Water Spill on MacBook Air, Should I Go to The Apple Store?

acinod on 03/03/2019 - 19:26

I recently spilled a glass of water over my Macbook Air (2012) keyboard and it immediately turned off. I started wiping the water to dry and then tried to turn it on but nothing happened. After a while, the fan suddenly was on max for a few minutes before going down to a lower intensity. The whole time the screen was not on. After a while, the fan was off and the Macbook was back to being dead. I found a youtube video that told me to flip it upside down and place it under a towel which I did but nothing worked so I'm currently storing it inside a rice bag to dry.

I'm thinking about going to the Apple Store tomorrow which would be exactly 20 hours since the accident. Is this the best course of action I should take?

I also recently replaced the battery of my Macbook. If worse comes to worse, will I be able to take out the battery (assuming it still works) and sell it?

Thanks in advance.

Computing Apple Computer Laptop Ultrabook

Comments

  • 87percent on 03/03/2019 - 19:30
    +1

    Probably not worth it to fix, sell it for parts after you take it to one of those places that don't charge to quote

  • flud on 03/03/2019 - 19:34
    +1

    Go to Apple store and get it checked, they might be able to repair it if the water hasn't gone to the water damage indicator.

    • altomic on 03/03/2019 - 19:59
      +5

      it will cost more to repair than a new macbook. apple prey on people for repairs.

    • Hybroid on 03/03/2019 - 19:59

      This is the correct answer. There's enough anecdotal claims out there that it's a 50-50 chance of either getting a brand new 2018 model for free or being given a really expensive quotation to repair it. Good luck.

  • whooah1979 on 03/03/2019 - 19:35
    +7

    Buy a 25kg bag of rice. Eat half and bury the laptop in the other half.

    • greyeye on 04/03/2019 - 09:50

      Rice bag method is when you're middle of no where and has no access to alternative means. (or you're in super hurry and got nothing else)
      Just order Silica bag/packs from Amazon or ebay and seal it in the water tight bag (ziplock?) and leave there for a while
      eg https://www.amazon.com/moisture-absorbing-packets/s?k=moistu…

  • [Deactivated] on 03/03/2019 - 19:45
    -5

    Sell it on ebay. Some bozo will buy it.

    • JIMB0 on 03/03/2019 - 21:25

      Along with a bag of rice.

  • dcep on 03/03/2019 - 19:50
    +13

    I started wiping the water to dry and then tried to turn it on …

    You just killed it twice.

  • z10cvbnm on 03/03/2019 - 19:51
    +5

    Should have left them turned off for a while after the incident and let it dry using the rice bag method. Try and see if they turn on tomorrow.

    • FireRunner on 03/03/2019 - 19:58

      It sounds a bit late but I would try put it in a bag of rice overnight and see what happens the next day.
      I've seen a phone come back to life after I presumed it dead by water damage. Wouldn't hold my breath but still worth a shot.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/03/2019 - 19:54
    -1

    spilled a glass of water

    Yard glass or shot glass?

  • nahi11 on 03/03/2019 - 20:07

    Buy a new Macbook for 2k

  • tighttighttight1 on 03/03/2019 - 20:25
    -2

    Do this if you still have warranty:
    - Store it in a container of rice for a week. Hopefully any remnants of water has evaporated
    - Bring it back and claim you are unsure what is wrong with your MacBook
    - They generally just swap it after doing some initial tests
    All the best!

    • Mr Brown on 03/03/2019 - 20:30

      Seems like quite a dishonest method

      • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 04/03/2019 - 08:21
        +2

        We're talking about Apple here…

    • [Deactivated] on 03/03/2019 - 20:31
      +5

      2012

      Still have warranty. I don't think so.

    • WreckTangle on 03/03/2019 - 20:38
      +5

      Macbooks have indicators inside that turn red if there is a liquid spill. Grains of rice inside the conputer are also a dead giveaway.

      • Zachary on 03/03/2019 - 20:44
        -1

        whoa do they?

        • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 04/03/2019 - 08:22

          Not sure on laptops, but I know they have these for phones so I'd assume the same.

      • bamzero on 04/03/2019 - 12:53
        +1

        What's worse is they have been known to trigger from high humidity environments too.

        Check out some videos from Louis Rossmann.

        I think warranty claims aside, the chances of the OP getting a fair quote to repair from Apple is slim anyway, and the price they give will coincidentally be around that of buying a new one.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/03/2019 - 22:56
      +2

      They have indicators inside them to show water damage, they don't reverse once dried out. They will know if it has water damage.

      • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 04/03/2019 - 08:23

        Which'd just make OP look a bit silly and the staff less inclined to want to help.

  • RRM300 on 03/03/2019 - 20:51
    +3

    I use to work at apple . MacBook air 2012 is very limited to repair . Even if you wanted to repair it . It not worth wasting money on repair.If you still choose to go you have to make a appointment online.If you walk in it will be a long wait .hope this helps

  • Georgevic on 03/03/2019 - 21:21
    +2

    for future ref… the way to deal with spills is to immediately turn it off, turn it upside down and let it dry out for a couple of days. water evaporates

  • Richardc on 03/03/2019 - 21:25

    take apart, use circuit board cleaner. Good luck.

  • smhto on 04/03/2019 - 09:20

    Same thing happened to my Dell. After the rice method I used a hair dryer on low heat

  • Hoju on 04/03/2019 - 09:26

    You could always try taking apart the logic board and putting it in the oven. I’ve done this a few times for short lived repair purposes (to get my data off) - lasts a few weeks or more then dies again
    Not a tough job, great guides on ifixit

  • acinod on 04/03/2019 - 09:34

    Looks like the laptop is pretty much dead :(

    But good chance to buy a new one anyways!

    Is $1997 from Officeworks the best price for a 256GB MacBook Air at the moment?

    https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/macbook-ai…

    Could I get it any cheaper using education discounts for students from Apple or JB price match?

    Thanks everyone for all the helpful comments by the way! Did not expect so much response in such a short amount of time. To note, I’ve posted this same post on multiple tech forums and none of them compare to the help I get here (max 1 reply at most).

  • HighAndDry on 04/03/2019 - 10:41
    +1

    and then tried to turn it on

    Sigh.

  • bmw983 on 04/03/2019 - 11:34

    DO u have Apple Care that would take most of the cost off :)

  • rogerm22 on 04/03/2019 - 16:06
    -3

    The only reasonable course of action to take, is to throw it in the bin and buy a Windows laptop. You'll then have a working computer with a decent opearting system, instead than the disater that macOS is. Depending on the laptop you buy, it may offer better quality than a Mac, which is another plus.

    Of course I'm not seriously suggesting that you throw away your laptop. But don't use rice.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPeITOz2_YM

  • texanaust on 04/03/2019 - 17:01

    You have not waited long enough. I did exactly the same thing with my macbook pro 2014. Place the macbook on a chair upside down and have a portable fan blowing directly on the vent areas/keyboard. Leave the fan running and do not touch the computer for 72 hours. Then plug it in and try to turn it back on. I cannot guarantee it this method will work, but it did for me and the computer still works to this day. Other blogs have posted about this method being successful too.

    Don't waste your time with the rice-that works better for a iphone not macbook. Take your time and DO NOT restart for 72 hours. (and yes I was too impatient and restarted after a few hours. It sizzled and died again-you have to give it time.

  • watwatwat on 04/03/2019 - 20:14

    You had electrical components covered with water. Why did you try to turn it on???

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