Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Apple Macbook Pro: 3 failures in < 4 months of ownership

I got a 2016 Macbook Pro non-Touch Bar back in January of 2016.  I have now had 3 failures in less than 4 months of ownership.
  • RAM failure which caused the machine to constantly shutdown.  System board replaced.
  • 'x' key stopped working.  Key fixed.
  • Scrolling intermittently stops working on the touchpad.  Currently in for repair.
Each repair results in about 5 days of lost service--make an appointment at the store, take it in, have it shipped for repair, and have it shipped back--not to mention the inconvenience of needing to perform a backup, and erasing sensitive data before taking the machine in.

The cost of each repair without warranty would be a whopping $475.  Fortunately the machine is still under warranty.

And I really don't like having to give out my machine's password which can be viewed in the clear by Apple employees.  They need to figure out a better way to service machines that does not involve the user giving out their password.

Update:

After I got the machine back following the 3rd repair, the machine would make a "popping" sound when opening and closing the lid.  I took it back to the Apple store and this time I asked for a replacement.  They ended up giving me an upgraded machine in exchange--a max'ed out 13" Touch Bar Macbook Pro.  I've had some graphic glitches with the machine when waking it up, but after a couple of software updates, it seems to be working OK.

Update 2:

I discovered a cosmetic defect on the Touch Bar model and so I ended up returning that and ordering a 2017 non-Touch Bar model.  The 2017 model has worked out OK so far.

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