Replacement airport card-not available

Question

Apparently the airport card on my new ( 2 weeks old) MBPro failed. One minutes I was on line, wirelessly, then next ... nothing.
I know that Airport was working, because I immediately fired up my 'old' G4 iBook, and was immediately connected via Airport.
On the MBPro, even after re-starting/repairing permissions, etc., the Airport card did not show up in the System Profile.
I returned it to the Apple Authorized dealer; he checked it out, concluded that the card had gone bad. Ordered a replacement, and was told by Apple that they were 'not available'.
I called Applecare, who also told me that they were not available, and that they didn't know when they would be. The rep assigned a case number, 'escalated' the problem, said they'd get back to me within two days.
Is it not unreasonable to expect that Apple is still shipping MBPro's that they do have a source for a replace Airport card? Any idea what their problem is?
How long should I wait before asking for a replacement MBPro, if they can't fix mine right away?
Thanks,
Hal

Answer 1

<<<Re airport cards, two items:
Yesterday, my new MBPro suddenly stopped 'seeing' it's Airport connection.>>
This a 'Christmas' story, with a happy (for now) ending.
Recall, my airport connection suddenly disappeared. After some troubleshooting,
which seemed to confirm that it was indeed gone, I took it back to the Apple
Reseller I had bought it from. They confirmed the diagnosis, that the airport
card was seated properly, but airport wasn't working.
They had no other card to try, so I left the computer: they ordered a card,
then called and told me Apple didn't have any in stock! that they had no idea
how long it might be before one came in!
Amazing.
I called Applecare, and after some discussion, they escalated the case -- they
promised to get back to me within two days.
Today, two days later, we talked: still no 17" MBPro Airport cards in their
system. They agreed that Apple were still making this model, that somebody ...
somewhere ... undoubtedly had come airport cards, but that their supply system
didn't. They promised to call me the 26th.
In the meantime, I had run across this on the Apple MBPro Support Forum:
"I've had a similar problem in the past but it only dealt with the Airport
unavailability. I quickly resolved the issue by doing the following:
PMU RESET
1. Turn off computer.
2. Remove battery and unplug a/c power.
3. Hold power button down for 5 seconds.
4. Replace battery and a/c adapter and restart computer.
It's basically just a power management reset, for some reason it helps your
computer locate and identify drivers. I don't know how it works exactly, but I
do know it worked for me. give it a try and let us know.'
Though I sent this to the vender yesterday, for some reason they didn't try it.
So that I could at least have the use of the computer over the holidays, I went
out today, and picked it up, brought it home, and tried the above. And guess
what! Success!
When the computer re-started, there was the airport connect!
I 'suppose' that pulling the battery, re-set -- something? Any ideas what
happened, and why this 'fix' worked? I don't want to look 'gift horses' in the
mouth --- I"m glad it worked, but was curious if anyone had an idea what
happened to make it 'disappear', and why the 'cure' worked?
Happy Holidays,
Hal