MBP “water damage” but I never spilled anything.

[bruno78]

I bought a new MBP in December 2018.

From Day 1 I got it, the usb-c ports on the right side never worked. I had a lot of work to do at that time and really needed my new computer, so it wasn’t possible for me to send it for servicing. The usb ports on the left side were working so I always plugged my devices there. As the MBP was usable, I thought to myself, “Ok I have 1 year to get the fix, so no problem…” .

In the meantime, the MBP developed other problems: some keys were intermittently sticking (there is a recall for this) so I also thought “ok no problem for this”, they’ll fix it too." Also the trackpad doesn’t click anymore since a month.

Back to now. Two days ago I left my MBP to a third-party authorized service center. They called me back saying that all the water damage sensors were triggered, that there were corrosion spots all over the place, mostly near the defective USB ports (and that the water damage caused the problem) and also near the trackpad. Since the warranty is now void because of “water damage”, it would cost me roughly 1000$CAN to replace the logic board and the keyboard.

My main concerns are:
-The usb ports never worked from day 1. So this cannot be related to the “water spill” they refer to. Unless there was already a problem when I got it from Apple, which appear to me almost unbelievable.

-I never spilled anything on my Macbook. And since ALL the sensors were triggered, I guess they imply it would need a major water spill to do that…

Obviously, I refused to repair it now as the macbook is working alright except for the defective USB ports, the unclickable trackpad and a few sticky keys intermittently.

What would be your advices on my case? Any similar case/resolution?
Since there is corrosion and water damages sensors triggered (If I believe the tech, and I don’t see why I should not trust him), I don’t see how I can win my case by calling Apple Customer Support.

I was thinking bringing my computer to an unauthorized repair service center. They would probably be able to clean the logic board and find a solution for way less money. My local non-official service place do a “water spill” cleaning for 90$CAN. And they could give me an experimented opinion on my case since they repair apple products for a living…

Should I trust Apple?

THANK YOU !

 

[Fishrrman]

You should have taken it in RIGHT AWAY as soon as you discovered something wrong.
(old saying, "you snooze.... you LOSE")

Wait... STOP RIGHT THERE.
A "third party service center"?
I wonder if they're trying to get money out of you.

TAKE IT TO A REAL BRICK n MORTAR Apple Store genius bar, and see what THEY say.

 

[bruno78]

You should have taken it in RIGHT AWAY as soon as you discovered something wrong.
(old saying, "you snooze.... you LOSE")

Wait... STOP RIGHT THERE.
A "third party service center"?
I wonder if they're trying to get money out of you.

TAKE IT TO A REAL BRICK n MORTAR Apple Store genius bar, and see what THEY say.

They are authorized and deal with Apple officially on a daily basis, I have no reason to believe they are lying to me. I mean, if they do "autorized" repairs, their job get paid by Apple under the warranty program.

Did you had bad experiences with that type of repair center?

 

[benshive]

I would definitely take it straight to an Apple store. Worst case scenario you should be able to get a full replacement for $299 using AppleCare+ and one 1 of the 2 accidental damage repairs that it offers.

 

[bruno78]

I would definitely take it straight to an Apple store. Worst case scenario you should be able to get a full replacement for $299 using AppleCare+ and one 1 of the 2 accidental damage repairs that it offers.

too late, I had to buy it in the first 60 days of owning the macbook

but, thank

 

[benshive]

too late, I had to buy it in the first 60 days of owning the macbook

but, thank

dang
Does the provided 1 year of warranty not cover accidental at all?

 

[bruno78]

dang
Does the provided 1 year of warranty not cover accidental at all?

no, the "water damage" void EVERYTHING

 

[benshive]

no, the "water damage" void EVERYTHING

Do you live in a really humid environment? I've seen stories of high humidity triggering those sensors.

 

[bruno78]

Do you live in a really humid environment? I've seen stories of high humidity triggering those sensors.

I live in Montreal, Canada. Not extremely humid, normal summer weather ranging from 20 to 35°C. Winters can get cold though... !

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Not sure if you are going to have much luck due to the water sensors being triggered. Should have taken it in right away when those ports weren't working initially, but nothing you can do about it now. Maybe you will find a sympathetic genius, just really depends if you get lucky on not. Worth a shot to see if you get lucky, but they are usually pretty strict on the liquid damage part.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP, I'm going to say it again:
You live in Montreal.
There is certainly an actual "Apple Store" there (NOT a "3rd-party provider").
TAKE IT TO THEM, and see what they say about it.

 

[Mlrollin91]

They are authorized and deal with Apple officially on a daily basis, I have no reason to believe they are lying to me. I mean, if they do "autorized" repairs, their job get paid by Apple under the warranty program.

Did you had bad experiences with that type of repair center?

Definitely take it to Apple. I've had repair centers try to charge me for a repair that was covered by Apple. Therefore, they get Apple to reimburse them, plus then I pay for it out of pocket. There are some shady stores out there.

 

[leman]

Yeah, that's an unpleasant situation. As others have said, take it to an official store. If the moisture sensors have indeed be triggered, I am afraid you don't have any options. You can always try to explain your situation to them and hope that they will believe you, but in the end its your word vs. theirs and you don't have any proof that your story is the correct one. Frankly, if I were to sell someone a laptop and than have that person back a year later claiming that damage was there from the start, my reaction probably wouldn't be the friendliest...

 

[bruno78]

If I go to the genius bar for only a diagnostic (and don't repair) and if they void the warranty, will it be free or will I have to pay for the service?

 

[Mlrollin91]

If I go to the genius bar for only a diagnostic (and don't repair) and if they void the warranty, will it be free or will I have to pay for the service?

Diagnostic should always be free.

 

[bruno78]

ok, so they will open my mac, show me the corrosion and I'll be able to explain the situation. Do you know if they have some sort of decisional power or the have to strictly follow the line Apple mothership give them?

thx!

 

[bruno78]

Ok, I just took an appointment on saturday morning at the genius bar. We will see...

 

[mcpix]

In situations like this, the Genius Bar can be a bit of a crap shoot depending upon how sympathetic they are to your particular circumstance. It’s still your best option. I’m curious where you originally bought your MBP? Could it have been damaged from the beginning?

 

[scubachap]

They are authorized and deal with Apple officially on a daily basis, I have no reason to believe they are lying to me. I mean, if they do "autorized" repairs, their job get paid by Apple under the warranty program.

Did you had bad experiences with that type of repair center?

I have had a couple of duff experinces of them here in the UK. The most recent was I had an iMac that needed the Fusion drive replacing - I wanted to get it done at an Apple sore but was persuaded by the phone guy to use a more local authorised centre. I took it in and in front of me the girl assessing the machine managed to put a big scratch across the face of the screen (rotating it face down on mat). Cue huge bust up and massive argument which I won't bore you with the details here and they refused to take responsibility. In the end Apple stepped up and I had the screen replaced and they chucked in the fusion drive for free which was decent of them. It did take some work on my part - once I had organised getting the now damaged machine dropped off at an Apple Store I had to deal with a couple of more senior people in Ireland to get things authorised. They're obviously on the alert for scammers but were really fair and reasonable once we'd got through all of that. It took a while to sort out though.

From now on I'll only deal with the Apple stores as I tend to think the smaller authorised ones watch every penny and as their customer is Apple (not you) so I've always found their attitude to be less 'customer focused'.

 

[bruno78]

From now on I'll only deal with the Apple stores as I tend to think the smaller authorised ones watch every penny and as their customer is Apple (not you) so I've always found their attitude to be less 'customer focused'.

good to know ! thx
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In situations like this, the Genius Bar can be a bit of a crap shoot depending upon how sympathetic they are to your particular circumstance. It’s still your best option. I’m curious where you originally bought your MBP? Could it have habe been damaged from the beginning?

It was purchased directly from the online Apple store. From the start there was something wrong, and if the faulty usb is directly associated with the corrosion, then yes it was damaged from the beginning. But maybe the usb and the water damage are completely unrelated, but even if that's the case, I never spilled anything.

Something I'm curious of is that I'm gonna ask them "how much water" does it need to trigger ALL the sensors... Let's say there was massive amount of water on the macbook, it should have shotted down or messed up everything? but that's not the case, the macbook is working relatively well...

 

[0906742]

I live in Montreal, Canada. Not extremely humid, normal summer weather ranging from 20 to 35°C. Winters can get cold though... !

Did you carry your MBP outside during winter? Just a thought but isn't there well below freezing temperature during winters and if you had it with you outside so long that it got cold and then you brought it back inside and especially if you started using it, I'm pretty sure there will be condensation inside the MBP due to aluminium casing. I'm afraid that could cause water sensors to trip, at least if it happens several times.

Especially since you are sure you have not spilled any liquid on your MBP and since the locations where they claim corrosion is mostly found points pretty much condensation in my opinion. I'm not sure that helps as it is kind of a water damage too, but there is very little what you could do other than not carrying it outside during winters or have some other measures to keep condensation from happening but that pretty much takes away the point to have a notebook in the begin with. Anyway, that problem is definitely not just limited to Apple product if that turns out to be the case here, as it can happen to any electronics in mentioned conditions, especially those with metal casing unless they are hermetically sealed.

 

[FireBlade93RR]

do you have pet ?

my daughter had her cat pee on her laptop once, was a cheap Dell, but still...

 

[Fishrrman]

0906742 is onto something with the introduction of condensation (in the internals) due to rapid changes between heat and cold -- inescapable up there in Canada...

 

[bruno78]

Did you carry your MBP outside during winter? Just a thought but isn't there well below freezing temperature during winters and if you had it with you outside so long that it got cold and then you brought it back inside and especially if you started using it, I'm pretty sure there will be condensation inside the MBP due to aluminium casing. I'm afraid that could cause water sensors to trip, at least if it happens several times.

Especially since you are sure you have not spilled any liquid on your MBP and since the locations where they claim corrosion is mostly found points pretty much condensation in my opinion. I'm not sure that helps as it is kind of a water damage too, but there is very little what you could do other than not carrying it outside during winters or have some other measures to keep condensation from happening but that pretty much takes away the point to have a notebook in the begin with. Anyway, that problem is definitely not just limited to Apple product if that turns out to be the case here, as it can happen to any electronics in mentioned conditions, especially those with metal casing unless they are hermetically sealed.

I took it out very few times during the winter, and in car rides of approx 1-2 hours. It was always in a padded notebook bag. But maybe that's possible, I guess I'll never really know

But If I can't transport the notebook during the winter, that's really absurd in my opinion...

thx
[automerge]1572620431[/automerge]

do you have pet ?

my daughter had her cat pee on her laptop once, was a cheap Dell, but still...

No this didn't happened, but even if so, my common sense tell me the laptop would be totally unusable after this event. No?

 

[Howard2k]

I took it out very few times during the winter, and in car rides of approx 1-2 hours. It was always in a padded notebook bag. But maybe that's possible, I guess I'll never really know

But If I can't transport the notebook during the winter, that's really absurd in my opinion...

thx

Do you routinely take it from a super cold environment into a warm room, and then get it up and running? That would compound the problem.

My 2015 goes into my backpack and outside in the winter several times a week. I'm careful not to take it from the cold car and then immediately turn it on, I will wait for a half hour or so before awakening the beast, but 3 or 4 times a week during winter it's making this transition. Additionally I use a humidifier at home, which should make this more risky for me.

I know this doesn't help you in any way, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you should be able to use a notebook in this fashion, as long as you're sensible. Taking it from a cold car into a warm room with a humidifier and immediately hammering the CPU (and GPU if applicable) would certainly increase the risk.

Taking it from a cold environment to a warm environment and leaving it to sit for a while should mitigate typical issues.

The air inside the laptop is not going suddenly be replaced with warm air when you walk into that room (assuming you don't open up the laptop and expose the circuit board!), so the moisture content of the air inside the laptop should not be a moisture rich as the air in the warm room.

Have you ever seen condensation form on the outside of the laptop? That's where it would appear first I suspect.

If this was a humidity issue caused by routine use, then Apple would be seeing that massive quantities of the moisture sensors on laptops in Canada were being triggered and they would adjust accordingly. Apple isn't new to the Canadian market, so I think it's fair to say that this isn't a routine condensation issue.