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Magnet on my MacBook

M

marty1990

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 25, 2011
417
25
England
I was told years ago that magnets can disrupt the internals of a piece of technology, such as a watch of cell phone. Due to this, I've always kept magnets away from my tech.

Came home today to find two magnets - the ones you put on cars to say you're a new driver - on my MacBook Pro. I moved them and checked my machine and everything seems a-ok, but am wondering whether they could have caused damage... or whether magnets can actually mess up technology? Or do they have to be really powerful ones?

Thanks.
 
I've got a 13", and the magnets were on the lid, closed.

Even if it was directly over the HDD, would it have caused damage, considering they're not terribly strong magnets, just enough to hold the sign to a car?
 
marty1990 said:
I've got a 13", and the magnets were on the lid, closed.

Even if it was directly over the HDD, would it have caused damage, considering they're not terribly strong magnets, just enough to hold the sign to a car?
Click to expand...

What part of the lid? Are they ceramic or neodymium magnets?
 
Like, the centre, I guess.

Erm, I dunno. It's got like black magnetic strips on the plate. It's not a big heavy magnet or anything.
 
Im sure it will be okay :) if you are really worried take it to the apple store for a checkup.. Better to be safe than sorry ;)
 
It takes a hefty magnet to damage a hdd and to do it quickly it needs to be an electromagnet. Don't worry ;)
 
Lol, I don't have AppleCare or anything. I bought my Pro from a local shop. It's insured though. Am just concerned about losing my stuff. Gonna have to back it all up I think, for future concerns.

And the magnets on the car plate are the kind of thin, flexible magnets you can get on fridge magnets. At least, that's the best comparison I can make.

Oh okay. So am guessing those magnets aren't strong enough, then?
 
I think your HDD will be fine, but you really should have your computer backed up anyways. Think of this scare as a lesson...always have a backup. :)
 
marty1990 said:
Lol, I don't have AppleCare or anything. I bought my Pro from a local shop. It's insured though. Am just concerned about losing my stuff. Gonna have to back it all up I think, for future concerns.

And the magnets on the car plate are the kind of thin, flexible magnets you can get on fridge magnets. At least, that's the best comparison I can make.

Oh okay. So am guessing those magnets aren't strong enough, then?
Click to expand...

Defiantly not strong enough
 
On older computer screens I'd worry about the magnets degaussing them, but LCDs don't have that problem. If it was on the lid, it won't have affected your hard drive. You computer speakers have magnets in them and they're closer to the HD than the screen is.
 
Really, magnets arent that harmful to tech anymore. Unless is is a hugely strong magnet, placed very near the hard drive, or a strong electromagnet it should not hurt much at all. Basically, only the hard drive is magnetic these days. Upgrade to an SSD, and not much short of an EMP is gonna kill it. Correct me if i am wrong, EEs

Anyways, a lot of magnets are used in the computer... Display latch, sleep sensor, etc...
 
It would def take a really strong magnet as far as an SSD

"A magnet powerful enough to disturb the electrons in flash would be powerful enough to suck the iron out of your blood cells" - Bill Frank, executive director of the CompactFlash Association
 
Hmm, okay. Thanks for your replies. It's always bothered me, magnets and technology. Never knew how strong a magnet needed to be to mess up anything.

Like, I always see cases for iPods etc that have a magnetic closing clasp, and I always avoided them since I thought magnet + tech = bad.

So, taking that into consideration... those magnetic clasps aren't strong enough to mess with tech, either?

Sorry about all these questions, just want to protect my equipment!
 
Those magnetic strips aren't telly strong enough to damage any electrical item, although that still doesn't mean you should go around trying it :p

Might get a bit of interference on things like a CRT monitor, but *shouldnt* cause permanent damage.
 
It takes a really strong magnet to do any harm to the hard drive. A bumper sticker type magnet or any fridge magnet is not going to do any harm. Especially since it was on top of the case and not directly on the hard drive.

You have 2 magnets in your computer now. The power adapter and in front of the case in the middle. That's how your lid stays closed.
 
Will a N52 Neodymium magnet hurt my computer?

I want to test out that these magnets won't hurt my computer. I've gotten all kinds of rhetoric about causing and not causing damage. The top of my mac book pro contains 4 neodymium magnets, the cord has a neodymium magnet. So what will happen if I put a small 0.5" in diameter, 1mm thick neodymium magnet on the top of my screen?
Please quote science in your replies!


astroboy907 said:
Really, magnets arent that harmful to tech anymore. Unless is is a hugely strong magnet, placed very near the hard drive, or a strong electromagnet it should not hurt much at all. Basically, only the hard drive is magnetic these days. Upgrade to an SSD, and not much short of an EMP is gonna kill it. Correct me if i am wrong, EEs

Anyways, a lot of magnets are used in the computer... Display latch, sleep sensor, etc...
Click to expand...
 
xinger1 said:
I want to test out that these magnets won't hurt my computer. I've gotten all kinds of rhetoric about causing and not causing damage. The top of my mac book pro contains 4 neodymium magnets, the cord has a neodymium magnet. So what will happen if I put a small 0.5" in diameter, 1mm thick neodymium magnet on the top of my screen?
Please quote science in your replies!
Click to expand...

On the top of your screen? Likely nothing.
 
more magnet mayhem

I have several N52 neodymium 0.5mm round disk magnets attached to the top screen of my mac book pro--they are attracted to the 4 magnets that lie across the top of the screen that hold the lid closed. I have had them on my screen for over a year---they come down on the hard drive area when I close the lid.
Nothing, has happened. Zip zero zilch. So what is all of the magnet fear? Can someone explain how a tiny magnet could zap a protected hard drive if the magnet is just sitting there static? I can't get any service techs to give me a straight answer after I question their nonsense statements about what it "could do." I've asked dozens of techs if they've ever had someone bring in a computer with a dead drive after they were near a magnet. NONE OF THEM have had any person bring in a dead drive caused by a magnet.
So need a little help here....
 
I think the thing to keep in mind, that some people may not realize, is that HDDs already have 2 or more very strong rare-earth magnets INSIDE the HDD assembly itself and not even these damage the data.

I would like to see what would happen with a laptop and an electromagnet, though, to see how "realistic" Breaking Bad was. ;)
 
I've put my magnet on the Hard Drive and now my Macbook 2009 does not want to turn on, there is a blank screen and a loud ticking noise, as if it want's to try and start over and over again. Will I be able to fix the hard drive placing the magnet on the other side (bottom)? Or do I just have to buy a new one? :(
AlphaDogg, or anyone, would you be able to answer?
 
Marton Csák said:
I've put my magnet on the Hard Drive and now my Macbook 2009 does not want to turn on, there is a blank screen and a loud ticking noise, as if it want's to try and start over and over again. Will I be able to fix the hard drive placing the magnet on the other side (bottom)? Or do I just have to buy a new one? :(
AlphaDogg, or anyone, would you be able to answer?
Click to expand...

1. Why are you resurrecting a thread from 2013?

2. Why are you putting a magnet on your HDD?

3. Sounds like the drive itself is shot, and a magnet isn't gonna help with that...
 
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