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Water in Macbook Pro 13", Turned on, it did! Then shut off... fix price, options?

S

scrutman

Guest
Original poster
Mar 19, 2009
14
0
Hey. So briefly.

On way home, layed bag flat with macbook inside. Water bottle cap not tight all the way. Felt cold on right leg, thought it was cold aluminum. Felt it and was water. Had very small puddle at bottom of bag. Immediately took macbook out and wiped down. No water inside keyboard area. Did not lift screen enough to wake from sleep. White light still intermittently flashing indicating that. Went to apple store. They opened lid and immediately held down power to shut off completely. Went to back and took off back lid, came back and said that it produced a puddle??? Not impressed with that or way it was said. They advised to leave it for 1-3 days. Went home, took off back lid, inspected and absolutely no water at all! Put back lid back on and turned on. It booted to login screen, then past after entering info. Loaded programs galore. After 5-8 minutes, shut down by itself. Tried turning on again, I hear boot chime then something clicking off inside, no screen. Then white light flases as if it is put in hibernation mode. I try one more time to hold down power and then boot up again, chime and same thing. No screen at all, click inside (dvd drive?) and hibernate...

What do you think? Battery indicator says full. White light flashes. No screen though and no boot up. Everything backed up on time capsule. Is there hope after 1-3 days? If not, what do you think is fried? What's the cost estimate? Anyone ever have a favour by apple because of extreme loyalty to the brand (product buying).

Thanks for listening and assisting. Will try anything.
 
scrutman said:
Hey. So briefly.

On way home, layed bag flat with macbook inside. Water bottle cap not tight all the way. Felt cold on right leg, thought it was cold aluminum. Felt it and was water. Had very small puddle at bottom of bag. Immediately took macbook out and wiped down. No water inside keyboard area. Did not lift screen enough to wake from sleep. White light still intermittently flashing indicating that. Went to apple store. They opened lid and immediately held down power to shut off completely. Went to back and took off back lid, came back and said that it produced a puddle??? Not impressed with that or way it was said. They advised to leave it for 1-3 days. Went home, took off back lid, inspected and absolutely no water at all! Put back lid back on and turned on. It booted to login screen, then past after entering info. Loaded programs galore. After 5-8 minutes, shut down by itself. Tried turning on again, I hear boot chime then something clicking off inside, no screen. Then white light flases as if it is put in hibernation mode. I try one more time to hold down power and then boot up again, chime and same thing. No screen at all, click inside (dvd drive?) and hibernate...

What do you think? Battery indicator says full. White light flashes. No screen though and no boot up. Everything backed up on time capsule. Is there hope after 1-3 days? If not, what do you think is fried? What's the cost estimate? Anyone ever have a favour by apple because of extreme loyalty to the brand (product buying).

Thanks for listening and assisting. Will try anything.
Click to expand...

Sorry man. Buy new MacBook or leave it for repairs at Apple. You can't fault Apple for finding a puddle since you yourself knew your water bottle was not tight and felt cold water (I want some cold water!), on your right leg.
 
I am sorry to hear about this; accidents happen and I know water damage can be very stressful. You will not want to hear this, but almost every time I have dealt with an electronic device that suffered water damage, even after it was repaired it never functioned the same. I say that as you may not want to sink too much money into a repair given you could be dealing with a variety of problems or have weak areas that could go up at any time. :(
 
TheFarmer said:
Sorry man. Buy new MacBook or leave it for repairs at Apple. You can't fault Apple for finding a puddle since you yourself knew your water bottle was not tight and felt cold water (I want some cold water!), on your right leg.
Click to expand...

repairs possibly costing?
funny, because the macbook is a month old.
 
scrutman said:
Went to back and took off back lid, came back and said that it produced a puddle??? They advised to leave it for 1-3 days.
Click to expand...

Okay.

Went home, took off back lid, inspected and absolutely no water at all! Put back lid back on and turned on.
Click to expand...

So you ignored their advice immediately and turned it on?! Why on earth would you do that? Because you weren't "impressed" with their diagnosis? Did you think they were lying to you? If so, to what end? To frustrate you? Come on - if there was even a *chance* they were correct (which they clearly were) - you should have followed their advice and waited. Seriously, I cannot understand the logic behind what you did - you basically messed up any chance you had of your computer recovering from the spill. After getting explicit advice.

Thanks for listening and assisting. Will try anything.
Click to expand...

What you should have tried was listening to what the Geniuses told you to do. This just put me in a bad mood because this didn't have to happen to you. I'll let other people give you the compassion you probably need, I'm all out. Forum break.
 
update.

I totally hear you out. I have good news and maybe it's salvageable. The macbook wasn't actually hibernating. Read online that the led backlight could be malfunctioning and the screen was still lit up. I shone a flashlight at the screen while turned on and it does boot up. Programs and all and stays that way. I see the apple symbol and the spinning wheel and the login screen and the programs. No backlight on the screen. Keyboard works, keyb backlight works, trackpad, speakers... just the led backlight.

What's the prognosis of having this fixed... and not the entire thing. Is this looking better for me. Yes, I agree, I was stupid. I wouldn't be in this position if I left it off. Trust me, I'm beating myself up for it.
 
Queen of Spades said:
Okay.



So you ignored their advice immediately and turned it on?! Why on earth would you do that? Because you weren't "impressed" with their diagnosis? Did you think they were lying to you? If so, to what end? To frustrate you? Come on - if there was even a *chance* they were correct (which they clearly were) - you should have followed their advice and waited. Seriously, I cannot understand the logic behind what you did - you basically messed up any chance you had of your computer recovering from the spill. After getting explicit advice.



What you should have tried was listening to what the Geniuses told you to do. This just put me in a bad mood because this didn't have to happen to you. I'll let other people give you the compassion you probably need, I'm all out. Forum break.
Click to expand...

I hate to say it, but this is the best response I can think of.

As for repair options, unless you get REALLY, REALLY lucky with a Genius who feels sorry for you, you're looking at $900+ for a full logic board, hard drive, probably superdrive replacement. Also, possibly a screen replacement.

On second though, I'd revise that estimate upwards of $1100.

Good luck.

-d
 
scrutman said:
I totally hear you out. I have good news and maybe it's salvageable. The macbook wasn't actually hibernating. Read online that the led backlight could be malfunctioning and the screen was still lit up. I shone a flashlight at the screen while turned on and it does boot up. Programs and all and stays that way. I see the apple symbol and the spinning wheel and the login screen and the programs. No backlight on the screen. Keyboard works, keyb backlight works, trackpad, speakers... just the led backlight.

What's the prognosis of having this fixed... and not the entire thing. Is this looking better for me. Yes, I agree, I was stupid. I wouldn't be in this position if I left it off. Trust me, I'm beating myself up for it.
Click to expand...

Leave it off for a month (its hard I know, but water really does take a long time to dry), then try turning it on.

If it doesn't work after the month then it's toast.

I understand if you can't go without a computer for a month (who can these days?), in which case you'll probably have to fork out for a replacement or a repair job.
 
Queen of Spades said:
What you should have tried was listening to what the Geniuses told you to do. This just put me in a bad mood because this didn't have to happen to you. I'll let other people give you the compassion you probably need, I'm all out. Forum break.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone will disagree with you. Indeed their action was the wrong thing to do, but it's done now. I feel bad given how much water damage can cost. With that said, that doesn't mean anyone is saying that Apple should fix it under warranty, as they explicitly (and rightfully) state electronic warranties are voided by water damage. We all make mistakes...but showing compassion doesn't mean promoting any sort of exception. They're two separate things.
 
Queen of Spades said:
Okay.



So you ignored their advice immediately and turned it on?! Why on earth would you do that? Because you weren't "impressed" with their diagnosis? Did you think they were lying to you? If so, to what end? To frustrate you? Come on - if there was even a *chance* they were correct (which they clearly were) - you should have followed their advice and waited. Seriously, I cannot understand the logic behind what you did - you basically messed up any chance you had of your computer recovering from the spill. After getting explicit advice.



What you should have tried was listening to what the Geniuses told you to do. This just put me in a bad mood because this didn't have to happen to you. I'll let other people give you the compassion you probably need, I'm all out. Forum break.
Click to expand...

+1 - These were my thoughts when reading this. I wish you the best of luck OP, it is unfortunate and an expensive lesson, but you should have listened to the genius :(
 
Went to apple store to explain situation and it's getting fixed.

Hey everyone. To close up a thread where I initially felt incredibly stupid not following advice of the genius... I went to apple store today and spoke to another genius. Was very honest and made no fabricated excuse. Delivered the news of $520.00 to replace logicboard. After a bit, told him that it really upsets me, not mad at him or apple at all... he stated he was going to see what magic he could work out...

Total cost of repair - $520
Total with magic discounts - $0.00

How I feel - Amazing!

This is truly the reason why I love this company and why my home looks like an apple showroom.

Thanks everyone! It really pays to be honest and up front.
 
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