Hardware issues with Mid 2010 MacBook Pro

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Hardware issues with Mid 2010 MacBook Pro

The computer in question is a Mid 2010 15" Macbook pro running 10.10.4

I'm having an issue with what I am assuming is coming from over heating, but the problem still happens when the computer is not extremely warm.

1)The main thing being when I am transferring a lot of data over my wireless network, my WiFi card stops working and only shows 'Turn Wifi ON/ Turn WiFi OFF'

After a restart it shows that there is no Wifi hardware installed. After a shutdown from there it will comeback. I thought it was a drop box issue, and after uninstalling that, the problem seemed to go away for a bit.

2) When I am running a graphics heavy application (live video mixing and video playback) the computer will freeze except for the mouse movement. No clicks. I have to hold power button to shutdown and bootblack up. It will also freeze occasionally if I resize a browser window that has a pdf, and randomly on youtube or other online video window.

****These are the newest within the last three days ****

3) When I close the lid to put computer to sleep, the backlight for the keyboard will illuminate when I open the lid but the computer will not respond. Must do hard shutoff and boot back in. If I put the computer to sleep through apple menu first, it will wake after I open the lid.

4)The led light on the mag safe power adaptor isn't always correct. It'll be orange when it is not charging the battery (heavy video use) it'll be green when it is charging (at 60% and turn orange again until 99% then green when fully charged) or sometimes does not come on at all until I wiggle the magsafe.

I have reset NVRAM and the SMC, but nothing has fixed it yet.

I know Apple was offering a trade in option for certain macbook pros that were overheating, but mine did not match the recall models.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 7, 2015 7:52 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Aug 7, 2015 9:05 AM in response to kumakharma

You have the MacBookPro6,2—the Edsel of Macs. It may have the logic-board defect that was covered by a recall program that has now ended.

Residents of the EU may be entitled to warranty service for up to six years after purchase.

Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider, to have the machine tested. The routine hardware diagnostics used by service providers do not detect the fault. There is a specific test for this issue that Apple calls "VST" (for "Video Switching Test.") Ask for it. A "Failed" result means that the fault is present.

You may be quoted a price of about $350 (in the U.S.) for a "depot repair," which involves shipping the unit to a central repair facility and takes about two weeks. For that flat fee, anything found wrong with it should be fixed, not just the logic board.

Sometimes the replacement part is also defective, so be prepared for that possibility. If you decide to pay for a new logic board, test thoroughly during the 90-day warranty period on the repair. Some owners have reported that they went through as many as three replacement boards before getting one that worked.

If you don't want to pay for the repair, you may (or may not) be able to work around the problem by disabling automatic graphics switching. To use the discrete graphics processor, you'll need a third-party utility to switch to it manually.

Often the problems start after an OS upgrade. If the upgrade was recent, and you have backups, then you can revert to a previous OS X version.

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