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When spilled water on MacBook Pro keyboard?

Ok, I haven't spilled water yet however, I just wanted to prepare for the accident so I don't have to lose my valuable investment.

I have done some research however, there were some controversies so I came to ask for the best answer from the Apple Support Communities people.

So what is the best course of action when spilled water on MBP keyboard?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Aug 29, 2012 11:25 PM

Reply
125 replies

Oct 29, 2013 4:13 PM in response to steve359

We're not even necessarily talking about sugar-based solvents - it could be just water, which itself conducts as it is an ionic solvent.


The owner should take their own steps to fix their own property i.e. dry it out first. Then if it still doesn't work, then pay Apple a month's wages, if they can afford to.


Once again I ask what have light bulbs got in common with computer motherboards? Answer - not much.

Oct 29, 2013 4:25 PM in response to sevenmilesup

sevenmilesup, greetings; I have never witnessed a liquid spill on a MBP, but were you present the three times that permitted you to execute your step 1?


I quote:


"1) Turn it upside down IMMEDIATELY, even before you power it off. By the time you have wasted 5 seconds shutting it down, the liquid will have drained much further in."


My suspicions and doubts are raised.


Ciao.

Oct 29, 2013 4:59 PM in response to sevenmilesup

sevenmilesup, greetings; Not to fret, I did receive your response. No I do not work for Apple nor have I ever worked for them. I do use some of their products.


I certainly am not Judge Judy, but occasionally I do get my curiosity aroused.


You indicate that you have witnessed two times spillages on MBPs and using your technique 'saved' them. My intuition says that it would be rare for one person to be present at one such event. To be present at two, suggests astronomical odds. I suppose if one associates with mostly clumsy people, that may very well be possible.


Nevertheless I am inclined to believe that there is an element of Taurus Excremnetum involved here.


You response, which I edited the vulgarities, is here.


User uploaded file

Ciao.

Oct 29, 2013 5:13 PM in response to sevenmilesup

Ogelthorpe is correct, ........as to the claim from the other party that Apple would "talk you into a logic board"


the fact is that there is very little inside many notebooks today BUT a logic board and its the "huge internal landing pad for spills"


As per the Macbook Air, there is NOTHING inside it essentially but a huge battery and a logic board (and IO board and 2 speakers)



The common notion that you can "dry it out and turn it on" doesnt work and never will 99 times out of a 100.


In answer to Ogel about spills, Ive seen 3 spills firsthand,... one in college, one at a former workplace, and another at cousins house. (I think Ive seen 4 or 5 spills, but cant recall the others).


ANY 'signifigant' spill is going to cause serious damage, turned on or NOT, the liquid is inside


Turning a notebook upside down does NOTHING .....once the liquid rushes inside the top, the keyboard acts like a one way valve.

This is hard and fast proven fact.


Ive taken dead laptops and poured half a glass in and turned it upside down and very little will come out, it will roll to the corners inside and just wreck MORE havoc


I should make a video proving that BIG SPILLS wont "come out" when you turn them upside down. 😊


Ive done it before, but not filmed it.

Oct 29, 2013 5:10 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Your intuition is wrong then. You are saying that it is unlikely that one person could possibly have witnessed a liquid being spilled on two computers, and hence that my account cannot be true? Over 40 years I've probably seen at least 10 such incidents with keyboards, albeit most of them PC ones either in the workplace or elsewhere. That's only one every 4 years, which is hardly that surprising.


What about the other posters who have agreed with me that this is their experience too?


I've now e-mailed the CEO by the way, so no doubt my posts will now be allowed whilst the moderators fret on what to do.

Oct 29, 2013 5:31 PM in response to sevenmilesup

sevenmilesup

PV, please explain the mechanism by which this damage occurs when the machine is powered off.


Moisture and residue


"SPILL" has no qualifier......I used to repair laptops long ago for many years......acetone spills, jelly spills, coffee, water, soda, milk, juice...


Spill itself doesnt mean anything. WHAT was spilled.......WHERE did it land/ roll to.


Damage occurs anywhere and everywhere, the one thing we detested the most when I used to fix them, (not Apple laptops) was fixing things on dried spill residue was a guessing game


replace A, test it......ok now B is also bad.......replace B, test it........ok, now XYZ is also bad.


people would return "fixed" laptops because another part failed we couldnt magically determine was damaged, ...it makes the repairman look like the fool, when in fact outside of gutting a laptop and putting ALL NEW inside (and then whats the point?, there is none, just get a new machine),.... you cannot do that logically. When a "repair" becomes a "replacement" you havent repaired anything because its all (90%) damaged/destroyed



sevenmilesup

The point is that the big spill doesn't have to drain out immediately.


Does not work that way, nope.


once the liquid rushes inside the top, the keyboard acts like a one way valve.

This is hard and fast proven fact.


sevenmilesup

All that is required is that the liquid dries before the unit is powered on,


Nope, not true at ALL,......most spills arent water, they leave HORRIBLE residue behind. And when dried out and powered on, catastrophic failure occurs.


even pure filtered water will NEVER "dry out" on a major spill even on an unpowered notebook.


Why? there are 1000 tiny tiny crevices that will remain wet for a long long looonng time. Seen it often.


😊

Jan 9, 2014 4:06 PM in response to jykim0806

After hearing what has happened to people in this post, i'm guessing I was pretty lucky because I spilled water on my MacBook Pro and the screen turned almost like a static TV screen (RAM/Battery) The sleep light flashed and it beeped, but after putting it outside in the sun and then holding it in the freezer for about 20 seconds it was good as new!

When spilled water on MacBook Pro keyboard?

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