macbook pro problem - "water damage"- Really?

Apple used to be really good, even about out of warranty products and especially at their Apple Stores. New machines?, all bets are off on pro products now! Apple store "geniouses" are now drones with no authority. New products are sub pro and very subject to incidental damage.... My point... Apple has been making an inferior product due to cost of manufacture and immediate profits. They no longer honer their model of, we would like to keep you as a returning customer and make it right. Buy an iPhone and get insurance, great, big deal... buy a 3000, 4000 machine and they won't even offer it. And their extended warranty only covers defectives in their machines that should not require an extended warranty to begin with! Screw em! I'm done. I can only assume the new corporate model is gadgets and not pro products. Cool Apple, good luck with that! There was a time when Mac was the defecto, goto machine for the Arts... Graphics, Music, Photography, etc. Well.... we artists cannot trust your machines anymore, or the new corporate model, so bye bye!

Reply to myself... I just read through this entire thread. People with problems and those protecting Apple. Sorry.... laptops are meant to be used in various environments. The design is inferior, regardless of what their spec sheet says. So, we put our laptop in a plastic bag to protect it when it's humid out, then let it warm up before we take it out for condensation? Don't use it in the wild, in the environment, like what a laptop is supposed to do? This is an old thread. Apple has been dodging the issue for quite a while. I will not buy another Apple product. Do the same and they may address it. It does not take a lot of tech to make something weather resistant. Not weather proof or spill proof, but resistant. But while we're at it... why not spill proof! Or at least accidental damage insurance offered. Apple screwed up! Keep buying the products and they will keep the same corporate model. Stop buying them and they will either fix, change, or go out of business. I choose to stop buying anything Apple until it's proven to me that they will stand behind their product! In the meantime, for 1/3 the cost you get the same power and often better software solutions from a PC. All lousy customer service and warranty's, but at least you get two back-ups when one fails. For the cost of a Mac compared to others... I'll take the others with back-ups. And if you go 3'rd party you can purchase a warranty that covers anything, including running the thing over with your car and they give another one for free. Apple wake up or rely on your 20 year or more loyal users like me to keep you going, or like me... well?, I'm done! Hello PC, it's been awhile, but I'm back!

Recently sent my mac in as part of the 2011 macbook pro programme. They claim liquid was spilt on it so they cannot repair it. Never split liquid on the machine. Always worked fine until the issues outlined by their recall problem started to occur. They tested it in the shop/ran diagnostics and it was part of the replacement programme. Only after it reached the repair centre did they claim it had liquid damage. Has anyone else come across this as part of the 2011 replacement scheme? I have been up the chain of complaints but they refuse to correct the graphics card issue, claiming it is liquid damage - they would have to replace the other parts at a cost of £700. We all know that its not worth it. The guy on the phone even said it might have not been caused by spillage, might have just been some condensation in the air. You spend £2000 on computer and it lasts four years before dying completely. It used to be you bought Apple because it was reliant and there was great customer service. It's a real shame - corporate, fashionable, well marketed made to look good junk.

iTampon!! Funny!

I just came across the same issue. I have an early 2013 Macbook Pro 15" Retina and I noticed the right speaker even though it works was distorted like it had a bad cone or something. I looked up the price of new speakers and they averaged $20 but when I found the PDF file on how to remove them I decided that looks to complicated and decided to bring it to the Genius Bar and they quoted me $59 for the repair, after 6 days went by never got a call from them and when I got back in touch with them they told me it has liquid damage and they can not do the repair and it would have to be sent to Apple and from their experience it would probably cost me $1200. I was like what do you mean liquid damage? He said as soon as we opened it up they seen liquid damage by the fan and that point can not go any further. I explained it could never had liquid damage. The day I purchased it from Best Buy it I brought it home and used it in my den only, it never left the house until the day I brought it into the Genius Bar about the speaker. I live alone and have no children so no one other than me had access to my Mac and I would know if I spilt something on it or near it. So now I just Googled it and found out their are more people that appear to have been told liquid damage and there is no logical reason why. I told him I know my Mac is now out of warranty why would I tell you different that I my Mac never had water or any liquid in that matter spilt in on it. He said don't know what to tell you but I seen the pictures of when they opened it up. I asked if I can see them and he was not able to provide them to me. He also mentioned anytime he seen liquid damage the system just start getting worse and worse as time goes on. My opinion is if he seen it in the fan area then it must be some manufacture flaw that is letting moister enter the unit and not physical something being spilled on it. I can not see all these people having liquid damage, generally people that purchase these high priced Macs are pretty careful about liquids being around it.

Just had a similar thing happen! SSD recent went bad on refurb Macbook Pro 13" purchased in July of this year. Apple store guy said no because there was ostensibly water damage. Wouldn't budge. Unbelievable. There was never any liquid spilled on it! I know this - at least not when I owned it, though for all I know the person who bought and returned it before I bought it as a refurb did. No clue why this happened beyond the reasons suggested in this thread.

Exactly. How on earth is the consumer inspired to buy another Apple product when a repair is going to cost more than new?? I was only able to use my Macbook Air five months before a spill rendered it unuseable, only to find out the cost to repair was well above the original price. So much for paying extra for AppleCare.

I am totally disgusted with Apple!

Excuse me, did Apple pour liquids over your Mac, or did you?

I did and would have no problem paying to have it repaired, but to be quoted 1300$ when the original cost 900?

That's normal for this case and covered by insurance

No, it is not normal to have to replace a computer because repairs are almost 150% the price of a new unit.

I would never expect Apple to pay for my negligence, but had I known this is the state of handling accidental damage, I would have never gotten into it to begin with.

I am not buying it. Period.

I take it you never priced repairs before, it's normal, whatever your opinion may be.

True, I am comparing with pc repairs.

LLLS123 wrote:

True, I am comparing with pc repairs.

And how much was a Windows laptop repair after you spilled liquid on the motherboard?

Around $200.