Is Your MacBook Not Working as It Should?

Before you head to Apple, here’s what you need to know.

What the Apple Service Experience Is Really Like

No upfront quotes
Apple won’t provide pricing over the phone — even for obvious faults such as a cracked screen. You’re required to book an appointment and travel to a store before you get any numbers.

Long repair delays
Most devices are shipped off to a central service centre, leaving you without your MacBook for 5–10 days or more.

Replacement, not repair
Apple never performs repairs. Instead, they replace entire assemblies — logic boards, top cases, screens — even when only a single electronic component has failed. e.g. a capacitor or semiconductor chip

Overly strict “liquid damage” policies
If Apple spots a tiny “tide mark”—even one caused by harmless rain drop that never reached the logic board—they often insist on replacing multiple parts at very high cost.

Premium prices for major components
Apple’s parts pricing is extremely high, making many repairs appear uneconomical. The result often feels engineered:
make the repair look too expensive, then recommend a new MacBook.

“But My MacBook Is Under Warranty—Won’t Apple Fix It For Free?”

Not always. Apple warranties have strict exclusions and approval depends entirely on Apple’s assessment of fault.

Fair exclusions:

  • A chip in the display glass turns into a crack affecting the display → considered accidental damage

  • A dent in the chassis can damage delicate screen electronics → considered user-caused shock damage

Unfair exclusions:

  • A minor tide mark inside the casing → Apple declares “liquid damage” even if the keyboard isn’t receiving power because of a faulty semiconductor on the logic board that was unaffected by liquid

These exclusions frequently lead to surprisingly high out-of-warranty charges — even for faults unrelated to user damage.

Why Apple Repairs Can Put Your Data and Your Wallet at Risk

Non-removable data storage since 2015

Modern MacBooks store data on chips soldered directly to the logic board rather than a pluggable sub-board. If the board fails, the data cannot be unplugged and recovered.
Since Apple replaces boards rather than repairing them, your data is typically lost in the process.

You pay again for upgrades you already bought

If you bought your MacBook with costly upgraded RAM or SSD, a replacement logic board forces you to pay for those upgrades all over again.

My Honest Opinion

Don’t let Apple’s sales-driven repair model persuade you to give up on your faulty MacBook.

Your existing machine almost certainly can be repaired — and repaired affordably.

  • I successfully repair 19 out of 20 logic boards – all of which Apple would say ‘must be replaced’.

  • Even 10-year-old MacBooks are absolutely worth fixing; parts are far more reasonably priced than on newer models.

  • Older machines are actually more durable and more repairable than many newer MacBooks.

Apple’s motivation is to sell new hardware — or expensive assemblies — not to fix what you already own.

My motivation is simple: diagnose the true problem and repair it at the component level for a fraction of Apple’s price.
In many cases, buying a brand-new MacBook isn’t an upgrade — it’s a costly commitment to a device that’s harder to repair and more fragile than the one you already have.