Apple, Inc. Apple Computers, Macintosh, MacBook Pro Four Month Old MacBook Dead, Apple Refuses Warranty Cupertino, California

I have a four month old MacBook Pro 15" unibody with a three year warranty. In January, when it was two months old, I had problems with it coming out of sleep mode. Apple tech support worked with me on it over the phone. The MacBook worked, but had intermittent problems with sleep mode not waking without a restart, and power-on problems. In March, the MacBook wouldn't come out of sleep mode again; it took several restarts. Then the computer began randomly shutting itself off.

Phone support told me to bring it to an Apple store, so I did. The tech immediately asked me if I'd spilled anything. I had not. He turned the computer on and said there didn't seem to be a problem. I asked him to wait a minute, and the computer shut itself off as usual. He took it to the back for 15 minutes, came out and said he found residue and that my warranty was void because a) the residue could have ONLY come from spillage, and b) there could be no cause EXCEPT residue for the breakdown, and c) the warranty would not cover liquid damages.

I never spilled anything on or near the computer. I called Customer Service and wrote Steve Jobs an email. The end result was that Apple offered to charge half of their normal repair cost -- $630.

I googled and found an extensive number of consumer complaints for "random shutoff" and "power problems" for MacBook Pro, dating back from 2006 to present. I also learned of residue caused by overheating, non-working fans, thermal paste, and condensation due to a loose case.

Apple is insistent that I am at fault, yet not only did they not test the residue to find out what it might be, they did not test the components of the computer to find out if, indeed, residue was the sole cause of damages. Based on pictures from the Apple store alone, customer service is insisting that the only possible cause is that I spilled something in my computer. It never happened, so I am frustrated.

The funny thing is that I have always wanted a MacBook. It was my dream computer. My first Apple experience ended up badly, despite Apple's excellent reputation for customer service.