MacBook Pro Diary: A Third Failure
Ben Lovejoy (tweet):
My immediate reaction was frustration at the fact that it appeared nobody had carried out a real-life test of the machine. The records showed that it had been put through all the automated tests, and had passed all of them. It also showed that a ‘functional test’ had been performed. This is what is supposed to be a real-life test: starting up and then running some software to ensure that trackpad, keyboard, microphone, speakers, and so on, were all working.
However, what hadn’t been done was to startup or wake the machine on battery, as that’s what resulted in an instant shutdown when the machine was brought in and still resulted in an instant shutdown when I tested it on collection.
[…]
A third failure in a three-year-old machine. Put another way, the MacBook Pro has three modular components, and two of them have failed. Additionally, the keyboard is liable to do so again as it’s been replaced with an identical one which has the same inherent design flaw.
[…]
I am considering fairly radical action in response: taking the advice of one reader […] to always buy AppleCare, then replace the machine every three years so it’s always under warranty.
Practically speaking, I can see why that might make sense. But it’s a bad signal to send: make unreliable hardware, and we’ll respond by subscribing to it.
Previously:
- Apple Stops Staingate Repairs After 4 Years
- Where to Get Apple Products Repaired
- An Apple Support Experience
3 Comments RSS · Twitter
Exactly. Apple's laptops made since 2015 are all defective by design and it is incumbent on Apple to provide a definitive fix, or recall them. That's why I haven't bought a new Mac since 2015, versus one HP, one LG and one ThinkPad, and I am working on my migration to Linux, albeit slowly.
In Australia, the statutory warranty for repair, replace or refund at no expense to the customer, on Apple laptops is ~3-4 years. iPhones also have multiyear statutory warranty protections.
This is based on price, and reasonably expected longevity for any durable good of that price. Applecare here is effectively just accidental damage insurance.
