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Apple Begins Fixing MacBook Pro Issues
Hack Jandy writes "For those of you who bought one of the first generation Macbook Pros, a new replacement may be in your future. Flickering LCDs, overheating and intermittent WiFi connections are all common place for many of these first generation machines, but apparently Apple is fixing the problem. The article claims 'According to Apple, it has begun replacing the mainboard inside its MacBook Pros with a new revision. It calls the updated product "revision D," which is identifiable by product serial number.' If you have a reservation at an Apple Store, they may even replace your MBP with a new one."
Sweet. Apple's warrenty and repair service has never managed to let me down. Most other companies would state that the problem is in the users head, and save themselves $$$ by ignoring the issue.
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they may even replace your MBP with a new one. ;)
That's nice, what do I have to do to get them to replace my 3 year old iBook with a new Mac Book Pro? That's infinitely more interesting to me
Why do people even buy first generation products anymore? Why not just wait until the 2nd or 3rd generation when these problems are weeded out? This is commonplace among products nowadays (Apple not excluded)...
Hopefully this means that we'll get some sweet, sweet refurbished lovin from the Apple Store. I can't imagine that Apple will simply scrap the defective machines - or am I just not imagining hard enough?
How long will the repair take?
/bots are barely willing to part with their precious laptops while they sleep, much less for a week to get the mobo replaced.
I know some of the
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Beware first generation hardware, and if you decide to load the chamber and pull the trigger, get Applecare. I went through *three* iBook G3's before Apple replaced it with a shiny new iBook G4. Nice of them, but I would really rather have my 40 hours of lost productivity back.
There were two known cases of *prototype* 5200s with batteries manufactured by Sony "catching fire".
From then on, the 5200 had the reputation of the PowerBook that "caught fire", but there were no know or reported incidents.
I guess basically what I'm saying is this: you're lying, or trolling, or both. I kind of think you're trolling because you say it's "pretty embarrassing" to explain that. No it's not. It's not embarrassing at all. If your freaking laptop really did catch fire, it's not because of something you did. But since no consumer issues were logged for the PowerBook 5200 on this issue - and when verified, that is an *extremely serious issue* that requires action - I don't believe you.
Also, Apple has, over the years, maintained a fairly consistent number one position in initial quality, lack of need for repairs, and product support, according to Consumer Reports. This has been consistently maintained, and remains so to this day. Also, the iPod destroys your mass production argument.
Good troll, though. This could replace the "ok, so I'm sitting here and it's taking 17 minutes to copy a 4 meg file from my Power Mac G5" one!
Flicking LCDs, overheating and intermitting WiFi connections are all common place
If you people would stop flicking your LCD panels around they probably wouldn't break so often. They're quite delicate you know.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Not every company will (without hesitation) own up to its mistakes and be generous enough to offer repairs. Even good products can have problems early on. I have owned many laptops over the years and have found IBM Thinkpads and Apple iBooks/Powerbooks to be some of the best. I currently own a G4 iBook as well as an older Wallstreet Powerbook 233 MHz G3 (great for running Darwin). These only problems I have had with either machine have been the CD tray failing to eject once on the iBook (I am running Debian PPC Sarge) and a dead PRAM battery in the old Powerbook (to be expected due to its age). Both of these computers are running 24/7 except when I put the iBook to sleep to keep the disk parked when I transport it each day. Some of my other laptops I own, like my Dell Latitude and Armada have suffered from hinge problems, display problems, etc. I have taken apart the Latitude so many times to repair it that the screws are loose. I plan to buy a Macbook in the near future if I don't see any Intel-based iBooks soon. Even though iBooks require significant disassembly to replace things such as the HDD or logic board, I haven't had to do this. And if I ever do, it will be fun. I think we can expect the next generation of Macbooks to be very reliable. Even this generation should be suitable with the logic board revision applied.
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A stock copy of Windows XP won't install on my MacBook.
I have contacted Apple numerous times without any response.. what the hell kind of support is that?
I really hope they fix my issue or I am going to be a pissed off Apple customer.
..I was in the libraries basement working on a project, and the macbook pro kept making the intermittent "moo" sound. It was about 11 at night, and no one else was around, so it scared the crap out of me, it sounded like a distant ghost. I felt like an idiot after searching the whole library trying to find out what the noise was when it was right in front of me! I guess I need to make an appointment with the closest apple store to get a replacement.
Sig: I stole this sig.
I take it when you talk about repairs you're ignoring the software component of things. That was what undermined the company in the 1996-1999 timeframe. I doubt you'd try to seriously argue that OS8 and OS9 were quality products.
I hear what you're saying about the iPod, but I think I didn't state my point exactly the way I wanted to. Apple has problems once people catch up with it technically. In the late 90s this led to what I would characterize as "quality" issues with the software. Similarly, plenty of competitors are coming along with cheaper versions of the iPod that are basically the exact same thing. As that occurs, I predict Apple will implode. You could be right, but since it's a prediction neither of us really knows.
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Mine came on friday (UK) and luckily I checked the serial just now and it is REV D main board....
I've been using it on my lap already and didn't notice any issues, it doesn't get that hot.
This is by far the nicest laptop I've ever had, it's got teh snappy something bad and just feels fast.
And no mystery announcement April 1st... I'm very happy I decided to get one now.
The fact you don't remember the model number somewhat undercuts the authenticity of your story. I think I'd remember the model number of a computer that caught fire in class...
AFAIK there were only two incidents nationwide of the problem with the PB5300, and the same problem occurred with other makes of bleeding edge laptop at the time.
I guess you prefer a company that produces consistently sucky, unoriginal machines consistently over one that produces awesome machines with occasional exceptions. Heck a few bad products in twenty years is actually very good going. Indeed, it's a rare product that Apple produces that is critically acclaimed OR commercially successful (the new $99 leather iPod case being such a product).
I had a Powerbook 5300 and it sucked in many ways (mainly the hinge that held the screen up was wonky, as was the case with numerous other laptops I've owned or used), but it never caught fire.
smalldog.com and powermax.com are both decent, speaking from other people's experiences.
If anyone's interested, I just picked up a new 2GHz Macbook Pro yesterday, serial number starting with W8612.
I have the CPU whine, which is fixed by running MagicNoiseKiller. Not a problem at all, since I just set it as a startup item.
My screen is perfect, no flickering or dead pixels, really bright and vivid. Once MagicNoiseKiller has done its thing, this laptop is really pretty incredibly quiet - a lot better than the Toshiba P4 mode it's replacing.
I think the recent cries to the effect that Apple's build quality is slipping are pretty overrated - this laptop feels incredibly solid and well built. I'm a very happy Apple customer - to the point of chuckling madly.
You can use Apple itself for that. There are somewhat used machines at Apple's own online store - find the red "SAVE" ribbon in the lower right side of the page. I've ordered a Powerbook and an iPod from there - both times, I save a nice amount of money, and the products don't look used at all.
If you're looking for something actually older that'll cost far below new, you can always check macofalltrades.com.
I warned about getting 0 Revs but this is what I got...
This isn't just a "first rev" like so many Mac users seem to think. Honestly, Apple did a really smart thing by keeping the previous form factor: it effectively means that the new-architecture notebooks inherit a huge amount of engineering from their predecessors.
Actually, if you knew the majority of hardware problems with the initial G4 PowerBook were all related to the case (which had problems with it's hinges - which got stiff and cracked, the plastic border round the side which split apart due to stress from the hindges and weak points such as the audio port, the cable for the LCD panel which got streched leading to the displays breaking down, the rubber feet were always coming off and this lead to overheating and stability problems - and this is just a partial list), you'd understand why it's significant, and why the OP has an valid point.
Intel has been shipping fundementally the same motherboard for a few years, so this isn't exactly a brandnew system under the hood.
If it was a PowerPC-based Mac with internals done by PowerPC-partner then I'd wait. Seeming this is designed by Intel with way way more in debt experience making personal computers I wouldnt worry as much. The external casing is still basically a tried & tested Apple Albook so I wouldnt worry too much.
If you're a pro user with a need for native Adobe & Macromedia apps then I'd wait for the universal binaries that are expected late this year or 2008. By that time OS X 10.5 Leopard is expected to be out.
No everyone say to yourself Apple is just a companies not a God.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Your fanboyness is seriously clouding your judgement.
Huh? Where's the "fanboyness"?
Do some research and you will find that they have problems with almost every product they produce. This isn't unique to them. It's common.
Actually, I don't disagree with this at all. Considering I've been working with Apple products in varying capacities for over 22 years, I've seen *plenty* of problems, and publicly take Apple to task for various issues (e.g. 1, 2, 3, etc...and that's just from the last couple days.)
Apple products have problems, defects, and failures, like any other product.
The point I'm making is that they are no more perfect than anyone else so get over it. Overall they make good quality stuff but so do many other companies.
No, no one's "perfect". But Apple actually is better, statistically. By the measure of various consumer reporting organizations like Consumer reports, they are consistently (valid from a statistical standpoint) better than all other computer manufacturers in the categories of support, repairs, and quality in a quantifiable way. Someone's got to be the statistical best in these categories, and Apple is consistently it. Sorry to disappoint.
What of it? Is this guy not alowed to have a problem with his iBook without some fanboy flaming him?
Um, "a problem"? Catching on fire is "a problem"? No, it was a myth of epic proportions that never affected any shipped consumer units for which Apple suffered on its portable line for years afterward. See this post for numerous examples of proof of this.
Oh yeah, I forgot...clearly he must be a troll...
If the shoe fits...
To be fair, the laptops only caught fire because they got too close to the light that shines out of Steve Jobs' asshole.
So you're saying it's impossible I was one of those 100? I actually just checked it and found that the battery is clearly marked as a "Lithium Ion". So obviously mine didn't get recalled.
No. All of them got recalled. But whoever you bought it from obviously didn't return it.
I'm going to post pix of it online to prove it to you. Course, you'll then just say that I lit it on fire with a lighter just now. So really I can't win. Tell me if you want the pix and I'll post them.
No, if you have a LiIon 5300 that really caught on fire, you'd be the first truth in a decade-old myth, where no known adverse events involving battery fire were known to have ever happened in consumer hands, as you can see from the links I posted. I and many others would no doubt be interested in seeing them.
How about some real criticisms, like abandoning a whole set of customers who bought PPC-based machines right before the changeover. Jerks.
How would you have suggested the transition be made?
PowerPC Macs aren't any more obsolete than any other Mac is or ever has been. Support is eventually dropped for all older hardware in the current OS (for example, for PowerPC G3-based systems). Apple usually supports older hardware for an average of 6.5 years in the current OS, and there is no reason to believe that level of support will change, regardless of the processor contained in the hardware that supplants it.
Further, Mac OS X currently has an approximately two year lifecycle. Apple has announced that Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" will ship at the end of 2006 or early 2007 (thus, Macworld Expo San Francisco 2007 in January seems a likely target). Apple has also specifically stated that Leopard will support PowerPC. Therefore, just from the official information we know today, it can be inferred that Apple will support PowerPC hardware with the current OS until at least 2009. Also, Apple has provided security updates for the version of Mac OS X immediately previous to the current release since Mac OS X 10.0. Therefore, we can further infer that security updates will be available for Mac OS X running on PowerPC until at least 2011. However, it is likely that PowerPC support will continue beyond this, given Apple's history of legacy hardware support in its operating systems. The official statement from Apple is that PowerPC support will continue for "a long time".
Other vendors, such as Microsoft, will continue producing software natively for both platforms as well. For example, on January 10, 2006, Microsoft formally committed to continuting to produce Microsoft Office for Mac OS X on Intel and PowerPC platforms for a minimum of five years.
Tell that to the folks who, if they turned around 5 days after the intel announcement, tried to resell their brand new PPC macs on ebay, would have lost over 50% of their money.
So their machines suddenly became useless? Ingenious!
You Mac fiends are such stupid goons. Your justifications are wonderful but just don't hold water.
Except that they do. I just explained to you specifically why PowerPC Macs will still be fine in an enterprise/institutional/professional environment, exactly as they were before the Intel transition, for years to come.
Your response? "Stupid goons."
Please explain how a PowerPC-based Mac is any less useful, or how it will be less useful for a traditional 3-4 year replacement lifecycle because of the Intel transition.
How should they have done it? Announced it a long period in advance to allow people to make buy decisions with complete information. Don't just sideswipe people. That's exactly what they did with the 680x0->PPC switch. They did the same thing with the iPod Mini->iPod Nano changeover too. A lot of pissed off customers there.
LOL! Yeah, that would just help sales famously (especially among emotional, irrational types who think that ebay is the measure of the usefulness of a product they just bought)! Remind yourself to never run a business.
And before you go on some tangent about how "the products still work and they support them," a product is worth exactly as much as people will pay for it on a widely distributed site like ebay.
Um, wha?
The product is worth how much use you get out of it, not how much someone will pay for it on *ebay*. Jesus, please tell me you're not serious. Ebay is the LAST test of the usefulness of a product you just purchased.
When my product loses 50% of its value when it should have only lost 20%, that pisses me off, and I think they should pay me for the loss of value.
Well, first, it didn't "lose 50%", especially considering people were still buying, e.g., PowerBook G4s as long as they were available, and are still buying Power Mac G5s and Xserve G5s in the pipeline right now.
Second, why does a person have to sell it right away (other than the fact that they might be a moron)? Now I know your first post was a troll, because you're doing it again. Nothing dropped "50%" when it was only "20%" days prior. And it will still have the EXACT SAME USEFULNESS for its lifetime. Might it be worth slightly less at the END of its usage lifetime? Sure. But not considerably. A 4 year old laptop or desktop is worth a lot less than 50% of its original value, so your numbers are suspect to begin with.
Their products are beautiful and wonderful, but they never can get over that hump that other big companies surmount to being able to mass-produce a product while maintaining its greatness.
I was wondering why the iPod never really took off . . . That was a neat little music player. Such a shame.
Yes because I perform tech support, and they have the same problems on the week 12 MacBooks. They are NOT fixed, and it's totally bogus this story is going out widely across the net based on one random blog entry alone.
I've got a half a dozen 5200s, none of them have such problems.
Then again my 5200s are desktop all-in-ones.
You're thinking of the PowerBook 5300.
The only batteries that had problems were the Sony Li-Ion, which according to info at the time, caused two fires on the bench at Apple, but never caused a fire in any consumer machine.
And as it was a recall direct from Apple, I'm guessing you must have ignored it.
Yep, that would be embarrasing.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Obviously you didn't get a degree in economics. Just because something maintains its exact same usefulness doesn't mean that its value doesn't decline. Try telling the guy with the horse-and-buggy in 1910 how he's gonna get another 20 years out of that investment. Or my friend who was conned into buying 3 brand new Apple III computers by a salesman just before the Mac came out. Value is understood in relation to the marketplace, not the "usefulness" of the product.
So all you care about is the value of the product in the marketplace, not its usefulness to you, including its relative usefulness to newer products?
I love how you turn around and talk about how if Apple preannounced the changeover it would hurt the company. Well, so what? So, they chose to hurt their customers instead. Good work. You sound just like Gil Amelio when I heard him talk at the Apple annual meeting around 1996. I mean, you literally have him almost word-for-word here. That was exactly his reasoning on several decisions that crushed the company. "What matters is keeping customers in the dark long enough for us to ship the product." That really worked out well.
Except that is PRECISELY what Apple has been doing since Jobs returned in 1997. In Amelio's days, we'd get briefed on products for months before their introductions. We actually got roadmaps we could plan with. When Jobs came back, all that stopped. That's bad from our perspective, because if Apple wants to play in the enterprise space like it's been claiming it wants to, it needs to balance its need for product secrecy in the consumer sector with enterprise IT's need for roadmap and planning information.
But its product secrecy has made it *wildly successful* as a consumer company. It keeps competitors in the dark, business intelligence to a minimum, and yields millions of dollars in free advertising and magazine covers at every product introduction that it wouldn't otherwise get. It's been so incredibly and ridiculously successful with this secrecy strategy that it refuses to change even as its institutional customers press it to release routine planning information.
Would we liked to have heard about the Intel transition before it happened? Sure. But as a planner, I can't think of one actual strategic decision that would have changed for us. At all.
These are all reasons I think Apple will wilt again over the next 3-5 years. Time will tell.
Except for the fact that the reasons you gave are actually widely recognized to be some of the central reasons for its continued business success.
And, you are a fanboy. No question about it.
You are a troll. No question about it.
And I keep feeding you by continually responding. Congratulations. You win.
Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just, say, test it a bit more extensively before releasing it to the public?
So far as I know, there are no design defects with the product. The problems seem to be assembly. Flickering displays and intermittent network connections could be something as simple as lousy soldering, for example. (Disclaimer: I have no special knowledge and am speculating.)
Things like that only happen once you start mass production.
Is it just me, or are a lot more companies having recalls recently?
Anecdotally, I'd say yes. I'd lay the blame at outsourced manufacturing, cost-cutting, and tighter production schedules.
The US free market: two halves of a government-granted duopoly are free to set the market price.
No. It was a myth because no 5300 in consumer hands was ever known to have exhibited any fire problems. It was an occurrence in a laboratory setting with a Sony Lithium Ion battery. And I'm dismissing it as a myth because it was. People talked about the 5300 like it was the PowerBook that routinely caught on fire. Except that it was a problem with only Lithium Ion batteries, and only 100 units actually got into end-user hands, none of which were known to have exhibited the issue (no, really - no one has EVER recorded any fire issue in consumer hands with the 5300 (except one person here, today, coincidentally, claiming that he had one that caught on fire)).
And I do know that because my job for the past 11 years has been to be intimately familiar with all Apple products, problems, business issues, etc., from all perspectives, supporting one of the top three largest institutional Apple sites in the world. The 5300 issue was a myth, period. It was the thing everyone asked about when they were thinking of buying an Apple laptop. "Oh, is this the one that catches on fire?" And the store staff would explain to them, no, there was an overheating/fire incident with a Sony LiIon battery in a 5300 in Apple's testing lab, and all LiIon 5300's were recalled. Every battery after that was NiMH. So, yeah, it was true that a 5300 "caught on fire". A prototype, in a lab. Tens of thousands were shipped, all but 100 without LiIon batteries, and even those LiIon units were all recalled, with no issues reported to regulators (except for the one person here claiming that it happened to him and that he "never reported it").
So, that's why it's a "myth". Because it is. Someone else summed it up nicely here.
Also, I did ask him for proof, which he sidestepped by calling me a "stupid goon". I predict no such "proof" is forthcoming, but if it indeed exists, I told him I'd be more than interested in seeing it since it would be the first known actual 5300 fire incident in consumer hands, that conveniently was never reported to Apple or any regulatory or consumer agency, unearthed about a decade later.
And is it really worth going to the wall for this PowerBook? As I recall, they had so many defects that Apple offered to buy them all back from the users at one point.
Also, since the apocryphal story about the 5300, there's been many production models of laptops with battery fire problems -- Dells, Sonys, HPs. It's not as big of a story as it was at one time.
Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
Bought and set-up a 2.1GHz MacBookPro for a client. Managed to arrange things so I had the machine at home for three days as my little perk. Machine was great - best laptop I've ever used - but then on day3..... Dead Pixel!!
Couldn't believe it - it was right in the centre of the screen aswell. Had to give it back to the client and knew he was going to blame me for it as I knew he had no understanding of the dp concept. Got to his place and said there's some bad news, there's a dead pixel and proceeded, after his obvious shock and dissapointment had settled down a little, to fire it up to show him. A miracle occoured and the pixel was 100% working again. I just couldn't believe it.
I mean what happened there? Was I touched by the hand of Jobs?
2 weeks later the pixel is still fine . . .
Anyone ever had this on a screen before I really would like to know.....
spoonerize "magic trackpad"
A unit (ONE, 1, Uno) AT APPLE caught fire because the BATTERY MANUFACTURER (Hi Sony!) LIED about the specs of the Lithium Ion battery. ~1000 units had shipped to resellers and ~100 made it to customers, but Apple was able to get them ALL back. None of them caught fire except the lab unit.
http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/tidbits-295.htm l#lnk2
In short: 1)Apple's supplier was at fault, not Apple. 2)Apple caught the problem and acted immediately instead of waiting for consumers to discover the problem.
Seems like they did everything right, chief. Next time, troll harder.
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Hello Everybody!
Anybody else have the problem of the keys popping off after very minimal use? My return key came off and I can put it back but its loose and doesn't work propely.
-Andy
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Apple consistently ranks at or near the top for laptop quality, according to Consumer Reports.
Any little problem with their laptops is magnified because 1) Apple gets an inordinate amount of press, both good and bad 2) iBooks and Powerbooks outsell pretty much any other model of notebook out there.
It's true that Apple has a small percentage of the overall market, but they're pretty much as big as Dell or Gateway. I think they were 3rd last I checked. And they have fewer models than the other guys, so they sell more of the few models they do have.
Dell has like, fifty different laptops. If there's a problem with the Dell Latitude 43094.23B, you don't really hear much about it because it's only one of their many models. Apple only has one 15" MacBookPro. Thus the small problems are magnified.
Also remember that Apple uses the same manufacturers as the other guys. ASUS, Quanta, etc. I think a lot of people don't realize that. What, you think ASUS does a crappy job on their Mac contract but a vastly better job for Dell or Sony or whoever else they build for? That just doesn't make any sense.
I've used a variety of laptops over the years from Dell, Compaq, IBM and ASUS and they've all had little quirks at least as annoying as the ones that that the MacBook Pros apparently have.
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Having said that, I don't think Apple can slide much more into glitchy than they already are before it starts to hurt them. Microsoft, which has always been glitchy AND badly designed, may eventually get over the glitchy part, and people may get tired of overpaying for buggy products.
I'd place better odds on OS/2 coming back from the dead over MS getting over "the glitchy part" before Apple does.
Lesson:
Buying a first generation Apple product is, in effect paying for the privilige of owning one of their "ready for the public" prototypes.
Seriously, look back in time through all major Apple releases - especially those since the NeXT takeover.
If the "Celeron" brand makes you wince, "Celeron M" CPUs (based on the Pentium M architecture) have always been very good performers and an outstanding value. At launch, the new Celeron M CPUs will clock at 1.73GHz and 1.60GHz, have 1MB L2 cache, and 533MHz FSB.
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