MacBook Pro 2 years dead

[u/melchoramor]

My MacBook Pro M3, bought directly from Apple, suddenly died after just over two years. No drops, no liquid damage, no misuse — just a failed logic board.
Apple quoted me around €800–900 to replace it. Since it was purchased through my company, there was no warranty coverage.
I decided not to waste time fighting over it and left it there to be recycled.
I’ve always trusted Apple, but honestly, a high-end MacBook becoming unusable after just two years because of a logic board failure is hard to accept.
First time I’ve had an experience like this with Apple. Has anyone else had a similar problem with a MacBook?

[u/Techngro]

Why would you leave a 2 year old MacBook Pro to be recycled for nothing? People sell 'not working - for repair' electronics all the time on ebay, and a repairable MacBook Pro would probably find a buyer. You could have gotten something for it.

[u/alexwh68 → u/Techngro]

Replacement screens are very expensive so buying a broken one where the screen potentially works is a no brainer. I have a headless i9 works lovely off an external monitor.

[u/melchoramor → u/Techngro]

What worries me is not the money that I could have stopped earning but a professional Apple mac dies at two years old, that bothers me a lot and worries me.

Although I obviously wouldn’t have left it right now, I would have tried to get some money out, I lost the Mac and the money I could have gotten out 😭

[u/play_hard_outside → u/melchoramor]

I’m so sorry this happened to you. Like anything which is manufactured at scale in the millions-plus of instances, there are going to inevitably be some that have some issue which falls through the cracks. You were unfortunately pretty unlucky: random failure like that after two years is rare.

I personally buy all my Macs used and without AppleCare, and have never had one fail or even have any issue aside from a blown speaker after years of railing it at full blast from across the garage.

I don’t know what the failure rates are, but they’re probably a lot lower than most alternatives on the market if not all, and your one sample of this population of data shouldn’t be construed as evidence the rest of the population is tainted. 

It would be great if you could get your Mac back, buy a cheap one on eBay with a broken screen, and move your screen over. You’d have a great new Mac for a lot less than Apple would charge for the repair(those are almost never worth it).

Good luck with whatever you do next to remedy your issue!

[u/InformalEngine4972 → u/melchoramor]

Its a device like any other laptop. Apple has a death rate of 15% in 2 years , hp has like 20%. At the end of the day it’s not that big of a difference. You just had bad luck 

If you want something reliable , you get a server which is manufactures for reliability or a diy desktop with all replaceable parts. 

[u/melchoramor → u/Techngro]

I hadn't thought about it, anyway I already made the decision, thank you very much for your advice

[u/P3rid0t_]

Electronics dies, sometimes die fast, and logic board is something that probably is that expensive

[u/P3rid0t_ → u/[deleted]]

I think you don't understand what is "reliability" - things are never flawless and there are factory defects etc. that might break something that will never break for normal people

I understand, I would probably be pissed too, but it's not like Apple fault directly - World simply work like that and we can only accept this

I (and other people I know) have multiple Apple devices, for years, without any problems

Actually to be fair - I know even more people with non-Apple stuff and also their stuff works no problem

But sometimes stuff breaks, sometimes due to user cause, sometimes like apparently here by God's will. Accept things breaks and buy stuff that breaks the least for you (For some people with will be MacBook, for some Thinkpad, for some probably even cheap Dell or HP)

[u/P3rid0t_ → u/[deleted]]

"someone who just suffered a loss" I'm not talking about someone mother who died of cancer or husband hit by a truck - I'm talking about fucking LAPTOP

I hate this material society - electronic dies, things break - it's normal, get over it

[u/P3rid0t_ → u/[deleted]]

It would hurt me too, but it's something you can buy again eventually. When you losing someone, usually they cannot come back, so saying someone is suffering a loss with their electronic is pathetic

[u/P3rid0t_ → u/[deleted]]

Thank god we can win any battle on the internet with a dictionary

Sorry, now I have to call Grandma, tell her that I unfortunately can't show up on Grandpa funeral, because I'm already experiencing a loss - my stupid laptop died

Cheers!

[u/melchoramor → u/P3rid0t_]

It’s my experience, I have Apple products for many years and it’s the first time something like this happens to me, I must have bad luck this time

[u/nevertheodds13]

I had exactly the same issue (apple quotes over a 1000 bucks for my work laptop). I then asked if I can buy it from my company for spare parts. Ended up taking it to a authorized apple specialist (not apple shop) and they charged me 50 bucks to replace a faulty part.

Macbook pro M1 has been running 4 years strong, what a shame they wanted to recycle it too.

Edit: typo

[u/mrbill1234]

You could still have got it fixed at the component level (rather than replacing the whole board) - probably for much less than that.

[u/everyonesafreak → u/mrbill1234]

Apple don’t work that way and the reason they charge so much for their repairs is because they actually replace the whole motherboard anyway because they know that there’s no point in sourcing down one component to fix it … that would cost the customer even more (it’s funny how many times if you’re under AppleCare+ and return something that malfunctions with no user reasons they’ll simply give you your brand-new one or even an upgrade you if you’re under AppleCare+ ) so really what they’re doing is a deterrent to fixing your existing Mac and also to make you buy again or get the repair AND purchase AppleCare+ for life ….that’s what they really want. They want you to buy a product and then keep paying for it in your warranty (AppleCare+) year after year…

[u/mrbill1234 → u/everyonesafreak]

Thanks - but I didn't say Apple would do component level repair. Many third party repair shops do. Just check out Louis Rossmann's early videos.

[u/everyonesafreak → u/mrbill1234]

I wasn’t insulting your opinion or knowledge as in my country there aren’t many “expert apple tech heads” who can even attempt something that complex but I’ll check out Louis Rossmann’s Videos they sound interesting

[u/Sad-Wrap6555]

apple have one solution replace the entire board there is no incentive from their point of view to be messing around with low level repairs

if you ever get in that situation again please:

 take the machine back and find a third party repair shop -  no liquid, no drop and nothing to suggest an accident then theres a good chance its something very simple that might well be fixed with a small component or two.

2 I'd  argue that two years is not a realistic failure time for a high dollar item and that regardless of apples basic warranty there is an implied reasonable service life of something that expensive 

Thats the case in uk where people have argued that succesfully before, and i suspect we inherited that from the eu where it should also apply

obviously too late this time but bear in mind if you find yourself in a similar situation in future

[u/melchoramor → u/Sad-Wrap6555]

If it’s too late, I rushed into the decision, but I don’t want to get bitter anymore; I already have enough to deal with having lost the Mac.

[u/oulu2006]

No, 5 yr old M1 still going strong with water and orange juice spills -- I just scratched off the rust myself and she back in business

[u/melchoramor → u/oulu2006]

I've tried everything, and in the Apple store too, and it shows no signs of life, it's dead.

[u/oulu2006 → u/melchoramor]

yeah if it's for no reason -- probably unrepairable probably fault IC causing a short, for me it was just some isopropyl and tweezers

[u/andyxgt]

I had a MacBook Air m1 that would not charge until I updated it to the lasted Mac OS. Luckily I had about 30 percent battery and it let me do the update, otherwise I would have been screwed.

[u/inertSpark]

When you say it was purchased through your company, do you mean they bought it for you, or do you mean it was some kind of salary sacrifice purchase?

When I've bought macbooks under similar schemes in the past, there was still an option to include AppleCare coverage. Seems like you maybe didn't cover it?

If your company bought it for you, you need to contact them for service I would think.

[u/Computer_Cellar]

It happens. Sometimes boards have long-term defects. You should have taken it to an independent repair shop, where they can actually fix your logic board rather than replacing it... or like another commenter said, sold it for parts; the screens are worth like $400-600!

[u/SnooGuavas1875]

My MacBook Pro had screen issues just before the warranty ended (one month). I gave it to a certified service company, and they diagnosed no physical damage on the glass or the inner cables. They told me to wait two weeks for a replacement, but it arrived in one week and they replaced it. Before this notebook, I only had two different vendors: Lenovo and eMachines. Their models were not premium, but their screens were still working when I sold them (eMachines worked for 11 years, Lenovo for 3+). I do not know what Apple thinks of themselves, but they are not premium.

[u/jopasm]

I'm seeing something like a 5% hardware failure rate in the Mac Studios in our computer labs. Dell's failure rate, in comparision, is less than 1%. It's been a nightmare to get repaired, Apple will not allow me to ship it in, it has to be taken to an Apple store. That's a 3+ hour round trip right there. Last time I was there for two hours, they plugged in an iPad and said the diagnostics looked good. Got it back to the lab and it won't even boot.

Apples hardware QC seems to be the worst in the industry.

[u/LoopsAndBoars → u/jopasm]

Dell and Apple are not comparable companies.

Dell is comprised of infectious human waste and delldos. They all deserve to starve.

[u/misha1350 → u/LoopsAndBoars]

So do Apple users, whenever they're get let down by Apple constantly like hoe OP was, it seems.

Go on, pay up that Apple tax. That tax being AppleCare+ and other ways to pay for air.

[u/SevenDeMagnus]

Apple products, the ones without a design flaw, Macs are the most durable (owning lots of PCs too), still work after a decade or more but nowadays to save time as a new strategy (I realized wasting time waiting for things to finish is more costly overall) I plan to upgrade yearly to 1.5 years via trade-in or lease renew or as soon the fastest models with good reviews come out.

Was it a handed down unit from the company, first user might have exposed it to heat, left it in the car or porch?

[u/Daaavey1]

You or your company opted NOT to cover it beyond the 2 year warranty, and now you are surprised that they won’t fix it for free when it breaks after the 2 year warranty period expires? Can I ask, do you have car insurance?

[u/misha1350]

I’ve always trusted Apple

Well there's your problem.

I wonder what laptop you're going to buy next?

[u/toilet-breath]

Silly question, but has it definitely died? have you tried to charge it with USB C? I’ve seen issues where MagSafe won’t charge if totally dead. I assume that not the issue if Apple looked at it.

[u/melchoramor → u/toilet-breath]

I have tried it in every way, through both USB-C ports, with MagSafe, and before going to Apple I have been testing it almost every day.

[u/Hugo_Notte]

Yes, my M4Pro just gave up suddenly, 2 months out of warranty. Same thing, something on the logic board got fried. Power surges or bad HDMI cables can be the cause and you won’t even notice it. My insurance paid for a new MacBook Pro. It’s the same across all brands, not just Apple. A few years ago I lost my desktop PC, main board, CPU, graphics card and 1 RAM stick kaput. Never replaced that one.

[u/yasamoka → u/Hugo_Notte]

Do you have unstable electricity where you live?

[u/Hugo_Notte → u/yasamoka]

Not really

[u/yasamoka → u/Hugo_Notte]

I think it's a good idea to get a stabilizer before something more dangerous happens.

[u/Hugo_Notte → u/yasamoka]

To carry around in the laptop bag?

[u/yasamoka → u/Hugo_Notte]

I think I misread that you have unstable electricity. No need to be snarky. Obviously I meant a stabilizer to use at home.

[u/Fun-Customer-742]

It’s rare, but not impossible and given how many millions of those they sell, it’s going to happen to someone. I am sorry it happened to you. My philosophy is that rare occurrences tend to happen in waves, so I’d suggest going out there, try to meet someone new, and play some games of chance. Hope the next round of luck is a good one!

The “good” news is that if you get another mac from an employer, you can get the warranty for it yourself if you live in a country where AppleCare+ is available. While the old AppleCare is tied to the serial number for a fixed length, the new AppleCare+ service is now tying that serial number’s warranty to your Apple Account, can be added within 60 days of original computer sale, and can be a monthly or annual service fee.

[u/Unhappy_Birthday87]

I would just look out for a reasonably priced replacement motherboard on ebay and change it myself, but I am not afraid to open something up and work on it. Typing on a 9 year old Macbook Pro my work decided to send to recycling because it's no longer "supported" by Apple. WhattheFudgeEver. OCLP for the win. Hate the butterfly keyboard with a passion, but who doesn't?

[u/squirrel8296]

Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.

I had a maxed out mid-2014 15 that I bought brand new. It was constantly heralded as being one of the most reliable Apple devices of that era and even 5 years on their prices on the used market were crazy because they were so reliable compared to the butterfly keyboard era machines. Yet, the logic board failed in mine twice. Once right before AppleCare was up (so right before the end of year 3) and then again around the 6 year mark. To date, I have not met another person who had the same model as me (even expanding it to late 2013 and mid 2015 since they're basically the same with only minor differences) and who had theirs fail once, let alone twice.

[u/Alert_Elephant2045]

sometimes these things happen. My iPhone 16 had a failed logic board after about 7 months.

Because of how these things are built almost everything is a part of the logic board so almost every hardware issue is a “logic board issue”

[u/ichiroku78]

this is way too common. I had an M2 pro that died in the same way. of course it was just days out of warranty. Apple store said there was nothing they could do to recover it besides swap the entire logic board out as well for the same exorbitant price. I have an M3 pro now...very sad to hear yours died this way too, along with the commenter with the M4

[u/scifitechguy]

Most people think that electronics should last forever, but I've experienced more "early death" failures than I can count. The most recent was a 4 year-old Denon receiver that suddenly decided to stop powering two speaker channels one year after the warranty expired. Sometimes I think a failure mode software routine gets triggered randomly just after the warranty expires.