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Blackscreen after water damage

Hey guys,

My 15” MacBook Pro (Retina Mid-2015) got a bit of water on it while I was not present (apparently it was closed during the mishap).

Not knowing it had received water on it I used it and it worked  normally for like 5-10 minutes before having a black screen (for a few minutes the battery did a weird crackling noise as well and the jack port had a red light).

First thing I did is testing it with an external monitor and  it works normally: I have access to my OS and my files, keyboard works, speakers work and so does the trackpad.

Second thing I did is flashing a flashlight on the apple logo on the backside (which isn’t working as well), and I did see the screen as if it was working normally.

Therefore I came to the conclusion (after carefully reading a lot of posts on ifixit) that it was most certainly the WLED chip on the logic board, the backlight fuses, or the display itself.

Hence my 2 questions :

  1. Is it normal that when I called my local Apple certified repairer he told that the main board had to be changed and that it would cost me 1700€ ?
  2. What would you guys recommend me to do as a next step since I have the feeling that a lot of repairer’s are bullshitting me and just after my money?

PS : Tried PRAM and the SMC reset already and they didn’t work.

Thanks a lot in advance, you’re an awesome community!

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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You’re right, given your initial troubleshooting it seems the backlight circuit was affected and needs to be repaired. It is quite normal an Apple certified lab quoted you such an hefty amount, since they don’t quote for logic board repair but for full replacement and I suspect, given the amount in question, they included a new screen as well to be on the safe side. You would better find someone specialized on component level repair who will be able to fix your Mac without replacing anything else but faulty components..it will cost you one fourth of what Apple requested at most, depending on where you are located.

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I suspect Apple is overcharging you. Are they too lazy to just repair the darn thing? This is becoming a growing problem. I completely agree with @arbaman , take the Mac into a reputable microsolderer and have them quote you instead.

Genius Bar caught ripping customer off ON CAMERA by CBC News

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I just found a local repairer that is quoting me 379€ for a component reparation, would you say that's a fair price?PS : This price is in case it's just the WLED Driver that needs to be replaced

Kind regards.

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Being in Köln and not in Geneva it sounds a bit steep, I would never charge that much for a backlight issue, but I'm not in Köln either..

However, as I said, it's less than a fourth of what Apple was trying to charge you ;)

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Apple sets guidelines that authorized service centers need to abide with.

While your issue is quite repairable! Apple prohibits anyone (even their stores) to go down to component level repairs. They only do assembly replacement so in your case they quoted you the cost of both the logic board and display replacement which is clearly beyond logic!

I think you’ll need to find someone with the deep skills Apple or their authorized service centers can’t offer.

Where are you in Europe? Maybe we can aim you to someone that can help you.

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Thank you very much for your insightful answer Dan!

Now that you say it, it makes total sense that it would amount up to 1700€ if they're quoting for logical board + retina screen.

I'm currently located in Cologne, Germany. I just found a local repairer that is quoting me 379€ for a component reparation, would you say that's a fair price?PS : This price is in case it's just the WLED Driver that needs to be replaced

Kind regards.

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Well, $440 dollars US is still on the high side. But Cologne G is quite pricy a place so it may be what the market charges there. As an example here in Boston MA $380 is about what I would charge, while in Manhattan NY it likely would be around $440.

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The same thing has JUST happened to me.

A small few drops of water over the esc / brightness 1 / 2 keys. Was working fine for 15 mins and then black screen and crackling from that corner.

It still turns on but to black screen and crackling.

Reading this I also tried to see if the other problems occurred. I don’t get a red light from the charger….I get no light at all. The Apple logo on the back of the screen still lights up.

Please send suggestive help!!!

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Adonis N will be eternally grateful.
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