Filed under: Hardware, Bugs/Recalls, Bad Apple, Apple, MacBook
A tale of two random MacBook shutdown cases
I bought myself a MacBook the week they came out, since a that point I didn't own an Intel Mac. I read about the Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS) that some people were experiencing a little smugly. My MacBook didn't shutdown randomly! That is, until it started shutting down randomly. Dave Winer is also experiencing the same problem with his MacBook, but this is where our stories diverge.My MacBook began exhibiting signs of RSS one Friday evening. After it shutdown 5 times in a row, at random, I was certain I had an ailing MacBook on my hands. I hastened to my iMac and signed up for the first available Genius Bar appointment for the next day at the Suburban Square store (10:30am). I sallied forth to Ardmore with my MacBook in tow and explained what was happening. The Genius nodded sagely, took some notes, and let me know that they had the parts in stock. I was very happy, and left my MacBook in capable hands. 2 hours later I got a call that my MacBook was all fixed. A couple of weeks later and not one non-scheduled shutdown since. Kudos to the Suburban Square store staff (that's tough to say out loud).
Sadly, Dave Winer is experiencing something slightly different than I am. He has been without the use of his MacBook for almost 2 months, 9 days of which Apple has had the MacBook in their possession, and still there has been no resolution.
So, dear TUAW'ers, I wonder which of us is having the more typical experience. If your MacBook suffered from RSS let us know how long it took Apple to repair it in the comments and we'll have a fun unscientific poll on our hands.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Dmitry said 5:05PM on 10-16-2006
I work at an Apple reseller store, and looking at the repair times for the Macbooks, most people get them within two weeks at the very most.
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Dmitry said 5:06PM on 10-16-2006
Oh, and I think like One came back with the same issue. The rest are working fine.
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Rob Dyer said 5:07PM on 10-16-2006
My Macbook had the RSS. It started about 2 months after I bought it in May. I sent it in to Apple and they were done with it in about a week. Its been flawless since I got it back a couple months ago (crosses fingers).
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Kyle Nilson said 5:09PM on 10-16-2006
I had a small INTERNAL scratch on my screen I wanted documented, but the Genius recommended I sent the computer off to AppleCare. It took over a month to come back and when it did, came back scratched horribly on the exterior. Three hours later on the phone with lots of threats of reversing charges, they finally set up an exchange for a new unit.
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Paul said 5:15PM on 10-16-2006
Knowing Dave Winer, they're probably keeping it out of spite because he was probably unbearably rude and condescending when he talked to the technicians.
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Debra said 5:26PM on 10-16-2006
I bought my MB (1.83ghz) on May 26, 2006.
Experienced my first RSD/RSS about 8 weeks later. I had read about others and mine wasn't so bad and there was too much not yet known about the cause so I kept my MB and waited. The shutdowns increased weekly until I was unable to deal with the problem any longer and called Apple (I also have Applecare). They shiped out packing materials (got it 2 days later), and sent out my MB to Memphis repair facility. Memphis logged in my MB that same day later that night. I got my MB back on the 7th day after I shipped it to be repaired.
They replaced my heatsink along with my bezel and wrist rest.
No problems whatsoever since I've had it back a week already. Fans are quieter too.
This is a first generation product and with it comes the risk of issues. Apple handled my issues promptly and professionally.
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Shawn Grimes said 5:27PM on 10-16-2006
I had the RSS issue after about 2 months of use on my week 21 MacBook. I called up Apple and with literally no questions asked after my explanation, they said they would be overnighting me a box to ship it to them. That was on a Thursday. On Friday my box was there as promised. I took it directly to DHL and it shipped to Memphis that day. I got my MacBook back on the following Tuesday and with it a list of about 6 or so parts they replaced and my MacBook has been rock solid ever since.
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Mark said 5:34PM on 10-16-2006
Guys, using RSS as an abbreviation for said problem is a REALLY bad idea. Think of it...
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Matthew said 5:34PM on 10-16-2006
At MacHollywood here on Sunset in Southern California, if someone bring in a system like this before noon we'll have it fixed the next day before 1pm.
It's a heat sink that needs to be replaced and we get the parts direct, next day from Apple.
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Smivey said 5:42PM on 10-16-2006
I think repair time also depends on if you have ProCare or not.
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Brian Underwood said 5:45PM on 10-16-2006
I had the MacBook RSS. Scheduled an appointment, showed up, dropped it off, had it back by the next evening (this was a week or two ago). They said I could have dropped it off the next morning (making it more of a half-day repair rather that a full day), but I didn't need it and I didn't want to make three trips. All in all a very pleasant experience (as have been all of my Genius experiences)
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Brian Underwood said 9:10PM on 10-16-2006
I should also mention that my MacBook has AppleCare, but I don't have a ProCare membership
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Cygnus said 5:56PM on 10-16-2006
While I have a MacBook Pro (and have had no problems with it so far), I watched jealously as the lower-classmen at my school received Macbooks to use for the school year this year, and I know that 19 of the 350 or so had to be replaced/repaired on account of random shut down... dunno about exchange time, I assume rather quickly.
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kgarr said 1:06PM on 10-17-2006
Not my computer, but my friends Macbook caught the RSS. He took it in and was without it for about 4-5 days.
However, the local store didn't repair it correctly. They replaced the logic board and the heatsink. The heatsink was mounted incorrectly after the repair and was making contact with the bottom of the case, melting the plastic. He took it back and had it sent to a repair facility. That repair took over 2 weeks.
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Jerry said 8:36PM on 10-16-2006
Mine started RSS about 4 months after I got it. After bringing it to the apple store in Westfarms, CT, I got a call in two days letting me know it was ready - they replaced heatsink and cable and it's working fine now (touch wood!)
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Jack Brewster said 6:35PM on 10-16-2006
One thing I wondered after reading Dave's post was if Apple keeps your computer for a relatively extended period of time to address a problem (this one or otherwise) do they extend your AppleCare to compensate for the downtime?
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david said 8:21PM on 10-16-2006
i had a 19 weeker that i sent in july. it took them around 3 weeks to fix it.cuz it was waiting for parts. it worked fine for 2 months, and now the rss started again. now its being sent back again, and they said theyd ship out a new one to me. ill cross my fingers on the new unit.
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Zack Mahdavi said 5:33PM on 10-17-2006
I had the same exact problem. I sent it in to Apple at the end of August, and only received my laptop last week. Total turnaround time: 6 weeks. Oh, and then they changed out the motherboard with the 1.83Ghz version (instead of the 2 Ghz version).... so now it has to go back again.
In the past, Apple had very fast turnaround times. I'm not sure what happened.
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Tachyon said 6:36PM on 10-16-2006
Although AppleCare has usually worked well for me in the past, I have seen long repair times (2-3 months) before. In each of the cases (there were only 2 total to be fair and belonged to clients of mine) the machines were "lost" somewhere within the AppleCare system. Although AppleCare had the machines and freely acknowledged that fact, they were finally forced to admit that they had no idea where the machines were and had no idea if they were even repaired. Eventually, the machines were replaced with brand new ones (after some lengthy phone conversations), so all was well in the end.
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Tom Miller said 6:38PM on 10-16-2006
I guess I have a version of RSS. It's Random Start-up Syndrome. Ten percent of the time I try to start my black MacBook either the sleep light goes on and the screen stays dark or the screen lights up and the chime gongs and gongs and gongs, but no startup in either case. The other 90% of the time it starts up beautifully.
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