About an hour ago I spilled some beer on my MacBook keyboard. It wasn’t a lot but the screen turned off right away and the fans starting blasting. I immediately put it upside down on a bed of rice and it suddenly restarted. 5 second later the screen turned off again. I haven’t tried to turn it on but the fans keep going. I thought this meant it wasn’t shut down so I pressed the power button and they stopped for a second then started going again. I know it should be turned off until it dries out but I’m not sure if it actually is or not. Advice?
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Spilled beer on my MacBook Pro!!!
- Thread starter Presleysteeth
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I think you need to make sure the power is off: open the bottom cover, and unplug the battery connector.
Do we know if it’s possible for a fan to be going while it’s turned off? The fan is the only thing making me doubt if it’s shut off and I don’t want to risk messing with any circuitry while there’s liquid inside
Beer is acidic, and can kill your computer. I would rinse it out asap with water (distilled if you have it, bottled or tap if not). Water will not eat at contacts like beer or soda will. Keep drying it and take it to get repaired first thing in the morning. Putting it upside down while open and directing a strong fan at it will dry it quicker than the rice, I think.
The fans might be blasting because of a short.
The fans might be blasting because of a short.
I agree. I would disassemble it if possible, and clean everything with distilled water. Let it dry. Put I back together when you are sure it's dried out, and then try to start it up. I'm not so sure you're going to be able to throughly clean under the keyboard, though. It may remain sticky under there.
If the fan is turning, your MacBook Pro is NOT off.
If the power won't turn off from the normal power button, then you must open 'er up, and disconnect the battery.
(The "rice" thing remains an enduring myth - and not in a good way. It only delays the inevitable cleaning that will need to happen. You, at a minimum, should open it up to take a look inside. Any kind of moisture, and electronic parts are never a good combination.
If the power won't turn off from the normal power button, then you must open 'er up, and disconnect the battery.
(The "rice" thing remains an enduring myth - and not in a good way. It only delays the inevitable cleaning that will need to happen. You, at a minimum, should open it up to take a look inside. Any kind of moisture, and electronic parts are never a good combination.
What kind of beer was it ? Microbrew craft beer ? Or Walmart off the shelf can of suds commercial beer ?
Um, yeah. I got that. Wasn’t exactly on purpose. Next time some advice on what can help me now would be appreciated, ‘cause you know, that’s what I asked for.
IF you go this way DO NOT USE bottled or tap water! .....both will contain minerals/salts so to say....which are conductive. 'De-ionized' water is what you really want.
Unfortunately you're (and other readers) are learning for a possible future occurrence. On another note this happened to me years ago with coffee ( with sugar...conductive! ) and I got lucky: immediately turned it off...opened it and dried it for a day or two...machine never acted up afterwards. Again, probably luck as to where the water deposited.
while being a tech repair dude in madison wi, i have revitalized or resuscitated several beer drench macbooks
what i did
1) take of back cover
2) absorb liquid with non cotton cloth
3) wait for dry
4) learn proper english!
5) go over every circuit with rubbing alcohol and q-tipz
6) press power button with battery only
7) use screw driver on 2 power points above the keyboard ribbon power button does not work
8) hear chime
9) restart cmd pr-cmd-opt then shut down, power button restart
10) see if things are normal which they usually are
10a sometimes the power button or cap lock light key is toast, oh well!
what i did
1) take of back cover
2) absorb liquid with non cotton cloth
3) wait for dry
4) learn proper english!
5) go over every circuit with rubbing alcohol and q-tipz
6) press power button with battery only
7) use screw driver on 2 power points above the keyboard ribbon power button does not work
8) hear chime
9) restart cmd pr-cmd-opt then shut down, power button restart
10) see if things are normal which they usually are
10a sometimes the power button or cap lock light key is toast, oh well!
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Tap water is indeed slightly conductive (5-50 mS/m, depending on its mineral content) and might cause shorts. However, it is not corrosive like beer. Beer/soda can destroy microscopic contacts, and are even more conductive (150 mS/m) than drinking water. So flushing with tap water as an emergency measure is still the lesser of two evils.
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If removable SSD, remove and take to Apple store for data retrieval, otherwise curse Apple for being duplicitous money mongering business.
Put macbook up for sale "for parts" on ebay.
Crack another beer
Put macbook up for sale "for parts" on ebay.
Crack another beer
Okay got it! It’s been about 24 hours now, I’ve been at work all day so it’s still drying upside down with the fan on it. About to get home, is it too late to use water?
Also: should I be using the water on the inside after taking out the battery? Some people have said not to open it or take out the battery while there’s liquid inside, so I’m torn on what to do. So far I haven’t opened it or messed with anything on the inside
please do not use water, rubbing alcohol cleans the beer, hops, etc and the other residue by evaporating instead of saturating like water does.
if the power button does not work use a small flat crew driver-tap 2 points above the keyboard ribbon on the logic for seconds until the chime or fan spins, then breathe a sigh of relief!
if the power button does not work use a small flat crew driver-tap 2 points above the keyboard ribbon on the logic for seconds until the chime or fan spins, then breathe a sigh of relief!
Just so it's clear, I'm winging it, based on what I've read, not out of expertise/experience. I'd say that if you take the battery out, shorts can't happen, so that's good. If the beer has dried out, probably any corrosion that can happen will have already happened, so you might as well wait to have a pro clean it. If it's still wet then wash it out and hope for the best.
Here are tips from reliable pros (see comments, too):
www.ifixit.com
Here are tips from reliable pros (see comments, too):
Ask iFixit: I Spilled Liquid on My Laptop—Now What? | iFixit News
Turn it off. Wipe it off. Drain it out. Open it if you can, check the battery, clean the board with isopropyl. Wait, then check. You got this.
www.ifixit.com
You want to dilute and flush. If it evaporates too quickly you could end up spreading the muck inside the case and then have it try there. Do you know for sure that there are no components which dissolve in rubbing alcohol?
well the rubber part atop the heat sink.....but this procedure is how we saved logic boards
I'm sure the original poster has common sense not to swab anything else but the circuits.
this situation is tough because we can't see the damage as in real life.
i and the others offering their helpful advice have no idea of the damage spectrum, and just type our past experiences in getting that MacBook to work again, which it should.
I appreciate everyone’s advice! I would take a picture of the inside, but again I’m scared to open it when I don’t really know what I’m doing. I have an Apple appointment on Monday, until then I have it tented facing down with a fan blowing on it. Hopefully someone can open it up and clean it and it will work? Even if there’s problems down the road, that’s better than it being completely fried. (I’m on a payment plan, so I would be paying for a computer that doesn’t work for another year).
Ship it to Louis Rossman.
OR buy some Isopropyl Alcohol and a SOft toothbrush has to be soft. And gl to town like this guy beer spill macbook video repair.