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MacBook Air Water Damage

iPad Retina

iPad Retina

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
762
66
Toronto
My friend always brings her MacBook to school in her bag, where she also keeps her water bottle, so it spilt somehow and of course the MacBook got wet. So she took it out, dried it, whatever, and she began to use it already – thinking it was fine. But as she was typing, she noticed that sometimes the text would go as capitals when she didn't even click anything. And then the corner of the screen started to glitch, I guess, it looked kinda funky. So she thought to reset it, but then when she turned it off; it wouldn't turn back on.

Note: A whole bottle of water had spilt onto it, the computer hasn't been plugged into an outlet, but has attempted to turn it on with no success :(

From my point. It seems like the logic board is fried, possibly the battery, keyboard assembly, and screen is gone.

My advice is leave in a tent shape for a few day to let it dry. Data recovery???

Any advice?

Hi Friend if you're reading this!

Thanks in advance
 
If sh tried to use it after a water spill it's likely the logic board is fried; you'll need to take it to Apple or an Apple service Provider to see what can be done. Water spills tend to be expensive, often more than the cost of a new machine.
 
The worst part is, if it turned on initially then chances are everything would be OK if it was dried PROPERLY to begin with.

As for data recovery, SSD *should* be OK. It needs to be pulled out and either connected to another laptop or external usb enclosure/adapter.

PS. Is this 2010 MBA or newer? 2010 models have pretty poor water resistance as they don't have keyboard backlight, which acts as pretty good insulation as it comes with plastic cover from the inside across the whole keyboard. No keyboard backlight = everything which goes trough key gaps will almost certainly land on the motherboard or battery.
 
Last edited:
SmOgER said:
The worst part is, if it turned on initially then chances are everything would be OK if it was dried PROPERLY to begin with.

As for data recovery, SSD *should* be OK. It needs to be pulled out and either connected to another laptop or external usb enclosure/adapter.

PS. Is this 2010 MBA or newer? 2010 models have pretty poor water resistance as they don't have keyboard backlight, which acts as pretty good insulation as it comes with plastic cover from the inside across the whole keyboard. No keyboard backlight = everything which goes trough key gaps will almost certainly land on the motherboard or battery.
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I believe it does have a backlit keyboard. But at the time of the spill he computer was closed. I'm not 100% sure what exactly happened, as its my friends computer.
 
SmOgER said:
The worst part is, if it turned on initially then chances are everything would be OK if it was dried PROPERLY to begin with.

As for data recovery, SSD *should* be OK. It needs to be pulled out and either connected to another laptop or external usb enclosure/adapter.

PS. Is this 2010 MBA or newer? 2010 models have pretty poor water resistance as they don't have keyboard backlight, which acts as pretty good insulation as it comes with plastic cover from the inside across the whole keyboard. No keyboard backlight = everything which goes trough key gaps will almost certainly land on the motherboard or battery.
Click to expand...
Yes I believe the MacBook Air is newer then 2010 from what I remember.
 
She had received an estimate for the damage for the computer from an non authoritied place. He estimate was $60 CAD. Find that hard to believe, since a whole bottle of water had spilled when the computer was closed.
 
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I had a water spill on a 13" MBA last year turned it off immediately and put it out to dry for a week. Didn't come back on and took it to Apple and told them I had an accident and I know it's my fault and not covered by warranty. They had to replace the logic board, close to $800, but I had gone maxed out with i7,8gb ram, 512 SSD.
 
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I love my Mac Laptops but it would sure be nice if they were designed to be water resistant. With a very effective system to allow water to drain out like my flagship ThinkPads have had for years, the far higher prices Apple charge wouldn't feel like gouging.
 
old-wiz said:
I had a water spill on a 13" MBA last year turned it off immediately and put it out to dry for a week. Didn't come back on and took it to Apple and told them I had an accident and I know it's my fault and not covered by warranty. They had to replace the logic board, close to $800, but I had gone maxed out with i7,8gb ram, 512 SSD.
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Was your Mac closed at the time. Or was it opened? How much water spilled?
 
Even when it's closed, the water can get through the vents below the hinges..
 
iPad Retina said:
She had brought it in to an Apple Store, the price for the repair is $80. So far. I'll try to keep you updated.
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I would have GLADLY (well, you know what I mean) paid $80 to know I'd get my computer back.

I spilled less than a TEASPOON of water on my open keyboard, near the hinge (husband absent-mindedly passed a glass of water over my keyboard, and there was a TINY spill) two years ago, of my 2012 MBA. Not knowing any better, I tried starting it up right away. (Now I know not to do that.) It wouldn't boot back up. I left it in the basement next to our dehumidifier checking on it every few days. Incredibly, after 2 weeks, it just popped back to life, no damage whatsoever. But it did take that long, and in the mean time, I bought a tablet to "get by" while deciding whether or not I'd need a replacement. (We're hours away from any kind of repair place, so that would have meant an overnight bus trip, hotel stay etc. In the end, the potential hassle of a repair worked out for me, given that I could afford to wait and see how things played out.) So, zero cost to "fix" it ... unless you count the high end tablet I bought in a panic. ;)

It is so frustrating to have to be THAT careful, especially since the whole point of the 11" Air is to be a travel machine for me and is rarely at a proper desk but instead at an airport lounge or coffee shop or something. But I guess that's the price you pay for small and light.
 
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