Wifi Constantly Dropping in Lion

thnkloud9 wrote:

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I am so unimpressed with the quality of apple's mac books as of late that I do not plan on buying apple products again. This is the second macbook pro that I've had in less than two years with hardware problems that I ended up having to pay to repair, both less than 2 years old. Apple had a chance to make things right for me by either offering to cover the machine under apple care, or at the VERY LEAST allowing me to purchase it now, but sadly these are not options and I am left with a very expensive laptop that is prone to hardware failures, and even more expensive to fix. Sorry to say, but after years of cheerleading apple products I think Im ready to start looking elsewhere.

The people you talk to on the phone are not the people who are empowered to change corporate policy. They only have the tools available to them that they are granted by their job/title.

In the end, you neglected to buy Apple Care. While it is an extra expense, it is a vital part of the overall value that Apple provides to its customers. As you know, it affords complete relief of angst about how/when to get your device repaired.

It sounds like you have a way to get it repaired if you just ship it back to the US and get a friend or family member to manage the interaction with a US store. To me, that sounds like a plus, not a minus. Yes, it's not convenient, but you actually chose, by not buying Apple Care, to not have convenience.

Some of the hardest lessons to learn are those that you can see how you could of avoided the problem all together.

If you are not happy with your macbook, you should go buy one of those shiny new Windows 8.1 machines and see how exciting that is.

I am a computer programmer and audio engineer who has used apple products for well over 15 years and never once have I purchased apple care. Until recently every one of the laptops I've bought ran without hardware problems for 4 years or more, and even after 4 years only needing minor replacements. I've given old laptops to friends when I've upgraded and those laptops continued to run perfectly for years still.

I'm not here to discuss the merits of apple care, I'm sure its a wonderful program. What I would like to discuss is the declining quality of the products that apple is releasing as of late. Two macbook pros in a row with hardware problems less than 2 years off the shelf is less than impressive. And if it were only me, I might still give apple the benefit of the doubt given my past experiences with them, but unfortunately this is not an isolated case. Many of my co-workers and friends are also having hardware issues with their recently purchased macbooks as well. The ones fortunate enough to have purchased apple care have had replacement laptops sent (anyone who reads these forums regularly can see the number of cases where replacement macbooks are being sent out), and EVEN THE REPLACEMENTS are being returned in some extreme cases.

So, while I will thank you for your words of wisdom, allow me to leave you with my own:

Sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is when to move on.

and wow, windows 8.1, you must really think I'm stupid. Opinions are like ********, we all have em.

thnkloud9 wrote:

I am a computer programmer and audio engineer who has used apple products for well over 15 years and never once have I purchased apple care. Until recently every one of the laptops I've bought ran without hardware problems for 4 years or more, and even after 4 years only needing minor replacements. I've given old laptops to friends when I've upgraded and those laptops continued to run perfectly for years still.

You should understand then, that all of the parts in the device are made in different places with different quality results based on who was working on which day, how the equipment is managed and all the other details. Apple tries very hard, I woud guess, to have great quality products, because their support system allows you to get problems fixed, and if they don't charge enough for the product and support based on their estimates of risk, then they lose money. They don't seem to be in that position.

Not buying "insurance" is something that a lot of people seem to be comfortable with, and that has caused a wide array of problems in our society when people are not prepared to deal with unexpected problems. Your lack of Apple Care coverage left you uninsured. You accepted the one year of "support" that came with your product and took the risk that nothing bad would happen.

I'm not here to discuss the merits of apple care, I'm sure its a wonderful program. What I would like to discuss is the declining quality of the products that apple is releasing as of late. Two macbook pros in a row with hardware problems less than 2 years off the shelf is less than impressive. And if it were only me, I might still give apple the benefit of the doubt given my past experiences with them, but unfortunately this is not an isolated case. Many of my co-workers and friends are also having hardware issues with their recently purchased macbooks as well. The ones fortunate enough to have purchased apple care have had replacement laptops sent (anyone who reads these forums regularly can see the number of cases where replacement macbooks are being sent out), and EVEN THE REPLACEMENTS are being returned in some extreme cases.

So, perhaps they got a bad set of parts or something went awry with a device (such as the WiFi radio problem you have). They provide you with a way to have that problem taken care of. Whether or not you decide to accept the risk, or buy the insurance, you are left with the results of your decision.

They even stepped up to the plate to provide you a solution and you are not willing to take on that part of the solution to your problem. Seems like something in your decision process is keeping you from having a fixed MacBook. Apple is going beyond the bounds of what you and they agreed to.

So, while I will thank you for your words of wisdom, allow me to leave you with my own:

Sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is when to move on.

and wow, windows 8.1, you must really think I'm stupid. Opinions are like ********, we all have em.

Clearly with a remark like this, you are miffed that someone is not on your side. I'm sorry that you have this problem, I know it's not exciting nor convenient. But in the end, you are going to have to solve it. Pick what you want to do, but if you don't meet Apple at the point they are willing to compromise with you, then I guess that's your decision and you can enjoy yourself all the time having wasted the money you spent on the Mac since you didn't get it fixed so that it would be functional. Apple will support the new hardware that they install, and that would allow you to have ample time to make sure they fixed the problem.

I can't wait for thnkloud9's reply to gphonei.

You seem to be missing the point of my post. I am no longer trying to solve my problem, nor am I miffed about not having someone on my side, and I'm certainly not intersted in discussing your opinions on the role of insurance in modern society.

I am simply offering my opinion of the products that apple provides to balance the apple rhetoric, which you seem to be providing quite agiley. If you're not already working for apple, you might want to look into that and see how "exciting and convienient" that is.

you are welcome to the last word if you like, I'm done.

thnkloud9 wrote:

You seem to be missing the point of my post. I am no longer trying to solve my problem, nor am I miffed about not having someone on my side, and I'm certainly not intersted in discussing your opinions on the role of insurance in modern society.

I am simply offering my opinion of the products that apple provides to balance the apple rhetoric, which you seem to be providing quite agiley. If you're not already working for apple, you might want to look into that and see how "exciting and convienient" that is.

you are welcome to the last word if you like, I'm done.

In the end, nothing has changed from my perspective. I've been a software engineer for 30+ years. At no point, have I have ever estimated that a computer that I bought would stay together and function flawlessing for more than a year. Why? Well, because I use them. I've always tried to buy something that I could replace parts in and repair myself because noone supported hardware in a way that would allow me to get things fixed ASAP. I've built UNIX (Linux, Solaris and other UNIX like oses) machines and some Windows machines because I had to use Windows some times. When I finally got tired of all the hardware support I had to do, I got interested in looking at Mac's because of OS-X. I've bought nothing but Mac's since, we have 7 (original Air, 2x15in pro, 17in pro, new 13" Macbook Air, 24" iMac and 27" iMac) in our family right now. I have Apple Care on all of them, so that I don't have to fix hardware.

Will they last beyond 4 years? Yes, for the most part they have (25% failure of all of my Apple hardware). I've had to replace a Disk drive in my old Core-2 Duo 24" iMac. My wife's original Macbook air had a pitiful hinge system that Apple lost their shirts on, repairing for most owners of those machines; we had it replaced 3 times. My 17" macbook pro had a new diskdrive put in it after nearly 4 years. My newest iMac's Ethernet port has stopped functioning. I'll take it back to get that fixed one of these days through Apple Care. I've had 5 different iPads. Only one of those has had problems. I've had 11 different iPhones in the family (2x1, 2x3, 2x4, 2x4s 2x5 and 1x5s) , the two 4S devices had failing lock buttons and were replaced by Apple because it was a hardware problem that they owned up to fixing. There are all kinds of problems that can happen with hardware. It's just silly to really believe that you can expect it to always be "perfect". Yes, you can get lucky (7+5+11 is 23 devices, and 5 had problems that Apple Care covered). That's still a 25% failure rate for me over a fairly wide range of devices.

Of course your mileage my vary, and you are welcome to your opinion about the quality of Apple's hardware and whether you think Apple Care is a necessity. I've found it to be a terrific way to not have to worry about things. After 4 years, if something hasn't failed, it most likely is not going to unless through a mistake in use/care of the device. As the newer laptops become less and less user serviceable, Apple Care will be the best choice I feel because it just removes any angst about whether or not user servicable is even a benefit.

my a1181 macbook 10.7.5 drops wifi when I stream video and have it on a blanket because it overheats.

STOP POSTING TO THIS THREAD, THIS THREAD IS DEAD. MAKE A NEW ONE GOD DANGIT

Madmin wrote:

STOP POSTING TO THIS THREAD, THIS THREAD IS DEAD. MAKE A NEW ONE GOD DANGIT

.... or Mr Shouty could just stop email notifications (top right menu item) and ignore the thread.