The injustice of Flexgate M1

I bought a brand new MacBook Pro M1 in May 2021 for £1348.

I got a new job and they supplied me a laptop in November 2021, so stopped using my MacBook regularly.

Midway through 2023 I started using my MacBook Pro again, as I took up a writing course.

All was well then after around a week of using it, I opened the laptop and the screen was completely black, with vertical lines all the way down it. Nothing would make the screen switch on, even forcing shutdown etc. This was completely out of the blue, no sign that this was coming, no physical damage from me.

I made a Genius Bar appointment; not once even doubting that they would fix it, as I’ve always found Apple to be really professional and helpful. I drove 30 mins to Apple in Lakeside, waited for my appointment, and a nice man took my laptop out to the back, and returned about 15 minutes later.

He told me that something (I think the flexgate cable) has failed, and there is no way to repair it. Ok, I thought, that’s a pain, but he says I can replace the screen. Cool, I guess that’s what we need to do. He has a pained expression though. I wonder why, then he explains that it’s out of warranty and so I will need to pay £600.

at this point I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I spend nearly a grand and a half on a laptop, use it for five months, it completely fails and is rendered useless, and I have to pay £600 to make it operational again because it’s out of warranty?

I honestly am gobsmacked: my previous MacBook was eligible for the last repair program, which also had a screen issue. I thought Apple was meant to be reliable?

I was so aghast that I just walked out in shock. I phoned Apple CS on the way home, and spoke to a surprisingly cold representative on the phone, who basically in no uncertain terms told me that that’s just the way it is, tough. He was pretty rude and it was then that I realised that Apple really don’t give a toss about their customers anymore.

I think it’s outrageous that there is no repair program. My husband always laughs at me for going back to Apple, despite their customer service being so bad, and now I have to say I agree with him.