Q: Early 2011 Macbook Pro 15' - Logic Board Failure
-
Mar 1, 2015 4:28 PMby Gnarlodious,Sounds like an honest mistake perpetrated by stupid geniuses. I took my Thunderbolt display in for a warrantee board replacement and they not only forgot to do it but messed up something else. I would take the MBP back and explain what they did wrong. Your serial number from the original sale will have all the specs associated with that unit.
-
Mar 10, 2015 12:39 PMby HaveOneOfEach7,My logic board went out on me twice, the first was covered under Applecare since it happened within the first few months of having it, the second happened a couple of years later. I was able to get a refund but now I am suspecting that when they replaced my logic board they put in the same model as the faulty ones. I have now noticed a white horizontal line that is in the lower right side and moves to the left 1/3 of the way in. If this logic board goes out I will not be covered again? Apple needs to recall all of these and replace with known good logic boards, this absolutely *****!
-
Mar 10, 2015 2:43 PMby spudnuty,OK there is now a recall on your model:
Apple Recall:
https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/
I'm sure one reason it took so long is that Apple had to remanufacture new boards w/o the original defect.
-
Mar 10, 2015 5:23 PMby spudnuty,"How do you know they remanufactured the boards?"
Perhaps I should have said "refurbished" since it doesn't appear to be an actual chip failure but an chip attachment problem like in the old iBooks. Re: BGA failure.
So I can't actually prove that but it's a deduction on my part based on past experience:
1) High failure rate of "new logic boards" installed pre recall. Probably left over from the original run.
2) Rumors via Apple Techs.
3) Recently dealt w/ Dell USFF GX-620s that had failures due to the "capacitor plague" that started in the 1990s. Purchased 36 "refurbished" mother boards off of eBay for $19 each. They had been refurbed in Scotland judging by the markings on the box.
Apple apparently did the same thing for the BGA problem, the "fish capacitor" problem and the same "capacitor plague" problem that everyone had. It was very easy to tell that those boards were refurbed because the "capacitor plague" caps had very distinctive markings on them. The "fish capacitor" caps smelled like fish and the BGA boards had a continuing high failure rates.
-
Mar 10, 2015 5:26 PMby Diane1349,Oh great a refurb. I hope not unless they finally get the solder or paste right. My laptop is on it's 4th logic board and each board has been identical to the last. I have no confidence that another one...a refurb, will last any longer than the others. But I will go for the fix anyway and how for the best. Thanks for the reply.
-
Mar 30, 2015 5:31 AMby Rubensingh,I got my MBP 17inch Early 2011 model fixed for free under the recent program launched by apple. I got an additional 90days warranty as well.
I got lucky with this program as i dumped my MBP in the storeroom for about 2yrs and started using a DELL Precision ( this one's a beast).
But now that i have my MBP in place after the logic board replaced, i went for a Yosemite upgrade and it was smooth. However, you don't get to make use of some new features like HANDOFF due to hardware restriction and also with the newage, there is an absence of USB3 on the same MBP.
I need some suggestions on the upgrade of MBP 17inch 2011 model.
1. Can we go for a 16gb memory upgrade ? ( apple says the max is 8gb for this model but some vendors do commit on 16gb)
2. Can we rely on the logic board for another 2-3yrs for not giving us the discrete graphics issue
3. How long is apple going to support this machine ?
Thanks for your help guys !
Cheers
-
Apr 10, 2015 5:52 AMby CoolCobra,I called Apple support. for my early 2011 macbook pro 15 bought in 2011. My applecare expired couple of years back.
I had replaced the harddisk to SSD and 8GB RAM and it was superfast but still with the video display isse.
They called me back and gave a case number and nearest repair center to go and replace the logical board.
Asked me to take a time machine backup which I already had anyway.
Got it replaced now in 7 working days for FREE.
The cost I would need to pay if it wasn't free would be whopping £750.
Great Apple!!! But I did have to put up with it for a couple of years.
-
May 7, 2015 9:43 PMby Wayne Marx,My 2011 15" MacBook Pro just had the graphics problem, had the logic board replaced under the replacement program, and the replacement lasted for one whole day before displaying the same symptom. I have lost a lot of faith in Apple's ability to manufacture quality computer hardware after this as well as failed Mac Pros x 2 and a Mac mini, (both within 1 or 2 years of AppleCare expiring). I'm guessing that's how you become a company that makes hundreds of billions of dollars profit..... Force the customer to upgrade every 3 years before the product fails.
i guess I'm the idiot for contributing to their success, having too much invested in the platform (OSX & IOS).
-
May 7, 2015 10:14 PMby Diane1349,Can you tell us, can anyone who has had the replacement done tell us, the name of the logic they put in? Go to About this Mac, System Report, and then graphics card. It would be helpful to know what they'[re actually swapping out. I'm on my 4th logic board and it was the same type put in all 4 times. I will have it replaced again under the replacement program and will be checking myself to see what they do. Just sort of would like to know before actually doing it.
