Apple Warns of SSD Failures in MacBook Air

Good to see that SSDs are continuing to prove to be so much more reliable than spinning rust :)
 
It would be very interesting to know which brand/model SSDs have such a high failure rate that it caused a recall.
 
Apple seems to have a lot of problems lately. Coincidence? I think NOT.:p

Having said that, what do I care? I use a PC, an android phone, etc.
 
Every manufacturer has problems at some point in time, whether it is directly their fault or through the fault of a third-party supplier of components, etc. The thing I have never understood is all the Apple hate, especially in the "tech" community. I have had my MacBook Pro for going on 7 years now and it has served me quite well. I continue to use it every day, even though it has had problems in the past. When nVidia recalled their mobile 8000 series GPUs because of their manufacturing/marketing mistakes, Apple gladly replaced mine, free of charge, when the unit was already well out of warranty. When my battery quit, they replaced that free of charge as well, again with the unit well out of warranty. I did not complain, ask for a supervisor or anything. I simply went into the Apple store with my MacBook Pro, showed them the problems each time, and they immediately got to work on it. They even overnight shipped me another copy of Snow Leopard free of charge when I lost my copy and called to order another one.

All in all, I have been very impressed with their customer service and despite the issues I have experienced, I have yet to have a Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba, or any other brand notebook PC last as long. Plus, as soon as the first thing goes on any of the other brand equipment, it is junk, because replacement parts are simply too expensive, and the other manufacturers will not even provide you free troubleshooting if the unit is out of warranty. Don't get me started on the horror stories of people I know that used to have Dells, HPs, etc. during the nVidia recall...

TL;DR - Apple has been very good to me. I am sure that they will be very good to the customers who experience an issue with these SSDs, replace them, and send them back happy. They may be expensive, but in my experience they stand behind their products better than anyone else in the business.
 
As much as I like to hammer on Apple, at least they are doing a recall.
 
RealBeast said:
It would be very interesting to know which brand/model SSDs have such a high failure rate that it caused a recall.
Click to expand...

The Ivy Bridge Macbook Air used Toshiba SSDs with a SandForce controller. This controller was known to have issues but Apple used it anyway. It was thought Apple made (or had someone make) their own firmware to solve the issues. If they did, then it seems something happened to cause it to fail in different ways, hence the recall.

The Macbook Pro with Retina Display used Samsung SSDs. No recall there.
 
MrCaffeineX said:
They may be expensive, but in my experience they stand behind their products better than anyone else in the business.
Click to expand...

Your RDF is still in full force, I see. Do you want me to bring up every single problem Apple has denied or never admitted to, only to offer a sort of "consolation" at the end and never admitting fault, because their consumer base is so lacking in intellect? This SSD problem I bet was known for at least a year, but only now do they come out of the closet, fearing the fire that will further burn their stocks to ash.
 
MrCaffeineX said:
The thing I have never understood is all the Apple hate, especially in the "tech" community.
Click to expand...

Any self-respecting tech would never use an Apple product, first and foremost because they're colorfully useless.

MrCaffeineX said:
Plus, as soon as the first thing goes on any of the other brand equipment, it is junk
Click to expand...

Your long and pointless troll post has instantly become invalidated. Go back to whatever fruit you crawled out of, the Internet's too much for you.
 
Apple isn't about a better experience.
Apple is a status symbol.
People brag on their Apples, say they just work, and pay out the ass for them.
Apple people are like married people in a bad relationship, they're really not in a state of bliss like they pretend to be, but they put up a front like they are and constantly encourage other people to come join their cult all the while refusing to admit there are any real problems.
 
I love all the anonymous keyboard psychologists who have the miraculous ability to diagnose the self-delusional nature of people who buy Apple products. Besides, SSDs have NEVER failed in PC laptops, right?
 
MrCaffeineX said:
Every manufacturer has problems at some point in time, whether it is directly their fault or through the fault of a third-party supplier of components, etc. The thing I have never understood is all the Apple hate, especially in the "tech" community. I have had my MacBook Pro for going on 7 years now and it has served me quite well. I continue to use it every day, even though it has had problems in the past. When nVidia recalled their mobile 8000 series GPUs because of their manufacturing/marketing mistakes, Apple gladly replaced mine, free of charge, when the unit was already well out of warranty. When my battery quit, they replaced that free of charge as well, again with the unit well out of warranty. I did not complain, ask for a supervisor or anything. I simply went into the Apple store with my MacBook Pro, showed them the problems each time, and they immediately got to work on it. They even overnight shipped me another copy of Snow Leopard free of charge when I lost my copy and called to order another one.

All in all, I have been very impressed with their customer service and despite the issues I have experienced, I have yet to have a Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba, or any other brand notebook PC last as long. Plus, as soon as the first thing goes on any of the other brand equipment, it is junk, because replacement parts are simply too expensive, and the other manufacturers will not even provide you free troubleshooting if the unit is out of warranty. Don't get me started on the horror stories of people I know that used to have Dells, HPs, etc. during the nVidia recall...

TL;DR - Apple has been very good to me. I am sure that they will be very good to the customers who experience an issue with these SSDs, replace them, and send them back happy. They may be expensive, but in my experience they stand behind their products better than anyone else in the business.
Click to expand...

1.Apple is a patent aggressor and a threat to actual innovation. They use shysters and the force of the state in order to shut down competitors.

2.Apple creates walled garden products that are an intolerable threat to freedom. Companies like Apple envision a world in which everything you do is subject to their control and approval. Apple has already demonstrated that its walled garden goes beyond mere "security" as they have shown a willingness to censor both based on their own personal beliefs as well as on behalf of the state.

3.Does Apple let you dispatch your own warranty parts? Dell does (I am certified, benefits of being a VAR) which means that I don't have to deal with "tech support"; I simply dispatch the parts that I need without having to waste time "diagnosing" a problem with tech support that I have already diagnosed. "Free troubleshooting" is not really a benefit for me because most of the time, I already know more than the person I would be calling on to troubleshoot (Apple "genuis" is not a job where you find people with doctorate level knowledge in computer science).

4.Why should I have to bring a computer in to replace a battery? Or an SSD? Apple computers are not designed to be maintainable; on my laptop I can change the battery in 10 seconds and I can access the hard drives from a pull out cover on the bottom (no disassemble of the entire laptop required).
 
Tyler-Durden said:
I love all the anonymous keyboard psychologists who have the miraculous ability to diagnose the self-delusional nature of people who buy Apple products. Besides, SSDs have NEVER failed in PC laptops, right?
Click to expand...

If my SSD fails, I can replace it without having to disassemble the entire laptop. Oh, and, it uses a standard interface and doesn't require an entire swiss army knife of exotic screwdrivers.
 
damicatz said:
If my SSD fails, I can replace it without having to disassemble the entire laptop. Oh, and, it uses a standard interface and doesn't require an entire swiss army knife of exotic screwdrivers.
Click to expand...
Your ignorance is embarrassing. I've upgraded the SSD on 4 MacBooks. Remove the 10 screws on the bottom panel with a little Philips screwdriver, take out a few more screws holding the SSD in its slot, remove the carriage with a little Torx screwdriver, pop off cable, swap the drive and the reverse the process. Takes about 10-15 minutes.
 
Pentalobe screwdriver for the case screws and a Torx screwdriver for the SSD (which is a proprietary model).
 
Tyler-Durden said:
Your ignorance is embarrassing. I've upgraded the SSD on 4 MacBooks. Remove the 10 screws on the bottom panel with a little Philips screwdriver, take out a few more screws holding the SSD in its slot, remove the carriage with a little Torx screwdriver, pop off cable, swap the drive and the reverse the process. Takes about 10-15 minutes.
Click to expand...

The laptops I have at work you have two screws to remove the caddy and then four screws to remove the drive from the caddy (and some of the newer caddies are screwless). No pentalobe or torx drivers or other exotic screwdrivers required. In addition, my laptops all use standard SATA interfaces which means I don't need to buy exotic SSD drives with non-standard connectors. Takes less than 5 minutes.
 
torx and pentalobe fasteners are standards...and excellent ones at that

if you don't have a set of drivers for them because you think they are "exotic" then you're not much of a tech
 
Pentalobe isn't a "standard." Only Apple uses it, and they specifically designed it so that people wouldn't have the tools already to take it apart. You're either a liar or incompetent.
 
your claim is that pentalobe drivers are impossible to find?
and if I can find drivers for pentalobe fasteners *I* am either lying or incompetent?
 
mope54 said:
your claim is that pentalobe drivers are impossible to find?
and if I can find drivers for pentalobe fasteners *I* am either lying or incompetent?
Click to expand...

I'm not interested in buying proprietary screwdrivers because my Phillips head screwdrivers work for every other computer in existence.
 
damicatz said:
I'm not interested in buying proprietary screwdrivers because my Phillips head screwdrivers work for every other computer in existence.
Click to expand...
I usually disdain from encouraging you to post but in this case your hypocrisy merits pointing out:

you bought a jeweler's phillips screwdriver that can really only be used on the laptops you are toying around with, and possibly some eyeglass frames, but balk at buying a pentalobe screwdriver to work on MacBooks?

there isn't any functional difference between the two except that the second is Apple
Apple has been using pentalobe fasteners for nearly five years now. how long are you guys going to bitch about it in every apple thread?
 
damicatz said:
3.Does Apple let you dispatch your own warranty parts? Dell does (I am certified, benefits of being a VAR) which means that I don't have to deal with "tech support"; I simply dispatch the parts that I need without having to waste time "diagnosing" a problem with tech support that I have already diagnosed. "Free troubleshooting" is not really a benefit for me because most of the time, I already know more than the person I would be calling on to troubleshoot (Apple "genuis" is not a job where you find people with doctorate level knowledge in computer science).

4.Why should I have to bring a computer in to replace a battery? Or an SSD? Apple computers are not designed to be maintainable; on my laptop I can change the battery in 10 seconds and I can access the hard drives from a pull out cover on the bottom (no disassemble of the entire laptop required).
Click to expand...

There are some DELL models in which you must disassemble the notebook to reach the drive. You proved to Dell you were smart enough to handle repairs by becoming certified. This can be done with Apple or other hardware vendors.

Obvious you dislike Apple, but for someone with an advanced degree, I think you can see it is just a tool. Just like every personal computer. There is nothing wrong with voting with your dollars however you like, but then again everyone else has a right to disagree with your choice and to pick the tool they feel best fits their needs.

Not everyone has PhD, in related fields, willing to work for free to troubleshoot their problems. Having said that I have not purchased an Apple computer for myself, but I would not hold it against someone who decided that was their best option.
 
damicatz said:
The laptops I have at work you have two screws to remove the caddy and then four screws to remove the drive from the caddy (and some of the newer caddies are screwless). No pentalobe or torx drivers or other exotic screwdrivers required. In addition, my laptops all use standard SATA interfaces which means I don't need to buy exotic SSD drives with non-standard connectors. Takes less than 5 minutes.
Click to expand...

You really like the word exotic. Sometimes you have to invent something new and if you wait for everyone to agree to make it a standard first your time to market is thrown off. The Air models are tightly integrated. So likely it was simply looking for a way to decrease the space(or change the shape) taken by standard models.

Oddly Dell does not have the best track record when it comes from making industry standard parts.
 
mope54 said:
I usually disdain from encouraging you to post but in this case your hypocrisy merits pointing out:

you bought a jeweler's phillips screwdriver that can really only be used on the laptops you are toying around with, and possibly some eyeglass frames, but balk at buying a pentalobe screwdriver to work on MacBooks?

there isn't any functional difference between the two except that the second is Apple
Apple has been using pentalobe fasteners for nearly five years now. how long are you guys going to bitch about it in every apple thread?
Click to expand...

Who said I bought a jeweler's screwdriver? I find that my regular assortment of phillips head drivers work just fine. And again, pentalobe screws are for a single company. Phillips heads are for many companies. I would also point out that Apple uses many different sizes of pentalobe screws and they are subject to change at a whim.

Ponder said:
There are some DELL models in which you must disassemble the notebook to reach the drive. You proved to Dell you were smart enough to handle repairs by becoming certified. This can be done with Apple or other hardware vendors.

Obvious you dislike Apple, but for someone with an advanced degree, I think you can see it is just a tool. Just like every personal computer. There is nothing wrong with voting with your dollars however you like, but then again everyone else has a right to disagree with your choice and to pick the tool they feel best fits their needs.

Not everyone has PhD, in related fields, willing to work for free to troubleshoot their problems. Having said that I have not purchased an Apple computer for myself, but I would not hold it against someone who decided that was their best option.
Click to expand...

I don't deal with Dell's consumer models, I deal with their business models. And if they released a Latitude that required complete dis-assembly to replace the hard drive, they would be flayed. I'm far more tolerant of some cheap $300 bargain basement laptop being hard to repair because you get what you pay for; I am far less tolerant when it comes to $2000 Macbooks that are supposed to be a premium product (and that goes for any expensive laptop, PC or Mac).
 
damicatz said:
I don't deal with Dell's consumer models, I deal with their business models. And if they released a Latitude that required complete dis-assembly to replace the hard drive, they would be flayed. I'm far more tolerant of some cheap $300 bargain basement laptop being hard to repair because you get what you pay for; I am far less tolerant when it comes to $2000 Macbooks that are supposed to be a premium product (and that goes for any expensive laptop, PC or Mac).
Click to expand...


Very few models hit 2000.

Not all of DELLS consumer models are 300 dollars. Not all of them are low end, and not all of their business computers (have always) used standard parts. If you don't see the value in the item you do not have to buy it. While you might value ease of replacing parts, others might prefer weight reduction/one vendor/screen quality/OS/batterylife.

Kinda why they call them Personal Computer, what works well for you might not work well for everyone.
 
John P. Myers said:
The Ivy Bridge Macbook Air used Toshiba SSDs with a SandForce controller. This controller was known to have issues but Apple used it anyway. It was thought Apple made (or had someone make) their own firmware to solve the issues. If they did, then it seems something happened to cause it to fail in different ways, hence the recall.

The Macbook Pro with Retina Display used Samsung SSDs. No recall there.
Click to expand...

And I was going to say "Are they using Sandisk provided hardware?" (they seem to be like Seagate of the SSD world, great pricing, great stats, but reliability seems to be a problem they can't fix).
 
1. Post any Apple news on [H]
2. Irrational Apple bashing occurs.
3. People are butthurt and start arguing.
4. More page clicks.
5. ???
6. Profit.
 
damicatz said:
I'm not interested in buying proprietary screwdrivers because my Phillips head screwdrivers work for every other computer in existence.
Click to expand...

Eh, we only buy HP laptops in our company and some of them are held together using Torx. Apple doesn't have a monopoly on Torx screws.
 
Torx is a standard, and frankly Phillips screws are an abomination and should be banned. But Pentalobe is bullshit.
 
damicatz said:
The laptops I have at work you have two screws to remove the caddy and then four screws to remove the drive from the caddy (and some of the newer caddies are screwless). No pentalobe or torx drivers or other exotic screwdrivers required. In addition, my laptops all use standard SATA interfaces which means I don't need to buy exotic SSD drives with non-standard connectors. Takes less than 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
Just imagine all the wonderful, magical things you can do to advance the human condition with that extra 5 minutes you save by working on PC laptop SSDs instead of MacBook SSDs.

You win. PC SSD >> Mac SSD.

Here's your reward. Enjoy...

2lag6eb.jpg
 
Aluisious said:
Torx is a standard, and frankly Phillips screws are an abomination and should be banned. But Pentalobe is bullshit.
Click to expand...

I've got Torx internal screwdrivers because I need them for my car too.
Phillips and flat headed screws stink because they strip too easily.
Pentalobe? Sounds like a melon that made it with a globe.

Honestly I prefer anything with a hex head I can use my ratchet set on.
 
Its amazing how people argue about the stupidest thing about a screw apple uses, so are you butthurt when you cant get into your game console, tv set, laptop, pc, watch, glasses, cell phone, blender, because you might need a special bit grow the F up. O wait I forgot the mother of all I need special bits to get into a fraking vehicle! You try getting some pieces off with standard tools, some door panels will not come off wtihout a special torx im looking at you Dodge....
 
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