2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

What gets deleted is determined by Community Hosts, who are not required to have deep technical expertise in the area under discussion, and have NO responsibilities for current Apple products, other than the forum itself.

Posts are deleted If and only if they violate:

Apple Support Communities Terms of Use

You agreed to abide by those terms when you signed up. To eliminate the mystery, perhaps you should skim them again.

-------

What you appear to be seeking is to have Mac Hardware Engineers (who work on supporting MacBook Pro) following along as you write. That is NOT happening here.

Those guys are far too busy helping Apple develop cutting edge products and keeping Macs working properly to follow threads like this one.

I'm still on Mac OS10.6.8 and have tried the following (not necessarily in sequence):

1. Erased drive with "Don't Erase Data" security option. Restored machine from Time Machine backup.
2. Erased drive with "Don't Erase Data" security option. Installed OS from system DVD. Migrated user accounts from Time Machine backup.
3. Removed one memory stick. This removed all symptoms for a day or two.
4. Replaced Kingston memory with 2GB OEM memory sticks. This removed all symptoms for one day.
5. Reset SMC and NVRAM/PRAM.
6. Become frustrated over the countless hours spent on this.

Symptoms:

1. Split-screen issue where the screen image is shifted off to the left side, and the hidden part appears on the right side.
2. Solid gray screens, with machine locked up, especially when booting up, even on system DVD.
3. Solid black screens that return after a minute or two, only to gray out and display the "black screen of death" message in the center.
4. Strobe/flashing effect, where the image appears to be flashing between the split-screen version and solid white. I couldn't capture the flashing with iPhone video, because it doesn't show up. Evidently it's flashing at the same rate video frames are being recorded.

Here are some photos of various other sypmtoms:

Just for the record...

I have the same issue. MacBook Pro early 2011 build, 17" antiglare screen, 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core, the works. Bought in the US brand new for about $3k. I have 95 days of the original warranty left, thankfully (I say that tough in cheek). Today I took it in, I had waited a month, prior to today, in hopes there would be some attention on this spectacle. Sadly I see very little. I am not an Apple fan boy, I buy Apple products because I depend on it for my job. I work mainly in the audio industry and yes... there is a reason we all buy expensive Apple products. Or should I say -did- at this point?

Let's do a quick run through of what led up to today.

Everything was perfect in my little island of the Apple world until early November of 2013. This also coincided with my "free" upgrade to Mavericks, like many others here.

I ran into all the aforementioned problems everyone else has.

1. When the failure begins to grab hold of your precious machine, it first exhibits a torn “dual screen” in your single screen laptop. It will freeze, you will reboot fine, and the problem worries you but, in the end; you don’t think too much about it.
2. Depending on how lucky you, are the problem recurs. In my case it was about a week and the “glitch” reemerged. Only this time “Alice” (the consumer), is dragged down an abysmal rabbit hole. In a matter of 2 days I went from the split torn screen, system lockup that was only solved with pram reset, the pram reset begins only working after many many retries, system then won’t even boot and gives off beep error code (associated to failed logic board), pram reset does work on RARE occasion but, OSX is so unstable at this point it locks up within a minute of use.
3. I then do a trusty google search for my problem and low and behold I found this thread in it’s infancy (15 - 20 pages). I decide to myself, I will wait a little while until more laptops start exhibiting the same behavior. Even then, everyone agreed it was a manufacturing problem. In my dream world, for some idiotic reason, I thought maybe I could hassle Apple or the Apple Store for a new machine out of the conundrum. Even if I were to get a new machine, I would never get that 17” Antiglare-screen back BUT, I would deal with it... and possibly shut up about the hole thing. <- Never do or think this... And side-point: the highest build of the current MBP only has .3GHz/300MHz over my current baby and costs exactly the same as I paid for my machine 2 years ago.
4. Life get’s busy, the holidays go by, and by anomaly I haven’t -had- to use my MBP for awhile. The nearest Apple store for myself is an hour and half drive to somewhere I’m rarely ever at. Things slow down and I realize my warranty is getting close to the end. I check back into this thread and am astonished by the massive amount of others having the same failure. Google it some more and find this widespread failure, for what I feel like is everything manufactured around this time, is still not getting any mainstream media attention or a response from Apple.
5. I make my appointment, well prepared, head in to talk to a “genius”.
6. Upon entering the cult-like store with innumerable mesmerizing blinky screens and oh so many people staring at them with twinkly eyes of glee only a small child exhibits on Christmas day, I am immediately greeted by one of the lower-level initiate neophytes. You know, the cattle herders in there? I pass with my reservation and credentials. A second level herder asks what my issues are with the laptop before I am granted a seat with the gods at the genius bar. I immediately open with, “I’m not sure if you’re aware but, I have an early 2011 MBP that many people are experiencing GPU failures with.” A look of fear instills on his face. He responds, “Yes, I know about it. No need to explain everything. I’ll have a seat ready for you in 5 minutes with someone” I then distract myself with the new Mac Pro that looks like a trash can. After a little digging on the strange tiny trash can (and not very impressed by it mind you. As most expansions for this computer requires feeding the machine even more money - this was the original purpose of the Mac Pro itself, was it not?), I am then granted a seat at the inner sanctum called the “Genius Bar”. My “Genius” is a very nice, early twenties, pretty girl. I feel very sorry for the wrath I am about to unleash on this poor girl but, I have no choice as I see it.
   
   Again, I open with the same line, “I’m not sure if you’re aware but, I have an early 2011 MBP that many people are experiencing GPU failures with.” I go into more depth as to how the problem evolved and is currently. I’m very nice and respectful at this point, as we have yet to reach a point that I have to be a bit unfriendly.
   
   “Oh wow, awesome. You’ve done everything I would have done to find the issue with your computer. Let me just run a quick diagnostics test to be sure there are no other problems.”
   
   I explained I had already done this but, ok. It boots up with the blue lines of death. She reponds, “Yup, exactly as you said and I already know what the problem is.”
   
   I kind of play dumb and nice with the pretty girl to poke for any information I can get.
   
   Me, “So this is a common problem?”
   
   “Yes, I’ve seen plenty of these machines exhibit the same problem.”
   
   “So, what is the fix for this?”
   
   “Since you’re under warranty we’ll send it off for repair, more than likely they will replace the logic board. All this is covered under your warranty, you won’t have to pay anything.”
   
   “So, what if the problem recurs?”
   
   “Well, all repairs are covered for 90 days. You have 95 days left on your warranty. In your case, you’re covered for 95 days”
   
   “Once my warranty is out, how much would this normally cost?”
   
   “Logic board replacement is normally $500 with us when not under warranty.”
   
   “That’s a fair amount of money and not a very long warranty period.”
   
   “Well, maybe it’s time you get a NEW computer. This one is two years old, it’s getting to be that time isn’t it?”
   
   “No, not really. The specs on this machine are only 300MHz below your current top of the line MBP. Not to mention I can’t get this 17” screen anymore. I know, you don’t have to give me the line about the retina screen and it’s resolution. You see, I’ve grown up with a laptop in my hands since a kid. See these eyes? *points to eyes” They have poor vision because of this fact. I actually appreciate and in a way use the 17” screen for a purpose.”
   
   Her face and demeanor immediately change to a face of shame.
   
   “Well, you are right. I would suggest, if you’re really worried about the laptop continuing to fail... when you get it back, sell it on ebay and you will probably have enough money from the sale to get a comparable new MBP.”
   
   “Ebay is great for that stuff isn’t it?”
   
   She smiles with a sigh of relief, hoping I am content with the answer and responds with a “Yes.”
   
   “Yeah, where I can then be the evil person instead of Apple and unload my dysfunctional product on an unsuspecting consumer to make a quick buck, Cover my a** and move on like nothing is wrong. See, I actually disagree with all of this logic and do not take this personally; I understand you’re just an employee here. By our conversation and your responses , I can most assuredly postulate you are 100% aware that this problem is widespread and even unfixable in the end. You barely even checked the machine for problems after I explained everything. You, yourself even suggested I sell the machine after it is “fixed”. This confirms that you think this product is faulty. The employee I spoke to before you even confirmed with me that this is a problem -many- users are experiencing. See, I actually use this product for work, there are no games on this machine, I don’t own it just because it’s f*****g cool, or makes me better than someone else. I paid $3k for this machine a couple years ago because I need a computer with higher processing power for the programs I use that will last longer than a year or two; a computer that doesn’t crash often and is stable. See, crashes equal loss of time, which equals loss of time on the job, which equals loss of money and any free time I would have had on my part in this case. I told you earlier, I’ve had a computer in my hands since I was 4. As a teenager I self employed myself by working on others computers, even putting together custom builds for them and myself. I know, for the most part, the ins and outs of all this. I still have the very first computer I ever built as a kid for nostalgia purposes. I built that machine when I was 13. Guess what? I’m 28 now and it still boots and runs like the very first day I turned it on. That’s 15 years on that computer, at the time it was top of the line for a PC and cost me about $1k and that’s pushing it. This top of the line machine that I am forced to buy to a degree, because of my work... only lasted 2 years and cost 3 times as much. I’m not even taking inflation into consideration. So, about 1/7th the lifespan and 3 times or more the price. Apple has it’s position and following because of people like myself giving you credit for the high-end line of products you furnish us. The party will end when you do this to these customers. Again, I apologize if I come of as an a** and I am not directing this straight at you. I’m just explaining my frustration of the situation. There are few companies period these days that make quality products and I am very sad to see Apple start to go down this path. Unlike companies today, I have to live with my failures and own up to them as a responsible person in this society.”
   
   Very wide eyed and seemingly, genuinely concerned about the problem, she responded. “Well, there is really nothing I can say to make you happy at this point. I do agree with about everything you said and you’re right. That doesn’t really change anything. If the problem persists while you’re under warranty we -might- be able to do something for you. I am really really sorry.”
   
   We continued to talk some more but, that is the jest you should know.

So, my MBP is in transit to wherever it goes and will be back in a week.

Now, I have a few questions, concerns, and statements.

1. It seems to me everyone’s MBP died around the time Mavericks rolled out, correct? This is one of two things: 1. just timing of the parts to fail or 2. If I were an evil genius, lost faith in humankind as a whole, and was only concerned about the bottom line for my company and myself... I would design it to fail so people would be forced to buy more of my product and it turn make myself filthy rich. Point 2 is really just me playing devil’s advocate but, this is a standard business practice these days. It’s even taught at college in these strange times. Food for thought nonetheless.
2. What did she mean, “...we -might- be able to do something for you”? She did say there was no way she would forget who I was and if I did come back with the same problem to ask for her. Has anyone out there been lucky enough to get a new machine out of this debacle? That’s what should happen in a perfect world. Although, an even better world wouldn’t have had this problem in the first place.
3. This question relates to the second. If some people are lucky enough to get a new machine, should I stress test the machine until she breaks? If no one is getting a new machine, the answer is undoubtedly, no... The best thing you can wish for is -maybe- a year more of life if you’re lucky and careful.
4. Mainly from my experience today, what have I learned? Apple and all their employees know about this problem. What they or we will do about it, time will tell.

Sorry this is long but, I just had to voice my frustration. If we all do, someone has to pay attention. If they don’t, then voicing an opinion must be done with your dollars. That’s all anyone pays attention to these days, sad but true. In the long run if Apple were to initiate a replacement program on these machines or even replace the machines themselves: this is good PR and marketing and worth the expense in a long term cost analysis. I will keep you all posted as to how things go in my situation, until then another picture to verify and add to the heaping pile of crap.

Hi Everyone,

I have macbook pro late 2011 15 inch with 6770m GPU and shared similar problem since last april 2014..

I have replace factory thermal pase to silver one.

now my mbp seem back into business as usual after this:

1. I check to http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1237, it seems that the correct smc is 1.5. but my mbp Installed smc 1.7, I don't know how can my mbp update to SMC 1.7 but I manage to downgrade the smc to 1.5 again with refit (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4855319?tstart=0). with smc 1.5 my mbp more stable as long as I don't let 6770m GPU work hard and get it's temp pass to 75C.
2. I happened to find out that AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext(AGPM) not correctly loaded in my machine, I do reinstall os, from lion, mountain lion, and mavericks still not loading AGPM properly. I dont know what cause this default behaviour.. so I edit AGPM.kext info.plist to add my GPU into the list to make it load properly.. and..

Notice that AGPM unknownPlatform then, add GPU device id it load my GPU..

this is what I change AGPM info.list, it says "Vendor1002Device6741" before which mean AMD 6770, but my GPU shows "Vendor1002Device6740" no wonder it does not load..

I'm guesing that hwPstate is the max(0) and min(3) parameter to run the GPU

my GPU vendor and device id

Running cinebench after AGPM load twice, no problem under battery

I tested this on MacBook Pro late 2011 15, I don't know if it work out for early 2011 mbp as well...

PS: I just want to share my experience with my mbp maybe it help yours too, if anyone Intrested to try "Do it at your own risk".. I know what it feel to lose precious notebook that we used for living, hope apple will give the best solution for this problem..

sorry for my bad english

Cheers..

Just thought I'd add the fact that I had same issue with my Early 2011 15" MacBook Pro. A couple of years ago I got a weird pixelated image and thought it was just a video driver issue. A few updates later I didn't see it again. About 2 weeks ago I got what you see below. A few days later (when I took it to the Apple store) it just completely stopped booting (didn't go past the white screen with the spinner).

Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sb8lu5vqvizy04q/2014-07-28%2021.23.00.mov

Since it is my work computer, I took it to the Apple store. They told me that the wifi card was bad (I already knew about the wifi card. It had been out for awhile). They checked it in "to run additional tests on it" within 48 hours they called me and told me the logic board was bad, that it would be $310 + tax flat rate to have that replaced. I told them to go for it. I figured it it costs me less than $500 it would be worth it, since again, it is a business computer.

Got a call 3 days later (total of 6 days) saying it was ready for pickup. Honestly I was surprised at how quickly they fixed it.

They ended up replacing:

• The Logic Board
• Wifi Card & Ribbon cable
• Clamshell lid (had a dent in it)
• Replaced the rubber feet on the bottom that had worn down.

So for $335 (with TX sales tax) I'm pretty satisfied. Of course with a 90-day warranty, we will see how it goes within/after 90 days...

Well my MBP 2011 late 15inch had the same issue but my screen went to black.

Thank's that i had Apple care and 90 days remaining on it i was able to get it fixed they replaced the Logic board.

The tech spec's for the video card before fixing of the Logic board.

Graphics and video support

• AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR5 memory on 2.2GHz configuration; or AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics processor with 1GB of GDDR5 memory on 2.4GHz configuration
• Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory5
• Automatic graphics switching
• Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors

My Mac Model

My Video spec'sof the Intel 3000 pro video card after Logic board replaced.

NOTICE!! The 512mb.

This means Apple must be aware of the issue they revamped the logic board with a newer video card with more ram.

Everyboard need to make Apple aware about this issue!!! We all need to to sign this petition to make apple know they need to fix this for free.

FYI I am Mac tech i work in Publishing industry and admin 200 Mac's.

Thanks Joey Jacobson

<Edited by Host>

Great! in that case, here is a general quote of consumer law. It applies in New Zealand, so may differ in your country.

"Relevant to product safety are the guarantees contained within the Act that goods sold are of ‘acceptable quality’. This means that the goods have to be free from major or minor defects, safe, and durable. It also means they have to be ‘fit for the purpose for which they were supplied’ and acceptable in appearance and finish.

Goods that are unsafe are said to be of ‘substantial failure’ and the consumer has the right to reject the goods. To remedy the situation the consumer may choose a repair, replacement, or a full refund."

Here is a screenshot of a defective computer that Apple provided that is not 'fit for purpose', i.e. that is supposed to run software and display the information on a screen. (For a reasonable time = durability)

From Apple's own website:

For goods, there is a serious failure to comply with a consumer guarantee when:

• You would not have purchased the product if you had known about the problem. (A 3 year life span ONLY? - my note)
• The product is significantly different from the description, sample or demonstration model you were shown.
• The product is substantially unfit for its normal purpose and cannot easily be made fit within a reasonable time. (Obvious from this thread - my note)
• The product is substantially unfit for a purpose that you told the supplier about, and cannot easily be made fit within a reasonable time.
• The product is unsafe.

I have also since replaced my charger unit on this machine because it frayed (as per other threads) and was unsafe.

Apple's own standards condemn their current behaviour to charge users to fix their own machines, and then offer a solution which works only for a limited time.

Many thanks, your friendly 'internet noise', and fellow Apple user.

Following up on my post from above.

Update

• Still currently running "discrete" only via gfxCardStatus
• Monitoring temp using smcFanControl set to default speeds for now, temp usually about ~140 F while web browsing
• Using a "standing desk" rack shelving configuration... I stand while working (health benefits) and it gives it more airflow (see pic below)

So far, I've only experienced one subsequent graphics card crash.

Rebooted and has been working for weeks OK.

It might be only a matter of time until it crashes again, but sharing above in case helps others temporarily.

Everyone with this problem needs to inform Apple via both steps below, so they see it as the problem it truly is:

Step 1:

Take ahmeds84's advice and fill out a feedback form here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

Be sure to reference this forum thread in your feedback:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4766577

Step 2:

Call Apple at 1-800-275-2273 and tell them you would like to report a problem.

They understand the problem real quick when you reference this thread by number 4766577.

Tell them to look at the screen shots on page 10.

Ask them to fill out a "Data Capture Report" for submission to their Senior Advisor or Engineering Department.

If they say you need a case number before they help you, follow this procedure to get one:

• Visit expresslane.apple.com (no www before it)
• Click Mac
• Click Mac Notebooks
• Click Other Topics
• Select "Display Flickering"
• Click Continue
• Click Call Apple Support Later
• Enter your contact info
• Click Continue
• The next screen should display an ID number and the phone number to call. Mine had 1-800-275-2273.

Do this now - not to bug them, but to let them know just how many of their machines are failing.

Bart

Hey folks,

I have (or had) the same problem as all of us have. I wrote about my experience a few weeks ago and I am following quite a few discussions here and in other forums. I would like to post my experience and opinions after reading and learning a lot. And: There is hope!

My MacBook and official repair offers

I am in Germany, got a 15 inch MacBookPro 8,2, 2,2 Ghz Quad-Core (new around 2.500 Euro). It was 28 month old when the glitches appeared first. It took quite a long time to discover the problem: dedicated GPU. I went to an Apple Premium Reseller who offered me a repair for 680 Euro after first giving me hope for a free out-of-warranty repair covered by Apple. I had many discussions with Apple in Stores and on the phone with Apple Care and the most important Apple people I could be able to talk to (as they said – but they did not make me feel happy at all). Finally the cheapest offer was changing the entire logicboard for 490 Euro. (In Germany there is no 320 USD repair flat.)

Is this the right way of a premium manufacturer treating its customers?

No. At the end and from the customer’s point of view it is a complete denial of Apples responsibility and not acceptable. It is not accordable with the promise of quality and service. I do not want to comment on that in detail. Everyone should decide for her- or himself, if she or he buys an Apple product again.

I also thought about changing and boycott Apple, but apart from this incident my overall experience with Macs is great, furthermore I have so many licences for Mac software and other infrastructure, libraries for photos and music… it would cost me much time and money to change – and MacBooks are the ******* best notebooks I have ever used.)

What about the workarounds and software solutions?

Workarounds with GfxCardStatus or removing the driver for the dedicated GPU (so that it cannot be accessed and is completely deactivated) are described in detail in this forum. And they are ok for a while, to get back a running system after the first shock. If you get your machine running on the Intel chip only it will stay stable (in case of using GfxCardStatus booting might be an adventure, but from the point the software started it’s going to work).

But hey, it’s absolutely not an acceptable solution: You did not buy a machine like that to run it on low graphics power and without the ability of connecting an external display or projector.

Stop trying to find the failure with re-installing the system and changing things, it’s waste of time.

Apple repair or not?

At first I would have spent the money regarding the value of the machine, but the problem was: In case of replacement they always use boards produced the same time and way the defective boards where produced. (Maybe minor things might be changed during the production time of this board model, I do not know.) So there is a high risk that the problem occurs again with the replacement board, as a few of you experienced and reported here. You can be “lucky” getting the problem during the (ridiculous but common) warranty of 3 month. Being lucky in this case means that you have to run to Apple several times and leave your MacBook there for a couple of days until you might get finally a board that seriously works. If the glitches reappear when you are out of the repair warranty you will be ****** up.

What’s the real problem behind the glitches?

I tried to find out what the real problem is (of course I cannot assure this for each and every case): The GPU or the logicboard are not defective, it is just the solder connections between the GPU and the board that get tiny cracks/fissures over the time (with changing temperatures).

But why is it possible that these connections crack? I am not a real technician, but I am interested in this stuff and I spoke to people who know a bit more about that, so my theory: It’s not the first time that a computer manufacturer builds solder connections between modules on a mainboard. But what changed within the last years: Apple (and others) have been criticized for the environmental impact of their products and the production process, the public had a look at that and new laws appeared, so the manufacturers started to bring the life cycle impact into focus. Now it looks like the “environmental impact” is improved. (in Apple’s case they made a nice presentation you can find here http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/environment/)

Now MacBooks comply with standards and do not contain certain “dangerous and toxic” substances.

Now, for example, they do not use lead anymore. (In the European Union it is officially forbidden for solder connections in electronic products since 2006. It is only allowed for connections that have to feature a strong durability, for example in certain medical products). The main objective of using lead for solder connections is to prohibit embrittlement and cracks in the connection. It is hardly possible to get the same quality without lead. Looks like the problem here.

I am very interested in (environmental) sustainability. But regarding the consequences and the way defective boards are “repaired” by being replaced I would see this approach as counterproductive.

What alternative repair options exist?

The official way is replacing the mainboard. With the big disadvantage that it’s expensive and the much bigger disadvantage that there always is a risk that you will get a board that is also affected and the glitches reappear again after the warranty on the repair (see above) – and the disadvantage that it produces waste by changing parts that are not defective.

There is a better way:

I do not talk about crazy methods like how to “cook logicboards” – however they are no witchcraft: It might “refresh” the solder connections and might help for a while, maybe for a long time, but it’s never sure if and how long it helps. And seriously: It takes you hours to demount the whole machine if you are not familiar with that.

I looked for something professional and found a few small companies on the Internet offering such repairs, but I was afraid sending my machine to someone I do not know. Fortunately I finally found one not far from where I live, in Wuppertal (Germany), called MJ Computer. I visited Markus who runs the company specialised on things like that, doing a lot of notebook repairs like that and work for Hifi companies like Onkyo. He told me that he had this case already a few times and explained me exactly what he is going to do to get it repaired:

• removal of the GPU from the logic board
• removal of the old solder connections from GPU and logic board
• cleaning of all parts
• assembling of new thermal paste (in the right amount, originally there is too much used from Apple’s assemblers)
• assembling of new solder connections (containing lead)
• assembling of the GPU
• cleaning of the mainboard and the cooling parts
• stress tests

The result: I got back a working machine with 6 month warranty on the work. The hardware is still the same, old board, old GPU. The connections are now soldered with lead, because it’s recommended for a higher durability and to eliminate the risk of embrittlement – so I pleased him to do so.

I paid 100 Euro for the repair and I have got a much better feeling than with a replacement board after having learned all that about the origin of the failure and after having read your stories.

That’s what I can recommend: Search for companies like MJ Computer Wuppertal, write Markus an e-mail, make a repair order and you will get back a working machine. His website is in German only, but under “Impressum” you find a phone no., mail and postal address. I have been there and it’s a very trustworthy company.

I hope that I can help you with that, I was extremely frustrated and I am very glad now that my problem is finally solved. I would appreciate to here from you if you can share my experience.

Cheers.

@ marcoliverhofer

marcoliverhofer wrote:

SO ...can we now actually cross to the realm of possibilities that make sense and try to keep organized in pressuring Apple into doing something...or at least admitting that they don't do anything and recommend to buy just a new one on good faith. That would help us all more. Apple is not a bad company and lucky for them, they have one of the best operating systems on the market, but they became complacent and comfortable and seem to more and more consider the Working-Computer market as a pain in the butt. Neglecting it badly. Generally it is of course more economical to sell digital throw away products like IPhones and IPads...

There is no need to put pressure on Apple or inform the press or call Jay Leno!!!!

All you have to understand, is that this is a Community Forum… or in other words Users help Users.

A few of us already informed Apple about this issue with links to this thread, so they know. But for a Replacement Program, Apple (as any other big Company) needs a certain number of incidents. This may sounds odd to you, many of you think a machine which cost $2000+ should last four times longer than a computer with a price tag of $500. This is wrong, even an Apple computer can break after a short time, most of it covered by the warranty. For extended warranty you can go for AppleCare.

Apple computers are made from standard components, the are no magicians at work nor they use holly water. But I have several computers from Apple and they are still working, e.g. a Mac PowerPC 8200 and even an original Macintosh 512.

So, yes Apple is an excellent brand and makes incredible products, but they can break too.

This is sad for all of us, but there are some ways to alert Apple about this issue, NO NOT A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, I think at the present time it is not appropriate to ask for such a sledgehammer.

So what can you do?

• You can go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html and file a 'Bug Report'
• You can contact the Apple Support here http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/contact/
• And you can make an appointment with a Genius in an Apple Store, just ask them to have a look at the problem and let them file the issue to the head quarter. (No need to leave it there)
• And at last, add a reply here, but be a little more specific, don't just write "Me to", also put what kind of MacBook you have, Graphics Card and look in you Logs for GPU and add that to the thread.

And for sure, you can go through all the points listed above 😉

Enjoy your 

apple_power wrote:

@ marcoliverhofer

marcoliverhofer wrote:

SO ...can we now actually cross to the realm of possibilities that make sense and try to keep organized in pressuring Apple into doing something...or at least admitting that they don't do anything and recommend to buy just a new one on good faith. That would help us all more. Apple is not a bad company and lucky for them, they have one of the best operating systems on the market, but they became complacent and comfortable and seem to more and more consider the Working-Computer market as a pain in the butt. Neglecting it badly. Generally it is of course more economical to sell digital throw away products like IPhones and IPads...

There is no need to put pressure on Apple or inform the press or call Jay Leno!!!!

All you have to understand, is that this is a Community Forum… or in other words Users help Users.

A few of us already informed Apple about this issue with links to this thread, so they know. But for a Replacement Program, Apple (as any other big Company) needs a certain number of incidents. This may sounds odd to you, many of you think a machine which cost $2000+ should last four times longer than a computer with a price tag of $500. This is wrong, even an Apple computer can break after a short time, most of it covered by the warranty. For extended warranty you can go for AppleCare.

Apple computers are made from standard components, the are no magicians at work nor they use holly water. But I have several computers from Apple and they are still working, e.g. a Mac PowerPC 8200 and even an original Macintosh 512.

So, yes Apple is an excellent brand and makes incredible products, but they can break too.

This is sad for all of us, but there are some ways to alert Apple about this issue, NO NOT A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, I think at the present time it is not appropriate to ask for such a sledgehammer.

So what can you do?

• You can go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html and file a 'Bug Report'
• You can contact the Apple Support here http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/contact/
• And you can make an appointment with a Genius in an Apple Store, just ask them to have a look at the problem and let them file the issue to the head quarter. (No need to leave it there)
• And at last, add a reply here, but be a little more specific, don't just write "Me to", also put what kind of MacBook you have, Graphics Card and look in you Logs for GPU and add that to the thread.

And for sure, you can go through all the points listed above 😉

Enjoy your 

Well, you have a point, however there is a relation between the price of a macbook and what you may expect from its lifecycle. In my country there is anyways 😉 The law states that a consumer may expect a economic lifecycle for a product in relation to the price. In other words; if a laptop dies after 2 - 2,5 years it DOES matter wheter it originally cost 500 euro of 2000 euro.

I'm not saying we should all sue Apple, but I really DO feel Apple has to start some sort of program for solutions.

But, that said, I have no idea how they could possibly do this, cause not all systems are from the same line-up (early / late 2011, or even 2012), and the faults are also a bit different - though there is definately a large userbase with the same problems.

@Fernando Lobos

"I'm here again asking if someone knows whom to write, maybe we'll have at least a fresh breath knowing that this person is aware of this issue."

If you would have been looking through the articles, you would have found the link. We have written many times, go to the http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html page.

"Personally, I didn't get anything better than "you need to replace your logic board" at service, that single sentence took $50, I can tell that a "new logic board" is about 3/4 of a new macbook price."

If you go to an AppleStore an talk to a Genius, it's free. An Logic board replacement costs between 300 an 600 $, that is NOT 3/4 of a MacBookPro!!!

"If anyone knows who's the right person to write to, it'll be the best help we can get."

Believe me, Apple knows about this thread, I personally wrote an eMail and and I posted the answer here, check it out.

It is not very helpful to start here a ShitStorm, this forum is meant for Users who help other Users. If you like to bring this thread forward, describe your problem, add photos and Logs, but posts like "Me too" won't help neither us nor Apple.

A last word about the numbers of Views (112911) and Replies (1,674), this numbers are not representative, you can open ten windows with this tread and each is counted in Views, also with the Replies, all of your 11 Posts are counted. So if you take you as a base, we can divide the 1674 by 10 and we get some 167 incidents… and lets say Apple sold 1.6 Million units, the we have here a failure rate of 0,001%.

If you would have some profound knowledge about large companies who are producing millions of units, you would know, a failure rate of 0,001% is excellent.

All this posts about "class action lawsuits" and "we all have to write to Apple" won't help, it just shows your frustration (we all can understand that, we are in the same boat). But technically Apple is of the hook, because the guarantee is gone already long time. On the other hand Apple cares about their customers (check the feedback from Apple I posted in this thread!!!).

Sure we all expect more than the two and a half year lifetime for a unit that costs 2500$ (plus a 1000$ for my ThunderBolt Display in my case, which is useless at the moment), but you can NOT expect Apple to open a "Replacement Program" instantly when a few hundred peoples are complaining. A "Replacement Program" or "Units Callback" is a huge thing for a worldwide company, in regards of reputation and also in regards of Stock Value…

You can be sure, Apple is taking action if necessary, and as soon as the problem has been identified and a solution has been worked out.

For now, we only can help Apple to speed up this case by feeding as much informations back to the mothership as possible, informations like:

• A detailed description of the problem and how it can be reproduced.
• Photos (Screenshots)
• Log dumps
• Detailed Infos about your model and configuration

You can post these informations here and you should use the feedback link above. And certainly you can go to the closest AppleSore and let a Genius diagnose your MacBook, you still can take your MacBook un-repaired home, but tell the Genius to report the incidence with your serial number to the headquarters.

And at last it your descision whether or not you repair your unit…

I will wait (after I did file the problem) because I need my MacBook and I can live with the internal GPU - I don't have full speed but it is still better than my 2006 MacBookPro.

So I'm pretty sure there will be a solution from Apple, but don't expect it to be tomorrow - no matter how many post you write and no matter how many of you ask for "class action lawsuits"!!

These things need time and we should give Apple the time, so they can do their job.

Enjoy your 

Please put me on the list of new failures as well: this is for an Early 2011 Macbook Pro 15" with AMD Radeon HD 6490M. My symptoms are exactly the same as detailed here: [1] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4637833?answerId=24209863022#24209863022

However, even following the steps, I was unable to use gfxcardstatus to switch to integrated graphics mode, as it gives me the error that an external display is attached. By moving the ATI (AMD) drivers from the /System/Library/Extensions folder elsewhere, I was able to boot into the OS, but like reported in the above link, the screen is virtually unreadable and glitchy.

Anybody who has not already, please submit a response to the Google survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PuJ2QS2Ri7fw9HVaNHLQ4OYZCb99zonc96HmhTWEAoY/vie wform

for which you can see the results here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PuJ2QS2Ri7fw9HVaNHLQ4OYZCb99zonc96HmhTWEAoY/vie wanalytics

At this point, the only fix seems to be to:

• Do a logic board repair (estimated cost is $320 to $600+ depending on region in the world)
• Bake the logic board (see the link [1]) but it seems unclear whether this is going to be a pseudo-permanent fix or it might only work for a week or a month.
• Wait for a recall.

Given the fact that plenty of people here are reporting that multiple logic board repairs are not doing the job, and that you only gave a 90 day warranty of such a repair, then I think option 1 is out of the question. Option 2 is somewhat risky, and might void(?) the possibility of option 3.

I am willing to wait at least a few months and pray that Apple issues a recall. Until then, I think our best course of action is to make as much noise as possible. Suggestions?

I had the same issues you all are describing. I have posted on several threads about this but am just now finding this one. I eventually called Apple Support. Here are my results:

I called in and spoke with your average tech support and was eventually patched through to a senior advisor. My whole intention here was to start a discussion within Apple about this issue. Once I finally made that clear to the advisor, he proceeded to document the issue and reported it. Included in the report was the thread linked here ( https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2768351?answerId=24623619022#24623619022 ) as well as the MacWorld article regarding similar cases. ( http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/widespread-2011-macbook-pro-failures-reported -3497935/ )

There was a couple of times I felt like I was being given the run-around. Such as when I was told that because the MacWorld article was from the United Kingdoms the Macbooks were fundamentally different than my own machine. But all in all I made my concerns clear. The call didn't afford me any more options. I wasn't generously offered to be taken care of or sent an overnight service center box. But, I made it clear that this issue needs to be acknowledged.

The senior advisor recommended that I post some instructions for people with the same issues (that's you guys).

Hassle free steps:

1. Call Apple Care (800) APL-CARE (800-275-2273)
2. Immediately ask to speak to a Senior Advisor
3. Explain the issue and that you believe it to be a production flaw affecting a large group of Early 2011 Macbooks with AMD graphics
4. Request the filing of a report stating so and give this thread as referrence. I didn't know this thread existed at the time of my call so I gave the one I linked above.

The gist of my report was: Whenever my Macbook switches to AMD discreet graphics my screen will freeze and not boot up (to anything) afterwards until it (seemingly) randomly switched back to Intel graphics.

My options are still $310 for depot repair or upgrade altogether. I did voice the concern of having depot repair done and the problem not being truly solved. The senior advisor said it would be likely if a recall is issued that I could have my machine repaired again with the real solution and also be reimbursed $310. It's sounding like the option I will take to solve my immediate problem.

Every single person who has this issue needs to call in and voice a concern. Keep posting to this thread. Do what you can to get our problem solved.

<Edited By Host>