2011 MacBook Pro 'failures' continue: Petition surpasses 20,000 signatures

[Grant]

Reports of failing MacBook Pros have been flooding in since 2013, with many owners of 2011 models with AMD graphics suffering from system crashes and hardware problems that have been described as "critical".

Since first publishing this story, we've had almost 400 readers get in touch to let us know that they're experiencing the same issue. The huge thread on Apple's Support Communities has now been viewed more than 1.6 million times and has more than 9,000 replies.

In August 2014, a petition started last year that urges Apple to recall the affected MacBook Pro laptops to fix the problem passed the 10,000-signature mark, and in October 2014 it soared past the 20,000 supporters mark, yet Apple still hasn't addressed the issue.

The problem, which first emerged in February last year, has escalated throughout 2014 as more and more owners of the affected models begin to experience issues. While playing games, watching HD video or performing another graphics-intensive task, users have witnessed their displays distorting, or sometimes going completely blank. Rebooting the machine temporarily resolves the issue, but it almost always returns.

Eventually, many users found that their MacBook boots to a blue or grey screen. Currently, the only permanent resolution is to get a replacement logic board, but that can prove quite costly without Apple Care. It's believed that overheating is to blame for the issue.

Some of the readers who've been in touch have said that Apple has replaced their 2011 MacBook Pro's logic board thanks to Apple Care, with some customers even claiming to have had their logic board replaced multiple times. However, most of those with the three year's of warranty provided by AppleCare will be approaching the end of the protection plan, so are understandably concerned about what will happen once they are no longer covered.

We've reached out to Apple for a comment about the situation, but the company has yet to respond.

Petition:
http://www.change.org/p/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-2011-macbook-pro-with-graphics-failure

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/widespread-2011-macbook-pro-failures-continue-petition-3497935/

 

[CoatiMundi15]

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/widespread-2011-macbook-pro-failures-continue-petition-3497935/

Mine has been running great for three years!

 

[Grant]

Mine has been running great for three years!

plenty are.
but remember, that 20 000 figure is only those who have signed the petition.
there will be considerably more than 20 000 defective machines out there

 

[Fulcrum29]

plenty are.
but remember, that 20 000 figure is only those who have signed the petition.
there will be considerably more than 20 000 defective machines out there

On what basis do you think that the 20 000 signatures translates to 20 000 units?

 

[noxibox]

there will be considerably more than 20 000 defective machines out there

Why?

 

[genetic]

Mine is running perfectly fine... touch wood.

 

[Grant]

On what basis do you think that the 20 000 signatures translates to 20 000 units?

how probable do you think it may be that people who have not had any issue will bother to complete all the details as required by the law firm handling the class action lawsuit.
would you participate in a petition that involved an issue with blackberry batteries when you use a samsung phone ?

Why?

there are probably more defective machines than signatures as not everyone is aware of the petition & pending lawsuit.

just in cape town, between sa computer / repairs.com and ifix, they have seen around 60 this year so far.
this does not seem like much, but that number excludes machines any of the various istores, digicape etc around the city would have seen.
so one could probably double up the number to 120 in cape town so far this year.
now add jhb, which would obviously have much more than cape town.
add to that, pta, dbn, el & pe.
so for south africa , maybe 300 or so this year.


then of course are the proper big cities across the world: london, new york, los angeles, hong kong, tokyo . . . . . . .
the numbers will start adding up very quickly.

the failure rate will obviously increase as the solder used in the machines degenerates over time due to the constant heat related expansion & contraction

 

[Fulcrum29]

how probable do you think it may be that people who have not had any issue will bother to complete all the details as required by the law firm handling the class action lawsuit.
would you participate in a petition that involved an issue with blackberry batteries when you use a samsung phone ?

So you are basically stating that being ethical is the norm, people lie, it is an petition that have nothing to do with 2011 Macbook Pro owners. The petition states:

To:
Timothy D. Cook, Apple Inc
Craig Federighi (Apple Inc) (Apple Inc), Apple Inc
Replace or Fix All 2011 Macbook Pro with Graphics Failure
Sincerely,
[Your name]

Nowhere in that petition do it state that the supporter signing the petition owns a 2011 Macbook Pro, only that the signature is supporting the initiative to "Replace or Fix All 2011 Macbook Pro with Graphics Failure". Which law entity made this a requirement, because their class action is unclear with the petition?

 

[Grant]

Nowhere in that petition do it state that the supporter signing the petition owns a 2011 Macbook Pro,

there was a survey conducted by the attorneys as well as the "simple"petition to which you refer.
the petition will be used to obtain a critical mass for the purpose of qualifying to launch a class action lawsuit
the survey results will provide more detailed overview for purpose of argument

the survey asked amongst other things:
if you were located in the usa or not in the usa - along with your selecting your corresponding location
which macbook pro do you own (place a check next to the model)
when was it purchased ddmmyy
is it covered by applecare
did you purchase applecare
where was it purchased (in usa / out of usa)
has it displayed the symptoms as described
has it failed
how many times has it failed
have you had it repaired by a 3rd party repair service
how many times have you had it repaired
what was the cost per repair ($0-100, 100-200, 200-300, 400 +) - select which is applicable.

the survey took you through about 4 pages with about 5 questions per page

i cannot find the survey, it may be the one that is now closed - my browser history is a nightmare despite going through it twice to look

**
ok
here is the 1st page:

 

[CoatiMundi15]

plenty are.
but remember, that 20 000 figure is only those who have signed the petition.
there will be considerably more than 20 000 defective machines out there

Imagine the number if people petitioned against PCs!

 

[genetic]

Imagine the number if people petitioned against PCs!

Petitioned against what?

PC's don't use Apple laptop logic boards with defective AMD GPU's.

 

[noxibox]

PC's don't use Apple laptop logic boards with defective AMD GPU's.

The laptops are nonetheless subject to the same type of failure normally caused by heating and cooling.

 

[CoatiMundi15]

Petitioned against what?

PC's don't use Apple laptop logic boards with defective AMD GPU's.

Oh, good point.

I just meant that I owned PCs throughout most of my life. Everyone of them eventually crashed and burned. But my Mac has been great. I'd like to see how many people have the same experience.

 

[MyLowBandwidth]

I've experienced issues when I plug into a projector using the VGA adapter. The fan starts whining like my wife and then I have a full reboot. i've only noticed it since I've been doing presentations with my mac this year.

It's getting pretty annoying when that happens in the middle of a presentation.

 

[noxibox]

the survey took you through about 4 pages with about 5 questions per page

i cannot find the survey, it may be the one that is now closed - my browser history is a nightmare despite going through it twice to look

This may be what you're looking for - 2011 Mac Graphics Card Failure. There is a survey there.

 

[Grant]

I've experienced issues when I plug into a projector using the VGA adapter. The fan starts whining like my wife and then I have a full reboot. i've only noticed it since I've been doing presentations with my mac this year.

It's getting pretty annoying when that happens in the middle of a presentation.

if possible avoid using external display devices

 

[Grant]

This may be what you're looking for - 2011 Mac Graphics Card Failure. There is a survey there.

yea, that seems the same one

 

[f2wohf]

I have a Macbook pro 13" late 2011 but with an Intel 3000 integrated GPU though, no issue for 3 years so far.

 

[KleinBoontjie]

I have a Macbook pro 13" late 2011 but with an Intel 3000 integrated GPU though, no issue for 3 years so far.

That's because the problem is with the AMD GPU's and Apples inability to apply the correct amount of thermal paste, but great to know you have one too...

 

[Grant]

That's because the problem is with the AMD GPU's and Apples inability to apply the correct amount of thermal paste, but great to know you have one too...

the use of lead free solder appears to be the root of the problem