A ground-breaking decision by the Consumer Complaints Board in Denmark may have global consequences for the Apple computer company.
Users of the iBook G4 have found that shortly after the one-year guarantee runs out, the computer goes dead and the screen goes blank. But when they apply to the manufacturer to have the machine repaired or for a replacement, Apple responds that there is no question of a design fault, and anyway the 12 month guarantee date has passed.
Some users found that they could get the iBook G4 working again by clamping one side,
while others managed to reboot the machine by loosening the cover and inserting cardboard shims.
The Danish Consumer Complaints Board discovered that a solder joint between two components was weakened a little every time the computer was turned on. Eventually the joint broke and the iBook G4 would no longer function properly. Apple Computer International has already settled some cases in Denmark on the basis of the report.
The question now is if Apple will admit that there is a design fault in their computer and settle the complaints of their many customers in the world at large.
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May 6th, 2007 at 11:40 am
A whole batch of G3 ibooks had a design fault, which meant that the logic boards went phut on a regular basis. Apple denied at first that there was a problem, and then when the volume of disgruntled consumers grew too great to deal with by putting their corporate hands over their eyes and shouting “lalalacan’thearyou”, they instituted a repair programme for iBooks that fell within the affected serial numbers.
When mine had been in for the third time for this repair, I wrote grumpy letters and moaned at them a lot, and they agreed to replace the G3 with a brand new G4 iBook, which (fingers crossed), has worked perfectly ever since. A nice gesture of customer service, but they do seem to have a track record of:
- rubbish QA
- denial
- grudging acceptance
- dealing with the problem, but much later than they should have done.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I don’t like Macs. They’re not really necessary. Although it’s always good to have some competition.
jb says: I also used a Mac for a couple of years. Nice boxes, but these days they can’t do any more for me than a pc.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Sounds like there’s potential income for someone with a soldering iron. Iain’s four complaints about Apple could just as easily apply to Microsoft, btw. I’m not upgrading to Windows Vista until the bugs are out.
jb says: Hi Ann, it is of course true that Microsoft run a monopoly in the industry, and the way they’ve played it up to now, they intend to keep it that way. However, we seem to live in a world that favours bullies. I love that central irony of capitalism; that entrepreneurs forever laud the virtue of competition and not one of them really believes it but goes out whole-heartedly to eliminate every other trader in the market.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Mine died after a year apple tech support took the mickey by saying it was a broken motherboard caused by me, as opposed to their appalling build quality. If your handy with an allen key and screwdriver go to http://www.coreyarnold.org/ibook/ follow the instructions and it will work again, mine has for 8 month so far.
jb says: I know nothing about apples. And I take no responsibility for this or any other ‘fix’ working on your machine. Also, you must know that by opening up your ibook you void any warranty you may have on it and chance causing even more damage. That said, you might still want to have some fun.
Jul 28th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I had a problem with my ibook G4 not starting, and I found a solution in which I put a piece of rubber in the interior of the machine in order to bring the defective metal pieces together. You can find this solution on Google: ibook G4 logic board fix.
Feb 5th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I’ve added an entry on my blog about how to fix this via soldering it up, and all the affected models.
http://macintoshhowto.com/
Mar 29th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I have followed Waynes example on his blog and confirm that my ibook is going fine now. A previous owner had padded out the graphics chip with some rubber feet, but that solution had clearly had its day. I have a good feeling about the solder method. (and my fingers crossed of course)