User profile for user: dschultz71
dschultz71 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Apple Reliability???

I am a huge fan of Apple products. However, there is not a single product of theirs that has not caused me a repair issue. Here is the list of problems I have had. Thankfully, I purchased the Apple Care (for some of them).

PowerBook G4 - Repaired for dead screen within 3 year warranty
Mac Pro - Repaired twice for dead mother board. Took it to the Apple Store in Schaumburg. Soon there after, I took it to a local authorized dealer who discovered the repair in Schaumburg messed it up and had to replace the case.
Apple TV - The first one I purchased less than three years ago is now dead. They run hot and burn out components. Frankly, I am waiting for my second one to die.
MacBook Pro - Hard drive crashed and had to be replaced within 18 months of purchase. It was not used very much and rarely traveled.

I am not convinced the price of Apple products is worth it. I am happy to pay for a better product with greater reliability. Anyone else have these issues?

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Sep 22, 2010 9:54 PM

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User profile for user: varjak paw
varjak paw
User level: Level 10
182,668 points

Posted on Sep 23, 2010 7:39 AM

FWIW, in over thirty years of owning Apple products and having owned a dozen or more Macs, two iPads, and an Apple TV, I've had a total of one failure, of a hard drive (which I don't blame on Apple since they neither design nor manufacture hard drives). My experience is probably atypical, just as yours is.

And being in a position in my profession to have over the last few years supported literally hundreds of computers from several manufacturers including Apple, I can state with certainty that Apple's products are at least as reliable as those from any computer manufacturer and more reliable than many.

I'd suggest you investigate the quality of the AC power in your home/office. Bad power causes a large percentage of failures in electronic components, and with such a run of problems, that may well be at least a factor for you. Use of high-quality surge protectors (NOT the $10 hardware store specials which have been proven to cause more problems than they solve) or, better, a power conditioner, might be worth the investment.

Regards.
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User profile for user: varjak paw
varjak paw
User level: Level 10
182,668 points

Sep 23, 2010 7:39 AM in response to dschultz71

FWIW, in over thirty years of owning Apple products and having owned a dozen or more Macs, two iPads, and an Apple TV, I've had a total of one failure, of a hard drive (which I don't blame on Apple since they neither design nor manufacture hard drives). My experience is probably atypical, just as yours is.

And being in a position in my profession to have over the last few years supported literally hundreds of computers from several manufacturers including Apple, I can state with certainty that Apple's products are at least as reliable as those from any computer manufacturer and more reliable than many.

I'd suggest you investigate the quality of the AC power in your home/office. Bad power causes a large percentage of failures in electronic components, and with such a run of problems, that may well be at least a factor for you. Use of high-quality surge protectors (NOT the $10 hardware store specials which have been proven to cause more problems than they solve) or, better, a power conditioner, might be worth the investment.

Regards.
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User profile for user: Alley_Cat
Alley_Cat
User level: Level 7
20,560 points

Sep 23, 2010 11:33 AM in response to dschultz71

I think some of us are just unlucky.

For me:

1 - 2006 20" iMac logic board started failing just outside 1st year warranty, before 3 years it was unbootable. When a fully fledged Apple store opened nearby, I enquired at the Genius bar as there was a thread here with several people having similar issues but no official recall/repair extension. They asked me to take it in, confirmed a fault and fixed it for free when it was over 3 years old. No idea if it was a bad batch or design issue. Quite impressed with Apple here.

2 - Refurbished Intel Mac Mini logic board died after about 10 months, repaired of course under warranty but I took out Applecare after that.

3 - 1st AppleTV hardware failure - logic board again I suspect as I've dismantled it, and confirmed HD still working, but it won't boot at all despite power being present.

It's about a 40% failure rate for things I've bought in last 3-4 years.

AC
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User profile for user: tallrad1
tallrad1
User level: Level 1
45 points

Sep 23, 2010 4:44 PM in response to Alley_Cat

My original 40GB ATV (1 of 5 I now own) became squirrely so I took it out of commission. After some rehab it's working quite well. My Macbook pro has a bad battery. That's about it for me over three years owning: 2 iMacs, 5 Apple TV's, Mac mini, Airport Extreme, 2 iPads, and 5 iPhones, 1 MBP and 1 Macbook.

Oh yeah and my wife dropped her 3G iPhone in the toilet but that's not Apple's fault.
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User profile for user: Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
User level: Level 10
122,622 points

Sep 23, 2010 3:59 AM in response to dschultz71

Welcome to the  Discussion Forums.

You seem to have encountered some bad luck. Over the years I have purchased many Apple products, likely about 40 computers, 15 or so iPods, 12 iPhones, 6 or so Expresses 5 Extremes, 5 Apple tv's, a half dozen monitors, 8 magic mice and numerous other peripherals.

My repair history is limited to the following:

1 Macbook that arrived with a faulty isight and was replaced FOC immediately.
1 G4 Tower hard drive that failed after 6 years.
1 iphone silent button that broke off, assumed my son was responsible due to heavy handling.
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