Dead Pixel on MacBook Pro

Bazza

Bazza

Suspended / Banned
Messages
561
Name
Brian
Edit My Images
Yes
Before anyone says it, I'm going to the Apple store this week but I'm curious as to what you'd do?

Bought a brand new Macbook Pro two weeks ago, noticed a dead pixel on the screen already. It's the retina version if that makes any difference.

Straight back to the shop? Or is it 'reasonable' to have a certain amount?
 
Bazza said:
Before anyone says it, I'm going to the Apple store this week but I'm curious as to what you'd do?

Bought a brand new Macbook Pro two weeks ago, noticed a dead pixel on the screen already. It's the retina version if that makes any difference.

Straight back to the shop? Or is it 'reasonable' to have a certain amount?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't accept any dead or stuck pixels on a display let along something as expensive as apple.

I would just take it straight back to a store... and they would no doubt apologize and exchange it without a moments hesitation!
 
keenan said:
I wouldn't accept any dead or stuck pixels on a display let along something as expensive as apple.

I would just take it straight back to a store... and they would no doubt apologize and exchange it without a moments hesitation!
Click to expand...


:agree:
 
As above Brian, I would return it to them...

Just to check, you did buy it from the Apple shop and not on line from Apple and it's a "stock" item - not a custom build / upgraded components...If it is a stock item, then I would hope they'll just swap it over for you - make an appointment to see them (potentially meaning less of a wait). If it's bought on line, they may want you to return it to the online - I had to return something the other year and this is what I was asked.

Hope you get it sorted...
 
Apple won't even quibble. Customer relations (especially in quality, high-end products) is paramount. It's like the story: "A Rolls-Royce never breaks down, sir."
 
If you are going to the store, book an appointment at the genius bar ( that's where you'll need to go for this ). If you book you have a time slot, otherwise you may have to wait. Yes I know you have a faulty product, but Apple protocol means that a genius bar person needs to authorise the repair/ replacement ( Later probably ). If not you may have to wait. You can book a slot on line at the store of your choice. If there isn't a slot available on the day you want to go , then just turn up. From personal experience they do have slots reserved for walk ins ( They don't admit it ) But you may have to wait an hour or so ( just to get you to buy more things ;) ).
 
There has always been a tolerance for the number and position of dead pixels on Apple displays.

For Retina displays, the tolerance number is zero.

Assuming you purchased from the retail store, and are within your 14 days return period, then you'll get a replacement machine.
If you're outside the 2 weeks, a manager should be able to authorise a replacement. Don't let them insist on a repair - you may have a genuine reason why you couldn't get back to the store within 14 days.
 
Chappers said:
If you are going to the store, book an appointment at the genius bar ( that's where you'll need to go for this ). If you book you have a time slot, otherwise you may have to wait. Yes I know you have a faulty product, but Apple protocol means that a genius bar person needs to authorise the repair/ replacement.
Click to expand...

Within 14 days of purchase, you can return or replace any item for any reason. These returns can be handled by anyone in the store and do not require a Genius Bar appointment.
It may be helpful to make one anyway and, if you can't make it back or there are no appointments within 14 days - report to AppleCare immediately. This makes it much easier for the staff to get you a replacement item.
 
Andy Taylor said:
For Retina displays, the tolerance number is zero.
Click to expand...

source? I've been told/have read its between 3-6.

even manufactures of £3000 TV panels say a few is within tolerance.

* I should add that depending on Customer Service and who you speak to you may get better service/results than others.
 
Last edited:
theres a few photos/scans of the supposed apple rule book on the internet that suggest its 3-6 depending on size, but no way of telling how genuine/old it is.

also a lot of reports of people getting fobbed off.

*like i say, customer service experiences may vary.
 
My experience of the Milton Keynes store is that Apple were always 'innocent until proven guilty' for hardware faults. That may reflect the nature of Apple buyers as much as the store themselves, but with the issue I had, even after demonstrating the (well known) problem in store, there was lots of "if we send it away and they can't find a fault then we'll have to charge you £69.99 to cover our costs".
 
I'm a long time apple user and have to say I've never had the need to use their customer services but my daughters 3 month old iPhone 5c kept crashing and when she took it into the apple store in London they replaced it on the spot.
 
i'll keep saying it but im sure for a lot of people they're great.

they do like to try and weasel out of some issues though. i think it was a mod on here who struggled to get apple to sort the iMac yellow cast issue. ive had problems trying to get them to sort the old macbook gpu fault etc.

this pixel issue strikes me as the kind of thing that could go either way. but fingers crossed for the OP.
 
ancient_mariner said:
My experience of the Milton Keynes store is that Apple were always 'innocent until proven guilty' for hardware faults. That may reflect the nature of Apple buyers as much as the store themselves, but with the issue I had, even after demonstrating the (well known) problem in store, there was lots of "if we send it away and they can't find a fault then we'll have to charge you £69.99 to cover our costs".
Click to expand...

Hardware faults have to be reproducible and Apple could sometimes be slow to acknowledge a manufacturing fault. On the flip side, there were several Extension Programmes to cover issues such as the infamous NVIDIA graphics issue. In some cases, we'd be repairing 5 year old machines for no charge.

I don't understand why they'd be saying there would be a charge for no fault found. AFAIK all repairs are done in-house and there is never a diagnostic fee. How long ago was this?
 
Andy Taylor said:
Hardware faults have to be reproducible and Apple could sometimes be slow to acknowledge a manufacturing fault. On the flip side, there were several Extension Programmes to cover issues such as the infamous NVIDIA graphics issue. In some cases, we'd be repairing 5 year old machines for no charge.

I don't understand why they'd be saying there would be a charge for no fault found. AFAIK all repairs are done in-house and there is never a diagnostic fee. How long ago was this?
Click to expand...

March 2009, on a machine bought at the end of Dec 2008. Things might be different now, but I'm sure it went off for internal repair (MoBo swap was what was done, because, yes, it was an Nvidia chip fault). The entire time I was made to feel like the issue was my imagination, even after the external monitor used to demo the problem began blanking out.

I hear very mixed stories about Apple repair, with some fantastic customer service and some less good experiences than mine. The need to RTB for warranty on a business machine wasn't entirely pleasing either.
 
ancient_mariner said:
March 2009, on a machine bought at the end of Dec 2008. Things might be different now, but I'm sure it went off for internal repair (MoBo swap was what was done, because, yes, it was an Nvidia chip fault). The entire time I was made to feel like the issue was my imagination, even after the external monitor used to demo the problem began blanking out.
Click to expand...

It is possible that some of those were sent off site, but I don't remember (it was before I became a Genius). Eventually, a GPU test was developed to run on potentially affected machines. Very few passed the test...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top