<p>D spilled milk onto her laptop (will be two years old this Thanksgiving) last Friday night. Promptly cleaned it up, then removed the cover and put it in front of a fan to help dry it out. Next day put it under a desk lamp to generate a bit of heat. No luck getting it to start up. </p>
<p>So she took it into the Apple Store today, prepared to pay for any repairs, if they’ll be possible. We did purchase AppleCare when we got the computer, but when I looked up the terms of condition, it does not cover abuse, neglect, etc. So we were not expecting any sort of favor. However, when she took it in, the woman at the Genus Bar said they’d have to send it in to the service center for evaluation. If it can be repaired, they will do it at NO charge (I’ve seen the receipt)! Now the only question is, what is the likelihood that they’ll be able to get it working again?</p>
<p>I’m sure in the collective history of CC members, a few have spilled liquids onto their laptops!</p>
<p>Okay, now I’ll give a serious answer. I’ll speak generically - not about Apple in particular. They s/b able to fix it since they can replace virtually every part. Depending on the design of the laptop they may need to replace the motherboard which contains almost all of the circuitry but I don’t see why they shouldn’t be able to replace it.</p>
<p>However, this is subjective since I don’t know how they define whether it ‘can be repaired’. They might limit that to just certain components, cost, or time. It’s kind of a strange statement that they’ll repair it at no charge ‘if it can be repaired’. What will they do if they happen to decide it’s not repairable? It seems that they should then replace it with another equivalent laptop if they can’t repair it. Did anyone ask them the question of what if they can’t repair it?</p>
<p>An old laptop in our family took on a large hot tea, was shut off immediately and did recover, mostly. A new mother board would do wonders. Good luck!</p>
<p>As to the above post, good point. What about the hard drive on it, no matter what that should have accessible info.</p>
<p>I would think it could be repaired, but “repair” might mean replacing the motherboard.</p>
<p>You are lucky that they said no charge! DS had his Macbook ruined by a spill, and was told that the warranty does not cover accidental spills. The repair was not cheap!</p>
<p>Actually, I do think it’s possible that if the service center can tell that the damage is from a spill, they might tell you that you do need to pay for the repair – despite what the receipt says. I hope I’m wrong!</p>
<p>I read the terms and conditions and it does state -
<a href=“Doesn’t%20cover”>quote</a>…Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse…
[/quote]
When I purchased Dell laptops for the hazardous college environment I purchased through Dell coverage that included accidental damage such as spills, falls, etc. I assume Apple has this option available as well and if so, was that purchased through them as opposed to what appears to be mostly an extended warranty?</p>
<p>If not, and if this comes back to be expensive, check with your homeowner or other insurance to see if it would cover any of it - perhaps after a deductible is paid.</p>
<p>The receipt says it’s a spill, so it’s not like D tried to hide anything up front (which I hear a lot of people do) with the people at the Apple Store, nor are they trying to hide the fact that they knew it was a spill and are offering this service at no charge.</p>
<p>teriwtt, you’ll be lucky if there is no charge (and of course if it can be fixed). I recall in college when D2 spilled coffee on her Mac laptop and it wasn’t covered under AppleCare and they were gonna charge a lot to fix it. We had her ship it home to our local Mac guy who fixed it, but charged a lot less. But it was fixed and so I will remain hopeful in your D’s case too. Hope she regularly backs her computer up on an external hard drive in any case.</p>
<p>Does she have student insurance? They will cover the full replacement cost (even if more than the original purchase price) including accidental damage. We use NSSI and they’ve been great covering our “uh-oh” moments.</p>
<p>DS did the same thing a month ago. Machine seemed to dry out on it’s own because about a week after the spill it started working on it’s own. Hope yours recovers too.</p>
<p>We have had both experiences with Apple: Being told (in Chicago) we had to pay because the warranty doesn’t cover spills, and (with a month-old machine, in New York) free replacement. The second time, my daughter was forthright about the spill, and they laughed and said “People lie to us all the time. You’d think they would figure out that we know what liquid damage is; we see it all the time.”</p>
<p>I’ve been surprised how lenient Apple can be about the terms of their warranty/AppleCare. I knocked my almost 3 year old MacBook Pro off a chair onto a tile floor, dented the case, cracked the screen frame and damaged up my hard drive so it wouldn’t boot. I took it to the local Genius Bar, explained I had dropped it. I was fully expecting to have to pay for the repairs and was debating if it would be cheaper just to buy a new lower line laptop.</p>
<p>But the entire repair bill was covered under AppleCare! (I still 1 month of coverage left on my policy.) Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised!</p>
<p>I’ve had great experiences getting my Apple products repaired under either warranty or AppleCare–including lots of stuff which shouldn’t have been covered.</p>
<p>See, that’s what I’m wondering… if they’re just appreciating the fact that she was honest.</p>
<p>The only other consideration is that, when we bought the thing, in addition to the AppleCare, I purchased something (can’t remember what it’s called) for $99 for a year. It allowed her to take her old computer in and have them transfer everything for her, as well as some other stuff (maybe includes one-to-one), etc. The year was due to begin as soon as she registered her computer, but of course, (and this is no surprise to me), D2 never registered, so her year starts today, because I’m sure she registered it today when she went in. I don’t know if that was an added protection that we purchased or what. Knowing D2 and her propensity to ‘accidents’ I always purchase any extra coverage offered on electronics!</p>
<p>However, I received a PM from a member who had another suggestion. I guess there are people who will buy MacBooks, no matter how damaged they are, for the usable parts. </p>
<p>After I posted initially, I realized this computer won’t be a year old until this November, so it’s new. But she still has the old one around that she got at high school graduation, so maybe between the two computers she get can several hundred dollars toward a new one. I’m not inclined to buy her another one, but H is leaning that way (which is unusual because he’s usually the one who hates spending money). So maybe if we can get some money for the parts of the two, we can apply it to the new purchase and demand that she pay half of the balance.</p>
<p>OK… I checked craigslist and responded to someone who is looking for broken/unrepairable MacBooks. He has already responded and is asking for prices and cosmetic condition.</p>
<p>Teri, make sure that they take the hard drive out and hand it over to you on the spot. The computer might be a loss, but a person with the right set of skills and equipment could fish the files out of an unreadable hard drive. Or better yet, take the hard drive out prior to sale. If the buyer backs out of the transaction because the useless hard drive was taken out, it is a good clue that he or she might be after the data as well as the parts.</p>
<p>For future reference: you can get a clear keyboard cover for your macbook. I don’t know if it would protect you from a full glass of milk, but it’s saved the day from some dripping water glasses, etc. It doesn’t protect the touch pad, but I figure it’s better than nothing…</p>
<p>Karen Colleges - yes, I know; we purchased one for her previous laptop (knowing her propensity to spill things). She evidently didn’t think she needed for this one!</p>
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