Early 2011 Macbook Pro 15' - Logic Board Failure

I'm having the same issues: two logic board fails within two years of usage of my Macbook Pro 15" late 2011. First fail was covered by the warranty and the board has been replaced. The second one is not covered by the warranty and local Russian Apple Service wants 750$ for replacement. It's half of the price I've payed for my laptop and there is no warranty it won't happen again.

A laptop which lasts two years with one logic board replacement in the middle is not what I want.

I am living in saudi Arabia and I have my Mac in now being diagnosed with what I am sure is going to be a logic board failure. I am only 8 months out of the factory warranty. Unfortunately, when I purchased the laptop, they told me no additional warranty was available. AppleCare doesn't exist here and a US purchased AppleCare is invalid here. Yesterday, the technician at the re-seller told me that I should have bought an extended warranty from them when I originallay purchased it, but I did ask when I bought it and was told none were available. That's typical for purchases here in this area of the world. So...now I can look forward to a hefty logic board cost (+import markup) and who know what else! I really do like Apple products, but if this Macbook keeps having the same issue, you'd think they'd want to keep the clientelle they have and not run them off by refusing to recognise the problem...then again it took them a while to recall the '74 Pinto as well!!! LOL

Hello all..

I have a late 2011 MBP.

It began...

Upon opening from sleep, the machine displayed graphics problems, went grey, and then blank. I did a hard restart numerous times, and had key and sound functionality but no display.

I took it to the apple store, and they diagnosed a logic board problem, and said they could fix it for the flat $310 fee (I am out of warranty). I needed to back it up, and took it to a third party to do so. Once the third party had the machine, I had them run diagnostics (for crossreferencing) as well as do the back up. Their tests revealed a failed connection from logic board to display.

I took it in to the apple store for repair, and it was done three days later. I was quite happy with this fast turnaround, but something raised a red flag for me--they had replaced the entire display, the RAM, AND the board. Seems suspicious.

I had the machine back for all of 3 days before I began to get freezes and hear beeps indicating bad RAM (which has a long discussion thread on this forum). Clearly, it wasnt that the RAM was loose, which is the first solution the Genius suggested. These freezes typically happened with a heavy graphics processing load, and once it started, would happen continously unless I shut down and allowed the machine to cool (though this would buy me three hours at most, under light processing loads). I had been warned in another thread on here that other folks were having this problem with replacement RAM (sorry, I cant find the thread again).

I have now taken it back in to Apple, and as they were testing it, the screen went blank on cue. They confirmed it was likely bad RAM, and sent it away to be repaired. I also let them know that I hadnt heard the fans kick on much past 2k RPM for a little while (even under processing strain), so now I am wondering if they will just replace the RAM or do some real digging. So, pay attention to your temperatures. I am currently waiting to get it back...and to Apple's credit, they are fixing it for free as it is covered under the 90 repair warranty.

I posted on this thread because I wanted people to be aware of what they might expect if they have logic board problems in their 2011 MBPs...and to encourage them to do some digging on the forum. This problem has now reached a tipping point (During my last three visits to the Apple store, the person sitting nearest me was having a logic board problem on an '11 MBP). It is a significant issue.

I dont think anybody at Apple really knows whats wrong (hence the original board, display, and RAM replacement). At this point, I suspect that my issues (again, for my late 2011 MBP) are a result of one or more of the following:

1. bad RAM batches

2. bad AMD graphics processor batches

3. an overheating issue (not exactly sure what source might be)

4. bad logic board batches

Be sure you are persistent about getting Apple to adhere to the $310 flat repair fee. There is obviously at least one hardware problem here, and perhaps a soft/firmware issue as well.

I'll update if Apple replaces anything more than the RAM, or if something else significant happens.

Best of luck!

Add me to the list too. Before switching from PC to Mac, I heard nothing but hype about Mac and how "reliable" they are. I have an early 2013 Mac Book Pro that also displayed a blue screen with black vertical lines. Eventually a gray screen that froze upon login. It cost me $330 to replace the mother board. After dropping 2,500 (triple what a PC of equal specs would cost) it was a little disturbing spending money to replace a lemon board that was only 2 years old. This experience, being my first one, has changed my perspective in the "reliability" of Mac's!

I have a early 2011 15 macbook pro that has a logic board failure as well...

What is the cost to have the logic board replaced?

Mine was $310 plus tax.

Mine is a 2011 with the ATI graphics card. I switched over to the Intel but it was too late. I went to the Genius bar and told them that this looks just like the Nvidia issue. I too now have a $2400 brick.

It does look as if this is known defect. I wish Apple would step up and recall these Macbook Pros.

Same here - GPU failure. If you look around then you will find that GPU failure in the 2011 boards has been VERY common and I find it a shame on Apple's part that they dont recall this - where is the supposedly great customer support Apple provides? From what I noticed at the Genius Bar this mainly involves helping out people with very minor issues. As soon as you have a real one your left alone. GPU failure after only 2 years of operation is ridiculous especially as this is no longer isolated to a few customers but to many. "You should have bought Apple Care" is a non-sense excuse here.

I am a former Apple engineer. I usually don't get AppleCare because I can fix things myself. But money is very tight right now and I don't feel as if I should pay for a known defect.

Sadly this is becoming an Apple very different from the one I worked. I'm going to hold out hope that my bricked MBP will eventually have a program.

Good luck to us all.

Here's the update..

The logic board was replaced AGAIN (not sure though if any RAM or graphics cards were replaced though). They also replaced the hard drive (not sure what this could have to do with the logic board issue), as well as "bracket top case front"(?) due to some faulty wiring. At any rate, the fans seem to be working normally again, and I have had no problems with the new hardware that I can tell (though with the Mavericks update, the memory seems to be much busier). After all of this, I really think this was all an issue of overheating. A combined hardware and firmware issue I think.

No charge for the new repairs, under the 90 day warranty.

Best of luck!

I have a MacBook Pro
15-Inch Early 2011
Processor 2 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 384MB
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

I plugged my camera into the USB port and got a message that the USB ports were shut down to prevent damage. A red light would also sometimes come on inside the speaker/headphone jack. When that happens there is no sound. The other ports/outlets appear to be fine.

I took my product back to Apple and they had the nerve to claim that they had never heard of this problem. It is still brokern because I refused to pay US$350 for something that should not be broken in the first place. I have owned computers my entire life and NEVER experienced a USB port failure. I felt robbed and cheated. It ***** to feel that way about what was once my favorite company. Where is Eric Snowden when we really need him?

Class Action Filed Against Apple for the problems we are all having.

<Link Edited By Host>

We need Eric Snowden on corporate cases as well.

I have the same problem, Early 2011 Macbook pro with Logic board failure, what the ****? this machine is only 3 years old!!! i have a Windows Laptop as well that i bought in 2006 and is still running with no problems. I was a student at the time i bought my Macbook so i could not afford the AppleCare, you would think that buying such a expensive machine it would last you longer than only 3 years.

Apple! you guys need to do something, i have noticed that more and more people are having the same problem with their 2011 Macbook Pro's clearley there is a big problem!

It's not just EARLY 2011 models - I've a Late 2011 model, manufactured in February of 2012, and just had my logic board replaced because of a defective GPU. Luckily, I had AppleCare. But I've read of people having 3 or more logic board replacements.

I sure wish that I had waited for the mid-2012 models...

Clinton