Do not turn it on to check it. Take it out of the bag, wipe it dry, unplug everything and leave it off. A Mac in a wet bag may have soaked for hours, so get it cleaned soon.
What should I do right now?
Do these five things in order.
- Take the MacBook out of the bag and out of any sleeve.
- If it is on, hold the power button until the screen goes black.
- Wipe the outside dry, and dry around the ports and the hinge.
- Do not plug in the charger.
- Leave it off until it has been opened and cleaned.
Why is a leak in a bag different from a spill on the keyboard?
The water sits against the Mac for much longer. It also gets in through the ports and edges, not through the keys. In the job below, the water got into the charging area of the logic board. The logic board is the main circuit board that runs the Mac.
It was only water. Is that still a problem?
Yes. Bottled water has minerals in it, and they stay behind when the water dries. In the job below I found dried mineral marks around the charging parts, even though there was no milk or sugar in the water.
It still works. Can I keep using it?
No. The MacBook in the job below still worked when it came out of the bag. The next morning it would not charge. The owner kept using it on the battery until it shut down.
What does a real bag leak repair look like?
This is a job I did on a MacBook Pro from Parramatta.
| Model | MacBook Pro 13-inch (A2251, 2020) |
| What happened | A water bottle leaked in a backpack on the way to work. About 200 ml of plain bottled water collected around the Mac. It was damp but still worked. |
| What went wrong | The next morning it would not charge from its USB-C ports. The owner used up the battery and it shut down. It came in about 36 hours after the leak. |
| What I found | Dried mineral marks around the charging parts. The chip that controls charging had corroded, along with several small parts next to it. The battery was fine. |
| What I did | Took the logic board out and cleaned it. Replaced the charging chip and the corroded small parts. Tested the charging before the battery went back on. |
| Result | It starts and charges as it should. The files were all still there. |
| Time | 3 working days |
| Cost | $495 |
The charging chip is called a USB-C power delivery controller. It tells the charger how much power to send. In this job the charger stayed on its starting setting, so the Mac did not charge.
Why did this one take three days?
A charging fault can start in four places, and each one had to be tested.
- The USB-C ports
- The chips that control charging
- The battery circuit
- The power lines further along the board
Testing each one meant I replaced only the chip that had failed. The extra time was spent checking that charging stayed steady.
What does it cost to fix?
This job cost $495 in total. No $150 was added on top, because the owner went ahead with the repair. I charge $150 to open, clean and check a wet MacBook, and that comes off the repair if You go ahead. A logic board repair like this one is $290 to $550, and You get the price before any work starts.
Apple charges A$429 for liquid damage if You have AppleCare+. Without it, Apple gives a price only after it has looked at the Mac.
Will my files be safe?
They were in this job. The storage on this model is part of the logic board, so saving the board saved the files.
What should I not do?
- Do not put it in rice. Apple says small grains can get inside the Mac.
- Do not use a hair dryer or heater. Apple says not to use heat.
- Do not keep using it on the battery. In the job above, the Mac ran until it shut down.
When should I get help?
Get help the same day if You can. The Mac in the job above came in about 36 hours after the leak and was saved, but sooner is better.
For other Mac repairs in the area, see Mac repair Parramatta. See prices and four real repairs on the MacBook water damage repair page.
Give me a call or send a few photos of what happened … happy to have a look!!