Often Apple will do the repair for free if you take it to the Apple Store. I had a situation that my dog bit through the charging cable on an MBP charger. I went to the store to buy a replacement and was directed to one of the support staff. They gave me a new charger for free even though it was obvious this was not a technical issue. One of the things I love about Apple.
If the incident rate starts increasing it could be a manufacturing issue and Apple will issue a replacement program. My only criticism of Apple is that it take some time for them to get to that stage and people end up paying for repairs that later are done for free.
Well, that’s the thing. Honey catches more flies than vinegar. My 2013 iMac 27” 14,2 had the mechanism that holds the head up break. A spring apparently broke. It was years out of warranty and I took it my local Apple Store for repair. After politely asking if there was warranty program for the problem I was quoted a price of $175.00 for the repair. I did not fly into a rage, I did not stomp my feet and demand a supervisor, I did not make a scene and threaten to leave Apple, I did not insist the problem was a design or manufacturing flaw. Two days later I got the call that my iMac was ready for pickup. There was NO charge for the repair. I don’t why but I suspect it was simple customer appreciation.
I have read posts where the customer claimed Apple hung up on them. I was in customer service for Ma Bell early in my 20’s and the ONLY time we were allowed to hang up on a customer was abusive or profane language. As long as the customer remained rational and polite we were not allowed to hang up on them for any reason. We had to keep trying to satisfy them.
Nothing to do with "simple customer appreciation" whatsoever, it was covered under one of Apple's secret repair programs, because it was a design flaw. There are two plastic washers holding the spring in place, and eventually the plastic breaks due to the pressure. My iMac had exactly the same, the Apple authorised repair centre refused to fix it until I spoke to Apple, who told them to fix it because even the repair centre had no idea the program existed. There is only one reason they should keep such programs secret, and that's because they are hoping it's not widespread enough that people connect the dots and instead buy a new machine.
People break the rules sometimes, maybe that has happened with Apple customers, or maybe the customers were rude. Literally no way to verify either way, so attacking either for lying or hanging up is unreasonable.
Amazingly defensive comments here. Utterly weird. Almost a parody of what people think Apple users act like.
It's not like apple hasn't had screen issues before, and I have experienced that myself with a screen that just went dead. Apple fixed it out of warranty because it was their fault.
Isn't this a site for consumers? Apple isn't a political party, or a football team you always root for. Its a company that produces electronic devices and sometimes, because manufacturing is sometimes not perfect, things can go wrong. As consumers we should hope that Apple makes amends and fixes any issues as soon as possible. What I see here is sheepish fanboyism.
And before people who have been here a lot less time than I have start on he accusations of trolling, I have been here from 2003. I am posting on an M1 device, getting another one next week, and if I swivel around I can see my old intel MacBook Pro from 2018. There's about $5k worth of Apple devices in this room alone, with a HomePod and iPhone and AppleTV as well and more about the house. And I've been here since 2003, when the number of Mac Users in my country could fit into a hotel room,. Since my first Mac I have spent tens of thousands on Apple products.
But sometimes things go wrong, and sometimes Apple denies it. Grow up and accept that.
How can this be an Apple design issue when they are using the same hardware for enclosure snd screen as they’ve been for years now?
It doesn’t make sense
We have no way of knowing that every material, and manufacturing and assembly processes are the same? Sometimes there's simply a bad batch of a component, a new manufacturing line or tweaking, an assembly issue. Sometimes these are massive failures but most likely they are pretty minor. Batteries come to mind as one of the more likely major defects. Additionally, for all we know this is right in line or even better than any other Mac notebook over the years but some message board of complaints took hold for some reason or another to cause this to be an issue this week.
Let’s see, 50 people piling into an Apple Forum thread commiserating over the same issue. That must equal, what, thousands of defects? Millions even!!
Sound like 50 people commiserating over their own stupidity. Too bad the attorney(s) trolling those forums only see opportunity.
"Thousands of defects? Millions even!" -- that is the hyperbole they'll use with their goal to get as meany people to believe the product is defective and not to buy it. Their MO is based on Apple hate and/or looking for 15 minutes of YouTube fame. A quick search AI and other similar sites will show you that a vast number of Apple products are breaking, burning, bent and brazenly bad! It is the M.O. of these people. Get enough then maybe a lawyer/class action suit can be ginned up. These are very rarely won but their main goal is still usually achieved--15 minutes of fame.
It never tangibly effects sales of Apple, Apple isn't ever tangibly hurt at all. But it tangibly effects and harms us consumers. All companies (not limited to Apple) are in bunker mentality from these scams coming from all sides. Companies would be paying out on virtually every product if they didn't fight these scammers. So in the end the scammers get their 15 minutes of fame, the company isn't hurt, we consumers get the short end of the stick if a real issue ever does arise.
I remember this place back with all the butterfly keyboards and you could almost copy/paste the comments back then from the same group who run to the defense of Apple every time. History has shown time again, sooner or later, Apple will have a repair program for "a small number of affected devices" - and we all know it isn't a small number by then.
What's the difference between a 'design defect' and 'misuse' or 'abuse?' If my screen cracks because I put a 2 pound binder on it is that abuse or a bad design that couldn't withstand reasonable and normal use?
It seems to me it's a matter of perspective and open to interpretation. Laptops should be designed to withstand being put in bags, backpacks, etc. if something trivial like a paperclip (less than a mm thick) or a grain of sand is sufficient to crack the screen then I would fault the design.
Remember when the first Samsung fold samples were released for evaluation? the hinge design allowed dust to get in and subsequently ruined the screen. Samsung and it's defenders said the screens worked fine as long as nothing got behind them, which may have been true, but many people here, myself included, pointed out that phones are carried in pockets and will get dust, crumbs, etc on them and if the design can't withstand that then it's a design defect. It's the same here, if small, trivial debris is sufficient to cause a screen to crack, maybe the tolerances are to thin.
My 2016 MBP will get fingerprints on the screen from the keyboard - that means it has a tolerance of 0 mm (or less) between the screen and the keyboard. Ya think maybe that might be a bit tight?
These are such bullshit responses from Apple, but not at all surprising. Their default response is always: it’s the user’s fault. The vast majority of people use their products normally and don’t set out to break them. Even those that are unduly rough, well these are premium products and they should be able to handle that too, up to a point. Apple should be giving users the benefit of any doubt, but they never (or rarely) do.
These could easily be explained by manufacturing defects or, as others said, pushing the tolerances too tight. Dust is a part of life and expensive objects shouldn’t break because of something the user can’t even see. Do they really want another butterfly keyboard saga? I bet Apple blamed users and tried to charge them then too until the scale of the problem and Apple’s poor design was revealed.
"The post's creator asserts the problem manifested overnight "for no apparent reason."
"I left my computer on the top of my desk during the night and the next day I opened it the screen had 2 small cracks on the right which damaged the functioning of the screen," they said."
They did nothing. They didn’t touch or do anything and it just happened out of nowhere! Okay. Sure.
How do you know it didn’t? Don’t be so quick to judge.
The comments on this thread are by-and-large bonkers. You’re defending a corporation who has had questionable business practices over the years, from the way they treat their employees to lobbying against right-to-repair. Mind boggling.
Let me give you an example as a former employee, of Apple’s BS: I had a 17 inch MacBook pro and it developed bowing on the lower bezel of the aluminum display.
As a Mac genius (at the time) we all knew that the display assembly was too heavy for the hinges and the stress manifested along the lower bezel after normal use of opening and closing the display.
So I assumed that I could send it to the repair depot without worry. Because everyone knew about this issue. Instead the repair depot folks said it was “accidental damage” and when I explained everything they called my manager and accused me of using my employee status to get “preferential” treatment.
Y’all. Believe people when they say there’s an issue. This is just one example of the BS. Go on with your idiocy.
Apple has not had questionable business practices over the years. That’s just the same standard shout of you Y’all angry Android people coming to an Apple product fan site. Apples products are a gold standard to the people who matter, consumers. If Y’all don’t believe that, then look it up yourself. It’s there in black and white. Ouch..
But! Apples products are cheaper built than made for tv stuff. It has to be, there’s a suit on nearly every product, right. But did y’all check other big cap companies — hey how about check Google! — for lawsuits of this very kind? To find out this is a common tactic. That less than reputable people who go on posting boards and lie, hurt consumers, in the process of trying to get there way. But I’m sure if anyone posted an issue with a Google product, why these just start sending out teams of repairmen on the spot. So lame…
Wait, You worked at Apple? How about that, me too. You can click my screen name and read that I’ve mentioned that previously, working at one of the very places that would be soon to see higher than normal defects, the Systems Remarketing div.
It's not like apple hasn't had screen issues before, and I have experienced that myself with a screen that just went dead. Apple fixed it out of warranty because it was their fault.
Problems with the screen are not all that unusual when it comes to laptops of any brand. That's just a fact. You can find mountains of general online info about "what to do if your laptop screen cracks/breaks". There are tons of blog tips/tricks/advice on that subject, just like there were a ton of tips/tricks/advice about sticky or broken keys on laptop keyboards. It happens.
It's not like apple hasn't had screen issues before, and I have experienced that myself with a screen that just went dead. Apple fixed it out of warranty because it was their fault.
Problems with the screen are not all that unusual when it comes to laptops of any brand. That's just a fact. You can find mountains of general online info about "what to do if your laptop screen cracks/breaks". There are tons of blog tips/tricks/advice on that subject, just like there were a ton of tips/tricks/advice about sticky or broken keys on laptop keyboards. It happens.
Agreed - This is an Apple forum, so it’s understandably focused on Apple devices and Apple tends to have more hard-core devotees than other brands. I think the big difference is that Apple markets itself as selling premium products and actively touts its designs. If I pay $300 for a cheap chromebook and it isn’t designed well then I say ‘well, I got what I paid for.’ If I pay $2,000 for a MBP and it has design flaws, then I’m pissed.
MplsP said: If I pay $2,000 for a MBP and it has design flaws, then I’m pissed.
Sure, but it's currently unknown if this has anything to do with design flaws or manufacturing flaws. Look at the butterfly keyboard: AI's own research into repair numbers didn't turn up much beyond the 1st year that the MBP had the butterfly. The years after that didn't appear to be out of the ordinary. And the MacBook had the butterfly mechanism for a full year before the MBP and never generated much in the way of complaints per failures. Plus, you've still got multi-millions of butterfly MBPs out in the wild without much controversy.
How can this be an Apple design issue when they are using the same hardware for enclosure snd screen as they’ve been for years now?
It doesn’t make sense
We have no way of knowing that every material, and manufacturing and assembly processes are the same? Sometimes there's simply a bad batch of a component, a new manufacturing line or tweaking, an assembly issue. Sometimes these are massive failures but most likely they are pretty minor. Batteries come to mind as one of the more likely major defects. Additionally, for all we know this is right in line or even better than any other Mac notebook over the years but some message board of complaints took hold for some reason or another to cause this to be an issue this week.
I don’t doubt issues happen. I had an iMac hinge go out on me some years back. That turned out to be a known issue.
Contact damage is not hard to diagnose versus a stress issue. It could be that the tolerances have changed? Maybe but it still sounds a bit strange.
As much as some sound like it must be apples fault, you must recognize Apple could be innocent here as well.
One of the reasons why I buy Apple products is because of their quality, customer service and longevity. I am typing this on a 2016 MBP. The keyboard issue was repaired free of charge several years ago. I replaced the battery at the same time. Last year I drop it on concrete; there are dents in the corner of the main body and the top that houses the screen. No cracks or weird behavior. The machine is still as fast as when I bought it 5 years ago. My previous 2012 MBP is still going strong. After 4 years, I changed out the battery and Apple did a screen replacement for free.
Compared to the windows laptops I use at work, the Apple units are far superior. A work laptop will last 2 years on average, massively slow down over time and is made from plastic.
MplsP said: If I pay $2,000 for a MBP and it has design flaws, then I’m pissed.
Sure, but it's currently unknown if this has anything to do with design flaws or manufacturing flaws. Look at the butterfly keyboard: AI's own research into repair numbers didn't turn up much beyond the 1st year that the MBP had the butterfly. The years after that didn't appear to be out of the ordinary. And the MacBook had the butterfly mechanism for a full year before the MBP and never generated much in the way of complaints per failures. Plus, you've still got multi-millions of butterfly MBPs out in the wild without much controversy.
Agreed - see my previous post. The only people who have actual data are at Apple abs they aren’t sharing it so everyone else is left to extrapolate from reports. It’s also impossible to know if the reported issues are from abuse or expected use. It’s easy for Apple to dismiss them as abuse/misuse, but if they start getting hundreds of similar reports you have to think they’ll start looking at things.
I have a butterfly keyboard - it’s never ‘failed’ per se, but I’ve had repeated issues with keys sticking. Eventually they get unstuck, so I haven’t taken it in, but between that and the typing experience I’d rate it as one of the worst keyboards I’ve used. These issues are despite being more careful with it than I’ve been with any other laptop I’ve used and using a silicone keyboard protector. Before this I had a MacBook Air and before that I had a PowerBook. Zero keyboard issues with any other laptop, so I don’t think it qualifies as abuse. My experience also doesn’t show up in any reports or statistics but makes me fully believe the issues others have had.
I wonder how many iPhones spontaneously developed cracked screens over the years, when in fact people started carrying them in their back pocket.
Ah, the "you're holding it wrong" excuse. If you make a phone and you can't carry it in your back pocket like tens of millions of people do, you failed making a decent phone.
MplsP said: My experience also doesn’t show up in any reports or statistics but makes me fully believe the issues others have had.
No doubt the butterfly keyboards could have failures because scissor keyboards have always had them as well. The internet is full of complaints about keyboards for laptop brands that never used anything but scissor mechanisms.
Comments
People break the rules sometimes, maybe that has happened with Apple customers, or maybe the customers were rude. Literally no way to verify either way, so attacking either for lying or hanging up is unreasonable.
It's not like apple hasn't had screen issues before, and I have experienced that myself with a screen that just went dead. Apple fixed it out of warranty because it was their fault.
Isn't this a site for consumers? Apple isn't a political party, or a football team you always root for. Its a company that produces electronic devices and sometimes, because manufacturing is sometimes not perfect, things can go wrong. As consumers we should hope that Apple makes amends and fixes any issues as soon as possible. What I see here is sheepish fanboyism.
And before people who have been here a lot less time than I have start on he accusations of trolling, I have been here from 2003. I am posting on an M1 device, getting another one next week, and if I swivel around I can see my old intel MacBook Pro from 2018. There's about $5k worth of Apple devices in this room alone, with a HomePod and iPhone and AppleTV as well and more about the house. And I've been here since 2003, when the number of Mac Users in my country could fit into a hotel room,. Since my first Mac I have spent tens of thousands on Apple products.
But sometimes things go wrong, and sometimes Apple denies it. Grow up and accept that.
It seems to me it's a matter of perspective and open to interpretation. Laptops should be designed to withstand being put in bags, backpacks, etc. if something trivial like a paperclip (less than a mm thick) or a grain of sand is sufficient to crack the screen then I would fault the design.
Remember when the first Samsung fold samples were released for evaluation? the hinge design allowed dust to get in and subsequently ruined the screen. Samsung and it's defenders said the screens worked fine as long as nothing got behind them, which may have been true, but many people here, myself included, pointed out that phones are carried in pockets and will get dust, crumbs, etc on them and if the design can't withstand that then it's a design defect. It's the same here, if small, trivial debris is sufficient to cause a screen to crack, maybe the tolerances are to thin.
My 2016 MBP will get fingerprints on the screen from the keyboard - that means it has a tolerance of 0 mm (or less) between the screen and the keyboard. Ya think maybe that might be a bit tight?
My previous 2012 MBP is still going strong. After 4 years, I changed out the battery and Apple did a screen replacement for free.
Compared to the windows laptops I use at work, the Apple units are far superior. A work laptop will last 2 years on average, massively slow down over time and is made from plastic.