Apple iPad Pro – Great device that just died 3 mos past warranty

Shared just in case you’re looking for a tablet.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/apple-ipad.html#review=4716106

This is the second Apple product I had that has died a few months past the end of the warranty. The first was a computer and the company did right fixing it at no charge saying the component should not have worn out the way it did. Now, history is repeating itself without the happy ending this time. My high-end iPad Pro 12.9 that I use mostly to watch videos when I work out or do housework was not used all that much. Either way, it was operating exactly as it had been.

Since Apple has had some security problems lately I have been applying iOS updates as they come out rather than waiting. NO problem. Then quite out of the blue there is one update that will not install because it says it is not plugged in and the battery is not charged over 50%. Odd I think since I had plugged it in earlier that week. Still I plug in the charger and expect that it can apply the update. It does not detect the charger – almost like the lightning port has been disabled. I plug it into the Mac computer – same thing, does not detect iTunes. I change cables, no difference.

I had not had a single problem charging the tablet before so if the charging port was bad you would expect it to have intermittent problems and then fizzle out. But no, one day it worked perfectly fine and the next day it did not work AT ALL and the only changes were the updates. So it made no sense when the Apple Genius Bar tech gives the company line ‘These components are mass produced and they might fail.’ If it was under warranty they would fix/replace it or if I had sprung for AppleCare extended warranty it would be replaced. This $1300 paperweight should not break 15 months after purchase – I have a cheap Android tablet that’s almost 6 years old and it powers on and chugs along just fine.

I cannot say I am the most loyal Apple customer – I don’t buy the new device every year they come out – but I probably am (or at least I was) a consistent customer; I have a MacBook Pro, an iPhone, an iPod and this iPad Pro. To say that I have had two devices fail within a few months of warranty expiration is disturbing to say the least – and my iPhone seems to be limping along as it is (probably related to the battery issue Apple screwed us all on). I know it is the largest company in the world but it makes you wonder if that’s because of great products or because of the loyal customers who overlook devices that are designed to break so we replace them.