This time I've had enough. Exactly one year a go I fought with my previous MBP and Apple needed 3 service visits before they accepted to change my computer to a new one.
Now when I called Apple I knew already that by swapping this machine to a new one might not help at all. All I want is to them to realize that I have now in my hands a faulty computer and they should do whatever is to be done to fix it.
First calls was like teaching quantum physics to a dog. It was so hard to Apple people (okay, people whom I speak with who worked at Apple phone service) to understand that it could no possibly be a software fault. Once I made mistake and mentioned that even running 2 virtual machines simultaneously is enough to overheat CPU to 100+°C. Then I had to answer next five minutes to questions "have you updated your VMWare?" "some software consume more CPU time when not updated"
I bet these people would rather open windows on a car when cold than turn down the AC.
Then I found the secret words "can you put trough to the different department" then I was able to talk with people who have more logical approach to this problem. After serious of consideration of this problem I was stunned. I thought that the joke of "it is not a defect it is a feature" was only a joke... Big news it's true... not the part "it is a feature" but the part where it is not anymore a funny joke. When I've told for the 10th time that this overheating issue occurs every single time and not only on OS X but also with Windows I was told to visit the authorized service point once more.
This time I did not left my computer there as I hear the magic words (this could be second magic phrase already?) "Our hand are tied we can only do what we're told to do" So there were no point of swapping the motherboard any more. I had opportunity to show the people at the service how bad the situation is and quickly we booted my MacBook Pro from external clean OS X 10.6.x install and I was able to get CPU to 105°C. I was only told that these machines are not meant to be used like that. No joke here either.
I called Apple again and tell them that this overheating thing is real and asked if they are planning to do anything to fix it. I was told to run certain app that collects data while I reproduce the fault. Yes the app collected data alright. Data from sending fax, file system usage and last but not least it collected network usage. I was not amused.
I was questioned (by mail) for the seventh time whether this overheating occurs only when using certain programs (like I have not told that to them clearly enough six times before?) and being suggested that maybe upgrading to Snow Leopard could help. (I should pay more to be able to use my computer? And I've already proven that Snow Leopard does not fix this issue and. Even if it would fix overheating temporarily I would not settle with that. Permanent fix should be updated firmware which would follow along to Windows too)
Today 18.12.2009 I got final call from Apple and message was this:
"This "flaw" you described is normal thing and we've discussed with engineers and they've came to a decision that by swapping your computer to a new one would not help in this manner."
I'm speechless.
Please Apple fix this lazy fan issue so I can use every megahertz that I've paid for.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Just a dust - why so serious?
I got call from service point telling me that I could now pick up my computer. They've cleaned the interior from dust. Normally this type of service would cost me but they forgot to tell me this so this one is free of charge.
Why was I not convinced that this is the solution? Even though they said that they tested and saw no more than 70°C on CPU temperature.
I brought the computer home and fired up two "yes > /dev/null" and soon saw temperatures above 100°C. Why did not they test my computer properly? Was they on a hurry?
I soon visited service point again... this time without any hopes of facing expertise at the other side of the service counter.
Week... or two later I return to pick up my computer. New motherboard (Logic board) installed and this time they tested it 24 hours with Apple hardware test and it did not overheat.
I was not surprised to see that nothing have changed... Still every game is unplayable because of massive FPS drops due to CPU's temperature throttling. I have a nice 2,8GHz CPU which is usable only on light usage. When I try to push it to the limits it just regresses back to 2005 when I last had this slow CPU.
Why was I not convinced that this is the solution? Even though they said that they tested and saw no more than 70°C on CPU temperature.
I brought the computer home and fired up two "yes > /dev/null" and soon saw temperatures above 100°C. Why did not they test my computer properly? Was they on a hurry?
I soon visited service point again... this time without any hopes of facing expertise at the other side of the service counter.
Week... or two later I return to pick up my computer. New motherboard (Logic board) installed and this time they tested it 24 hours with Apple hardware test and it did not overheat.
I was not surprised to see that nothing have changed... Still every game is unplayable because of massive FPS drops due to CPU's temperature throttling. I have a nice 2,8GHz CPU which is usable only on light usage. When I try to push it to the limits it just regresses back to 2005 when I last had this slow CPU.
The era of Unibody
I don't know whether last blog entry ended dramatically enough.
There are no words to describe how my thrill turned to disappointment.
I did not like the Glossy screen. I definitely did not like the loose hinges, but most of all...
I did not like my new MacBook Pro's CPU overheating to 110°C and therefore CPU dropping to 1,6GHz
15 minutes after hearing the "wall-e chime" i typed "yes > /dev/null" in two separate terminal windows just to check how quiet this new Unibody computer was. Indeed it was quiet... it was really quiet... a bit too quiet?
Soon after installing temperature and fan speed monitor software if found out why this Unibody seemed so quiet compared to my 1st MacBook Pro which fans were at 4500 - 5000rpm and cpu temperature was at 85°C at full load. This Unibody MacBook Pro's fans never speed up above 2000rpm. When I had enough courage I launched again two yes -processes and this time I did not quit them... I watched CPU squirming at 110°C for ~5 minutes and eventually fans started slowly speeding up untill CPU temperature was dropped to 95°C.
I even installed the supplied OS X Leopard twice to make sure that it is not software related problem. I also installed Windows XP to check and yes. Same overheating problem (actually I should call this lazy fan problem) occurred there too. I tried gaming but first 15 minutes was like a watching dia presentation as the CPU was constantly switching between 2800MHz and 1600MHz.
I was angry, not again a faulty computer. Well this time the flaw is so obvious so I have nothing to worry about. Maybe one week without computer and then I could finally have a computer whereto I can trust in every situation.
Did I mention before "boy how wrong I was" ?
I made one big mistake. I Google'd "Unibody overheat" and found several other Unibody owners struggling with this fan issue.
I made my assumptions that this is a flaw that concerns all Unibody laptops. Therefore i thought that Apple would make a Firmware update to make fans wake up earlier. And because an fix is already on its way it is pointless to take my new machine to a repair.
I prolonged the inevitable too long. Finally I had to visit the same service point and I asked whether they know what to do with this type overheating. And sure they did have an solution...
There are no words to describe how my thrill turned to disappointment.
I did not like the Glossy screen. I definitely did not like the loose hinges, but most of all...
I did not like my new MacBook Pro's CPU overheating to 110°C and therefore CPU dropping to 1,6GHz
15 minutes after hearing the "wall-e chime" i typed "yes > /dev/null" in two separate terminal windows just to check how quiet this new Unibody computer was. Indeed it was quiet... it was really quiet... a bit too quiet?
Soon after installing temperature and fan speed monitor software if found out why this Unibody seemed so quiet compared to my 1st MacBook Pro which fans were at 4500 - 5000rpm and cpu temperature was at 85°C at full load. This Unibody MacBook Pro's fans never speed up above 2000rpm. When I had enough courage I launched again two yes -processes and this time I did not quit them... I watched CPU squirming at 110°C for ~5 minutes and eventually fans started slowly speeding up untill CPU temperature was dropped to 95°C.
I even installed the supplied OS X Leopard twice to make sure that it is not software related problem. I also installed Windows XP to check and yes. Same overheating problem (actually I should call this lazy fan problem) occurred there too. I tried gaming but first 15 minutes was like a watching dia presentation as the CPU was constantly switching between 2800MHz and 1600MHz.
I was angry, not again a faulty computer. Well this time the flaw is so obvious so I have nothing to worry about. Maybe one week without computer and then I could finally have a computer whereto I can trust in every situation.
Did I mention before "boy how wrong I was" ?
I made one big mistake. I Google'd "Unibody overheat" and found several other Unibody owners struggling with this fan issue.
I made my assumptions that this is a flaw that concerns all Unibody laptops. Therefore i thought that Apple would make a Firmware update to make fans wake up earlier. And because an fix is already on its way it is pointless to take my new machine to a repair.
I prolonged the inevitable too long. Finally I had to visit the same service point and I asked whether they know what to do with this type overheating. And sure they did have an solution...
Delays and a show of goodwill
Why I was not so happy to hear when I was promised brand new Unibody Macbook Pro?
I had little conflicting feelings about my 1st MacBook Pro to be changed to new Unibody MacBook Pro.
Main reasons here, quick and shortly:
Pros:
Faster CPU
Bigger HDD
More Memory
Faster GPU
Tough Unibody design.
Cons:
Glossy display!
Loose lid hinges (by then I've read of loose hinges from many sources)
1st generation of new hardware design. (I newer purchase anything at the 1st wave. I tend to wait until most of childhood diseases have been polished away)
But this time I had no choice. I accepted the transfer and was given instructions to pack my laptop and all that came with it to it's original package and send it by courier company X to Apple.
I soon received message telling me that my new computer have been shipped. I also received a tracking number. Within the following days it came clear to my that the tracking number does not exist in this particular courier company's database. I quickly contacted Apple again asking where actually my computer was? I received answer shortly telling that the computer have been accidentally sent to a completely wrong country. Before I even had time to understand what the message said I got second mail telling me that they've now sent me another computer and as a show of goodwill some of the components have been upgraded. CPU from 2,53GHz to 2,8GHz and HDD to 320GB 5400rpm to equal size but 72oorpm.
I was quite happy.
All those cons mentioned in this post have vanished from my mind.
Actually I was really happy.
Untill the MacBook Pro arrived...
I had little conflicting feelings about my 1st MacBook Pro to be changed to new Unibody MacBook Pro.
Main reasons here, quick and shortly:
Pros:
Faster CPU
Bigger HDD
More Memory
Faster GPU
Tough Unibody design.
Cons:
Glossy display!
Loose lid hinges (by then I've read of loose hinges from many sources)
1st generation of new hardware design. (I newer purchase anything at the 1st wave. I tend to wait until most of childhood diseases have been polished away)
But this time I had no choice. I accepted the transfer and was given instructions to pack my laptop and all that came with it to it's original package and send it by courier company X to Apple.
I soon received message telling me that my new computer have been shipped. I also received a tracking number. Within the following days it came clear to my that the tracking number does not exist in this particular courier company's database. I quickly contacted Apple again asking where actually my computer was? I received answer shortly telling that the computer have been accidentally sent to a completely wrong country. Before I even had time to understand what the message said I got second mail telling me that they've now sent me another computer and as a show of goodwill some of the components have been upgraded. CPU from 2,53GHz to 2,8GHz and HDD to 320GB 5400rpm to equal size but 72oorpm.
I was quite happy.
All those cons mentioned in this post have vanished from my mind.
Actually I was really happy.
Untill the MacBook Pro arrived...
Situation after the first service
When I got my laptop back they said me that the motherboard (or Logic Board in Apple language) have been replaced. I was happy to hear that as I knew all the essential parts was located in motherboard and I thought that by replacing that to a new one all the defects must have been vanished.
Boy how wrong I was.
Internal sound card made still that awful high noise. I then thought that I could probably live with that.
It was the next day after the service visit when keyboard and mouse stopped working again.
I had to take the computer to a service again. This time it took almost 2 weeks to finally get the MBP back.
This time the guy at the service desk was self confident. "now we've replaced the whole top cover including the keyboard mouse and IO board". I had no idea what the IO-board meant but my spirit grew when the last possible reason for faulty keyboard and touchpad seem to been fixed.
This time it was the same day when keyboard and mouse fault occurred again. I was a bit frustrated but had no other choice than take this MacBook Pro to a service for the third time.
I do not remember any more how long repair took this 3rd time but one thing was sure: I was no longer confident that the fault have been fixed. At least the repair guy was yet again very self confident when he explained me how he applied some yellow tape to protect the thin cable connecting touchpad and keyboard to the motherboard.
You can see the cable here in this picture (ifixit.com visit! excellent repair guides and teardown articles)
About one week later it came no surprise to me when the keyboard and mouse have stopped working again. This time I called directly to Apple and explained the situation to them.
From Apple I was instructed to email them all service reports so they can value what to do.
Because of Christmas and new year (yes, it have took nearly six months to make it trough here... and less than 20 days with fully working laptop) the answer from Apple was delayed to January 2009. I was told that they would replace my computer to a new one with new 12 months warranty.
Now is a good point of taking a little pause and calm my anger towards Apple for a while. I'll continue this story soon with my 2nd MacBook Pro.
Boy how wrong I was.
Internal sound card made still that awful high noise. I then thought that I could probably live with that.
It was the next day after the service visit when keyboard and mouse stopped working again.
I had to take the computer to a service again. This time it took almost 2 weeks to finally get the MBP back.
This time the guy at the service desk was self confident. "now we've replaced the whole top cover including the keyboard mouse and IO board". I had no idea what the IO-board meant but my spirit grew when the last possible reason for faulty keyboard and touchpad seem to been fixed.
This time it was the same day when keyboard and mouse fault occurred again. I was a bit frustrated but had no other choice than take this MacBook Pro to a service for the third time.
I do not remember any more how long repair took this 3rd time but one thing was sure: I was no longer confident that the fault have been fixed. At least the repair guy was yet again very self confident when he explained me how he applied some yellow tape to protect the thin cable connecting touchpad and keyboard to the motherboard.
You can see the cable here in this picture (ifixit.com visit! excellent repair guides and teardown articles)
About one week later it came no surprise to me when the keyboard and mouse have stopped working again. This time I called directly to Apple and explained the situation to them.
From Apple I was instructed to email them all service reports so they can value what to do.
Because of Christmas and new year (yes, it have took nearly six months to make it trough here... and less than 20 days with fully working laptop) the answer from Apple was delayed to January 2009. I was told that they would replace my computer to a new one with new 12 months warranty.
Now is a good point of taking a little pause and calm my anger towards Apple for a while. I'll continue this story soon with my 2nd MacBook Pro.
How it all began
This is a story of a MacBook Pro. Eventually it is going to grow to a story of two MacBook Pro's.
Before telling this story I should probably tell what's the current state of this situation.
All communication between me and Apple have come to a halt. I've tried to get my MacBook Pro fixed for months, but both Apple and Apple authorized service point are helpless when facing this laptop.
This all began summer 2008 when I bought my first 15" MacBook Pro (later: 1st MBP). I've had Apple iBook since 2005 and I was confident that my new computer should be an Apple too.
That 1st MBP had 2,5GHz Core2Duo, 2GB DDR2, 250GB HDD and NVIDIA 8600M GT.
That NVIDIA 8600M GT turned out to be a faulty one (It was then all over internet and Apple promised to repair laptops with faulty NVIDIA chip even after the warranty has ended)
My laptop had some other defects too:
Sometimes the keyboard and touchpad stopped working and there was no other way than reboot to restore the function.
Internal sound card made loud high pitch noise.
Screen went all mosaic few times a day. (this was "normal" to a broken 8600M GT card)
So I took my 1 month old laptop and went to Apple authorized service point (later just a service point, I've used the same service every time) and told them what is the problem. It took about one week to get my machine back. At this time I thought that one week without laptop isn't so bad. If only I'd knew back then that one week would get some addition to it.
Before telling this story I should probably tell what's the current state of this situation.
All communication between me and Apple have come to a halt. I've tried to get my MacBook Pro fixed for months, but both Apple and Apple authorized service point are helpless when facing this laptop.
This all began summer 2008 when I bought my first 15" MacBook Pro (later: 1st MBP). I've had Apple iBook since 2005 and I was confident that my new computer should be an Apple too.
That 1st MBP had 2,5GHz Core2Duo, 2GB DDR2, 250GB HDD and NVIDIA 8600M GT.
That NVIDIA 8600M GT turned out to be a faulty one (It was then all over internet and Apple promised to repair laptops with faulty NVIDIA chip even after the warranty has ended)
My laptop had some other defects too:
Sometimes the keyboard and touchpad stopped working and there was no other way than reboot to restore the function.
Internal sound card made loud high pitch noise.
Screen went all mosaic few times a day. (this was "normal" to a broken 8600M GT card)
So I took my 1 month old laptop and went to Apple authorized service point (later just a service point, I've used the same service every time) and told them what is the problem. It took about one week to get my machine back. At this time I thought that one week without laptop isn't so bad. If only I'd knew back then that one week would get some addition to it.
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