Apple spends about $ 10,000 to repeatedly repair a laptop with too low screen brightness

Here is a lesson in computer repair for you. Before you repair your notebook when the screen does not turn on, be sure to bring a flashlight. (A real torch, not a torch, we can not emphasize it with enough firmness.)

That's a lesson learned the hard way by photographer Greg Benz, who has presented his MacBook Pro to Apple four times. The first and second time, its logic board was replaced, but when the replacement laptop given at the third visit failed, Apple found the problem happy a fourth time: the brightness of the screen was off.

The discovery was made when an Apple employee turned on his iPhone torch on the screen and saw the very slight outline of the login screen.

To be perfectly clear, it is not as dark as it may seem. As Benz explained on his blog after a number of inaccurate answers to this uplifting story to the media, some third-party software, combined with his habit of using an external monitor, created the perfect storm of mysteries of the technical support. The touch bar's brightness settings did not work until he logged in – which he was not trying to do, because whoever is happily typing on a seemingly out-of-the-box computer ? Nobody, that is who.

Nevertheless, Apple support staff will have learned that another check must be executed before launching directly into a new logic board. According to Benz's figures, repairing two smart cards and replacing the computer itself will cost around $ 10,000, not counting the time spent by Apple support staff looking for the problem.

Despite all these problems, Benz remains delighted with his purchase: "I really like this computer," he wrote. "It's very fast and it's an essential tool in my photography business, I've been using Apple computers for years and I'm happy to say it's a machine I would highly recommend."

It's fine and everything, but a rather expensive endorsement. Still: Apple can afford it. μ

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