Macbook Pro 13" (2 ports - 2020) fried motherboard

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Level 1

8 points

Macbook Pro 13" (2 ports - 2020) fried motherboard

Recently, my Macbook Pro (not M1 chip) stopped working after unplugging a usb-c hub that was connected to a montior and a power source. I could sometime here the fan start up quickly and then stopping, but nothing on the screen (meaning that battery and ports are still working)

I dropped off my mac to a certified apple service center, and they told me that they need to replace the motherboard. A nice 900$CAD +tx...

Firstly, I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience with a usb-c hub causing the motherboard to fail.

Secondly, the repair guy told me that they can’t extract data from the ssd since on this model, it’s soldered on the motherboard. Do you know if there is a way to extract data from my ssd even if they think there are none?

Thanks!

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Sep 14, 2021 9:42 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BobTheFisherman

Level 9

79,297 points

Sep 14, 2021 9:49 AM in response to safre

With respect to the logic board, we users do not have access to the computer. We can not assess hardware damage remotely.

With respect to your data, you are respnsible for your data. Backups are essential for situations which you now find yourself in. Apple is not responsible for your data. There is no way for you to retrieve data from a failed device. Going forward make sure you implement a backup scheme.

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Answer 2

safre Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 25, 2021 7:39 AM in response to safre

UPDATE:

Found this article on MacRumors stating that in the 11.2.2 release for macOS Big, Apple updated something to prevent MacBooks from being damaged by third-party non-compliant docks!

When my Mac died, I was on Catalina still. Don’t know if that update would’ve prevented that...

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

55,838 points

Sep 25, 2021 10:35 AM in response to safre

The only options to attempt to access the data on a bad Logic Board for a 2020 model is either by using a professional data recovery service such as Drive Savers or to have a non-Apple repair shop attempt to repair the Logic Board. Even a professional data recovery service will need to repair the Logic Board in order to even attempt to access the data on the integrated hardware encrypted SSD. If the T2 security chip is damaged or corrupt, then there is absolutely no way to recover any data from the SSD.

Make sure to only use good quality products from well respected name brand manufacturers in order to minimize the chances of damaging the Logic Board through the USB-C ports.

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