How To Save Macbook From Water Damage

Spilled water on a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, what to do now?

You spilled water on a MacBook Air/Pro and it turned off almost instantly. What to practise now? Follow the instructions of this guide to minimize the liquid harm and increment the survival chance of your h2o damaged MacBook. This guide is written by the technicians and engineers who perform MacBook h2o damage repair hundreds of times every yr. Information technology not only tells you what to do if you spilled water on MacBooks but besides explains the reasons behind each step. It provides a comprehensive view deep inside the applied science blueprint of Apple MacBooks.

1. Switch OFF the water-damaged MacBook immediately.

This is the first thing you must exercise if yous spilled water on your Macbook Air or Pro. Concord down the power button for at to the lowest degree five seconds until the power is off and then release the button. Do not touch the push over again; otherwise, you may accidentally plough it on once more. Forget nearly any unsaved documents, the sooner you cut off the power, the safer your MacBook volition exist as well as your priceless data in it.

spilled water on macbook - force shut down the macbook

spilled a cup of coffee on a macbook pro

If the water-damaged MacBook cannot be turned off by holding the ability push button, information technology ways the MacBook keyboard has already stopped performance. The keyboard cannot send the software-level "Force Shutdown" control to the MacBook logic lath. Don't panic, yous still take other methods to shut down the Mac laptop.

Quickly utilise tissues to absorb the liquid that you can see on the surface of the MacBook keyboard, touchpad and screen, then close the chapeau directly away. By doing so you lot effectively activate the hardware-level sleep sensor. When the logic board detects the sleep sensor signal, it will cut off the power to the CPU, screen, SSD drive and most of supporting circuits.

The MacBook then enters into shallow sleep way. In the shallow sleep way, the memory fries are still receiving ability. This design enables the laptop to exist wakeup fast in normal use. Keep the lid closed for a while the MacBook will automatically enter into deep sleep mode. In deep sleep manner, the logic board cuts off the power to the retention chips. Your CPU, screen, SSD drive and RAM are all at safe hand now. Never open the chapeau to wake up (power-up) the laptop again.

If the MacBook screen is still on (you can see the light) even you close the lid, your MacBook's logic board is failing and out of command. But most of the time the damage is minor. At present if you can quickly unplug the charger and disconnect the battery from the logic lath, your MacBook still has a good chance of survival.

ii. Unplug the charger if it's yet connected to the water-damaged MacBook.

This step is less disquisitional than the get-go i. Unplugging the charger alone will NOT cut off the power to the CPU and other of import components. The internal MacBook battery is still powering the Mac laptop at total speed if you did not shut downward the laptop past holding the power push button. By unplugging the charger, yous turn off the charging circuit of the logic board. Even though h2o damage to the charging circuit is nearly 100% repairable, the excursion's higher voltage ( 14.5V for MacBook Air, 20V for MacBook Pro Retina ) is still a great threat. So unplug the charger now. If y'all can come up upwardly to this point, you lot take turned off 99% of the MacBook logic board circuits. The only remaining "ON" circuit is the "standby" circuit and it is much less destructive in a liquid damaged Mac laptop.

The MagSafe charger outputs xiv.5V for MacBook Air and 16.5-20V for MacBook Pro, it is misleading that you could get an electrical shock by touching the laptop. In fact, the MagSafe charger volition automatically close downward output if over-current or leakage-current is detected.

In an extremely rare case, if the MagSafe charger is also submerged in the liquid, the danger is from the charger'southward input power cord (240V Air conditioning in Australia and 110V Air-conditioning in the United States), non the output (20V or less) of the accuse. So in this case, it is notwithstanding safe to touch the water-damaged MacBook, merely non the charger. Y'all demand to unplug the power cord from the mains socket.

3. Prevent h2o from dripping into the vent holes and unplug any peripherals.

Do not movement the MacBook. You should attempt to cake the water from dropping into the vent holes located betwixt the keyboard and the screen. The vent holes are designed for transferring estrus out of the logic board to the open air. Protecting the logic board is the most crucial stride minimising damage from spilled water on a MacBook.

At that place is naught between the vent holes and the logic board as shown in the picture beneath. If yous tin can foreclose h2o from reaching the vent holes, y'all minimise the damage. Unplug whatever connected external USB drive and any other adopters. Employ a towel or tissues to blot the remaining water on the Macbook keyboard, touchpad and screen as quick as possible.

MacBook Pro vent holes top view and bottom view

spilled water macbook air pro

Our data shows that in about fourscore% of MacBook liquid damage cases, h2o had reached to the logic board from the vent holes. This is why blocking the water from the vent holes is first priority. Water too tin enter from the gaps of the touchpad, USB ports, charging port, Thunderbolt port and HDMI port. Since these gaps are very pocket-size, the h2o entered is express.

The MacBook keyboard has an air-tight machinery with ii layers of plastic sheets. The backlight layer of the keyboard besides provides extra protection past sealing the keyboard from underneath. It is almost impossible for the h2o entering directly from the MacBook keyboard to the logic board. A silicone keyboard comprehend will protect the keyboard, but not the dedicated Apple Mac logic lath. The silicone cover may assist to quickly distribute water to the vent holes or the touchpad gaps, resulting in more damage.

4. Remove the battery from the water-damaged MacBook

Turn over the MacBook, you may employ a pentagon screwdriver to open the back case cover, or a Phillip screwdriver to open the older models. Utilize your fingernail or a plastic stick to remove the bombardment connector from the logic lath.

Never use a metallic screwdriver. Otherwise, yous may short excursion the battery or even worse, destroy the SMC (System Management Controller) past sending the 12V battery power straight to it. How important is the SMC? Well, you can buy a new CPU from Intel, but yous cannot buy any new SMC from Apple! Y'all will take to wait for a donor SMC from a expressionless Mac of the verbal aforementioned model and aforementioned year.

spilled water macbook - disconnect the battery

There is no firsthand threat to your MacBook if you are at this betoken. Yous have turned off ALL the circuits on your dedicated logic board. Time to seek a professional person MacBook water damage repair service now.

IT-Tech Online has saved hundreds of liquid-damaged MacBooks every yr. If you lot have a liquid-harm Mac laptop, contact u.s. at present or use our postal service-in service in Australia.

5. Drain the MacBook while waiting for professional person MacBook water damage repair.

There are two methods of draining a water damage MacBook.

The first method is to identify the MacBook in the "tent" position. If your Mac laptop is a pre-2018 MacBook Air or a Pre-2013 MacBook Pro with a not-retina screen, this method will work for you. This method is easy and constructive on those older MacBook models as the screens are watertight. At that place is a front end aluminium frame ( in MacBook Air ) or a front protective glass ( in MacBook Pro with a not-retina screen) to foreclose the h2o from inbound into inside the screen.

Nonetheless, if you have a MacBook with retina screen, don't use the "tent" method. In order to make the new retina screens thinner, lighter and maximise the viewable section, Apple got rid of the bulky aluminium frame and protective glass. The new retina screens are NOT water-resistant. If you put this blazon of screen in "tent" position, you may assist to distribute the h2o from the bottom edge to the optical (reflective) picture within the screen. The affected screen may even so be functional, but the watermarks on the background heavily affect the image quality as shown in the photo below. Nosotros take seen this washed more ofttimes to water-damaged MacBooks with retina screen, specially the latest touch bar model. A new retina screen costs between $500 to $1200. Then if you lot take a retina screen, don't use the "tent" method.

The second method we hash out below tin can exist used for all type of MacBook screens. It will guaranty the water not getting into inside the screen.

Open MacBook lid at an angle of 90 degrees. Place it on the edge of a benchtop with the MacBook screen facing down to the bench and keyboard section hanging over the edge as shown in the photo below. Since the screen lays flat on the tabular array, the h2o will not move into within the screen and volition be stale upwardly quicker. Protect the screen by putting a kitchen paper towel nether the MacBook screen panel and prevent the MacBook from falling over the benchtop.

Spilled h2o on macbook - bleed water away from the macbook

spilled water macbook air pro

All mac laptops follow this pattern layout: the logic board is under the keyboard and the battery is under the touchpad. The gravity volition pull the remaining water from the keyboard towards the touchpad department, and finally off the MacBook case. Whatsoever water that has already got into the logic lath volition also be pulled into a less vulnerable department. With the bottom embrace removed, the water damage MacBook should be stale after 24 hours.

Warning: If you spilled water on MacBook Air 2018 or MacBook Pro 2016 onwards models, do not open the lid. Once yous open the lid, the MacBook volition automatically power up again unless you have already disconnected the battery from the logic board. This "automatically powering up" is the new characteristic of the latest MacBook design. Follow the same procedure to shut downwardly the laptop if y'all accidentally open it. Disconnecting the internal battery from these new MacBook models is a scrap complicated and is beyond the ability of a non-technical person. If you are in this situation, the best thing you lot can do is just letting the MacBook lie apartment with the lid closed and getting it serviced as soon as possible.

Practice not milkshake the water damaged MacBook, especially if the h2o is already in the hinge section. Doing this will merely spread the water around and force the h2o into dedicate components such as the BGA assurance of the CPU or the backlight moving picture of the screen.

6. A word on the hairdryer and the legend of using rice.

It has been pop to use uncooked rice and hairdryers to remedy a water-damaged MacBook. We accept constitute rice almost every week in the liquid-damaged MacBooks sent to our store for repair!

Rice found in a liquid-damage Macbook Air

There is nothing wrong with using a hairdryer or rice to dry out the MacBook, even though it is very inefficient and unnecessary most of the fourth dimension. The real damage of these legends lies in the idea of turning on the laptop without proper treatment after the drying process.

The electronic bridges known as shorted circuits could be formed anywhere among the logic board circuits by a mixture of moisture, dusks, minerals and sugar. In one case y'all plough on the laptop, these bridges get-go the killings, resulting in severe even fatal damages shown below.

Spilled water on macbook - logic lath chips corrosion

At that place is a gamble that the water did not make the way to the logic board and only the keyboard or touchpad got damaged. Spilling a minor amount of water does not guarantee the water did non reach to the logic board. The only way to find out safely is to pull the logic board out from the case and inspect it under a microscope. Without inspection and proper handling, turning on a water-damaged MacBook that has been stale is a hazard with very poor odds. This is the reason why spilled water and water harm is the number one killer of MacBooks. We never ability upwardly a reported liquid-harm MacBook straight. Instead, we volition pull the logic board out and assess the damage commencement. This simple step has helped us increasing the success rates.

vii. Types of MacBook water harm repair services currently available

If you spilled water on your MacBook, nosotros recommend taking information technology to a reputable service provider. Many of them have feel with h2o-damaged MacBook, even so, there are diverse types and "levels" of service they offer that you should be aware of:

Level ane: Make clean the logic lath. Make clean or supersede the keyboard, touchpad, screen, battery, and hard drive. Then assemble back to the instance for testing. If the logic board is faulty, you will exist informed the MacBook is not repairable. You might be asked to supervene upon the whole logic board at a high cost if a "refurbished" logic board is bachelor. Ordinarily, this type of service provider will accuse you an assessment fee since the cleaning work is time-consuming and the success rate is very low. The Apple authorised repairers and about third-party repairers provide this level of service.

A liquid-damaged MacBook will automatically void Apple'south standard warranty. If y'all have purchased AppleCare+ for Mac, your Mac volition be covered past Apple and a service fee will be practical. Apple does not provide data recovery services. If y'all need the data, yous have to become a Mac data recovery service from a third-party repairer before claiming the warranty.

Level 2: Clean or supplant the keyboard, touchpad, screen, battery, and hard bulldoze. Replace the corroded chips on the logic lath so clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner. A technician with micro-soldering skills tin can perform this task. The success rate of this service is higher than the previous ane, then the repairer may or may not charge an assessment fee. A few third-party repairers tin can provide this service as certain degrees of skills and knowledge required.

Level three: In add-on to the above services, an engineer will perform troubleshooting the remaining faulty fries which could non be spotted by a microscope. This chore requires high-level skills, cognition, equipment and most importantly: a comprehensive understanding of the Apple logic board pattern. In addition to the Apple contractors "Depot" facilities located simply in the US and Cathay, only a handful of third-party repairers provide service at this level. Nosotros provide this service in Melbourne and have mail-in from all over Australia. Ordinarily, this level repairers will not charge the cess fee equally the high success charge per unit volition comprehend the cost of the failed one.

viii. Final note: keep your MacBook abroad from its arch-enemy, your DRINK.

Spilled water on a MacBook Air or Pro is a very common Mac disaster and the most common kind of cases nosotros bargain with. If you lot plant this guide helpful, why don't you share it on social media with your friends and colleagues? They may demand it one 24-hour interval.

IT-Tech Online is a top Mac repair specialist in Australia. Our services include MacBook repairs, iMac repairs and Mac mini repairs.

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