2011 Macbook Pro Logic Board Failure

Today (Friday, October 6, 2017) I'm sitting looking at my late 2011 MacBook Pro's grey screen going nowhere. My MBP was part of the Apple recall and Apple did indeed repaired the problem for me at no charge about 2 years ago (about a month after my AppleCare extended protection expired). But yesterday it suddenly happened again. I'm grateful that this workhorse has proven as reliable as it has these past 6 years but this particular problem, as others have noted, is a profound design flaw in the MBP from the period and Apple should be replacing everyone's at no charge WHENEVER this flaw reappears.

I have a 13" and a 15" 2011 PBPros both now dead and seemingly beyond repair. Unfortunately I didn't get years and years of use- both of these had fairly light use in my home, no drops or spills and yet here I am with two $3,500 boat anchors. I was just getting ready to buy a new Mac Mini but after thinking things over I am going to buy a used, proven unit instead. Apple has always been overpriced but simplicity of operation and long life made it worth it-till now. I have an old MacBook, 1998 or so?, still works like a champ. Same for my old Grape iMac. And my 2009 Xserve. Why pay new prices when you never know if this will be another PBP? Better to buy one after it's been tested and proven! Apple should be showing themselves to be a class act and make good on their ****** rather than forcing users to join a class action.

I have a late 2011 Macbook Pro 15", a few years ago the graphics card failed and they replaced the logic board under the the replacement program. Last week it failed again and won't boot.

I took it in for testing and it is once again the graphics card which means the whole logic board needs to be replaced. I was quoted $567 to get it repaired and was encouraged to buy a new one because this would now be vintage. I was told I might get 2 years out of it if I repaired it, in a year they won't be supporting it and any new updates likely would not work on it.

Everything else works great so they really should extend the warranty on the logic board. It would be the right thing to do, socially and environmentally. What a waste! So frustrating!

btw, I looked into buying the part cheaper but the going rate seems to be around $400-500.

Arepoli, I am with you on this.

I had two 2011 15-inch mbp's.. My Wife's had THREE logic board swaps, I paid for the first one and the other three were covered under the "MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues". Finally Apple replaced hers with a new 2016. How lucky was I? It made it through the magic number three! Unfortunately my 2011 "only" failed two more times (original+2) prior to the end of the ~extension program~.. It waited a few months after the last board swap and then failed.

To the person asking how long I should expect my >$2300 laptop to work? I will tell you: as long as it SHOULD. And really, four years is a silly number. The bottom line is: it is failing due to a defective design. Ask Takata about those 15 year old airbags they had to replace.

Clearly the board is defective. Clearly Apple replaced defective (and failed) boards with defective boards. In the least, this is a blemish on the "world class" support Apple claims, more seriously, this could be considered fraud. In any case, this issue has not gone away and it would great if Apple would just do the right thing here and replace the computer with a non-defective one. I would be happy with a non-defective 2011 logic board replacement, I am not asking for a new computer (I would not say no to one either), heck, I would be happy to take a later model refurbished unit (post 2013) as well.

It is NOT unreasonable to expect our premium MacBook Pro to NOT be defective. This expectation is not something apologize for, it is fair and rational. All that said, every Apple support rep I have spoken with have been models of professionalism and they deserve credit for trying to make the best of a bad executive execution.

Grant Bennet-Alder, Csound1, and Idris Seabright.... why are you even contributing to this??? What are you doing here? The rest of us have a genuine grievance and here you 3 are acting as though you are some higher authority being condescending to anyone who has the same issue that this discussion is about. Why don't you go and start a little discussion amongst yourselves. And could you please explain to the rest of us who are "green" to these discussions, how you reach Level 9? And by the way... after serious pressure from affected consumers and threats of class action Apple eventually caved in and decided to replace faulty logic boards/graphics chips. But they only said they would replace models with serial numbers of their choosing despite many others who had exactly the same issue, including mine. Contributing to Apple feedback forums achieves nothing. Discussing it among people who are unhappy with what has gone on may just get certain people to start paying attention to the consumer and bring about change. And you can't tell me there is no hope of that as we have seen it does. Most of us want to continue to use Apple but if we can't with any confidence what choice do we have other than making the shift. I know it isn't one I would prefer to take.

andrewj44 wrote:

Discussing it among people who are unhappy with what has gone on may just get certain people to start paying attention to the consumer and bring about change. And you can't tell me there is no hope of that as we have seen it does.

Yes, I can tell you that Apple doesn't read here for suggestions. There have been circumstances in which Apple engineers who are working on a particular issue will check the forums to find people with that specific problem to gather more information. I can also tell you that leaving feedback and contacting Apple directly are both far more efficient ways of getting information to Apple.

My reasons for being here are my own.

Before I unplug from this banter, perhaps I can offer a deeper explanation as to why at least I am so determined to bring life back to my 2011 MBP. I love OS X but Apple continues to make hardware (and sometimes software) changes that seem to be moving toward a wider demographic as opposed to creative professionals.

The MBP 2011 is the perfect example. It was one of the last MacBook that offered a low-glare screen with a decent high-resolution option. That low-glare screen alone is why I'm so determined to get this thing going again. I also appreciate SD card slots and ports (although I admit I wish the 2011s had USB 3).

I have used new MBPs and while the Retina display is impressive, I cut TV news and other materials for a living and I can't stand the glossy displays and the collection of dongles required to simply archive on to a portable stick or tie into a gigabit ethernet. Often I work outside and it's next to impossible to see through reflections. I would gladly take an extra few mm of thickness and a few more grams of weight for these features (matte screen, more ports, etc.) to be offered as an option or on another model.

So, for me, as much as I feel a good notebook should last longer than 37 months plus another 34 months after a fatal repair that repeated, it isn't about the money as much as it's about the frustrating problem of not being able to buy a new computer anything like what this model offered. And that's what I wish Apple would distill from their customers. And yes, I have voiced this opinion through their business department and even a written paper letter. My biggest fear is if Apple continues to court casual users the MBP side of their business will eventually disappear.

The fact is that Apple produced and used a faulty component in the 2011 MBP. If you bought a new car and the manufacturer discovered a faulty part, they would issue a comprehensive recall - no matter how old the car was. Toyota just replaced the dashboard in our 2008 Sienna, although we weren't even aware of a problem with it.

This goes beyond normal wear. Apple admitted that the board was faulty, and then replaced as few of them as possible. My family has purchased 2 MacBooks, 1 iMac, 2 iPads and about 5 iPhones from Apple, but I will NEVER buy another overpriced p.o.s. from them again.

agnoulaka wrote:

hello

I experienced exactly the same issue this year with my macbook Pro early 2011

Apple refused to change the motherboard claiming that my product is vintage, even though they acknowledge that the motherboard of this model had a defect.

Did you came up with any solution yet?

Hopefully others will also have the same issue so Apple should change the policy about vintage models and reactivate this extended repair program

FWIW, wishing bad will to others isn't going to help you. How many years do you think an electronic device should last? I think in the industry six years would be considered a useful productive life for products prone to obsolescence due to technology. If a device lasts longer that is good but not planned for. Move on and get yourself a new computer. Keep up with technology and you won't have to worry about vintage or obsolete product support.

This thread is already 16 pages long and I posted a synopsis of what can be done in the various situations above, as did others. It depends on how crippled your machine has become and how much you are willing or able to fiddle with it. just read back through this thread and you will find explicit procedures.

As long as ALL the FAULTY logic boards still exists. I can't believe that would be too hard to do. C'mon everything anymore can be tracked and quantified anymore. There are SO MANY users with this model year and this problem, at least, it would run for 10 years (2021) at least.

Another option could be to actually fix the fault in the motherboard, due to some soldering or something, and give OR sell people a NON-FAULTY motherboard at a well discounted price.

There are many good options that Apple could come up with instead of just leaving loyal customers hanging. Don't be like PC manufacturers, people come to Apple because we believed there was HIGHER quality in the product and how they are built.

@Bob, there is no support you can provide in this, and Apple won't do anything anymore; The thread is useful to let the other victims know about the workarounds and warn the curious about how they'll be treated should things go wrong.

As I stated above, I lost 3 computers (but really 9-10 motherboards) to that design flaw; I have hours of talks with Apple on that topic, I have provided them code that exacerbates / demonstrates the cooling problem and I'm involved with various actions.
I wonder why you participate to this particular topic since you never mentioned losing a computer from that series.

Most of the discussions in the last pages have been quite a waste since essentially it's a few moderators not willing to let Apple's image get tarnished vs. people that have a legitimate issue and come here after a new failure, or to see if anything more will be done on the topic.

Telling them to move on is not helpful. We understand this is a user forum and we understand there is nothing you can do and we understand Apple is not giving sign they'll willingly do anything more; I also think most people also value the effort the mods do to try to keep the discussions polite and civil where people are frustrated; While the last part is useful, the rest is not. People need to explain their situation, at a time they're usually angry, before they accept the reality and start to look for solutions. This thread has solutions, but also a lot of useless back and forth that are created by mods with good intentions but no idea how frustrated people are and this is not helping.

Some Readers here and on other Venues have suggested that the graphics chips themselves may be part of the problem, and if you use such a repair program, you should ask for a NEW graphics chip to be Installed, not simply re-using the old chip.

Does that program routinely install a new graphics chip?

I seem to be with all 2011 users with overheating issues. I had this happen while under warranty was fixed but apparently fixed with another bad board which lasted long enough to get it past deadline 2016. Not ha

I have the 17" i7 processor late 2011 version of this MacBook pro. MY LOGIC BOARD WENT OUT 3X BEFORE THEY ENDED THIS PROGRAM. They fixed it about a year ago, then let me know it would be vintage after that. And it just fried again.

If I try to sell this **** thing for parts, I won't get squat for it. When I paid around $2,500 for this computer. This is innapropriate. I understand they can't keep fixing a known faulty part forever. But that's when they should have offered to replace these laptops WHEN THE ORIGINAL ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED.

Please let me know if anyone has found either an easy/cheap solution to fix this, or if Apple stands up for their customers.