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Repeated logic board failures on 2018 MacBook Pro

I am faced with repairing an out of warranty 2018 MacBook Pro with a Mac Service Center diagnosed logic board failure. My concern is will the new board eventually fail or since this has been reported to be a problem with this model can I expect the new board is more durable. Does anybody else have experience with this. My option is of course to repair it, almost a $600 repair, or buy a new Mac. I have not given up on Macs I have owned three MacBook Pros over the last 15 years and they until now been very reliable.

Posted on Jul 16, 2020 6:29 AM

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I have a 15” 2018 MBP. After 14 months I experienced overheating issues, then the computer didn’t charge and finally it didn’t turn on. The official apple repair service changed the logic board in warranty.


Now, 7 months later I’m experiencing the same issues (computer still works). I’ve sent it again to the repair service, but is really frustrating. Apple has to investigate this problem because doesn’t make sense that the lifetime of the logic board of 2.500 € computer is about 1-2 years.


Posted on Jan 31, 2021 1:16 AM

65 replies

Jul 16, 2020 7:01 AM in response to Gregg Gandy

Gregg Gandy wrote:

I am faced with repairing an out of warranty 2018 MacBook Pro with a Mac Service Center diagnosed logic board failure. My concern is will the new board eventually fail or since this has been reported to be a problem with this model can I expect the new board is more durable. Does anybody else have experience with this. My option is of course to repair it, almost a $600 repair, or buy a new Mac. I have not given up on Macs I have owned three MacBook Pros over the last 15 years and they until now been very reliable.



It will be replaced with the exact same board that it is OEM for that model. Luck of the draw if it last any longer.



You do not say what exact model this is 2018 MacBook Pro (?)

or what the issue is with the board— all parts are soldered and therefore require board replacement,


ex of SSD failure:

https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-solid-state-drive-service


battery failure:

https://support.apple.com/13inch-macbookpro-battery-replacement


keyboard failure:

https://support.apple.com/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks


backlight failure:

https://support.apple.com/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backlight-service


Jul 16, 2020 8:03 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thank you for very much for your informative reply. It is an A1708 13" MacBook Pro. I did contact Apple Support and the serial number does not fall in the range of any post warranty support machines. I have been doing more online research and came across a comment about the USB C charging hinted at being a possible culprit for all these logic board failures in MacBooks. What is sad is this MacBook Pro has seen so much less travel and having been primarily at a desk than it's predecessors one(2015) of which is still going strong. I want like to believe there would be something I could do to insure a long life if I follow through with a repair versus buying a new MacBook. Based on all I have seen I may be ahead financially to buy new with a warranty than repair without any warranty only to have it fail again. Another option is to give up on Apple and get a PC laptop like my current gaming laptop which I can open up and replace most any part myself. Disclosure - I have no idea how long my gaming laptop may live which is why for work I have been using some form of Apple Mac for 30 years.

Aug 30, 2020 7:01 AM in response to Gregg Gandy

I have the exact same model and the exact same problem. The unit is just one year and 3 months old and Without warning, it just would not turn on. Never dropped. Never got wet. Apple repair said it is the logic board. For such an expensive machine, a logic board failure after just over year is very disappointing. Isn’t this a design flaw that needs to be recalled? My older MacBook pros were much more dependable, lasting 4 to 5 years without any problems. These new ones seem to be plagued by problems

Aug 30, 2020 10:25 AM in response to SolarPawa

I agree and if you do a search for logic board failures specific to this model you will be shocked at the number that come up. I have still not decided what to do. I’m afraid of replacing the board only to spend the money and have it fail again. I was told by another forum member the board that would be used to replace it would be the same as the original which to me means just as likely to fail. In my opinion why there is not more of an uproar about this is perhaps many were under extended Apple Care.

Aug 30, 2020 6:10 PM in response to Gregg Gandy

You are probably right about the extended Apple Care. I did not get one. I have another Macbook Pro (an one year earlier model) that exhibited a stage light effect on the bottom of the screen after one year and 5 months. When I took it to Apple, they said the whole screen and top lid had to be replaced for a hefty sum. I did not have the budget for it but eventually, they issued a recall because they got more and more of the same complaint. I am hoping this happens with our Macbook Pro. It has already happened with the logic boards of Macbook Air

Aug 31, 2020 4:15 AM in response to SolarPawa

Thank you for your follow up response because it gives me some hope that Apple may step up about the logic board failure on the MacBook Pro too. I’d be curious how different the logic boards between the Air and Pro are beyond the processors. I do it recall now but after some searching I found where someone had gone to the effort to repair rather than replace the board and I recall it was a very simple inexpensive part that had failed.

Sep 16, 2020 7:03 AM in response to donnie165

Thank you for responding. I wish everyone that has had this problem had a location to check in so we could see just how many failures there have been. My experience so damaged my faith in Apple that instead of replacing my older workplace MacBook Pro(2015) with another, I bought an equally or more powerful Windows laptop with a 1660TI graphics card 1 TB and 500GB SSDs and 32GB of RAM. I still am at a loss as to whether to replace the logic board in my personal 2017 MacBook Pro. My daughter was using it for her graphics art classes and she was very attached to it. We have been an Apple family, iPhones, iPads, desktop, mini, and laptop Macs since the early 90s and hearing of these issues like the keyboards, screens and logic boards really shakes that faith. If anybody else reading this has an idea of how we could form a central repository for all the logic board failures related to this vintage of MacBook Pro laptops please let me know.

Sep 17, 2020 9:21 AM in response to Gregg Gandy

Even I had the same problem with my macbook. It stopped working after 1 yr 2 months. When I took for diagnostics, they said it’s a logic board failure and it costs around $750. As u mentioned even I’m worried to spend money on replacing the logic board and hate to see it fail after couple months. This is not at all expected from Apple. The most unreliable Mac book ever. (2018 MacBook 13 with Touch Bar)

Sep 17, 2020 10:14 AM in response to LokeshVattikuti

The problem that I think you are stating and is the same I am concerned about is if I spend the money to replace the logic board will the replacement last. It would certainly be less expensive than buying a new MacBook Pro. Unfortunately someone replied earlier in this or another thread that the replacement would be the "same" logic board and as such just as likely to fail. Personally I do not like those odds. I mean if they could just say here is the cause for the failure and we have a fix then that would be great. I went back and found the YouTube video where a tech goes step by step through a repair of a MacBook logic board. My theory and it is just a theory is that there is a particular small part or connection that with this particular design is a weak link that has been failing. It is a long video but if you are curious about what may have been the fault it is worth the time. While I was searching for this I could not believe the number of advertisements for companies offering logic board repair and replacements for MacBook Pros.

Sep 17, 2020 10:41 AM in response to donnie165

Donnie, Keep us in the loop. I have decided to wait and not repair mine. While I was searching I found even more articles about this model's failures. I also saw so many places offering repair and replacement services. MacRumors has a long thread in the forums "2017 MacBook Pro logic board failure under normal use" that has convinced me to not to do anything soon. I am blessed that my MacBook Pro is not my only computer. Because my old 2015 is still working, my daughter will use that until we decide which path to take. I am sorry you and so many others are having this problem too. Come on Apple there are too many failures out there to attribute it to "bad luck".

Sep 17, 2020 12:28 PM in response to Gregg Gandy

No one here can help you if you feel insecure repairing your computer because it MIGHT fail again. You are quite right -- It might fail again. It also might not fail again for some time.


Apple sold 20 million Macs last year. That is about 400,000 per week, or more than 57,000 a DAY. You have a sample of ONE Mac. Your experience, good or bad, moves the needle on actual reliability not at bit. You have too small a sample to draw any statistically-significant conclusions.


When Consumer Reports magazine does their rigorous annual survey of their readers, they repeatedly conclude that Macintosh Hardware is quite a bit more reliable than any other computer brand, and survey-responders are much more satisfied with Apple support than any other brand. Note: their survey is based on their subscribers, which may not be a random sample.

Sep 17, 2020 2:02 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thank you for the thoughtful, informative response and the answer to why the miniscule number of us that have the unfortunate experience of a failed Mac should take heart in the reliability of Apple's MacBook Pro. It also explains why with that many sales Apple will not care about such a small number of failures and whether or not they might lose a few of us that may depart because of that experience. Your numbers illustrate why if it was as bad as I was suggesting then there would be much more news about it.


I will admit though that until I was researching this personal logic board problem did I learn about failures that Apple did step up and help out computer owners. I guess there was a larger number of those problems.


If I had the financial resources that Apple executives have then taking the chance on getting mine repaired or buying a new one would be easy. Unfortunately for me a $1700 computer is not an insignificant part of my annual income. Part of the reason I have purchased Macs since my first Quadra 700 for all these years is to have a computer that will last and an operating system that has proven reliable too. Until this, my only experience with a failed Mac, I have been an evangelist for Mac. I see that the few people I may have coaxed into the Mac camp was an insignificant number of new sales.


Of course I never believed I was making a dent in helping the sales of Macs back then. I just thought my fellow PC users should know how good Macs were because I cared. If they gave Macs a chance then they would see just how good they were compared to the problems they were having with their PC. I can say that all of the problems were the operating system and not the computer itself.


My comments in this forum have been for the same reason, hopefully to help someone including selfishly myself. I would love for someone to tell us why the logic boards have failed in this particular model but I guess according to the numbers you provided you might be saying it is so insignificant nobody at Apple has even investigated the reason for the failures.

Repeated logic board failures on 2018 MacBook Pro

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