A Better Experience at the Apple Store Genius Bar
After remembering Myong’s disastrous visit to the Apple Store’s Genius Bar, I was a little hesitant of going, but I decided to give the Genius Bar a try. The problem? My MacBook Pro started turning off for no apparent reason after about 30 minutes of use. Battery is charged, and it never has had a problem while connected to the AC adapter.
When on battery power, my MBP turned off on me for several days straight. On Apple’s Support Discussion boards, there have been some discussion about this same problem affecting other MBP users, some involving a battery recall. So I figured I’d let the geniuses take a look.
I made a reservation at the Ala Moana store using Apple’s Concierge service. Got to the store on time, but I had to wait a few minutes for my turn. I got to play with the on-display iPhones, and they’re sweet! The scrolling and finger flicking is cool.
I explained my problem to the Genius (didn’t catch his name), and he took a look at some settings. One thing that caught his eye was that according to the System Profiler software, my battery was charged only 17 times over the course of over a year. That ain’t right. After filling out forms and doing other things, my MBP turned off by itself.
The end result? I got a replacement battery free of charge for my visit to the Genius Bar. Buying a new battery costs around $130, but since this one appeared defective, it was a free swap.
Hope this fixes the problem. Thanks Apple!
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July 25, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
Glad you had a good experience with the Genius Bar. I’ve always had great service, and have come to know many of the Geniuses quite well. They’ve replaced more than a few things that I suspect they didn’t have to, simply out of courtesy.
July 25, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
While sitting at the Genius bar, someone else’s laptop battery was replaced for free. I assume that after a $2000+ investment in Apple hardware, a free $100 battery replacement to keep you happy is worthwhile for Apple.
Someone had a defective iPod battery and they were willing to replace that as well.
I shoulda asked about my funky first gen iPod Shuffle. Though for its cost, I doubt they’d do anything for free and instead recommend getting a newer one.
July 27, 2007 @ 8:26 am
Dammit! How come I got the short end of the stick? Well, good to know there is good service available if I ever have to go back.
July 30, 2007 @ 10:06 am
Myong, you have to use the ways of The Secret. Or be lucky! 😉