According to many reports on the Apple Support Forums, some 2011 MacBook Pro owners with Discrete AMD GPUs are seeing hardware failures and other system crashes.
Users are reporting that the issue primarily occurs when doing graphics-intensive work, and that their system will go completely blank and be completely distorted, while visible striations are present. A reboot can sometimes fix the issue temporarily, but for others, it quickly returns after a short period of time.
In addition to the GPU issues, some owners claim their unit sometimes reboots to a gray or blue screen, which sometimes forces users to reinstall their OS or boot into safe mode.
Many speculate that heat is to blame for all of these hardware issues, which MacBooks have been susceptible to.
Apple has reportedly swapped some logic boards, but for the most, it seems if you are out of warranty, you will have to pay for the repairs on your own -- unless Apple acknowledges this issue down the line.
We'll keep you updated if Apple responds to the issue! If you have a 2011 MacBook Pro (late or early), let us know in the comments if you are experiencing any of these issues!
I'm having exactly the same issues (Macbook Pro Early 2011 15'). It's weird that my macbook problem with all of these other problems from owners of the same machine have been happening around the same time!!
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gamerscul9870 - February 19, 2014 at 5:12pm
That's why I prefer "newer" ones.
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CDG - January 21, 2014 at 5:24am
Sadly, this has been a frustrating reality for my computer as well. Has anyone tried downgrading to Mountain Lion to fix this issue. Mavericks was a real disappointment anyway. Grrr!
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gamerscul9870 - January 21, 2014 at 12:03pm
So buy the new version, mavericks maybe doesn't support this because this MacBook is outdated, duh.
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Bob18273 - January 20, 2014 at 7:39am
I have a MacBook Pro 15" late 2006. I had my motherboard swapped by Apple while still under warranty almost 2 years after purchase because the screen was only black after startup. Then the problem went away and I used the computer for another 3 years and some lines started to appear on my screen after a longer video rendering was done. Afterwards the problem escalated and the screen went black again. I immediately knew it was the same problem. The fix was to send the computer to a local service (not Apple) and get the GPU removed by a soldering machine and resolver it to the motherboard. The soldering methods used by Apple are not sufficient for the excess heat produces during some heavy workload and thus the solder melts or cracks and the GPU looses connection to the motherboard.
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Zhoubin - January 19, 2014 at 1:12pm
I have an early 2011 MBP 15" with AMD graphics. The problem started after upgrading to navericks. When pinching in or out on the trackpad it was like slow motion movies. I searched the issue and tried the display settings and it got a little bit better. But still have some shaking motions when i roll over dock's icons. I also had one or two freezing sequences since then. Once again, this all was started after having my poor MBP upgraded to mavericks.
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Kei - November 4, 2014 at 12:00am
Nothing to do with upgrading to a newer system, this is a hardware issue and we must put pressure on Apple to fix or replace our Macs. Sign the petition if you haven't yet and spread the word.
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Citronelle - January 19, 2014 at 12:56pm
My macbook pro is from 2011 and I had already a crash, black out 7 months ago, I had to reboot it, lost all of my data, was a nightmare, I had to buy something with a usb and put under the computer to cool it down because when I work for 2 hours in a raw gets very hot. I hope Apple will find a solution.
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Pavel - January 19, 2014 at 6:14am
I have 17" early 2011 MacBook Pro. Had a complete failure of external GPU according to Apple Genious. Had to replace the logic board for a hefty price
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AdNan - January 18, 2014 at 9:09pm
I have macbook pro 2011 , 13.3 inches with core i7. its screen freezes a lot and become non responsive. I am out of luck as out of warranty.
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Tim Crook - January 18, 2014 at 4:26pm
I will sue all if you for dishonestly defaming Apple!
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justabrake - January 18, 2014 at 3:50pm
I have the last built 17" MBP 16GB ram, Samsung Pro SSD, No Problems here !
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JJMedrano - January 18, 2014 at 1:17pm
Hi, I have a MacBook Pro early 2011 15", I can relate to the problem... plus, system sometimes just freezes until restarted, never happened before installing Mavericks.
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Macutilizator - January 18, 2014 at 10:21am
Same for my 2011 Macbook Pro 2,2 i7. Started with grey stripes on the screen when booting,about a month ago. Next step after a few days blue dead screen or flickering.
Apple service wanted 565 Euro for repairs.... and in 13 years this is the first Apple that dies in my arms... Yes, it is not booting any more, luckely I rescued all my data.
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Macutilizator - January 18, 2014 at 10:16am
Same for my 2011 Macbook Pro 2,2 i7. Started with grey stripes on the screen when booting,about a month ago. Next step after a few days blue dead screen or flickering.
Ap
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CHRISTIAN JOUVE - January 18, 2014 at 7:36am
Hi happy new year.
The same for me with Maverick....
SAD
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Hung Wei-Lo - January 18, 2014 at 7:08am
Relax it is just a new feature...
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Abdelrahman Ibrahim - January 18, 2014 at 5:09am
I have the same problem with MacBook Pro 15' late 2011. i7 2.2. My laptop is died now. Less than 2 years I didn't buy 2400$ machine just to use it for just a short period. and Apple acting like nothing wrong. I really heat this. If Apple didn't issue a recall for MBP 2011 15' this is gonna to ruin their reputation. If you are having the same issue, you are not alone buddy . We are in this shit together
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gamerscul9870 - January 18, 2014 at 4:17am
I have the new MacBook Pro 2013 and I currently have no problems, had it since it went on sale :)
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Rabbitjetta - January 18, 2014 at 4:12am
I have a 2013 retina MacBook Pro 13 inch with the 3.0GHz i7, 8 GB ram and a 512GB SSD. I love the machine but I have had it less than a year and it keeps freezing up on me even when I'm not doing anything. I can just try to log in and it will act up. I have tried going back to lion and that didn't help mountian lion runs ok but freezes my machine up no restore will fix it and apple is refusing to admit that there is a problem with the machine. I wish I would have kept my 2010 MacBook Pro that was $1,400 instead of this useless one that cost me $2,700.
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Steven - January 18, 2014 at 3:26am
MacBook Pro late 2011, intel graphics HD 3000 integrated AMD 6770m series 1024mb. 4 GBs of ram. 750 GB had drive. Doing heavy multitasking safari had a distorted screen. Then my MacBook Pro shut off. It doesn't turn on for some reason possible power surge.. To the computer when Safari started acting up. I hope apple can resolve this issue and offer logic board repairs to all early/late 2011 MacBook pros.