Macbook pro fixed itself after liquid damage

[macbookback]

Around 2 months ago a small cup of tea/coffee (i think it was tea?) spilt onto my macbook pro while it was turned on, and went mainly into the usb areas on the left hand side and a little bit on the keyboard.

It didn't turn off immediately, i shut it down myself and just used a hairdryer to try and get rid of the excess liquid and turned the mbp on it's side. It subsequently refused to turn on for about 2 weeks so i took it to a genius bar at the apple store and they said it was pretty much ruined and EVERYTHING would need to be replaced and gave me a quote of around £900 ($1277)

We agreed this would be pointless and i might aswell buy a brand new macbook.

I picked my ruined mbp up from the apple store and kept trying to charge it and turn it on for another 2/3 weeks but nothing. So i just put it in a draw for 2 weeks forgot about it then one day decided to try it again, and by some miracle it powered up. At first it didn't charge properly but now it does and everything works fine, and i've managed to recover so many important files and back them up.

I know my macbook pro probably won't last much longer but at least

* i've managed to recover my files
* haven't had to pay anything for fixing it
* can spend some time messing around on it while i save up for a brand new one

Can't believe they gave me a quote of £900 to fix it when it's working perfectly right now

Realistically how much longer do you think my macbook pro will work for before dying?

 

[MacDawg]

The fix they quoted would actually fix the MacBook Pro
In your case, you have been fortunate to recover data and gain temporary(?) use of the MBP again for a while
The problem comes from the residue that is still in your MBP (especially since it wasn't just water)
This residue will like speed corrosion with some of the internals and cause another premature failure down the road

It is a crap shoot at best... could work flawlessly now for a long time
Or could fail tomorrow
Personally, I wouldn't trust it with valuable data unless you have good backups (good advice regardless)

 

[tubeexperience]

You should take it to somebody that can clean the laptop for you.

This should be done sooner rather than later.

I can't believe some people who want me to clean laptops that they spilled on a month or two ago.

 

[macbookback]

It is a crap shoot at best... could work flawlessly now for a long time
Or could fail tomorrow
Personally, I wouldn't trust it with valuable data unless you have good backups (good advice regardless)

Yes I agree and was thinking along those lines myself. It's such a lottery whether my macbook will turn on every morning I wake up, let alone work properly.

But I had been meaning to get a new one/upgrade soon anyway so hopefully it will get me by until i can save up enough.

The battery didn't charge properly until I performed the smc reset, so *fingers crossed* it will from now.

However, do you think there will be any early warning signs that it will die soon or will just happen overnight (if it does?)

You should take it to somebody that can clean the laptop for you.

This should be done sooner rather than later.

I can't believe some people who want me to clean laptops that they spilled on a month or two ago.

Thanks, can you give me just a basic overview of what that involves and how much it is likely to be?

 

[tubeexperience]

Thanks, can you give me just a basic overview of what that involves and how much it is likely to be?

I basically cleaned the logic board and other components of liquid residue and corrosions.

If needed, I would also change the keyboard and/or battery.

Depending on how much work I have to do (how bad the spill is), I charge $100-$150. That doesn't include replacing the keyboard, etc.

Obviously, if the laptop doesn't work, I don't charge anything.

 

[Count Blah]

My 2008 15" MBP has a similar story. My son accidentally spilled a good 2 cups of water on/in the MBP. After doing the hair drier, rice, crumpled up paper, etc... To dry it out, I tried it ever other week for 6 weeks.

I was on the apple site, ready to order a new one, late one night, and made one more attempt before hitting the order button - boom! It started right up. Charged, full speed, etc... The misses is still using it today, for simple word, browsing, excel. This all happened a good 5 years ago. I had to replace the battery, but that has been it. Since that time, it was upgraded to 8 gigs of ram and an SSD.

Love the old unibody. I only wish they would pull an iPhone SE, with the MBP. I'd buy an updated old body design, over a MBP, in a heartbeat.

 

[MacDawg]

My 2008 15" MBP has a similar story. My son accidentally spilled a good 2 cups of water on/in the MBP.

That's awesome, most don't have such a favorable outcome
Glad it worked out for you

However, I have to point out, spilling water and spilling tea (or coffee, wine or other liquids) is different due to the residue that is left
As mentioned above, at a bare minimum it should be cleaned inside

 

[Count Blah]

Agreed. Mine was just drying, and getting VERY lucky with no permanent short circuiting. Anything else, and that's just a corrosive mess.