Apple launches SSD Service Program for select 13" MacBook Pros

[DrMacintosh]

[Today] Apple has silently launched a service program for 13" MacBook Pro models that do not feature the TouchBar. 

Quote

Apple has determined that a limited number of 128GB and 256GB solid-state drives (SSD) used in 13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) units have an issue that may result in data loss and failure of the drive. 13-inch MacBook Pro units with affected drives were sold between June 2017 and June 2018.

 

Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) will service affected drives, free of charge. Apple recommends having your drive serviced as soon as possible.

These 13" Macs are one of the only MacBooks, if not the only MacBooks, that still feature removable storage. However, while Apple does not appear to use a proprietary connector with these drives, they are using a proprietary form factor and no 3rd party drives have been created as far as I'm aware.

 

These non-TouchBat MacBook Pros have had quite the bad track record for reliability. All 2016/17 Macs are covered under a keyboard replacement program through Apple, but some 2016 non-TouchBar Macs also had a program for a free battery replacement (a component on the logic board is apparently predisposed to failure which can cause the battery to expand) which also had the upside of doubling as a free keyboard replacement. I have personally only had a issue with the spacebar on my keyboard getting stuck from a small rock which I was able to fix with a piece of paper and compressed air.

 

This service program appears to simply be a firmware update however, and not an actual drive replacement. How a firmware update can prevent a drive from failing or loosing data is beyond me, you would think that the drive firmware would be pretty consistent across all models and not just a select range, but what do I know. Hopefully if a drive has failed Apple is Apple to replace the drive free of charge, anything less would be unacceptable imo. 

 

The turn around time should be an hour or less for anyone who makes an appointment at any Apple retail store or AASP. 

Quote

Prior to service, it's important to do a full back up of your data because your drive will be erased as part of the service process.

 

• A technician will run a utility to update your drive firmware which will take approximately one hour or less.
• Your 13-inch MacBook Pro will be returned to you with macOS re-installed.
• After service, you will need to restore your data from a backup

 

If you own one of these Macs be sure to make a Time Machine Backup and take your machine in for service. I know I still need to get the free battery replacement for my 2016 nTB MBP  

 

Source: https://www.apple.com/support/13-inch-macbook-pro-solid-state-drive-service-program/

 

[Enderman]

Windows losing data... macs losing data... soon my toaster will be losing the toast as well.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

so first they brick time-machine and forcing you to delete your old backups and then your drive can fail... 

[DrMacintosh]

7 hours ago, firelighter487 said:

so first they brick time-machine and forcing you to delete your old backups and then your drive can fail... 

That was apparently on my end

[mynameisjuan]

So whats the difference of drives between the touchbar and non-touchbar?

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

So whats the difference of drives between the touchbar and non-touchbar?

The non-Touchbar has a lot more PCB area as a result of only have 1 fan instead of 2. Because of that Apple went with removable storage rather than soldering it to the board which they just as easily could have done if they wanted to. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

47 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

That was apparently on my end

was it? what was the issue there?

[DrMacintosh]

3 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

was it? what was the issue there?

Some software I had was not following the file structure. Duplicate sub folders in the same parent folder with no name change != happy times for a non-case sensitive drive. 

 

I changed my backup drive to Mac OS Extended Journaled Case Sensitive and the problem went away. Also deleting the old duplicate folder would have fixed the issue as well. 

 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

Some software I had was not following the file structure. Duplicate sub folders in the same parent folder with no name change != happy times for a non-case sensitive drive. 

 

I changed my backup drive to Mac OS Extended Journaled Case Sensitive and the problem went away. Also deleting the old duplicate folder would have fixed the issue as well. 

 

interesting. what software was it? just so i know what not to install on my macbook  

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, firelighter487 said:

interesting. what software was it? just so i know what not to install on my macbook  

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/app-cleaner-uninstaller/id1013897218?mt=12

 

It has since been fixed though. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

3 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/app-cleaner-uninstaller/id1013897218?mt=12

 

It has since been fixed though. 

oh ok. i don't use those apps anyway so...

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Sometimes I wonder if Apple purposely does this just to show off their customer service... 

[Speed Weed]

9 hours ago, Enderman said:

Windows losing data... macs losing data... soon my toaster will be losing the toast as well.

˙ǝʌᴉɹp pɹɐɥ ɹǝʇndɯoɔ ǝɥʇ uɐɥʇ ɹǝdɐǝɥɔ ɹǝʇsɐoʇ ʍǝu puɐɹq ɐ ʎnq uɐɔ noʎ ʇnq

[Nicnac]

I'm still mad they want to sell us the new macbook air for 1200$. make it less than 1k ffs at least like the old one  

I bought my macbook PRO for 800$ with student discount back in the day (2012). Seriously I am down for paying more for apple but not that much more lol.

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, Nicnac said:

I'm still mad they want to sell us the new macbook air for 1200$. make it less than 1k ffs at least like the old one  

I bought my macbook PRO for 800$ with student discount back in the day (2012). Seriously I am down for paying more for apple but not that much more lol.

The pricing has really gone off the rails. 

[GOTSpectrum]

1 hour ago, Nicnac said:

I'm still mad they want to sell us the new macbook air for 1200$. make it less than 1k ffs at least like the old one  

I bought my macbook PRO for 800$ with student discount back in the day (2012). Seriously I am down for paying more for apple but not that much more lol.

IMO not offering a quad core model is unacceptable, 1200 with a quad core seems like fair apple pricing IMO (not that I buy apple in the first place. 

[DrMacintosh]

6 minutes ago, Ben Quigley said:

IMO not offering a quad core model is unacceptable, 1200 with a quad core seems like fair apple pricing IMO (not that I buy apple in the first place. 

You’re right there. Apple only offers dual cores until you bump up to $1,700 if you want a MacBook. All their desktop Macs are quad cores though except for the entry iMac with a 1080p display. 

[GOTSpectrum]

6 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

You’re right there. Apple only offers dual cores until you bump up to $1,700 if you want a MacBook. All their desktop Macs are quad cores though except for the entry iMac with a 1080p display. 

Unfortunately people will still buy it so apple doesnt care. 

 

Would love to see a ryzen 3700x in a mac though.... 

[mrchow19910319]

thank you for the heads up dude. 

i am using the exact model and apple had replaced the top case for me for 3 times. 

[captain_to_fire]

2 hours ago, Nicnac said:

I'm still mad they want to sell us the new macbook air for 1200$. make it less than 1k ffs at least like the old one  

I bought my macbook PRO for 800$ with student discount back in the day (2012). Seriously I am down for paying more for apple but not that much more lol.

As someone who loved the 2011 MacBook Air 13” (i5 Sandy Bridge + Mac OS X Snow Leopard at launch), I’m disappointed with Apple’s pricing of the new MacBook Air refresh. I can tolerate a dual core and the mere fact that the RAM is 8GB is good but $1200? I was hoping they’d still use SATA SSDs instead of NVME just to keep the price $1000 and lower. 

[captain_to_fire]

2 minutes ago, Ben Quigley said:

Unfortunately people will still buy it so apple doesnt care. 

 

Would love to see a ryzen 3700x in a mac though.... 

I doubt Apple would be switching to AMD CPUs soon because their own Pro application FCP X takes advantage of Intel’s Quick Sync core. But then the Xeon processor inside the iMac Pro doesn’t have Quick Sync so it would be nice if Apple has iMac Pro/Mac Pro with AMD Epyc within their R&D labs. 

[GOTSpectrum]

1 minute ago, captain_to_fire said:

I doubt Apple would be switching to AMD CPUs soon because their own Pro application FCP X takes advantage of Intel’s Quick Sync core. But then the Xeon processor inside the iMac Pro doesn’t have Quick Sync so it would be nice if Apple has iMac Pro/Mac Pro with AMD Epyc within their R&D labs. 

64 core Imac pros anyone? 

[GOTSpectrum]

Just now, Ben Quigley said:

64 core Imac pros anyone? 

For the low cost of 20,000USD

[bellabichon]

Hey forum,

Not sure if this is really tech news, but one of my friends sent me this today. Apparently, it just appeared on her screen when she opened her computer this afternoon. Looks like we're just adding to the large pile of documented problems with the new Macbooks. It has all of the classic Apple terminology when talking about engineering failures, like "limited number" and "determined." Not sure if this is the right place to post it, but whatever. 

[r2724r16]

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