I spent most of the day resolving the burn-in issue I had with my rMBP. I gathered interestring information that i'm sharing with all of you.
This morning I went to my local Apple Store Genius Bar to show the burn-in problem and try to get a replacement. I had called earlier this week to check if I could bring it to them even though I bought it at a Best Buy. They said that Apple do the support and I should bring it to them instead of Best Buy. So I went!
The burn-in was really easy to reproduce on mine. Keep it 2-3 minutes on still text and swith to an empty grey screen. The text would be readable! The Genius looked up into the sApple internal database for solutions/fixes to this problem. He told me the system shows Apple is aware of the problem and is currently trying to find a solution. He could do nohting for me at this point! He had rMBP in stock but could not give one to me since I did not buy it at an Apple Store! He said I should go to the Best Buy where I bought my computer and see with them if I could get a replacement.
I went to the Best Buy a bit confused about the situation but at the same time curious of what they could do about my problem. It turn out they can't do anything. I did not realize but the 14 days return policy was alreay expired . I bought it 3 weeks ago! They told me I could buy some ridiculous extended warranty plan for 350$. Only then they would send the computer to their repair center for a screen replacement. The Geek Squad dude told me that the cost to repair an rMBP screen was 900$! If I did came before the first 14 days return policy ended, he would have gladly replaced the computer with a new one. At this point, he could not do anything about my problem. He told me to go to Apple for support. What!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm inside a void now! No one to help me.
I called back my Apple Store and told them about my "void' situation. This time, the girl on the phone was really preoccupied by my case and was wondering how come I did not get the warranty service from them in the first place earlier that day. She said there was a genius at the store that just got the certification to replace the rMBP screen and she will try to find a replacement screen. The process should be fast. She called me back a bit later and told me that no replacement screen are yet available. Instead, I had to come back because she found she found a new rMBP to replace mine (They already had depleted their inventory of the day but she was able to find one. I guess they keep some for special situations?!). Anyhow, I was excited!
Finally at the Apple Store, while transfering my stuff from one computer to another using Thunderbolt (15 minutes process btw. Really fast!) she told me that they are fully aware of the burn-in problem. In fact, one employee had the problem and got his replaced. Apparently, it was a bad batch of rMBP. The problem appears only on some models.
So far my new rMBP does't have the problem. I'm really happy but exhausted from my day.
Interesting fact: My rMBP was manufactured this week! (Week 27). How amazing is that!
Another fact: The site www.appleserialnumberinfo.com does note compute the manufacture week # correctly. The website reports my new computer has being manufactured on week 28 (this is next week). Unless this is the last gift from Steve Jobs to the world: Time travel! 🙂
Some notes for the future:
- Never buy your Apple computer at a Best Buy or other retailers. Buy at the Apple Store for maximum support
- Genius at Apple Store may not always help you correctly. Try again or get out of the Apple Store and call them to get another point of view.
Sorry for the long story but it did me good 🙂
Hope it helps others
OkCompute
