Can I repair my MacBook Pro logic board instead of replacing?

satyaranjanputhal wrote:

I purchased mac book pro in Aug 2022 with added Processing Capacity and Memory, with price of 2500 USD and I rarely used the Mac book, approximately twice in a month, as I had another two Windows Laptop. Yesterday mac book pro battery drained out and charging did not happen.

Can anybody advise, should i take second opinion to find out, what going on with my mac ? Or any advise ?

If the battery was left at 0% charge level for any time, but especially an extended time, then most likely the battery is at fault. Many times when the battery is left completely drained for some time, the battery will not charge again. The longer the battery is at 0% charge level, the more likely the battery is permanently damaged.

If the battery is only at 0% charge level for a short time, it is sometimes possible for a tech to get the battery to charge again. Sometimes completely disconnecting the battery from the Logic Board, then powering on the laptop with the power adapter followed by reconnecting the battery while still powered on will allow the battery to start charging again. This procedure is more complicated with M-series laptops since they may not power on at all without the Battery connected.

In fact I just had an M-series laptop that would not charge the battery, but did power on with a power adapter. I was able to get the Battery to charge using this "procedure". I'm not sure which part was the most critical since I did not realize the M-series laptop would not power on at all with the Battery disconnected. It is possible just disconnecting the battery (both connections) was all that was needed to completely drain power from the Logic Board (sort of like an SMC Reset for Intel Macs). I would insist an Apple tech try such a procedure to ensure the Logic Board is really at fault. Unfortunately Apple techs just don't try another battery these days since most of the batteries are glued to the underside of the Palmrest & Trackpad so there is no easy way to quickly test a known good battery.

Of course I don't know what the Apple tech saw with your laptop. I just know that I would never replace a Logic Board without trying this procedure. Unfortunately there is no signs to users or techs about what is happening if video is not seen on the screen or a startup chime is not heard. There is no way to know if the laptop is powered on & just not booting. These M-series laptops are very hard to troubleshoot & diagnose. I'm sure Apple techs make a lot of mistakes these days due to their limited ability to know what is actually occurring on a non-responsive M-series Mac. This is the best advice I can provide from my so far limited experience supporting my organization's M-series laptops.

Without knowing exactly what failed here, you were given correct advice.

Component-level repairs are more effort and more skill and more time, with less reliable results, and the repairer can then be expected to warranty with any future issues or repairs.

Look at the teardown videos. Modern computers just don’t have many separate parts, and with ever-fewer connectors, and what components are used are increasingly integrated.

Next time you buy a Mac, buy AppleCare PLUS at the same time. Then for the first three years, renewable, if the screen or other major component fails for any reason you pay only the US$100 technician time, and Apple has to eat the cost of the display. A catastrophic failure like "fell down the stairs" costs only US$250 co-pay instead of the about $1000 retail repair cost.

But you have to sign up within 60 days of purchase, and Apple reserves the right to inspect your Mac if not bought at time of purchase. If you could buy AppleCare PLUS any time, only users with failures would buy it, and that would ruin the 'insurance effect'.

Consumer products, their warranties, and their extended warranties work in a predictable way.

Warrant-able implies, but does not guarantee, High Quality:

Consumer product makers build high quality products. You can tell because the manufacturer is willing to stand by their products and repair or replace them (but only for defects in materials or workmanship) at manufacturers expense for a stated warranty period.

For Apple Macs in most countries, that period is one year. That is the total responsibility Apple or any manufacturer has to you under law. Assumptions about additional responsibility of Apple or any other consumer product-maker's products working longer than the warranty period are not accurate. The amount you paid for the product has no bearing on this. The rules are the same for a car costing US$20,000 or more.

Complex Electro-mechanical devices fail at random, arbitrary, and capricious times.

The most frequent reason for most failures is 'just because'.

Your specific failure is most likely caused by an advanced scientific principle called ...

... 'bad luck'.

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If you want a really substantial lesson how this this works (or more precisely how this stops working) own an older used automobile.