2014 MBP 13" wires for wifi antenna not connected

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Level 1

8 points

2014 MBP 13" wires for wifi antenna not connected

Hi

I had been having issues with the range of my wifi and brought it in to have it checked out. The repair tech advised that when I removed the optical drive in 2014 and replaced with a SSD I had "ripped out" the 3 wires for the wifi that go into the plastic cover of the hinge area. I asked to see the wires and upon inspection all 3 wires were in perfect shape, not frayed and still properly twisted with no signs of being "ripped out", I work with wiring in the auto industry and am familiar with types of damage to wires. I questioned the techs diagnosis and the manager has sided with the tech.

The wifi has worked fine up until approx 6 months ago when range started getting shorter until approx 2 months ago I could only connect with 20 ft of the router and outside this range I was unable to connect - it was either full bars or nothing. My stance is the wires were never properly connected and have slowly worked their way loose and this is a manufacturing issue that should be covered under apple care but they will not budge. If the wires were "ripped out" it would have been an immediate and catastrophic failure not something that happened 2.5 yrs later. I do need the machine for work so agreed to the repair and asked for the faulty part to be returned only to be told apple does not return any parts, so I am unable to have the part checked to see if it is faulty. Has anyone else had issues with the wires for their wifi being disconnected? Or should I just suck it up and move on.

Thanks in advance for your advice

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012)

Posted on Apr 7, 2017 2:03 PM

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Answer 1

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Apr 7, 2017 2:10 PM in response to northguy19

Hi,

Unfortunately, Apple has given their verdict. You don't have any choice but to move on unless you can convince someone higher up at Apple to pay for the repair 9 (highly doubtful): https://support.apple.com/contact

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Answer 2

Apr 7, 2017 3:17 PM in response to northguy19

If you do wiring, and the wires do not appear to be damaged, the only challenge for you is that the connectors clips at the Wi-Fi card are almost microscopic. A bright light, a good magnifier, and the appropriate amount of patience and you should have them back together yourself in short order.

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Answer 3

northguy19 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2017 3:36 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks grant, thought about that after I was back at home doing some searching on it but I had already given the OK to replace it so to late now. That is part of the reason why I wanted the damaged part returned to myself - if it was proven to have been damaged by myself I could play around with it and see if I could fix it.

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Answer 4

Apr 7, 2017 3:41 PM in response to northguy19

The wires are subject to chafing as they pass through the hinge area, so if they replace the wires, that will give you some extra life in that Mac.

The repair is just that -- they promise to "make it go" and stand by the repair for a while, but they will not give you back any parts replaced.

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Answer 5

northguy19 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2017 3:47 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The repair entails replacing the entire display at a cost of approx $400. There is no such thing as a repair with apple or anyone for that matter these days lol they just replace parts. That is why I wanted the entire display would be fun to experiment with it

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Answer 6

northguy19 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2017 2:12 PM in response to tjk

Ya I am getting that sinking feeling that I really have no other option 😟

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