1 of 2 usb-c ports on my macbook won't accept power to charge the battery. i'm trying to remove the usb board to check it for obstructions or replace it, but my eyes are terrible and i can't seem to figure out what screwdriver i need. does anyone know which screwdriver it takes?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 14.2
ktanaka408 wrote:
1 of 2 usb-c ports on my macbook won't accept power to charge the battery.
It may mean the contacts of that one USB-C port has corrosion (from liquid damage) or maybe it is very dirty.
From supporting my organization's Macs I find these USB-C ports tend to easily become liquid damaged. I have seen a lot of them with corrosion and liquid residue. However, the Logic Boards can fail where one USB-C port won't work. It will be one of these two parts.
i'm trying to remove the usb board to check it for obstructions or replace it, but my eyes are terrible and i can't seem to figure out what screwdriver i need. does anyone know which screwdriver it takes?
As I mentioned in my response to @Grant, you will need to remove the Logic Board because the I/O Board is beneath the Logic Board. There are a lot of very fragile easily damaged cables & connectors. If you don't also remove the Antenna Board, then it is a bit tricky to remove & reinstall the Logic Board due to the wireless antennas. The Antenna Board has the smallest screws around (12 of them)...probably with a screw head diameter about 1mm and screw length maybe 2mm. There are a lot of other cables that must be gently pulled out of the way to remove/install the Logic Board (more difficult when reinstalling the Logic Board).
The laptop uses screws requiring a T3 and T5 Torx, while the Antenna Board screws require a Pentalobe 1 driver. I forget the driver needed for the Bottom Case, but I think it may be a Pentalobe 5, but not certain. The Bottom Case can be difficult to remove and reinstall since it has both snaps (4 of them....2 are very strong) and also clips which require sliding the bottom case (those clips are tight). I've seen people damage internal components trying to remove the Bottom Case.
You will most likely need to use a magnifier if you decide to go ahead with it.
I would suggest you first try to check the contacts of the USB-C ports using a bright light and strong magnifier. It is tricky to be able to see those contacts since the opening is so narrow. However, it is possible to tilt the laptop just right to get a decent view. You need to check both the top & bottom of the USB-C ports. Unfortunately this is only useful if you see something on the contacts since it is possible to miss seeing tiny bits of corrosion at the back of the port. I always perform this inspection to catch the obvious cases so I can keep the user from having problems if I'm not removing the Logic Board, but when I've removed the I/O Board I have found signs of corrosion that were quite significant which surprised me since I thought I had gotten a good view of the contacts through the opening.
Unfortunately iFixIt doesn't have a guide for this, but they do have a couple of guides that may help a just a little bit.
This laptop is not very easy to work on. Everything is small & fragile. Chances are you will need to use a magnifier for some parts. I'm not trying to complete dissuade you from doing this project if you are tinkerer, but I want you to let you know what you are getting into so you know the risks. You may want to watch a YouTube video to observe what is involved....more than likely someone has a video showing the removal of the Logic Board (keep in mind many of those people may not do things well or correctly, but they can still give an idea of what to expect).
If the contacts of the USB-C ports are clean & in good shape with no signs of liquid residue, corrosion, or burn/scorch marks, then the Logic Board is probably bad. Each USB-C port has their own individual chips which is why one port may work, but the other does not. In fact each port has two chips since the USB-C port connections allow cables to connect either way. Sometimes rotating the USB-C connector on a cable 180 degrees upside down can allow an external device to function better (even the charger). I have never had to replace an I/O Board for a natural failure, only damaged ones.
Good luck if you decide to go ahead with the project.
ktanaka408 wrote:
1 of 2 usb-c ports on my macbook won't accept power to charge the battery.
It may mean the contacts of that one USB-C port has corrosion (from liquid damage) or maybe it is very dirty.
From supporting my organization's Macs I find these USB-C ports tend to easily become liquid damaged. I have seen a lot of them with corrosion and liquid residue. However, the Logic Boards can fail where one USB-C port won't work. It will be one of these two parts.
i'm trying to remove the usb board to check it for obstructions or replace it, but my eyes are terrible and i can't seem to figure out what screwdriver i need. does anyone know which screwdriver it takes?
As I mentioned in my response to @Grant, you will need to remove the Logic Board because the I/O Board is beneath the Logic Board. There are a lot of very fragile easily damaged cables & connectors. If you don't also remove the Antenna Board, then it is a bit tricky to remove & reinstall the Logic Board due to the wireless antennas. The Antenna Board has the smallest screws around (12 of them)...probably with a screw head diameter about 1mm and screw length maybe 2mm. There are a lot of other cables that must be gently pulled out of the way to remove/install the Logic Board (more difficult when reinstalling the Logic Board).
The laptop uses screws requiring a T3 and T5 Torx, while the Antenna Board screws require a Pentalobe 1 driver. I forget the driver needed for the Bottom Case, but I think it may be a Pentalobe 5, but not certain. The Bottom Case can be difficult to remove and reinstall since it has both snaps (4 of them....2 are very strong) and also clips which require sliding the bottom case (those clips are tight). I've seen people damage internal components trying to remove the Bottom Case.
You will most likely need to use a magnifier if you decide to go ahead with it.
I would suggest you first try to check the contacts of the USB-C ports using a bright light and strong magnifier. It is tricky to be able to see those contacts since the opening is so narrow. However, it is possible to tilt the laptop just right to get a decent view. You need to check both the top & bottom of the USB-C ports. Unfortunately this is only useful if you see something on the contacts since it is possible to miss seeing tiny bits of corrosion at the back of the port. I always perform this inspection to catch the obvious cases so I can keep the user from having problems if I'm not removing the Logic Board, but when I've removed the I/O Board I have found signs of corrosion that were quite significant which surprised me since I thought I had gotten a good view of the contacts through the opening.
Unfortunately iFixIt doesn't have a guide for this, but they do have a couple of guides that may help a just a little bit.
This laptop is not very easy to work on. Everything is small & fragile. Chances are you will need to use a magnifier for some parts. I'm not trying to complete dissuade you from doing this project if you are tinkerer, but I want you to let you know what you are getting into so you know the risks. You may want to watch a YouTube video to observe what is involved....more than likely someone has a video showing the removal of the Logic Board (keep in mind many of those people may not do things well or correctly, but they can still give an idea of what to expect).
If the contacts of the USB-C ports are clean & in good shape with no signs of liquid residue, corrosion, or burn/scorch marks, then the Logic Board is probably bad. Each USB-C port has their own individual chips which is why one port may work, but the other does not. In fact each port has two chips since the USB-C port connections allow cables to connect either way. Sometimes rotating the USB-C connector on a cable 180 degrees upside down can allow an external device to function better (even the charger). I have never had to replace an I/O Board for a natural failure, only damaged ones.
Good luck if you decide to go ahead with the project.
Save your Energy.
The A2159 looks up to MacBook Pro 13-in 2019 two Thunderbolt-3 ports.
I am fairly sure that model does not have a separate I/O board. Everything is on the main board. What you will find is an impenetrable shield around a connector module soldered directly to the board. no wires to break. "No user serviceable parts inside".
The tiny parts and very delicate connectors are extremely cranky.
Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:
Save your Energy.
The A2159 looks up to MacBook Pro 13-in 2019 two Thunderbolt-3 ports.
I am fairly sure that model does not have a separate I/O board. Everything is on the main board.
Actually I believe it does have a separate I/O Board, but all of the Intel USB-C laptops require removing the Logic Board to access the I/O Boards so it is a very involved process and very risky since there are so many fragile and very easily damaged cables & connectors. The 2016 & 2017 non-touchbar models were the ones with USB-C ports integrated into the Logic Board.
macbook a2159 usb-c screws?
