Screw Apple! A faulty screw that Apple refuses to cover under warranty.
I have been extremely frustrated and disappointed. Such a shame Apple is afraid of taking the responsibility for their faulty product.
Let me cut the long story short.
I found one damaged screw in my Unibody Macbook Pro when I was replacing the RAM. Then I went to apple asking for a replacement. Two Genius there examined it and concluded that it must be accidentally damaged, stating that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be a manufacturing fault. They told me the screw hole was also forced damaged and it won't be free to repair unless receiving the authorization of AppleCare.
I called AppleCare and submitted photos of the screw in an email (as showed below). Yesterday I received a call from them, telling me that they admitted it as a faulty product due to manufacturing. Glad as thought the problem solved, I went to the local apple store and asked for a free repair.
Guess what? The staffs at the store told me that the judgment of the genius in store is higher ranked than those at AppleCare. And they still insisted it was an accidental damage, and refused to repair it after consulting the manager.
I was so frustrated, but it seems there is nothing I can do about it. To repair it out of warranty is another offense against my pride and the fact that the screw is DOA. I have been an royal apple customer since 2003, but losing my trust bit by bit recently. The iMac I bought in 2007 has its screen flickering once the backlight turned down and they didn't fix it after I sent to repair. And later a suddenly dead wireless keyboard that would cost more to repair than to buy a new one. Now this screw. Unforgivable.
Here are some Photos and comments that I sent to AppleCare:
"DSC09981-DSC09983 are photos from different angels of the screw (DSC09985 shows the corresponding screw hole in the red circle). That's what is called "threaded" in the case report . They (the staff at Apple store cambridge) said they had never seen such a screw and presumed damages must take place after my purchase. I can't argue with such logic, but luckily I found some hard evidence."
DSC09981

DSC09982

DSC09983

DSC09985

"First of all, consumers have no incentive to deliberately damage something as a single screw and then ask for repair. So the only possible case is when the consumer does such stupid thing by accident, which I assume what the staff I saw today thought. Now I prove it can't be an accident."
"I examined the faulty screw very carefully. Take a look at DSC09986-DSC09990. The head of the screw was polished and rounded. "
DSC09986 (All screws from the back of the MBP. The faulty screw is the one to the right in the upper row.)

DSC09987

DSC09988

DSC09989

DSC09990

"Compared side by side to the other normal screw which has a cone shaped head (DSC09988 and DSC09988), the difference is obvious. Now do you think I will 'accidently flatten the head and polish, leaving a edge encircling it?' Honestly I don't know how to do it even if someone asks me to do it. It hence clearly shows the nature of this faulty screw."
Let me cut the long story short.
I found one damaged screw in my Unibody Macbook Pro when I was replacing the RAM. Then I went to apple asking for a replacement. Two Genius there examined it and concluded that it must be accidentally damaged, stating that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be a manufacturing fault. They told me the screw hole was also forced damaged and it won't be free to repair unless receiving the authorization of AppleCare.
I called AppleCare and submitted photos of the screw in an email (as showed below). Yesterday I received a call from them, telling me that they admitted it as a faulty product due to manufacturing. Glad as thought the problem solved, I went to the local apple store and asked for a free repair.
Guess what? The staffs at the store told me that the judgment of the genius in store is higher ranked than those at AppleCare. And they still insisted it was an accidental damage, and refused to repair it after consulting the manager.
I was so frustrated, but it seems there is nothing I can do about it. To repair it out of warranty is another offense against my pride and the fact that the screw is DOA. I have been an royal apple customer since 2003, but losing my trust bit by bit recently. The iMac I bought in 2007 has its screen flickering once the backlight turned down and they didn't fix it after I sent to repair. And later a suddenly dead wireless keyboard that would cost more to repair than to buy a new one. Now this screw. Unforgivable.
Here are some Photos and comments that I sent to AppleCare:
"DSC09981-DSC09983 are photos from different angels of the screw (DSC09985 shows the corresponding screw hole in the red circle). That's what is called "threaded" in the case report . They (the staff at Apple store cambridge) said they had never seen such a screw and presumed damages must take place after my purchase. I can't argue with such logic, but luckily I found some hard evidence."
DSC09981

DSC09982

DSC09983

DSC09985

"First of all, consumers have no incentive to deliberately damage something as a single screw and then ask for repair. So the only possible case is when the consumer does such stupid thing by accident, which I assume what the staff I saw today thought. Now I prove it can't be an accident."
"I examined the faulty screw very carefully. Take a look at DSC09986-DSC09990. The head of the screw was polished and rounded. "
DSC09986 (All screws from the back of the MBP. The faulty screw is the one to the right in the upper row.)

DSC09987

DSC09988

DSC09989

DSC09990

"Compared side by side to the other normal screw which has a cone shaped head (DSC09988 and DSC09988), the difference is obvious. Now do you think I will 'accidently flatten the head and polish, leaving a edge encircling it?' Honestly I don't know how to do it even if someone asks me to do it. It hence clearly shows the nature of this faulty screw."
Comments
What was the extent of the damage caused though? I presume this is a screw that holds the bottom of the MBP on and after removing it, it now won't go back in properly leaving the bottom cover held insecurely?
Do any of the other screws work in that hole or is the hole itself damaged? I can understand their point that despite the manufacturing fault, if you had tried to tighten it too hard, that's what caused the damage to the hole. It probably wouldn't have happened had the screw been ok to begin with but I can see where they are coming from.
If nothing comes of it, to save having to get a new casing or whatever, what you can do is try to put a piece of plastic in the hole - like a rawplug and screw something into that to hold the cover in place.
What was the extent of the damage caused though? I presume this is a screw that holds the bottom of the MBP on and after removing it, it now won't go back in properly leaving the bottom cover held insecurely?
Yes your presumption is right. Once I opened it and found the faulty screw, it doesn't fit properly any more and keep falling off.
Do any of the other screws work in that hole or is the hole itself damaged?
No, not any more.
I can understand their point that despite the manufacturing fault, if you had tried to tighten it too hard, that's what caused the damage to the hole. It probably wouldn't have happened had the screw been ok to begin with but I can see where they are coming from.
I agree with you. However, as you said, it should have been avoided if I was informed that the screw was not fitting in the first place. And Apple does allow consumers to change the RAM.
If nothing comes of it, to save having to get a new casing or whatever, what you can do is try to put a piece of plastic in the hole - like a rawplug and screw something into that to hold the cover in place.
Thanks for your advice mate. I will try this as my last resort. However, it is really frustrating to have a new computer in such a situation. And apparently I shouldn't be the one to blame here. Any opinion what I should do next?
Thanks for your advice mate. I will try this as my last resort. However, it is really frustrating to have a new computer in such a situation. And apparently I shouldn't be the one to blame here. Any opinion what I should do next?
If you go down the route of trying to get a warranty repair, you could try another Apple Store if you can find one near enough. Given that they'd have to replace the top cover, it could take a few days and they will all likely try to avoid the repair as it's the moulded part of the case so is probably a bit more expensive.
If you try the repair, a couple of things you can check are screw hole repair kits like this if you can get hold of one:
http://www.bicsuperstore.com/Mr.-Gri...B001B38ALG.htm
or maybe even put a small amount of silicon into the hole so that it sets into a rubber block and screw into it. It looks like a tight fit though so use very little materials in the hole and you might have to use one of the pointed screws.
If you can, I'd probably try and get hold of a proper screw before doing this but it will probably be hard to find.
If you go down the route of trying to get a warranty repair, you could try another Apple Store if you can find one near enough. Given that they'd have to replace the top cover, it could take a few days and they will all likely try to avoid the repair as it's the moulded part of the case so is probably a bit more expensive.
If you try the repair, a couple of things you can check are screw hole repair kits like this if you can get hold of one:
http://www.bicsuperstore.com/Mr.-Gri...B001B38ALG.htm
or maybe even put a small amount of silicon into the hole so that it sets into a rubber block and screw into it. It looks like a tight fit though so use very little materials in the hole and you might have to use one of the pointed screws.
If you can, I'd probably try and get hold of a proper screw before doing this but it will probably be hard to find.
I will try the strategy. Thanks a lot!
Give it a try.
Write or email Steve and explain the problem. I complained to Jobs via email on one occasion and got exactly what I would expect from a legitimate complaint . . . complete satisfaction.
Give it a try.
Go into more detail about this.