Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Apple Over Defective Graphics in the 2011 MacBook Pro

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Posted October 28, 2014 at 6:27pm by iClarified

Law firm Whitfield Bryson & Mason has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple over defective graphics in the 2011 MacBook Pro.

Owners of the 2011 MacBook Pro owners with Discrete AMD GPUs have long been reporting hardware failures and other system crashes. Problems typically occur when doing graphics-intensive work. Users say that their system will go completely blank or become completely distorted with visible striations present. A reboot can sometimes fix the issue temporarily, but for others, it quickly returns after a short period of time.

A change.org petition on the matter has reached nearly 22,000 signatures and Apple has yet to respond.

After researching the matter, Whitfield Bryson & Mason felt it warranted a class-action lawsuit. Here's their announcement:

Our firm recently filed a class-action lawsuit in a California federal court against Apple, Inc. on behalf of residents in the States of California and Florida who purchased 2011 MacBook Pro Laptops with AMD GPUs who experienced graphical distortions and system failures.

We are actively investigating other similar cases across the country. We have prepared a short survey for those of you who have had one or more logic board replacements due to graphical issues with 2011 MBP laptops. This survey should take no more than 5 minutes of your time. Please complete the survey here: MacBook Pro Survey

Notably, the lawsuit states that the issues is related to the lead-free solder used on the AMD graphics chips in the 2011 MacBook Pro models.

"When the lead-free solder cracks it degrades the data flow between the GPU and the logic board. A small crack can cause the laptop’s graphics to become distorted on occasion. But as cracks in the lead-free solder propagate over time, the graphics issues worsen and system stability decreases, until eventually the computer is completely unusable. This defect related to the lead-free solder connecting the GPU to the logic board (the “Graphics Defect”) limits all computers at the point of sale forward from performing as advertised and warranted."

Apple's only solution to the problem is a logic board replacement; however, that remedy is ineffective as the replacement logic board has the same problem.

Check out action.mbp2011.com or the 2011mbp Facebook page for more details.

[via MacRumors]

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Apple Over Defective Graphics in the 2011 MacBook Pro

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zaradi - November 23, 2014 at 5:53pm

It's about time someone decided to take it to Apple on this issue. My third logic board/graphics chip just catastrophically failed. First two were under warranty. Now I will have to pay, if I go that route, for them to replace the bad part with another bad part.

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Conor - November 1, 2014 at 1:11am

I really can't understand how people are having problems with this still. I had the same problem, contacted Apple, got a replacement Logic Board for 700 euro. Within three days, that went too, and Apple replaced it for free with a brand new 15" Retina MBP with a 512gb SSD. I was delighted, although out of pocket 700 euro. I can't imagine I'm the only person that had Apple replace the notebook with a new one. Surely there must be more out there that got a "free" replacement.

frey - October 29, 2014 at 11:13am

Don't forget the mid 2011 27 inch iMac as well

tng - October 29, 2014 at 1:53am

Ambulance chaser versus Big tech chaser? What's the difference?

gamerscul9870 - October 28, 2014 at 9:54pm

Seriously? This has been going on since 2 years ago. Many use the newer versions anyway, but wouldn't it be so much trouble to ask to just I don't know... FIX IT??!!??!!

Rashaad Sallie - October 29, 2014 at 8:59am

I have the same 17-inch Macbook Pro sitting on the shelf because of this problem. I was therefore forced to buy a newer one, whereas if this wasnt an issue I would still be using the 17-inch instead as it has two SSD drives in it. We have been partitioning to apple long now and they just ignored the issue. I hope they win and Apple is forced to replace those boards.

ballistic_flea - October 28, 2014 at 8:05pm

"...that the issues is related to..." Is they really?

Jesus Christ - October 28, 2014 at 7:55pm

Reflow or Reball.. Easy fix.

Rashaad Sallie - October 29, 2014 at 9:01am

That is an easy fix but not everyone (thousands of people), is going to shove their logic board into an oven. By us fixing the issue just allows Apple to get away with the defective boards anyway. Lets hope my 17-inch can be brought back to life again.

4f6a7e2 - October 29, 2014 at 5:57pm

Tell me more about your 17 inch, big boy!!!