortcoming. Other than that, it is actually a nice laptop and it gets by doing its job even 5 years later.

Mine was eventually rescued by Apple, as they did a replacement of the logic board at no cost to me. Since then, I took all the precautions above and it works without the slightest problem now. In fact, I now know what were the things I was doing wrong previously and that eventually led it to melt down.