Q: Early 2011 Macbook Pro 15' - Logic Board Failure

Only repairs performed by Apple or an AASP will be reimbursed, according to your link. There is no mention of 3rd party repairs.

Correct.  You must take it in or send it to Apple.  No complaints here!  On my 4th board....they just better not be putting the same crappy board back in and calling it good.  Probably not since they are reimbursing.

To everyone else who wrote Apple and made effort so that Apple was very aware of this issue, THANK YOU.

To Apple for responding to this issue, THANK YOU. This is why I have historically paid the premium for Apple products and why I will continue to in the future. THANK YOU.

I couldn't agree with you more!  As a family we have 3 computers down with this issue.  To get them all back up and running normally is a huge plus even thought it took a long time for Apple to acknowledge the problem.

Help is on the way!

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Hey nice! I just got a direct-deposit refund plus interest! Thanks Apple, you restore my faith in capitalism!

Contacted apple about the logic board replacement refund - talked to a senior customer support personnel at apple care. They will only refund ONE logic board replacement. I had the second one replaced 6 months after (same video issue) and they refused to refund the second one (done Jan 2015). Anyone get a refund for more than one logic board?

Instead of going to an Apple Store I went to an authorized Apple Repair Center, they hooked my early 2011 MBP and ran the test to check on the logic board. My MBP showed a defected logic board in about a minute. The repair center was able to replace the logic board and give it back to me in only one day! There wasn't a cost to me since Apple published this...  http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/   This covers MBP's from early 2011 to early 2013. Since Apple just put this out on 2/20/2015 it seems a lot of people aren't aware of it. Pull up this web page and print it out and take it to you to an Apple Store of Authorized Apple Repair Center to show them if by chance they aren't aware of it yet. What do you have to lose besides the cost of a new logic board from your hard earned money?

It seems that most of the people on here are complaining about multiple logic board failures! Apple might think that acknowledging an issue and offering "one" credited repair would be good PR. They don't even credit their own customer base with being a little more discerning than the general masses and the reason they bought an Apple computer is that they were buying into an ASSUMED RELIABLE product with stability incorporated. The one time replacement is like giving a cookie to a child with a scrapped kneecap, your distracted for a minute, but soon realize you're still hurting! They are replacing an inferior component with an identical inferior component. We need a real legal accountability, isn't selling fake Gucci bags illegal?

We don't know yet if Apple changed anything or not. They could have changed something subtle like the contents of the solder materials, started using a better quality (and more evenly applied) thermal paste, and such a change like that could potentially make a huge difference. Thus far, my machine is running cooler...there are tons of possible explanations for why this is, ranging from Apple cleaned dust out of the fans, to Apple further throttled the GPU, to a better thermal paste, etc.

And I agree with you that we do buy MacBook Pros for extreme reliability based on the name Apple has developed, and the issue with the 2011 15 & 17 inch MBP's with the AMD GPU is extremely disappointing. However, Apple does not currently have any legal liability or responsibility at this point in time. If the computer failed outside of the warranty period, quite often a maker is not responsible...even if a part in it did not meet normally better quality standards given the part itself did not fail within the period the computer was warrantied for.

Whether Apple is doing this to try to end the lawsuits, due to PR, due to their own disappointment with the problem of this design, or because they realize that eating repair costs here is probably a drop in the bucket compared to all the future business Apple will lose if they kept the hush-hush going, I do not know. Maybe more than one of the above, or a completely different reason. But as of now, it is a good will repair.

I also don't think it's completely out of the question that Apple may later change policy and reimburse the people who have had to replace the logic board more than once. Each day we are seeing that the scope of this problem is far more widespread than most people ever would have guessed. And there are still a lot of people that have working 2011 MBPs, many of which will have these same issues sometime in the near future, and the scope of just how widespread the problem is becoming even more well-known.

For those who have had to replace multiple logic boards out of pocket, it can't hurt to write a letter to someone high up in Apple's customer care to first address appreciation for Apple offering this extended repair program, but then also explain their own story and how much money this issue has cost them in total.

Hi, I'm from Brazil and I think my problem is the same.

Here a MacBook Pro 17" early 2011 is 2 times more expansive (for this reason my Oncle bought mine in USA). So I was thinking to ask for someone to buy in USA a new motherboard and I was going to find someone here to fix it.

New Mac Book Pro 17" in Brazil = R$ 11.699,00 (= $4096,29) http://store.apple.com/br/buy-mac/macbook-pro

New Mac Book Pro 17" in USA = $1,999.00 http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro

But thanks for the link http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/ I will TRY to fix it at an authorized Apple Repair Center .

I also want to buy a new Top Case with Keyboard,US (661-6076), a SCV, Battery, Lithion (661-5844), and a Mackbook prod food kit, sigle pack(076-1398) but here is also too expansive. That's because my notebook fell to the ground but continued working.

Someone knows where to buy this stuff in very good conditions, almost like a new one, or is it better to buy brand new and where?

Thanks a lot

Dozech

We don't know yet if Apple changed anything or not. They could have changed something subtle like the contents of the solder materials, started using a better quality (and more evenly applied) thermal paste, and such a change like that could potentially make a huge difference. Thus far, my machine is running cooler...there are tons of possible explanations for why this is, ranging from Apple cleaned dust out of the fans, to Apple further throttled the GPU, to a better thermal paste, etc.

In an earlier post of mine*, you can see the thermal paste on the replacement boards. It certainly looks pretty shabby. I replaced it. Now, GPU temperatures hover around 80-83°C under heavy load.

I would really like to know if these boards are like the original boards or if they are different.

* cannot find it, sorry

Interesting.  My display failed recently on my late 2013 MBP w/Retina display.  Apple Store stated the logic board would have to be replaced.  Backing it up and dropping it off shortly.

I got mine fixed under the repair program and I am not happy.   I brought in a 2.4ghz computer with a Radeon 6770 and they gave me back my computer with a 2.0 ghz CPU and a Radeon 6490. Now I don't have the logic board they removed to prove what I had in the first place.  If this is how Apple is fixing these Macs then that is pretty underhanded. 

I guess it depends on what store you take it to.  I had the exact opposite experience.  My early 2011 MB Pro was custom ordered with the 2.2 GHz board.  I had to wait a week for them to get it, but was replaced with a 2.2 and so far everything is back to normal.  Also called Applecare and they are refunding the 310.00 that I paid for the service because of the extension of the program.