Computer won’t turn on and the Genius Bar was no help

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Computer won’t turn on and the Genius Bar was no help

I’m very disappointed with Apple as of lately. I’ve spent a lot of money at the store over the years on phones, iPads, laptops and accessories. My laptop which is barely 2 years old was updated and then stopped working. There’s no damage to it and that was confirmed at the Apple store. They told me that it’s not my fault but I can either pay almost 500 dollars to send it in to get repaired, which isn’t guaranteed, or buy a brand new one. I’m a college student that bought my computer thinking it would last me much longer 4 years of school. The fact that this laptop hasn’t even lasted me half of my education is so disappointing. I’m a full time college student that works a part time job, pays for my own education, my own car insurance, and sends all extra cash to help take care of my disabled brother. I can’t even afford to buy a laptop that’s not from Apple at the moment and I’m very frustrated. There needs to be a better way to do this because sending in a laptop where they don’t even know what’s wrong with it and having to pay a general fee is ridiculous. All my files are on there and passwords for school and I can’t even access those. I need this computer for school and I’m extremely disappointed in this. Is there a way for Apple to see what repairs it needs before I have to pay for it and to get information off of it. Please get back to me because this is a top priority of mine.

Abby Marchetti

Posted on Sep 8, 2019 4:45 PM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

68,714 points

Sep 8, 2019 5:18 PM in response to Abigailreece12

You can also try contacting an independent Apple Authorized Service Provider to see if they can repair your laptop in their shop without sending it out to the Apple repair depot. If you don't have a backup, then this is your best option as the AASP may offer a service to recover your data. If the laptop gets sent in to the Apple mail-in repair depot, there is a chance you could lose all your data if it wasn't backed up. Apple assumes the user is backing up their computer.

Depending on the exact model of your laptop it may not have a removable SSD in which case only Apple or an AASP will be able to attempt retrieval of your documents since it requires a special device to be connected to the Logic Board to access the SSD. If the laptop has a removable SSD, then you may be able purchase an OWC Envoy Pro external enclosure to connect the SSD to another Mac to access your data.

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Answer 2

Sep 8, 2019 4:59 PM in response to Abigailreece12

Retrieve your information from your backup.

If your Mac doesn't turn on or start up - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Sep 8, 2019 5:05 PM in response to Abigailreece12

I had this issue with a non-apple computer once. Bought it brand new for school and it didn't even last 9 months before it did the same thing. When I contacted the company about it, they said that it was a motherboard issue. If the motherboard is faulty, it can cause a computer to not turn on. If it's showing that there's a charge (I have an older mac, so not sure about newer ones) there should be a light on the charger or near the charging port to show that it's charging. If there is a light, that means that your computer still works, just that there's a hardware issue. I would try taking it back to the apple store and telling them that your motherboard has crashed. By your post, it sounds like your computer isn't still under warranty or else they would have to fix it for free or at least a smaller amount of money than $500. Not sure if you can still purchase apple care for it, cause if you can, I would definitely look into that because it's a lot cheaper and a better option. But if none of those things are an option, it does seem like you'll have to put half the amount the computer's worth into getting it fixed. :( Hopefully, if you tell them what the issue is, you can get a better price point.

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Computer won’t turn on and the Genius Bar was no help

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