How To Protect Macbook From Water Damage

Spilled water on a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, what to practice now?

You spilled water on a MacBook Air/Pro and information technology turned off well-nigh instantly. What to exercise now? Follow the instructions of this guide to minimize the liquid damage and increase the survival take a chance of your water damaged MacBook. This guide is written by the technicians and engineers who perform MacBook water harm repair hundreds of times every year. Information technology non just tells you what to do if you spilled water on MacBooks only also explains the reasons behind each step. Information technology provides a comprehensive view deep within the engineering design of Apple MacBooks.

1. Switch OFF the h2o-damaged MacBook immediately.

This is the first thing you lot must practise if you spilled water on your Macbook Air or Pro. Hold down the ability button for at least five seconds until the ability is off and then release the push button. Do not bear on the button again; otherwise, you may accidentally plough it on again. Forget about any unsaved documents, the sooner you cutting off the power, the safer your MacBook will be as well as your priceless data in information technology.

spilled water on macbook - force shut down the macbook

spilled a cup of coffee on a macbook pro

If the water-damaged MacBook cannot be turned off by holding the power button, it means the MacBook keyboard has already stopped functioning. The keyboard cannot send the software-level "Force Shutdown" command to the MacBook logic board. Don't panic, y'all still have other methods to shut downwardly the Mac laptop.

Quickly use tissues to blot the liquid that you tin meet on the surface of the MacBook keyboard, touchpad and screen, then close the hat straight abroad. Past doing so you effectively actuate the hardware-level slumber sensor. When the logic board detects the sleep sensor betoken, it will cut off the ability to the CPU, screen, SSD drive and most of supporting circuits.

The MacBook then enters into shallow sleep mode. In the shallow sleep mode, the memory chips are still receiving power. This design enables the laptop to be wakeup fast in normal use. Keep the lid closed for a while the MacBook will automatically enter into deep sleep mode. In deep slumber mode, the logic board cuts off the ability to the memory fries. Your CPU, screen, SSD drive and RAM are all at safe manus now. Never open the hat to wake up (ability-up) the laptop over again.

If the MacBook screen is still on (you can run into the low-cal) even you close the lid, your MacBook's logic lath is declining and out of command. But most of the time the damage is pocket-sized. Now if you tin can quickly unplug the charger and disconnect the battery from the logic lath, your MacBook however has a good hazard of survival.

2. Unplug the charger if it's still connected to the water-damaged MacBook.

This step is less critical than the first one. Unplugging the charger alone will NOT cut off the power to the CPU and other important components. The internal MacBook bombardment is notwithstanding powering the Mac laptop at full speed if you did non close downwards the laptop by holding the ability button. Past unplugging the charger, you lot plow off the charging circuit of the logic board. Fifty-fifty though water damage to the charging excursion is nearly 100% repairable, the circuit's college voltage ( fourteen.5V for MacBook Air, 20V for MacBook Pro Retina ) is still a nifty threat. So unplug the charger at present. If you tin come up upwardly to this indicate, you have turned off 99% of the MacBook logic board circuits. The merely remaining "ON" circuit is the "standby" circuit and it is much less destructive in a liquid damaged Mac laptop.

The MagSafe charger outputs xiv.5V for MacBook Air and 16.v-20V for MacBook Pro, it is misleading that you could get an electric shock past touching the laptop. In fact, the MagSafe charger will automatically shut downwardly output if over-current or leakage-electric current is detected.

In an extremely rare case, if the MagSafe charger is too submerged in the liquid, the danger is from the charger'southward input power cord (240V Air conditioning in Australia and 110V AC in the U.s.a.), non the output (20V or less) of the accuse. Then in this instance, it is still safe to touch the water-damaged MacBook, but not the charger. You lot need to unplug the power cord from the mains socket.

iii. Forbid h2o from dripping into the vent holes and unplug any peripherals.

Practise non motion the MacBook. Yous should attempt to cake the water from dropping into the vent holes located between the keyboard and the screen. The vent holes are designed for transferring heat out of the logic lath to the open air. Protecting the logic board is the virtually crucial step minimising damage from spilled water on a MacBook.

There is nothing between the vent holes and the logic lath every bit shown in the picture beneath. If you tin prevent water from reaching the vent holes, you minimise the damage. Unplug any connected external USB drive and whatever other adopters. Use a towel or tissues to absorb the remaining water on the Macbook keyboard, touchpad and screen as quick as possible.

MacBook Pro vent holes top view and bottom view

spilled water macbook air pro

Our data shows that in about eighty% of MacBook liquid damage cases, water had reached to the logic lath from the vent holes. This is why blocking the water from the vent holes is first priority. H2o too tin can enter from the gaps of the touchpad, USB ports, charging port, Thunderbolt port and HDMI port. Since these gaps are very pocket-sized, the water entered is limited.

The MacBook keyboard has an air-tight machinery with two layers of plastic sheets. The backlight layer of the keyboard besides provides extra protection by sealing the keyboard from underneath. It is well-nigh impossible for the h2o inbound straight from the MacBook keyboard to the logic lath. A silicone keyboard encompass will protect the keyboard, but not the dedicated Apple tree Mac logic board. The silicone cover may help to quickly distribute h2o to the vent holes or the touchpad gaps, resulting in more damage.

4. Remove the battery from the water-damaged MacBook

Turn over the MacBook, you may use a pentagon screwdriver to open the back case cover, or a Phillip screwdriver to open the older models. Use your fingernail or a plastic stick to remove the bombardment connector from the logic board.

Never use a metal screwdriver. Otherwise, you may short circuit the battery or even worse, destroy the SMC (System Management Controller) by sending the 12V battery power directly to it. How important is the SMC? Well, you lot can buy a new CPU from Intel, but y'all cannot buy whatever new SMC from Apple! You will have to wait for a donor SMC from a dead Mac of the exact same model and aforementioned year.

spilled water macbook - disconnect the battery

There is no immediate threat to your MacBook if you lot are at this point. Yous have turned off ALL the circuits on your defended logic board. Time to seek a professional MacBook water damage repair service now.

IT-Tech Online has saved hundreds of liquid-damaged MacBooks every year. If you take a liquid-impairment Mac laptop, contact us now or use our mail-in service in Australia.

5. Drain the MacBook while waiting for professional person MacBook water damage repair.

There are two methods of draining a water damage MacBook.

The first method is to place the MacBook in the "tent" position. If your Mac laptop is a pre-2018 MacBook Air or a Pre-2013 MacBook Pro with a non-retina screen, this method will work for you. This method is easy and effective on those older MacBook models as the screens are watertight. There is a front aluminium frame ( in MacBook Air ) or a front end protective glass ( in MacBook Pro with a non-retina screen) to prevent the water from inbound into inside the screen.

However, if you have a MacBook with retina screen, don't use the "tent" method. In order to make the new retina screens thinner, lighter and maximise the viewable department, Apple got rid of the bulky aluminium frame and protective glass. The new retina screens are NOT h2o-resistant. If yous put this type of screen in "tent" position, you may help to distribute the water from the lesser edge to the optical (reflective) motion-picture show inside the screen. The affected screen may still exist functional, only the watermarks on the background heavily affect the image quality equally shown in the photo below. Nosotros have seen this done more frequently to water-damaged MacBooks with retina screen, particularly the latest touch bar model. A new retina screen costs betwixt $500 to $1200. And so if you take a retina screen, don't employ the "tent" method.

The 2d method we discuss beneath can be used for all type of MacBook screens. It will guaranty the water not getting into inside the screen.

Open MacBook lid at an angle of xc degrees. Place it on the border of a benchtop with the MacBook screen facing down to the bench and keyboard section hanging over the edge as shown in the photo below. Since the screen lays flat on the tabular array, the water will not move into within the screen and will be dried up quicker. Protect the screen by putting a kitchen paper towel under the MacBook screen panel and forestall the MacBook from falling over the benchtop.

Spilled water on macbook - bleed water away from the macbook

spilled water macbook air pro

All mac laptops follow this pattern layout: the logic lath is under the keyboard and the battery is nether the touchpad. The gravity volition pull the remaining water from the keyboard towards the touchpad section, and finally off the MacBook case. Any water that has already got into the logic lath will also be pulled into a less vulnerable section. With the bottom cover removed, the water damage MacBook should be dried after 24 hours.

Warning: If yous spilled water on MacBook Air 2018 or MacBook Pro 2016 onwards models, exercise non open the lid. One time you open the chapeau, the MacBook will automatically power upwardly again unless you take already disconnected the battery from the logic board. This "automatically powering up" is the new feature of the latest MacBook design. Follow the same procedure to shut down the laptop if you accidentally open it. Disconnecting the internal battery from these new MacBook models is a scrap complicated and is across the power of a non-technical person. If you are in this situation, the best thing you tin can do is merely letting the MacBook prevarication flat with the hat closed and getting information technology serviced as soon as possible.

Do non shake the water damaged MacBook, particularly if the water is already in the hinge section. Doing this volition only spread the h2o around and force the water into dedicate components such as the BGA assurance of the CPU or the backlight film of the screen.

half-dozen. A word on the hairdryer and the legend of using rice.

It has been popular to utilise uncooked rice and hairdryers to remedy a h2o-damaged MacBook. Nosotros take found rice almost every calendar week in the liquid-damaged MacBooks sent to our shop for repair!

Rice found in a liquid-damage Macbook Air

There is zilch wrong with using a hairdryer or rice to dry the MacBook, even though it is very inefficient and unnecessary almost of the fourth dimension. The real harm of these legends lies in the thought of turning on the laptop without proper treatment after the drying process.

The electronic bridges known equally shorted circuits could be formed anywhere among the logic board circuits by a mixture of wet, dusks, minerals and carbohydrate. One time you plough on the laptop, these bridges kickoff the killings, resulting in astringent fifty-fifty fatal amercement shown below.

Spilled water on macbook - logic board fries corrosion

At that place is a take a chance that the water did not brand the mode to the logic board and simply the keyboard or touchpad got damaged. Spilling a small-scale amount of h2o does not guarantee the water did non reach to the logic board. The merely way to find out safely is to pull the logic board out from the case and audit it under a microscope. Without inspection and proper treatment, turning on a water-damaged MacBook that has been stale is a gamble with very poor odds. This is the reason why spilled h2o and h2o impairment is the number one killer of MacBooks. We never power upwardly a reported liquid-damage MacBook straight. Instead, nosotros will pull the logic board out and assess the damage kickoff. This unproblematic footstep has helped united states of america increasing the success rates.

seven. Types of MacBook h2o harm repair services currently bachelor

If you spilled water on your MacBook, we recommend taking information technology to a reputable service provider. Many of them take feel with water-damaged MacBook, still, in that location are various types and "levels" of service they offer that you should be aware of:

Level 1: Clean the logic board. Make clean or replace the keyboard, touchpad, screen, battery, and hard bulldoze. Then assemble dorsum to the instance for testing. If the logic board is faulty, you will be informed the MacBook is not repairable. You lot might be asked to supersede the whole logic board at a high cost if a "refurbished" logic lath is available. Normally, this type of service provider volition charge you an assessment fee since the cleaning work is fourth dimension-consuming and the success rate is very low. The Apple authorised repairers and most tertiary-party repairers provide this level of service.

A liquid-damaged MacBook will automatically void Apple'due south standard warranty. If you have purchased AppleCare+ for Mac, your Mac will be covered by Apple tree and a service fee will be practical. Apple does not provide data recovery services. If y'all demand the data, you accept to get a Mac data recovery service from a third-party repairer before challenge the warranty.

Level 2: Clean or supercede the keyboard, touchpad, screen, battery, and difficult drive. Supplant the corroded fries on the logic lath then clean it in an ultrasonic cleaner. A technician with micro-soldering skills can perform this job. The success rate of this service is higher than the previous ane, so the repairer may or may not charge an assessment fee. A few tertiary-political party repairers tin provide this service as sure degrees of skills and knowledge required.

Level 3: In improver to the above services, an engineer will perform troubleshooting the remaining faulty fries which could not be spotted by a microscope. This task requires high-level skills, knowledge, equipment and nigh importantly: a comprehensive understanding of the Apple logic board design. In addition to the Apple tree contractors "Depot" facilities located merely in the US and Mainland china, but a scattering of third-party repairers provide service at this level. We provide this service in Melbourne and accept mail-in from all over Australia. Normally, this level repairers will not charge the cess fee equally the high success rate will cover the toll of the failed one.

8. Final note: keep your MacBook away from its curvation-enemy, your DRINK.

Spilled water on a MacBook Air or Pro is a very mutual Mac disaster and the most mutual kind of cases we deal with. If you lot found this guide helpful, why don't you share information technology on social media with your friends and colleagues? They may need it one day.

IT-Tech Online is a summit Mac repair specialist in Commonwealth of australia. Our services include MacBook repairs, iMac repairs and Mac mini repairs.

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