Summary: my very expensive mac laptop's screen coating started to come off in under a year, and Apple refuses to repair it under warranty.
EDIT: The fact is that this is a known problem and other people have got it covered under warranty. So why not me?
EDIT: This is very well-known problem at this point (3/18/2015) there is the "staingate.com" database, and a lively hacker news discussion about it. There is also a petition, and a facebook group.
EDIT: The fact is that this is a known problem and other people have got it covered under warranty. So why not me?
EDIT: This is very well-known problem at this point (3/18/2015) there is the "staingate.com" database, and a lively hacker news discussion about it. There is also a petition, and a facebook group.
Early last year I bought a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro Retina 15”. It cost about $3500. (I am a professional programmer, and use ever last ounce of this capacity.)
A few months ago, I noticed that the screen coating was starting to come off around the edges. About a week ago, I noticed a spot of missing coating in the middle of the display.
Top Bezel Screen Coating Wear
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| The biggest spot is along the top bezel, which doesn't affect the display. |
Center Screen Coating Spot
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| Notice the spot in the middle of the display. The light spots aren't oil or dirt, it's the screen coating came off. |
When the screen is dark (as it is in my preferred Sublime Text mode) it is highly visible, and it’s annoying. “No problem,” I thought, “it’s under warranty and I’ll just bring it into the Apple Store, and they'll make it right." So I made an appointment and went in just this morning (2/5/15).
My appointment was for 11:30am. I got there at 11:25am. I was not seen until 12:10pm.
He asked me a few questions, and seemed particularly interested in whether or not I'd ever used alcohol to clean the display (I hadn't). He took my info, went in the back for about 5 minutes, and came back out and said, "Screen wear is not covered under the AppleCare warranty. You have two options: we can repair it 'in depot' for $288, or we can do it here for $600."
I couldn't believe it! Here it was, plain as day, defective screen coating was coming off within a year, and he was telling me it wasn't covered - with the strong implication that I was somehow to blame.
This was not damage caused by me, but rather insufficiently strong screen coating that wears quickly, and it is wrong to ask me to pay $300 to fix it. Apple can and should fix it on their dime - and apologize for wasting my time. It's not like Apple is hurting and can't afford to do the right thing: Apple Computer has 40% profitability, $75B in cash reserves (more than the US Government) and here they are nickel-and-diming the people who are critical to their success. That seems like a bad idea to me.