11 ms·

MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues

247 points by lstamour 12y ago

JohnBooty 12y ago
This is great news, even though it's frustrating that they took so long to "do the right thing." Last year my 2011 MBP failed literally the day before its extended AppleCare expired. Had it failed a day later, I'd have been in some trouble.
- berberous 12y ago
  At least it was not a rMBP. My mid-2102 rMBP coverage expires this June, and I'm seriously thinking of selling it and upgrading just to get Apple care back. The whole computer is almost a single piece at this point. Any kind of damage is super expensive to repair out of warranty.
- brandonmenc 12y ago
  > it's frustrating that they took so long to "do the right thing." Par for the course. I was bit by logic board problems on the dual USB iBook (2002 model), which eventually got covered under a similar warranty extension. Then I had to pull teeth when my MacBook's plastic discolored in 2006.
- ilyanep 12y ago
  Mine failed literally the day after the AppleCare expired and thankfully the guy let me get it repaired as if it were under AppleCare. My understanding is that the store managers actually get a fair amount of leeway on this. Were that not the case, I would have had to think hard about spending $350 on a repair for a computer that was no longer my primary.
  - JohnBooty 12y ago
    I'm glad they took care of you! I'm curious: had you bought the extended AppleCare? Reason I ask is because the general consensus seems to be that they cut you a lot more slack if you've paid for the 3-year warranty, even if it's expired. That's been my experience, but... I'm not rich enough to buy two identical MBPs (one without extended coverage) and use one as a proper control sample. :)
- slantyyz 12y ago
  >> This is great news Right now, this is only -good- news for me, because it's not clear what the fix is. My main concern is what they're replacing the defective boards with. When I replaced my motherboard under AppleCare, they basically gave me a new board with the same design defect. In less than 6 months, I had the same problems, and then my MBP died over the XMas holidays. Lucky me, I replaced it with a Lenovo that came with Superfish installed. For the news to be great, they'd have to replace my current board with a redesigned board that won't fail again in 6 months. Until more information trickles in from people who have gotten their MBPs fixed, I'm going to reserve judgment. In any case, I'm very happy that Apple finally decided to make whole the people who have suffered with this problem for the past few years. It was the right thing to do. I do feel badly for the people who sold their units at a significant loss though.
- mbrd 12y ago
  I had similar problems with a 2009 MBP about a month after AppleCare expired and they repaired it free of charge. They seem to be pretty good about that.
donatj 12y ago
Huh, I was having all these issues after upgrading to Yosemite but 10.10.2 seems to have fixed it. Wonder if this is still worth looking into?
- lstamour 12y ago
  Well, at least now you have until early 2016 if anything does come up...
jgh 12y ago
Well I had one of those 2011 MBPs that failed in this way...this was after my warranty expired and clearly before this repair was issued. They told me it would cost me like $350 or $400 or something to replace the motherboard on the thing. Ended up buying a new MBP and selling the bricked one for $100. There was an enormous thread spanning several years on the apple support forums, so it's a good thing they waited until 4 years later to address this problem...
- mehrdada 12y ago
  Same exact sentiment here with 2012 rMBP. Had to sell it for much lower and grabbed a new one. The NVIDIA GPU was faulty and it worked fine on Intel only. No way they reimburse the damage.
- melling 12y ago
  I got someone at the Apple Store to replace my board a couple years ago. I'd made a couple trips over a year. Initially, I stopped the reboot by not using the discreet card then I foolishly upgraded to a Mac OS X beta at WWDC then my machine rebooted quite frequently. Tried to grab an engineer to demonstrate the problem but the kernel guys were the only ones who I thought could track it down but I missed them.
- prawn 12y ago
  My MBP had this fault and was out of warranty (I'd taken too long to take it in). They replaced the logic board and screen free of charge. I think the amount shown on the zeroed invoice was close to $1k. Same Apple Store, my wife showed that her iPhone with cracked screen had dust in the camera, assured them the dust predated the screen smashing and they gave her a new phone. I suspect newly opened Apple stores are granted a budget to go above and beyond in order to build local reputation.
  - marvin 12y ago
    My local Apple store, however (Eplehuset in Bergen, Norway) flagrantly violates Norwegian warranty law unless you show up multiple times, cite the specific chapter of the law they are violating and then threaten legal action. So it's clearly not a global policy.
zachberger 12y ago
I have never seen the visual glitches, however I have had my computer restart spontaneously and upon reboot would state "A graphics problem has been detected". I called Apple Care several times about this, and filed tickets on bugreporter.apple.com but made no progress. Glad they're finally getting around to fixing this. My model is: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)
Nate75Sanders 12y ago
I have a mid-2010 13" MBP (wrong year, wrong size) that's doing stuff that sounds like their listed symptoms. Not sure if it's just randomly going bad or if they haven't determined for certain that other models are affected as well.
- flomo 12y ago
  Have the same model with the NV graphics, and have had occasional video glitching since I bought it refurbished. Crashes were rare until Yosemite, and perhaps my DP port is getting funky. I've wondered if these are also semi-defective, but it hasn't been well publicized. In any case I've gotten a ton of mileage out of it.
  - 72deluxe 12y ago
    It would be interesting to see what Yosemite is doing with the GPU. If you could download and install Quartz Debug, you can get it to flash areas that are drawn with accelerated graphics in comparison to CPU drawn graphics. It would make an interesting comparison with Mavericks and previous. Interestingly, the one change they did make in Xcode 6 was that the build progress bar at the top of the screen is now drawn in software - it used to be the only thing in the entire IDE that was GPU accelerated!
o0-0o 12y ago
My rMBP has had choppy, crap video the whole time I've had it. Had one replaced for free, and going to get this one replaced as well (or try).
lowbloodsugar 12y ago
Damn it, I just new it was the GPU! So glad I held on to it! Its been in a couple of time and they offered to change the MB for too much money. I've tried different RAM, different SSDs. Its an old 2011 17" with the AMD GPU. Made my appointment already!
msoad 12y ago
My Late 2013 rMBP restarts randomly all the time. Should I go to Apple and ask for a replacement?
- lstamour 12y ago
  Check the serial number. Either way, I've yet to be completely disappointed by a trip to the Apple Store (with a pre-scheduled appointment and something to do on my phone while waiting). Even if out-of-warranty, they'll give you a free diagnosis and tell you how much it costs to fix. It wouldn't surprise me if it's entirely covered by this repair program.
- stevenh 12y ago
  My 15-inch Late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina has had the same problems since day one: Restarts, graphics glitches, hard system freeze every other day, etc. Unfortunately, despite the fact that similar manufacturing flaws are presumably present, we are not covered; our laptops are slightly too new.
- buttonsmasher 12y ago
  You should. I have the late 2013 model that I got in Jan'14 and I ran into the random restarts, freeze ups. This happened last week and I was out of warranty, they made me pay for the repair and I just picked it up yesterday. This is good news for me but I think regardless, this issue does show up sometime during the lifetime of the product. I would recommend getting it checked out.
  - buttonsmasher 12y ago
    Well...looks like I missed the fine details, my model is not covered. wth
37prime 12y ago
I have worked on 6 units of 2011 MacBook Pro that had this issues. Two of them were repaired out-of-warranty, which cost $210+tax for parts and $100 for labor. I talked to AppleCare rep a few hours ago and Apple will refund me the repair cost.
blinkingled 12y ago
I have given up on buying laptops with dGPUs - Post Sandy Bridge Intel's GPU is more than what a non-gaming machine needs and I certainly don't need the battery loss and added heat. (These dGPU related repair issues seems like the are an Apple only thing though - my work laptop has a Nvidia GPU and it is running most of the times due to sleep/wake issues - no other problems in the past 4 years. Haven't heard of any other manufacturers having similar issues recently either.)
- girvo 12y ago
  Various HP laptops have also had major issues with dGPUs, Nvidia ones to boot.
  - blinkingled 12y ago
    Hmm, there was a class action settlement in 2011 for that it appears. No repair programs that I can find - may be Apple's the most proactive in issuing repairs and other manufacturers' issues are swept under the rug because of relatively low visibility.
- dmishe 12y ago
  I believe the root of the problem, lead-free soldering joints, was common to all portables of that time
  - pmjordan 12y ago
    Nvidia and AMD GPUs probably generate more heat than Intel chips and so have likely been more badly affected. Has there been some breakthrough in the alloy used for solder that makes this less of an issue now? Also interesting that I've never heard of this issue with desktop GPUs, which get insanely hot. My guess is the solder pads are bigger and more widely spaced?
    - rsfern 12y ago
      I'm not aware of any major breakthroughs in the past few years, but lead-free solder alloys are an active research area right now. Here's a SANDIA report from 2012 that has some context and some cool micrographs; you can find lots more by searching the web for tin whisker growth in lead-free solders. (edit: pdf warning) http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2012/120519.pdf http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2012/12051...
yuletide666 12y ago
Support fail.
lucaspiller 12y ago
Has anyone else had issues with Macbook Air having marks on the screen which won't come off? These look like tiny scratches, but are in a line and roughly where the screen touches the top of the trackpad when closed. I've had it with both the 11" and 13" models of the current design. Apple replaced the screen on both, but the same happened and then my warranty expired.
- CardenB 12y ago
  Yes! I had this exact problem with my MBPr 15" (2013). I used to bike with it in my backpack, and I believe the pressure from that pushed the screen in, causing it to scrape the metal near the trackpad. Any pressure should cause this to happen, given that they're so thin.
- gurkendoktor 12y ago
  The Air does not have a glass cover on the screen, so yes, I have the same issue and I think it's normal. I've had the some marks on my glassless iBook G4. Still better than the glossy screen on the non-Retina MBP :)
- dewey 12y ago
  Same problem here [0], I was calling apple about that problem for at least 5 times and they always refused and blamed it on me using it wrong. I called them again last week because I wanted to give it another shot before my apple care protection plan expires and after sending them a bunch of pictures they escalated the case to a higher-level rep, called me back and agreed to replace it. The only reason they did that was that I also had these marks on the border of the display, not just in the center and they said then it's an issue with the anti-glare coating and not just scratched from using it wrong (even though it's clearly the same kind of wear). There's also a huge thread in the apple support forum.[1] and it got featured on a big german IT news site. [2] I'll get a new display next week. [0] http://i.imgur.com/9BAfZQP.jpg http://i.imgur.com/9BAfZQP.jpg [1] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6068947 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6068947 [2] http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/MacBook-Pro-Berichte-ueber-anfaellige-Retina-Display-Beschichtung-2520451.html http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/MacBook-Pro-Berichte-...
- 12y ago
amikula 12y ago
In the last 6 months, I've had my 15" late 2011 model MBP repaired three times for this exact problem. After the first failure, they haven't charged again for the subsequent motherboard replacements. I guess so many are failing all at once that they couldn't ignore the problem anymore. Interestingly, the first time I had it repaired, I was charged $550 by a third-party "repair" shop who told me up front that it the motherboard needed to be replaced, then took it to Apple and payed them $330 to fix it. Caveat emptor.
- kenrikm 12y ago
  Yeah the standard flat rate fee for motherboard related issues from Apple is just about $300. With this in mind it's usually a better idea to take them to Apple then use third party shops. I've had the exact same issue happen to me on Apple laptops all the way back to my 2008 Macbook Pro and eventually Apple made the same extension for that model as they are with these newer models. After a few years the video chipset seems to have connection issues that may or may not be solved with a reflow attempt (baking the logic board in the oven)
fpgeek 12y ago
Well, well. Just as with the iMessage switching from iPhone issues, it seems that sometimes it takes a class action lawsuit to get results from Apple: http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/28/apple-class-action-lawsuit-2011-macbook-pro-gpu-graphics-issues/ http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/28/apple-class-action-lawsuit-201... Full disclosure: I'm pretty sure my wife is owed a reimbursement over this.
frade33 12y ago
Just last month I finally sold my 15" MBP (early 2011) for $500 after whining on reddit, and having no chance of repair, except the apple auth. guy said, I need to change motherboard. http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2ka0h0/yosemite_crippled_my_mbp_2011_early_switched_back/ http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2ka0h0/yosemite_cripp... Also I voted this. http://www.change.org/p/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-2011-macbook-pro-with-graphics-failure http://www.change.org/p/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-20... I wish I had not sold it. :/ because for $500 I could only get the HP pavilion :/ as a replacement., you know that alone is the most terrible fact about this whole episode. that Had to use a HP lappy. :/ If I were apple CEO, I would be sending a personally signed, apologizing note to each of these customers, with a bag carrying a new MBP. In my case it took 45% of my fortune to buy that machine. :/
- ceejayoz 12y ago
  > In my case it took 45% of my fortune to buy that machine. Maybe that's not a great idea for a device that has a 3-5 year lifespan anyways?
- wcfields 12y ago
  I had the same exact model, except I bought mine Refurb'd from Apple with Applecare so it was going to run out this March. Rather than risk having a brick I sold it on Craigslist for $850. This is after having the logic board and hard-drive replaced twice by Apple a few years earlier.
  - lstamour 12y ago
    If you paid Apple, maybe ask for a refund anyway. They have a record of your service/transaction, and it's not like the computer is required, just ID and perhaps a credit card statement or the like.
arthurfm 12y ago
Where do you stand if you have an Early 2011 15" MacBook Pro that has a faulty GPU but is long out of warranty? Even with this extension program, you aren't any better off since you would still have to pay for the repair according to Apple's website? I guess this is where your statutory rights come into play if you live in the UK (like I am) since these entitle you to the free repair or replacement of the defective goods up to six years after purchase. http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/
- nandhp 12y ago
  The second paragraph says "Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will repair affected MacBook Pro systems, free of charge."
  - arthurfm 12y ago
    Thanks! I misread the text at the bottom of the page (due to tiredness). You're right though, the repair would be free of charge. "This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the MacBook Pro."
quackerhacker 12y ago
I have applecare for my 15 MBP w/retina (THANKFULLY), and I can attest that I've had to have Apple replaced the logic board twice. Both times, the screen's backlight would just go out. Great to hear Apple is doing this, but then disappointing that it's even an issue for a $2k+ laptop.
ryan_j_naughton 12y ago
Late 2011 Macbook Pro here, and I had to get my logic board replaced twice. Thankfully, it was still under Apple Care, but had it not been I definitely would not have paid for the repair TWICE and would have ended up selling the bricked laptop like others did. Given that virtually everyone would have taken their MBP to an Apple Store (even those who decided to not get the repairs), Apple has a list of most people who experienced this issue. If they want to maintain their reputation for quality, it would be wise to find a way to reimburse people who they can confirm (with said previous apple store appointments for this issue). They don't need to reimburse everyone, but they could definitely find a way to rebuild some trust here.
- G650 12y ago
  They will be reimbursing those people. If you read the additional information at the bottom of the site: "Additional Information Apple is contacting customers who paid for a repair either though Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to arrange reimbursement. If you have not been contacted, but paid for a repair that you think was due to this issue, please contact Apple."
- josu 12y ago
  I don't really think this damaged their reputation, even in the slightest way. I had never heard of the problem, and it seems that even the people that suffered it went ahead and bought another mac: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9079010 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9079010
  - akent 12y ago
    I downvoted you because you simply can't draw that conclusion just based on the evidence of one anecdotal account from an affected user and from your own ignorance of the problem. Of course this has damaged their reputation in the minds of some affected users.
    - ryan_j_naughton 12y ago
      I absolutely agree. Having to bring my laptop in on a yearly basis to get it fixed due to this issue definitely lowered my expectation of hardware quality in Macs. I will absolutely still be buying another Mac, but that is primarily because of the operating system and ergonomic design principles -- all of which make me a much more productive developer. Because Apple bundles everything (and refuses to unbundle the OS from the hardware in any way), you are likely right that the effect will be minimal because the benefits of all the goods (bundled together) outweighs the costs (and consumers have no choice -- if they want any part of the bundle, they must buy all of it).
jogloran 12y ago
I have an early 2011 and have had this problem twice. The latest time I was working in SF and didn't think they would replace the logic board again for free, it being three years out of warranty. They did, which suggests to me that internally Apple has been aware of this problem for quite some time. This program gives me relief because I can see the problem happening again. If I remember correctly the store said it was due to loose connections between the logic board and the discrete graphics. It originally manifested as lockups as soon as the discrete GPU kicked in. For anyone else seeing this problem, I was able to manage that using a tool called gfxCardStatus which disables the discrete GPU. I'm pleased that Apple is doing the right thing by their customers and offering to reimburse historical repairs.
- X-Istence 12y ago
  I had a 2007 MacBook Pro, it had the original round of Nvidia issues. I got one from a friend in 2013. Originally I was going to use it as a parts machine because I wanted the CD drive, but instead I realised it may have the Nvidia issues. I brought it into Apple and it popped for the issue, so they sent it off, I got it back and it was fully functional again. No charge. To this day it still works without issues :-)
ryen 12y ago
I have a 2010 MBP that experienced system restarts from a Apple-known video issue and they fixed it out of warranty (required complete motherboard replacement). They should extend this to the 2010 models as well.
- ryen 12y ago
  EDIT: (this was 2 years ago)
mcv 12y ago
I've got a 2011 Macbook Pro, and sometimes video refuses to play, but I always assume it's because I've got way too much stuff open, and it's low on memory.
- akent 12y ago
  If you have this problem, you definitely know about it. Complete system lockups, glitches all over the screen, you name it. It's not just a simple software error.
thom 12y ago
Hoping this covers my issues with an early 2013 retina - the system crashes whenever I let it use the discrete graphics, and it's got to the point that I can't let it sleep or power down or it's touch and go whether it comes back. I currently use a combination of NoSleep, gfxCardStatus and blind hope to keep it going.
lancefisher 12y ago
Oh nice. My 2001 anti-glare MBP has been flickering when trying to display purple for some reason. Visiting getbootstrap.com puts scan lines across the screen. I was thinking it might be the display, but now I'm thinking it's the GPU.
bpierre 12y ago
I had this model, and the graphic issues started to appear during the last summer. After having acknowledged the situation [1] (Apple doesn’t officially admit there is a problem, and chances are that I will have to pay for a new logic board since I am out of warranty), I went to an Apple Store in the UK for a diagnostic. I was about to pay for the new logic board, and the person confirmed to me that in case of a recall happening in the future, I would be refunded by Apple. Nice surprise when he asked me where I bought it: since I ordered it on the Apple website, even if it was on the french Apple Store website, they proposed me to replace it using the UK warranty, which is 6 years (!) instead of 1 year in France [2] (I didn’t take the Apple Care). A few hours after having my computer back, the exact same graphic issues started again. I went back to the Apple Store, and they changed it again. Everything was working fine… Until two months later, when the sound chip just died: no errors in OS X, but no sound at all (from speakers, microphone or jack plug). I went back to the Apple Store, and they changed the logic board again (it wasn’t a problem because all replacements are covered by warranty). A few days later, the graphic issues started again. I went back to the Apple Store. Since they changed the logic board three times already, they proposed me to replace the MBP by a brand new one: the latest and high-end model (since they have to replace it with an equivalent), and I even received an external drive since the new models don’t have one, and despite having said that I don’t need it. I think I have been really lucky: I just wanted to repair it so I could sell it and buy a new model. I ended up with the latest model without paying anything except a few hours spent at the Apple Store. Lessons learned: - Buy your Apple computer from Apple if you can. - You have a 6 years warranty in the UK. [1] http://www.mbp2011.com/ http://www.mbp2011.com/ [2] http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ Edit: the legal warranty is 2 years in France, not 1 year.
- riquito 12y ago
  > instead of 1 year [of warranty] in France Didn't you mean 2 years? In the whole Europe you get at least 2 years of warranty Cit. EU directive 1999/44/EC "A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period."
ronyeh 12y ago
Unfortunately, I have a Mid 2010 MBP that is not covered under this warranty extension. It crashes/restarts all the time with a GPU panic that is caused by the nVidia card, and triggered by the OS. It never crashed with Snow Leopard (the stock OS for my model), but ever since I upgraded, it crashes consistently (Mountain Lion & Mavericks). I use gfxCardStatus to force the computer to use the intel graphics card. This allows me to work without random restarts.
- mheiler 12y ago
  Same here. It's a shame since otherwise this ~5y old computer still is holding up well.
- imeron 12y ago
  Same. It makes an otherwise totally fine computer worthless. There was a recall for this problem too (http://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203554 http://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203554), but it already ended.
  - ig1 12y ago
    Yes. I had the same problem and Apple did a free out-of-warranty logic board replacement for me.
  - ilteris 12y ago
    same, unfortunately I wasn't aware of the recall until after it ended. I am stuck with the defected board. I also use gfxcardstatus to keep my sanity.
  - rimsy 12y ago
    +1
- xentronium 12y ago
  I had exact same problem and got my motherboard replaced for free 2 years ago.
- 72deluxe 12y ago
chenster 12y ago
Just checked, mine is late 2013, shewww...
binoyxj 12y ago
This is why I like Apple. Issues are inevitable, but to stay put with customers in tough times and provide free service shows their class!
- mehrdada 12y ago
  Note that this has been a "known issue" for a long time for a bunch of high end $2000+ products and they have only announced this after years since the incident happened. Not so classy.
- 72deluxe 12y ago
  It is good but it took a lot of complaining to get this done, and a class action lawsuit. I consider myself fortunate that I got a mid 2012 MBP without retina and it is (so far) free of these issues.
- lukevella 12y ago
  This is too little, too late if you ask me
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- FireBeyond 12y ago
  You realize this only came out after a lawsuit was initiated, right? -- owner of a maxed out early 2013 15" rMBP whose laptop can be counted on to freeze up once a day (and to rub salt into the wound, on reboot, "You restarted your computer due to a graphics problem", which is a funny way of saying "I crashed because of a graphics problem")
gburt 12y ago
Nice, as of this morning, I couldn't get video out of my mid-2012 rMBP after about 20 GPU Panics I've reported over the last week. I imagine they must have thousands of them coming in as they start to fail.
the_gipsy 12y ago
Great, my girlfriend just sold hers last week for 100€ after enduring a year of the video card crashing.
- w4 12y ago
  Same thing basically happened to me - I just bought a new rMBP in lieu of throwing good money after bad on a logic board repair. Literally, I'm days out of the return period. Thankfully I still have the bricked 2011 MBP, so I'll get it fixed and keep it as a backup machine I guess.
jerogarcia 12y ago
i got a retina mbp 13" , i'm having all sort of problems , random logouts .. black screens with the computer on etc. started to happen 2 months after upgrading to yosemite. I'm seriously considering buying a normal laptop and install linux on it .. i love macs but it is affecting my productivity.
- cerberusss 12y ago
  It's a lemon... Apple is somewhat better quality-wise, but not perfect. Personally, if you have the funds, I'd get another one and bring in the old one for diagnosis. System logs (accessible via the Console app) often show kernel panics and other stuff.
tsenkov 12y ago
I am experiencing some similar issues with my 15" mid2012 rMBP. Whenever I work on some canvas/webgl game, after some refreshing in the browser (reproducible with Safari and Chrome) the entire screen freezes, without any chance for recover and I have to power it down, manually. Has anyone had this problem and do you know if it qualifies for the Repair Extension Program?
- guillim85 12y ago
  I have exactly the same problem and still wondering if this repair extension program will change anything.
- kevinbluer 12y ago
  I've definitely experienced (and still do) this. After a bit of digging I found this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6602046?start=105&tstart=0 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6602046?start=105&tstar... which points to "discrete GPU and/or the switching to and from it". Not sure if it's the same issue, but worth inquiring for sure :)
fwaddle 12y ago
I have an Early 2011 Mac Book Pro which has had the motherboard replaced twice because of this issue. The first one was 3 years out of warranty so I had to pay $700 (Aus). The second time it happened only 6 months after the first motherboard replacement. I'm currently on the phone with their support to get my money back hopefully. Although it has been 28 minutes waiting so far... Perhaps I'm not the only one calling Apple tonight. Edit: ok all sorted out. Refund is in the mail ;) Turns out I was the first one to call them apparently so they weren't sure how to process it. I ended up getting transferred to someone that sounded UK'ish with a nice 80's phone time delay. Woohoo Nice present for the weekend me thinks!!
daviddoran 12y ago
I'm delighted they're finally doing this. I've a 2011 Macbook Pro sitting on a shelf for the last year because the graphics went haywire and eventually it wouldn't start at all.
psp 12y ago
The occasional screen freeze with Macbook Pro late 2013 model here. Too bad its not covered by this program. Oh well, have to restart it manually here and there.
- stevenh 12y ago
  It would be nice of Apple to disclose exactly what has been causing the problem on older models, and to explain in detail what lucky accidental change they made to their manufacturing process in late 2013 which supposedly fixed a problem they implicitly claim they were unaware existed until now.
- johnboiles 12y ago
  Same here, rMBP late 2013. Problems happen most frequently when plugged into an external thunderbolt display.
blowback 12y ago
Just taken my 15" 2011 MBP in - as luck would have it I had a 0930 appointment. Even tho the replacement programme doesn't start here in the UK until the 27th Feb, they were happy to do a gratis repair "under consumer law". Without me having to shout at all. "You'll beat the rush!" said the guy.
milos_cohagen 12y ago
I'm on my 3rd logic board with my early-2011 15". To Apple's credit they covered it every time. I'm confused though.. does this news mean if it happens again, they'll cover it? And if so, for how much longer?
- Alex3917 12y ago
  > And if so, for how much longer? Apple stores stop stocking parts and offering any support 5 years after the model date. After that the only thing they will do is offer to clean your screen. If they have parts you can still mail it into Apple, or else you can look for parts at a third-party supplier, but that's about it. Not entirely clear what will happen in this case.
felipc 12y ago
I'm curious to know why is this a hardware fix. The problems on my mid-2012 mbp only started after the upgrade to Yosemite, and this seems to be the case from many reports on forums out there.
- wila 12y ago
  Had the same experience on updating to Mavericks. Ended up having to replace the logic board while abroad and didn't want to update to Mavericks for a long time (although I recently did) There might be something related to the update or not, difficult to say, but most likely it is just a coincidence.
- slantyyz 12y ago
  Apparently the MBP runs super hot, weakening the solder links to the discrete GPU. The problem is that there seems to be a design defect either in the chassis, logic board or both. Replacing the logic board basically just resets you to day one. If you're a heavy user, you'll soon encounter the same issue, which is why a lot of people -- myself included -- have had the problem recur. While I'll be taking advantage of the fix (I can't even boot my Macbook Pro, even the post screen is messed up), I'm hoping they've actually made a fix to the logic board design as opposed to giving me a replacement logic board with the same problematic design.
  - colomon 12y ago
    Ah, that would explain why it happened twice to me! To be fair, the replaced logic board lasted about a year. This is doubly good news for me, because it makes it sound like my early 2011 MBP is likely to be covered, and I can reasonably hope the fix will last longer than a year, as my main development work has been moved to a mid-2014 MBPR.
- jpgauthier 12y ago
  Strange, the problem occurred on my rMBP 2012 right after I upgraded to Yosemite (literally the same day). I also thought it was more of a software bug, so I downgraded to Mavericks. I still had the issue on Mavericks, so I thought it was a just a coincidence. Also, at that time, Apple wasn't aware of the problem and I wasn't on Apple Care, so they didn't want to test more my laptop. The only option was a straight 600 bucks repair... I still find it really strange that a lot of us had this problem after a software upgrade...
Dorian-Marie 12y ago
Yep, happens to me too, random freezing is especially annoying. Also, random weird black screen flickering, and grey/old-TV-like screen glitches are just ugly but not really a problem.
caseyf 12y ago
I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro that has this problem. I called Apple this morning and they told me that I'd have to bring it in to an Apple store. The page on Apple.com offers a postage paid "Mail In Service" option if you are in the US but the customer service rep didn't know anything about that.
cswelin 12y ago
Wonder if they will still reimburse me. They only noted "Computer will not turn on and there are no signs of power" for the repair, since I didn't take it in until the logic board died (did reboot randomly, and random colours on the screen). 17 Days later I had another repair on the new part for "Mac shuts down unexpectedly during use with battery". Think my bill was around $600-$800 for the logic board replacement.
- dmart 12y ago
  They keep a more extensive internal work log regarding your repair than what is listed on your invoice, so if you call there's a good chance they can look through your history and see whether they identified it as a graphics issue.
  - cswelin 12y ago
    sadly the senior support support guy told me since it doesn't clearly state "graphic problems or random reboots" there's a good chance his request will be denied. Didn't take it in during those problem since it "worked" and was out of warranty, but did when that last reboot wouldn't 'reboot'. Lesson learned :S
hiphopyo 12y ago
Great news! Been struggling with this for a long time and thought I was the only one! https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/709328/geforce-drivers/nvidia-windows-kernel-mode-driver-335-23-stopped-responding-and-was-recovered-successfully/post/4211491/#4211491 https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/709328/geforce-driv...
jwcooper 12y ago
Consider me another Macbook Pro owner (late 2011) that had this issue. I've now gone through two logic boards. Luckily, the second was covered under the warranty of the first replacement. Has anyone here been contacted by Apple for Reimbursement yet?
- iimpact 12y ago
  The program 'officially' started today. I called them yesterday for my reimbursement, check my other reply explaining the process.
goshx 12y ago
Nice. This problem started happening more than a year ago on my early 2011. I just had it sitting collecting dust as I got the 2013 version. Last week I decided to take it to get repaired... and now they announce this. Hopefully this will save me the $300 repair.
shadeslayer 12y ago
I've had this for quite a while now, went through 2 motherboard replacements one after the other for this exact defect. It's good to know that they'll still change it for another couple of years in case things go sideways.
rob 12y ago
This happened to my early 2011 15" MacBook Pro sometime mid-2013. Apple repaired it for a $300 flat-fee via their "Repair Depot" option and luckily I haven't had the issue happen again yet (but it did come back with some extra scratches and a 3 month warranty, I think? - can't remember now.) Hopefully the refund process isn't too difficult.
- iimpact 12y ago
  I had the same issue happen to me about a month ago, and also paid the flat $300 fee. I called Apple Support yesterday, and explained to them my situation and their current program. The employee that was helping me put me on hold a few times and eventually had me talk to his 'Senior Supervisor'. I then had to re-explain what was going on, and to my surprise, this was the first time the 'Senior Supervisor' heard of the Video Card warranty/program. He asked for my serial number and called my back to 'look into it'. About 25 minutes later, he explained the refund process to me. It will take about 4 weeks total, and you will have the option to get refunded via check or bank deposit (you'll need to give them routing number etc. if you choose this route).
tsax 12y ago
I don't have a 'video issue' as explained here, but I do have a problem with my my 'iSight' camera frequently not being recognized by Facetime (or anywhere else). The issue goes away upon rebooting. Any ideas? It's a 2012 edition MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15"
- jdmnd 12y ago
  I have the same issue on the mid 2012 13" model. The camera seems to stop being recognised whenever the macbook goes into sleep mode... no solution found so far.
  - tsax 12y ago
    It's really annoying and reminds me of Windows where such issues were routine and rebooting was not a big deal. I moved to a Mac to get away from such issues, and largely have, except this one niggling issue.
- aareet 12y ago
  I have that with my MacBook Air - instead of rebooting, try running this in your terminal: sudo killall VDCAssistant Works for me every time.
  - tsax 12y ago
    Thanks, will try it out!
  - tsax 12y ago
    It worked! Thanks a ton
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evanm 12y ago
THANKS FOR POSTING THIS. I was affected and had a repair done. Looks like they're reimbursing customers for past repairs for this issue. Woop!
car 12y ago
I had a similar problem with a Macbook from around 2009. The graphics became defective right after the 3 year Apple Care expired. This was a known motherboard issue with extended coverage, but I didn't know, so I went out and bought a new Macbook. What I would like to know is, why doesn't Apple inform the owners of affected hardware? It's not like they don't know, since they have everything they'd need for that in their customer database (Apple ID and contact info, Macbook serial numbers). I suspect they happily leave the onus on the consumer to discover that their out of warranty hardware has a serial defect who's repair is covered. I've seen this behavior with other manufacturers (Onkyo). I think that we need better laws to force the manufacturers to contact their customers, similar to safety recalls in the automobile space.
- umsm 12y ago
  Personally I go to the Apple Store even if I know I am out of warranty because they will lay out all of the options you have. Sometimes they offer free services because of recalls
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feelix 12y ago
Does anyone have a link on how to diagnose whether your machine exhibits this crash? everything that I can find that was available has been removed by Apple or expired.
RankingMember 12y ago
As someone who's owned a lot of cheap but reliable laptops, are those of you with MacBook Pros commonly needing to return to an Apple Store after purchasing for service? In my mind I've been on the verge of giving a MBP a shot a few times because my associates are always going on about how great the hardware and build quality is, but then I read about an issue like this and see what feels like a billion people chiming in about how "yeah mine does that too" and change my mind. Perhaps this is a case of brand loyalty (e.g. "I'd rather push a Chevy than drive a Ford"). I acknowledge that of course the horror stories will come out in the comments for a thread about a common failure, and that a very popular brand is likely to have more people to comment, positively or negatively. I guess I'm just concerned I'll splurge on a top-end MBP and end up with something less reliable than a $450 Toshiba that refused to die.
- dangson 12y ago
  I don't know how much a few anecdotes matter, but to answer your question, no. My MacBook from 2009 is running perfectly fine today. I used it quite heavily throughout college and always keep it on sleep mode so it's been running pretty much continuously for years. I did replace the hard-drive with an SSD, but I still use the original as a small portable drive. After giving that MacBook to my dad, I upgraded to a 13" Retina MacBook Pro, which is amazing. I used it for a few months before selling it to my brother and switching to the late 2013 15" one. Both laptops are running great and there are no screen issues. And for what it's worth, I had a positive experience when I needed to bring the 15" into the Apple store. I had stupidly used a cheap wireless mouse with a plastic USB connector and a piece of plastic got stuck in the USB port. Apple removed it free of charge.
Eleopteryx 12y ago
They are way too late with this. I imagine that most people who experienced this failure have gotten their device repaired out of pocket or moved on to a different laptop. I got mine repaired by some dude on eBay and it only worked for about a month after that, that $150 is gone. But at least I can finally have a usable MacBook Pro to possibly sell, as opposed to just a really expensive paperweight. However, I would like to know if they've actually fixed the fundamental design flaw that caused this problem to begin with. If they're merely going to replace the faulty parts for free with the exact same part, then it won't do much but give you an extension on the life of your advice until the same thing happens again.

247 points by lstamour 12y ago

This is great news, even though it's frustrating that they took so long to "do the right thing." Last year my 2011 MBP failed literally the day before its extended AppleCare expired. Had it failed a day later, I'd have been in some trouble.

berberous 12y ago
At least it was not a rMBP. My mid-2102 rMBP coverage expires this June, and I'm seriously thinking of selling it and upgrading just to get Apple care back. The whole computer is almost a single piece at this point. Any kind of damage is super expensive to repair out of warranty.
brandonmenc 12y ago
> it's frustrating that they took so long to "do the right thing." Par for the course. I was bit by logic board problems on the dual USB iBook (2002 model), which eventually got covered under a similar warranty extension. Then I had to pull teeth when my MacBook's plastic discolored in 2006.
ilyanep 12y ago
Mine failed literally the day after the AppleCare expired and thankfully the guy let me get it repaired as if it were under AppleCare. My understanding is that the store managers actually get a fair amount of leeway on this. Were that not the case, I would have had to think hard about spending $350 on a repair for a computer that was no longer my primary.
- JohnBooty 12y ago
  I'm glad they took care of you! I'm curious: had you bought the extended AppleCare? Reason I ask is because the general consensus seems to be that they cut you a lot more slack if you've paid for the 3-year warranty, even if it's expired. That's been my experience, but... I'm not rich enough to buy two identical MBPs (one without extended coverage) and use one as a proper control sample. :)
slantyyz 12y ago
>> This is great news Right now, this is only -good- news for me, because it's not clear what the fix is. My main concern is what they're replacing the defective boards with. When I replaced my motherboard under AppleCare, they basically gave me a new board with the same design defect. In less than 6 months, I had the same problems, and then my MBP died over the XMas holidays. Lucky me, I replaced it with a Lenovo that came with Superfish installed. For the news to be great, they'd have to replace my current board with a redesigned board that won't fail again in 6 months. Until more information trickles in from people who have gotten their MBPs fixed, I'm going to reserve judgment. In any case, I'm very happy that Apple finally decided to make whole the people who have suffered with this problem for the past few years. It was the right thing to do. I do feel badly for the people who sold their units at a significant loss though.
mbrd 12y ago
I had similar problems with a 2009 MBP about a month after AppleCare expired and they repaired it free of charge. They seem to be pretty good about that.

donatj 12y ago

Huh, I was having all these issues after upgrading to Yosemite but 10.10.2 seems to have fixed it. Wonder if this is still worth looking into?

lstamour 12y ago
Well, at least now you have until early 2016 if anything does come up...

jgh 12y ago

Well I had one of those 2011 MBPs that failed in this way...this was after my warranty expired and clearly before this repair was issued. They told me it would cost me like $350 or $400 or something to replace the motherboard on the thing. Ended up buying a new MBP and selling the bricked one for $100. There was an enormous thread spanning several years on the apple support forums, so it's a good thing they waited until 4 years later to address this problem...

mehrdada 12y ago
Same exact sentiment here with 2012 rMBP. Had to sell it for much lower and grabbed a new one. The NVIDIA GPU was faulty and it worked fine on Intel only. No way they reimburse the damage.
melling 12y ago
I got someone at the Apple Store to replace my board a couple years ago. I'd made a couple trips over a year. Initially, I stopped the reboot by not using the discreet card then I foolishly upgraded to a Mac OS X beta at WWDC then my machine rebooted quite frequently. Tried to grab an engineer to demonstrate the problem but the kernel guys were the only ones who I thought could track it down but I missed them.
prawn 12y ago
My MBP had this fault and was out of warranty (I'd taken too long to take it in). They replaced the logic board and screen free of charge. I think the amount shown on the zeroed invoice was close to $1k. Same Apple Store, my wife showed that her iPhone with cracked screen had dust in the camera, assured them the dust predated the screen smashing and they gave her a new phone. I suspect newly opened Apple stores are granted a budget to go above and beyond in order to build local reputation.
- marvin 12y ago
  My local Apple store, however (Eplehuset in Bergen, Norway) flagrantly violates Norwegian warranty law unless you show up multiple times, cite the specific chapter of the law they are violating and then threaten legal action. So it's clearly not a global policy.

zachberger 12y ago

I have never seen the visual glitches, however I have had my computer restart spontaneously and upon reboot would state "A graphics problem has been detected". I called Apple Care several times about this, and filed tickets on bugreporter.apple.com but made no progress. Glad they're finally getting around to fixing this. My model is: MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)

Nate75Sanders 12y ago

I have a mid-2010 13" MBP (wrong year, wrong size) that's doing stuff that sounds like their listed symptoms. Not sure if it's just randomly going bad or if they haven't determined for certain that other models are affected as well.

flomo 12y ago
Have the same model with the NV graphics, and have had occasional video glitching since I bought it refurbished. Crashes were rare until Yosemite, and perhaps my DP port is getting funky. I've wondered if these are also semi-defective, but it hasn't been well publicized. In any case I've gotten a ton of mileage out of it.
- 72deluxe 12y ago
  It would be interesting to see what Yosemite is doing with the GPU. If you could download and install Quartz Debug, you can get it to flash areas that are drawn with accelerated graphics in comparison to CPU drawn graphics. It would make an interesting comparison with Mavericks and previous. Interestingly, the one change they did make in Xcode 6 was that the build progress bar at the top of the screen is now drawn in software - it used to be the only thing in the entire IDE that was GPU accelerated!

o0-0o 12y ago

My rMBP has had choppy, crap video the whole time I've had it. Had one replaced for free, and going to get this one replaced as well (or try).

lowbloodsugar 12y ago

Damn it, I just new it was the GPU! So glad I held on to it! Its been in a couple of time and they offered to change the MB for too much money. I've tried different RAM, different SSDs. Its an old 2011 17" with the AMD GPU. Made my appointment already!

msoad 12y ago

My Late 2013 rMBP restarts randomly all the time. Should I go to Apple and ask for a replacement?

lstamour 12y ago
Check the serial number. Either way, I've yet to be completely disappointed by a trip to the Apple Store (with a pre-scheduled appointment and something to do on my phone while waiting). Even if out-of-warranty, they'll give you a free diagnosis and tell you how much it costs to fix. It wouldn't surprise me if it's entirely covered by this repair program.
stevenh 12y ago
My 15-inch Late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina has had the same problems since day one: Restarts, graphics glitches, hard system freeze every other day, etc. Unfortunately, despite the fact that similar manufacturing flaws are presumably present, we are not covered; our laptops are slightly too new.
buttonsmasher 12y ago
You should. I have the late 2013 model that I got in Jan'14 and I ran into the random restarts, freeze ups. This happened last week and I was out of warranty, they made me pay for the repair and I just picked it up yesterday. This is good news for me but I think regardless, this issue does show up sometime during the lifetime of the product. I would recommend getting it checked out.
- buttonsmasher 12y ago
  Well...looks like I missed the fine details, my model is not covered. wth

37prime 12y ago

I have worked on 6 units of 2011 MacBook Pro that had this issues. Two of them were repaired out-of-warranty, which cost $210+tax for parts and $100 for labor. I talked to AppleCare rep a few hours ago and Apple will refund me the repair cost.

blinkingled 12y ago

I have given up on buying laptops with dGPUs - Post Sandy Bridge Intel's GPU is more than what a non-gaming machine needs and I certainly don't need the battery loss and added heat. (These dGPU related repair issues seems like the are an Apple only thing though - my work laptop has a Nvidia GPU and it is running most of the times due to sleep/wake issues - no other problems in the past 4 years. Haven't heard of any other manufacturers having similar issues recently either.)

girvo 12y ago
Various HP laptops have also had major issues with dGPUs, Nvidia ones to boot.
- blinkingled 12y ago
  Hmm, there was a class action settlement in 2011 for that it appears. No repair programs that I can find - may be Apple's the most proactive in issuing repairs and other manufacturers' issues are swept under the rug because of relatively low visibility.
dmishe 12y ago
I believe the root of the problem, lead-free soldering joints, was common to all portables of that time
- pmjordan 12y ago
  Nvidia and AMD GPUs probably generate more heat than Intel chips and so have likely been more badly affected. Has there been some breakthrough in the alloy used for solder that makes this less of an issue now? Also interesting that I've never heard of this issue with desktop GPUs, which get insanely hot. My guess is the solder pads are bigger and more widely spaced?
  - rsfern 12y ago
    I'm not aware of any major breakthroughs in the past few years, but lead-free solder alloys are an active research area right now. Here's a SANDIA report from 2012 that has some context and some cool micrographs; you can find lots more by searching the web for tin whisker growth in lead-free solders. (edit: pdf warning) http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2012/120519.pdf http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2012/12051...

yuletide666 12y ago

Support fail.

lucaspiller 12y ago

Has anyone else had issues with Macbook Air having marks on the screen which won't come off? These look like tiny scratches, but are in a line and roughly where the screen touches the top of the trackpad when closed. I've had it with both the 11" and 13" models of the current design. Apple replaced the screen on both, but the same happened and then my warranty expired.

CardenB 12y ago
Yes! I had this exact problem with my MBPr 15" (2013). I used to bike with it in my backpack, and I believe the pressure from that pushed the screen in, causing it to scrape the metal near the trackpad. Any pressure should cause this to happen, given that they're so thin.
gurkendoktor 12y ago
The Air does not have a glass cover on the screen, so yes, I have the same issue and I think it's normal. I've had the some marks on my glassless iBook G4. Still better than the glossy screen on the non-Retina MBP :)
dewey 12y ago
Same problem here [0], I was calling apple about that problem for at least 5 times and they always refused and blamed it on me using it wrong. I called them again last week because I wanted to give it another shot before my apple care protection plan expires and after sending them a bunch of pictures they escalated the case to a higher-level rep, called me back and agreed to replace it. The only reason they did that was that I also had these marks on the border of the display, not just in the center and they said then it's an issue with the anti-glare coating and not just scratched from using it wrong (even though it's clearly the same kind of wear). There's also a huge thread in the apple support forum.[1] and it got featured on a big german IT news site. [2] I'll get a new display next week. [0] http://i.imgur.com/9BAfZQP.jpg http://i.imgur.com/9BAfZQP.jpg [1] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6068947 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6068947 [2] http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/MacBook-Pro-Berichte-ueber-anfaellige-Retina-Display-Beschichtung-2520451.html http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/MacBook-Pro-Berichte-...
12y ago

amikula 12y ago

In the last 6 months, I've had my 15" late 2011 model MBP repaired three times for this exact problem. After the first failure, they haven't charged again for the subsequent motherboard replacements. I guess so many are failing all at once that they couldn't ignore the problem anymore. Interestingly, the first time I had it repaired, I was charged $550 by a third-party "repair" shop who told me up front that it the motherboard needed to be replaced, then took it to Apple and payed them $330 to fix it. Caveat emptor.

kenrikm 12y ago
Yeah the standard flat rate fee for motherboard related issues from Apple is just about $300. With this in mind it's usually a better idea to take them to Apple then use third party shops. I've had the exact same issue happen to me on Apple laptops all the way back to my 2008 Macbook Pro and eventually Apple made the same extension for that model as they are with these newer models. After a few years the video chipset seems to have connection issues that may or may not be solved with a reflow attempt (baking the logic board in the oven)

fpgeek 12y ago

Well, well. Just as with the iMessage switching from iPhone issues, it seems that sometimes it takes a class action lawsuit to get results from Apple: http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/28/apple-class-action-lawsuit-2011-macbook-pro-gpu-graphics-issues/ http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/28/apple-class-action-lawsuit-201... Full disclosure: I'm pretty sure my wife is owed a reimbursement over this.

frade33 12y ago

Just last month I finally sold my 15" MBP (early 2011) for $500 after whining on reddit, and having no chance of repair, except the apple auth. guy said, I need to change motherboard. http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2ka0h0/yosemite_crippled_my_mbp_2011_early_switched_back/ http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/2ka0h0/yosemite_cripp... Also I voted this. http://www.change.org/p/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-2011-macbook-pro-with-graphics-failure http://www.change.org/p/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-20... I wish I had not sold it. :/ because for $500 I could only get the HP pavilion :/ as a replacement., you know that alone is the most terrible fact about this whole episode. that Had to use a HP lappy. :/ If I were apple CEO, I would be sending a personally signed, apologizing note to each of these customers, with a bag carrying a new MBP. In my case it took 45% of my fortune to buy that machine. :/

ceejayoz 12y ago
> In my case it took 45% of my fortune to buy that machine. Maybe that's not a great idea for a device that has a 3-5 year lifespan anyways?
wcfields 12y ago
I had the same exact model, except I bought mine Refurb'd from Apple with Applecare so it was going to run out this March. Rather than risk having a brick I sold it on Craigslist for $850. This is after having the logic board and hard-drive replaced twice by Apple a few years earlier.
- lstamour 12y ago
  If you paid Apple, maybe ask for a refund anyway. They have a record of your service/transaction, and it's not like the computer is required, just ID and perhaps a credit card statement or the like.

arthurfm 12y ago

Where do you stand if you have an Early 2011 15" MacBook Pro that has a faulty GPU but is long out of warranty? Even with this extension program, you aren't any better off since you would still have to pay for the repair according to Apple's website? I guess this is where your statutory rights come into play if you live in the UK (like I am) since these entitle you to the free repair or replacement of the defective goods up to six years after purchase. http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

nandhp 12y ago
The second paragraph says "Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will repair affected MacBook Pro systems, free of charge."
- arthurfm 12y ago
  Thanks! I misread the text at the bottom of the page (due to tiredness). You're right though, the repair would be free of charge. "This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the MacBook Pro."

quackerhacker 12y ago

I have applecare for my 15 MBP w/retina (THANKFULLY), and I can attest that I've had to have Apple replaced the logic board twice. Both times, the screen's backlight would just go out. Great to hear Apple is doing this, but then disappointing that it's even an issue for a $2k+ laptop.

ryan_j_naughton 12y ago

Late 2011 Macbook Pro here, and I had to get my logic board replaced twice. Thankfully, it was still under Apple Care, but had it not been I definitely would not have paid for the repair TWICE and would have ended up selling the bricked laptop like others did. Given that virtually everyone would have taken their MBP to an Apple Store (even those who decided to not get the repairs), Apple has a list of most people who experienced this issue. If they want to maintain their reputation for quality, it would be wise to find a way to reimburse people who they can confirm (with said previous apple store appointments for this issue). They don't need to reimburse everyone, but they could definitely find a way to rebuild some trust here.

G650 12y ago
They will be reimbursing those people. If you read the additional information at the bottom of the site: "Additional Information Apple is contacting customers who paid for a repair either though Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to arrange reimbursement. If you have not been contacted, but paid for a repair that you think was due to this issue, please contact Apple."
josu 12y ago
I don't really think this damaged their reputation, even in the slightest way. I had never heard of the problem, and it seems that even the people that suffered it went ahead and bought another mac: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9079010 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9079010
- akent 12y ago
  I downvoted you because you simply can't draw that conclusion just based on the evidence of one anecdotal account from an affected user and from your own ignorance of the problem. Of course this has damaged their reputation in the minds of some affected users.
  - ryan_j_naughton 12y ago
    I absolutely agree. Having to bring my laptop in on a yearly basis to get it fixed due to this issue definitely lowered my expectation of hardware quality in Macs. I will absolutely still be buying another Mac, but that is primarily because of the operating system and ergonomic design principles -- all of which make me a much more productive developer. Because Apple bundles everything (and refuses to unbundle the OS from the hardware in any way), you are likely right that the effect will be minimal because the benefits of all the goods (bundled together) outweighs the costs (and consumers have no choice -- if they want any part of the bundle, they must buy all of it).

jogloran 12y ago

I have an early 2011 and have had this problem twice. The latest time I was working in SF and didn't think they would replace the logic board again for free, it being three years out of warranty. They did, which suggests to me that internally Apple has been aware of this problem for quite some time. This program gives me relief because I can see the problem happening again. If I remember correctly the store said it was due to loose connections between the logic board and the discrete graphics. It originally manifested as lockups as soon as the discrete GPU kicked in. For anyone else seeing this problem, I was able to manage that using a tool called gfxCardStatus which disables the discrete GPU. I'm pleased that Apple is doing the right thing by their customers and offering to reimburse historical repairs.

X-Istence 12y ago
I had a 2007 MacBook Pro, it had the original round of Nvidia issues. I got one from a friend in 2013. Originally I was going to use it as a parts machine because I wanted the CD drive, but instead I realised it may have the Nvidia issues. I brought it into Apple and it popped for the issue, so they sent it off, I got it back and it was fully functional again. No charge. To this day it still works without issues :-)

ryen 12y ago

I have a 2010 MBP that experienced system restarts from a Apple-known video issue and they fixed it out of warranty (required complete motherboard replacement). They should extend this to the 2010 models as well.

ryen 12y ago
EDIT: (this was 2 years ago)

mcv 12y ago

I've got a 2011 Macbook Pro, and sometimes video refuses to play, but I always assume it's because I've got way too much stuff open, and it's low on memory.

akent 12y ago
If you have this problem, you definitely know about it. Complete system lockups, glitches all over the screen, you name it. It's not just a simple software error.

thom 12y ago

Hoping this covers my issues with an early 2013 retina - the system crashes whenever I let it use the discrete graphics, and it's got to the point that I can't let it sleep or power down or it's touch and go whether it comes back. I currently use a combination of NoSleep, gfxCardStatus and blind hope to keep it going.

lancefisher 12y ago

Oh nice. My 2001 anti-glare MBP has been flickering when trying to display purple for some reason. Visiting getbootstrap.com puts scan lines across the screen. I was thinking it might be the display, but now I'm thinking it's the GPU.

bpierre 12y ago

I had this model, and the graphic issues started to appear during the last summer. After having acknowledged the situation [1] (Apple doesn’t officially admit there is a problem, and chances are that I will have to pay for a new logic board since I am out of warranty), I went to an Apple Store in the UK for a diagnostic. I was about to pay for the new logic board, and the person confirmed to me that in case of a recall happening in the future, I would be refunded by Apple. Nice surprise when he asked me where I bought it: since I ordered it on the Apple website, even if it was on the french Apple Store website, they proposed me to replace it using the UK warranty, which is 6 years (!) instead of 1 year in France [2] (I didn’t take the Apple Care). A few hours after having my computer back, the exact same graphic issues started again. I went back to the Apple Store, and they changed it again. Everything was working fine… Until two months later, when the sound chip just died: no errors in OS X, but no sound at all (from speakers, microphone or jack plug). I went back to the Apple Store, and they changed the logic board again (it wasn’t a problem because all replacements are covered by warranty). A few days later, the graphic issues started again. I went back to the Apple Store. Since they changed the logic board three times already, they proposed me to replace the MBP by a brand new one: the latest and high-end model (since they have to replace it with an equivalent), and I even received an external drive since the new models don’t have one, and despite having said that I don’t need it. I think I have been really lucky: I just wanted to repair it so I could sell it and buy a new model. I ended up with the latest model without paying anything except a few hours spent at the Apple Store. Lessons learned: - Buy your Apple computer from Apple if you can. - You have a 6 years warranty in the UK. [1] http://www.mbp2011.com/ http://www.mbp2011.com/ [2] http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ Edit: the legal warranty is 2 years in France, not 1 year.

riquito 12y ago
> instead of 1 year [of warranty] in France Didn't you mean 2 years? In the whole Europe you get at least 2 years of warranty Cit. EU directive 1999/44/EC "A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period."

ronyeh 12y ago

Unfortunately, I have a Mid 2010 MBP that is not covered under this warranty extension. It crashes/restarts all the time with a GPU panic that is caused by the nVidia card, and triggered by the OS. It never crashed with Snow Leopard (the stock OS for my model), but ever since I upgraded, it crashes consistently (Mountain Lion & Mavericks). I use gfxCardStatus to force the computer to use the intel graphics card. This allows me to work without random restarts.

mheiler 12y ago
Same here. It's a shame since otherwise this ~5y old computer still is holding up well.
imeron 12y ago
Same. It makes an otherwise totally fine computer worthless. There was a recall for this problem too (http://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203554 http://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203554), but it already ended.
- ig1 12y ago
  Yes. I had the same problem and Apple did a free out-of-warranty logic board replacement for me.
- ilteris 12y ago
  same, unfortunately I wasn't aware of the recall until after it ended. I am stuck with the defected board. I also use gfxcardstatus to keep my sanity.
- rimsy 12y ago
  +1
xentronium 12y ago
I had exact same problem and got my motherboard replaced for free 2 years ago.
72deluxe 12y ago

chenster 12y ago

Just checked, mine is late 2013, shewww...

binoyxj 12y ago

This is why I like Apple. Issues are inevitable, but to stay put with customers in tough times and provide free service shows their class!

mehrdada 12y ago
Note that this has been a "known issue" for a long time for a bunch of high end $2000+ products and they have only announced this after years since the incident happened. Not so classy.
72deluxe 12y ago
It is good but it took a lot of complaining to get this done, and a class action lawsuit. I consider myself fortunate that I got a mid 2012 MBP without retina and it is (so far) free of these issues.
lukevella 12y ago
This is too little, too late if you ask me
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FireBeyond 12y ago
You realize this only came out after a lawsuit was initiated, right? -- owner of a maxed out early 2013 15" rMBP whose laptop can be counted on to freeze up once a day (and to rub salt into the wound, on reboot, "You restarted your computer due to a graphics problem", which is a funny way of saying "I crashed because of a graphics problem")

gburt 12y ago

Nice, as of this morning, I couldn't get video out of my mid-2012 rMBP after about 20 GPU Panics I've reported over the last week. I imagine they must have thousands of them coming in as they start to fail.

the_gipsy 12y ago

Great, my girlfriend just sold hers last week for 100€ after enduring a year of the video card crashing.

w4 12y ago
Same thing basically happened to me - I just bought a new rMBP in lieu of throwing good money after bad on a logic board repair. Literally, I'm days out of the return period. Thankfully I still have the bricked 2011 MBP, so I'll get it fixed and keep it as a backup machine I guess.

jerogarcia 12y ago

i got a retina mbp 13" , i'm having all sort of problems , random logouts .. black screens with the computer on etc. started to happen 2 months after upgrading to yosemite. I'm seriously considering buying a normal laptop and install linux on it .. i love macs but it is affecting my productivity.

cerberusss 12y ago
It's a lemon... Apple is somewhat better quality-wise, but not perfect. Personally, if you have the funds, I'd get another one and bring in the old one for diagnosis. System logs (accessible via the Console app) often show kernel panics and other stuff.

tsenkov 12y ago

I am experiencing some similar issues with my 15" mid2012 rMBP. Whenever I work on some canvas/webgl game, after some refreshing in the browser (reproducible with Safari and Chrome) the entire screen freezes, without any chance for recover and I have to power it down, manually. Has anyone had this problem and do you know if it qualifies for the Repair Extension Program?

guillim85 12y ago
I have exactly the same problem and still wondering if this repair extension program will change anything.
kevinbluer 12y ago
I've definitely experienced (and still do) this. After a bit of digging I found this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6602046?start=105&tstart=0 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6602046?start=105&tstar... which points to "discrete GPU and/or the switching to and from it". Not sure if it's the same issue, but worth inquiring for sure :)

fwaddle 12y ago

I have an Early 2011 Mac Book Pro which has had the motherboard replaced twice because of this issue. The first one was 3 years out of warranty so I had to pay $700 (Aus). The second time it happened only 6 months after the first motherboard replacement. I'm currently on the phone with their support to get my money back hopefully. Although it has been 28 minutes waiting so far... Perhaps I'm not the only one calling Apple tonight. Edit: ok all sorted out. Refund is in the mail ;) Turns out I was the first one to call them apparently so they weren't sure how to process it. I ended up getting transferred to someone that sounded UK'ish with a nice 80's phone time delay. Woohoo Nice present for the weekend me thinks!!

daviddoran 12y ago

I'm delighted they're finally doing this. I've a 2011 Macbook Pro sitting on a shelf for the last year because the graphics went haywire and eventually it wouldn't start at all.

psp 12y ago

The occasional screen freeze with Macbook Pro late 2013 model here. Too bad its not covered by this program. Oh well, have to restart it manually here and there.

stevenh 12y ago
It would be nice of Apple to disclose exactly what has been causing the problem on older models, and to explain in detail what lucky accidental change they made to their manufacturing process in late 2013 which supposedly fixed a problem they implicitly claim they were unaware existed until now.
johnboiles 12y ago
Same here, rMBP late 2013. Problems happen most frequently when plugged into an external thunderbolt display.

blowback 12y ago

Just taken my 15" 2011 MBP in - as luck would have it I had a 0930 appointment. Even tho the replacement programme doesn't start here in the UK until the 27th Feb, they were happy to do a gratis repair "under consumer law". Without me having to shout at all. "You'll beat the rush!" said the guy.

milos_cohagen 12y ago

I'm on my 3rd logic board with my early-2011 15". To Apple's credit they covered it every time. I'm confused though.. does this news mean if it happens again, they'll cover it? And if so, for how much longer?

Alex3917 12y ago
> And if so, for how much longer? Apple stores stop stocking parts and offering any support 5 years after the model date. After that the only thing they will do is offer to clean your screen. If they have parts you can still mail it into Apple, or else you can look for parts at a third-party supplier, but that's about it. Not entirely clear what will happen in this case.

felipc 12y ago

I'm curious to know why is this a hardware fix. The problems on my mid-2012 mbp only started after the upgrade to Yosemite, and this seems to be the case from many reports on forums out there.

wila 12y ago
Had the same experience on updating to Mavericks. Ended up having to replace the logic board while abroad and didn't want to update to Mavericks for a long time (although I recently did) There might be something related to the update or not, difficult to say, but most likely it is just a coincidence.
slantyyz 12y ago
Apparently the MBP runs super hot, weakening the solder links to the discrete GPU. The problem is that there seems to be a design defect either in the chassis, logic board or both. Replacing the logic board basically just resets you to day one. If you're a heavy user, you'll soon encounter the same issue, which is why a lot of people -- myself included -- have had the problem recur. While I'll be taking advantage of the fix (I can't even boot my Macbook Pro, even the post screen is messed up), I'm hoping they've actually made a fix to the logic board design as opposed to giving me a replacement logic board with the same problematic design.
- colomon 12y ago
  Ah, that would explain why it happened twice to me! To be fair, the replaced logic board lasted about a year. This is doubly good news for me, because it makes it sound like my early 2011 MBP is likely to be covered, and I can reasonably hope the fix will last longer than a year, as my main development work has been moved to a mid-2014 MBPR.
jpgauthier 12y ago
Strange, the problem occurred on my rMBP 2012 right after I upgraded to Yosemite (literally the same day). I also thought it was more of a software bug, so I downgraded to Mavericks. I still had the issue on Mavericks, so I thought it was a just a coincidence. Also, at that time, Apple wasn't aware of the problem and I wasn't on Apple Care, so they didn't want to test more my laptop. The only option was a straight 600 bucks repair... I still find it really strange that a lot of us had this problem after a software upgrade...

Dorian-Marie 12y ago

Yep, happens to me too, random freezing is especially annoying. Also, random weird black screen flickering, and grey/old-TV-like screen glitches are just ugly but not really a problem.

caseyf 12y ago

I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro that has this problem. I called Apple this morning and they told me that I'd have to bring it in to an Apple store. The page on Apple.com offers a postage paid "Mail In Service" option if you are in the US but the customer service rep didn't know anything about that.

cswelin 12y ago

Wonder if they will still reimburse me. They only noted "Computer will not turn on and there are no signs of power" for the repair, since I didn't take it in until the logic board died (did reboot randomly, and random colours on the screen). 17 Days later I had another repair on the new part for "Mac shuts down unexpectedly during use with battery". Think my bill was around $600-$800 for the logic board replacement.

dmart 12y ago
They keep a more extensive internal work log regarding your repair than what is listed on your invoice, so if you call there's a good chance they can look through your history and see whether they identified it as a graphics issue.
- cswelin 12y ago
  sadly the senior support support guy told me since it doesn't clearly state "graphic problems or random reboots" there's a good chance his request will be denied. Didn't take it in during those problem since it "worked" and was out of warranty, but did when that last reboot wouldn't 'reboot'. Lesson learned :S

hiphopyo 12y ago

Great news! Been struggling with this for a long time and thought I was the only one! https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/709328/geforce-drivers/nvidia-windows-kernel-mode-driver-335-23-stopped-responding-and-was-recovered-successfully/post/4211491/#4211491 https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/709328/geforce-driv...

jwcooper 12y ago

Consider me another Macbook Pro owner (late 2011) that had this issue. I've now gone through two logic boards. Luckily, the second was covered under the warranty of the first replacement. Has anyone here been contacted by Apple for Reimbursement yet?

iimpact 12y ago
The program 'officially' started today. I called them yesterday for my reimbursement, check my other reply explaining the process.

goshx 12y ago

Nice. This problem started happening more than a year ago on my early 2011. I just had it sitting collecting dust as I got the 2013 version. Last week I decided to take it to get repaired... and now they announce this. Hopefully this will save me the $300 repair.

shadeslayer 12y ago

I've had this for quite a while now, went through 2 motherboard replacements one after the other for this exact defect. It's good to know that they'll still change it for another couple of years in case things go sideways.

rob 12y ago

This happened to my early 2011 15" MacBook Pro sometime mid-2013. Apple repaired it for a $300 flat-fee via their "Repair Depot" option and luckily I haven't had the issue happen again yet (but it did come back with some extra scratches and a 3 month warranty, I think? - can't remember now.) Hopefully the refund process isn't too difficult.

iimpact 12y ago
I had the same issue happen to me about a month ago, and also paid the flat $300 fee. I called Apple Support yesterday, and explained to them my situation and their current program. The employee that was helping me put me on hold a few times and eventually had me talk to his 'Senior Supervisor'. I then had to re-explain what was going on, and to my surprise, this was the first time the 'Senior Supervisor' heard of the Video Card warranty/program. He asked for my serial number and called my back to 'look into it'. About 25 minutes later, he explained the refund process to me. It will take about 4 weeks total, and you will have the option to get refunded via check or bank deposit (you'll need to give them routing number etc. if you choose this route).

tsax 12y ago

I don't have a 'video issue' as explained here, but I do have a problem with my my 'iSight' camera frequently not being recognized by Facetime (or anywhere else). The issue goes away upon rebooting. Any ideas? It's a 2012 edition MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15"

jdmnd 12y ago
I have the same issue on the mid 2012 13" model. The camera seems to stop being recognised whenever the macbook goes into sleep mode... no solution found so far.
- tsax 12y ago
  It's really annoying and reminds me of Windows where such issues were routine and rebooting was not a big deal. I moved to a Mac to get away from such issues, and largely have, except this one niggling issue.
aareet 12y ago
I have that with my MacBook Air - instead of rebooting, try running this in your terminal: sudo killall VDCAssistant Works for me every time.
- tsax 12y ago
  Thanks, will try it out!
- tsax 12y ago
  It worked! Thanks a ton

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evanm 12y ago

THANKS FOR POSTING THIS. I was affected and had a repair done. Looks like they're reimbursing customers for past repairs for this issue. Woop!

car 12y ago

I had a similar problem with a Macbook from around 2009. The graphics became defective right after the 3 year Apple Care expired. This was a known motherboard issue with extended coverage, but I didn't know, so I went out and bought a new Macbook. What I would like to know is, why doesn't Apple inform the owners of affected hardware? It's not like they don't know, since they have everything they'd need for that in their customer database (Apple ID and contact info, Macbook serial numbers). I suspect they happily leave the onus on the consumer to discover that their out of warranty hardware has a serial defect who's repair is covered. I've seen this behavior with other manufacturers (Onkyo). I think that we need better laws to force the manufacturers to contact their customers, similar to safety recalls in the automobile space.

umsm 12y ago
Personally I go to the Apple Store even if I know I am out of warranty because they will lay out all of the options you have. Sometimes they offer free services because of recalls

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feelix 12y ago

Does anyone have a link on how to diagnose whether your machine exhibits this crash? everything that I can find that was available has been removed by Apple or expired.

RankingMember 12y ago

As someone who's owned a lot of cheap but reliable laptops, are those of you with MacBook Pros commonly needing to return to an Apple Store after purchasing for service? In my mind I've been on the verge of giving a MBP a shot a few times because my associates are always going on about how great the hardware and build quality is, but then I read about an issue like this and see what feels like a billion people chiming in about how "yeah mine does that too" and change my mind. Perhaps this is a case of brand loyalty (e.g. "I'd rather push a Chevy than drive a Ford"). I acknowledge that of course the horror stories will come out in the comments for a thread about a common failure, and that a very popular brand is likely to have more people to comment, positively or negatively. I guess I'm just concerned I'll splurge on a top-end MBP and end up with something less reliable than a $450 Toshiba that refused to die.

dangson 12y ago
I don't know how much a few anecdotes matter, but to answer your question, no. My MacBook from 2009 is running perfectly fine today. I used it quite heavily throughout college and always keep it on sleep mode so it's been running pretty much continuously for years. I did replace the hard-drive with an SSD, but I still use the original as a small portable drive. After giving that MacBook to my dad, I upgraded to a 13" Retina MacBook Pro, which is amazing. I used it for a few months before selling it to my brother and switching to the late 2013 15" one. Both laptops are running great and there are no screen issues. And for what it's worth, I had a positive experience when I needed to bring the 15" into the Apple store. I had stupidly used a cheap wireless mouse with a plastic USB connector and a piece of plastic got stuck in the USB port. Apple removed it free of charge.

Eleopteryx 12y ago

They are way too late with this. I imagine that most people who experienced this failure have gotten their device repaired out of pocket or moved on to a different laptop. I got mine repaired by some dude on eBay and it only worked for about a month after that, that $150 is gone. But at least I can finally have a usable MacBook Pro to possibly sell, as opposed to just a really expensive paperweight. However, I would like to know if they've actually fixed the fundamental design flaw that caused this problem to begin with. If they're merely going to replace the faulty parts for free with the exact same part, then it won't do much but give you an extension on the life of your advice until the same thing happens again.