Here's a summary of what I had to go through.
My Mac wasn't an early build nor was it so late. It was built in July and delivered on August.
The screen was manufactured by LG as confirmed by the LP tag in Terminal.
Within a week I had login issues, it would often go to a black screen and just sit there for hours on end never logging in. Those required me to force reset the machine. Now, I didn't really care for this but it was still present. And yes, I reinstalled the machine at least 6 times.
Meh, so who cares about that. What I cared about was functionality and IR. So within another few days I started having Wireless and Bluetooth issues. Often times the wireless would stop working (and yes, only my mac as no one else was affected on MULTIPLE networks). And on top of that, when this did happen my Bluetooth would be affected because my headphones would output a "clutchszz screech fpush screech" and so on. So that required me to restart both. I then proceeded to reinstall the darn thing another 4 times or so still experiencing the same issues.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the hinge issue! When my Mac came, one side of the screen hinge was more loose and actually was a notch outside of the machine by a few milimeters compared to the other end of the hinge. Once again, didn't really care.
Next started the IR. And oh boy was it bad.. I'd read an email on Hotmail, switch windows and voila it was there!
Mind you, I spent NUMEROUS hours on the phone with Apple regarding these issues. I think my longest phone call was over 3 hours or so.
Why didn't I send it in for a replacement earlier? Simple, my work and school life demand this machine. Especially my work as I was developing a CMS to be launched for a website during the summer.
At first Apple said they couldn't do a replacement to Canada. But after arguing and being transferred from one rep to the other I started hitting the 'big players'. One is pretty knee deep in Apple, as I did a lookup on his name and his position etc. He assured me that this would get resolved, regardless of the policies Apple has in place. Also, he didn't put me on hold and he called me back (was the 3 hour phone call session). So he did call back, a replacement was setup.
But due to work deadlines and no other machine available to me (I sold my old PC and laptop already) I just couldn't send it in. So that replacement was cancelled despite the senior saying that it would be active for 30 days.
Another issue that developed later was the screen started showing white boxes on windows. It's very odd and I haven't seen it reported yet. I'll upload pictures when I get to it.
Plus side to that? I got an apeasement gift. Was it worth it? Nope. I even said numerous times later that I'd rather send in my gift just to get this expedited.
So a few more calls later, another replacement was set up. On the day I was heading out to send the machine I happened to check my voicemail. And lo behold, "Hi my name is _____ from Apple, etc. I cancelled your replacement order and would like to talk about the issues you're having with your Mac". That really really angered me. I immediately called Apple, and the rep on the phone said the same thing "So what issue are you having today with your Mac" DESPITE having my case number and case open. I then told him to READ THE NOTES I had on file. He spent exactly 23 minutes reading the notes. I was then transferred up the chain.
After that ordeal I noticed whenever I called in I would be automatically transferred to a senior CR without even knowing.
After spending a total of 7 hours on the phone (definitely more, just an estimate) I decided I'd want an upgrade too so I got a heavily discounted upgrade and then a replacement was setup 'again'. Third time's the charm?
So my new Mac came in today. I immediately ripped it open and ran Terminal. And behold, it was a Samsung screen! So now I have a fully upgraded 2.7GHz 16GB RAM 768GB hard drive for near the price of the same but without 1 upgrade (as they did reimburse me when they released more config options and prices were lower).
First things I noticed were the Samsung screen just looked better. It has more whites and honestly it looked more 'HD'. It just looked a **** lot nicer. The LG though I felt was more straight to the point. It was like it had no life, something was off. Also, the Samsung looks more like a screen you'd see in an Apple store. It just looks like a screen you'd want to buy. And lastly, NO IR.
Though I have to say the Apple logo on back had a smudge and the box had scratches slightly on the manual that comes, and on the power bar. And the insides looked like they were kinda scratched. Not only that, the machine came to me in 2 days. Literally. Compared to the 9 (or was it 10?) days of my old machine. So I'm not starting a conspiracy but I feel like they forced sending me a Samsung one somehow.
All I can say after all of this is, KEEP CALLING. Pull the right strings. You'll get what you want. Apple support is known to be the best but for some reason new Retina owners have been put in the dark. Keep calling. And don't be afraid to show attitude. Near the end the reps were afraid of me. Remember, you're the customer so you hold the power. You paid (in my case up to $3.7k) for the product and if it isn't darn near perfection you will definitely send the sucker back. Keep pestering Apple. They will slowly realize they need to look into this IR crap and sort it out for once. And ohhh booyyy am I loving my new Samsung screen <3 .
mittense
Level 1
(1 points)
aut0maticdan
