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Caveat: repair now available for Mac Notebooks "with the M1 family of chips" - this is reasonable, I think. However, I do feel badly because I have a 2017 with

Caveat: repair now available for Mac Notebooks "with the M1 family of chips" - this is reasonable, I think. However, I do feel badly because I have a 2017 with a noisy fan that needs to be replaced, but I don't think I'll ever be able to get the precisely OEM Apple-blessed one. This is important to me because of the non-annoying whoosh sound that the varied blade spacing of the OEM fans normally provide. My options are (1) used or (2) rando cross-your-fingers 'brand' fan. I guess I could just try a variety of those no-names and use the least annoying one.

deleted 4y ago
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scarface74 4y ago
3) take it in to Apple for repair.
- lstamour 4y ago
  And do it soon, or the 7 year “legacy” period might kick in. Apple has a cut-off past which they will not service or support their products. It’s usually 5-7 years from when they were first or last sold. (Actually, it’s a bit arbitrary if you ask me, because Apple is the one that sets whether a product is still serviceable or not, regardless of how long it’s been.)
  - samatman 4y ago
    I'm not seeing the viable alternative to a clearly-stated policy on the duration of repair services. Ok. I can imagine a world where I could bring in an Apple II from 1980 and get it serviced at a shiny glass Apple store. That would be pretty cool in fact, leaving aside the small but entirely real population of enthusiasts who would lose income, livelihood in some cases. But it doesn't seem like a reasonable demand. At some point the specialist aftermarket takes over. Clearly stating when that will be in advance is the most one can ask for.
    - Joeri 4y ago
      They could give out an expiration date for repair services at the moment of purchase, instead of having what comes across as a yearly lottery for current owners.
      - samatman 4y ago
        It's nothing of the sort: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 The relevant quote "Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago". "More than 5 and less than 7" means some time in the sixth year. It couldn't be more clear than it is without them putting a retirement party on the calendar. Maybe they should? Edit to add: of course you don't want to know how long the device will be supported, to the day, because this policy gives a minimum of the sixth year after the date of purchase, and if they sell it for longer, they'll repair it for longer as well.
        lstamour 4y ago
        Not always. Almost not ever. https://endoflife.date/iphone https://endoflife.date/iphone I’m impressed Apple supports iPhones for 7 years from when they went on sale, but 5 years from when they stopped selling them varies by product line. On the Watch, it’s 3 years. It’s unfortunate because you could have bought a Series 3 this year and learned you will not get a software update for it ever again. Where this 5-7 year legacy thing gets annoying is computer hardware - it used to be that you could bring in an Intel MacBook of any year and get it serviced, but at some point they cut costs and instituted this 5-7 year “legacy” policy, without actually specifically telling anyone any dates as to when their devices would or would not be serviced. The rule of thumb for computers is that if you can’t get OS updates, you’re probably not going to get spare parts, but that isn’t always the case either.
    - plonk 4y ago
      Mandate a reasonable support delay, beyond the 5-to-7-years that seems to be the gold standard today. A computer from 10 years ago can still do a lot of things.
- verisimilitude 4y ago
  Not to make this my personal tech support but... I thought my 2017 model was 'vintage' status and not repaired at Apple anymore? I'll see what I can find out...
  - scarface74 4y ago
    I actually checked before I commented. All 2017 models are still eligible for repairs
    - solarkraft 4y ago
      At what cost?
      - scarface74 4y ago
        It depends on what’s wrong. Just like anything else you have to take it in for an estimate. I don’t expect my car dealer to quote me a price on a repair without bringing it in.
    - Eric_WVGG 4y ago
      2016 entered vintage just a few weeks ago, so 2017 will likely dry up in about 11 months. Don't put that off too long…
    - verisimilitude 4y ago
      Thank you! You are correct. Off to my friendly local Apple.
- asdff 4y ago
  4) pay $450 for their out of warranty flat rate repair fee to fix your $0.30 plastic fan.
bluedino 4y ago
My 2017 had a clicking/buzzing fan when it was about 2 years old. I bought a used fan from a seller on eBay (I think it was a $12 part), took the laptop apart (involved some very tiny screws) and replaced it and it's been fine ever since. There's even videos on YouTube you can follow along with. Nowhere near as simple as repairs on the old non-Retina, unibody machines but easier than an iPad.
CountHackulus 4y ago
Well that sucks, my mid-2012 MBP needs a new battery. I guess it's back to 3rd party options.
whalesalad 4y ago
Replacing the keyboard on my 2018 retina/touchbar MacBook Pro was somewhat of a nightmare because it is riveted to the chassis and also screwed down with like 42 screws - but afterwards I actually preferred the feel of the keyboard with the new subtle 'give' that it had. The juice was worth the squeeze. Keyboard on the M2 air is outstanding though, so the 2018 MBP is now collecting dust. I should probably find a way to turn it into a headless vm host with built-in battery backup but something about putting a closed laptop in the rack feels trashy.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

scarface74 4y ago

3) take it in to Apple for repair.

lstamour 4y ago
And do it soon, or the 7 year “legacy” period might kick in. Apple has a cut-off past which they will not service or support their products. It’s usually 5-7 years from when they were first or last sold. (Actually, it’s a bit arbitrary if you ask me, because Apple is the one that sets whether a product is still serviceable or not, regardless of how long it’s been.)
- samatman 4y ago
  I'm not seeing the viable alternative to a clearly-stated policy on the duration of repair services. Ok. I can imagine a world where I could bring in an Apple II from 1980 and get it serviced at a shiny glass Apple store. That would be pretty cool in fact, leaving aside the small but entirely real population of enthusiasts who would lose income, livelihood in some cases. But it doesn't seem like a reasonable demand. At some point the specialist aftermarket takes over. Clearly stating when that will be in advance is the most one can ask for.
  - Joeri 4y ago
    They could give out an expiration date for repair services at the moment of purchase, instead of having what comes across as a yearly lottery for current owners.
    - samatman 4y ago
      It's nothing of the sort: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 The relevant quote "Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago". "More than 5 and less than 7" means some time in the sixth year. It couldn't be more clear than it is without them putting a retirement party on the calendar. Maybe they should? Edit to add: of course you don't want to know how long the device will be supported, to the day, because this policy gives a minimum of the sixth year after the date of purchase, and if they sell it for longer, they'll repair it for longer as well.
      - lstamour 4y ago
        Not always. Almost not ever. https://endoflife.date/iphone https://endoflife.date/iphone I’m impressed Apple supports iPhones for 7 years from when they went on sale, but 5 years from when they stopped selling them varies by product line. On the Watch, it’s 3 years. It’s unfortunate because you could have bought a Series 3 this year and learned you will not get a software update for it ever again. Where this 5-7 year legacy thing gets annoying is computer hardware - it used to be that you could bring in an Intel MacBook of any year and get it serviced, but at some point they cut costs and instituted this 5-7 year “legacy” policy, without actually specifically telling anyone any dates as to when their devices would or would not be serviced. The rule of thumb for computers is that if you can’t get OS updates, you’re probably not going to get spare parts, but that isn’t always the case either.
  - plonk 4y ago
    Mandate a reasonable support delay, beyond the 5-to-7-years that seems to be the gold standard today. A computer from 10 years ago can still do a lot of things.
verisimilitude 4y ago
Not to make this my personal tech support but... I thought my 2017 model was 'vintage' status and not repaired at Apple anymore? I'll see what I can find out...
- scarface74 4y ago
  I actually checked before I commented. All 2017 models are still eligible for repairs
  - solarkraft 4y ago
    At what cost?
    - scarface74 4y ago
      It depends on what’s wrong. Just like anything else you have to take it in for an estimate. I don’t expect my car dealer to quote me a price on a repair without bringing it in.
  - Eric_WVGG 4y ago
    2016 entered vintage just a few weeks ago, so 2017 will likely dry up in about 11 months. Don't put that off too long…
  - verisimilitude 4y ago
    Thank you! You are correct. Off to my friendly local Apple.
asdff 4y ago
4) pay $450 for their out of warranty flat rate repair fee to fix your $0.30 plastic fan.

bluedino 4y ago

My 2017 had a clicking/buzzing fan when it was about 2 years old. I bought a used fan from a seller on eBay (I think it was a $12 part), took the laptop apart (involved some very tiny screws) and replaced it and it's been fine ever since. There's even videos on YouTube you can follow along with. Nowhere near as simple as repairs on the old non-Retina, unibody machines but easier than an iPad.

CountHackulus 4y ago

Well that sucks, my mid-2012 MBP needs a new battery. I guess it's back to 3rd party options.

whalesalad 4y ago

Replacing the keyboard on my 2018 retina/touchbar MacBook Pro was somewhat of a nightmare because it is riveted to the chassis and also screwed down with like 42 screws - but afterwards I actually preferred the feel of the keyboard with the new subtle 'give' that it had. The juice was worth the squeeze. Keyboard on the M2 air is outstanding though, so the 2018 MBP is now collecting dust. I should probably find a way to turn it into a headless vm host with built-in battery backup but something about putting a closed laptop in the rack feels trashy.