[rm6990]

Hello all.

OK, I bought a Mac Mini ~a month ago and it was silent...as in, absolutely no noise. I bought it with Applecare.

After a few days, the fan noise began to pick up, but it wasn't major, so I left it alone. It has steadily got worse and worse. Finally, at the beginning of this week, I called Apple, and was told to take it to Bexx Systems in Calgary for repair. Gave it to Bexx, and was called 2 days later telling me the initial diagnostics didn't show any problems and that if I wanted him to continue and if Apple didn't end up covering it, it would cost me money. So I got the computer back and called Apple again. Apple said that the fan noise definately is not normal, and to take it to yet another Mac dealer, and that if there isn't anything actually wrong, it wouldn't cost me anyways.

So I phoned yet another dealer, and was told that if there was nothing wrong with it, they would also charge me.

So here's my issue. I paid almost 200 for an extended warranty, and now I'm stuck with either living with the noise, which could be a component failing, or else taking it into the shop and potentially paying another 100 for diagnostics, which may not fix anything anyways. What would you recommend I do? About the only thing I can think of right now is take the Mini, throw it at the wall, and smack it with a hammer until it is in little pieces, but I somehow doubt that will help the current situation

Another question...with the problems I am having with Apple and their dealers not being on the same page, what good is Apple's extended warranty? Is it Apple's goal to intimidate people into not taking their computers into warranty until they completely fail, for fear of having to pay a diagnostic fee? This is ridiculous, I never had issues like this dealing with Dell, and it upsets me, because I really do enjoy working with Apple products! And how can Apple say something isn't normal, but their dealers can never find anything wrong? I can hear the bloody mini from almost 20 feet away!!!

[thiagofll]

Whenever you call them, ask for a manager. Tell them that you will sue them, even if you have to pay $10,000 you will. You paid for Apple Care, if you say that there is something wrong with it, they have to at least try to fix it. Don't talk just to any rep, ask for a Manager and threat with a lawsuit. Don't be rude but don't be nice either.



I feel your pain, customer service agents deal with problems all day, and they are trained to dismiss most cases, unless you bring a lawyer in the picture.


Just a thought...

[rm6990]

Hey. Sorry about not responding right away, I was expecting to be emailed when a reply was posted.

The problem is not that it is being dismissed, it is that no one knows what the hell they are talking about (either the resellers/repair shops, or else Apple). I don't feel it is fair that I will have to pay out of my own pocket if nothing is wrong with the system, or if Apple refuses to fix the problem, espescially if Apple was the one who told me to take it to the repair shop in the first place!

I guess I'm just really frustrated. When you buy a computer at Staples, you don't have to put up with this garbage. You just take it there and it's fixed, or else they tell you nothing is wrong, and there is no charge. You don't have to run around from place to place to place until you finally find someone willing to fix the problem...

I'm going to try another Mac place in the next few days and see how it goes though. I love Apple products, but I'm leaning away from buying them in the future...not because of the products themselves, but because of Apple's support and repair structure. It probably works well down in the States where there are Apple stores around, but there are none up here.

[thiagofll]

It's not just Apple, every company does the same thing. Sony and Toshiba are the worse. Sony always likes to charge their customer $200-$300 for every repair, their warranty never seems to cover anything. And Toshiba is extremely disorganized.

Here's what you can do. Call Apple customer service, ask for a Manager and tell them the problem you are having, and that these repair places cannot seem to find any sort of problem with computer.

Explain how it used to be quiet and now it is noisy. Tell the manager to call the repair place and tell them that they will cover the repair.

All companies, when its time to sell you something, they promise all types of warranties, when it breaks, then they come up with the stupidest policies.

Apple has an okay customer service though, better than a lot of companies out there.

Good luck...

[rm6990]

I took it in to another shop, and they did the diagnosis for me. They couldn't detect the fan problem right away (he's going to do a bit more work to try and detect it), but he did discover that my Optical drive is defective. So, I took it in for one problem and I am unsure if it will be fixed (the tech guy sounded optimistic about it though), but at least I get a new optical drive

I'm more pleased with Apple this time around. I guess maybe the last repair place I went to just wasn't all that great.

[Simon]

Don't let them screw with you. If you've diagnosed a problem they can't find, it's their problem. They would have to prove that everything is fine and you're hallucinating or whatever. You have paid for an extended warranty and you are entitled to use it. Always remain polite, but be clear and don't let them intimidate you.

[rm6990]

I just called the repair shop a few moments ago. They have gotten both parts in from Apple, and they are replacing the fan and optical drive as I type this! I'm now very happy with Apple again, and very disgusted with the first repair place I took the computer to! Not only did they fail to notice a problem with the optical drive (which they used to run fan diagnostic software as far as I know) but they also claimed that the fan noise is normal.

[rm6990]

I'm done with Apple. I got it back from the repair place, and the fan is louder than when I took it in, even after they replaced it! It's loud enough I'm not going to be able to sell this piece of crap, so I'm stuck with it. And I'm sick of taking it from repair place to repair place to repair place. One place can't diagnose the problem, the next place makes it worse! Can't these morons compare the sound it makes to a brand new one and realize it is louder than it should be?!?!

Should have bought a friggin Dell... I'm phoning a Manager at Apple and telling them I just want it taken back or I'm filing a Consumer Complaint against them. It has now spent just under half the time I've owned it in the repair shop, and it has to go back again. Is this part of the Apple experience?

[polendo]

If you get angry you loose. Calmly explain that you have sent the computer at least 3 times and it still is not normal as per an apple technician explained to you on date XXXXX. Push for a replacement and see how it goes. I hope you get it fixed.

regards