Apple faces lawsuits for defective G4 iBooks
Some of us have suffered, largely in secret, with individual maladies and problems in our individual Macs; many times those problems take eternities to see resolution, but a few lucky (or unlucky) souls will see some resolution. Many iBook G4’s have been built with faulty solder joints; a problem that has been “remedied” by clamping the lappy in question with, well, a clamp. Finally, the National Consumer Agency of Denmark has published a report documenting the widespread flaw, and Apple will be forced to recall a large number of the defective iBooks.
Or will they? Interestingly, Macworld has reported that Apple has declined to comment on the issue; however, they have not contested the findings of the report (how can you, what with the rampant internet stories and pictures backing the hard facts of the report).
The problem found in the iBooks is fairly severe; the defect, which resulted in the inevitable loss of power permanently in the iBooks, stems from bad solder joints around the voltage regulator. Inevitably, the defective units would completely lose power, a problem no Mac user envies.
The Danish Consumer Complaints Board actually ordered Apple to refund one customer’s purchase price, plus interest, for the defective unit. The board has seen over 15 complaints on this issue, and although they can’t force Apple to refund the single consumer’s money, they have vowed to help the consumer sue Apple.
Apparently the Board’s threat is worth considering; they claim a near-100% success rate in similar cases.
I can definitively say Apple is quite…aloof…when it comes to addressing defects. A personal problem I’m experiencing involving a flickering display (supposedly stemming from a defective inverter, as I found in a secluded forum on Apple’s website), which Apple will not acknowledge as a problem, nor will workers at Mac stores; this adds to the chagrin of the hundreds of people who voiced their own issues with their displays on the Apple forum.
Why would Apple, who is generally excellent in regards to customer service, be so infamous for avoiding defective units? Apple must understand their reputation amongst users is so strong, they must only acknowledge and apologize for the inconvenience, as well as promise a fix, and the issue will blow away.
Hopefully this recent rash of iBook problems will address Apple’s unwillingness to face facts about the units they distribute that tend to defect after a short while; has anyone else experienced the defective iBook problem, or the flickering Macbook screen I mentioned? Join me in my quest to receive a working Macbook (or even better, a Macbook Pro…hey, I can dream, can’t I?)!
Related Posts:
May 8th, 2007
Adakah kamu berkata kami telah beriman sedangkan kamu belo
m diuji
May 8th, 2007
I had a problem with my iBook G4, and the soldering joints in the power cord went out right at the head of the plug. I just had to buy a new power cord and now it’s not a problem anymore. I’m not sure if this is exactly the defect being referred to… it’s sort of hard to understand what you’re pointing out.
May 8th, 2007
Thanks for your comments, Brooke: yes that is what I’m referring to, and I sort of went on about a different issue, but it seems you were experiencing similar difficulties.
May 9th, 2007
I too had the flickering screen power inverter problem. I followed the standard Apple procedure. I have Applecare. Call 1 – reset PRAM, fixed it for a day or two, back to flickering. Call 2 – run hardware diagnostics, reset PRAM – worked for a day, more flickering. Call 3 – send it in for repairs, takes a week, replaced something trivial, flickered out of the box. Call 4, send it in, new power inverter – worked fine from then on. This is my 6th mac laptop. I have had trouble with 3 of them, 2 iBooks and 1 MacBook. All my Powerbooks have worked flawlessly. All my repairs have been successful but followed about the same path as above. It takes awhile, but I have no problem with it. Follow their troubleshooting checklist, report it when it doesn’t fix it, and they’ll fix your machine. Everybody was friendly, but you can’t shortcut the process. If you won’t do what they ask, they won’t help. If you are patient and follow the instructions, you get your computer fixed.
August 21st, 2007
[...] Apple faces lawsuits for defective G4 iBooks [...]
August 22nd, 2007
I do not understand why, with so many complaints, Apple is not required by some law to do something about this….this is their product, and it doesn’t work!! I’m a college student and I do not have the money to pay for huge repairs and new logic boards, this is ridiculous….something has got to be done!
February 27th, 2008
[...] be remembered that a number of users of the Apple made iBook G4 filed complaints because of the defective design of the laptop. The defect is also attested by the Danish Consumer Complaints Board which urged Apple to make a [...]
December 27th, 2008
3 powercords in 2 years. need #4. G4 ibook. any idea why?
September 4th, 2009
I know this is 2 years old but I have a ibook G4 and my problem is I will be typing something and the cursor will jump behind text that has already been typed and screw all the text up that I am typing.. It is irritating to say the least.. Im not sure if it is overheating or what.. Can anyone help?
September 4th, 2009
Try cleaning your trackpad and mind the position of your hands when you’re typing. Or, at least those were the causes to similar problems had some years back with a G4 iBook.
September 5th, 2009
[...] Apple faces lawsuits for defective G4 iBooks [...]