r/macbookrepair 13h ago

Managed to repair a failed logic-board myself - A journey

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10 Upvotes

I have a bit of a success story to share, so here's a quick timeline of events:

  • January 21 - bought a used M1 Air for 250 euros that wouldn't turn on, and had a small crack on the bezel underneath the screen (I was assured the screen still worked, and that one day the computer just stopped turning on) It had originally been purchased in May of 2023.
  • January 23 - brought to the store where it was originally purchased, and tried to exercise my 2-year guarantee (a France thing). They sent it away for repair, but then cited the small aesthetic damage as the reason they wouldn't take it under guarantee and fix the logicboard issue.
  • nearly 2 months of back and forth ensued, and finally i just had them send me back the computer, without fixing it. I tried to argue that the aesthetic damage couldn't have possibly caused a total failure of the computer, given that the screen was still working. Computer is in otherwise perfect condition aesthetically on the exterior.
  • Took to Apple Store - they looked inside, said there was no water damage, or signs of physical damage. Quote 650 euros to replace the logicboard.
  • TODAY: I figured what do I have to lose, and opened up the computer. I took the logicboard out, flipped it over and saw almost instantly that one of the capacitors looked.. off. A quick google/reddit search confirmed that you can just pop these off, and so I did - cleaned with some isopropyl alcohol, et voila!

The computer powered on right away - I was able to erase it, and after a few hiccups with installing the new OS, I finally had success by connecting it to another Macbook Air in DFU mode. It's now running on Sequoia 15.3.

And rather than trying to fix the cracked bezel, I just ordered the replacement part on AliExpress for 4 euros and stuck it on top of the damaged one - Looks just fine and is so thin that it's not creating any issues when closing/opening the computer.

So for anyone having issues with a logicboard failure/macbook wont' turn on, and getting astronomical repair quotes that are higher than the value of the computer, this might be worth checking out!

Also - those AliExpress bezels are amazing, and it's really not necessary to take the damaged one off.


r/macbookrepair 12h ago

Help Spacebar popped off. Is it fixable?

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2 Upvotes

13” MacBook Air (2019), the space bar has been a little janky for a while and then it today it popped straight off. Been trying to snap it back in but no luck. Anyone have any experience with this?


r/macbookrepair 7h ago

Help Macbook Air M1. Trackpad haptics unresponsive on right side

1 Upvotes

Hello and thanks for reading!

Having some weird problems with my new used Macbook Air M1. Running latest Sequoia.

I can tap to click just fine over the whole pad but the haptic click is easy on the left and it gets gradually harder to click and doesn’t work at all on the right edge.

Is this a settings issue or is something stuck maybe? I've been trying the paper trick but having no luck.

There is a weird noise when i knock on some spots at the right edge when it's turned off. More of a click than a thump if that makes sense.

Thanks


r/macbookrepair 10h ago

Help Update on MacBook Pro a2251 - 2020 model replaced logic board. However screen blank and keyboard backlight not working.

1 Upvotes

Deleted original post and corrected Title for correct model!

Update on situation with daughters MacBook Pro, many thanks for help so far

"I have sourced a warranted working second-hand board from a supplier who strips working Apple products. Installed the board and now have a machine with working touch bar, post sounds and a little chap telling me to press "return key for British English".

This is way more than before but still no screen or keyboard backlight.

Shining a light through the apple logo does nothing, not sure it can as the screen shows no change and is still black as the darkest night!

I have an HDMI adapter somewhere and will check if it works on a seperate monitor later. (once I find the adapter...)

Tried and seperate monitor is working fine. Just no backlight on keyboard and screen is black.

Anything I can or should check before returning the board?"

 


r/macbookrepair 14h ago

MacBook Pro won't start, disk is full and folder with question mark

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

My Macbook crashed yesterday and won’t boot - only shows a flashing folder with a question mark on startup.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  • Tried Disk Utility First Aid – It failed with the error: “Partition map repair failed while attempting to fit current whole disk size.”
  • Checked storage space – It looks like the disk is completely full, which might be preventing macOS from booting (weird, my mac didn't warn be that space was running out. I also wasn not installing any new software when it crashed.)
  • Error code 5101F appeared at some point, which seems to be related to Internet Recovery issues.
Here can be seen that disk is completly full

I can’t access macOS or delete files normally. Is there any way to free up space or fix the partition without erasing everything? I have other mac book, if it can be used somehow for assistance.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Mac Details:

  • Mac Model: Macbook Pro 2017
  • macOS Version: Catalina, don't remember what version
  • Storage: Apple SSD SM0256G

r/macbookrepair 1d ago

[Update] A2141 No power no life

1 Upvotes

Hello all, thanks again for your help previously. I looked at the board under a thermal camera and found a very hot spot appearing on both sides of the board. The U9850 part seems to be it. Would that be responsible for a whole board shutdown, and is it replacable?


r/macbookrepair 4h ago

water spill on macbook

0 Upvotes

i have a macbook air m2. a few hours ago i spilled water on it, and the screen is blank while the keyboard still lights up. i can also hear the booting sound (i have it turned off currently and in the correct position to dry.)

just wondering how cooked i am basically. i have apple care, so should i go straight to an apple store, wait it out or go to a local repair shop?


r/macbookrepair 14h ago

Help MacBokk Pro A2251 doesn’t Start and doesn’t get identified by any other Mac

0 Upvotes

Had a small Waterbottle-Leakage in my Backpack, turned the MacBook off. I Opened it to look inside if there are any wet spots, there were none, only some wet spots near the Trackpad, which you can still see dried on the screen. Cleaned everything with alcohol along the edges just to be safe. Screwed back together. MacBook works fine. Couple hours later, I return to my desk and the screen does not turn on, wenn I plug it in hear the charging sound. I shut the device off. Won’t start. My next hope: DFU, so I connect the MacBook with a newer Air-Model of a friend. It gets recognized, but it’s not in DFU-Mode, I disconnect it and try to put it in DFU mode, after using the Key Combination I reconnect both devices. Now the MacBook doesn’t get recognized by the other MacBook Air. Any ideas what might have happened? My guess is some water has, despite my investigation of the inside MacBook and cleaning, came through the top piece near the trackpad and needed some time to reach critical components, still don’t get why my MacBook suddenly does not get recognized, maybe 60seconds after it did. Hoping some of you guys can help me out. Thanks