Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I think Carl Wolf was responding to Will-NY.  I know we're all upset, but whether or not we purchased applecare did not cause the logic board to fail.

@Carl Wolf:

really sorry I misinterpreted your comment and read it out of context!

Hey. I am based in India too. I unfortunately stumbled upon this thread only after the first logic board replacement (I didn't know it was such a widespread problem till then) so yeah, I did get the logic board replaced at INR 39K, after which I replaced it again (under warranty) and a third time too (though that was because the camera failed). I just got my system from AASP yesterday. And I spoke to the toll free customer care number, was transferred to a senior adviser and I did stress upon this problem. They were extremely polite and understanding and said they would look into it. Have you heard back from them regarding this?

Spoke to Ape support and this is what I got:

"Alright, thanks again for your patience, Emiliano. So per the recommendation of our Senior Advisor, what we’ll want to do is get you in touch with someone from our Customer Relations team.  Again, can’t promise any different outcome but they’re definitely the people to speak to about the issue with your MacBook Pro currently. If that sounds okay with you I can try to arrange for someone to give you a call say tomorrow sometime and pick this up from there."

Arranged call for 11:15am. Will keep you guys updated on the response. This issue has to be taken care of by Apple. We pay a premium expecting a reliable machine. One that definetly won't break after 2 years on its own. We really need to make our voice be heard.

Apple support*

Will-NY wrote:

 

If you don't have Apple Care, does Apple charge more than $310 to replace logic board (in USA)?

 

Andy Clift wrote:

 

Brought my computer into the Apple store yesterday, after almost two months of up and downs, (mostly downs) with my early 2011 macbook pro. Should get it back in a week. I just hope they have come up with a real fix for it and that "this GPU issue" is recognized by who ever is fixing it. Replacement of logic board and other graphics related hardware, US dollars $310 flat fee.

As mentioned, Apple Care would mean that you don't actually pay anything.  The $310 flat rate that some folks are talking about is  for machines that are out of warranty.  You might have to ask for it.  I don't think it's always suggested as an option.  It's a tier based pricing system.  Those who are getting the $310 flat rate have machines in near perfect physical condition with no signs of accidental damage.  Even a very small dent can sometimes bump to the next tier (about $600, I think?).  The original tier assessment can also be changed once it reaches the repair depot and is inspected more thoroughly.  For example, if signs of liquid damage are discovered at the depot, it would probably be changed to the highest tier.  Of course, you would still have the option to decline repairs at that point.

Most of the feedback that I've seen on the flat rate depot repair service has been very very positive.  However, for this particular problem, note that Apple's approach of replacing the logic board hasn't always resulted a permanent fix.  In this thread alone, several people have reported that their old board was replaced with another used board.  You do get a 90 day warranty, though.

"several people have reported that their old board was replaced with another used board"

The replacement board has been reworked to have the defective or problematic component(s) replaced.

Swampus wrote:

 

As mentioned, Apple Care would mean that you don't actually pay anything.  The $310 flat rate that some folks are talking about is  for machines that are out of warranty.  You might have to ask for it.  I don't think it's always suggested as an option.  It's a tier based pricing system.  Those who are getting the $310 flat rate have machines in near perfect physical condition with no signs of accidental damage.  Even a very small dent can sometimes bump to the next tier (about $600, I think?).  The original tier assessment can also be changed once it reaches the repair depot and is inspected more thoroughly.  For example, if signs of liquid damage are discovered at the depot, it would probably be changed to the highest tier.  Of course, you would still have the option to decline repairs at that point.

 

Most of the feedback that I've seen on the flat rate depot repair service has been very very positive.  However, for this particular problem, note that Apple's approach of replacing the logic board hasn't always resulted a permanent fix.  In this thread alone, several people have reported that their old board was replaced with another used board.  You do get a 90 day warranty, though.

In countries where it is offered (the US and Japan, I believe), the depot repair service is definitely worth asking about if you're pursuing a logic board replacement from Apple.  If your machine is in pristine condition, $310 is cheaper than the $500 that they charge for in-store logic board replacement. 

As I understand it, each tier costs about $300 more than the previous one, and reflects additional damage to your computer - the second tier (around $600) is  assessed for dents and dings (and they have a tool that can detect a dent that's less than a millimeter deep), the third tier (around $900) is for more severe customer-caused damage (like liquid damage), and I've only heard about the fourth and highest tier (around $1200) being charged for laptops that show signs of tampering.  Besides a potentially lower cost, another useful thing about the depot is that they check and replace multiple components under that flat rate - mine went out for the logic board but also got a new top case and MagSafe port.  I've read about depot-overhauled computers that came back with nearly everything replaced.  In-store replacements come with a 90-day warranty on the specific component replaced, depot repairs come with a 90-day warranty that basically covers the whole machine. 

Both in-store and depot repairs use an unpredictable mix of new and refurbished parts, without any communication to the customer about which you got.  Unfortunately, with the issues with these 2011 MacBook Pros, neither is a great option.  We have to assume that new boards came from the same original batch that is causing problems for us, so they may fail any time... and refurbs may have come from computers that already had problems, so perhaps they're in even worse shape. 

I've almost finished the 90-day warranty from my September depot repair with no issues - logic board #4 has been switching happily between the integrated and discrete GPUs under normal daily usage (which includes some video-intensive apps).  I have no reason to believe that everything is permanently cured... but I'm hoping that this means that I'm at least going to get a bit more out of this machine, perhaps until Apple decides to address the situation properly. 

carl wolf wrote:

 

"several people have reported that their old board was replaced with another used board"

The replacement board has been reworked to have the defective or problematic component(s) replaced.

I've seen no indication that this is the case - Apple rarely replaces individual components on a logic board, they consider it a single part.  Given that many of the problematic boards come up clean on various Apple diagnostics, I'm not convinced that they can properly diagnose, repair, and verify used 2011 MBP boards. 

The replacement board has been reworked to have the defective or problematic component(s) replaced.

The problem seemingly is that the lack of awareness of this problem on Apples side creates the issue that the problem not being diagnosed properly or even misdiagnosed. So even if Apple is doing GPU replacements they'll only do so when they are able to detect that the GPU is defect. As there's quite a number of replaced logic boards failing again after short time (and people really being worried about the 90day warranty for the replacement) there's no indication that Apple has good means to repair logic boards.

Regarding my previuos post - downgrade a firmware - i did it with EFI and now i have

Boot ROM Version:          MBP81.0047.B24 EFI 2.3  ( I had MBP81.0047.B27 EFI 2.7 )

and after some deep tests unfortunatelly the problem still exists. Means its not a solution - just probably my card worked ok for a while. Now I'm switched permanently to Integrated one, sent some mails to Apple and waiting for reaction. No reply to this moment.

I've been writing to media and press. I think apple's not gonna give a solution for just "people conplaining at a discussion forum". I recommend and ask you all to do the same. Maybe making public this issue we'll get an answer, an explanation and solution.

Ok Guys...I had received a call from the Senior Advisor at Apple. He said he had a word with the Apple Engineering Team and as per them, there's no Replacement Program for this fault, yet..As there are no considerable users who have reported this.

Secondly, the Senior Advisor said that he will ask the Apple team to go through these forums and come up with a report for this sporadic GPU failure. The Senior Advisor said he will get back to me by Tuesday. Hopefully he comes up with something positive.

Yes, I'm from India too .

Well, what I would suggest [I learnt from this thread] is that we continue speaking and sharing our frustration with Apple. I would still be calling them until and unless they provide me a  viable solution. INR 33500/- is no joke. We can get a Windows laptop of a good, reliable company in that kinda amount. We need to be persistent.

Do you remember the name of that particular Apple Care Senior Specialist. The one who's looking at my case is one named Suresh Nallappa.

I suggest we keep on calling on the Toll Free number and express our concern so that someone at Apple Team takes notice.

I had received a call from the Senior Advisor at Apple. He said he had a word with the Apple Engineering Team and as per them, there's no Replacement Program for this fault, yet..As there are no considerable users who have reported this.

Also they said that Logic Board Replacement is the only viable solution.

My argument is, how viable is the Logic Board Replacement as a solution??? There are people in this forum, who have replaced the Logic Board twice, which didnt last for long...So how is it a solution???

We need to keep hammering this argument to the Apple Care people so that they understand our concern.