Apple Extends MacBook Pro NVIDIA GeForce Service Policy to Three Years
Addressing what evidently is a common defect in the NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT graphics processor units used in the May 2007 and Early 2008 revisions of the original MacBook Pro (remediation of which involves replacing the entire logic board), Apple has announced that it will lengthen coverage of its extended service program for this defect for at least another year.
A revised announcement on the Apple Support web site reads:
In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within three years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.
Last January, I commended Apple and NVIDIA for stepping up and taking some responsibility for this defect, but contended that the two-year coverage in effect at the time almost certainly did not go far enough. It seemed likely that the problem would eventually afflict most examples of those MacBook Pro models if they were used long enough, and once repaired, owners could not be confident of the issue not repeating itself after the two-year extended service eligibility or even three years of maximum AppleCare extended warranty coverage.
Anyone buying a computer as expensive as a MacBook Pro should have reasonable expectation of it providing reliable service much longer than two, or even three, years. The Pismo PowerBook I’m typing this on is nearly nine years old and still going strong.
An extended service program, more along the lines of the seven-year one Apple implemented for PowerBook 5300 and 190 models back in 1996, after that model proved excessively prone to a constellation of hardware and software problems, would be more appropriate in addressing this GPU issue, which is arguably as bad or even worse than the PowerBook 5300 troubles.
Last month, Computerworld’s Gregg Keizer reported that owners of Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard laptops had pooled lawsuits against NVIDIA in an attempt to force the graphics chip maker to replace the allegedly flawed processors, and if granted class-action status, the case could involve millions of laptop computer owners, possibly influencing Apple’s decision to extend service coverage by 50 percent.
Here are the specific Apple products affected:
- MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
- MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
- MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
- MacBook Pro (Early 2008)
These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008.
If you have one of the potentially affected machines, here’s what to look for:
- Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
- No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on
If your MacBook Pro is exhibiting any of the symptoms described above, you are instructed take it to an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for evaluation, or call your local Apple Contact Center.
Apple is also issuing refunds to customers who may have paid for repairs related to this issue. Contact Apple support for details on the refund process.
Tweet This (21)
Jeff on June 1st, 2009 at 9:18 am
I had this happen to me not too long ago. I called Apple’s customer service line and they made me wipe my entire hard drive making me lose some important stuff since it was a while since I backed it up. I took it to a certified mac repair place and they said wiping the hard drive was unnecessary.
Though all is fixed now. Just took 2 days for my laptop to get fixed and all is good now.
b352 on June 1st, 2009 at 10:39 am
I had this happen to me too. Took the MBP to the repair centre and they told me that my MBP didn’t qualify. They ran a “special” hardware test behind closed doors and in the end just said “nay”.
Which leads me to conclude that Apple’s test is not accurate and some customers will be left out standing in the rain.
Rory ONEders on September 3rd, 2009 at 2:55 am
try calling apple support and just be persistent they will transfer you to another person. Tell your long history with apple and how it doesn’t seem right over and over again and as long as you stick to it they make exceptions….squeaky wheel gets the greese!!!
cheers
Martin on June 1st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I wonder if this will extend the Applecare warranty by a year as it is an ADDITIONAL 2 year warranty. If they do extend it , will this be automatic as I am registered with Applecare on both my MBP machines……….
Staff Comment Charles Moore, TheAppleBlog on June 1st, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Hi Martin;
As I understand it, the extended service policy applies to The GeForce 8600M GPU issue only and is entirely separate from AppleCare coverage,which is not affected by the change in coverage. The extended service now covers that issue for three years regardless of whether the customer has purchased AppleCare coverage or not.
CM
alexanderklar on June 2nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Thank you for this article. My MBP’s graphics processor has died two times within the last 18 months. Both times my apple retailer had to exchange the logic board. I am glad to know now what the error was. Also thanks for the hint about the refunding program. I hope I qualify and thus have just sent a mail to Apple support stating my case.
17 Inch Laptop Bags on June 2nd, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Yes! My MBP’s processor has also died in the past and even though it was under warranty, it always scared me for the future.
alexanderklar on June 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
Nope, Apple won’t give me a refund since my insurance covered the repair cost. I had to rent another MBP in order to work through the times of repair, but Apple won’t pay for rental fees. Now I just hope that Apple extends the warranty coverage for this case even more so I don’t have to live in fear that this happens again and again in the future.
Jonathan Jeon on June 20th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I also have LG R700 with Nvidia GeForce M 8600 GT+. I am launching a small claim lawsuit against the manufacturer (LG) next week. I had it repaired with Bios but the problem continues – this is unacceptable. The defect was known since early 2008 and neither LG/Apple/Nvidia did anything about it.
Norvell Smith on July 4th, 2009 at 7:59 am
I had this problem recently, it is a shame because I do love the OS. And they did fix with no questions ask, but now I am sitting here paranoid that it will happen outside of the extended service agreement. If it does kill over, I cannot afford to buy another one, unless there reliability has been proven for a reasonable amount of time. So, I am forced to partitioned my drive so that I will be able to remove all of the data quickly with a windows OS. Which is insane !!!
Ideally I would rather get a reliable replacement. There solution of replacing the logic boards with the same board, and having us wait until it dies, is not fair to us. We purchased these computers with expectation that have not been met. And they are not fixing the problem, they are prolonging the agony. Even the new logic boards seem to have the graphics under-clocked.
Also they have a lawsuit in place, what do we have? unreliable notebooks who service will soon expire both apple care/extended !!!
Clinton on July 10th, 2009 at 2:26 am
My Macbook 3.1 2007 with Geforce 8600M GT, the video is not coming on when you close the lid or when you reboot the machine. Sometime the machine will not boot at all and I found a work around to get it booting again.
System diagnostic indicated a video controller failure.
This all started after the SMC 1.3 update.
The machine is not covered by the extended warranty for what ever reason.
If you look on discussions.apple.com, you will see many such instances. So Apple are not acknowledging the full extent of this problem.
I spoke to a guy that repairs laptops and he says any machine (Apple or other) with a Gefroce 8600M GT is likely to fail.
He also says my symptoms are classic examples of the Geforce failure.
Basically some pins on the chipset are not making contact and this varies with heat conditions. If the chip does not power up, the macbook will not boot.
If it power up, the video may not work or be distorted.
When my machine would not boot (no chime just power light) I had the idea that heat caused the problem and so it may have the reverse affect.
So with a fully charged battery I turned the machine on. leave it on a flat surface until the battery runs down. It gets hot, so something is working.
Then let it cool and do not move the machine. Then hold down the power button for 5-10 sec, release it and plug in the power. Hit the power button and it could boot with video and all.
Other people have done this, so the theory is sound. It also proves this is heat related which was the same as the original failure which Apple acknowledge.
So why are these machines excluded?
Brandon on November 20th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Hi,
I have the same problem, so i tried your way to make it work. It did work, the screen came alive, i immediately back it up, do all my work on it, and when i try to restart the computer, the screen die on me again. Did this happen to you? If so, do i need to repeat the whole procedure of leaving it on and press the button for 5 seconds. As mentioned, it died on me after i update the OS, bloody stupid of me. Please advise what i can do to stop the screen from dying on me again, downgrade the OS? Cheers
aftab wilson on July 11th, 2009 at 8:06 am
@Clinton:
I’m have the same problem here in Karachi, Pakistan. Got screen distortion/scrambling before logic board died. Apple says it died cause of a different reason and it’s not covered. Repair store can’t carry out nvidia geforce test on a machine that won’t chime/boot. I’m wondering if you know how they managed to test yours without a chime/boot. Maybe there’s a way (other than the black hard drive they use) and I need to let my repair store in Pakistan know this.
Thanks,
Aftab
Talha Wynne on July 13th, 2009 at 12:23 am
im experiencing the same problem. I am from Karachi Pakistan, and i have to tell my apple repair store a validation from apple international, but they haven’t specified a region. can anybody help?
aftab wilson on July 14th, 2009 at 8:12 am
talha, are you getting a chime? is your machine booting up? macbook pro? did you get screen scrambling and distortion before it died.
Pakistan Dial 00800 01001, then 800 361 0479 http://www.apple.com/asia/support/
from: http://www.apple.com/support/contact/phone_contacts.html
let me know what apple says.
good luck
aftab
za.IT on August 12th, 2009 at 9:37 am
My experience with Apple Service Centre in Singapore is that these people always claim that the problem is due to the logic board so that we have to pay for repair. I know of 3 friends who experience this rubbish from Apple Singapore even though symptoms are similar to what stated in Apple’s website.
drpg on August 19th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
I’m having the same problem here in Spain. My MBP doesn’t boot/chime anymore.
The support center (not Apple directly) says that they can’t replace the logic board (for free) since they can’t pass the gpu software test.
Apple says that, even though my computer showed “graphic artifacts” before it died completely, “if the caps lock light doesn’t light-up” then they can tell for sure that it’s not nvidia related.
I think that Apple should, at least, take a close look at these MBPs that die completely and study if they need to extend what situations are covered by the extended warranty.