Do polycarbonate protective skins protect against drop damage?

Question

Do polycarbonate protective skins protect against drop damage?

I carry my 17" Macbook Pro in a padded Targus laptop case. I recently droped the case from about 4 feet up, and it landed vertically on concrete right on the corner of the case (padded but not reinforced).

The MBP case in the corner is dented/crumpled, and the ethernet plug is pushed out of place (can't get a connector in there any more; it also appears to have separated slightly from the motherboard). The power connector looks OK, but I haven't tried recharging it yet. The screen corner in the same area in bent down, but the screen opens.

The system boots and seems to operate fine, except that there is a line of green pixels on the entire left edge of the screen, and the screen replaces some colors with bright green pixels that sometimes pulsate.

So it's off to the Apple Store to have the case and screen repaired...but I was wondering - would adding one of the polycarbonate protective skins have prevented this damage? I only describe the damage so you can get a feel for the level of impact force.

My gut feeling is that for the level of force involved and the location of impact (remember that it was enough to inflict this damage thru a professional-level padded travel case), that the add-on skins would not have done much to prevent the damage. Since they're snap-on, I suspect that the big hit on the corner would have popped off the covers, leaving them relatively unscathed, but the case and screen would still have been dented/damaged.

Anyone have experience with this situation? If there's a high likelihood of protection, I'll get one, but don't want to bother if not. This is a working laptop, so cosmetic protection/enhancement is not an issue,

Thanks!

MacBook Pro

Posted on Dec 12, 2011 9:53 AM

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Answer 1

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Dec 12, 2011 10:48 AM in response to johnfromvista

Polycarbonate shells are purely illusory protection against anything more than superficial cosmetic scratches. They add almost no resistance to pressure or impacts. They can even exacerbate scratching by trapping tiny particles of grit against the aluminum case that would simply have fallen away if the shell hadn't been in place. A complete waste of money, in my opinion. And they impair radiative cooling of the case to some extent.

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Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 9

77,816 points

Dec 12, 2011 10:38 AM in response to johnfromvista

I've not tested this but, like you, I feel a skin/cover of any sort would not have changed the outcome very much. Logic (and working with failure modes during my working career) tells me that case might actually reduce point damage where the main force hits the case, but not do much in preventing the bending that took down your port. I also feel that shock damage to internal parts would only be minimally reduced by something so thin.

Be prepared to find out the logic board may be damaged where the ethernet port was stressed. This is not gong to be cheap, and AppleCare does not cover accidental damage. If you have homeowners'/renters' insurance. notify your carrier. Some policies will help you in cases like this.

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Answer 3

Dec 12, 2011 10:53 AM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks for the prompt reply...my wife just call from the Apple Store, repairs thru them will cost $1,240...

I was not anticipating AppleCare coverage, but that's a good call on the Homeowner's insurance. I'll give them a shout, see what they say.

The Apple Store suggested possibly going thru a 3rd party to get minimum level of repairs done (i.e. replace the logic board, straighten the case "as much as possible"). If insurance does not cover it, I'm inclined to go that route.

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