Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Alright, I'm at my wit's end.

I've been having this issue with my Mac (running 10.6.8) and have taken it in for repairs THREE TIMES without them fixing the issue. I would have just given up and bought a new computer after hearing the $300 price tag, but I have CS6 suite for Mac only and there are no mac computers in my price range, re-purchasing a CS suite would cost three times as much now that I'm not in college anymore. The first time I brought in my mac the logic board was replaced, but I must have gotten a bad logic board because it gave me really similar issues (crashing with graphical garbage, basically, just not at startup as it had originally been doing).

I've made it clear to them each time that the discrete graphics card is having problems and each time they fix something ELSE (deleting a 'troublesome app', replacing a cable between the hard drive and the logic board, etc.), how do I make it absolutely crystal clear to them that I NEED THIS FIXED to take care of my work, and I'm completely done with them pussyfooting around the actual issue? I feel like they're not taking me seriously when I've told them that I've done my homework and know what the issue is, since hundreds of other people are having the same problem.

Chelsealinaeve,

You should be able to contact Adobe to swap out CS6 for OSX to CS6 for Windows.

Thank you kindly. Sad that it has to come down to this, I love using my macbook when it is working, but I'm done with the lackluster quality of customer service on Apple's end.

Can somebody tell me how to unsubscribe to these email notifications. I have stopped email notifications for this discussion but its not working. Frankly speaking this discussion has turned into a pretty useless discussion.

Contact Apple--they will gladly fix your issue for $500.

Nice work, Hal.

Hal Feldman wrote:

 

Now, perhaps, just perhaps, Apple figures this out and they do a modification to the logic board production, such as: (a) change the GPU to a model that produces less heat, (b) use better heat sync components, (c) change fans to move more air, and/or (d) use different solder that doesn't break down. Then replacing the logic boards might be a permanent solution for us unlucky soles with these dead/dying MacBook Pros.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

I can't see this happening.  The technology is over three years old and current logic boards bear little resemblance to those of 2011.  Even if they offer to replace everyone's logic board with the same version, they'll probably run out as they must be using back stock and refurb units.

If they own up and offer anything, I suspect it may be cash/credit or a new model.  The latter would be underwhelming - I Iike my 17" screen, optical drive and three USB ports!

...and you'll start receiving the email notifications again in 3 days.

Try clicking on your userid up to next to "welcome".  Select "Manage Email Notifications" under "Actions" and see if you also need to remove it there.

Hal Feldman wrote:

 

OK. I've been in research mode for a while now and although this may have been said in pieces, I'd like to offer this compilation of information for both affected users and for Apple employees monitoring this discussion.

 

1) The overall problem appears to be caused by the discreet GPU being exposed to extreme heat. Eventually, the GPU itself is damaged *or* the solder points are compromised. Either way, you get a graphics failure followed by a kernel panic.

 

2) Some have said that Mavericks is the cause of the heat. This may have some validity because Mavericks taxes the discreet GPU more often and therefore more heat is generated.

Hal, I could not agree more with your first two statements. When I upgraded to Mavericks that's when the issue started however I do not blame Mavericks itself but at least I now feel slightly redeemed in a question I posed around that time "Can software defeat hardware?". 

In my case I had upgraded to Mavericks - I don't know enough to say that taxes the GPU more or not, but I'll go with you on that.  Secondly, I had been usng Carbonite without issue for almost 2 years at that point.  I was noticing my MBP runnng very hot and saw that CPU ofter running at 130% or more.  I was sending screenshots to Carbonite, sending logs, Carbonite kept saying nothing was wrong and we checked that I was not backing up Applications as that can cause too much stress for Carbonite.  Shortly there after I removed Carbonite, it just not seem right that my machine ran that hot.  (There are Discussions about Carbonite and Mavericks back around Dec '13, but back then the issue of Early 2011's GPU connection vs. other MBP's was not factored in rather it was a matter of compatibility with Mavericks itself which was seeminly resolved.)

Prior to knowing about the GPU I was doing what many others did try safe reboot, and running disk utilty seemed to fix things now and then, looking back now I doubt disc utility had anything to do with it but it did find a problem with my HD. I upgraded to an SSD ($400) and all was running quieter, cooler, all seemed good for a few weeks, then the GPU issues started coming back and I went to Apple.  That was January 2014 ($310), now it is end of May 2014 and back for the same issue ($310).

I concur perhaps it is Mavericks that is taxing the GPU more which in turn is heating the connection between GPU and logic board, or heating he GPU up to failure for these particular MBPs.  In part this would explain why many of us ran fine prior to Mavericks but now are seeing failures and repeated repair failures on 2 year old machines.  (Granted some say they saw GPU issue prior to Mavericks when using heavy editing apps like Photoshop.  I used Photoshop prior to Mavericks without this GPU issue appearing.) It would also explain why the original GPU /LB setup passed Apple QA tests back in 2011.

Excellent summary Hal!

I just wanted to share my personal experience and decision.  I spent the past few month using my old 2007 MBP while my 2011 MBP sat idle as an expensive paperweight.  I waited patiently, checking the forums and emailing customer support (I could not bring myself to talk to a 'genius') with the hope that a recall would ensue.  I decided the Apple route of replacing the logic board without addressing the root problem was not worth it.  Their 90-day warranty speaks to how little confidence they have in their program.

I searched for local shops to do reballing service.  Several would do reflows (not a lasting fix) and one had such a poor technique for BGA rework that they claimed 50% chance of reballing working.  Ultimately I used the services of PS3Specialist who has posted on these forums.  For those interested, you can see from the images he posts that he does a thorough and professional job.  I was very impressed by his service, speed (2 business days), price ($159) and warranty (1yr).  My only regret was not doing it sooner!

True, I may miss out if apple decides to offer a recall.  At this point if they offered a recall tomorrow (doubtful), I would still have not regrets.  Getting my maching up and running and getting back to work is well worth it.  Thank you to everyone who has posted so much information.  It has truely made understanding the problem so much easier.   That said, I am looking forward to not reading this forum any more

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I concur perhaps it is Mavericks that is taxing the GPU more which in turn is heating the connection between GPU and logic board, or heating he GPU up to failure for these particular MBPs.

I doubt it. My MBP had 10.8 installed.

Do you use any heavy graphics apps?  Photoshop, movie editing, etc?

Peter DiSalvo wrote:

 

Do you use any heavy graphics apps?  Photoshop, movie editing, etc?

Yes. I use the complete Adobe suite and gaming on bootcamp from time to time. Also 90% of the time I used an external monitor using the useless thunderbolt port that only heated the machine even more. Probably the thing that started the fans spnining most regularly was viewwing HD videos on youtube.

So this problem hit my MBP in March, it wouldn't turn on except at random times and if I did get it on, it would turn off again or freeze or get the distorted screen before long, especially if I was running Photoshop or Illustrator, and then not turn on again for a while again, etc. Trying to boot to recovery or safe mood or anything else always went to a black screen or bright blue.

I followed someone's instructions on here to disable the AMD and ADT radeon kext files as a fix, that made the screen take on a blue tint, the computer would no longer recognize the screen as its own but as an external monitor (I couldn't adjust screen brightness or make it sleep, had to shut down everytime I wanted to close the computer) and the screen would get glitchy at times, especially in finder, BUT it stopped turning on and off randomly, it would stay on for as long as I needed - prone to occasional freezing particularly if moved while it was on, but it would always turn right back on after I powered it off - and I was able to use Photoshop etc accaptebly enough to get me through my semester (i.e. till mid-May).

So I used it that way for about a month. I bought this MBP in the USA but I live in Lebanon and we don't have an Apple Store there, however I would be travelling to the USA in May so I just needed the laptop to last until then and it did. Literally one day after I arrived in the USA, it the screen went black abruptly as I was using it and I had to power it off, it would not power on again. I kept trying it throughout the day and hours later it finally turned on, but after a little bit it turned off again, and the same problem of turning on/off at random times was back, it would also get horizontal lines/graphic distortions a lot of the time.

So I took it to the Apple Store. In all honesty I was fully prepared to hear them quote me a ridiculous price for a logic board replacement and had been saving up for a new laptop, all but resigned that I would have to buy one, but I was pleasantly surprised. I explained to the genius at my appointment what was going on, told him the entire story, mentioned this thread and that tons of people were having this problem with the 2011 MBP, and showed him photos of the distorted screen. He said he'd definitely seen the problem before, had a quick word with his supervisor then right away offered to send the MBP to a service center contracted by Apple that would replace any and all parts that needed replacing (provided the cause of damage wasn't that you'd spilled something on the laptop or anything like that), all for a flat rate of $310 +tax. He ran a quick hardware test and deemed that that the logic board and battery were the parts that needed replacing, but ultimately they ended up replacing, no joke:

Logic board

Battery

Hard drive

Optical drive

Optical cabling

all for just $328.

I asked him, before giving in the laptop, if these would be refurbished parts and he said no, they'll defnitely put in new parts. Upon pickup I asked the genius who handed it back if he thought the logic board might develop the same problem again and he said the logic board is defnitely a newer model than the one the 2011 MPB came with. There's a 90-day warranty and so far the laptop is running as good as new. It feels like I got a new MBP for 300 bucks, I honestly couldn't be happier/still can't quite believe how well it went. And this is the Apple Store in Somerset mall, Troy, Michigan for those wondering.

2011 MBP + Timeline of Unfortunate Events

by PortableGenius

06 May 2011 - I bought my early-2011 model 15 inches MacBook Pro (MBP) with the standard 1-year warranty. I honestly thought it will last very long so I skipped on the AppleCare. I live in the Philippines by the way so that means no official Apple Store, I have to buy it on a Apple Premium Reseller store.

06 Feb 2014 - (After 1,008 Days from Date of Purchase), my MBP started showing the distorted split-screen image similar to this http://i61.tinypic.com/2uti6g8.jpg then I forcibly shut it down.

07 Feb 2014 - It magically worked when I tried booting it.

11 Feb 2014 - It started showing the distorted image again. Force restarted it and, this time, wont get past the Apple logo/gray screen.

12 Feb 2014 - Emailed, unfortunately, I forgot to write my contact number.

17 Feb 2014 - Emailed the second time with my contact number.

18 Feb 2014 - Apple Support called for the first time, I asked the guy who called me where he is based and told me he’s from Apple Asia-Pacific based in Singapore.

22 Feb 2014 - Apple Support called back to try to boot the MBP from the original install DVD (Snow Leopard) which didn’t work.

24 Feb 2014 - Apple Support called back again to tell me that I have to get my MBP to an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) since there are no Apple Store in the Philippines and that they will fix the MBP at no cost as long as I tell the AASP about the Apple Case number the Apple guy made for me. The Apple guy calls this number an “exception” and it’s sort of a pass that will have your MBP fixed for free.

11 Apr 2014 - Brought my MBP to an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP). It took me so long(!) to have it repaired since the nearest AASP for me is only accessible via plane and I was very busy at the time.

14 Apr 2014 - I received an SMS notification from the AASP that my MBP is under diagnosis.

15 Apr 2014 - I received an SMS notification that after careful diagnosis, defective part/s had been identified and necessary orders were approved by Apple.

01 May 2014 - I received an SMS notification from the AASP that my MBP has been repaired.

16 May 2014 - I picked up my repaired MBP from the AASP. I paid nothing. Zero. I talked to a receptionist and she told me that they only changed the logic board and it worked again. My files and applications are all still in my hard drive and basically nothing has changed except it is working now. She also told me that I have a 90-days warranty starting May 16th (the day I picked it up) although I forgot to ask if it was the AASP’s policy or the standard Apple warranty.

31 May 2014 - While doing PhotoBooth, the MBP had a very mysterious blue screen and I couldn’t see anything although I can tell it was still on since the music is still playing. I forcibly restarted it. It booted abnormally having a horizontally striped. I captured it on my iPhone uploaded here: http://youtu.be/BfaVnkfHVGo

I hope it doesn't get worse but I can tell where this is headed.

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