Apple extends warranty for faulty eMacs

Apple Computer on Friday announced a worldwide eMac Repair Extension Program for eMac computers that exhibit a certain video or power-related issue.

Affected systems will exhibit symptoms such as scrambled or distorted video, no video or no power.

Apple said the issue is a result of "a specific component failure" in some 1GHz and 1.25GHz G4 eMacs manufactured between "approximately April 2004 and June 2005."

Affected models may have a serial number that falls in the following ranges: G8412xxxxxx - G8520xxxxxx, YM412xxxxxx - YM520xxxxxx or VM440xxxxxx - VM516xxxxxx. eMac serial numbers are printed inside the disc drive door and are visible when the optical drive tray is ejected.

"If your eMac is exhibiting any of the symptoms listed [...] and your computer's serial number is within the noted ranges, your computer may be eligible for repair, free of charge," the company said on the repair program's Web site.

eMac owners whose systems meet the aforementioned criteria are asked to bring their eMac to the Mac Genius Bar at their local Apple Retail store or Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP). Alternatively, owners may contact their local Apple support center by dialing the company's US support line at 1-800-275-2273.

Apple said it will cover repairs for qualifying eMacs for up to three years from the original date of purchase even if the eMac is out of warranty.

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3 Comments

robin hood

said about 17 years ago

Apple always tends to do the right thing, eventually.

melgross

said about 17 years ago

Ya. I think they are pretty good about this. The problem is that they can't assume it's a general problem until enough reports come in. If a couple million machines are out there, and a couple hundred reports come in, it's not always enough to tell if the problem is manufacturing related, or mishandling.

Here in NYC, the Board of Ed had special lock down cradles made for the eMacs. When I saw them, I told them that they would be a problem, but nothing was done about it (they usually pay attention when I tell them about problems, but not always )

The problem was that the thick steel band going over the top of the machine covered the cooling holes, with only a very small space between them and the band, which was several inches wide.

As a result, we had numerous cases of heat related failures. As most school rooms are not air-conditioned, this problem was serious. Only in the labs was it cool enough so that the problem was minimal.

The point is that if Apple had received units for repair that failed because of heat, they would not have known that it wasn't the fault of their design, or manufacture, but rather because of a faulty external condition. They would have needed units from a wide distribution to have the same problem before they could be sure that it was their fault.

By the way, Dell does the sales and warranty repair for Apple in the NYC Bd of Ed. Ironic?

sjk

said about 17 years ago

Fortunately we've never had any trouble at all with my wife's eMac in that serial# range, unlike my newer iMac G5 that's already had three major problems. If it's decides to go bonkers I sure hope it happens before the 3-year repair extension runs out on it next May.