Macbook Won't Power On - Possible Liquid Damage?

[iMi]

So, the Macbook won't boot up. Well, it did once but when shut down again to reset the various functions that could fix the problem, it just won't boot up again. It's only about 6 weeks old.

That's not really the question though. The concern I have is that about a week after I got the machine, I spilled a little bit of coffee on the left hand side of the keyboard. Minor spill, which I wiped clean and did't think much about it. Aside from a couple of keys sticking for a few days, there were no issues for at least a month or more.

I contacted Apple Support. I was honest with them when describing the problem and told them about the minor spill, trying to understand if that could be the problem. It's was pretty funny. I was asked if it was "within the real of possibility" that the spill caused the issue. I suppose it's possible, but not likely.

Anyway... We couldn't fix the issue, so I have an appointment at the Genius bar. Does anyone have any experience with Apple's method for determining if the problem is related to liquid spill? Is there a criteria they use? If they determine the issue is caused by the spill, do they charge diagnostic fee? Any chance they would cover the repair anyway? At which point it doesn't make sense to pay for the repair and are there any other ideas or options I should consider at this point?

 

[keysofanxiety]

Hi there,

No fee for the diagnostic. There are a number of liquid sensors on Macs, but I don't know off the top of my head where they would be on the MacBook.

Regardless, if there was liquid damage that caused the issue, there would be visible corrosion on the board. If there's none of that, and none of the sensors have been triggered, they'd sort it out free-of-charge. Otherwise, they'd let you know how much it would cost to fix, and you can request it back unrepaired for no charge.

Hope this helps.

 

[iMi]

Hi there,

No fee for the diagnostic. There are a number of liquid sensors on Macs, but I don't know off the top of my head where they would be on the MacBook.

Regardless, if there was liquid damage that caused the issue, there would be visible corrosion on the board. If there's none of that, and none of the sensors have been triggered, they'd sort it out free-of-charge. Otherwise, they'd let you know how much it would cost to fix, and you can request it back unrepaired for no charge.

Hope this helps.

It totally helps. Thanks for the info!

 

[iMi]

To anyone who stumbles upon this and has the same problem, here's an update. The good people at Apple opened up the machine and determined that the issue is not related to the liquid spill, so it's always worth being forward about the issue and having them look first to determine the cause. They are fixing it under warranty.

Also, interestingly enough they are doing a flat rate repair which is basically a flat fee for complete repair regardless of the problem or parts needed. It gets shipped out and returned in like-new condition. The flat rate repair is $280, so that's the most one would pay for fixing the problem, in case the warranty wasn't honored.

They said that with the flat rate repair the warranty would remain in place after the repair even if the problem was caused by water damage and wasn't covered. I thought that was interesting, too. Anyway... I thought I'd share.