Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsI typically spend several hours each week tracking down solutions to a laundry list of problems
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2020
I have been a loyal Mac user for two decades. I am a small business owner and the two most important criteria for me when considering a personal computer are reliability and ease of use. Back in the days when I utilized Mac desktops, I encountered relatively few problems. But now, as a MacBook Pro user, I typically spend several hours each week tracking down solutions to a laundry list of problems.
In November 2019, I purchased a new MacBook Pro 15-inch with 16GB RAM. Here is a short rundown of my impressions and problems with this machine.
Previous Amazon reviewers had complained about other current MacBooks having too few thunderbolt ports, so I splurged on a more expensive model than I actually needed in order to have four thunderbolt ports. All of the peripherals I previously used on my last MacBook had USB connections (monitor, docking station, external hard drives), so I had to spend money to buy a new docking station with a thunderbolt port, and two types of Nonda USB-C to USB adaptors. One Nonda adaptor worked fine (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B015Z7XE0A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1), but the other was glitchy and caused my WD Passport external hard drive to fail (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XYTHCXV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1).
When I took my hard drive in for data recovery, the local technician rolled his eyes and said “Another thunderbolt port problem? Typical.”
Apple support suggested that I use a LaCie Rugged as my next external hard drive, so I invested in a 4TB model. However, the LaCie has now dismounted twice in the middle of data transfers, causing my anxiety level to skyrocket. Today I ran First Aid on the LaCie which took well over an hour to complete. No errors were reported so I’m left in the dark as to what is causing this issue.
Another vexing new “improvement” is the charging power chord for the MacBook. The power chord for my last laptop had a convenient light on the plug-in, which glowed “white” while charging, and “green” when fully charged. In a move totally lacking in logic, Apple chose to leave this feature off their new MacBook charging chords. So now, the only way to know if the unit is charged is to open the unit, take it out of “Sleep Mode,” and check. Annoying.
Why is the fingerprint security ID right next to Siri? Every time I use my finger to log into my device, I’m asked if I want to enable Siri. The answer is an emphatic “NO!”
This will most certainly be my last MacBook Pro. I find the current model to be counter-intuitive and quite costly with all the constant attention it requires. Plus, any peripheral I plug into the MacBook tends not to work, or has a list of time-consuming problems that need to be worked on.
