MacBook Air 2011 11in

[falconhand]

Hello!
I have a 2011 MacBook Air 11. I can't get it to turn on, and the charger light just stays green. The charger works, I tested it on another machine. I came to owning this laptop through a deal where I bought two MacBook Airs for 30$, the ad said they were both broken, but only this one ended up being dead. Ideally i'd like to get it working without spending a ton of money on it.

I've tried to reset SMC to no avail.

My thoughts are:
It could be the logic board (hopefully not)
It could be the IO Board (that's the better option)

...aand thats it

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Audit13]

Disconnect the battery, connect the charger, don't touch the air, and waiting for it to power itself on after about 40 seconds.

 

[falconhand]

(apologies for the late response, I had to wait for new screwdrivers in the mail. My old one was worn out). Upon getting the laptop open, I tried that and it didn't work

 

[Audit13]

Does it look like anything is broken on the logic board? Does it look like it has been exposed to liquids?

 

[falconhand]

There's no visible damage, at least to the naked eye, and the water damage indicators aren't coloured.

 

[Audit13]

There may be liquid damage on the other side. By removing the bottom cover, you can't see the side that faces the keyboard where liquid may have entered the machine. The moisture indicators can be seen in two places (near the wifi card and LVDS connector) when you remove the bottom cover. I think there are two more on the other side.

 

[falconhand]

Alright. Later today I will disassemble it further and check the other side of the Logic board.

 

[MBAir2010]

if the MBA does not power 0n, use a small flat screwdriver and place on 2 spots above the keyboard connection on the logic board

 

[Audit13]

At this point, you don't have much to lose since you paid so little for the unit.

I hope you are able to revive it.

 

[falconhand]

Which two spots in particular?

 

[Audit13]

Which two spots in particular?

Look here: https://beetstech.com/blog/where-are-macbook-air-power-on-pads-located#a1370m2011

I have purchased liquid damaged-Airs for a couple of years. I have never been able to get them to power up using the pads.

 

[falconhand]

Incidentally the other MacBook Air I obtained in the deal actually was water damaged but it turned on fine. (That being said it's not without its problems either: dang Firmware locked, and it turns off once unplugged)

I know that one doesn't mean the other is functional -- What else could cause the laptop to be dead like this?

 

[Audit13]

Do you mean it has a firmware password?

 

[falconhand]

Yes, I texted the seller to see if I can get it from him. Or his proof of purchase so that it can be unlocked at the Apple store.

 

[Audit13]

Hopefully, you can have the firmware password removed since the Air cannot be fully tested unless you have the original drive.

 

[falconhand]

The way I see it is that worst case I can just sell parts. The top assembly lists at ~150 - 200$ per laptop on eBay, though it'd be nice to get these all working.

 

[MBAir2010]

Which two spots in particular?

 

[MultiFinder17]

I hope you can get it up and running! The 2011 11" Airs are fantastic little laptops; I have had one for years now as a school laptop (I'm a teacher), and it runs fantastically!

 

[MBAir2010]

Look here: https://beetstech.com/blog/where-are-macbook-air-power-on-pads-located#a1370m2011

I have purchased liquid damaged-Airs for a couple of years. I have never been able to get them to power up using the pads.

Me neither, until i held the screwdriver on the points for 4 seconds,until then hear the chime. That is how i power on the mba since 2016 and sometimes those points dont works, I use the ones next side, just try the ones near the keyboard port.
I swap 2 ssds one with elcap, one with snow leopard so i do this frequently.

I have a spare innards from a tossed mba were i might rebuild another mba so i could use the casing, keyboard and screen in the future.
or
build a chassis out of wood and attach bluetooth mouse keys, and run a monitor from a usb\hdmi port
Like a macmini which i have........

 

[Audit13]

Me neither, until i held the screwdriver on the points for 4 seconds,until then hear the chime. That is how i power on the mba since 2016 and sometimes those points dont works, I use the ones next side, just try the ones near the keyboard port.
I swap 2 ssds one with elcap, one with snow leopard so i do this frequently.

I have a spare innards from a tossed mba were i might rebuild another mba so i could use the casing, keyboard and screen in the future.
or
build a chassis out of wood and attach bluetooth mouse keys, and run a monitor from a usb\hdmi port
Like a macmini which i have........

I have tried touching for various lengths of time and different contact combinations with no luck. Not being able to power up the MacBook in this manner hasn't been an issue for me so far.

If I get my hands on another board that appears to be dead, I'll try the contact points again.

 

[MBAir2010]

I have tried touching for various lengths of time and different contact combinations with no luck. Not being able to power up the MacBook in this manner hasn't been an issue for me so far.

If I get my hands on another board that appears to be dead, I'll try the contact points again.

It’s hit or miss, sometimes instantly, sometimes under a minute. Maybe In some situations the logic board is broken beyond this procedure. I was going to replace the macbook air this month, but i tinkered with the key, created alot of graphics and can type now. i might get a 512 ssd hd to keep more music and other mp4 to run through a apple tv to my hdtv instead of getting a dell xps 13”.