Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

corycable wrote:

 

LeVeL5,

 

Worst case is this guy is a GOOD LIAR...I will waste my time and either pay for repair or buy new computer.

 

Best case is this is something Apple is "TRACKING" and they have not opened a public exchange/repair program for it AND they are not prepared to speak openly/publicly about it. Given that the Apple store is only running the test and they will need to send me back to the Advisor who opened the case after they get the results of that test and he did say, 'This is something we are "tracking". Those comment lead me to believe Apple is still deciding what they want to do. He did say this is only affecting a small amount of customers.

 

I hope to get mine fixed and I hope everyone gets the same, but the time I am spending on this so far is worth not spending anther $2000+ dollars right now. I just upgraded my SSD drive 4-6 months ago and had planned to wait for the 2014 models. So this is not about saving money or getting something free from Apple. I just needed my 2011 to last another 4-6 months.Either way..Apple is going to take some of my cash this year. Afterall, I have had 15 or so Apple products over the last 7-8 years and this is the first one to break.

If an Apple customer representative lies to us and they get caught, things will get very bad very fast: this is an issue that's making people very angry and an Apple rep getting caught in a lie is only going to make matters worse.

Now, the Apple CER I spoke with said she was feeding everything I gave to her to Engineering, but it still made no difference. So I'd say they are "tracking" something, but willfully and actively not doing anything about it.

If those who went for a reball would post pictures of the heat damage, I could send that her way.

Now we have a thread breaking all limits at apple support community, we've an online petition, twitter flash mobs, thousands and more people trying to get heard by the apple support hotlines.

And not much is happening until now.

<Edited By Host>

Hi, my MacBook Pro early 2011 has the same problem of everybody else..I live in Italy, I called three times Apple support. The third time I spoke with a senior advisor, but she said  she didn't know about this problem , and that I've been unlucky and there's nothing I can do until Apple recognizes this problem.. This is ridiculous..I won' t pay 600€ for a new GPU

Well, at least someone is reading our postings. Or what else would an '<Edited by host>' tell me?

So the following is for the reader who deleted the last sentences of my former posting which was not evil at all:

Please, if you are already reading all these postings and arguments you might come to the conclusion that we are facing a severe problem here. most of us love apple for their high quality products and spent a good part of their salary for a MBP. And quite a percentage of us uses their MBP for their profession.

Take these postings to someone who is in the position to get some movement to this case!

Thank you!

My early 2011 custom built MacBook Pro started the GPU screen errors about two weeks ago.  I just had a battery and fan replaced before then out of warranty grrr!!  So far I've been using the towel trick to force it to overheat in the blank screen startup and then immediately restart it to get it to boot to the desktop were gfxCardStatus can switch it to the integrated card. While this is ridiculous I wanted a new retina mabook anyway. I really don't want to sink 500 bux into this computer for a logic board replacement that wont even fix it permanently. I hope I can at least dump this junk by using the apple buy back program. Apple should really step up here though.  There have been a lot of stories about this on several sites so I don't think its sporadic.

Well Gents,

I have good and bad news…

Bad News first….

1. They ran the test which took 10 minutes. Apple clearly has some tricks up their sleve. Connecting the Macbook to a network cable they had and holding the B or D key during power-on launched some special diagnostic program I have never seen. Maybe it boot from network. NO CHARGE for the test or appointment as promised.
2. The Apple Store Tech pulled up my case and the Sr. Advisor DID NOT lie. She showed me the notes and there is a known problem with the GPU’s and they have a documented procedure to run the test and what symptoms to look for. According to the test procedure my Macbook was supposed to go back to a full working condition and not stay in the vertical lines state during boot. Because of this my Macbook did not give them the result required per the Known-Issue.
3. My Macbook passed the test. It passed even with the vertical lines running across the screen. I was glad the tech could see that.
4. But….The test they ran did not trigger the error they were looking for and hence it was time for other options.

Good news…

1. Whether Apple is being really nice or trying to cover up this problem I was offered an option.
2. Pay what they call a “Flat-Fee” repair for $310. ANYTHING that is wrong will be fixed, unless it is damaged caused by liquids (Not a problem as my Macbook has never gone swimming).
3. After repair I will have a 90 days warranty on the entire Macbook Pro.
4. Repair takes 3-5 days (including weekends) which means I should have it back by Wednesday at the latest.

Conclusion…

1. I did not pay for Apple Care which would have made this a “NO ISSUE” for me. I have had this MacBook for 2 years. Apple Care would have covered this well until the end of 2014 which would have been great as I will be buying the 2014 model and selling this one.
2. Apple Care cost $400.
3. For $310 I am getting this problem fixed and any other problems fixed and gaining a 90 day warranty. So I am really saving $90 by not having paid for Apple Care.
4. Should Apple decide to recall our 2011 Macbooks for this problem I will get my $310 back.

So, not the solution I was hoping for, but a good solution none-the-less. I hope this helps others. I wish I could fight back and tell them no and stretch this out for another week or two, but I use my Macbook for work related things and I need it working. I fought the good fight for a little over a week, but $310 is acceptable to me, given I would have paid more if I got Apple Care. I will most likely keep it through April and see what the new 2014 specs are. Apple is having their Dev Conf next month and everyone thinks they will be announcing some new product at that time.

Good luck to everyone on this forum and please contact Apple and try to get the same deal I did. I would post my case number, but I tried that earlier and Apple pulled it.

Well, I thought I would try again to post my case number again. I have tried 3 times and the site will not let me do it.

<Personal Information Edited By Host>

I'm getting emails whenever there's a new post so I got you number, and I'm sure there are plenty of thers. Thanks for giving us these details. This is getting annoying.

corycable,

Thank you for continuing to share your experience here on the forum.  I am glad that you at least had some semi-good news out of all this.  I absolutely understand why you decided to go with the $310 flat-rate option as it does make the most sense.  However, I do find it rather ridiculous that a product already sold as such a high premium is not backed by Apple for the obvious lack of quality, and that instead, the expectation is to pay yet another large premium for an extended warranty (which has gone up significantly in price--likely to offset the costs for all the repairs they have had to make over the years).  Whether it was a design flaw, whether a particular batch of components they sourced were defective, or whether a manufacturing process was low in quality--the company should be willing to admit their mistake and stand by their product by taking the right action.  Afterall, it's not as if making things right in this instance would bankrupt the company.

As for me, it seems like the advisors I chatted with did indeed lie, in more ways than one.

There were two senior advisors on two separate occasions who both adamantly and firmly stated that there is no internal-only extended support program for the 2011 MBP with AMD discrete GPU.  I asked them to search based on the criteria you had mentioned--both said no such thing exists.  I even mentioned your case number (before it was censored) as a reference to see if it would help them find the extended support program--I was simply told that since it was not a case number for me, that they could not discuss any details.  While I understand customer privacy, I in no way asked for any information to identify the owner of the case number--only that it seems we share the same issues for a MBP with same specs and that the advisor you worked with seemed to have a different answer.

I also did chat with another advisor (not sure if senior or not) who said that this IS a known issue and that there IS an extended support program.  She helped setup an appointment for me at the Apple Store and told me that they would need to run some tests there to see if the issue was indeed with the GPU.  I took the machine into the store for the hardware test--basically the same steps you described.  The connected my MBP to their network (using ethernet cable) and accessed a diagnostic.  Even before it was done (basically as soon as the "genius" turned on my machine) he indicated that he was certain there was an issue with the GPU.  The diagnostic took about 5-10 minutes to complete.

He said that since my machine was not under warranty (I did not purchase Applecare) that I had two options--either to pay for the main logic board to be replaced, which he quoted in the range of $500, or have it sent in for the flat-rate repair at $310, during which they would inspect and replace anything that was defective.  $310 seems like a lot of money to spend for a "repair" which would basically be giving the machine an extra year or two (at most) of use since the basic flaw in design still exists.

I asked the "genius" to review my case in which the advisor said that if it was an issue with the GPU, then Apple would take care of the repairs.  He took the time to read through the notes and said that while there is a known issue for the GPU, it is for the 2010 model and not the 2011 model.  He said that no such diagnostic tests even exist to test for GPU issues in the 2011 model.  Well that's certainly interesting and the exact opposite of what the advisor told me over chat.

While the "genius" I worked with at the Apple Store was very professional and understanding, he basically said his hands were tied and that until Apple actually admits to this being an quality issue, there was nothing that could be done.  He did also mention that if Apple were to admit this is an issue sometime down the line, then I would be refunded the cost of the repairs should I choose to do so.

I have kept the transcripts of the chats should I ever need them to quote the mis-information that was provided to me. 

Also, to the "moderators" who are obviously actively monitoring this forum, there was nothing in the post your edited and the post you removed which in any way violated the terms and conditions of this forum.  I am not certain as to how I violated your policy by asking if anyone had tried opening a case with B ed B ath B eyond to gain some traction and support for the issue that a large number of us are experiencing.  As others have said, perhaps a better use of your time would be to take all this feedback and channel it to the right resources.

This forum is now close to 250 pages and would likely be much more if the "moderators" did not remove entries for no apparent reason.

For those of you that are being asked to pay money to get Apple Care to help you with no warranty…My 4^th attempt was over chat and this is my saved transcript….

Thanks for contacting AppleCare chat support. My name is Will. Please give me a moment to look over your information.

Hey Cory, how can I help you today?

2 weeks ago my Macbook started to fail/crash/freeze and shows staggered lines during power-on and will not boot. I have contacted Apple Care Support and they show I do not have AppleCare. However, this seems to be a WIDE-SPREAD problem with the 2011 models using the specific video adapter. AND there are 1000's of Apple customers reporting this problem as seen on the Apple website..."https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4766577?start=3660&tstart=0" I demand this problem be fixed and my Macbook be repaired. This problem is not due to my mis-use or any fault of my own. Clearly their is a known defect in these models and Apple needs to acknowledge this. I will NOT be spending another $2500 to fix this problem. I do not like the new Macbooks. They lack a network adapter, CD Drive, etc

I completely apologize about this issue occurring at all Cory, as I definitely don’t want any issues to occur whatsoever while using your MacBook Pro at all. In order to see about getting the computer fixed, we may want to see about getting it into an Apple Retail Store or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider, as that would be the route for repairing, but I want to see about getting you taken care of. Would it be okay if I set up a Phone Advisor to give you a call, so that way, we can see about getting you with one of our Senior Advisors and see about getting this resolved?

I would like an exception case that if the problem is the video GPU and Apple is going to fix it at no cost...

I completely understand Cory, and I want to do everything I can to make sure we get you to the appropriate folks and see what we can do. What is the bet number to reach you at Cory?

Deleted my number from transcript….

Does Apple know (or care) that many tech websites are starting to write articles about this? Just Google Macbook Pro 2011 GPU problem.

I have got it set up where we are going to give you a call within the next 15 minutes Cory. And Cory, again, I completely apologize about any issues occurring to begin with. I don’t want issues to arise, and I want to make sure we see what we can do to figure this all out and see about a possible resolution.

Does that sound okay Cory?

yes

just got a call

Great, and thank you for being patient and diligent with all of this. We will go ahead and end the chat from here, and I have documented the case notes to have you speak with a Senior Advisor Cory. I hope we can get this all taken care of and get everything back to normal, and again, I apologize about the issue! I hope you have a great rest of your day Cory

Your chat session has ended. Thanks for using Apple's chat support

After getting the phone call and was transferred to Alex, the Sr. Advisor.

my apple care expires in two months for my early 2011 MBP and it has had several temporary (momentary) issues in the passed.  I'm concerned my machine will face the same situation everyone else here has faced after my AppleCare expires.  Does anyone know how to reveal the symptoms of a possible defective early 2011 MBPs so I can have Apple take care of it on their dime and not mine?

call apple and don't waste time with people first pick up phone call,ask a senior adviser to get more information. The information I've got is you should take MBP to Genius Bar and they will do some test and write down.then apple will know,my senior adviser told me I'm the first one feedback this issue and I got a ID.

espera sentado, leyendo su presupuesto de 600 eur por ponerte una placa usada y quedarse con la tuya para repararla (reballing) y ponérsela a otro.

Ánimo!

Mira reparaciones privadas por menos de 200 eur con 6 meses de garantía en vez de los 3 de Apple...

The blatant censorship of this thread and Apples total denial of this in the face of overwhelming evidence is quite telling!!

Hello,

i'm in the club too. My Macbook Pro (Ha, Ha) has the, well known graphic problems. I phoned with Apple Care and ...... we all know about refusing. This is my second Macbook Pro (Ha, Ha) that has an problem with the discret graphic card and Apple doesn't care.