MBP: The Whining User
April 11th, 2006I’m getting very close to finally sending my MacBook Pro in for repairs. I suspect I’ll have to jump through these hoops even though it is starting to sound like perhaps units of my vintage (ordered on the very first day) have enough quirks that they can only be comprehensively solved by replacing the unit. I’m jealous of my friends and readers who have written to let me know that their later models seem to exhibit none of the annoying shortcomings that mine does. Here’s to hoping that I can negotiate my way through the Apple support waters and end up a happy customer after all.
Anybody who knows me or reads this blog has probably started to notice a distinctly unpleasant noise coming out of my office in Somerville, MA. What’s that sound? It’s human whine. I try to be patient with Apple and wait optimistically for a solution that will make everybody happy. But I’m running into more and more problems with the MacBook Pro, and as my frustration about a particular problem compounds into the frustration of the next, the high-pitched whine of my muppet-voice becomes ever more piercing.
I thought I’d take an opportunity to sort of cleanse my system of all complaints. This will be helpful to me when I call AppleCare, so I can make sure that everything that may be fixable gets logged in my complaint. It may also serve to reassure you if you feel something is weird and just haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere yet. Best of all, if you spot something in one of my complaints that seems unfounded, please point me in the direction of a “duh!” solution, or let me know why I shouldn’t expect better from this unit. Alongside each complaint summary I’ve included my presumption about how fixable the problem is. Please help me update the presumption with a more educated opinion if you feel qualified to do so.
I would like to make extra-special clear that this list, every item on it, is a complaint that I have personally about my MacBook Pro. I’m not trying to be a citizen journalist here (much), by for instance providing a detailed survey of all problems that all users have encountered. It’s a shame that I’ve got so much to complain about – and too bad that on top of these I have heard of yet more problems that I thankfully have not faced.
Comprehensive MacBook Pro Complaint List (Ordered by Annoyance Factor)
- Screen-related buzzing at all but highest brightness. This has become the biggest complaint because it’s also the loudest distraction. And it kicks in whenever the computer decided in its power-savings, or I decide in my blindedness, to reduce the screen’s brightness. When I’m working quietly, I have to put the screen at maximum brightness, or I can’t concentrate. That’s annoying. Fixability Factor: should be fixed by replacing faulty screen inverter.
- Screen-related high-pitched squeal. This started much later than all the other complaints, but is also unbearable. The squeal begins reliably after some short period of working in silence, and goes away promptly at the slightest adjustment of the screen’s tilt. Is it related to the inverter flaw above? Who knows. This one happens even when the screen is at highest brightness. Fixability Factor: may go away if the above problem is fixed.
- CPU Whine. The classic. The only good things about this bug are that it’s maskable by various power-guzzling workarounds, and that it’s barely noticeable when one of the insanely loud noises above is being emitted by the machine. Best theories so far suggest the problem is a flaw in the power supply, which vibrates in response to fluctuating power draw and produces audible noises. The most recent shipping units seem less likely to exhibit the problem, though it seems some are still squeaking (heh, heh) by. I’ve never read of or heard of anybody who has sent a machine in for repair and had the whine fixed, though I have heard from several who have received replacement units with no whine. Fixability Factor: I’m guessing it’s 100% fixable but perhaps a 10% or less chance a defective unit will actually come back fixed.
- Mooing Madness.The extremely sporadic mooing problem is usually either absolutely present are or absolutely absent. I am pretty sure it has to do with the heat of the machine, with gives credence to the idea that it’s a cooling fan repeatedly firing up and spinning down. It’s wrong, whatever it is. Fixability Factor: it seems like an obvious flaw in either the power management software or in an electrical connection to that fan. If it is a fan, that is. I’m holding out for 50/50 chance of fix.
- White Noise. As we move down into the “far less problematic, but still annoying” ranks, we have the issue of the 100% active left fan. While the mooing noise almost sounds as if it’s a fan that can’t quite get started, the subtle white noise that emanates from the left side of the machine seems more like a fan that will never shut off. Perhaps the computer runs hot enough that always running a fan is the way to handle things. UPDATE: Chris Liscio chimes in with information suggesting that the Seagate hard drive is responsible for this noise. How can he be so confident? He observed a similar sound from his iBook, starting when he replaced the original hard drive with a similar Seagate. Case closed, as far as I’m concerned! Fixability Factor: Assuming it’s the hard drive, anybody who is really bothered by this constant, very quiet white noise can probably find another hard drive that doesn’t exhibit the same trait.
- Hot, Hot, Hot! Perhaps related to the always-on fan is the fact that the machine gets very hot. So hot that I can’t hold it on my lap. I thought this might be a side-effect of 2.0Ghz of dual core power, and maybe it is. But some have reported that the heat issue is less significant in later revisions. If so, I might as well point out that ideally I’d like to be able to put this laptop in my lap. Fixability Factor: if the always-on fan and the can’t start fan are signs of underlying cooling problems, it might explain why the machine is frequently hotter than a fresh biscuit. Vague hope for a fix.
- Track, Damn Trackpad! This is one I hadn’t noticed until I started trying to do more long working sessions at the MacBook Pro. Frequently I find myself unable to move the mouse for a few seconds as the trackpad apparently becomes unresponsive to my movement. I don’t know if this is a wacky side-effect of the way I use the pad, or what. I’ve never had this problem on another Mac laptop, but perhaps it’s somehow related to the “two finger scrolling” feature, which I quite like. Fixability Factor: given my extremely negative experience with the Mighty Mouse, I suspect it’s possible that Apple is simply studying users who don’t expect pointing devices to behave the way I do. If that’s the case, perhaps I just have to learn to live with it.
- Bright Spots. No, this isn’t the optimistic change of tune you might have been hoping for. My display has bright spots. Literally. The bottom left and right corners are slightly brighter than the rest of the display. Not a big deal, but a “sub-perfection” observation. My only concern would be if the brightness is an early warning that the magnetics in the speakers are not being properly shielded from the display. Does it even work that way on an LCD, though?Fixability Factor: don’t care that much but suspect that another screen might happen to be better (or worse).
- Sweeping Broom Noise? Is this is a new UI effect, or yet another aural anomaly? I sometimes upon starting up my machine hear a sort of crashing/broom-sweeping noise. It only seems to happen when power cycling, but it’s disconcerting. One reader has reported a “rattlesnake noise” which might be the same. Anyway, this barely bothers me at all because it’s confined to a specific period of time, but I’m slightly worried it is the tip of a problem that will develop into something more omnipresent. Fixability Factor: shrug – I’m in the dark here.
- Airport Flakiness. Here we are at the very rock-bottom list of my complaints. This is the least of all complaints, but it’s something I haven’t noticed before on my other Macs. It’s basically guaranteed that every other time I click on the Airport menu bar item, it will be empty of stations. I have to click it again to see the list (sometimes quite numerous) of stations in my immediate vicinity. Note this is not the same as the “doesn’t reconnect after sleeping” issue, which I fixed by making a new “location” in Network Preferences from scratch. This issue doesn’t affect connectivity at all but is just a nuisance when trying to make an initial connection. This has mostly annoyed me on my recent week-long vacation to various points west of the Rockies. Fixability Factor: suspect it may be fixable in software, as other wireless detection software such as AirTrafficControl seems to maintain a more consistent view of the wireless world.
Well – that’s roughly what I’m going to try to convey to Apple when I call up to get the ball rolling on this. Quite a mouthful, huh? I’m hoping I can convince the rep to “get real” with me and cut to the chase if replacing the unit is really what will be required in the long run to address at least all the “can’t concentrate in a quiet room or record music” noise problems.
Based on reader feedback I’ve received and forum postings I’ve read at Apple, I’m a bit pessimistic about what will happen when my machine goes in for “repair.” Based on some anecdotes it sounds possible that some techs at Apple are happy to address one of the many issues described as problematic, and send it back to the user for further head-bashing. It seems like all the shipping and ill-will would be more expensive than making a deliberate effort to really patch things up here, but who knows. I shall know more soon (I hope!) about how effective the problem resolution process is.
April 11th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
What a bummer. I think that you sound amazingly good-humoured about the whole thing, esp.considering the encyclopaedic list of faults.
Is the Quality Assurance person at Apple deaf? That’s the only explanation I can think of.
April 11th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
I believe that #7 is a preference, go to sys preferences, keyboard and mouse, trackpad, then “ignore accidental input”
— worked for me, but its possible you did this already and still have problems?
at any rate, I returned my MacBook Pro. waiting till its not “bleeding edge.” I’ve enjoyed your blog though.
April 11th, 2006 at 8:46 pm
I got most of those, and a flaky Superdrive. Periodically it will just try to eject a CD (even if one isnt present) and when a disc is actually inserted it just pops right back out. Sadly, I gotta wait a few more weeks to send mine in.
April 11th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
I have a Macbook Pro 2.0 with a W8613 Serialnumber and I had none of the above mentioned problems. Well except it gets hot when it works a lot, but that’s normal I guess. During normal non-HD or CPU intensive Work it doesn’t get hotter than my G4 1.67 PB.
But here’s the kicker: I ordered a second Powersupply to carry permanently in my suitcase (I travel a lot), and guess what: That Brick makes the MB Pro whine (your #3). Magicnoisekiller fixes it, and using the other Powerbrick, the one that came with the machine, doesn’t give me the whine, ONLY the second one. When I unplug the faulty supply and run on Battery, no whine. Reboot, nothing. Silence. As soon as I plug the faulty thing in, boom; it’s whining.
How’s that for a twist in the story.
April 11th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
[…] Daniel Jalkut outlines the reasons why I won’t be buying a MacBook Pro anytime soon. […]
April 12th, 2006 at 6:36 am
Wow, I can’t believe you’ve waited this long with such a list. I replaced my original model with one in the W8612 range and it still has the CPU whine. Airport looks (according to iPulse) flaky at times, though only at my home and it never really seems to tank so I don’t know what to think. As far as your trackpad issues, this may sound dumb, but are you sure you aren’t unintentionally resting part of your other hand on the pad? With the larger area of the MacBook Pro compared to the 15″ PowerBook I at first thought I too had a bad trackpad. Turns out I was just letting a tiny part of my other hand touch it. That was enough to to essentially make it stop responding. Once I learned to keep that hand off my trackpad works perfectly.
April 12th, 2006 at 10:54 am
For the trackpad thing, I’ll second the “ignore accidental input” suggestion. That fixed it for me.
The speaker magnets shouldn’t affect the screen, because the color and brightness don’t rely on a stream of magnetically-guided electrons hitting the right places at the right times. The brightness is probably due to some minor construction defect in the way the backlight diffusor was placed. The bottom of the screen is closest to the backlight tube, so naturally (light fading with the square of the distance and all that) it should be brighter; the manufacturer has to counteract that, which appears to be kinda tricky. (I certainly screwed up the backlighting of my iBook when I messed with it trying to replace the backlight tube.)
I’m willing to accept a degree of uneven brightness in my LCDs. It’s really only apparent when the screen is filled with an even color. In normal use, i don’t notice it.
A gripe I have is that the screen doesn’t tilt far enough back. I’m only 5’8″, but the screen makes me either push the laptop farther away, or sit lower in my seat. The problem is exacerbated a bit by the kinda low viewing angle on the screen.
The heat is a little annoying, I agree, but in the trackpad area it doesn’t get much hotter than my old G3 iBook. Up by the function keys and on the bottom it does get *very* hot.
Gripe: I have my MBP set up to require login to end the screensaver. I’m sometimes seeing a brightly lit screen (with no windows) briefly before the screen goes black again and the login panel comes up. That’s annoying.
Finally, does anyone else find that their MBP wants to dim the screen really soon, no matter what you keep setting the power settings to? It seems to revert back to a default.
April 12th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Do try resetting the power manager to see if it affects the cooling. I believe (in other words, look it up) that you unplug the machine, then hit the power button for five seconds.
As far as the others, I have talked with a number of people who had things repaired, and now that the screen inverter problem has been identified, most of them are actually getting fixed. (Straw poll, not statistically reliable.) As best as I can tell, the techs will hit the worst problems in the repair, and may leave other secondary problems alone, which is why having a good apple store genius helps – they can send it back for round two without needing your intervention.
I do think you were wise to wait – you do not want to be the first machine that a tech gets their hands on. That said, the more people who send in machines to get the heat and cpu whine problems fixed, the more likely we are to see a real fix.
April 12th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
I just received my MacBookPro (running 10.4.5) back from service. Logic board and battery were both replaced, and still the same CPU whine problem. My MBP seems to exhibit the heat issue as well. Apple service (product specialist – not Customer Relations) said flat out that it’s not a problem, and they won’t be giving any replacements. Offered that I could call Customer Relations if I was unhappy. Has anyone spoken to CR after repair and received a replacement, and furthermore – has anyone seen a positive result?
April 12th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
I went to the Apple Store today with many of these same problems (my biggest gripe is the whine though) and was told that it was in “spec” and they refused to repair it. I don’t know what we can do… Maybe someone will start a class action lawsuit or something?
April 12th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
I called Applecare today and I’m going to be sending my MBP in for service. Based on the list above, I have problems 1 & 2 but not 3 or 4. I may have 5 (if I put my ear close, I think I hear it), but it really doesn’t bother me as yet. The fans are so quiet on mine anyway that it hardly matters, so as long as they stay that way I don’t mind if they run. I haven’t noticed the other problems except maybe the heat. They did seem to be familiar with the problems, which is encouraging. (I had called a couple of weeks ago and they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, and tried to pass it off as normal computer noise).
For those wondering, “service” seems to mean “repair” and not “replacement”, so we’ll see what happens. They’re sending me a shipping box that I can send back via DHL. The person I spoke to estimated they’d need to have it for 3-5 days.
April 12th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
I’ve got a new MBP (1 wk old) with problems 1,3,5,6,7, and #2, if I crank on the screen from the left hand side only.
With regard to #1, it’s a high pitch whine that ONLY goes out when the backlight is completely OFF. Is the same as the power-inverter problem where its quiet at full brightness? Thanks.
I also have the freezing trackpad problem (#7), but for me it has nothing to do with ignoring accedental imput (I’ve had that option on since the first).
The magic app does wonders with the CPU whine, but for me the CPU noise is nothing to the screen noise.
April 12th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Re #8: Does the “bright spots on display” symptom resemble the screens in this recall?
http://www.apple.com/support/powerbook/displayprogram/
As I recall, that turned out to be a run of defective LCDs; perhaps they’ve gotten another bad batch…
April 12th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Thanks everybody for the feedback, I turned off the “ignore accidental input” feature and I’ll try to pay attention to whether that eliminates the frozen cursor issue. If it does, I’d say the avoidance factor is a little excessive! I often have to wait a few seconds to get control back. As to the question of whether it could be a lazy finger touching the pad – I certainly considered this. But when it happens I lift my hands completely and then try again, and again, and again, until control resumes.
I keep hearing comments to the effect that Apple claims some of the sounds are “in spec.” *None* of the sounds I’m complaining about should be in spec, because they all drive the user crazy bonkers. Certain noises like fan white noise – those can be “in spec.” High pitched ear rattling noises should never be allowed to meet this definition.
Peter: the bright spots are really, really minor compared to that. I suspect it’s just an anomaly of manufacture, more akin to stuck pixels. And that, while less than perfect, is something I can certainly live with!
In case I haven’t made it clear: I want to love this machine! Really, if it can just stay quiet most of the time, then I’ll be happy. There’s nothing “Pro” about the headaches I’ve gotten from this machine (leading me to my Ibu Pro).
Jon: I agree about the screen tilt. Quite annoying and it jumped out at me from the start. Of course, all the other problems make it seem so mild by comparison, I didn’t include it. Oh, how I long for first few moments of use, when all that bothered me about the machine was the thin sound from the speakers, the minimal tilt of the screen, and the somewhat weak airport pickup. If Apple ships me back something with only those problems, I’ll be the happiest MacBook Pro user you know.
April 13th, 2006 at 12:11 am
“Is the Quality Assurance person at Apple deaf? That”™s the only explanation I can think of.”
This kind of stuff happens a lot with version 1.0 hardware.
April 13th, 2006 at 8:41 am
I had all of the same problems. I requested a new machine, and detailed everything in writing. The note just said noisy cpu/lcd. It has now been in Texas for 1 week waiting for a part. From all that I have read, they fix the LCD noise, and that it all. I also had a problem with the left usb not giving enough power to run an external drive (other side was fine) I have seen this on other boards as well.
It is hard being without a computer. I was told 7-10 days, which I don’t see happening. FYI, I was orig. told that none of the problems were fixable and were normal. It was only when I mentioned that the boards had people getting them fixed that they agreed to repair. Having bought Apple everything for the last 15 years, I was not happy with the level of acknowledgment.
At this point, I just want a computer. I hope it does come back fixed, but from everything that I have read, it looks like there is a very good chance that nothing will be fixed….
I did request that they test the unit to see if any new problems pop up, but I am sure it will just be sent out.
Has anyone with a unit that was not fixed get a refund or a real NEW book?
April 13th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
It seems like all the shipping and ill-will
would be more expensive than making
a deliberate effort to really patch things up here…
Exactly! I’ve been a loyal Apple user for something like fifteen years (since the LC III) and have never experienced this type of run around from Apple. It is extremely bad business practice for Apple to deny these problems exist, and further an insult to make outrageously alienating comments like “it’s within Apple’s spec.” All one has to do is google “macbook whine” or visit the Apple discussion boards to see how widespread the problems really are. From what I see, either Apple will admit certain MBPs have manufacturing defects and remidy the problems, or will be faced with a class action lawsuit and thousands of alienated, disgruntled customers. Which is cheaper?
April 13th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I think most of these issues are being resolved with a revised logic board. We got a couple Mac Books where I work with the Trackpad problem and they repaired both of them, no issues with them since.
via macfixit:
Apple addressing issues with new revisions AnandTech reports that Apple is addressing a number of the issues initially reported in our MacBook Pro Special Report with a new revision of the systems, dubbed “revision D.”
April 13th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
I would highly recommend an Apple Service Center that is *not* Apple owned.
I know the number of these places are shrinking since the debut of Apple Retail Stores, but if you can find one, they are usually more willing to work with you and ackknowledge your legitmate problems, even if Apple doesn’t offically.
Back in the day (when Apple certified was a *lifetime* certification) a complete system replacement was usualy authorized (and mandated) after 3 unsuccessful part replacements. If someone had a reproducable error and I had replaced the screen inverter, power board, and the logic board, then the next step was to order the customer a new machine of equal or greater spec.
I’m not sure how things are done now, but I believe you’ll have better luck with a non-Apple own, but still Apple certified, repair center.
April 13th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
The screen noise doesn’t bother me because I only run full-on except if I’m on battery. When the screen is dimmed, in addition to the sound, I sometimes sense a flicker or wobble in the screen brightness, which bothers me as much if not more. Perhaps it’s related, and would be cleared up if I sent my book in for repair.
April 13th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
I’m on logic board number 2, they replaced my original just this week and most of the screen related noises are still there.
As for the heat, well good luck. Charlotte’s Geniuses are saying that its not a “laptop” its a “portable” and sure enough in the manual that comes with it there is a statement about not using it on your lap. How’s that for an out!
I have also had WiFi drop outs when I seemed to have a great signal, but I have not been able to retest this since I got it back on Tuesday.
I am definitely thinking about another repair trip for mine. For $2000 this thing needs to work…
April 13th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
I have 10.4.6, and a 1.83 GHz, 1 GB RAM, new MacBook Pro straight from the Apple store.
My MacBook Pro left China March 25. I don’t know what “version-point-o” it makes mine, but here is my list compared on Daniel’s.
1. Screen-related buzzing: NONE.
2. Screen-related high-pitched squeal: NONE.
3. CPU Whine: YES, when I unplugged the power it was obvious. However, I just started using Daniel’s MagicNoise Killer and the whine is barely there, as in: it does not bother me a smidge.
4. Mooing Madness: NONE.
5. White Noise: YES, simply the left fan constantly working to keep my lap a bit cooler than I might be otherwise. No problem to me.
6. Hot: YES, but not to the extreme Daniel describes here. I have not compared it to other laptops; is it on a comparable scale? Page 107 of the manual under “Using Your MacBook Pro” clearly describes the normality of laptop heat.
7. Trackpad: NONE. I love the scrolling feature. May I say that again? I love the scrolling feature.
8. Bright Spots: NONE.
9. Sweeping Broom Noise: NONE.
10. Airport Flakiness: NONE.
My own curiosity: Does opening the computer really require a gear-noise similar to the eject-a-cd noise?
Screen tilt: I’m short.
I love the automatic backlit keyboard, the automatic brightness change when environment changes, and the MagSafe power cable.
What a great college laptop!
April 13th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
In response to Jon Hendry, I cannot read a book sitting across the room from my MBP without being irritated by the screen buzzing. The dim “function” is more like “bee-buzzing mode” to me. I spoke with an Apple Genius, Jack, at the Atlanta store the other afternoon, and after checking out my MBP’s dimming buzz noise he confirmed it as abnormal. I decided to send it in, with fingers crossed. It is at Apple Repair somewhere right now — I believe, Knoxville. Hopefullly, it will get fixed.
Also, I was heartbroken that I was charged $50 for a hard drive backup in case something in the return process goes awry (i.e. a hardware switchout, MBP being lost in the mail, etc). I wish this service was free, in light of my being a big-purchase customer with a faulty MBP. I mean, I have owned this thing for just over a month.
April 14th, 2006 at 12:41 am
I too have the “sweeping broom” noise. It’s very disconcerting hearing that noise when I turn the MBP on. I have lost all my confidence in this machine and probably expect it to die within the first 2 years of use.
I can’t believe Apple is not taking their consumers seriously. This is a joke, and quite possibly the first and last time I ever deal with Apple if I want a laptop. Seriously, who pays $4000 AUD to get a below-par product? Sadly Apple is closed today due to Good Friday so I can’t voice my complaints yet.
Everyone hates Microsoft, but when there was even the smallest chance that the XBox could cause a fire-hazard, they immediately began issuing out replacement cables. People are getting electric shocks from a laptop. What’s the point in having a “Ergonomics” section in the MBP manual if the thing is a damn health risk!
I’ve already burnt my fingers twice in 2 days. Apple’s handling of these faults is disgraceful. Over in Australia we have a whole bunch of consumer protection bodies that I’ll be contacting should Apple refuse to handle this situation correctly. I urge EVERYONE who paid top dollar for these notebooks to demand what they paid for.
April 14th, 2006 at 5:25 am
Hey Raf, you are the only person I’ve seen online mention electric shocks. I could swear that 3 times now I have gotten a jolt on the wrist from mine. Can you point me to other complaints on the subject? I just thought it was somehow static electricity.
I will say that Apple has probably guaranteed an AppleCare purchase from me at this point. I need this thing to last 3 years minimum so I dont think I can live with a 1 year warranty. So I need to remember to add that money into my complaint about cost vs. quality.
William, my MBP from Charlotte, NC went to Houston, TX but it was still back in about 5 days (2 were weekend days). For mine they replaced the logic board and see my post above about how well that worked. Mine will be headed back again soon!
Like I told the genius dude… I want to love this thing. I want to use this thing. Basically I have had it for over a month now and cannot move my digital life over to it for fear that it will come back from apple with a wiped harddrive or even a completely new unit.
Argggg!
April 14th, 2006 at 7:14 am
OK – You guys just validated my up-til-now unspoken belief that the screen gives me subtle electric shocks. I notice it when I’m holding the MBP in my lap but reaching forward around it (for instance when using it in conjunction with a desktop computer). It’s so subtle that only the inside of my forearm seems sensitive enough to pick it up. It’s sort of a growing burning feeling, but then the part of the screen where it occurred doesn’t feel very warm.
If you guys can validate than I’m not crazy and this is an electric shock I’ll definitely add it to my list of unacceptable behaviors.
April 14th, 2006 at 7:19 am
Daniel, I would say mine is coming more from the area above the superdrive slot to the right of the trackpad and it hits my forearm as well. I am curious if this is happening frequently to others who use their’s all the time. Unfortunately, I can’t use my all the time because I refuse to move everything from my PC until it is working 100%.
April 14th, 2006 at 7:21 am
Steve: I’m in a similar position to you. I have been turned off by the issues and planning to at least send in for some repairs, so I haven’t gotten too attached. I worry that the problems would just be worse if I was relying on the machine for full-time work.
April 14th, 2006 at 8:30 am
I had the majority of the issues listed in the original post. Just got my MBPro 2.0 with an extra 1 GB of Crucial RAM put in after a week. The following problems have been completely resolved with the replacement of my logic board (I went to my local Apple authorized dealer):
– the heat issue is gone (I can use the machine on my lap now – before it was intolerable to even carry the machine when in use with my hand on the bottom or touching the bar above the F-keys)
– the mooing sound is gone – the fan actually spins up now (more often than any portable I’ve had before… but a very small sacrifice to pay for the lack of heat!)
– the screen noise is gone
– the random restarts when waking from sleep are gone
The only item that is left is the CPU whine. It isn’t near a loud as it was before, and quite within a reasonable range – with my original logic board it was about 2-3x louder – so overall I am quite happy. Currently the only time I hear the noise is when on battery power. For me, if I am on battery I won’t be pushing the CPU too hard – therefore the workaround of installing CHUD and turning off a processor works. (I know it isn’t perfect – but I’m now a happy camper.)
April 14th, 2006 at 9:58 am
Darcy,
Is there anyway to tell what model or version of the logic board you have? My serial number did not change when they replaced my board.
Personally, if I had to disable a processor for any reason what so ever that would be 100% unacceptable to me. There are now dozens of dual core laptops out there and I am not going to accept that as a workaround. I paid for dual core and I want to see dual core speeds 24-7. That’s just me :-)
April 14th, 2006 at 10:55 am
I got the first powerbook 17″ and I love it still. Its a great machine. many of these complaints seem to just be what happens with a really fast laptop. Maybe you guys are used to desktop macs. and Id rather hear a gear noise when I open my laptop than having to deal with some stupid pc fix like have to reboot everytime.
April 14th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Sorry Sam – the noises I’m complaining about are not the noise of the DVD-Rom drive or anything like that. It’s persistent, high pitched irritating noise that nobody who can hear it could possibly withstand. It’s psychically destructive.
April 14th, 2006 at 11:51 am
I just read the post on this blog entitled “MacBook Pro Noise Update,” and I tried out the PhotoBooth trick mentioned by a few users. (It may help to note that I am still running MNK as far as I can tell. I don’t see it in the dock or activity monitor, but I just opened it a few times, and the activity monitor quickly added something to its list and took it away.)
1. (No mosquito to begin with.) Unplug MagSafe Power cable.
2. Open PhotoBooth. Glance at myself moving in the screen.
3. Quit PhotoBooth. Annoying mosquito noise begins. It is intermittent when I scroll in this blog, but otherwise it is consistently annoying.
4. Open PhotoBooth. Ah, immediate quieting of the mosquito.
5. Take picture of myself and click on it. (or click on a previously taken photo)
6. Quit PhotoBooth. Voila, the same quiet.
Is MNK doing anything for me? How do I disable it?
April 14th, 2006 at 11:57 am
Basically if MNK works (and it apparently stopped working for many people on 10.4.6), it’s working in a similar fashion to the trick you’ve just discovered – as far as I can tell.
When MNK works – it does it’s job and is out of the picture. No uninstalling required. Just don’t run it again.
April 14th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
#7, the trackpad not tracking is definitely related to having the “ignore accidental input” option on in your keyboard system prefs. Simply turn that option off, and you’ll be fine.
April 14th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
Here’s one for the list, from one of the contributors to my blog: his new MacBook, completely disabled by a CD burn error.
http://n-gram.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-2500-apple-macbook-pro-disabled-by.html
April 14th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
I had my Macbook on my desk (as instructed by the manual) and I was using it for about an hour when I started a huge find and replace on a very large file in Dreamweaver that for whatever reason was taking a very long time (about 30 min). So during this time the cpu was really churning hard. I was bored and decided to grab my outside remote thermometer which has a little probe so you can keep the unit inside and run the cable/probe out the window or whatever….anyway I put the probe directly above the F6 and f7 keys on the little metal strip there and let it sit for about 5 mins. The reading after 5 mins…….. 106.7 F.
Does anyone else think that is too hot for a healthy laptop?
April 15th, 2006 at 3:37 am
I am having a lot of problems with my new MacBook Pro- it gets unbearably hot, it gives me electic shocks, those who use it have a metallic taste in their mouth and it blacks out frequently. I only recieved it a month ago and I am at a loss with what to do.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Nikki Goss
April 15th, 2006 at 6:05 am
Nikki, even if you didn’t purchase AppleCare, you have a 1 year warranty, and it’s defective (if not dangerous).
You probably won’t be able to get a replacement, but Apple should be able to fix it. From what I read though, it’s generally rare to see them come back actually fixed.
Perhaps in a month or so all these flaws will be fixed and you can take it in for repairs, but I don’t think you can handle that, so take it in anyway and fingers crossed it’ll come back all good. There’s not much point in being without the laptop for a week or more if it’s not going to come back fixed. Luck of the draw at the moment..
April 15th, 2006 at 10:37 am
I feel horrible… I purchased a “refurbished” 2.0Ghz MacBook Pro.
I can honestly say that I can’t find any issues with it. Unless I put my ear within say a foot of the left side – than I could hear what sounds like a fan… I accept that as normal…. there has got to be some assistance for heat dispersion…. Oh – I guess it runs hot, but not to the point that I can’t rest ot on my legs while reclining….
Overall, I’m ecstatic…
I would hate to see people put off buying MacBooks…. Yes there are melons in the bunch, but to be balanced, I want readers to see that there are perfectly fine machines out there as well….
April 15th, 2006 at 10:43 am
Michael: Thanks – definitely good to know. I am particularly pessimistic because of all the people I know personally with one of these machines, none has been noise free. I definitely hope that it’s overall just a case of the problematic cases being more outspoken.
April 15th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Regarding the electric shocks, I haven’t had any from my MBP, but I used to get them from my old 500MHz white iBook – once in a while I’d reach past the screen, and my arm would brush the little screws in the edge of the screen, and I’d feel a shock.
April 16th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Daniel/Micheal: I’m looking to purchase a notebook and the MBP fits the bill. The local store has them in stock. I’ll check the serial number and check for the aforementioned noises, whines, and heat. Question 1: can I weed out the bad ones at the store or might these noises/whines start after I get the machine home? Question 2: I’ve never used a Mac, but I suspect a Mac machine or XP machine, either one would work for me. Recognizing the issues in this blog, maybe I’m just as well off getting an XP machine? What do ya’ think?
April 16th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
I bought a MB Pro 2.0 about two weeks ago from the Apple Online Store. It’s flawless. Only a second power supply I bought from the local Appe Store gives me the “Left-side-of-the-keyboard-whine”. It can be silenced using the Magicnoisekiller. That one seems to be from the first production batch though… With the powersupply that came with the machine there are /NO/ noises whatsoever! I’d recommend ordering a MB Pro from the online store. Mine was shipped directly from China and has a very late serial number. I upgraded mine to 2 GB and it is screamingly fast! Unfortunately I still have to run a very few Windoze Apps…I run WinXP in Parallels and it is a little slower than native but still very, very fast. Hey, running both OS X and XP side by side at near native speeds? And XP in a Sandbox, separated from my OS X partition? I’m in Heaven! PS: Just installing a gazillion Security Updates plus Anti Virus Software plus Zone Alarm reminded me why I switched to OS X in the first place. I hope everybody gets their MB Pro sorted out, because there are flawless machines. I have one.
April 17th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
I bought a MacBook Pro about a month ago and it keeps crashing. It always happens in either iMovie or iPhoto. It’s my first Mac and I’m very dissapointed. So far the alleged mac reliability/simplicity is a joke! My 3 year old Dell outperforms on all fronts! Is anybody else having this problem or am I just unlucky?
April 18th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Thought you might like to hear the rest of the story on my buddy’s MacBook Pro that got disabled (twice, now) by a CD burn error.
The first time it was fixed by four hours at the Apple store. The second time, it was a library card:
http://n-gram.blogspot.com/2006/04/update-new-2500-apple-macbook-pro.html
April 19th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
I recently upgraded from a powerbook to the macbook pro. Most of my concerns seem to be covered extensively around the web.
I will add that when running bootcamp/windows xp on my macbook the whining noise does not occur. That’s without opening any other applications. On the Mac side I have to open photo booth, minimize etc. to stop the noise
Also, this laptop gets extremely hot. It feels the same whether I run windows or mac. Unlike the whining noise, I believe it to be a hardware (perhaps design) issue.
With the number of issues present, I’m surprised there hasn’t been some sort of recall. The problems are clearly persistent enough to be considered a defect in the product. I’m a long time fan of Apple, and hope their lawyers are as concerned with potential class actions from this laptop as they are threatening little girls…http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/14/apple-legal-sends-little-girl-running-crying-to-room/
April 21st, 2006 at 11:38 am
HOT HOT HOT
Well, definetely heat is not a problem only with early release MacBook Pros….
I got mine from the Apple Store 10 days ago and noticed it gets so hot I cannot keep my hand on its bottom. After 2 calls with Apple Service, they addressed me to local service (Finland). They told me it’s a known issue and there are only 2 options: replace the motherboard, or get a new machine. I called Apple back, explained the whole story to the After Sales guy and he immediately offered a replacement. From that I assumed that a) the problem is known and b) that MacBook was defective.
Well… guess what? I got my replacement MacBook yesterday and eagerly started using it and….. it is AS HOT AS THE PREVIOUS.
I’ll call them back, but I am not sure what’s the point…. Maybe I’ll send it back.
April 22nd, 2006 at 12:31 pm
It would be useful to post your serial number to understand if the issues occur only with early model and to track if issues are fixed by more recent models.
April 22nd, 2006 at 7:40 pm
I got my MacBook Pro a couple weeks ago and while I haven’t experienced any of the problems mentioned above, today the computer’s power adapter abruptly stopped working. No green light, no yellow light, the battery isn’t charging, nothing. It had been working fine for a couple of weeks.
Has anyone else had problems with faulty adapters? I’m concerned this may be a widespread problem, much like the notorious power-supply issues with the iMac G5s (both my wife and my mother had to have theirs replaced).
April 23rd, 2006 at 1:38 am
Marc Said:
It would be useful to post your serial number to understand if the issues occur only with early model and to track if issues are fixed by more recent models.
My serial number is W861515… , so very new. Both laptops came from Apple directly.
BTW: I have done some temp measurement yesterday, the bottom of the MacBook was at around 53°C (128°C) with light CPU usage. I do not if that is “technically” high or not, but it is definetely high compared to anything I have used before….
April 23rd, 2006 at 2:35 am
hey,
I haven’t read the whole blog, but the mouse pad not working is a problem I had right away. my left hand hits the pad as I type and that prevents it from moving…just noticed that when it was unresponsive, lifting my left hand fixed it. Maybe you have the same issue and maybe someone else already told you; I don’t know.
I just got a new macbook pro (arrived yesterday) and it has the noise problem at idle… very annoying to me.
cheers,
Fritz
April 24th, 2006 at 4:25 am
“Track, Damn Trackpad! This is one I hadn”™t noticed until I started trying to do more long working sessions at the MacBook Pro. Frequently I find myself unable to move the mouse for a few seconds as the trackpad apparently becomes unresponsive to my movement.”
Yeah, I had the same problem. Then I found System Preferences -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Trackpad -> Ignore accidental trackpad input. I turned that feature OFF and I haven’t had any further problems with the trackpad not responding.
April 29th, 2006 at 11:09 am
I purchased a MacBook Pro (2GHz) one week ago, a W8615. It is really a nice machine, I like it more than my 15″ PowerBook for it’s performance.
It’s been one week and I just started noticing noisy power-management noises. The MagicNoiseKiller doesn’t do anything, but the QuietMBP works excellent. I’m hoping that this can be resolved with some firmware or OS update, but will live with the installed process if necessary. Would be even better if it ran without the icon in the dock.
Besides that my week 15 MBP is a beauty. It does get hot, but I used it all last week on my lap at a conference and didn’t get burned through my jeans.
April 29th, 2006 at 11:29 am
I think I’m going to update QuietMBP to operate as a background daemon. The UI will still exist for setting auto-launch at login, etc., but the CPU-spinning code will run independent of it as a daemon so it will be invisible in daily use.
May 4th, 2006 at 6:30 am
hi .. just checking if anyone has problems with getting “shocked” by the computer.
meaning, when my wrists are resting on the area below the keyboard, on either sides of the track pad, i get these “shocks” from the very edge of the computer (where the screen/lid would come down and lock) when the power cord is plugged in. i dont get them when i am running on battery.
certainly, this is not normal. any ideas on how/what to do?
i bought the macbokpro in singapore and am using it in singapore.
thx
j
May 4th, 2006 at 9:03 am
Have the same problem on some outlets at a friends house. My guess would be insufficient grounding in the wiring in the house. One of the “benefits” of having a metal case… ;-)
May 6th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
Id have to say. I just spent 3200$ on a laptop that is one distracting and 2 useless to carry around. Why i say that. It gets so dam hot, it’s a laptop not a oven. It sux that i paid this much for a burning laptop. I think personaly i should have bought the apple g4 15″ when they were still shipping. Im totally a apple fan but this has turned me the other way now. :(
May 7th, 2006 at 10:13 am
More MacBook Pro Problems…
The problems with the MacBook Pro have been well reported from various sources on the Internet, such as, TUAW and The Red Sweater Blog. Apple has also started a silent recall of certain MacBook Pro machines to replace defective batteries….
May 7th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Dennis, you reported your computer crashes a lot. This can often be due to bad memory, or memory that’s not seated correctly into the computer. Try removing and re-inserting the memory, or (if you have two memory cards) run a few days on one card, then on the other. If you find your crashes isolated to one card and not the other, it could be bad.
Note: when handling memory, please ground yourself before removing the cards, don’t touch the metal parts of the card, and place them in a safe, non-static place (like the silvery plastic bag they came in, if you bought them separately). You don’t want to create new problems while you’re solving this one.
May 12th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
After waiting several months to receive it, I’m very disappointed with my MacBook Pro serial #W86090. The CD drive just quit working after the first week- it is totally unresponsive when CD is placed in slot. Spoke with both AppleCare and an Atlanta Genious Bar tech, and was told optical drive needs to be replaced but will need to send it off for repair. Too many deadlines, so have not been able to schedule the repair yet. Oddly, no noises at all (moos, shreiks or rattles of any kind) but I suspect the dead silence is because my fan does not work- at all. This would also explain the extremely hot temp within just a few minutes of use (my Atlanta Genius stuck to the same talking point as the Charlotte Genius, “Apple designed the laptop to be portable not to be used in your lap…”) A silly premise considering you can’t even pick it up after a couple hours of use. Not exactly portable!
Good suggestion to locate Apple dealer and bypass Apple Store for repairs- unfortunately, they are getting harder and harder to find. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for all the input.
May 13th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I phoned apple and complained about my hot laptop as i was almost burnt on my hadns after letting it sit ( propped up on the table ). I told them i should have bought a dell it would have probably worked cooler and less noise. My complaint is why is apple not issuing new laptops to thos who have complaints and squeeking ones ?
May 15th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
I bought my MBP just last April and have not used it full time. I noticed recently that the magsafe power adapter won’t light up unless i move it around and push it hard in the slot. Doing that sometimes doesn’t even work. I am now having a hard time charging the laptop. I don’t know what may have caused it. This is the only problem that I am experiencing at the moment, apart from the fact that it gets way too hot. But I don’t mind the heat at all since it seems to be how it really is. Has anyone here experienced the same problem with their power cord?
May 16th, 2006 at 8:49 am
Ive noticed this once on my laptop. If you’rs is doing this take it in asap get it looked at. Also make sure yuor contacts on the laptop are actually clean. use a q-tip.
Jase
May 30th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
Hummm..seems like most of you guys have been complaining about the Trackpad and the heat…..GUESS WHAT? I haven’t even got to that problem yet…my new MacBook Pro just gave me the biggest booboo! The keys 7,U, J, M malfunctioned and I got to send it back to the service centre. The problem occured when I tried to register as a new user and the keys just refused to function…HOW THE HELL did that new unit even pass through QC!!! Guess the QC guy in Apple does not have any fingers!!! SAD SAD SAD! Another rotten apple just passed the assembly line! My luck!
June 3rd, 2006 at 11:18 am
Bought a macbook pro two months ago … only have one issue … hot. Everything else is peachy. I also bought a spare power supply for my office … no isues. Occasionally I hear the fan … but hey that is normal.
I will say that I did have to get a replacement because the original unit that was shipped to me had a defective camera. But my new one is awesome. Love it … I used to own a dell … never again.
I do hope that Apple fixs the graphics driver in bootcamp for Windows… because they are hurting bad (I use Softimage|XSI).
ciao and good luck.
July 12th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
I have pretty much the same problemes as described in the original post.
I’ve been seeing my apple dealer 3 times in 10 days; they seem quite frustrated themselves having the same troubles with their MPB, so in the end the removed them from the showroom because of the HEAT and the NOISE.
Apart from complaining and blogging… is there anything else we can do?
I was a PC user and now I’m a frustrated switcher with a crashing NOTEBOOK (we’re not allowed to say LAPTOP, are we?) – I thought about trying to fry and egg on the bottom and send out in the wide fields and unknown paths of the web …
so far my dealer changed the extra memory unit I had bought. now it work, no crashes in the last 10 hours. this morning I had a client meeting and in the middle of the presentation it crashed … any idea how ridiulous I felt. it was horrible… any idea what this can mean for a freelance professional … loss of time, reputation, image, clients …
July 12th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
I have this weird problem with my new macbook pro. The screen of MBP did not sit “flush” against the base of the machine when it was closed. In the center of the screen the two “claw” like things hold onto the base and there is minimal clearance between the screen and the base. On the left side I had about 4mm clearance whereas on the right side I had about 2mm clearance. This looked ugly – almost like a warped laptop as if someone had pressed it in the middle. I complained to Apple and they sent me a replacement and guess what this one has the same problem!!! I am sending it back again today to get another replacement. Apple rep told me that no one else has reported this problem. Is that really true – none of you had this problem???
I wonder if the accumulation of heat during operation causes the unit to warp? I am somewhat regretting my move from Dell to Apple.
July 24th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
hello, imm from southamerica and i have here my pb12 2005. i want to change my pb12 into a macbook pro but reading all your coments and complications, iamm really unhappy trying to change my pb12. i guess a will have to wait around one year . with less isues. i really want to buy one , but with all those problems i dont know, please send me som recomendations or please comment about this i dont know what to do!!!!!!!
and sorry about my english!!
thx all of you
July 30th, 2006 at 6:17 am
[…] I was hoping that purchasing a Macbook would mean I wouldn’t be affected by the slew of problems affecting the Macbook Pros. But it seems like the Macbooks have problems of their own. […]
August 3rd, 2006 at 1:12 pm
I’ve been a PC user for years and recently switched and got a MacBook Pro. UGH… Let’s just say everytime I watch the new commercials about how dumb PCs are it makes me really mad. This computer has been nothing but problems. It’s super hot, crashes, goes to sleep and then won’t “wakeup”, makes strange squeeking sounds AND worst of ALL… the Airport SUCKS! Most of the times I can’t catch a wireless signal even though every PC around me can. Ridiculous!
Is anyone else having this problem? Especially with the Aiport? Mac tries to market itself by saying it’s easy and friendlier than a PC but this MBP SUCKS… and it’s brand new!!!!!! HELP!
August 22nd, 2006 at 1:39 pm
These are the reasons I won’t buy a PB. Apple has been notorious, in my experience, for claiming things are “in spec” and refusing to respond to reasonable complaints such as the noises you describe. I’ve been using apple products for over 12 years, and this has consistently been a problem I’ve had with them.I know what you mean about wanting to love them, though.
August 24th, 2006 at 1:22 am
I was considering buying a new MacBook Pro 17′, but after reading all the “problems” people are having (not just reserved to this blog). I think I am not quite ready to get rid of my DELL just yet. As a potential new customer, is this a normal “thing” with Apple and their products (or can we write this off to teething problems)? What I have also been reading is that Apple’s customer care is a nightmare.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
I bought a 15″ 2.16 MBP 3 days ago. It’s my first apple product (minus the ipod)… the original MBP I picked up (#w8623? with 10.4.6) although stupidly quick had a problem where the fan simply wasn’t operating. Under load (around 10min into operation) it’d grind to a half. Just picked up a replacement (#w86172 with 10.4.5) and so far so good. *fingers crossed*
September 16th, 2006 at 11:27 pm
I grabbed this article…pretty interesting…
I think it’s like any “totally redesigned” product. take cars for instance, never buy it right away, wait for all the bugs to be fixed. I want one so bad but I’m waiting for the next generation.
Apple has been queitly making improvements to its popular MacBook Pro line, following reports of several different issues. While not acknowledging any of the problems publicly, the company has made at least three or four revisions to its MacBook Pro in an effort to address some of the oustanding quality issues, including issues with AirPort reconnections and signal strength, LCD flickering, and heat. Daily Tech says that the aforementioned problems “do in fact exist, and are not just isolated issues.” The report, which claims to have confirmed with Apple sources many of problems, says that Apple has been quietly updating the motherboard in its MacBook Pro line, calling those with serial numbers that start with ‘W8611’ revision D, while those with ‘W8610′ revision C; however, MacNN has learned that while Apple may have updated the laptop logic boards, the serial numbers are simply based on production week, rather than differing logic boards. [updated]
The serial numbers are based on year and week produced. Thus ’10’ reflects the 10th week of production, rather than a newer revision. The newer MacBooks, however, appear to solve many of the problems that have shown up in early production models.
“Apple said that revision D MacBook Pros have many issues addressed and improvements made, including fixes to the above mentioned issues. We were also able to get a hold of a MacBook Pro that just arrived during the week with a serial number starting with W8612, which did not exhibit any of the above issues.”
Other users have also complained about a whining noise when the screen brightness is adjusted, which the report said is “fixed by launching a widget or by using PhotoBooth — oddly enough this solves the problem until the next reboot.”
It is unclear whether Apple is offering to replace or update MacBooks Pros that exhibit the aforementioned issues, but it is important to note that all early models do not exhibit some or all of the problems.
Apple is offering new MacBook Pros with 24-hour delivery time from the Apple Store as well as a slew of refurbished MacBook Pros. Other internet retailers such as Amazon also have stock of the new Intel-based laptops, with Amazon currently offering a $150 rebate.
September 26th, 2006 at 1:21 am
Hi all! I just got my MBP 15 inch about 5 days ago. Everything runs great and have no complaints except for one thing. I have been “shocked” by the MBP around the wrist area below the keyboard. I read that Jeane from Singapore had this problem and was wondering if anyone else experienced this and called Apple about it. Let me know if anyone else has this issue or how to get it solved. Thanks in advance!
October 11th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
W8636 here, and it has the whine.
I’ve also noticed a slight electrical shock on occasions, usually from the edge of the case, where it’s slightly raised above the grey plastic.
October 11th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
I don’t have any heat problems any more as I use this:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/ca4faa/
and a bit of applescript to set my own fan speeds (I use MenuMeters to see the CPU core temperatures). I actually have a usable laptop computer now, with CPU cores at 37C under normal use.
October 18th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
My MBP, had a loud buzz… new logic board. Still buzzed… new fan. Other fan died… got a new one. Logic board died… got a new one. now! verticle purple lines on screen and randomly flickers like it is cought in a hurricane. Crikey! into repairs for the 5th time.
October 18th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
I get the electric shocks too..Polarity.
October 20th, 2006 at 6:12 am
MBP SUX, DON”T BUY THEM. U WILL REGRET!! Too many problems, my mbp has already crashed a few times. about a month a ago my screen went black for no reason, so of course i could’t work on anyting. I’m still waiting for my laptop to me fixed. Apparently my monitor board went down and it’s taken the mac service ppl nearly a month to ship the damn thing from china. Im still waiting on my mac now!!
December 25th, 2006 at 12:20 am
Recent purchase of macbook pros all around our IT department (we are a hybrid pc/mac organization) have led several employees to experience these notorious ‘electrical shocks’. From my electronics background and related experience, this seems like a grounding problem.
I will, and RECOMMEND EVERYONE ELSE, be calling this one in right after the holidays. The more calls, the higher up the problem will get escalated in the Apple customer support chain.
February 21st, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Hey Daniel,
This blog has suddenly gone very quiet. Does this mean that all the issues/problems aired above have now been resolved? I was going to splash out on a rumoured nxt gen. slimmed-down version of the MBP. My son has his heart set on one, but in light of the above, I’m having serious 2nd thoughts.
In particular, the guy who has 12 yrs experience of poor Apple after-sales service rings definite alarm bells. And all those horror stories of machines being returned unrepaired just add to the concern. Would I be making a big mistake if I dip my toes in Apple waters?
Any advice you can give plse regarding current experiences within your circle.
February 21st, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Hi Costas – well the blog hasn’t particularly gone quiet :) You’re just looking at a 10-month old article.
The saga ended for me, more or less, when Apple replaced my MacBook Pro with one that had a much quieter whine (still not perfect, alas). I decided it was good enough and was tired of fighting.
I think things are probably much better now but I would be skeptical that things are perfect. Still, if I didn’t have a laptop I’d buy one. I am actually thinking about a MacBook. But I’ll be sure to take it back QUICKLY if things are wacked.
February 27th, 2007 at 4:03 am
now im having probs with my macbook. my macbook is getting hot, hot, hot and noisy even when im only surfng the net. pretty sucks. another thing.. there’s this disgusting long line in my screen. im not sure if it’s discoloration or what. but itz hella annoying to see. ahl bring my macbook on apple center this sat. i hope they’ll just replace my mac. *sighs*
February 27th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
eicia,
How old is your machine?
May 19th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
No battery problems? (Heck, I get about 1 HR. of life, and never got more than 1:30 minutes).
Anyway, my brand new MBP STILL has the whining problem with the CPUs, but oddly, it only occurs when running Windoze XP (not in OS X, Vista or Linux). It also has a wierd superdrive. It always will take a CD, but sometimes, it gets stuck on the way in, hitting the top of the drive. But, ejecting is the real issue. Sometimes, i hit the eject key, and only after about 5 minutes of “scrubbing”, does the disc come out. (oddly enough, sometimes the scrubbing occurs at random, making the disc unresponsive.) I am going to Genius Bar in a couple of weeks…
May 24th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
For those with the Power Adaptor problem, this fixed my issue…
Or ratherm alowed me to fix it each time it happens
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302461
June 7th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
6-7-07 I just read all the complaints about the Mac probook and am really confused now! I was just getting ready to buy one, after using a PCs for 12 years. I want a laptop-Do I buy a DELL instead? or another brand? Are all the new Macs running “HOT”? Has anyone bought a Mac in May 2007 and are happy? How do I decide??????? PLEASE HELP ME!! My husband is buying me a new laptop for my 50th birthday this month!
June 7th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Kelly: I don’t know – there’s a lot of input to take in before you make your decision. My feeling is that probably all laptops are going to have little issues here and there. Whether you end up choosing a Dell or an Apple, be sure to run it through its paces quickly so you can decide whether to pursue returning it or getting service.
July 4th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Hey man, I hear you with the Idle CPU Whine… it is quite annoying! Especially when recording music!
Anyway, I wanted to say that I had downloaded the Magic Noise Killer program that you created…. but that didn’t fix the problem with mine! So I tried Quiet MBP and that seems to do it somewhat….
All these problems… but it still beats having a pc…