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

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Like those before me, I got a small bit of liquid on my keyboard. The instant it happened, I flipped the Macbook pro over, and grabbed a towel. I had it in front of the dehumidifier for quite some time, but It still dose not fire up.
Likely the small amount that got in fried the logic board.
I Can get a new logic board on line for around $400 (macbook pro 2010).
How likely is it that only the logic board is bad?
It turns on now, then shuts off, and repeats that process till hold down the power button to shut her down. I do not get a screen to turn on.
Sincerely, feeling the pain.

I turned mine on this morning to see what it would do, and it fired up as normal. I then shut it down and went to work. Tonight when I turned it on, it started to fire up, them shut off completely. I'm going to give it more time.
Using my old power mac g4 is way to slow!
 
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There is hope. I am typing this from My 2010 Macbook pro, and it is working as it should. I let it sit in front of the dehumidifier for a very long time. It acted up a bit at first, but now is cooking along as normal.
I am going to get a stand as soon as posible. Thanks to all that responded.
 
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How much would this cost me?

I know warranties are void if you spill liquid. Just to get that out of the way... I spilled liquid on my keyboard and left it to dry out a couple days, but about 1/4 of the keys don't have the backlight lit. I havn't gone to an apple store about it because the closest is almost an hour drive away. How much do you think they would charge to fix it? Do you think there's another credible place that could fix it for less? Or is it unfixable?
 
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I spilled some water on my new Macbook Air (3 months old!). There was less than 50 ml of water in the cup, and only a part of it spilled (I was able to have a few sips from the water remaining in the cup after the crazyness was over, haha). I think around 10-15ml of water actually spilled onto the laptop. It only spilled on the top right area of the laptop. Unfortunately, the laptop was on when it happened, although I powered it off immediately. While I was wiping the water away, it turned on (stupid on button being too easy to reach) and it looked fine. I turned it back off immediately.

Since then, I've had a dry piece of paper towel wedged in between the keyboard and the monitor, and turned the laptop over from the closed position. After a while of that (the towel had a bit of moisture, but nowhere near dripping wet) I opened the laptop, and left it in front of a fan for 4-5 hours. When I swiped bits of paper towel underneath the keyboard, they came up completely dry. I plan to leave the laptop in front of the fan overnight (another 10 hours or so).

Considering the spills are minimal, do you think I can use the laptop tomorrow? It will have been around 30 hours since the spill. Maybe more importantly, do you think my laptop is still alive? I'm so nervous!
 
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Update!

I'm happy to report that my laptop seems to be doing fine! Curiosity got the best of me, and I tried turning on the laptop only 24 hours after the spill (I know I was taking risks... I should have been more patient!) But before turning it on, I stuck bits of paper towel underneath the keys, and made sure that they were coming out completely dry, and I left my laptop under the fan for a few more hours after that.

So, as far as I can tell, everything is working! On/off key fine, all the keys that were touched by water doing fine, sound doing fine, wi-fi detected, battery detected and charging, trackpad working. I don't know if I forgot to test anything else, but I'm satisfied, for now. That was a heart-wrenching experience, because I bought my laptop within a week of the new macbook air coming out, and it was my first macbook! I had an ipod touch last year but that was finished off by a crazy rainstorm :( I should definitely be more careful around my macbook from now on.

Anyway, to everyone else who comes across this thread because of a spill: don't lose hope, and be patient! Good luck!
 
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spilled juice on my macbook pro and turned on after 10 hours

Accidentally I spilled juice on my macbook pro while the lid is closed and in sleep mode. After that I cleaned everything with cloth, but my mac didn't turn on or charge. But I could see green battery indicator on the side.

After researching in various forums I kept my mac in rice tin at night and in the morning when I tried it turned on and I could see the white screen as it would normally. But as many people suggested never turn it on unless completely sure that it is dry, so I switched it off immediately.

Now how long should I wait to turn it on back and can I be sure that my circuit board wasn't fired up? I am very anxious and depressed can some one throw a word of advice what to do now?
 
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There's really no way of knowing if any water got into your MacBook Pro...unless the bottom cover is removed to investigate.

Keeping your laptop on the floor is a VERY BAD habit. Not only because of the rare possibility of flooding (as you've experienced)...but also because it is VERY easy for someone to step on it accidentally...or someone dropping something on it...damaging it cosmetically or functionally.

Good luck,:)

- Nick
As long as you put it where you don't step getting out of bed its better than it falling of your bed... haha

I spilled half a bowl of cereal on my keys and after breaking all they keys lose from being stuck the next day it works fine, I have the protection plan and was thinking about asking them to clean it just encase, should I or should I not do anything about it?
 

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...I have the protection plan and was thinking about asking them to clean it just encase, should I or should I not do anything about it?

I'm not sure what sort of "protection plan" you have…but if it's Applecare…forget about it. Applecare does not cover anything spill related.

- Nick
 
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Hi Guys,

New user here & would really appreciate some help. Unfortunately, i spilled about half a glass of water over the keyboard of my MBP 15 inch 2011. The computer was on at the time but i immediately dried it etc etc. After following most of the procedures about letting it dry, i tried turning it on and everything is working fine. In fact i am writing this from my macbook. The only problem i have is that the battery is not charging. When plugged in the green light is permanently ON and the battery indicator is 'Not Charging', when clicking on the indicator it says Replace now. If i unplug the magsafe, the computer just shuts itself off.

My question is as everything seems to be working other than the charging, do you think i would have gotten away with just a DC In or battery problem or could it it be the dreaded "Logic Board" ?.

Thanks - Nik
 

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The charging circuitry is located on the logic board. A good indication that the spill either damaged or shorted out that circuitry, is what you're seeing right now. Shut the machine off and let it dry out some more. Open up the back even if you can't remove the battery so that air can flow in there. Maybe if you're lucky it'll begin to function again.
 
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The charging circuitry is located on the logic board. A good indication that the spill either damaged or shorted out that circuitry, is what you're seeing right now. Shut the machine off and let it dry out some more. Open up the back even if you can't remove the battery so that air can flow in there. Maybe if you're lucky it'll begin to function again.

Hi Chscag,

Thanks for the reply . I assume this was a reply to my message, ?? So does that mean even though everything is working other than the charging issue, it could still mean the logic board may need to be changed ?

Cheers - nik
 

chscag

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It means that your logic board may have been damaged due to the spill. The logic board sits directly under the keyboard area and is highly susceptible to spills leaking through the keys. Let it continue to dry out for awhile. As I said above, you may get lucky and it will start to work again. Replacing a logic board is an expensive repair.
 
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It means that your logic board may have been damaged due to the spill. The logic board sits directly under the keyboard area and is highly susceptible to spills leaking through the keys. Let it continue to dry out for awhile. As I said above, you may get lucky and it will start to work again. Replacing a logic board is an expensive repair.

Hi chscag, yes exactly im worried about the cost of the logic board ... thats why im trying to figure its more likely to be a magsafe dc in, battery issue or a logic board problem ..

Thanks for your response,

Cheers
 
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Macbook Liquid Damage!

I have a question.
About a month ago a can of beer was spilled all over my open macbook pro. I didn't notice any damage before going to bed but when I woke up but about 10 hours later I noticed that it had happened.

The macbook wont turn on, charge or anything. Since this accident I was fortunate enough to get a new macbook but was wondering if I could somehow get my hard drive from my old laptop. I don't necessarily want it in my new laptop since I currently have a larger hard drive now but I had partitioned my last hard drive and need some material that was on it.

So, in conclusion what if any way is there to extract some data from my last hard drive when the computer wont turn on and is there a way to get the old data onto my new computer without putting the whole hard drive into my new computer.
 
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I have a question.
About a month ago a can of beer was spilled all over my open macbook pro. I didn't notice any damage before going to bed but when I woke up but about 10 hours later I noticed that it had happened.

The macbook wont turn on, charge or anything. Since this accident I was fortunate enough to get a new macbook but was wondering if I could somehow get my hard drive from my old laptop. I don't necessarily want it in my new laptop since I currently have a larger hard drive now but I had partitioned my last hard drive and need some material that was on it.

So, in conclusion what if any way is there to extract some data from my last hard drive when the computer wont turn on and is there a way to get the old data onto my new computer without putting the whole hard drive into my new computer.

You can probably pull the drive out of the old machine. Assuming it wasn't drenched, it should still function. You can either install it in a USB external case, or use a USB to SATA adapter (about $20 in most computer stores) to connect it externally and retrieve your data.
 
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I've been stupid and spilled milk less tea on my 2010 October MacBook. It was on at the time and nothing happened to what was on screen. I've now switched it off and disconnected it, and wiped the keyboard, and placed it upside down on a soft cotton cloth on a chair seat. Does the fact that there were no changes on the screen give me any hope that there is no damage to the machine? Shall I only know after 72 hours? Should I open it up and check inside? For this model I know that the battery is not removable. I'm not sure if I should wait the 3 days or so before opening it to clean, or if I should clean it right away. When I open it will I see if the tea reached inside from any indicator?

I know my questions might seem repetitive, but I did read through the entire thread, I promise.
 

pigoo3

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I know my questions might seem repetitive, but I did read through the entire thread, I promise.

If you read thru the thread…then you should have seen a common result. In many/most cases…liquids + computer = dead computer!:(

The lesson here is…don't consume liquids near laptop computers…unless someone is willing to face the consequences of accidents. This can be a very expensive lesson…but something that won't soon be forgotten!

- Nick
 
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Spilled Liquid on MacBook--Impact on Memory

I knocked over some red wine which splattered on to my MacBook keyboard, causing certain keys not to function properly. I powered off last night, and this morning the computer would not boot up. I did not read this thread until 11 hours after the accident, and only then removed the battery as well. I am overseas without an access to Apple technicians and will have to wait at least 3 weeks before I can find an Apple Store. I was overdue for a new MAC, but my main concern is whether I will be able to recover my files and photos from my old Mac?
 

chscag

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Usually a serious spill destroys the keyboard and logic board beneath it. Which means your Mac is dead in the water. However, most spills do not destroy the hard drive which is protected somewhat. Open up the machine and remove the hard drive. Place the hard drive in an external USB SATA carrier. Then attach it to another Mac and copy your data from it.
 
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Thanks to CHSCAG

Thanks for that assurance. Unfortunately I am in Haiti at present, and do not have access to another MAC machine or SATA carrier, nor is there any Apple support facilties in Port au Prince (although I will check). I might be able to find a MAC IT person at the U.S. Embassy, but that's closed for another 3 days. If I can't remove the hard drive for a while, does that pose any additional problems for the memory and files?
 

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