My Son dropped my MacBook Pro Mid 2015 down the stairs - Dying inside ....

[Masonfarraj]

Legends,

One of my most prized possession is damaged, it slipped out of his hands and hit the edge of a step and landed face down.

Now screen will most of the times work, sometimes work with some green spots, and sometimes just not turn on.

it's not my son's fault, he has weak hands and I want to make this right .... please help guys ..

 

[ctjack]

. please help guys ..

So what was the question?
The only way to sell it for parts if screen is not working due to motherboard.
If the hinge problem, you can continue using it through external display.

 

[Masonfarraj]

So what was the question?
The only way to sell it for parts if screen is not working due to motherboard.
If the hinge problem, you can continue using it through external display.

Thanks ctjack. I would like to be able to diagnose the problem and potentially address it. I don't want to sell this for parts ....

PS: Apologies if this is not the forum to address ... it's my first post.

 

[ctjack]

Thanks ctjack. I would like to be able to diagnose the problem and potentially address it. I don't want to sell this for parts ....

Diagnosis is easy. You come to the right place.
Try to find an external display somewhere and try to connect to your laptop. See if it runs ok, and if external display will do the same as internal one, then there is a problem with logic board or some parts of it.
1) So if only display cable is broken, then you can still use it with external display.
2) If cable is not the case, then something wrong with the motherboard.
Overall, if you are able to get screen to work, then try to run diagnostic test and post photos for us.
Test is here.

 

[Queen6]

I'd recommend looking at the iFixit disassembly guides for the specific model, and carefully open the notebook up. The cosmetic damage is done, nor worth repairing at Apple's pricing. Best solution there is to pickup a dead MBP of the same model and transfer the electronics if proved to be good.

As suggested the display cable may have become dislodged under the impact and may just need to be re-seated. If the Logic board has issue TBH it's pretty much done, better to source another MBP. Another alternative is to seek out an independent Mac specialist who may prove far cheaper, especially if willing to accept used parts.

Q-6

 

[Fishrrman]

That's bend badly (see second pic).
Not worth fixing.
Time for a replacement.

Really not much more to say, except -- tell the kid "HANDS OFF" with the new one.

 

[Masonfarraj]

Diagnosis is easy. You come to the right place.
Try to find an external display somewhere and try to connect to your laptop. See if it runs ok, and if external display will do the same as internal one, then there is a problem with logic board or some parts of it.
1) So if only display cable is broken, then you can still use it with external display.
2) If cable is not the case, then something wrong with the motherboard.
Overall, if you are able to get screen to work, then try to run diagnostic test and post photos for us.
Test is here.

Thanks a lot CTJack. I ran the tool and it said nothing was broken.

Could it be a loose cable that's causing the monitor to sometimes turn off or malfunction?
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I'd recommend looking at the iFixit disassembly guides for the specific model, and carefully open the notebook up. The cosmetic damage is done, nor worth repairing at Apple's pricing. Best solution there is to pickup a dead MBP of the same model and transfer the electronics if proved to be good.

As suggested the display cable may have become dislodged under the impact and may just need to be re-seated. If the Logic board has issue TBH it's pretty much done, better to source another MBP. Another alternative is to seek out an independent Mac specialist who may prove far cheaper, especially if willing to accept used parts.

Q-6

Thanks Queen6, I ran the diagnostics and it now says all clear. It's probably a loose cable somewhere - would you recommend I go to fixit and try to connect it with instructions from there?

 

[Zwhaler]

It will probably make an excellent clamshell with external display for years to come.

 

[SocialKonstruct]

That looks bad to be honest. I would definitely get a new housing for your lovely laptop.

 

[Queen6]

Thanks a lot CTJack. I ran the tool and it said nothing was broken.

Could it be a loose cable that's causing the monitor to sometimes turn off or malfunction?
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Thanks Queen6, I ran the diagnostics and it now says all clear. It's probably a loose cable somewhere - would you recommend I go to fixit and try to connect it with instructions from there?

If you have some technical skill, you have nothing loose, and to take a look on the iFixit site will cost nothing. You'll need a special screwdriver to remove the back as Apple has it's own proprietary screws. The rest depends on your confidence to work with such devices.

Key is to proceed slowly and carefully, depending on the internal design will dictate where the ribbon cable for the display connects to the Logic Board, if on the underside of the board the job is more complex as the Logic Board will need to be partially lifted up or removed.

Link below should be of some help, all you need to do is disconnect the battery, reseat the display data cable, reconnect the battery and see how it goes.

MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2015 Display Assembly Replacement

Do you have a cracked screen or see weird vertical lines? Fear not! Use this guide to remove/replace the display assembly if something terrible has...

www.ifixit.com

If in doubt stop & seek advice from a Mac specialist, as the connectors are fragile, if broken, game over. That said with care and patience doable.

Q-6

 

[caupljx]

Luke Miani on youtube did a lot of fixing similar, if not worse than yours. If you can buy a new screen and case, you should be able to fix it if the motherboard is fine.

 

[ctjack]

Luke Miani on youtube did a lot of fixing similar, if not worse than yours. If you can buy a new screen and case, you should be able to fix it if the motherboard is fine.

He is kind of fake, just my humble opinion. You can read comments on his vids, and all say about how lucky he is.
Overall, his approach makes sense, i do fixing by myself. But we have to admit, that success rate is never near like Luke Miani.

 

[avz]

He is kind of fake, just my humble opinion. You can read comments on his vids, and all say about how lucky he is.
Overall, his approach makes sense, i do fixing by myself. But we have to admit, that success rate is never near like Luke Miani.

LOL. MacBooks are relatively easy to work on, no need to be overly technical. Luke is just applying his experience and common sense(which is very rare) in order to make an educated guess when choosing which "faulty" MacBook he should buy, hence his success rate. His major selling point is presentation skills, not technical knowledge.

 

[adrianlondon]

Looks badly bent, but if the screen occasionally works fine, then I would first suspect a dislodged cable. You need a P5 Pentalobe screwdriver to remove the casing and once removed check all the connections to the monitor. An iFixit guide will explain which cable does what.

(By the way - no need to disconnect the battery - just don't prod randomly around with anything metallic )

 

[Fishrrman]

As I posted above ...
The case components are so badly damaged that "repair" is all-but impossible -- only solution would be to replace them.

Motherboard may be damaged, as well -- if the blow was strong enough to bend the chassis like that, it was certainly strong enough to damage the motherboard.

Time for a new MacBook. I'd suggest the current 16" model.

I'm wondering if this one will at least run in cover-closed mode?
If that's the case, get a cheap display, mouse and keyboard and give it to the son.

...Along with strict orders that he is NEVER to touch the new MacBook Pro!

 

[ctjack]

LOL. MacBooks are relatively easy to work on, no need to be overly technical. Luke is just applying his experience and common sense(which is very rare) in order to make an educated guess when choosing which "faulty" MacBook he should buy, hence his success rate. His major selling point is presentation skills, not technical knowledge.

Of course he is a presenter rather than someone like iFixit.
He tried to be scammed by ebay scam sellers, he got the greatest laptop.
He got laptops very cheap, to justify his videos. But in real life, it is not so easy to find laptops, which priced to be interesting to make repairs. Why would i spend $500 on 2 faulty MBP 13 2015 and make swapping motherboards, if i can get one still working for the same $500.

 

[avz]

Of course he is a presenter rather than someone like iFixit.
He tried to be scammed by ebay scam sellers, he got the greatest laptop.
He got laptops very cheap, to justify his videos. But in real life, it is not so easy to find laptops, which priced to be interesting to make repairs. Why would i spend $500 on 2 faulty MBP 13 2015 and make swapping motherboards, if i can get one still working for the same $500.

I am not sure you understood what I am talking about. Luke has NEVER EVER made an outright dumb purchase decision. Most eBay "scam sellers" are not as smart as you might think they are. Luke has enough experience to be a smart detective and extract every last shred of information from every letter in the ebay listing, no matter how limited it might be. This is the most important part of buying used.

 

[gnasher729]

You should mention the country where you are.

I have home insurance. My private MacBook is insured. Everything is insured against damage caused by accidents or by things breaking.

In some countries people often have personal third party liability insurance. In those case, damage to a laptop not belonging to your family would be insured. Except you said it wasn't your son's fault... If it wasn't his fault, he wouldn't be liable, and the insurance wouldn't pay. If it was his fault, then he's liable, and the insurance pays.
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It will probably make an excellent clamshell with external display for years to come.

Can't vote that up enough. A MacBook Pro with broken screen makes a fine desktop computer. Buy a decent monitor for £100, a keyboard and mouse for £30, and you have a desktop computer. Don't use it as a monitor stand please.

 

[ocnitsa]

As the others have stated, testing it with an external monitor is a good start. As other others have stated, taking the bottom off and taking a peek, is a good idea, too, especially in the context of iFixit repairing the screen cable or entire screen.

In response to concerns that it is irretrievably damaged because the chassis is bent, I've had an old unibody 15 mbp crash through a glass table top and bounce off a patio concrete floor. It was bent much like in the picture (ethernet port was mangled)...that thing continued to work fine for several months (screen wasn't even cracked).