The Official "I spilled liquid in my MacBook, what do I do now?" Thread

Using a 2012 unibody MacBook Pro.

Accidentally spilled liquid for my electronic cigarette over the bottom right of the MacBook around the left arrow key was not much liquid at all though so was not too worried at the time. Cleaned it and it seemed to be working fine about 30 minutes after then it started to go wrong when the left arrow key started bugging out a lot so I turned it off and left it over night upside down. When I tried to turn it on this morning it wouldn't work so left it for the whole day and it's still not working although it does charge up and the charge indicators on the left of the MacBook is showing the green lights so it must still have some life right? Is there anything I can do to fix this or it there an obvious answer to what has gone wrong so I can get it repaired? Would appreciate any help as I am quite worried, thank you

The liquid from the electronic cigarette probably seeped through the keyboard and possibly on to the logic board which resides underneath. If your MacBook Pro was on at the time it happened, something may have shorted out. If you're handy at taking things apart, you might want to disassemble the MacBook Pro and try to see if any damage occurred and clean up liquid that may be left.

For take apart instructions, go to: www.ifixit.com

Thank you for the fast reply I appreciate it not too good with taking things apart but I may give it a go in hope it will fix my laptop thanks

Macbook pro "boots" directly in to sleep mode

Hi! My situation is that that my Macbook pro (late 2011 / QC 2.4 / Hi Res-Matt / SSD) was spilled over with about 150 ml of beer on the right side of the keyboard. Immediately shut down, then unplugged the battery, took out disk and let it all dry upside down and opened for 48 hrs. Then assembled it back together, all was actually looking dry from the beginning, but...after 14 days of working perfectly, problems arose:

At first grey flickering horizontal lines appeared upon trying to turn it on and seemed it couldn't boot up or just graphics-display didn't work. After many attempts, it has booted up, but whenever it went back to sleep or if I closed the lid to make it so, it didn't wake up later anymore. At last, when I tried to boot up the switched off computer, I just saw a black screen. And after many attempts, I somehow succeeded to turn it on, again, miraculously working perfect, I am just keeping it on, disabling the option to go to sleep and no turning off. Working great for days now, but I can't switch it off, I guess I'm in big trouble then again.

What I have done so far problem solving: tried PRAM, SMC reset; Apple hardware check didnt's show any errors; tried to remove ram and putting back in...

...I kinda tend to believe in general computer should be good, seeing it working perfectly also under great CPU stress (running audio plugins i.e.), but I can't define what could be wrong so it's switching on into "sleep" mode without a chime and without anything on its screen.

Thanks for your thoughts!!!

Spills can be unpredictable as to what may happen in the future to your MacBook Pro. Beer is highly corrosive. Unless you took everything apart and cleaned all traces of the beer, I suspect you will have problems. Save your money for a new computer is the best advice we can offer for now.

Uporabniq said:

Thanks for your thoughts!!!

Click to expand...

Liquids + Electricity = Problems

Think about what would happen if someone threw a running hair dryer into a tub filled with water (with someone in it). Not a very pleasant picture.

This is exactly the same thing that happens to a running computer when liquid is spilled on it. The damage happens in milliseconds. No way a human can react fast enough to stop the damage.

The way to prevent this sort of thing is…don't consume liquids near laptop computers!

- Nick

Thank you for the reply.

What confuses me is that EVERYTHING works perfectly, as long as I am able to keep it awake. So this is really not a "good sign"?

Considering also now it's been 14 days since the spill...hmmm

I even thought about - as a theory - what if the OS X installation went berzerk, what if those symptoms are software related? Any other thought? Thanks

Uporabniq said:

What confuses me is that EVERYTHING works perfectly, as long as I am able to keep it awake. So this is really not a "good sign"?

Click to expand...

But…this is why EVERYTHING is NOT working perfectly. The words "perfect" and "everything" mean 100%. And the computer is not working fine 100%. Something is obviously not working properly…since you have this problem.

Uporabniq said:

Considering also now it's been 14 days since the spill…hmmm

Click to expand...

Just the same problem happening over & over. If your car has a flat tire. 14 days later (if not repaired)…that tire is still going to be flat. Waiting 14 days will not change anything (the damage happened milliseconds after the spill). Your computer has a "flat tire" that needs to be repaired.

Uporabniq said:

I even thought about - as a theory - what if the OS X installation went berzerk, what if those symptoms are software related?

Click to expand...

I seriously doubt it. But the only way of testing this theory is to do it (reinstall the OS).

- Nick

Thanks.

Of course, you are making sense. I'm just "hoping" still, I accept sensible explanations.

I am buying another mbpro second hand these days and will try to exchange SSD and boot with my damaged mbpro to check for this possibility.

Does anyone feel familiar with this exact symptom? Namely, pressing power on button will usually cause no boot and sleep mode on probably? Maybe the OS does boot....I can't say, because SSD doesn't make "booting sounds".

There was one guy from Apple service suggesting this could be a damage on SMC chip.
Any experiences on this maybe?

Uporabniq said:

There was one guy from Apple service suggesting this could be a damage on SMC chip.
Any experiences on this maybe?

Click to expand...

What you may not realize is…most likely…something on the logic board is damaged. I've not heard of an "SMC Chip"…and even if there is one…it doesn't matter. If something on the logic board is damaged…you need a new logic board…since logic boards are basically not repairable.

Replacement logic boards are very expensive…and this is why when this sort of thing happens…it's time to shop for a new or "new to you" replacement computer.

This thread is full of these stories. Sorry…just the way it goes. Unfortunately…this is a VERY expensive lesson for folks to learn.

- Nick

Help!

So I was on my way to class this morning to take my last final of the semester!! When I realized my backpack was soaked from the back ? aaaall the water from my water bottle spilled inside my backpack while I was driving to school,where I had my MacBook ?
I tried my best to dry it off and had to leave it in the car while I took my exam. As soon as I got home I put it in a bucket full of rice. I haven't turned it on at all and I'm hoping for the best! Any additional suggestions you recommend???

Any additional suggestions you recommend???

Click to expand...

Open it up, remove the battery, take the machine apart best you can and dry everything off. You were lucky it wasn't on. If you need help in the disassembly process, refer to the take apart instructions at www.ifixit.com.

mari3ace said:

Any additional suggestions you recommend???

Click to expand...

Any additional suggestions have already been made multiple times in the 17 pages of this thread.

- Nick

Worst luck

Okay, so both of my flat mates MacBook airs were sat, lids closed, on their table, and I managed to drop a glass of water from above on both of them. I know, unlucky, and disgustingly pricey for me to replace them if they're screwed. Luckily I've done this before with my Mac while it was open so knew not to turn them on. Annoyingly I couldn't completely turn them off because that would involve turning them on in the first place. They're both sat in my room, which is cool and dry, upside down while I regularly get on my knees and pray to them to not be buggered. It's been 24 hours, I'm going to wait another 2 days, but just so I can start planning, what's the likelihood, that while closed, they got really screwed while the lid was shut, when they were only in contact and not submerged with water for a max of 3 seconds?

Keep praying.... and keep your credit card handy. And while you're at it, read through this thread and see what others have done.

I have to share the story of this pee-damaged macbook pro

So, a couple weeks before christmas, my boss comes in with his macbook pro. His 2-year old son had peed on it, and some pee had gotten into the machine. Not being very good with computer hardware, my boss kept using the computer untill he got error messages of usb ports shutting down and eventually the whole machine shut down, refusing to charge, boot or show any sign of life.

So he buys a new one, get some money back from the insurance co, and I end up with the broken one. Visual inspection of the logic board reveals some visual damage, corrotion some places including the battery connector.

I know it's gone, so naturally I try to fix it. First a dose of wd-40 and compressed air. That gets it charging again, but nothing more. Then I removed the battery (stupid screws), took the connector apart and cleaned it as best I could. That made it start, but it would not post.

So I got serious. Isopropanol, toothbrush, a little acid for some of the more visually affected connectors. Took everything apart, and spent about 3 hours on it. Behold! It boots! And works flawlessly...except

Stupid plastic protection had collected some of the original wd-40 behind the monitor, leaked into the glowing apple and gathered in the lcd. So I took the screen apart, the lcd assembly apart and found that the layers behind the lcd was ruined. Could not fix them, and the guy in the local apple store looked at me like I was a crazy person when I asked to buy them. Or the lcd assembly.

Anyway to ebay, and with new lcd and cable the machine has been working flawlessly for weeks now. Been stress testing it, testing ports, booting it a 100 times. Spent about $70 and got a nice pro for a little elbow grease

Hey.

Yesterday I basically spilled about 4-5 cl of stale beer onto my 13" macbook pro (unibody 2011). The liquid swooped down from the left over the keyboard. I pulled the power out and tried to dry the liquid up with some paper and my shirt. I shut it down after about 20 seconds. I realized this whole scenario wasn't ideal but I kept my cool. I turned the computer upside down and put it on my bed, wiping away the liquid coming out.

After waiting an hour I put the macbook on a table and begin removing some of the keys (tab, q, w, e) to get an idea of how much liquid actually went down in the keyboard. Suddenly the computer switches itself on. This has never happened before so I guess the liquid is working its magic. I try to shut it down but it immediately turns itself back on. Then it starts to shut itself off and on for a while and finally stays off. Now I'm getting a bit worried...

Another hour passes and the computer decides to come back to life again. It tries to boot up but is stuck at the startup screen. All you can see is the Apple logo and the loading wheel. I try closing the macbook but the screen doesn't go black. Crestfallen I let the battery run out and now I don't know what to do. I really hoped that my macbook would stay off after seeing all comments about not turning it on before it's completely dried out/clean.

The incident happened approximately 18 hours ago. Any recommendations? Should I send it in for repair/cleaning today or try to clean it out myself?

Macbook Pro boots only after SMC reset

Hi all,

I would like to share a description of the malfunctions I am facing with a Macbook Pro (bought in 2012) after some tea was spilled over the right hand side of the keyboard. The problem I am facing is pretty similar to what "Uporabniq" described in post #244, but no solution is presented so far.

Some information before / what happened:
I read every post of this thread and I am very aware that drinks should not be placed next to a keyboard. I am also aware of the correct procedure after a liquid was spilled - since it did not happen to me (I am just trying to fix it), the laptop was shut down, put on a towel and left there to dry. Unfortunately the battery was not taken out, so that the laptop is now damaged. I addition, I know how much a logic board costs and that it might not make sense to replace it. However, smart technical advice is appreciated a lot!

The problem:
When I try to boot the Macbook by pushing the on/off button, it does not react at all. The power-plug is connected and according to the LEDs, the battery is charging correctly. The only way to get the laptop back to life is by doing a SMC reset (that is, removing the battery, pushing the on/off button for >5sec, connecting the battery again and starting the laptop). Once I do this, the laptop starts normally and no malfunction can be detected (yes, I read your comments about the laptop not performing "100% ok" when it does not start without a SMC reset). When I then restart the laptop by pushing "restart" in the apple-menu, it restarts. When I shut the laptop down and want to boot it again manually, it won't react again until I do a SMC reset again.

The question:
I read that the keyboards in Macbooks are connected to the power-button. Could it be that not the logic board is damaged (fingers crossed) and there is only some damage done to the keyboard that corrupts the on/off button? Although I hope that the solution would be that cheap, I doubt it since the keyboard seems to work normally after I start the laptop with a SMC reset.

Some things I already tried:
1. Opened the Macbook, left open to dry
2. Tried to check HDD and battery, no malfunction could be found
3. Run apple hardware check (I think this one was called AHT? No
errors detected)
4. SMC reset - helped temporarily as described above
5. NVRAM/PRAM reset - did not help

As said, any advice that might help to fix the laptop would be highly appreciated!
Many thanks in advance!

Best,
AXELeration

Water fel on my MacBook Air

Yesterday I dropped water on my keyboard, the computer was turned on at the same time he hung alone! I turned him 'upside down' near a fan. I did it for about 30 minutes. As he did not know he could not turn on the machine, did a test and nothing happened. I let it dry open for about 3 hours in open air. Now put the machine in a bag of rice and will wait a few more 48 hours. Will I be able to save my machine?

Maria94 said:

Yesterday I dropped water on my keyboard, the computer was turned on at the same time he hung alone! I turned him 'upside down' near a fan. I did it for about 30 minutes. As he did not know he could not turn on the machine, did a test and nothing happened. I let it dry open for about 3 hours in open air. Now put the machine in a bag of rice and will wait a few more 48 hours. Will I be able to save my machine?

Click to expand...

I posted in your other thread to read this thread carefully. This EXACT liquid spill situation has been discussed many many times in this official spill thread. There is nothing special/different about your situation.

Any advice you need is in this thread. Please read.

- Nick