Powered USB hub fried my MacBook Pro?

Hi, it's the first time I'm posting here, thank you all in advance for sharing your experiences.


I've just bought a second hand MacBook Pro 2014 two days ago, and until now it had been working perfectly. Today I bought a very cheap powered USB 3.0 hub and connected to the MacBook while the computer was off. The hub itself was on and with a HD connected to it, and the MacBook was connected to the MagSafe charger. When I pressed the power button nothing happened, no chime, no video, no burning smell, no sound, nothing. I disconnected the hub and MagSafe and it won't turn on.


Since then I've tried pretty much everything I could find on the web: disconnecting the battery, pressing the power button for ten seconds, SMC reset, and some other things. The fan spins, sometimes it spins and stops, sometimes it goes on and nothing else happens.


Is it possible that the Hub fried my logic board? What would be the possibilities? The MagSafe wasn't connected do a surge limiter, could that be it? Could the guy have sold me a MacBook with some non apparent problem? I ran apple diagnostics when I got it and it was fine.


Now I know I was way too negligent with the electrical part, but it's my first mac and I'd be very sorry if I broke it so soon.


Thank you!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Sierra (10.12.3)

Posted on Jan 27, 2017 7:15 PM

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12 replies

Jan 27, 2017 7:54 PM in response to Tomaz Lemos

Do you have access to an Apple Store? If so, you can get your Mac evaluated at the Genius Bar for free.


Be aware that there are a number of components such as the I/O board or Mag-safe board that could be the problem. It doesn't have to be the logic board. These smaller boards can be replaced and are a lot less expensive than a logic board. But you will need to get it evaluated at some point to diagnose the problem.

Jan 27, 2017 8:21 PM in response to Tomaz Lemos

Not sure what you mean by USB kill pendrive, but if the hub affected anything, the first place to look would be where it was plugged in. You might want to visit ifixit and look up your Mac and have a look at the various repair guides and get a better idea of what it is like inside:


https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro


There wouldn't be any point in actually replacing anything until you have a definitive diagnosis, but since you know where you plugged the hub in, you can see the part most likely to be affected. That might be helpful information.


Good luck!

Jan 27, 2017 8:03 PM in response to S.U.

Would that other circuits prevent it from starting if damaged? I really appreciate the replies, thank you very much.


The Apple Store I have access to is really far away but I could go there if needed. I do have access to some authorized services tough, is there any difference? I mean, in the Apple Store I'd leave the MacBook there for them to diagnose, or there's a different approach?


I live in Brasil, never been to the only Apple Store here (or anywhere actually) because of the distance.

Jan 27, 2017 9:52 PM in response to Tomaz Lemos

You would probably have to pay a fee at the AASP to have the Mac diagnosed, and given the time and expense of traveling a long distance to the Apple Store, the AASP might be the more practical option. There is no substitute for an experienced Apple authorized repairman looking at the Mac and determining exactly what the problem is. It could turn out to be something simple that is relatively cheap and easy to fix, or it could be much more serious.


In theory, USB ports are supposed to shut down to prevent further damage if there is a voltage problem, but I don't know what the mechanism is or if that process led to the Mac not working. It's really impossible to say. Your best bet is to take it in along with the hub and see if they can figure out what happened and what it might take to fix it. There's really no way to diagnose it on a forum like this one. Resetting the SMC is the usual cure for power problems and you've already done that numerous times.


Good luck!

Jan 28, 2017 3:05 AM in response to Tomaz Lemos

It just occurred to me that there might be another scenario that could explain all this. Possibly your power adaptor has failed and is no longer charging properly. In that case, the battery would drain and become exhausted and the Mac would shut down. With a dead charger and a dead battery, the Mac would be dead too, and all the resets in the world wouldn't get it going.


It's easy enough to test this hypothesis--just try a known good charger. Possibly a friend has one, but the AASP would have one for sure. If the charger turns out to be the problem, then in all likelihood your Mac is fine and all you'll need to do is to buy a new power adaptor.


If you end up needing to do this, be sure you get a genuine Apple charger from an AASP or other trusted source. Be aware that there are many cheap counterfeit ones on Amazon and elsewhere.


Good luck!

Feb 16, 2017 5:30 PM in response to Tomaz Lemos

Hi everyone, I´m back here with sequels of the story. The authorized apple service said they needed to replace the logic board and that would cost me an ridiculous amount of money, so I didn´t do it.


I then took the macbook to an unauthorized technician and he tryied to fix it, but had no success. He said the damage went all the way to the processor. and so I would have to buy another logic board, which a friend of him had for half the price as Apple´s, which is still a lot of money.


Here comes the questions: is it really possible that the energy blew even the processor and the logic board is in fact beyond repair? And if I buy his friend´s board, is it possible for me to know if it´s a repaired one just by removing the bottom case? Would there be soldering marks or something? I don´t really know the technician and wouldn´t like to buy an refurbished one without knowing.


I´m decided to save this MacBook no matter what, but I´ve already spent a large sum buying it in the first place, Apple´s hardware is really expensive here in Brasil.


Thank you all very much, I really appreciate any light you can shed on this matter!

Feb 16, 2017 7:07 PM in response to Tomaz Lemos

This is not sounding good. If the AASP says the logic board needs to be replaced, and if they are competent to determine this, then that might well be the reality. This all seems to have happened when you connected the hub. I've never heard of a powered hub doing this, but I suppose anything is possible. If a logic board can be destroyed by a USB killer, then it's possible it could be destroyed by a different USB device. Super cheap devices are often counterfeit with unknown capabilities.


Modern logic boards need to be repaired by a BGA (Ball Grid Array) specialist, and you would not really be able to tell the difference between a repaired one and a new one. Generally after a reball the board is as good as new provided that none of the chips on it were compromised to begin with. It's also possible that you are being offered a used logic board, which might well be half the price of a new one. If you want to consider this option, try and find out a little more about it and especially if it has a money back guarantee.


Hard to say what to do at this point. First thing might be to ascertain from the AASP if everything else is OK or if there could also be damage to any of the other internal components. The logic board is definitely the most expensive component, but it's possible there may be others.


Has anybody had a good look at the hub? The AASP or even the unauthorized guy might be able to measure to see if it did in fact deliver a jolt of voltage to your Mac. If it looks like it could have, that would at least be a confirmation that the hub was the culprit.


There is a source of parts and instructions in the US called ifixit. I don't know if they ship to Brasil, but if they do, that might be a possible source for a logic board:


https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_15%22_Retina_Display_Mid_2014


Not cheap here either, but still a good source of information.


Really sorry not to be able to help more. This is one of those cases where the Mac needs to be evaluated in person. I don't know if it would be worth the trip to the Apple Store to get another opinion, but that might be worth the effort before actually doing anything. In the end you will just have to think it over and decide what you want to do.


Good luck!

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Powered USB hub fried my MacBook Pro?

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