Checking Apple repairs

Is there a way knowing the serial number of a MacBook Pro to see any repairs performed by Apple?

FatherTime said:

Is there a way knowing the serial number of a MacBook Pro to see any repairs performed by Apple?

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You can find the serial number in 'About this Mac' by clicking the apple icon on the menu bar.

I'm assuming that any authorised Apple Care specialist would have to log it's repairs/findings with Apple using the serial number for an audit trail.

There is also this option which may help

pendlewitch said:

You can find the serial number in 'About this Mac' by clicking the apple icon on the menu bar.

I'm assuming that any authorised Apple Care specialist would have to log it's repairs/findings with Apple using the serial number for an audit trail.

There is also this option which may help

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This site only gives currant coverage not any history.

FatherTime said:

This site only gives currant coverage not any history.

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You may need to sweet talk an authorised Apple Care specialist or talk to the Genius Bar folks then..I'm only surmising as what you are asking seems like a long shot.

There is no 'Installations' info under Hardware in the system report but the there is for Software

FatherTime said:

Is there a way knowing the serial number of a MacBook Pro to see any repairs performed by Apple?

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I'm thinking only Apple has this info…as I've never heard of anyone (outside of an Apple Store)…knowing the service/repair history of an Apple computer.

Like "Pendlewitch" suggested…a nice Apple person may share this info with…but I would hope that you have good reason for asking (not just being "curious").

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

I'm thinking only Apple has this info…as I've never heard of anyone (outside of an Apple Store)…knowing the service/repair history of an Apple computer.

Like "Pendlewitch" suggested…a nice Apple person may share this info with…but I would hope that you have good reason for asking (not just being "curious").

- Nick

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I recently repaired a MacBook Pro Santa Rosa 2.4 and listed it for sale.The guy that wants to buy it asked if the logic board had been replaced under the Apple warranty this is one of the NVIDIA chips that where a problem. But even if it had that doesn't mean the new wont go bad, I had 3 in my MBP 2.4 Penryn.

FatherTime said:

I recently repaired a MacBook Pro Santa Rosa 2.4 and listed it for sale.The guy that wants to buy it asked if the logic board had been replaced under the Apple warranty this is one of the NVIDIA chips that where a problem. But even if it had that doesn't mean the new wont go bad, I had 3 in my MBP 2.4 Penryn.

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I see! I've never had a question like that from someone buying a computer I'm selling…but there's always a first time (must be a fairly knowledgeable person)!

Here's something I would mention to this person: "The video problem is from 2008. The computer has been working fine for 3-4 years. If the video issue was going to show up…it probably would have already." If they're a computer savvy person…they should understand this.

This may or may not satisfy them (especially if they're just a "tire-kicker")…but it's something.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

I see! I've never had a question like that from someone buying a computer I'm selling…but there's always a first time (must be a fairly knowledgeable person)!

Here's something I would mention to this person. The video problem is from 2008. The computer has been working fine for 3-4 years. If the video issue was going to show up…it probably would have already. If they're a computer savvy person…they should understand this.

This may or may not satisfy them (especially if they're just a "tire-kicker")…but it's something.

- Nick

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He stated the he owns two Santa Rosa 2007 and both had the boards replaced and I myself have done a few Santa Rosa's I think it's more the models with the GeForce 8600M GT chip than the year. I've asked the very question about if they got the problem solved and no one can say for sure. I think it's more the solder that the chip itself because I have them reflowed and they seem to be fine.

FatherTime said:

...I think it's more the models with the GeForce 8600M GT chip than the year.

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I was only using the year "2008" as a reference point for this buyer. And yes I agree…it IS the MBP models with the 8600m video hardware.

My main point was…whether it's 2007, 2008…etc. If the computer has been working fine for this long (3-4 years)…then the specific computer in question is probably fine…and if it had the problem…it probably would have showed up by now.

Apple had a 3-year special repair program for this problem…which I believe is expired at this point.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

I was only using the year "2008" as a reference point for this buyer. And yes I agree…it IS the MBP models with the 8600m video hardware.

My main point was…whether it's 2007, 2008…etc. If the computer has been working fine for this long (3-4 years)…then the specific computer in question is probably fine…and if it had the problem…it probably would have showed up by now.

Apple had a 3-year special repair program for this problem…which I believe is expired at this point.

- Nick

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Yeah I agree if after a period you'd think they would be fine, however I just gat a Penryn 2.4 with the issue but I have no idea how much use these get, I pull the HDD and see no updates for a long time so it may mean it's been in the closet for a couple years.

FatherTime said:

Yeah I agree if after a period you'd think they would be fine, however I just gat a Penryn 2.4 with the issue but I have no idea how much use these get, I pull the HDD and see no updates for a long time so it may mean it's been in the closet for a couple years.

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I thought the main concern on your end was answering the potential buyers question regarding if this particular laptop had a logic board replacement due to the video hardware issue with SOME Apple laptops with the 8600m video hardware??

Having a theoretical discussion about how much use a laptop gets is sort of beyond the scope of this buyers concerns. There really is no set answer to how much use any particular laptop model gets…other than to say…they probably get used a lot when they are newer…and they steadily get used less and less as they get older.

You just have to work with the "law of averages"…and assume that this particular computer has seen no more or no less usage hours than any other laptop of this model.

The statement that I suggested to mention to this potential buyer about how "If the problem hasn't surfaced by now, then it probably won't."…is really about the best you can do.

Even if you go to an Apple Store…and get the repair history for this computer (if there is any)…and it shows no logic board replacement…then you're back in the "same boat". Which is…you cannot guarantee how long the video hardware on this computer will be "good" for. Like any computer…some part of the hardware could give out at any time.

If this person/buyer isn't satisfied with this level of information…then they should probably move on to something else! It's a 4-5 year-old computer. The 8600m video hardware on it is probably fine. With 4-5 year-old computers…other things can go wrong…and these cannot be alleviated or eliminated by getting the service history from Apple.

- Nick

Getting back to the original post, only Apple or an AASP can view the previous repair history. Apple can see everything, but the AASP cannot see what a Genius Bar has replaced, only the heading. An AASP can see the name of another AASP who has performed a repair, it's date and what was replaced, but no customer personal details unless it was themselves that performed the repair.

One way to determine if the logic board has previously been replaced is to eject the battery and check if a replacement silver ethernet address label has been stuck over the original. Whenever a logic board is replaced a new label is supplied with the board, and should cover the original ethernet address. This is only valid if the tech performing the repair remembers to do it, most do, some forget.

At work I still see a steady trickle of Nvidia issue failures on older MacBook Pro's outside the repair programs 4 year limit, they are still failing.