Just dropped my Macbook Pro Retina

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

It fell out of my bag! The corner where the charging port is now on a 30 degree slant, the unibody is completely bent and the screen doesn't really close all the way now. The bottom casing is absolutely messed (it's like an L shape)

What can I do? And how much do you think it would cost to repair such a thing? Do you think Apple can take care of the repair at a discounted rate? I'm don't really want to spend > $500 on a repair for this computer that I've already spent >$2000 on

Any tips would be helpful thanks! (pics if anyone wants)

It's still very cosmetic problems though, the computer still works miraculously very well.

Dweez · Sep 28, 2012

Take it to your local Apple store & find out. Just out of curiosity, did you purchase Apple Care? Not that your type of damage might be covered under Apple Care, but it'd show that you made the effort to protect the device.

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

Dweez said:
Take it to your local apple store & find out.

I will as soon as I get the time, just trying to gauge any experience in this matter that the community has

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Dweez said:
Take it to your local Apple store & find out. Just out of curiosity, did you purchase Apple Care?

No I haven't purchased Apple Care yet, it's till under the 1 year Apple Care it comes with.

Dark Void · Sep 28, 2012

Pics!

The repair will probably cost much more than $500. In any case it would be best to take it in just for some insight, or at least post pictures here. It may appear to be simply cosmetic and still function properly now but the damage could end up affecting some of the internal components.

T5BRICK · Sep 28, 2012

Dweez said:
Take it to your local Apple store & find out. Just out of curiosity, did you purchase Apple Care? Not that your type of damage might be covered under Apple Care, but it'd show that you made the effort to protect the device.

They'd most likely attribute it to abuse and charge the full price if the repair.

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

T5BRICK said:
They'd most likely attribute it to abuse and charge the full price if the repair.

Well the computer is spot clean and doesn't have a single dent in it. That would be ****ing awful of Apple.

Here's a pic

Dark Void · Sep 28, 2012

Use TIMG tags on your image.

That looks awful by the way. You are surely going to run into problems later on, not to be negative but rather realistic. I'm surprised it still works in the first place.

Did you drop it off of a building?

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

Dark Void said:
Use TIMG tags on your image.

That looks awful by the way. You are surely going to run into problems later on, not to be negative but rather realistic. I'm surprised it still works in the first place.

Did you drop it off of a building?

No I dropped it from waist high, bag level. This laptop isn't very sturdy.

Dark Void · Sep 28, 2012

wankey said:
no I dropped it from waist high. This laptop isn't very sturdy.

Looks disastrous for those circumstances.

It sounded like it wouldn't be that bad in your initial post. Like "yeah it's not really flush anymore," haha.

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

Dark Void said:
Looks disastrous for those circumstances.

It sounded like it wouldn't be that bad in your initial post. Like "yeah it's not really flush anymore," haha.

Neither did I, it fell from my bag, I thought nothing of it, picked it up and checked quickly thought there was nothing and went on with my day until I really looked at every corner and saw that.

I feel it landed exactly on that pressure point or something.

Dark Void · Sep 28, 2012

wankey said:
Neither did I, it fell from my bag, I thought nothing of it, picked it up and checked quickly thought there was nothing and went on with my day until I really looked at every corner and saw that.

I feel it landed exactly on that pressure point or something.

Perhaps so.

In any case it's going to be quite a costly repair.

T5BRICK · Sep 28, 2012

wankey said:
No I dropped it from waist high, bag level. This laptop isn't very sturdy.

You dropped it from about 3 feet onto a hard surface, I'm guessing it was tile or concrete. That could cause some major damage to any laptop if it landed right on a corner.

I don't think it would be awful to charge you more than $500 for a repair. That is a lot of damage

dade247 · Sep 28, 2012

Hopefully there is nothing wrong with the logic board, then maybe you can just have them replace the bottom a lot more than 500 i thinks

Try looking at :apple:

consultants

heisenberg123 · Sep 28, 2012

wankey said:
Neither did I, it fell from my bag, I thought nothing of it, picked it up and checked quickly thought there was nothing and went on with my day until I really looked at every corner and saw that.

I feel it landed exactly on that pressure point or something.

did it get worse from the initial drop? how did you not notice right away

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

iisforiphone said:
did it get worse from the initial drop? how did you not notice right away

No I just took a quick glance (probably just checked 3 sides) and I was looking for screen warpage or some obvious problems.

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dade247 said:
Hopefully there is nothing wrong with the logic board, then maybe you can just have them replace the bottom a lot more than 500 i thinks

Try looking at consultants

There's nothing wrong with the logic board, screen or anything, all the connectors work fine, it's just the power cable part that's warped. There's not a single dent on the machine except for that part.

Basically I just need the bottom plate, and the casing with the keyboard, but I read that the battery, keyboard and the unibody case are all GLUED together?

joshhedge · Sep 28, 2012

Nice bike by the way OP, what model is it?

Mrbobb · Sep 28, 2012

If ur lucky, your credit card may have an accidental damage coverage.

I've never, EVER dropped my laptops, lots of spills, food, tomato sauce

but never dropped.

wankey · Sep 28, 2012

Mrbobb said:
If ur lucky, your credit card may have an accidental damage coverage.

I've never, EVER dropped my laptops, lots of spills, food, tomato sauce but never dropped.

Me neither, it was my bag's fault. The bag's zipper literally splits it in half (I had no noticed, my gf bought it for me, had I bought the bag I wouldn't have bought it) so it opens itself completely.

I had some heavy books in the front pocket of the bag, with the laptop in the "laptop portion" of the bag, that portion unzipped itself completely.

It's very frustrating since it's not something I could've have done manually or accidentally, it was just ****** design.

I was going to buy one of those over the shoulder laptop bags where this problem would never have possibly occured.

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joshhedge said:
Nice bike by the way OP, what model is it?

It's a trek 1.5, I should've spent 3k on the bike, and 1.5k on the mac instead of the other way round.

JesseW6889 · Sep 28, 2012

wankey said:
Me neither, it was my bag's fault. The bag's zipper literally splits it in half (I had no noticed, my gf bought it for me, had I bought the bag I wouldn't have bought it) so it opens itself completely.

I had some heavy books in the front pocket of the bag, with the laptop in the "laptop portion" of the bag, that portion unzipped itself completely.

It's very frustrating since it's not something I could've have done manually or accidentally, it was just ****** design.

I was going to buy one of those over the shoulder laptop bags where this problem would never have possibly occured.

Every major apple accident has a woman behind it... What bag are you using? I have the same issue with my Timbuk2 Swig... it has a zipper along the side for access to just the laptop, but I'll forget its open and put it in on the top. Still haven't dropped it dropped it, thankfully!

I'd second that you should check with your credit card company. I have a discover card that automatically covers stuff for the first 90 days. I know Visa and AMEX do it too. You just have to have purchased it WITH the card.

AlexMaximus · Sep 28, 2012

Some ideas..

wankey said:
I will as soon as I get the time, just trying to gauge any experience in this matter that the community has

I used to work on aluminium parts in the aerospace industry. Aluminium is a very soft metal, hence the bending of the case and the absorption of energy from your drop.

My advice would be this:

1. In order to do an effective repair, you would need some skills in basic metal working. You need to split your repair work in two basic parts:
A) Priority Nr.1 should be a mechanical and functional fix:

I would completely disassemble the whole notebook and separate the metal chassis from the electrical parts. After that you can use metal blocks to carefully bend parts back in its original position to allow normal shut/closing functionality. Check out youtube if you have not done this in the past. With heavy bend angles there is a chance of breaking of thin metal on critical areas! Be careful!

B) Priority Nr.2 is cosmetics:

Depending on your craftsmanship you would have various chances for getting the damage fixed up to 9.5 points out of 10 depending of budget.

1. Finishing of the surface in the visible area:
- Grinding with paper and water/oil (400 & 600) for rough areas. (start inside first to inspect outcome!)
- Polishing paper and metal finish products. (metal polishing or metal rubber)
- Sometimes a Drehmel Tool for rough metal grinding and polishing can help
- Look for information at local manufacturing and machine shop companies and ask if they do metal bruising and/or sand blasting for metal finish.
- Consider aluminium oxide coating finish.
- Just ask people like below to get an idea whats possible.

http://www.metalfinishingco.com/finish.html
http://www.aclassmetal.com.au/metal-finishing-services-general.php

I am sure they can help or have other ideas. Make photos, send them a picture and ask for a quotation. Asking does not cost you a nickel. Maybe they have some ideas.

One problem you will encounter:

If the damage is not significant, you may just bend the parts back and be done with it. This way you have to live with the scars on the outside.
If your damage is "big time" and a simple bending will not be satisfactory to you, you need to grind. This most likely means you have to do the whole part, not just the area of damage. Otherwise you will have only a partial area grinder and the whole thing will look odd. This would mean more cost and maybe
professional help. Consider also an airbrush. Maybe you consult with a professional artist to do a fine art airbrush on the back of you machine to mask the damaged area. This way you even get a unique item.

Good luck!

----------

wankey said:

I will as soon as I get the time, just trying to gauge any experience in this matter that the community has

I used to work on aluminium parts in the aerospace industry. Aluminium is a very soft metal, hence the bending of the case and the absorption of energy from your drop.

My advice would be this:

1. In order to do an effective repair, you would need some skills in basic metal working. You need to split your repair work in two basic parts:
A) Priority Nr.1 should be a mechanical and functional fix:

I would completely disassemble the whole notebook and separate the metal chassis from the electrical parts. After that you can use metal blocks to carefully bend parts back in its original position to allow normal shut/closing functionality. Check out youtube if you have not done this in the past. With heavy bend angles there is a chance of breaking of thin metal on critical areas! Be careful!

B) Priority Nr.2 is cosmetics:

Depending on your craftsmanship you would have various chances for getting the damage fixed up to 9.5 points out of 10 depending of budget.

1. Finishing of the surface in the visible area:
- Grinding with paper and water/oil (400 & 600) for rough areas. (start inside first to inspect outcome!)
- Polishing paper and metal finish products. (metal polishing or metal rubber)
- Sometimes a Drehmel Tool for rough metal grinding and polishing can help
- Look for information at local manufacturing and machine shop companies and ask if they do metal bruising and/or sand blasting for metal finish.
- Consider aluminium oxide coating finish.
- Just ask people like below to get an idea whats possible.

http://www.metalfinishingco.com/finish.html
http://www.aclassmetal.com.au/metal-finishing-services-general.php

I am sure they can help or have other ideas. Make photos, send them a picture and ask for a quotation. Asking does not cost you a nickel. Maybe they have some ideas.

One problem you will encounter:

If the damage is not significant, you may just bend the parts back and be done with it. This way you have to live with the scars on the outside.
If your damage is "big time" and a simple bending will not be satisfactory to you, you need to grind. This most likely means you have to do the whole part, not just the area of damage. Otherwise you will have only a partial area grinder and the whole thing will look odd. This would mean more cost and maybe
professional help. Consider also an airbrush. Maybe you consult with a professional artist to do a fine art airbrush on the back of you machine to mask the damaged area. This way you even get a unique item.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

FuNGi · Sep 28, 2012

^ a drehmel for what? I don't think the finish is a priority concern...

I would take a vice and slowly ben that corner back down a bit so it can close properly. Hopefully you get a nice genius that cuts you a break on this thing. My feeling is that they won't repair it, only replace damage that intensive.

twietee · Sep 28, 2012

Did you thought about contacting the bag manufacturer already? As you described it it is partly designed to protect especially laptops. A friends laptop bags cord ripped apart due some minor weight (that's what he told them at least) and his MBP got dropped, damaged and didn't work 100% correctly afterwards. They got an agreement finally and either split the repairing costs or paid fully for it, can't remember exactly.

Orlandoech · Sep 28, 2012

Lol should have been more careful and it wouldn't have happened. People never cease to amaze me.

Syndra · Sep 28, 2012

Not gonna lie, it will cost you a ******** of money.
I scratched my retina screen for some reason (something got stuck between the screen and keyboard while I closed it.)
To give you an idea: it would cost me €988 to replace the screen.

You're pretty screwed tbh.

Macral · Sep 28, 2012

Wow, that is a very major damage.
Definitely will cost you a lot.

Just dropped my Macbook Pro Retina

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