I used to be one of those who extolled the virtues of Apple, speaking of how great the computers are, how they never crash or die… well… today I am one of those no-more.
I have had my MacBook Pro for just over a year, 14 months to be exact, and I didn’t get the extended warranty, as a student I just couldn’t afford an extra 400 dollars, (and they didn’t have the regular macbooks out then), big mistake, turns out Apple is the ONLY company where buying an extended warranty makes sense, (according to consumer reports). In that period of time, I have had the fans replaced once, a new battery installed, and the whole bottom case being replaced due to them failing. Today, I find out that the fans have gone for a second time, SIX months after the replacement fans are installed. After talking extensivly with Apple, there is nothing they can do, they don’t help you out at all, (even on a super expensive computer that is only 2 months out of warrenty, and has had numerous problems, and has a problem with eating fans!). For a computer that costs 3k, and a company that speaks about how durable/long there products last I am extremely disappointed with how the reality is, and how Apple has handled this.
Rant over
David
you are a rare one. i am in charge of maintaining a huge amount of computers here at school and we have close to 100 of them, not a single issue at all so far. i have never heard of anything like that with apple.
sorry about the luck.
Agreed. Way overrated. They have a well-known and well-documented battery issue which I’m just bumping up against. Lesser of 2 evils right now, I’m avoiding MS Vista like the plague. If OSX ran on Dells, Apple would be driven out of the computer hardware business within a year. Interesting factoid, the Macbook is one of, if not the most, toxic notebooks made containing some of the highest levels of dangerous chemicals of all brands.
Actually as big of a Mac fan as I am…I have had some MacBookPro and iPod issues as late.
My MacBookPro hard drive took a complete shit after six months. Mind you with most hard drive failures there are signs of impending failure but not with this particular HD. This just decided to up and quit. I went to an Apple Authorized Specialist for repair because I needed some files to be rebuilt and they told me they see this all the time. If you read the MacRumors Forums or AppleInsider you would see extensive issues with the MabBookPros especially the first generation and the variety of design flaws that David mentioned. Oh and my iPod Nano decided to take a complete shit around the same time as well.
I own iPhone, iPods, AppleTV, MacBookPro, 30" Cinema Displays, etc and I now have extended Apple Care for all of them because of the reliability of Apple products is so-so at best. I have decades of experience with Apple and even swore off of them for a while during the Presario days.
They are still better than PCs especially with the horrid Vista code.
I was an IT guy in my former life.
Try owning a Compaq as your next machine, you’ll get a solid 2-3 months out of it.
Funny you say that. My personal laptop is a 3 y/o Compaq I picked up for cheap at Bestbuy when my Dell crashed. So far, so good. Might upgrade the memory soon though.
We’ve had our Powerbook G4 since 2001, and it has not been gently used. The only real issues we’ve had with it involved its network card getting zapped in a freak lightning storm that did $8k total damage to the electronics in our house (glad it was covered by insurance since they had to replace the motherboard along with) and then a week ago it developed a crack along the side of the screen case.
It’s still functional for now, and hopefully the binder clip holding the crack together will keep things going until January. (car will be paid off then, so we’ll have extra $$ for a new computer)
Every manufacturers will have thier share of lemons, but overall I’m happy with Mac’s reliability. Back when I was an IT grunt, we were averaging a 20% failure rate within the first month for the new Gateway desktops we were putting in the computer labs.
I’ve sworn off Compaq as I’ve had a crappy desktop and laptop, and I am now not a big fan of Apple with the weirdness I’ve encountered with my Ipods. My Mac G4 desktop seems to work fine, but I do not use it much. I am typing on my Toshiba laptop which has been excellent for fifteen months with lots of travel.
Huh. I love mine. It’s new, so I haven’t had any issues. There are also at least 150 of us with them here and I only know of 2 issues that have come up: one person’s screen died and another person dropped theirs off their coach and broke the screen. Any issues that I’ve had have been specific to the network and some updates that our IT dept deployed unsuccessfully (not anything really related to my machine).
I think if I were you, I might try to go make a big scene at the Apple store and see if they would swap you for a new machine. It sounds like you got a dud. 
oh, I’ve tried… no luck at all! they were quite apologetic, but nothing they could do… despite me telling them that its 14 freaking months old, and I’ve had so many issues its not funny!
You need to make a bigger scene then! 
Very sorry to hear of your problems with your Macbook Pro. My experience with my Macbood Pro, Mac’s, and Apple in general do not match yours. My Macbook Pro is just a little older than yours and has traveled extensively and still running strong. Got my first Mac in 1985–a 512K Mac and have been with them ever since. Even the best companies occasionally have a bad unit come off the assembly line. My circumstances allowed me to buy the extended warranty although I’ve not had to use it. Agree with Austin–go back and make a firmer politer and bigger stink. Talk to manager. Stress Apple’s short-term gain by not taking care of you with their potential to earn a lifetime customer if they will relent some on their stance. Also play up your student status too. Apple has great support for students as they are trying to ‘hook-em young.’ Which they are not going to do in your case if they continue to play it tough with you. Best of luck.
/r
Ok, first of all, sorry for your problems.
Second of all as an ex-apple employee, I am biased. Although, when I came to Apple, I had never touched a mac, had worked for Dell for a while and was very well trained in windows networking (MCSE).
Instantly, I “switched”. I have never owned a pc since and i dont think I ever will. (I could go on for hours why macs are better and all that crap, boring everyone with stories more experience on both platforms than anyone should ever have…)
BUUUUUUT - getting to your problem -
If this is the SAME problem you were having before - (the fans going out) IT IS STILL COVERED.
Now, word of advice about the Apple Store. They are nice, look great and ARE STAFFED BY WELL MEANING BUT SOMETIMES CLUELESS COLLEGE STUDENTS. It’s RETAIL. Sorry, I know you are a student (so was I once - and I didn’t know shit about anything then either)
SO - call 1-800-MY-APPLE select the option for macbook support - give them the serial number of the machine and I am sure they can take care of it. In fact - I know they can.
good luck
They have problems ,but their quality control is still better than others . Made in the Asian plants with the rest of the laptops , there are some models that are true lemons , while most seem perfect . My G4 power-book had power plug -supply …problems under warranty it was no charge - battery recall /shipping free .
I do crash less - best with music and photos - less running to the help or manual pages PC machines .
I use PCs at work , Macs at home … I still love the Mac OS and think Toshiba’s machines in the mid-price range as the toughest laptops built .
Yup - so far, so good on mine too (my first foray in Macs)! I use my laptop 8-10 hours/day in a different office/hospital/home and car every day (so it gets USED). Not one hiccup. I get a new laptop every 2 years though, and they do ALL have problems. I’ve killed a Sony Vaio, 1 toshiba (1 toshiba about 5 years old and not one issue?), I HP, 1 Acer, 1 Dell, 1 Fujitsu. Still have a few windows boxes at home for the kids and some at work - NOT going back personally (esp after the Vista mess - can’t believe how many lines of code must be in that mess of an OS).
I look at Apple products like Mercedes (my car of choice as well). Engineered better then most, but not necessarily built better (i.e. Honda/Totyota). But, like my laptops, I change cars every 2-3 years as well (not a good idea to keep a Mercedes or BMW past its warranty) and don’t mind paying for engineering.
First off, if you’re a student and was offered AppleCare for $400, there is a problem. You should have been getting it at about 200-250 for a MBP, through school or not. Typical education discount from Apple is 20%, but it does get even more discounted when it comes to AppleCare.
Second, if you had that many problems while under the original warranty, why didnt you get the extension before the year was up? You do have until the original 1 year warranty is up to get the 3-year AppleCare coverage.
With a laptop, if it goes in once AppleCare will pay for itself. Having a laptop services for anything but a keyboard replacement or battery is going to be about as much as the AppleCare extension, so it just makes sense.
If I pay 3k for a computer, I just think its ridiculus that its a necessity to pay for the optional insurance after… this thing should be designed/manufactured well enough to run for ATLEAST 2-3 years without anything failing, this isn’t software we’re talking about… this is a freaking fan… can’t be THAT hard to engineer one that will work for that long!
yes, retrospectivly I should have gotten the extended warrenty then, i realize that now… and i’m definatly paying for it!
“this isn’t software we’re talking about… this is a freaking fan… can’t be THAT hard to engineer one that will work for that long!”
I have had laptops of all brand act strange when used mobily , off a bed , blanket , outside , dusty public desks . Choking off the air inlets or feeding them dust will makes a fan work harder . But I never had a fan die on any of my laptops .
heli.