Notice: Anti-Apple rant contained within.
I got an email from reader Ben today, asking
How is your white MacBook doing? Any more problems? Do you still like the white?
so I thought I’d take the time to respond to Ben with an update on my MacBook experience. For those of you keeping score at home, I have not been too happy with my Core Duo MacBook. Before I state all of my MacBook problems I will say that this is an early MacBook. I got it on June 8th (pretty much remember the day I’ve purchased anything Apple, very sad) and I’m fairly certain that more recent MacBooks have their problems ironed out.
To sum things up it had the random shutdown problem, it had the discoloring problem and now it suffers from discoloring again (even with a new case), in addition to backlight flickering and recently RBN, random backlight napping. Writing this post up now, the backlight has failed twice, or taken a nap as I like to call it. It starts working again if I put it to sleep then wake it back up. This is different from backlight flickering which occurs more prominently when the backlight is set to lower levels. However, these all seem trivial compared to what happened today.
It was 5:55pm sharp and I had just shutoff the MacBook the normal way, waited for it to turn off completely before closing the lid and ensuring that the power LED wasn’t still on. I slipped the laptop into my sleevecase and jetted out of my first and last 3 hour class of the day. All was normal as I walked to the polar opposite end of campus where I was parked. When I finally got home I got on the iMac for an hour or two until I decided to open the MacBook for some notes or something. I opened up my messenger bag and was able to hear a sound. “Shit,” I thought. I opened up the sleevecase and the MacBook had somehow started baking itself, convection-style in the case.
But as you recall, I waited for it to shutdown completely and even put my hand behind the screen to ensure the fan had spun down. Anyway, the MacBook somehow turned itself on – somewhat – into this non-functional state that had no screen or LED activity, just CPU usage. I thought MacBooks had a thermal shutdown temperature built into them? It was on fire when I took it out… insanely hot. I was surprised the plastic wasn’t malformed. I rebooted it to try to get it to load up and keep the fan spinning but for ~45 minutes it would not boot at all. I took out the battery and put it next to a fan to cool down until then. It finally decided to boot up later in the evening. Close call, for sure.
Now I have to find some way to send this off to Apple for repair. The problem is that I cannot go without a laptop in some of my classes – some of which are a solid 3 hours long. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to snap PhotoBooth pictures of things like this guest HCI lecturer sharing the usability joys of his Segway with the class:
Perhaps I’ll take it in during spring break and do all in my power to ask for a direct replacement of the entire laptop. I’ve been told Apple does, at times, do this when you’ve had 3 major problems.
Did I mention that the LCD bezel has come very loose since Apple replaced the housing to get rid of the discoloration issue?
Very loose indeed.Also, when Apple put the new housing on, they did a horrible job of fitting it. It squeaks, screws are visibly overtightened, there are some odd gaps in places that didn’t used to have gaps.. the whole 9.
But, I am convinced that my MacBook is just a lemon, so don’t pay any attention to me, Ben. Just make sure that you want a MacBook and not a MacBook Pro. Everytime I see a MacBook Pro it’s a painful reminder of what could have been. (Update: as of that last period, the backlight has taken 4 naps)
I’m sure the Core 2 Duo MacBooks are far better products Ben. Take a look at the comments in this post to see what they’re like. As for color, I don’t know if Apple has fixed the discoloration issue. Replacing my housing with a “fixed” housing did nothing and from the other white MacBooks I see on campus, they have the exact same problem.
I’m off to see the wizard for now, it’s a bit past 6am and I’ve got class in a few.
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Yeah, I too have a White MacBook lemon. I’ve sent it out 3 different times, once for the random shut down problem, another time for the discoloration issue, and one final time for the bezel doing the same thing as pictured above. Things are running a bit smoother, however my discoloration issue is still prevalent (and very annoying might I add). I really don’t know what to do with this thing. 0_o;
I got my Macbook during the first week of October, so far the only annoying thing I’ve experienced is CPU whine when I’ve used my wireless Mighty Mouse and then disconnect it. Regarding discoloration I haven’t had any on that either, thank god. I’m quite pleased with my Macbook, I do however think about the whole what if I bought a Macbook Pro instead, they’re really nice although I don’t really miss anything in the “regular” Macbook. Well that’s my 2 cents. I hope you get your Macbook troubles sorted out.
Hi, I bought a white MacBook in september and and the month after I sent it to the customer care. Reason: discoloration & screen flickering. After I got the notebook back I applied the Invisible Shield on it. I took it of yesterday because I have MacBook repaired again – this time again for screen flickering and cd-rom not reading any disks. Aa for invisible shield – it was worth it – I have clean white wrist pads and they don’t mach to the rest of the case.
I was wondering what’s with the fact that Paul wrote about : does Apple really gives you brand new MacBook when you have had 3 major problems with it ? What do you think has to be said when I’ll go there to fight for it ?
Wow. That’s a bummer. That’s why I never buy 1st gen. products.
I bought a 1st gen 12″ PB G4 like the week they came out and it was nonstop trouble: random crashes, loose battery, lid popping open, enclosure warping …
They finally got it mostly straightened out but I’ll never by 1st gen again. I miss that PB.
I’ve had a Macbook since late August and haven’t any issues at all to be honest. My mouse sometimes doesn’t behave when it gets plugged in, but considering it doesn’t even work on my Windows machine I’m going to assume it’s pretty much broken anyway.
Sorry to hear about the problems. A couple of my friends from class have a Macbook Pro and I have serious envy issues. I know I don’t really NEED a better computer (this one has been great) but when you know there’s something better out there, it hurts.
Hate to hear that you all are experiencing problems with your Core Duo MacBooks, as mine has been performing and behaving great. I own a black one (got it on July 13) and the only problem that I’ve experienced is a small hairline crack above the LED light for which Apple quickly replaced the top case.
I don’t have the backlight problem or the discolouration (though my MacBook is hellishly difficult to clean), but I have the same shut-down-but-it-still-heats-up dilemma. How did you fix it?
I dislike my first gen blackbook, The case finally started cracking on me, and when I upgrade to two gigs of ram it starts to overheat and the interface lags.
I have a MBP,first gen, and tbh the only complaint I’ve got is the processor wine. After reading your post Paul and being reminded of ALL your issues… I’m gonna stop worrying about my whining.
I got a MacBook Pro last March and I’ve had nothing but problems since March. I’m been fighting with AppleCare since November trying to get them to fix the problem or replace it. Repairs have yet to work. :/
And here I thought I was the only one…
I have one of the first edition MacBook Pros. Bought that when it came out. I really couldn’t wait until things got figured out, I needed a new laptop in a bad way. But yeah, I’ve taken my lumps.
The thing runs insanely hot and is extremely noisy. Had to download SHHMacBook or whatever its called to get rid of the CPU idle noise, so I’m sure that slows my computer a tiny bit or eats battery as a consequence. The screen seems pretty low quality, with discoloring and dead pixels having popped up over the months.
Still the thing runs very fast and the OS and applications have been awesome. This is my first Mac.
And I feel like the poor quality can’t exactly be blamed on first edition stuff. Even before the MacBooks came out, there were so many complaints about the quality of the very last 15 inch powerbook that came out. There were visible horizontal lines in the display:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=powerbook+horizontal+lines+&btnG=Search
I love my Mac and I’ll never go back, but at the same time I have to say my old Dell laptop didn’t have a single friggin problem that I need to complain about. Dell even gladly took a return when I told them I had dead pixels in the first one they shipped me.
I bought a 1st gen Macbook (base model) in June 2006.
A couple of weeks ago, I’d been working on it, ate dinner and came back to a frozen and very dead hard drive. I also had the discoloration (but was lazy to replace it till this). I have also had the random sleep/wake up issues that plague so many others.
On the flip side, Apple Indonesia replaced my logic board, heat sink, hard drive, and discoloration within three days, no questions asked. (I’m American but live in Jakarta). The machine appears to be running and looking as I would have expected it in the beginning.
I’m now considering selling my 20″ iMac G5 in order to get the Macbook Pro. I’ll keep the Macbook for my girl.
Does anyone have any opinions on whether I should purchase the Macbook Pro now or wait till Leopard (potential hardware upgrades?) this spring? Any advice appreciated.
I bought my 1st Gen MacBook in August and haven’t had any trouble with it, although the battery did die once. It does get hot (around 55 degrees), but it’s nothing a little SMC Fan Control can’t fix.
Owch! It does sound like you got a lemon. I hope apple treats you well once you explain the depth of problems you’ve been having (and have the time to do so.)
I have a black one, and its’ the core 2 duo variety, so much more recent and they had a chance to iron out issues. I haven’t had a single issue with mine, and it’s been used pretty rigorously.
I love to be bleeding edge, but even with apple I get nervous on relatively new products. Even companies with the best quality control (not saying Apple is one,) have problems with new products. Sometimes widespread, sometimes not. It’s almost more painful when the problems are NOT widespread, because then the service techs tend to doubt your explanations and not take the problems so seriously.
i have a black macbook. before my macbook i had a VERY similar situation with a vaio. mailed it in 3 time and FINALLY they replaced the entire thing.
as a student, i think the mabook is by far the BEST laptop you can get. the size is perfect for taking to class/typing on sometimes small desks and it is very powerful. i would suggest it to anyone.
I purchased my (white) MacBook in the middle of September and have not had a single problem with it.. I’m very satisfied with my first apple purchase (outside of of the iPod). I guess my only gripe would be the glossy screen.. the matte is so much better in my opinion.
@JavaJive: I’d wait for a few weeks at least until Leopard gets released. Why spend a few thousand dollars now only to spend another 130ish in a few weeks? As for the hardware upgrade, well, Apple’s always been real quiet about these types of things so I’d say that if you need it sooner rather than later, just wait for 10.5 to come out and don’t worry about the new hardware. If you can hold off… the rumors are that the MBP lineup will be updated sometime in the summer.
Hi there,
I bought my MacBook (2nd gen) december last year and haven’t got any problem so far, everything works perfect despite the fact that I need more RAM. ;-)
My friend has a 1st gen MacBook and his HDD crashed a couple of days ago, but Apple will replace it.
Greetings
My MacBook has suffered from discoloration twice. It is discoloring AGAIN. I have had the top case replaced 3 times already, for the discoloration and a chip that was in one of the replacements. What a nightmare.
I should have gotten a desktop PC. I would have had fewer problems and I’d at least be able to play games on it. :’(
I have a Blackbook bought December 2006 – no problems at all – I’m a happy camper
My MacBook (Black), purchased and received back at the end of May, has been replaced by C2D model. Apple generally replaces a laptop after 3 repairs for the same item. However, they will in some cases do it after 3 repairs of different issues.
Mine ended up being replaced due to some stuck pixels on the display, as they thought it was possibly due to mishandling by the repair facility (which, if it hasn’t changed since last year, is Flextronics). So continual problems, or, Paul, in your case, since they appear not to have reassembled your casing properly, it is likely you can get them to replace it.
You will probably have to go through a normal AppleCare rep and indicate you believe the laptop should be replaced. They should then forward you up to a product specialist. If they agree, they’ll get the ball rolling. Mine was cross-shipped, and so I sent the old one out on Wednesday night, and the replacement arrived Friday afternoon (a new full retail box).
I hope you get your problems resolved, it seems there are some of the earliest runs of the first gen that have these various problems, and you appear to be worse off than I am, so you shouldn’t have much trouble. Especially not with your latest random heat issue.
This is a great post with some very enlightening comments. There’s nothing better than an Apple fan site with real-world accounts of poor customer experiences with Mac products, for all the world to see. Don’t get me wrong, if I had an endless supply of cash, I’d get a top of the line MBP this instant. I just wish some Apple fanatics would get a grip on reality and see that it ain’t all rosy when you buy Apple stuff, not hardly.
My MacBook has done very well for me. I only experienced a random shutdown once, and Apple issued the firmware update before more RSDs occurred.
The only other major problem I’ve experienced is with sleep. Sometimes my MacBook failed to sleep and other times it failed to wake. I believe 10.4.9 fixes this problem, and if it doesn’t I have come up with a fix.
Beyond that, my MacBook has served me well. It’s my main machine and I’m constantly using. I use it so much that I’m going to need a new battery soon! I’m at 50% of the original capacity. Hopefully my AppleCare will cover that.
I bought my black Macbook the day after they were announced and the only issues I’ve had was a magsafe connector which started to fail and was replaced under warranty and a battery which started to lose capacity, again replaced under warranty. Other than that the machine has been a real trooper. I upgraded to 1.25GB of RAM within the month I got it and I just recently upgraded to a 160GB hard drive and it’s still running beautifully. That said I’ll still get the 3yr Applecare but I’m not too worried about the computer. Sucks to hear you got a lemon though. Seems like the failure rate of white Macbooks is slightly higher than that of black Macbooks – which makes absolutely no sense since they’re essentially the same machine.
I bought my MacBook very soon after they were released, May 16th if I recall correctly, but I’ve had no problems except an overactive battery which was replaced.
I have a C2D MacBook white for 3 months now and I like it. I had some problems with display-ghosting, but somehow it’s gone now.
It’s my first notebook (not my first mac) and I’m very satisfied with it.
My black macbook (rev. a) is a complete lemon. Everything held together until the exchange date passed, and then everything went downhill.
- screen casing loose
- corrupted wireless card
- one dead battery
- incredibly slow performance
- whining power brick
- mooing fans
- decreased battery life with new battery
- the list goes on.
It was my mistake for being so eager to have a new apple product, but I assumed that since the MBP’s came out so far in advance, that they had worked out the kinks for their big educational release. I’ve got a date at the genius bar this week to return. My plan is to keep sending it back (since they seem unable to fix the damn thing), until it gets refreshed, and then sell it for an MPB. This is the last time I will ever buy (1) a rev a apple product and (2) anything that isn’t in their pro lineup.
I have a first gen black MacBook, and I’ve had no problems…
But I definitely know what you mean about the MacBook Pro envy!
Hi, this is the Ben that asked the question. Thanks for the thoughtful and very descriptive response.
I would say it sounds like you got a lemon. This purchase will not be my first Mac. I have a Dual G5 and a my fiance and I both have 12″ PowerBooks, and I have never had anything like this happen with any of them.
I know what you mean about the MacBook Pro envy, I just can’t justify almost $1000 more dollars for what you get in return.
Probably the most important part of the post to me is the bit about the discoloration. I have sold my powerbook and after I get this I am selling my G5. I can’t go handing this thing over to Apple when the wrist-rest area starts looking like poop.
Like you said, hopefully they have the kinks worked out by now.
I would say it sounds like you got a lemon.
I recently (within the last month) bought a white MacBook, and I had one problem with it where I was watching something in VLC, and it locked up, hard. After powering it down, it would kernel panic every time it tried to mount the root filesystem (thank you for single user mode). I put it into target disk mode, used it as a boot disk on a friends iMac, and after that, it rebooted fine.
I am sure that what happened to me was just bad luck, but other than that I could be nothing other than pleased with my purchase. No whining fans, no discoloration (yet), nothing.
Apple does replace MacBooks after 3 messups. I actually got mine replaced after 2 because I argued so much. Apple has great customer service if you get the right Customer Service Rep and you are persistant. I’ve gotten an iPod Shuffle, a $400 whatever you want on the Apple Store (got a Cannon Digital Camera), and my new MacBook (was an upgraded Core 2 Duo from my original Core Duo). So yea, just be persistant, insist that they did you wrong and are putting you out, and if you get a jerk, hang up and call again! Hope your problems are fixed!
Justin G
I’m with you man, I had a bunch of problems with my MacBook from the stains to the heat to battery failures, it just never seemed to end. I finally got a replacement, but I found this site which lists a comprehensive list of MacBook problems:
http://www.appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=MacBook
I guess that means we’re not alone out here!
My Core 2 Duo’s audio jack failed, and i also had the same overheating-in-case problem. Lucky for me, my stupid WD hard drive saved the day with its high power consumption, draining the battery before the machine could melt down. My case also creaks too.
Was going to get a Macbook but now having second thoughts …
My brother purchased a very early Macbook, week they were announced. He too has suffered from the same problems (except the coloring problem) he had to get Apple to repair the random shit down and now the LCD bezel has come very loose too.
I plan on getting myself a Macbook soon but currently holding off until 10.5 is released.
I bought my Macbook on June 3, 2006. The only issue I’ve had so far is (very) minor discoloring, and I’ve been to lazy to send it in. It’s not even warm on my lap right now.
I am very glad my first mac was a second gen MBP. I haven’t really had any problems with it. I did somehow manage to get it to gray screen lock up which was interesting. My friends who have macs have never seen that lock-up screen and here I am getting it within the first 4 months of having it.
@Adam Teece: Are you sure it’s not the safe sleep feature, or is it a total lock up?
My 1st-gen white MacBook has no problems. I recommend Apple is given the opportunity to right by you.
I love my macbook pro… 15.4″ 2.16 2GBram running xp pro with parallels…. best computer purchase I’ve made in years… it smokes my xp desktop….
I got the White MacBook 3 weeks after it’s release, works perfectly fine for me – though I’d like to upgrade to a MBP.
I bought my Macbook on the first day they were announced.
So obviously, it doesn’t get much first gen then that, and I have to say I haven’t had much problems. It does have trouble waking up, especially when my bluetooth mouse is involved It also slowly cooks my thighs after using it for a while, but other than that, no problems. BTW, I’m sure it would have had discoloration problems, but it’s black. Also, I use it for hours almost everyday.
I love the smallness of it, and many people I meet are jealous of the battery life. I miss the backlighted keyboard on a Powerbook, but I’ll live.
My Dell is not a lemon.
My girlfriend got her Black CD MacBook when they first came out. Her brother got one too. I have a Black C2D MacBook and none of us have had any problems.
Just came across what might be the answer to why your MacBook mysteriously woke up from its sleep in your bag:
“If you own any new Apple laptop, your machine is equipped with sudden motion sensor technology to detect locomotion. Hence, for instance, should you drop your laptop while it is busy writing or reading data , the sensor will instruct the built-in hard drive’s read & write heads to park themselves in a designated safe spot to alleviate data corruption, loss, or failure in mere milliseconds. This innovation occasionally comes with a price. If you carry your laptops around while it is dozing, there will be times when it wakes up on its own without your knowledge due to perhaps strong vibration or juggling. This constitutes a problem. One, it drains your battery and second, the accumulated heat generated while it’s cocooned inside your bag is not a good thing thermally.”
The article carries on with a solution to this. You can find the rest of it here:
http://macapper.com/2007/02/27/make-your-mac-sleep-better-with-deep-sleep/
@Stewart – it wasn’t sleeping in my bag.. I had completely turned it off.
Curse my shoddy memory
hey, quite a stupid problem, i know… but how do i know if i have a 1st gen or 2nd gen macbook?
got mine last august14 for my bday. havent really experienced any of the shutdowns excpet that some programs i use, even the safari, closes with NO reason at all. my top case is also quite dscolored but i just use a pencil eraser to clean it.
also, my bezel is loose too. havent had it fixed yet so i dont know why its happening.
lastly, i got a dent on the lower left side of my top case housing. anyone knows how to replace it and how much wouldit cost for the materials and stuff?? help!! would apreciate any aswer from you
oh, and how do i know what ‘week’ my macbook is??
Yours is definitely a lemon :)
I just got a white C2D macbook and I can honestly say its the most reliable laptop of ever used. My only problem with it is the screen size, aside from that it’s perfect. Perhaps I should’ve gone with a macbook pro…
I have had very bad issues with my Macbook also:
http://davidjmoore.com/be-cautious-when-buying-a-macbook
I sympathise with you completely!
Dave
Paul, I had a black Macbook Core Duo that I bought last August as temp replacement for a MBP that was being repaired (see http://tedlee.net/2006/08/03/when-bad-customer-service-turns-good/ for full story). Within a week it was exhibiting the flickering screen issue and the random shutdowns. When I returned from WWDC, I brought the unit back to the Apple Store at Lenox. I got the usual run around that it would have to be sent out for repair by the Genius I had the appt with. I asked to speak w/ the Manager. I explained my story to her, and pleaded for them to swap it for a brand new model. She did.
If I were you, I’d return it to the Apple Store and talk to the manager there. The lower level Genius’ can’t do anything for you outside of the normal repairs. The manager is the person who can get it done.
Good luck!
First gen macbook here, bought the week it came out. I also had discolouration problems, my screen took a nap twice (in my case, it was fixable by simply removing the battery and then rebooting) and just today my top case housing splintered where my right hand usually rests.
After the first few glitches, I immediately rushed out and bought extended Applecare, which I would normally never do – somehow I feel I’m going to need it.
Cool.
interesting
My teen got his Macbook (white) about 6 weeks ago. He loved it. But then one day he used it for a while, then shut it down. Later when he went to use it again the screen had a weird “crack” running diagonal across the lower corner. It also had streaks of colored lines and washout of screen. We were told it could be replaced in the store (exchanged) but then we met with their manager and a “genius” who explained it had been damaged through mishandling and we would not be eligible for a replacement or a repair!
Calls into Apple’s different customer service dept. were futile. They kept reiterating that it had been damaged through mishandling. My son insists he did nothing to it. I’ve read stories like this over the web about screen cracks and am now believing that there are many lemons out there. I’ve wasted about 1500 or more of our money on this crappy laptop.
Let the buyer beware!
My roommate last year had a tablet PC that even with a case, received a cracked screen in his backpack through normal use/walking to class. Things like that happen if you put even the slightest amount of pressure on it, so watch out.
Cool…
my 14 month old macbook has been in for service more times than i can remember. these are some of the things that its been serviced for:
- LOGIC BOARD replaced, for shutdows.
- SCREEN FLICKER — repaired.
- CRACKS on the bottom case — replaced.
- CRACKS on the top case — replaced.
- sizable LCD BLACK SPOTS, and 4 dead pixels — replaced after a battle and repeat visits.
now, some new post-warranty problems:
- SCREEN FLICKER is back, with more severity.
- SUPERDRIVE wont spin or read DVDs or CDs of any sort. (it grabs them and takes them in as usual, then it very quietly clicks for a bit before sending them back out again. that just started last night and Ive tried many different types of CD and DVDs including my install disks).
- SPEAKERS / SOUND stopped working. After some research I found it’s because the sensor for the headphone jack is not recognizing that I pulled out my headphones. So far the only way to fix it is to fiddle with a match stick inside the jack; but this “fix†has been intermittent for me — every so often the problem comes back and I have to repeat the fix.
So that’s at least 8 warranty worthy problems in hardly over a year. In all, overall cost of repairs total well over $2000 — a total lemon — not to mention the great amount of time and stress expended.
Sadly, what else will this year have in store for my not so trustworthy macbook (i.e., crapbook)? I dont even want to think about the year after, where, at this rate, it ceases being a ‘crapbook’ and becomes an untimely and grossly overpriced ‘bookend.’
Interesting, I had the same overheating in the backpack incident. I pulled my macbook out in class and found it literally baking hot. Eventually, after a few hours, it began running again — a very happy surprise.
This is following up on my Jan 29th comments.
Since then I have had the top case crack again, after it being replaced already. The superdrive fixed itself mysteriously. The audio I fixed with a paper clip — found the fix online (common enough problem apparently). Screen flickers here and there, mostly whenever the power saver dims the screen.
Another problem is also present, which I didn’t mention before but is pretty significant. When doing things that heat the system up a little, such as running Azureus and VLC player at the same time (but nothing else), the whole system completely locks-up and then frees-up, back and forth, and continues to sputter along until I turn either VLC or Azureus off. The same freezing/lock-ups happen when playing WoW without a fan blowing on the back of the macbook.
Fantastic design apple! (heavy sarcasm incl.)
I’m looking in to either purchasing a 2nd gen. white macbook because its cheaper, or the new macbook pro. i personally think that the macs are far better computers then the pcs because my current dell streams in a lot of viruses, and is continully getting slower. but what my promblem is is choosing between the newer macbook pro or the orginal macbook considering the budget aspect. from your reveiws im leaning toward the macbook pro. sorry for your troubles. : ( wish me luck with mine.