2011 Macbook Pro Logic Board Failure

My logic board has been replaced twice in my Early 2011 15" MBP and still running. I upgraded the drive to SSD years ago and it runs just about as fast as the newer ones on High Sierra. Trying to make it last a little bit longer by disabling the dedicated GPU. For existing users who prefer the 17" model there is really no other choice but to use the machine as long as possible. I also find it highly suspect when Apple decided to move the 2011 Macbook models into vintage status at the same time time as some of the 2009/2010 laptop models, I have a feeling they did this to end the "repair" program as soon as possible. I think Apple should provide a discount on newer machines for all the affected users since they won't even repair them anymore and even when they did they just put defective parts in them.

I have a late 2011 17” MBP. Last year it started half loading, restart, half load...over & over! It’s in a shop getting a new board now. (+ SuperDrive)

Apple blew me off so this fix is out of my pocket! @ almost $5000 for a garbage design this will be my last Apple computer.

Knew someone who had a Mac for years & years. When it finally became absolutely obsolete this person dedicated it to solely run the irrigation system and it did that for more years, sitting in an outdoor shed year-round. The word was...they just worked. Guess the Apple store ‘forgot’ to tell me when I went in to buy this one they had changed their plan & decided anything older than a box of breakfast cereal in my kitchen is gonna be considered ‘obsolete’...no matter how much they overcharge for it.

Be nice to figure a improved airflow mod & a good GPU replacement so this one would last as long as they did years ago! Poor little Apple can’t seem to find a guy who can handle that job even with the thousands of ticked off customers staring at their ewaste of money!

if anyone found a way to fix this, please please let me know!

There are multiple work-arounds already posted on this thread.

Read further and you will find them.

Apple's obligation under law is essentially to repair or replace, at their discretion, any parts found to be defective in materials or workmanship during the warranty period (which they then generously extended to four years from date of purchase).

You will NOT be receiving additional relief for this issue.

It is unrealistic to think that they would replace your computer with parts of a different design, or with a different computer.

Another option is OWC (Other World Computing) MacSales. They support new Macs and also sell "vintage" refurbished Mac laptops and all things Mac... components, etc. I've had very good luck with them over the years with all types of components including batteries, RAM, conventional hard drives, SSD's, specialty cables, HD enclosures, etc.

Since my MBPro17 failed, I too have had to buy Thunderbolt adapter cables for Firewire 800 drives, and ethernet connections so I could interface with an MBPro13 (2014) I'm forced to use at the moment in lieu of the failed MBPro17.

I too am averse to becoming a Windows user. I've been using Macs since 1985 and have purchased many Macs for both business and personal use. The ONLY new Mac Computer I'll consider in the future however, is a new Mac Pro desktop but only if Apple retains its modular design (component swap-ability) and multiple options for connectivity.

@Bob: your preference matters because you're proposing it as a solution, so it must stand scrutiny.

What you propose is, summarily: pay $3k so you have a machine that will do roughly the same as the one you already have.

Of course, "the one you already have" should read "the one you should already have but don't because it wasn't built properly and since Apple said it's old, their fault should be forgotten".

Additionally, no proof is presented that the new model will be more reliable than the old one either. There is already a keyboard recall and, personally, my 2017 already had the screen die suddenly. At least my 2010 and my two 2011 waited longer for their first failure.

So, the question should be asked as: should you spend $500 on repairing an old model which has a known flaw but has some known workarounds. Or should you spend $3000 on a new model which, for most users, will perform identically but has an unknown lifespan?

There are financial and technical pros and cons to both and it's worth debating.

I have the same issue with my 2011 Mac Pro laptop. since a few months ago suddenly it started having problems.

Yesterday the computer turned white, green with parallel lines, I did the safe mode reboot, reset the NVRAM, reset the SMC and all the troubleshooting things advised by apple people, finally I was able to open the computer and log in. normally and I thought the problem was fixed. Today, as I was opening safari, my computer turned pink with lines, then when I reboot it and open safari it started flickering and the screen got divided by a black line. I found in other place that apple had a program to repair the faulty logic board they put in this computers.

they are smart to open a program when the computers would be still functioning good and close the program when the logic board would start to fail for everyone. I am very upset about this, and I we need to send this complain to any news outlet to unmasked this dishonest practice by apple. I should not have to pay to repair or replace a part that apple knew was faulty from the beginning.

The discussion is about a specific model that has a flaw and we're demanding a solution.

Have you considered using the legal system to assist you in finding one?

There is lots more information on this thread:

Re: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

.

BobTheFisherman wrote:

I agree that a computer's logic board should not fail in 2 or 3 years, but it happens.

It does happen and, as I wrote above, that's not really the issue.

The arrogance of Apple denying the problem at the beginning, the insulting twist of calling the lawsuit mandated fixes 'a quality program' followed by the shady practice of then re-issuing boards patched in a way that they will fail, again is the problem.

The heart of this issue is not a faulty piece of hardware, but the disastrous choices made by a company that can never acknowledges when they made a mistake.

Do you remember when the iPhone 4 had a bad signal and Apple told gave an explanation that amounted to users the phone wrong ? it's exactly the same kind of bratty arrogance.

If you don't remember that episode, google it ("iphone holding phone wrong", 18.2 million links)

I have the old anti glare hi res screen on mine too and it still looks great and gives true colours greys and whites. I bought a mid 2014 Macbook Pro the other day as I know it's only a matter of time that my second logic board replacement will die. The Retina screens are awful on the 2014 model. From what I can see on various threads online the 2013 models are the same. A horrible yellow green cast on them. I was horrified when I saw it. Got the screen replaced under warranty and the brand new screen was exactly the same. Without wanting to be dramatic here... it is seriously deflating knowing I soon wont be able to use my 2011 MBP. It still works beautifully and runs all the Mac OS . This "vintage" policy is ridiculous. As a photographer I need a properly calibrated screen on my laptop. I travel alot and I can''t carry around a monitor. I'm going to try and calibrate it with Spyder in a couple of days. If it still looks bad then it is getting sold. After 20 years of Mac I will grit my teeth and move to Windows. Extremely disappointed in this now shoddily run company.

I am currently experiencing the EXACT same issue with my early 2011 MacBook Pro. I have replaced the HDD that has failed with a great Samsung Pro SSD drive and upgraded the RAM and have also replaced the Optical drive, to now have the screen show grey after the Apple logo. I have tried every reset possible to no avail. I have an appointment at the Apple Store on Friday with the Genius Bar to look at it. It ***** to know that there is probably no recourse to getting it fixed now and I agree it does suck that you can upgrade or replace a lot of things to prolong the life of your laptop to have the logic board fail and not be able to replace it is crazy. I did get a long life out of my laptop and have had many nights of it cooking itself. I have also looked on eBay to even purchase a used one that is working just to be able to back up my hard drive and be able to get a new computer after paying off the wife's camera. The sad thing is that this laptop has really been a great computer aside from the heat issue. The new ones now no longer have optical drives and basically only have several USB 3 ports and are too thin to allow me to use the 1TB SSD Samsung I purchased. I guess my only other alternative is to buy a rack and use the hard drive as another backup. Oddly enough I had just purchased the Airport Time Capsule 3TB to back up the laptop and it failed before I could do so.

DZohan thank you for providing your detailed experience. I'm going to give this another try. I have two of these computers and both have failed twice under warranty. I switched my small business to Apple products in 2006. Since then I have purchased a combination of new and used Macs. Strangely, the six Macs I have purchased new (three iMacs and three Mac Book Pros) ALL have had serious hardware issues requiring multiple repairs and replacements. And three of these were video card related. (One iMac series had major video card issues. I had it repaired two times under warranty and then it failed again outside of warranty.)

I really admire the OS X operating system, but as elegant as their hardware looks, they have serious underlying issues that have cost me much time and money.

I don't agree. People were very angry the first time thse failed and that ultimately forced Apple into taking action and doing something about it, albeit unsatisfactorily. Protest works. It wakes people/organisations up and makes them realise that the way they are doing things are counterproductive to the future. I reckon most of us here want to continue using Apple computers but only if they remedy things. If they don't then I sense mass exodus. The alternatives out there are way better than they used to be.

andrewj44 wrote:

I don't agree. People were very angry the first time thse failed and that ultimately forced Apple into taking action and doing something about it, albeit unsatisfactorily. Protest works. It wakes people/organisations up and makes them realise that the way they are doing things are counterproductive to the future.

So this is a protest? Protesting might be in violation of the TOU. This is a user-to-user community. If you want to protest Apple please use the link I provided at the top of this thread. Once again, we can not help you, only Apple can.

Grant. Can I ask if you .... do you not think that the recall/replacement program should have entailed replacing the logic board, not with the same board with the same faulty GPU, but with a re-engineered board/GPU assembly that would go the distance. That is what they should have done. Car recalls are not always because of safety issues, there are a whole host of reasons and they do it, to rectify it so the problem doesn't persist. They don't recall them just so they can replace whatever needs to be replaced with the same faulty part.

I don't know what your family was using your laptop for but there are users who buy Mac's either because they consider them a fashion statement, for office use and web browsing, because they prefer the operating system, or because they use it purely for their INCOME and require a laptop with processing power for movie and photo editing etc. It's an investment. These owners have lost valuable time /money because of this problem. It might be easier to "get over it and move on" if money isn't an issue, but if money is an issue it doesn't leave a nice taste in the mouth.