problems with amd gpu on early 2011 macbook pro

ok, if smc update is the starting point i hope that, as you say, this has not damaged the GPU or the logic board...

I'll try to find a way to revert to the previous smc version, i guess it's not so easy but i did not had time to figure out for the moment.

Another thing i noticed since this smc upgrade is that the little magsafe led has a strange behaviour. It hardly becomes green even after conected during hours. But it seems to fill the battery anyway.

As I just posted in the longer thread about this issue, it does not seem to be possible to undo a firmware update, unless Apple releases a newer firmware update that overwrites it.

However, if you trace the 2,000 post thread back to the beginning, you'll find many users had this problem well before that firmware update was release. In fact, there were users experiencing similar problems to what we're dealing with just days or weeks after this product line was released! Looking at the data I've collected from 120 owners of 2011 MacBook Pros, problems have begun from 2011 to present, and affected pretty much every possible combination of OS and firmware versions. So I have a hard time believing this was induced globally by a firmware update - the problems have been so widely distributed since the start that it really points to bad hardware over anything.

Don't get me wrong, it would be absolutely wonderful if this were a firmware issue and Apple could correct it remotely with a firmware update - this has been something that a lot of us have considered and discussed. However, I don't see how this is possible when you have so many users in 2011 and 2012 who had problems before that update was released. The hardware replacement program that Apple recently announced for 2011 iMacs with a very similar GPU just cemented my belief.

Ok...Presently Magsafe working normal for me,this issue was noticed before the SMC 1.6/1.7 update(cannot recollect) & it anyways did not hamper the charging.

Agreed.It is bad Hardware combined with bad insulation etc.May be the SMC 1.7 update had escalated the H/W issue to an extend that it has cracked up.However this is just a speculation we were making & if it is indeed bad hardware & I am spending 300-400 USD to replace it with the same hardware(Same Specs),I will face the same issue 1-2 years down the line(The H/W will be outdated though) I wish Apple does something to restore my confidence towards it(Brand) which was badly shaken lately!

Unfortunately, many of us have still experienced issues after hardware replacements - my laptop has had three different logic boards (which also means three different AMD Radeon 6490M graphics processors) and none of them have been free of frequent crashes and freezes. This should make any user wary of paying a large sum of money for a repair with only a 90-day warranty - there's a significant chance your issues will return, and you can only hope it happens before the 90 days run out.

Sara, thanks a lot for answering. I've read a lot of posts in the other thread, but not all of them, so it's great to have your feedback and expertise.

I still want to have a little hope with the smc thing, because if i understand well there has been quite a few versions and variants. As you say there's many combinations, and perhaps there is still something to find out there. But it's true that if it was that simple a solution should have been found since 2011, even if we all know that Apple is not always very reactive for this kind of things.

It's the first machine that i hadn't purchased a 3 years apple care for, and i'm now discovering that it's impossible to call them without having to pay a 50€ for a one time assistance (but they do not say what it's covering or not...)

As this Macbook pro was bought on the refurb store less than 2 years ago, i perhaps still can make the 2 years europeen guaranty to work, but it seems very complicated.

thanks again...

It's very interesting to trace the long thread back to the beginning - I've been logging these threads into a spreadsheet to try to get a sense of all of the dates and issues and affected users. If you ignored the datestamps on those March 2011 posts, they sound just like the discussions we're having today. Our troubleshooting and understanding of the problem has advanced a little... but overall, we're as flabbergasted today as early 2011 MacBook Pro owners were two and a half years ago. No progress with Apple in that time, either, though many users experiencing problems within the first few months returned their machines.

We have to push back in any way that we can - I've read that other users in Europe have pursued the 2-year guarantee with success, and I thought this link was interesting. Perhaps that can help in some way, if Apple has begun to recognize their longer period of liability under EU consumer laws?

waw, ok... so there's not many hope to have with the smc thing...

I'm wondering if all this is made on purpose. I mean, there are previous exemples with iMacs etc, where Apple has waited so long to recognize hardware issues on their machines, and then offer some real solutions. In the meantime they probabily loose a few customers, but i guess that it's no more that important to them, and not significant in terms of money. I'm a customer for almost 20 years now, and it's significant to me that customer services are going worse for a few years. Just remembering the times when they were able to fix hardware issues sending the machines from france to ireland and got it back in 3 days.

Well, here is something i guess you've already saw too (about a previous fix) > http://www.slashgear.com/apple-macbook-pro-2011-gpu-related-glitch-fixed-with-ma c-os-x-10-6-7-21141448/

And here's where to find the Apple pdf/pages about the 2 years european warranty (in different languages) > http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/statutoryrights.html

In english > http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

In french > http://images.apple.com/fr/legal/statutory-warranty/France_Statutory_Warranty.pd f

It seems there are some special warranties for China, Canada, and some others too...

Sara, about your spreadsheet, do you have it somewhere online ?

Thanks again...

Late Macbook 2011

Since this issue seems so common, we must find a way to band together to let Apple know how serious issue it is. Only through this way will Apple will do something to rectify this problem.

Agree, Airbum88!

Any suggestions on how to push Apple on this will be more than welcome.

Each store has its own employees to handle these issues.

It might be better that we try to aim our efforts at one particular person, perhaps we should get the name of a specific customer relations representative on the phone, and aim to speak with that one person.

And, if anybody out there that has a blog or some other means of getting the information out there, that would be great too. We need to bring this issue to light.

Of course, these are just two suggestions that I have. Any suggestions are also welcome.

well, i saw lots of threads, blog posts, there's a survey too, and all of this seems to have started for more than two years now. And no reaction from Apple. It would certainly be a kind of a desperate attempt, but having a real dedicated webpage with appropriate domain name, good seo etc... and collecting the data that is fragmented in the world wild web regarding this particular issue could be an idea. Not sure it would be a nice approach, and i don't think this could change something, but why not...

they are repairing the gpus on 2011 iMacs, so I believe it is possible for Apple to offer repairs for the MBP 2011s if there is enough pressure.

The only blog I saw that mentions this problem is ******

But, even this blog only briefly mentions the problem.

<Edited by Host>

If anyone has successful got their broken out-of-warranty Macbook 2011 fixed for free, please post in this forum and share your story.

i'm really thinking about making a dedicated webpage for this, not just a blog. I need to think a bit more about it, but if so, would you be part of it to help collect stories, screenshots, links etc ?

It seems saramwrap has collected a lot of datas, would be nice to have access to it and put it online too. Just thinking here.