Macbook pro burnt IC chip

abhijit49 wrote:

Definitely a hazard if this one is burning or overheating due to some reasons in the second year of their product life

It happens once in a while to any electronic device from any manufacturer. I guess you've been fortunate never to had a hardware failure for any new physical item before. I've had a device not work right out of the box -- brand new. There are a lot of people out there who have had to get a warranty repair. Guess what.....warranties are provided for new items and warranties do get used.

Maybe the chip had a defect from the factory, maybe a small conductive item or liquid made its way under the chip and caused a short to burn it (those other components in the photo look a bit odd to me, but I really cannot tell from the photo). These chips & components are so complex that it doesn't take much of a "mistake" in manufacturing to cause a weak part (many are discarded during testing at the factory, but some marginal components can pass their tests -- this may have been one of them).

The majority of times these electronic components on circuit boards quickly burn themselves out since the electrical traces are so small that the electrical connection is severed quickly (just like a fuse works) which prevents the component from getting any hotter so it is extremely unusual to have it trigger a full fire (it really needs something more flammable to be in direct contact with the burnt chip), but of course there are always exceptions. It can be scary to smell the burnt component and this burnt odor can stick around for some time. I've seen pictures of laptops that had their Lithium-ion batteries catch fire and not affect anything else but the laptop itself (much hotter, more intense heat and actual flames -- much more scary to me than a small internal chip that shorts out). While Apple products do have some hardware issues safety is really not one of them. I'm sure you have other electronic products that are much more likely to be a safety concern due to cheap materials and shortcuts taken with manufacturing.

I understand you are upset that an expensive laptop has failed in such a short time, but it happens. I am sorry your laptop has failed so soon.

Hi

Unfortunately there are are a lot of customers like you and me facing issue with the MacBook Pro 16” and you can find details on my thread:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253164713

You might want to add your experience to the same thread

Any device made by human hands is going to fail sooner or later. Unfortunately, many devices fail long before the owner thinks it should. Poor advice for a working man but that's the way it is.

Just recently I bought nearly $100 USD in 3-way LED lamp bulbs. 78% of them failed straight out of the box. Thankfully Amazon has a rather good return policy and I took full advantage of it. Bulbs ain't Macs, but stuff does happen.

And that makes it even a more bitter pill to swallow. However, it did happened regardless of the sticker price. Should it have? No, it was rightfully expected to last longer. But reality is reality. The "Why" can't be answered here as we have no insight (second sight?) into why things happen.

Safety hazards have a way of turning into real failures.

phoenix16-ban wrote:

My macbook pro 2019 16" which was bought about 18months back recently did not start - took it to apple authorised service center and they informed me that there was a component burnt on the logic board and advised me to replace the logic board =~ to replace the laptop. This is a sparingly used computer without any physical/material damages.

What would cause a component on the a new highly decorated flagship Macbook to burn less than 2yrs down?

Images from the apple support team:

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/058a9160-f876-4349-a5a7-20f8e246f643

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/950c667c-c8da-4f67-8f69-4e11a5bf0aa3

Unfortunate—

You are asking the impossible— computers can fail at anytime. All components use the SMT (Surface Mount Technology) It is not a perfect science.

It appears to be a flash storage component...

I always recommend the extend 3-yr warranty with Apple Care+ on any new computer purchase.

Check your coverage—https://support.apple.com/my-support

Learn how to get your Mac fixed and how much it will cost. https://support.apple.com/mac/repair/service

Get your Mac ready for service - Apple Support https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209095

if you want to register a complaint:

you can submit your Apple Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback

Contact the corporate office https://www.apple.com/contact/

Call Customer Support (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753)

or on line https://getsupport.apple.com/

or call AppleCare Support at 1-800-APLCARE (800-275-2273)

Outside the USA—Contact Apple for support and service by phone

See a list of Apple phone numbers around the world.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201232

Sometimes a part is just weak or has a defect that takes time to show up. Usually this is a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.

In the bottom picture I notice one of the other small black chips has some light covered spots & streaks, but I cannot tell if it is just dust & dirt or if it is showing an issue as well. Plus I'm noticing some discoloration on some of the smaller components nearby, but I cannot tell from the photo whether it is just poor lighting or whether it is revealing possible liquid damage. Sometimes it can be very difficult to detect on these dark Logic Boards even when viewing them in person under good lighting.

I do know these USB-C Macs are much easier to damage the Logic Boards if low quality accessories & peripherals are used (especially a charger).

Hi,

I referenced the logic board schematic from the following site:

step 8 - schematic on the right

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+16-Inch+2019+Teardown/128106

This looks like the 512Gb flash storage device has 🔥 (burned)

Part number are Toshiba TSB4227VE8434CHNA11926 and TSB4227VE8437CHNA11926 flash storage and match the print of the burnt component in the photos

Definitely a hazard if this one is burning or overheating due to some reasons in the second year of their product life