Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice after a frustrating experience with Apple support. I bought my MacBook Pro M3 less than a year ago, and just a week ago it completely stopped playing videos due to some audio rendering issue. After trying a bunch of fixes recommended online and getting no luck with chat support, I took it into the store just four days before my one-year warranty expired. They confirmed it's defective and said the only solution is to replace the entire motherboard, which will take a week, but unfortunately, they can't provide me with a loaner MacBook in the meantime.
To add to my frustration, they informed me that the new motherboard only comes with a 90-day warranty, while if I purchased it separately, it would have a full one-year warranty. I pushed back on this policy since it feels unfair that a part proven defective within the first year only gets a 90-day guarantee, but they told me that's just Apple policy and there's nothing they can do. After a long phone call with various support reps, I finally spoke to a senior advisor who reiterated the same 90-day warranty and ended the call abruptly when I requested further escalation.
I'm really upset as a student spending $2300 on this laptop, now facing a hefty repair cost if something goes wrong again after 3 months. Has anyone here successfully dealt with similar warranty issues at Apple? Is there a way to escalate this beyond the senior advisor? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
Hey, have you looked into your local consumer rights? Depending on where you live, there might be laws that offer you better protection than Apple's policies. You could also try reaching out to Apple's Executive Relations team via email — some folks have had luck getting their issues resolved that way. Do you know if they still field appeals?
I don’t think you should worry so much. They're fixing it under warranty, which is supposed to cover defects for free. The warranty doesn't get magically extended just because they’re fixing something. Plus, the motherboard failing isn’t really common, right? What makes you think it’ll happen again?
I hear you, but it broke just under a year, so I'm wary it could happen again. I haven’t done anything to damage it, but my AirPods replacements have often broken shortly after 3 months, so it makes me nervous.
Thanks for the suggestion! I did file a complaint with the BBB, and I’ll give the email option a shot, too. Getting kind of tired of dealing with support directly.