Just dropped my Macbook Pro Retina

[boto]

After this experience I would advise you to purchase a sleeve, case, or a laptop backpack to ensure this doesn't occur again. This looks like an expensive repair of 300+ for the bottom unibody, several component replacements, and a new bottom plate. All I know for certain is the clamshell display costs 680.68+39, or a total of 719.68, so I hope you won't need to replace the screen as well or you might as well buy a new computer with that money.

 

[sno1man]

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

Stupid comments like that never cease to amaze me either. They don't help in anyway whatsoever. It's not like anybody here has not dropped something or tripped or whatever. It was an accident and unfortunately it looks like a pretty brutal one.

OP, I would take it to the Apple Store and be absolutely honest about what happened. Apple is known for going above and beyond in their customer service.

Best example I had of that was with my original (the original) iPhone. I dropped it about 3 weeks after I bought it from about 3 feet on a carpeted floor and the screen cracked. The phone itself had no visible marks on it, just the majorly cracked screen.

After I explained what happened and being fully prepared to pay for the fix, they replaced it for free with the comment that "it should have took more than that to crack the screen"

PS: a friend of mine just told me that she dropped her macbook pro 13 a few years a go and KO'd the screen. In her case, they waved the labor and just charged her for the replacement screen, so again, you never know

 

[Mr. Happy]

I can offer some advise as a former Apple Store employee of 2 years...

There is no accidental damage coverage in your warranty. Accidental damage is never covered in any kind of standard warranty for any product for any company. This makes perfect sense, as otherwise you could smash your computer with 2 days left in the warranty and go in for a brand new one free of charge.

The reason I say all that is that if you have any hope of them taking care of it for free out of the kindness of their hearts, I advise you not to act like you have been wronged in some way.

Make a genius bar appointment, and when you go in, tell them exactly what happened, and just say you are devastated and act sad (which shouldn't be hard).

Don't rant about how you'd expect more for a $2000 laptop, blah blah blah. You accidentally dropped it, it really sucks, but it's technically your fault and Apple didn't do anything wrong. The genius is a person, and if he/she feels bad for you, they MIGHT ask a manager to override the repair charge.

This is not at all a common expected course of action. But in my 2 years working in an Apple Store, there were several times when someone brought it a relatively new product they had damaged, and because they were a normal person about it and didn't act like they were entitled to anything, the genius went way above and beyond and comped their >$800 repair.

I even once saw a genius cover a 3.5 year old computer because they had apple care for 3 years and had never used it, so he felt bad that now they needed it and didn't have it.

In conclusion, go to apple store, with humility, and hope for the best.

 

[rgr555]

bring it to genius and tell them all u did was update to 10.8 and then charged it over night and when you woke up the charger was hot and did the damage

 

[klover]

Argh...that's terrible, so sorry mate.

Tell them you were cycling using iOS6 Apple Maps and were incorrectly directed onto a highway and then hit by a large truck carrying Nexus 7 tablets.

 

[Irock619]

Mr. happy's post is exactly what you should do. And I know this works from personal experience. I dropped my 2011 MBP a month after buying it and they replaced it for free out of sympathy. Apple indeed has the best customer service on the planet, and this is part of the reason why their products are so expensive.

 

[stevelam]

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!

While I'm sure you're trying to be helpful, this is probably the most ridiculous "solution" I've read today.

 

[Binomio]

Go in and ask for Depot Tier 2 repair, as long as the lcd is fine and everything works fine (charge, i/o ports). Tier 2 accidental damage should cover it and usually costs around $400.

 

[unibility]

thanks for the post. i had a good chuckle.

 

[wankey]

Thanks for all the comments, I really appreciate everyone taking time to reply to my predicament. I was getting frustrated at the people who were saying stuff like it's gonna cost you a ton of money etc etc.

It was a complete accident, and I will bring it into the store and see what they can do about it. Definitely seems like honest is the way to go.

Thanks all! Sorry for lack of responses, just went for a grueling 40mile bike ride.

Everyone should invest in a good road bike, so much fun.

 

[IGregory]

Sorry about your rMBP. If you have home or rental insurance maybe it will cover some of the repair/replacement costs. I don't think Apple's warranty will cover this damage. Even if the company felt sorry for you and wanted to replace it, it would set a precedence and other owners would expect the same. The warranty is very clear on owner induced damage. I think you are out of luck.

 

[Wafflausages]

Get two wooden blocks and hammer away. Someone on here did it to their cMBP looked good as new

 

[T5BRICK]

Thanks for all the comments, I really appreciate everyone taking time to reply to my predicament. I was getting frustrated at the people who were saying stuff like it's gonna cost you a ton of money etc etc.

It was a complete accident, and I will bring it into the store and see what they can do about it. Definitely seems like honest is the way to go.

I guess I just don't understand why you think Apple should give you a break because it was an accident. You've pointed the finger at your girlfriend, the laptop bag and Apples build quality, but you're the one who dropped it. It's frustrating, yes, but it happens. Hopefully something valuable can be learned from the experience.

 

[yth]

it's not unreasonable to be upset at apple's build quality...

for example, it took them forever to offer apple care+ for iphones, despite virtually EVERYONE breaking their screens at some point

 

[pedrofan]

Completely disassembly it and take the case to an alluminium specialist. Like a car wheel fixer or something like that. It won't be like having a new case but it will recover the form factor at least.

 

[yth]

Completely disassembly it and take the case to an alluminium specialist. Like a car wheel fixer or something like that. It won't be like having a new case but it will recover the form factor at least.

dude you can't disassemble the rMBP internals from its case... it's like fixing a broken bone by first taking it outside of your leg, or something.

 

[fleawannabe]

I would have cried.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

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

I guess I just don't understand why you think Apple should give you a break because it was an accident. You've pointed the finger at your girlfriend, the laptop bag and Apples build quality, but you're the one who dropped it. It's frustrating, yes, but it happens. Hopefully something valuable can be learned from the experience.

Probably because it never should have bent like that. Consumer electronics are incredibly durable, as the fact that it still powers on proves. Therefore it's not unreasonable to expect that the durability extends throughout the entirty of the product.

Heck, I've dropped bricks on my Dell (it's aluminum too) and it hardly dented. I've thrown my phone as hard as I could at the floor, and it bounced. If a computer falls out of a bag - and lets face it, accidents happen - it should be able to withstand it too. It didn't, so Apple should be responsible and take care of it.

How's that for a valid and convincing argument?

 

[yth]

How's that for a valid and convincing argument?

agreed

 

[InfinitiG]

I would sell it AS IS on ebay and buy a new one

This would be a last resort if visiting genius bar fails

 

[Irock619]

I guess I just don't understand why you think Apple should give you a break because it was an accident. You've pointed the finger at your girlfriend, the laptop bag and Apples build quality, but you're the one who dropped it. It's frustrating, yes, but it happens. Hopefully something valuable can be learned from the experience.

In the original post he asked how much a repair would cost due to his mistake, thus not expecting that Apple should do a free repair or replacement. However it is good to at least try and show the geniuses that you are taking full responsibility given he was the one who dropped it. When I dropped mine I simply asked the genius rep if there was anything they could do, the rep said yes and brought out a new MBP sealed in the box and did an exchange. I was totally not expecting that to happen.

 

[Queen6]

Very unlucky that the notebook landed directly on one of the rear quarters dead on; being the weakest part of the chassis it clearly collapsed. Same here go see what Apple say`s, they may give you a break.

As much as i like the aluminium case of Mac`s i do rather wish they would move to, or at least have an option for a carbon-fibre composite chassis as any aluminium Mac involved in a drop in general comes off very badly, resulting in the owner being several $$$ out of pocket, in this case likely more.

 

[X-Ravin]

*runs off to buy a hard case*


Really though best of luck with it, that is far more damage than I would expect at 3 feet, but despite it's thinness it is still quite a heavy laptop. Fingers crossed for you!

 

[T5BRICK]

Probably because it never should have bent like that. Consumer electronics are incredibly durable, as the fact that it still powers on proves. Therefore it's not unreasonable to expect that the durability extends throughout the entirty of the product.

Heck, I've dropped bricks on my Dell (it's aluminum too) and it hardly dented. I've thrown my phone as hard as I could at the floor, and it bounced. If a computer falls out of a bag - and lets face it, accidents happen - it should be able to withstand it too. It didn't, so Apple should be responsible and take care of it.

I'm not convinced. If HE dropped it, how is that Apples fault? I wouldn't expect any manufacturer to cover damage like this(I'll go into this in a bit). A 3 foot fall onto concrete or other hard surface is going to do some damage, especially if all that force is focused on one corner. If it tumbled out if the bag, you'd the angular speed to consider as well.

If you believe otherwise I'd like to see you drop your MacBook Pro from 3 feet, onto its corner. Go ahead and give it a little spin too, if you're sure it'll be fine.

Anyway, if a person needs that kind of durability you need to be buying something built for it.

This model is certified to handle a 6' drop. It's got a 13" screen an i3 2.1GHz processor and starts at $3500. If you configure it with an i7 dual core CPU, the price goes up to $4800 It's nearly 3" thick and it weighs almost 8lbs, but it has a second battery bay and a handle, which is nice.

Here is one certified to handle a 1' drop. It's got a 15" screen and an i5 2.53GHz processor, it starts around $2950

 

[wankey]

*runs off to buy a hard case*


Really though best of luck with it, that is far more damage than I would expect at 3 feet, but despite it's thinness it is still quite a heavy laptop. Fingers crossed for you!

Indeed it is quite heavy for its thinness, probably should've waited for Retina MBP 2

----------

I'm not convinced. If HE dropped it, how is that Apples fault? I wouldn't expect any manufacturer to cover damage like this(I'll go into this in a bit). A 3 foot fall onto concrete or other hard surface is going to do some damage, especially if all that force is focused on one corner. If it tumbled out if the bag, you'd the angular speed to consider as well.

If you believe otherwise I'd like to see you drop your MacBook Pro from 3 feet, onto its corner. Go ahead and give it a little spin too, if you're sure it'll be fine.

Anyway, if a person needs that kind of durability you need to be buying something built for it.

This model is certified to handle a 6' drop. It's got a 13" screen an i3 2.1GHz processor and starts at $3500. If you configure it with an i7 dual core CPU, the price goes up to $4800 It's nearly 3" thick and it weighs almost 8lbs, but it has a second battery bay and a handle, which is nice.

Here is one certified to handle a 1' drop. It's got a 15" screen and an i5 2.53GHz processor, it starts around $2950

It's actually the bag's fault if you're really looking for blame. I put it in, I zipped it up, I had both holsters on my shoulders.

Shall we sue the bag maker? I smell a class action lawsuit.

----------

*runs off to buy a hard case*


Really though best of luck with it, that is far more damage than I would expect at 3 feet, but despite it's thinness it is still quite a heavy laptop. Fingers crossed for you!

Yes please do, or at least keep it in your bag inside ANOTHER case.