Email Sent to Tim Cook wrt MBP 2011 GPU / Graphics Issue

Sent this email to Tim Cook ([email protected]):

Hello Mr. Cook,

I am a big time Apple Fan and this is my first every Macbook Pro. However recently (since about last 3 weeks) I have started facing weird issues where in my Macbook Pro shows distorted lines across the screen or other weird behaviours I have attached a couple of screenshots.

After some googling around for about 15 minutes or so, It was quickly known that the issue was with the Graphics card on the Logic Board, and in order to resolve this issue, we need to get our logic board replaced which costs around USD 400 (In India rupees, thats around Rs. 24000), its is 1 and half times my current monthly salary.

You are see the discussions here:
http://www.cultofmac.com/262861/early-2011-macbook-pros-dropping-like-flies-heat -issues-blame/
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4766577?start=0&tstart=0
http://www.mbp2011.com
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4637833?start=0&tstart=0
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/widespread-2011-macbook-pro-failures-reported -3497935/
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/05/13/apple-remains-mum-as-complaints-mount- over-2011-macbook-pro-gpu-failures

and many more such forums, discussions, websites, facebook pages etc exist where such things have been posted and there is even a petition on change.org where people have signed a petition to request Tim Cook (yourself) to order a recall of affected Macbook Pro 2011 devices and start a free repair or replacement program for such users.
Here is the link for that petition:
https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-early-2 011-macbook-pro-with-graphics-failure


For me, the most frustrating thing is that it has started happening just a week after my AppleCare 3 year protection plan ended.

Users have reported that if users use a third party application called gfxcardstatus to force their Macbook Pro to use Integrated GPU only, then this issue doesn't occur. So in a way they are trying to make the additional GPU dormant and let it remain inactive, so it is noticed that this issue is observed only when the external GPU comes into action.

Now even the application gfxcardstatus has a problem, i.e. it sometimes just stops working and even if the integrated GPU is made to forcefully be used by Macbook Pro, our Mac stops doing so because of a bug in the application gfxcardstatus.

This is however obviously not at all a recommended solution.

And many users have even posted there experience everywhere on the internet that even after the logic board replacement, quite often they continue to face this issue and hence visits to an painful Apple Support Center are now a regular occurrence for them.

As you might know, Apple doesn't have its own support centers here in the city of Ahmedabad, India. The support centers here are run by other companies (organisations) who have partnered with Apple for providing support, but their support level is pathetic and they always ask us to leave our devices for diagnose and they would say that they would get back to us in 1 day, but they actually get back in like over a week's time or sometime even more than that.

This is a highly painful experience.

We, the users, genuinely love Apple products, however we do not invest so much money (for me personally it was my father's year's worth of savings) for getting our Macs to become useless and just act like a paperweight that costed us tons of money.

We expect our Macs to deliver and in case there is a factory manufacture problem, we want Apple to take the responsibility genuinely and issue us either a free replacement or a free repair rather than charging us such hefty amounts.

I honestly didn't use my dad's year worth of savings towards my First ever Apple product "Macbook Pro" and "3 year AppleCare Protection Plan" just to see it become useless or demanding a hefty repair charge that too for a manufacturing defect.

I am a middle class person, a salaried employee, who works from 8:30 am till 7 pm each day to try and make ends meet. I am really not at all in a position to take leaves from office to keep visiting Apple Support Centers and argue with employees there explaining them my situation everyday and seeking some useful response everytime I visit them.

Hence any help from you will be greatly appreciated and will really uplift the image of Apple as a true customer oriented organisation post the Steve Jobs era.

Here are details related to my Macbook Pro:

Serial Number: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
OS: 10.9.4, Build: 13E28
Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
Video Cards:
1. AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1 GB
2. Intel HD Graphics 3000 built-in


Thanks, I sincerely look forward to your response and I will be reachable on email: [email protected] and through Mobile Phone Numbers: xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lets see if I get any response.