5 MO old M3 MacBook pro in repair limbo

dkUnlimited wrote:

I had to send my maxed out 16in M3 MacBook Pro out for service as the MagSafe port kept flashing amber and would not charge the machine, however I could still power the machine through the USB ports. I dropped it off at the Apple Store on Thursday and it reached their service location and Saturday. Since then, the repair status has been on hold as they are waiting for a part. I've called numerous times and no one could give me more information beyond that.

This is very frustrating, as I need this machine for work, and I've fallen behind. Curious if anyone has any ideas of what my options are at this point. Can I ask for the machine back? This is very disappointing, as I spend money on Macs as I felt they are reliable, sturdy machines.

However, now, I see that was an erroneous assumption.

I would expect a 10 day turn round, depending on parts availability.

No one here has an inside channel to expedite your machine repair or ability to check on its progress.

It would seem trying to pull it back from the repair cycle at this point, if not complicate the time line, certainly out of the norm and may be delayed even longer(?)

If necessary buy a new one, think of it as a loan— you have 14 days to return it for a full refund. You would hope yours is back from the shop before the return period ends.

if in doubt speak to the store manager.

dkUnlimited wrote:

Update. Spoke to a senior support specialist on Friday, he was as baffled as I was about the status of my machine. As there was no way of knowing when the parts would arrive we agreed the best thing to do would be to ship the machine back to me so I can get back to work. Replacement parts would then be shipped to my local Apple store. When they arrived I would bring my machine there for the repairs. The status update site itself says nothing (honestly, that site is an absolute joke), but in speaking to the specialist yesterday he was able to learn that my machine is being readied for return. Overall, this has been an extremely disappointing experience. While the specialist I spoke to actually tried to help, the rest of the support teams I've deal with have been an unhelpful and clueless. I spent thousands on what essentially was a lemon and Apple seemed incapable of fixing it in a timely fashion. Needless to say, my next machine won't be an Apple.

It appears your computer is critical to your work. It is hard to understand why you do not have a business/work disaster recovery plan in place given the criticality of the computer. You need access to another computer in the event your primary computer fails, and computers do randomly fail.

FWIW, I would not initiate the return of a none working computer. The repair process was initiated and in process. Changing the process now will only further delay the repair. The local shop will now have to schedule your repair when they receive the parts. They may be busy and your repair may take lower priority and some time to complete.