MBP “water damage” but I never spilled anything :(

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Level 1

4 points

MBP “water damage” but I never spilled anything :(

I bought a new MBP in December 2018.

From Day 1 I got it, the usb-c ports on the right side never worked. I had a lot of work to do at that time and really needed my new computer, so it wasn’t possible for me to send it for servicing. The usb ports on the left side were working so I always plugged my devices there. As the MBP was usable, I thought to myself, “Ok I have 1 year to get the fix, so no problem…” .

In the meantime, the MBP developed other problems: some keys were intermittently sticking (there is a recall for this) so I also thought “ok no problem for this”, they’ll fix it too." Also the trackpad doesn’t click anymore since a month.

Back to now. Two days ago I left my MBP to a third-party authorized service center. They called me back saying that all the water damage sensors were triggered, that there were corrosion spots all over the place, mostly near the defective USB ports (and that the water damage caused the problem) and also near the trackpad. Since the warranty is now void because of “water damage”, it would cost me roughly 1000$CAN to replace the logic board and the keyboard.

My main concerns are:

-The usb ports never worked from day 1. So this cannot be related to the “water spill” they refer to. Unless there was already a problem when I got it from Apple, which appear to me almost unbelievable.

-I never spilled anything on my Macbook. And since ALL the sensors were triggered, I guess they imply it would need a major water spill to do that…

Obviously, I refused to repair it now as the macbook is working alright except for the defective USB ports, the unclickable trackpad and a few sticky keys intermittently.

What would be your advices on my case? Any similar case/resolution?

Since there is corrosion and water damages sensors triggered (If I believe the tech, and I don’t see why I should not trust him), I don’t see how I can win my case by calling Apple Customer Support.

I was thinking bringing my computer to an unauthorized repair service center. They would probably be able to clean the logic board and find a solution for way less money. My local non-official service place do a “water spill” cleaning for 90$CAN. And they could give me an experimented opinion on my case since they repair apple products for a living…

Should I trust Apple?

THANK YOU ! :)

MacBook Pro 13”, macOS 10.14

Posted on Oct 30, 2019 6:32 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 30, 2019 7:44 PM in response to bruno53

The water detectors can also be triggered by condensation, such as having your Mac cooled to outdoor-in-winter temperatures and bring it into a warm, moist environment and asking it to draw in moist cooling air before it has acquired the indoor temperature.

Unfortunately, that does not change what Apple says, if the water detectors are triggered, Apple won't fix it under warranty or for standard prices.

Apple does to give their technicians much latitude on this issue.

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Answer 2

babowa

Level 9

78,556 points

Oct 30, 2019 7:41 PM in response to bruno53

We are all other users and should not dispense advice as to whether you should trust Apple or not. I am not an authorized repair person, but have heard that too much humidity can trigger the sensors. I also simply do not understand why you did not address the problems immediately; it may have been inconvenient, but you will be paying for that now. As to if you should take it to an unauthorized service center - your decision. I would not do it myself, but would never tell you to or not - that is beyond my comfort zone. We help with technical issues and in these types of cases where there is nothing further to be done except have it repaired, personally, I would make my own decisions rather than collect online strangers' opinions regarding my problem. It is your device, not ours.

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

68,420 points

Oct 30, 2019 8:18 PM in response to bruno53

I would have no reason to doubt them either since you noticed issues right away, but you could always have them show you or provide pictures for confirmation and peace of mind.

I agree you are unlikely to get Apple to cover the repair after waiting so long. It is an unfortunate set of circumstances.

It really depends how bad the liquid damage and corrosion is on the Logic Board whether it can be cleaned and be expected to work reasonably well afterwards. From what you described you will need to replace the I/O Board on the right side and most likely the Top Case Assembly to address the Trackpad issue & sticky keys.

Make sure to have good verified working backups while the computer is "working" since the SSD is integrated into the Logic Board.

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Answer 4

bruno53 Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 31, 2019 8:05 AM in response to bruno53

Yes you are all right, I should have taken care of the problem right away. I was in a rush and in my mind it was clear that I had 1 full year to get the problem fixed... I guess that's a lesson I'll earn the hard way :(

There is another thing I didn't mentioned as at first I thought it was only a software problem: Also from the beginning, I experienced frequent crashes, almost every time I logged out of a session and put into sleeping mode. With time, it happened really less frequently, but now since the macbook got out of the repair center, it happen as often as when it was new. My question is, there might exist reports of the crashes dating back to when the computer was new? When I go to the crash reports folder, there are only the reports from the last month, nothing before. Do the computer delete old reports automatically, is there a way to retrieve them? And if so, could this be a proof of my claims to Apple? But to be honest, my expectations are really low :(

thanks

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