Buying Applecare After Water Damage

[Mr$Whale]

So over a week ago, I was walking back from my job around 2am. I stopped to print some stuff off, and noticed my lower back was wet. Upon further investigation, a water bottle broke open in my backpack soaking through an econ textbook, stack of articles, newspaper and a neoprene macbook case. I opened the case, and water got into my macbook aluminum. I didn't turn it on, opened it up, and let it air out for a few days. The computer works fine nowadays, and the only damage was to the battery, which needs replaced.

I didn't buy Apple Care when I bought my macbook in October. With the water damage, is it even worth buying Apple Care at this point as the water damage stickers are all 'activated' in my Macbook, thus voiding the warranty right?

 

[billyjoegibsonx]

buying applecare won't protect you against water damage. applecare is only if the computer itself is faulty. accidental damage isn't included. if you still however want to extended your applecare warranty to 3 years, then i'm sure it doesn't really matter if the computer has water damage. correct me if im wrong, but i believe you just buy the extended warranty out apple retail shop or online and activate it. I don't believe your computer will be inspected.

You say that your computer is working fine now, and its just the battery that needs replaced? I suppose you could TRY going to an apple retail store and explaining what happened, they might give you a replacement battery, if not, just buy one. However if my memory serves me right, they're about £100 off apples online store.

 

[GGJstudios]

Sure, you can still buy AppleCare. However, if you need any service, they can always refuse to provide it free, if they determine that water damage is a contributing factor. You could still get free phone support and possibly help with other things.

 

[Icestorm815]

I don't know about your computer, but when I bought my iphone I was told that if the water sensors were activated it voided my applecare (well the repair end of it, not the tech support). So I'm pretty sure you'd be the one who has to pay for the battery replacement. Honestly, I'd recommend against buying the applecare at this point because as GGJstudios said, they could just refuse to repair anything by citing water damage. As for support wise, MacRumors has a great forum where you can search for similar problems or ask about new ones.

 

[antibact1]

Don't waste your money on it. If they do any inspection at all they will discover the water damage and void your warranty. Save the money you would have spent on the warranty for a new computer.

 

[Mr$Whale]

Yea, I wasn't necessarily trying to get the Apple Care for a replacement battery, but I was still considering it for down the road. But my concern was that with the water damage I would simply be refused coverage if there was a hardware failure or I needed a legitimate repair, even if it wasn't caused by the water damage.

Idea: take to an Apple Store in the future and talk to Genius and see what they recommend?

 

[kastenbrust]

Buy it from Ebay for around 80% less than Apple sells it. I would tell you to buy it from Ebay anyway to save money, but at least if you get it from Ebay, and then Apple wont repair your computer due to the water damage you wont have wasted much money, and if they do repair it then you will have bagged yourself a bargain

 

[aaronw1986]

Yea, I wasn't necessarily trying to get the Apple Care for a replacement battery, but I was still considering it for down the road. But my concern was that with the water damage I would simply be refused coverage if there was a hardware failure or I needed a legitimate repair, even if it wasn't caused by the water damage.

Idea: take to an Apple Store in the future and talk to Genius and see what they recommend?

If you want it flagged in the system as having water damage, then yes.

 

[Abstract]

I'd go to a small Apple reseller, have him open it up for you under warranty, and check for water damage. It shouldn't cost you anything, but ask them first. Tell them what happened and see what they say. If they tell you that there's visible water damage, then you already know what would happen if you had to go in for a big repair. If they see nothing, then buy AppleCare. Water damage should be easy for them to spot.

If you have problems with your logic board later, they can't fix it under AppleCare no matter how nice they are, or how much they want to help you fix it for free. If they sent it back to Apple and tell them it was because of the integrated graphics (for example) rather than something related to water damage, the reseller still needs to send your busted logic board back to Apple. If the guy at Apple looks at the logic board and sees that there was water damage, and that the Apple reseller didn't charge you full price for a replacement logic board (i.e. it was repaired under warranty), they'll know that there was fraud involved on the part of the reseller.


Anyway, I've had a water-damaged logic board repaired under warranty. It was in a laptop sleeve inside a water-resistant bag, but I was caught in what was essentially a monsoon. I carried my bag underneath my shirt, but I couldn't find shelter. Somehow water got through my shirt, my laptop bag, my sleeve, and the MacBook's casing. The guy at the Apple reseller said that a VERY VERY small droplet of water must have went through the USB slot and caused damage. They repaired it under warranty because even after close inspection, they barely saw the damage. The damage was VERY small, and along the side of the logic board where you'd have to be looking hard to spot it. They told Apple it wasn't working properly and sent it back to Apple.