“Reports of failing MacBook Pros have been flooding in since 2013, with many owners of 2011 models with AMD graphics suffering from system crashes and hardware problems that have been described as ‘critical,'” Ashleigh Allsopp reports for Macworld UK. “While playing games, watching HD video or performing another graphics-intensive task, users have witnessed their displays distorting, or sometimes going completely blank. Rebooting the machine temporarily resolves the issue, but it almost always returns.”
“Since first publishing this story, we’ve had more than 200 readers get in touch to let us know that they’re experiencing the same issue. The huge thread on Apple’s Support Communities has now been viewed more than one million times,” Allsopp reports. “As of August 2014, a petition started last year that urges Apple to recall the affected MacBook Pro laptops to fix the problem has passed the 10,000-signature mark, yet Apple still hasn’t addressed the issue.”
Allsopp reports, “A DC-based law firm have reportedly begun investigating the issue as it considers filing a class action lawsuit against Apple.”
Much more in the full article here.
Mine died for this reason 6 months ago. A third party had to change the logic board under Apple Care. It would have been very bad if I didn’t have AC. I’m in Canada so I don’t think I would be part of the class action but not like I need to anyway.
2011 17″ MBP fully loaded.
It has been quite some time since Apple released a 17″ MBP – early 2009. You do not have a “2011 17″ MBP fully loaded.”
My 17″ MBP was made in 2011. Apple made 17″ MacBook pros in 2011. Get your facts straight.
Yep – I figured out my mistake and was re-posting right along with you. I got my facts straight. Thanks.
Stupid ass
Hey, I made a mistake – it happens to all of us. At least I figured it out and owned up to it. What is your excuse?
Sorry for the post. My bust. I was sure that Apple killed off the 17″ in 2009. Should have researched before posting. The 17″ with optional matte display was available through late 2011.
Again, sorry for the diss. I don’t know how I could get my Mac history over two years out of whack.
Bravo for you, KingMel.
It’s so refreshing to see somebody on this forum who can man-up and admit his mistake.
It is far too easy to get into attack mode on the internet – probably the combination of instant response and a perception of separation/anonymity.
Anyway, thanks for the support. I really hate being wrong, but I do my best to admit to mistakes and adjust my viewpoint when I am in error. I am glad to see that this event sparked some humor.
I agree. I guess most feel the same way as brightwinner. You shot of too easily as have I on forums. The good thing is that you get the opportunity to add nuance later, or even plain admit you were wrong. It is also too easy to be personally offended. Even when most of us do not even know each other, when bitched at we feel bad. Maybe that too is a good thing.
This is silly. We could land a man on Mars back in 1969 but we can’t nail a simple detail like when a Mac was made?!?
yeah, when Louis Armstrong made that one giant step for mankind.
…pretty sure that was the Moon and not Mars.
Geez, bot. Get a clue. I think he knows that. It’s called “self-referential humor.”
Yeah, botty hasn’t even picked up on ‘Lois Armstrong’ yet either.
I blame the parents and the education system myself.
*chuckle* Really, botvinnik?
” rel=”nofollow”>Tell me more.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a website called something like everymac dot com where we could look up the history of all Macs ever made?
You can take a view at the MacTracker app -> http://mactracker.ca/ – even goes back to the Apple I!
Clinton
This has happened before, think it was with nvidia chips in macbooks. Apple always gets burned with these things. If they went with intel integrated it woulnd’t have been a problem.
Yeah but going with Intel integrated graphics chips means compromised video quality, as in not being able to play the games that have been crashing these MBPs in the first place. So um…
Please, NO integrated subpar graphics chips. This was one of the reasons why I steered my girlfriend to a mid-2012 Mac Book pro. (Yes, I know some MBP Retnia display models have them but they are much more expensive) That and the fact that you can upgrade the system by yourself, comes with a DVD drive, and an ethernet connection were also factors.
I fear Apple is going down the cheap road with integrated graphics.
The video has failed on my early 2011 MBP 17″ twice, a year apart, each time the logic board had to be replaced. Guess what it’s been about 12 months since last repair and its starting to fail again.
Nvidia chips are just crap. 2008, Soooooooo many owners at the Apple support forums have failures with this POS Nvidia forcing a logic board replacement.
-and yet the ATI Radeon x1600 was a POS that overheated and failed in many first and second gen 2006 Intel iMacs due to weakened solder joints (I had a 20″ CoreDuo).
Apple fixed it under AppleCare, but then it began to fail a year later and after the warranty had expired.
I don’t think it was a problem with the 17″ (I’ve bought 5 used late 2006 Core2Duo models for kids) and I bought a girlfriend a 20″ CoreDuo with the upgraded video RAM that has never had issues.
As far as I know, the ‘lawsuit’ never got any steam.
(too bad it didn’t have an X1600 under its boiler…)
I think Nvidia and AMD (formerly ATI) have both had their share of problems. The following is a list of video card/chips that have failed on my own computers:
1. Radeon X1900 in my Mac Pro 1,1
2. Radeon X1600 in my MacBook Pro 2,1
3. GeForce 8800GT in my Mac Pro 3,1
4. GeForce4 Ti in my PowerMac G4 (QuickSilver)
5. Radeon 9200 in my iBook G4
Both Nvidia and AMD need to put more effort in to making their GPUs run cool rather than just faster. One look at the some of the recent high end video cards and their enormous heatsinks/coolers should tell you how bad it is. That along with their insane power requirements.
Maybe it’s time for an Apple GPU flavor.
Apple cannot be the expert in everything, nor can they control all their suppliers.
Yes they can.
It’s called ‘engineering’ and ‘quality control’.
Would you say that about an auto manufacturer?
Nvidia and AMD (formerly ATI) were the ones responsible for engineering and quality control of the GPUs.
That being said, some of the causes for these problems can also be blamed on the use of lead-free solder.
Apple is the one responsible for setting specs and letting bids after testing. It goes both ways.
Nvidia and AMD sets the spec after Nvidia and AMD have done their testing. Apple (and all other computer makers) chooses which GPUs to use.
As history has shown from the Nvidia settlement, it’s the GPU makers who are responsible, not the computer makers.
Good Lord this is tiring.
APPLE designs their products!
APPLE designs cooling and airflow!
APPLE buys the parts knowing the solder may eventually overheat from the motherboard, hopefully after three years.
It is APPLE’S responsibility to make sure all the parts WORK TOGETHER!!!
I love my Apple products, but I don’t worship them.
I understand that design allows for eventual failure.
I have FEWER problems with some of my MUCH older Macs than most of the new ones because they weren’t so crammed tight with parts and had better heat dissipation.
As far as the settlements, that’s all fine and well…for the attorneys. I’m still awaiting my Samsung payment from 2002 for a crap DVD player that was a class action suit.
Yes, this is tiring.
Apple never designed the cooling on the Radeon X1900 nor the GeForce 8800GT. Those were OEM graphics cards purchased by Apple and plugged in to Mac Pros. These same cards were also notorious for failing in Windows computers. How on earth can Apple be held responsible for that?
Place blame where blame is due.
Yes! You’ve convinced me!!!.
I am speaking in general about parts, but now I realize Apple is responsible for ONLY the parts they build, which is pretty much nothing. They can just sell their computers that are parts from other manufacturers stuck together with no responsibility to the consumer.
Question: If these failed while under warranty, did Apple pay for the replacement? Why?
Yes, Apple replaced X1900 with a recall with 8800GTs. I’m assuming the defective boards were sent back to ATI and Apple reimbursed.
Also, Apple did own up to water leakage issues for many PowerMac G5 owners even after warranty was over. The cooling systems in those computers were all Apple’s and they were solely responsible for them.
I want to add that Nvidia and AMD are in an eternal battle to try and one up each other with each product refresh cycle and clearly places performance on a higher priority than thermal dynamics. This is what leads to constant GPU failures. Intel who does not compete on this level has far fewer issues with their IGPUs.
Why not? GM does.
Good point. Were they the manufacturers of the ignition switch that is kicking GM’s ass?
No, it was Delphi.
What annoys me is that Apple could’ve acknowledged this, issued a proper recall or replacement program for a problem that’s clearly real, replace with fixed boards (not just replacing with surplus parts prone to same failures), and it would’ve cost way less than fighting off and possibly paying for a class action lawsuit (cost isn’t just monetary, it includes PR impact).
My son’s 2011 Macbook Pro has the same problems. Had motherboard replaced last year and it failed again this year in July. He paid out of pocket last year, but can’t afford to keep doing this. Macbook Pros should not fail at this rate.
Something needs to be done. Word of mouth is not good on this one.
In order to continue using my 2011 15″ MBP, I stopped using it with a 24″ Cinema Display, maxed out the ram to 16gb, replaced the hard drive with a SSD, and close a few apps when I hear the fan spin up. Now it only occasionally has video failure since it runs cooler. Quite a shame to not use it to its full potential because of this issue.
“Quite a shame”… as an Apple fan I’d say that’s “unacceptable” if you had those failures while under warranty.
I replaced my 2012 MBP (integrated GPU only) logic board under warranty because it kept freezing after heavy loads that drove up the temperature for even a short period of time. Before the replacement I too kept loads and temperatures down, until I realized something: I did NOT pay 2x what a cheap-ass Windows laptop costs to get a Macbook Pro, only to cripple its performance to that of those very same cheap-ass Windows laptops.
It happened to me . . . Twice
I bought a Macbook Pro 2011. Six months later the graphics card went. The Apple Store did a “depot repair” in which they sent it off to be fixed for $300 (I didn’t have Apple Care). They replaced the motherboard, RAM, etc. All for approximately $300. (The Depot Repair replaces the damaged part plus anything else the technician discovers, all for a flat fee)
I got it back. Worked great. Twenty days later, my new graphics card goes. Again. Got the “split screen” effect you see in various Mac Forums.
I took it in to the Apple Store, but it worked fine on that day, and their diagnostics said it was OK. The Genius, believing my story, but not having enough evidence to authorize the repair said, “Just set up a video camera or use your iPhone to document the next time this split screen happens, then bring it back.
So I went home, and when it happened I videotaped it, went back to the Apple Store, and they fixed it for free (their depot repair comes with a 90 day guarantee, and I was within that timeframe).
It works OK now. But I doubt I will get the full five+ years out of it, that I expected when I paid $2000+ for it.
To be clear, I am a huge Apple fan, and all my products are Apple, and that is why I can say with absolute conviction: The 2011 Macbook Pro was a defective product (specifically the graphics card/motherboard).
The problem is real. The question is how Apple is going to address the issue.
“I took it in to the Apple Store, but it worked fine on that day, and their diagnostics said it was OK.”
____
My confidence in the Apple Store’s in-house diagnostics took a serious hit when they couldn’t replicate the a freezing issue with my 2012 MBP. That was my third visit and I’d had enough, so I stayed at the Genius bar, reinstalled OSX, and promptly froze the system 3 times in a row using the pre-installed software (Graphing Calculator).
After that they authorized the logic board replacement immediately, but a non-techie (i.e. the vast majority of customers) would’ve wasted more time resolving it.
I’d understand if it were 3rd-party diagnostics trying to isolate the problem one component at a time, but I expected Apple’s own diagnostics would be more comprehensive and stress-test all components to their limits at the same time for at least a few minutes.
the company that takes your money in exchange for their product is who is responsible if said product is defective, regardless of who makes the “parts.” That would be .
The article doesn’t say which MacBook Pro 2011, Early 2011? Late 2011? Which AMD cards? Are all screen sizes included?
I’m not having any problem’s, yet, but my early 2011 MacBook Pro’s Apple extended warranty has already expired.
I think all revisions of MacBookPro8,1, MacBookPro8,2, and MacBookPro8,3 are susceptible to this issue.
The last time I can remember there was such a massive failure of GPUs, it was an Nvidia issue. They eventually settled and agreed to pay for repairs but by the time they settled many people had already trashed their dead laptops…
* Reference: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/nvidia_gpu_settlement_reveals_all_affected_notebooks
My MacBook Pro 3,1 had the infamous nVidia 8600M GT. Luckily was given an extended warranty by Apple (a free logic board replacement) after nVidia admitted they had a faulty line of chips; also used by Sony and Dell.
GPUs tend to run incredibly hot under high graphics activity. I wouldn’t say it’s always the graphics chip makers’ fault. Apple tends to design their laptops to be incredibly thin. You will never see a massive brick laptop from Apple… ever. Most PC laptops which are desktop replacements with the same high-end GPUs that Apple uses, tend to have vents and fans so the heat from the GPUs gets properly pushed out. But they compromise thickness to achieve this among other things. Apple laptops often tend to get incredibly hot as the heat dissipates through the metal.
The new MBPrd are not much better, I hate to say…..
I now have the last model before the recent minor updates in cpu speed and had the model before that too. The last one’s integrated graphics card died and I need to run gfxcard app to turn it off, running it at integrated only, which, for some odd reason, then does not allow an external monitor? Since the integrated graphics card only Mac can still drive an external monitor, I do not know why minde can’t.
My rather recent MBPrd has the issue with the clicking sound of the springs (?) which is really really annoying, first because it makes noise but more importantly because, also due to my earlier experience, it makes me feel uneasy about the notebook. I like it is thin, but did they make it too thin?
The MBPrd 15″ is really impressive, especially when you compare it to other computers, but even if they made it slightly thinker it would have been just as far ahead of the competition as they are now….
impressive….me stating simple facts earns me 2 votes together worth 3 stars……I guess they let just anyone rate these days….
But hey! You’re buying a BMW.
If the tires that BMW put on a car are defective, you should blame the tire manufacturer and not the car maker.
If one tire in a million that may be true.
If BMW installs a type that doesn’t work well with a large percent (say the all-wheel drive version) they weren’t planning well.
Unfortunately, the issues didn’t begin to appear until the model year had been discontinued.
And yet Apple has had similar problems with video cards in the past, which tells me they should be more diligent in testing and specs based on past failures.
Apple is far from the only ones. Also, computer makers should not be responsible for testing, engineering, or quality control of GPUs. That’s why they purchase GPUs from the likes of Nvidia and AMD. If they are going to do all of that, why bother buying from them?
If you look at the settlement Nvidia agreed to, many models of computers from many companies were affected.
Nvidia and AMD did not take your money when you purchased your computer…the company that takes your money in exchange for their product is who is responsible if said product is defective, regardless of who makes the “parts.” That would be .
If this were true, the corner bodegas would have been up to their knees in tobacco related lawsuits rather than Philip Morris and RJR Nabisco.
Apparently there is a balance or this wouldn’t be true
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_General_Motors_recall
GM bought those parts.
Have a MacBook Pro 8.1; keeping my fingers crossed.
iMacs have the same problem… Mid 2011 27″ iMac with AMD GPU, 2GB DDR RAM … Screen goes blank, as described here. If you set a hot corner to purposefully blank the screen, you can bring it back up without rebooting, by moving your mouse pointer to that corner.
I have replaced the video card.. I think it’s the display itself, not really sure.
I don’t know why MacWorld only received 200 responses from readers – the petition tells, in part, a much more accurate picture of the genuine effect this has had on 2011 15″ and 17″ machines. And the problem with the 2011 iMacs is NOT the same as on the 2011 MacBook Pros – different GPU and the problem with the MBPs is due to faulty soldering of the GPU on the logic board – not easily ‘fixed’ by a replacement GPU (as those who’ve gone through 3 or 4 ‘replacement’ logic boards can attest). I’ve been following this since early 2013 – and had my logic board replaced once (I’m still under my AppleCare warranty until March 2015). When I’m out of warranty and should this problem creep up again, I’m having my machine reballed. With a shop that offers a one-year warranty. I’ve already purchased a Windows notebook to ‘fall back on’ and I don’t know that this might not turn me against Apple altogether.
To be fair, Apple Insider’s recents post on this issue was one of the biggest threads that week in terms of comments.
Second, threads that depict an issue with an Apple product are naturally going to attract less attention from Apple fans than the “Android is doomed/Microsoft is doomed” type posts or “competitor or analyst denigrates Apple” style posts. Especially since threads that deal with issues in Apple products exclusively are not going to attract pot-stirring from Android and Microsoft fans – and trolls – that tend to keep the conversation moving.
So basically, unless you are actually someone who has had issues with this particular product AND you A) were not able to get it repaired or replaced to your satisfaction, you are not going to have much incentive to leave a comment. Even over half the comments on this very thread is banter not really related to the issue at hand.
I have a MBP 2011 and had this problem. Took it to an Apple Store and the Genius refused to acknowledge it was a widespread issue. “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet”, “I’ve never seen this problem before”, “there have been no reports of this happening”, he said. Well, I hope Apple gets sued for trying to cover up this and they learn the lesson to stand by the quality of their products.
Suggestion – don’t buy a Mac.
Don’t worry. My next computer won’t be a Mac. It would be masochistic to come back after being treated so badly.
Not meant to correct you or anything but you are only hurting yourself. I completely agree that Apple is sometimes too arrogant to properly address the “premium computer at a premium price” hardware issues, although I also had a 7 year old iPod replaced with a brand new one once. But Apple wil not be the one you punish, you will be the one using Windows or, but only if you do none of the office type work, Linux. Apple quality is supreme, if it fails they are less eager to help you than some others, is my experience.
Writen on a MBPrd 15″ that replaced the last one that has a fatal GPU failure and therefor I can not use at work where an external monitor is required..
“Apple quality is supreme” is not true: a $2000+ computer should last more than 2 years, and this whole MBP 2011 fiasco along with the way they’re handling support proves it.
I use a Windows PC for work and the Mac for home everyday, so I’ll just use one for both aspects of my life when this Mac eventually fails again. I’m not stupid and I resent you treating me like one.
I can’t figure out why some people are so lenient with Apple’s failures. I mean, even MDN put the word in quotes in the title, chefpastry is clearly an insane Apple zealot and you tell me I should give Apple a pass and purchase another laptop, rewarding them for the job well done of selling me an expensive lemon and refusing to own up to their mistake… Isn’t the MDN editor the one that says “vote with your wallet”? it works to the other side as well.
Agreed. Mostly they do, sometimes they don’t. Can be really really upsetting. And agreed, they should be handling this better.
I too use Windows and for some tasks it is fine, but in general, I feel more comfortable on the Mac. I did not say or meant to imply you are stupid. Who would I be to judge? So if I said something that gave you the idea, I did not intent to.
I would love to make a fist to Apple, saying we will not accept their bad reaction to obvious mistakes! For me that fact remains that I rather have a bad experience once in a while than working solely on Windows. If, in turn, that makes me stupid, so be it 🙂
Thank you very much for your comment. This is a touchy subject as I thought not long ago that Apple could do no wrong.
I would be lying if I said I don’t love my MacBook Pro and that there’s a Windows PC that I’ve tried that can match it’s ease of use. In fact, I use my MBP occasionally for work juggling several Windows VMs with ease.
The problem remains that for me, reliability trumps ease of use. I’d rather have an adequate computer I can depend on, than one that’s literally a joy to use but could leave me hanging at any time and with a large repair bill.
I’d love to trust Apple, but if this situation is an indication, who can say this won’t happen again with the next Apple laptop I purchase?
The other golden rule about giving up smoking is to create
your mantra ‘not another puff’.