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hldan · Jul 12, 2004, 12:29 AM

Sorry to say I gotta take my Powerbook into the local Apple retail store and have them send it in for repair. Nothing serious, the hinge is very loose and it makes a clicking sound while opening and closing. Last week the Apple Genius looked at it and said that it did indeed need to have the hinge repaired.
My question to all of the Mac Users is how has your computer looked after coming back from AppleCare repair service?
My first Powerbook was the 17" 1.0Ghz and had problems and was sent in to Apple for repair and AppleCare damaged the casing and then damaged the Superdrive and Apple ended up replacing it for the 1.33Ghz model.

I have since then had good luck with my Powerbook but now the hinge is bad and I am afraid that they will damage it again. I don't want a warped or dented case or scratches. What has been everyone's experience with AppleCare lately?
Any help apperciated.

urrl78 · Jul 12, 2004, 08:27 AM

Have the genius document the outside condition of the Powerbook before sending it in. He should do this anyway but make sure he does. Then there will be no questions when and if it returns damaged thru the mail or whatever. I tell everyone not to use phone support if possible for this reason. It's just common sense.

hldan · Jul 12, 2004, 01:17 PM

Originally posted by urrl78:
Have the genius document the outside condition of the Powerbook before sending it in. He should do this anyway but make sure he does. Then there will be no questions when and if it returns damaged thru the mail or whatever. I tell everyone not to use phone support if possible for this reason. It's just common sense.

Thanks much. I am also going to give a typed list of the condition of the Powerbook to the genius to send in and to keep on record. Shouldn't have to feel like this. I hate feeling scared that AppleCare repair service is going to damage the computer due to past experiences. Not good customer service being careless with customer's equipment.
Apple has very low quality control.

rglenn · Jul 12, 2004, 01:31 PM

I think you'll find, in this day and age, that Apple's support is still good, compared to the competition. I tried dropping off a Thinkpad at IBM's service contractor, and they WOULDN'T TAKE IT - they weren't sure that the parts would be covered under the warranty, and they couldn't order parts in if they weren't going to be covered, now could they?

Further they wouldn't acknowledge 20 of the 25 dead / stuck pixels on the screen. IBM's requirement on this model was either 14 or 21, depending on which part of their support site you were looking at.

I know "it could be worse" isn't very reassuring, but there it is. Just try to be positive.

hldan · Jul 12, 2004, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by rglenn:
I think you'll find, in this day and age, that Apple's support is still good, compared to the competition. I tried dropping off a Thinkpad at IBM's service contractor, and they WOULDN'T TAKE IT - they weren't sure that the parts would be covered under the warranty, and they couldn't order parts in if they weren't going to be covered, now could they?

Further they wouldn't acknowledge 20 of the 25 dead / stuck pixels on the screen. IBM's requirement on this model was either 14 or 21, depending on which part of their support site you were looking at.

I know "it could be worse" isn't very reassuring, but there it is. Just try to be positive.

Wow, I definitely will try to look at it more positively after your unfortunate experience. Sorry to hear that.
I will definitely post back my experience when I get the Powerbook back from service.

t4r1q · Jul 12, 2004, 03:16 PM

I live in Canada so there's no Apple Store or Genius to talk to in order to document the condition of my PowerBook if I were to send it in for repairs. Isn't there anything I could do in that situation?

rglenn · Jul 12, 2004, 03:30 PM

Originally posted by t4r1q:
I live in Canada so there's no Apple Store or Genius to talk to in order to document the condition of my PowerBook if I were to send it in for repairs. Isn't there anything I could do in that situation?

I'd suggest taking it to a local Apple Authorized Retail shop, and get them to do it. As you appear to be in Hamilton, Light Computer Centre and the Titles Micro computer store at McMaster University spring to mind.

tekno_geek911 · Jul 12, 2004, 04:29 PM

I sent my new 12" for repair because Apple messed up my latch.I really hope my PowerBook doesnt come back dented or scratched...The "Genius" contacted me yesterday and said my PB would be shipped back to my house,I told him I would rather have it shipped back to the store so I have proof that it was in perfect cosmetic condition when I sent it out....But it was too late I guess.

kafoochy · Jul 12, 2004, 04:58 PM

I had my original 1.25Ghz 15" repaired by Apple five times before being replaced with a 1.5Ghz. I'm sorry to hear about your bad service experience. I can say that among all five of my repairs there was no cosmetic damage caused to the unit, and the ongoing problems were isolated and not related to previous work, except for their inability to fix the keyboard, although things were getting better on the fourth keyboard and second top cover! As others have said, bring it to an Apple Store and have a genius document the cosmetic state and functionality. Have it shipped back to the store, so that the same check can be preformed after the repair. I don't think there is necessarily any documentation that you could provide Apple as to the status of the computer as I believe the only thing that gets sent in is the genius' report. If you have a digital camera, I'd take a couple of pics before sending it in. I think that's all you can do, but from my experience that should be more than enough. The last time my first PB was repaired, there was a small gap between the top cover and superdrive, but the genius was able to tighten the screws in store. It certainly wasn't damage, and was repaired. Good luck!

garson · Jul 15, 2004, 08:51 PM

a bit OT...

does anyone know if adding third party RAM will void AppleCare?

I know adding a third party hard drive will, but is it the same case with RAM?

hldan · 09:23 PM

Originally posted by garson:
a bit OT...

does anyone know if adding third party RAM will void AppleCare?

I know adding a third party hard drive will, but is it the same case with RAM?

Just wanted to report back to anyone interested. I'm the orginal poster about my Powerbook with AppleCare.
Just got it back and looks good as new. AppleCare fixed my Powerbook's hinge and it's much stiiffer than it was from the factory. I was a bit concerned about them damaging the asthetics while in repair but my faith is now restored.

Just a quick note. I listed everything in regards to the condition of my Powerbook and the Genius noted my account before sending it in. I think that made a difference.
Cheers!

P.S. Someone asked about installing 3rd party ram? Your Mac's owners manual lists installing ram as "customer installable" and Apple does not list that they require only ram sold from their company. Since Apple doesn't make the ram themselves they can't require that you buy only what they sell so 3rd party ram will not void AppleCare unless it damages your computer for some reason.
Just make sure that you check out the company and the specs of the ram that you are buying. If you are buying 3rd party ram online I would recommned emailing the company to confirm compatibility.

STAT · Jul 19, 2004, 11:13 AM

Originally posted by hldan:
Apple has very low quality control.

I, for the most part, have had nothing but wonderful experiences with Apple Care. It's been a Godsend at times. I consider your above statement to be a gross overgeneralization, if not an outright falsehood.

hldan · Jul 19, 2004, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by STAT:
I, for the most part, have had nothing but wonderful experiences with Apple Care. It's been a Godsend at times. I consider your above statement to be a gross overgeneralization, if not an outright falsehood.

I don't know who you think you are but you have no idea what my experiences are with Apple so you have absolutely no brain to say that what I said about my AppleCare experience is a falsehood. What, do you do work for Apple or something? For the record I just posted my current repair experience and it was good.
If you have nothing but rude, unncessary comments to make then turn your computer off. I don't believe ever saying anything rude to you before.

rglenn · Jul 19, 2004, 02:18 PM

Originally posted by hldan:
I don't know who you think you are but you have no idea what my experiences are with Apple so you have absolutely no brain to say that what I said about my AppleCare experience is a falsehood. What, do you do work for Apple or something? For the record I just posted my current repair experience and it was good.
If you have nothing but rude, unncessary comments to make then turn your computer off. I don't believe ever saying anything rude to you before.

He never said your experiences didn't happen. He said that your overgeneralization that Apple's QC sucks was wrong.

He was also not rude. He stated his case without personal attacks.

I should point out that you come rather close to contradicting yourself in the last two sentences (I'm making assumptions on the meaning of the last one - it appears to be missing words)

365 · Jul 19, 2004, 02:19 PM

I had a Titanium G4 that went for repair NINE times before, to be fair ( I can say that now ) Apple replaced it. On one occassion it came back with a six inch scratch along the lid of a replacement screen and the screen itself had 13 dead pixels!

I bought a new 15" Aluminium PB two weeks back and within two days the keyboard was lifting in three corners (a glue problem apparently), so I sent it back for a refund and I'm going to get a G5 tower instead. I've lost all faith in the Powerbooks, they look great but along with all the happy stories there's a lot of horror ones as well. I don't play the lottery and that's what buying a Powerbook seems to be akin to when you read this and the Apple forum.

I'm glad you got yours back in one piece.

STAT · Jul 19, 2004, 02:29 PM

Woah, woah... OK, first take some Prozac. Everything's going to be fine, I promise. We're just talking about customer experiences here, so...it isn't life or death and it's certainly nothing to have high blood pressure over. I don't mean that in a rude way, but...really, I wasn't trying to tick anybody off.

I DO still consider your statement about Apple having low quality control to be an overgeneralization. Perhaps in your experiences with Apple, quality control was lacking. But I don't believe that means that Apple Computer in general has low quality control. I'm sorry, but...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

hldan · 03:02 PM

Originally posted by STAT:
Woah, woah... OK, first take some Prozac. Everything's going to be fine, I promise. We're just talking about customer experiences here, so...it isn't life or death and it's certainly nothing to have high blood pressure over. I don't mean that in a rude way, but...really, I wasn't trying to tick anybody off.

I DO still consider your statement about Apple having low quality control to be an overgeneralization. Perhaps in your experiences with Apple, quality control was lacking. But I don't believe that means that Apple Computer in general has low quality control. I'm sorry, but...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

This was the whole reason I started this thread is because I wanted to hear about customer's experiences with AppleCare lately. Long ago there were threads about people's Powerbook's coming back with dents or the trim not being flush or warped casing and they weren't sent to AppleCare that way. My Powerbook came back twice with damage to the casing and my Superdrive was damaged as well and they were just replacing the screen. Apple ended up replacing the whole machine for me.
I was concerned about going through this again so I wanted to find out if their quality control had improved.
Also for the record, sir, that is low quality control if someone's machine comes back with external anomalies from Apple's negligence.
There's no need for us to fight in this forum since it's such a cool place to post experiences but you are wrong to say that I said a falsehood and you have no place to say that.
Sometimes people here say several negative things about Apple and that's their right since this an open forum. I don't appreciate the Prozac comment. Try to be more understanding of my experience instead of blasting me.

STAT · Jul 19, 2004, 03:42 PM

Calm Dan, calm.

hldan · Jul 19, 2004, 03:49 PM

Originally posted by STAT:
Calm Dan, calm.

Well since you figured out my real name within my username then all is fine. Take care. In all honesty I still appreciate your replies. It really helps.

pjmurphy · Jul 20, 2004, 08:29 PM

First, I have been extremely impressed with AppleCare when it came to my iPod being repaired.

Today, I was at the Apple Store and it was determined that I need to send in my PB 17" to get the SuperDrive repaired/replaced.

My question - I have SO much on my PB that I am afraid to send it in thinking I will get a zapped hard drive back. I can't make backups on DVDs (the superdrive isn;t working). Can I remove the hardrive just for safety prior to sending??

thanks in advance for any suggestions

STAT · Jul 20, 2004, 08:42 PM

I'm a little rusty on Apple's current repair policies, but I doubt they'd want you to take the hard drive out and send it in w/o one at all. They probably want to see the error replicate just like it's doing now and all. Here's an easier and safer solution...

Take your PowerBook and a FireWire cable along with some blank DVD-Rs to either an Apple Store or any other FireWire Mac that has a DVD burner (and if it doesn't have a DVD burner, maybe take CD-RWs, an iPod, or some kind of external storage option). Plug connect the two Macs with the FireWire cable and boot your PowerBook holding down the T key (maybe it's Command+T, I never remember). This will boot it as a FireWire hard drive on the other Mac's desktop. Then, just backup your data that way and you'll be good to go.

I think it would be fun to do this in an Apple Store because it demonstrates how Macs have awesome little features like Target Disk Mode that can really save your butt at times.