Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

isn't Apple doing anything about this problem??

Have you opened a service case with Apple yet?

Nope. Waiting for them to oPen a recall. Same issue I guess. Early 2011 17" became like this after Yosemite upgrade...

If there is a recall it will likely come from the sheer number of affected machines, a number which Apple gets from service reports.

Hi ! So im in the club

Color stripes appeared at first, then a gray screen with Apple’s logo on it (when booting).

I went to the official diagnostic service centre in my city, they told me that this is a well known GPU issue with this models and that only motherboard replacement will fix this ($750!...).

I paid a fortune for a laptop that causing me only problems. I bought it to do music production and design, which is my job and I make money of it. Now I can’t do any of that. I’m just loosing time and money… I've chosen Apple because of its reliability. Now I’m feeling cheated. 

Hi Lavri.  Sorry to hear you're having the same issues I had approximately a week ago.  After hesitantly updating my OS to Yosemite a few weeks prior, these occasional symptoms got even worse:  the fans started going a little bit crazy, the computer got very hot and strange lines and colors appeared on my display, I decided to shut it down for the night.  The next morning it would not boot, and I also could only get to the Apple logo and a progress bar which would stall about 1/3 of the way across.  I tried rebooting many times … so discouraging.  Fortunately, I had just done a recent backup using Time Machine.  After much Googling, I decided to try to boot from my external drive by pressing the power button and immediately pressing the Option key which allowed me to access Startup Manager (I hope I'm remembering all this correctly).  I decided it might be a good idea to restore Yosemite (which I suspect actually caused my machine to behave even worse than before). After restoring Yosemite, I restarted my computer.   This took a while but seemed to be working. I got to the gray screen with the Apple logo and the progress bar went further than previous times and the biggest thing is the fan wasn't coming on and the computer wasn't heating up … it actually made it all the way to halfway but stalled. After waiting about 45 minutes, I decided to just power down and try one last time before making an appt. with Apple. Voila!!! It worked! So glad that scare is over with, but I'm sure I'll be holding my breath every time I turn my laptop back on.  Hope that helps!

Hal Feldman wrote:

 

After multiple logic board swaps and many trips to the Apple Store Geniuses, I was told a few weeks back that "my MBP was not fixable and that I should consider buying a new one and recycling my 17" 2011 MBP"

 

I was not going to stand for this nonsense and asked how they determined that my machine was different from all the rest and *what* made it unrepairable.

 

After a few days, I was called (always on the phone so no written documentation is available) and told that an external device was causing the MBP to fail. Again, in their words, "Apple would no longer repair this machine."

 

Again, I questioned their assertion and asked for some log file or evidence as to how Apple was able to determine that "some external device" was causing the damage.

 

After a few more phone calls, Apple has now somewhat reversed course and has asked that I send my MBP directly to California (not Depot or a store) for testing. I have agreed, hoping that they will put the machine in front of their senior engineers and take a real look at the machine.

 

Time will tell.

Hal,

I was told "buy a new Mac or wait for a possible software update" for my ongoing audio issue. When I pressed for more information on what "possible" meant, I was told nothing, and offered a link to their website to submit feedback.

While I hope your issue gets sorted out, I am equally hopeful you will keep us updated on your status.

Best,

Oso Grande

I'm having the same issues with my Late 2011 MacBook Pro and have for several months! Very frustrating! How do I open a service case with Apple when my Macbook is no longer covered? When I go to "support" it tells me I no longer have coverage, and doesn't give me an option that I don't have to pay for. I want to make sure my issue is documented . . . any ideas?

tammyrojas wrote:

 

I'm having the same issues with my Late 2011 MacBook Pro and have for several months! Very frustrating! How do I open a service case with Apple when my Macbook is no longer covered? When I go to "support" it tells me I no longer have coverage, and doesn't give me an option that I don't have to pay for. I want to make sure my issue is documented . . . any ideas?

Is there a nearby Apple Store that you can go to? That would probably be your best bet.

Thanks a lot Darrell Stall. I downloaded gpuTest 0.7.0 and ran a couple of tests. I'll go through Clawson's page and use the tools that he has suggested too.

My 2011 MBP (purchased in June 2012) failed in June 2014 too.  Had the logic board replaced under warranty, and now in February 2015 it has failed again  

I have an 2011 MBP, apple support told me my GPU ATI died and they say i have to change the whole mother board, and i have to pay for this It seems very clear this is a general issue on this model, Apple has to take care on this not us .

The external GPU in my late 2011 MBP has failed THREE times now. Unfortunately, I'm on the pacific coast of Costa Rica at the moment, with no possible way to get the motherboard replaced (again).

js.

Hi,

Same exact problem here. MacBook Pro late 2011 graphics card went dead on me. Using the temporary fix (https://people.cam.cornell.edu/~zc227/extras/early2011mbp_graphics.html) to try to work...... Come on Apple!!!!!!

**** n now it happen on my early 2011 15" MBP.

after so many years and so many case happened, did Apple do something?