Review My horrible experience with iSystem

The keyboard on my MacBook Pro 2016 was faulty.

I gave it to iSystem and was told I would get a call the next day. I didn’t. I called them 2 days later and was told they were too busy and had not been able to call me. They told me I could take my laptop away and use it while they waited for replacement parts to arrive from Dubai. Later I was told that this was not possible and I would be 4 weeks without my laptop.

I waited weeks and heard nothing. I contacted Apple and was told the parts had arrived several days before. I phoned isystem and they told me the guy dealing with my repair was not available and they could not given an update. I called back the next day. They told me the part had arrived that morning. who is lying? I was then told my laptop would be ready that day or at the most, 2 days. I phoned them 2 days later as I heard nothing.

I was told the laptop had been repaired 2 days before. My laptop had been sitting on a shelf and no one contacted me. Their response: ‘I’m sure someone tried to call you but they couldn’t reach you.’

When I arrived to pick up the laptop the battery was dead. I was confused as to how they had tested the laptop. The girl found a cable and charged it for me to test, it took a while to turn on as it was completely dead. I arrived home and I inspected further.

1. One of the USB-C ports was not holding the cable, it kept falling out.

2. The bottom of the laptop case was indented

3. The bottom of the laptop case was scratched

4. One of the screws on the bottom had been stripped while opening.

5. A few days later a strong smoke and burning smell came from the laptop. The laptop died completely.

I arranged with Apple to return the laptop to iSystem. 2 weeks later I received a call that the laptop was ready for collection. When picking it up, I checked over the laptop and noticed the screw hadn’t been replaced on the bottom despite giving them a written explanation as to what needed to be done and all the information being with Apple.

The ‘Maintenance Manager’ told me that the screws HAD been replaced and he couldn’t see the problem. I pointed it out to him again and he then agreed there was a problem. Either he was lying and the screw had not been replaced or WORSE, he had stripped the new screw a second time,

He continued to declare the screws had been replaced so I asked him to get the old screws and use one that was in good condition. He spent 30 minutes looking for the screws. He took MacBooks off display to find a screw and he couldn't as they were different.

He told me my old screws were in a room he could not access as he did not have the key and he would call me at 2pm the next day to come to my home and replacing the screw. The next day I stayed in my home and waited for the call. At 2.45pm I called the Manager and he told me he didn’t have a screw. I asked him why he had not called me and he said ‘I tried’.

I still don't have my replacement screw and since getting my laptop back I have experienced more issues:

1. The keyboard will work for approximately 1 hour and then stop working. I have to reset the laptop each time.

2. When the speakers are turned up the left speaker vibrates and becomes muffled.

3. There was a rattling noise coming from inside the laptop, which sounds like a loose screw. It recently stopped rattling and the laptop is now heating up excessively when I use it frequently. (Has the loose screw become lodged in a fan?)

4. When closing the lid something is sticking just before it reaches closure. This has developed recently and is getting worse. (Another loose screw?)

5. Looking at the bottom case from behind you can see the bottom case is not sitting on the unibody correctly. It's not flush and is bent.

I had to send the laptop to Apple UK and have it repaired. As a result I have been 14 weeks without my laptop because of iSystem's failure to repair correctly. Apple are investigating and the extent of the damage is reported as serious.