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Comment by cmurf | Hacker News Reader

Then repair with the same substandard part that ends up failing again later. e.g. 2011 Macbook Pro with the GPU problem.

I've got such a 2011 Macbook Pro, and it had a logic board replacement to fix the GPU problem in late 2014 and now that logic board has failed with the same problem.

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Mine failed 4 times. Otherwise perfectly good computer, even faster than my 2017 model with the same specs, now sitting on my shelf useless

They didn't replace it after the 3rd failure? The third time I called about repairing my Core 2 Duo MacBook, they just let me pick out a brand new model for free.

My 3rd failure happened during the recall that they were forced to implement from the class-action lawsuit. My 4th failure happened 3 months later - after the recall legally ended..

So one big FU from Apple to Me. Thank you Apple.

The program only covers "4 years after the first retail sale of the unit." All Apple has to do is kick the can down the road until then.

Four years seems like a reasonable amount of time to cover an issue. If it fails after that, it’s time to buy a new computer anyway.

> it’s time to buy a new computer anyway.

Why if your older computer is working fine and you are happy with it?

Don’t buy a new computer then...

That is my point.

And my point was that 4 years is completely acceptable amount of coverage. If you want to keep your computer longer, by all means, but you shouldn't expect repairs to be covered forever.

> but you shouldn't expect repairs to be covered forever.

or you could design your products so that if it breaks, its easier for the user to repair it themselves instead of advocating for throwing it in the trash and buying a new product.

I personally prefer they continue to design for thinness and lightness vs. easy repairability, but to each their own.

That is because you dont have to deal with all the waste that is generated with all those broken devices, some third world country has to though.

I believe Apple is at the forefront of manufacturing devices that are readily recyclable.

Pretty sure System 76 will sell you some ugly box that you can fix and hold on to forever.

Vote with your wallet and buy a ThinkPad?

I have a Thinkpad from work and a MagSafe MacBook at home. I wanted to love the Thinkpad so I don’t have to even entertain the possibility of being ripped off buying a new MacBook in the next couple of years. It’s a great pc laptop, better than most I’ve used. But it’s not in the same league as my old MacBook. A lot of the problem is how the hardware works under windows - it just doesn’t quite ‘click’. It feels disjointed and it’s really not enjoyable to use. I’ve only had it for a few months so it may grow on me. But the trackpad is really bad, like all other pc laptops I’ve tried. How on earth did they (Microsoft? Lenovo?) decide dragging a single finger on the trackpad could sometimes be a drag, rather than moving the pointer? Did anyone actually test it and decide it was good? Or just ‘good enough’?

The resale value for a Mac after 4 years can easily be 50% of the original price. With this issue; not so much.

That's sad, it means that it takes 4 years for Mac's to double in quality.

I had a failing MacBook Pro PSU which Apple refushed to replace because it was out of warrantee. I was told that I should instead buy a new one.

I found asking for an official Apple estimate of working lifetime was enough get them to post me a replacement with no further questions asked.

In the UK under law you can expect a reasonable working lifetime for anything you buy. Manufacturers can’t really refuse tell you what that is and refuse to replace/repair the product at the same time.

My suspicion is that Apple don’t want state upfront, your new laptop is only going to last 2 or 3 years (MTF) and then will probably go kaput because that would change the way people assess the value of new purchases.

If something is a consumable and is going to wear out you should expect that to be clearly stated.

Worth a try anyway.

Oh hell. I've had the GPU replacement a couple of years back on my MBP Late-2011. That machine might be the Ship of Theseus by now, but it still holds up.

Here's me not looking forward to another failure.

My 2011 MacBook Pro failed with a dead GPU in the store as they were returning it to me with a brand new logic board. The level of QA on that batch of GPUs was astoundingly bad.

Same here, apple replacing the logicboard with another one having the same design flaw of course did not _fix_ the problem.

me too. And after the first "repair", it started running really hot.

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