MacBook Air Dead after an Ice Cream accident - LFC#390

Summary

In this tech repair video, a liquid-damaged MacBook Air model A2337 is meticulously inspected. The technician removes the back cover, disconnects the battery, and carefully examines the logic board, finding it surprisingly clean. After cleaning the USB-C ports with isopropyl alcohol and window cleaner, a power issue is resolved by replacing the damaged USB-C connectors. The laptop powers on successfully, and a full charge cycle confirms the repair's success, highlighting the importance of thorough inspection and component replacement in fixing electronic devices.

Takeaways

• 💻 The video is a repair tutorial for a liquid-damaged MacBook Air model A2337.
• 🔧 The repair process begins by removing the back cover and disconnecting the battery to inspect the damage.
• 👀 Initial inspection reveals a surprisingly clean condition, suggesting the possibility of a quick repair.
• 🔌 The technician proceeds to disconnect various connectors from the logic board, including those for the keyboard, trackpad, battery, speaker, microphone array, Wi-Fi antennas, and USB-C ports.
• 🛠 After removing the logic board, it is found to be in good condition, leading to the hypothesis that the keyboard might be the issue.
• 🔄 The MacBook is tested after reassembling, but it exhibits power cycling issues, indicating a problem with the USB-C ports.
• 🔍 Upon closer inspection, the USB-C ports are found to be tarnished and damaged, likely causing the power issues.
• 🧼 The technician cleans the ports with window and glass cleaner followed by isopropyl alcohol to remove residue and tarnish.
• 🔌 After cleaning, the ports are tested with different USB-C connectors to confirm the issue with the original connectors.
• 🆕 Replacing the damaged USB-C connectors resolves the power cycling issue, and the MacBook begins charging normally.
• 🔑 A final keyboard test confirms that the keys are functioning correctly, completing the repair.

Q & A

What type of MacBook is being repaired in the video?

The MacBook being repaired is a MacBook Air, model number A2337.

What is the primary issue with the MacBook in the video?

The primary issue with the MacBook is that it has been liquid damaged, as evidenced by the spots visible on the device.

What is the first step taken in the repair process?

The first step taken is to remove the back cover of the MacBook to inspect the internal components for any signs of damage.

Why does the repairer decide to disconnect the battery?

The repairer disconnects the battery as a safety measure to prevent any electrical issues while working on the internal components.

What tools are used to disconnect the connectors from the logic board?

A T3 screwdriver is used to disconnect the various connectors going to the logic board, including those for the keyboard, trackpad, speaker, microphone array, and USB-C ports.

Why does the repairer suspect the keyboard might be the problem after inspecting the logic board?

The repairer suspects the keyboard might be the problem because the logic board appears to be clean and undamaged, leaving the keyboard as a likely source of issues.

What is the initial test to check if the MacBook powers on after reassembling?

The initial test is to plug in the power and observe if the MacBook powers on, which in this case, it does not, indicating further issues.

What is the observed behavior when the repairer tries to charge the MacBook with the original USB-C ports?

The charger cuts out and does not provide power when plugged into the original USB-C ports, suggesting a problem with the ports or internal connections.

What cleaning method does the repairer use on the USB-C ports?

The repairer first uses window and glass cleaner due to its assurance properties, followed by isopropyl alcohol to clean and remove any residues from the USB-C ports.

What part number is mentioned for the USB-C connectors that were replaced?

The part number mentioned for the USB-C connectors is 821-D01-658.

How does the repairer confirm that the replacement USB-C connectors are working correctly?

The repairer confirms the connectors are working by plugging them into the laptop and observing that the charger does not cut out, and the laptop begins charging at a normal rate.

What final test does the repairer perform on the MacBook before concluding the repair?

The final test is to check the functionality of the keyboard by typing a sentence and using various keys to ensure all keys are working properly.

Outlines

00:00

🛠 MacBook Air Liquid Damage Repair

The video script details the repair process of a liquid-damaged MacBook Air model A2337. The repairer begins by removing the back cover to inspect the damage, noting some spots indicative of liquid exposure. The battery is disconnected as a precautionary measure. Upon further inspection, the internal components appear surprisingly clean. The repairer decides to proceed with disassembling the logic board for a thorough check, suspecting a potentially quick resolution if the board is also clean. The repairer uses a T3 screwdriver to detach various connectors, including those for the keyboard, trackpad, battery, speakers, microphone array, Wi-Fi antennas, and audio board, before carefully removing the logic board itself. The repairer encounters minor issues with standoffs falling out but remains optimistic about the repair's outcome, suggesting a possible spare keyboard to test if necessary.

05:02

🔌 Troubleshooting USB-C Port Issues

The script continues with the repairer facing issues when attempting to power on the MacBook Air, with the power cycling on and off. The focus shifts to the USB-C ports, which are suspected to be faulty due to the charger cutting out when connected. The repairer inspects the ports and notes their poor condition, deciding to clean them with isopropyl alcohol and window and glass cleaner. After cleaning, the ports show improvement, but when tested, they still cause the charger to malfunction. The repairer then tries different USB-C connectors and discovers that the original ports are indeed the problem, as they cause the charger to reset. This leads to the conclusion that the USB-C ports are internally shorted and need replacement.

10:03

🔄 Successful Power Restoration After Replacing USB-C Connectors

After identifying the faulty USB-C ports as the cause of power issues, the repairer replaces them with new connectors and tests the MacBook Air again. The laptop successfully powers on, and the power cycling issue is resolved. The repairer notes the laptop's charging behavior, observing the initial low power draw and subsequent increase in charge rate, which is typical for MacBooks. The laptop charges at an approximate rate of 40-45 watts, which is consistent with the expected performance for a MacBook Air. The repairer tests the charging in different orientations and with different connectors to ensure reliability, confirming that the replacement of the USB-C connectors has resolved the issue.

15:03

🎉 Final Testing and Completion of Repair

In the final part of the script, the repairer conducts a final test on the MacBook Air, including checking the keyboard functionality. The laptop is logged in, and the battery charge is rising steadily without any alerts. The keyboard is tested by typing a sentence, using various keys, and the repairer confirms that all functions, including caps lock, tab, and enter, are working correctly. The repairer decides to reassemble the MacBook Air by putting the back cover on and securing it with screws, concluding the repair process successfully. The part number for the replaced USB-C ports is mentioned, and the repairer expresses surprise at the failure of such a simple connector but is satisfied with the outcome of the repair.

Keywords

💡MacBook Air

The MacBook Air is a line of laptop computers designed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is known for its thin and lightweight design. In the video, the MacBook Air is the device being repaired, specifically a model identified as '2337', which has suffered liquid damage.

💡Liquid Damage

Liquid damage refers to the harm caused to electronic devices when they come into contact with liquids, which can cause short circuits or corrosion. In the context of the video, the MacBook Air has been damaged by liquid, evidenced by visible spots, and the repair process involves addressing this issue.

💡Logic Board

The logic board is the primary circuit board in a computer and contains the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and other essential components. In the video, the logic board of the MacBook Air is inspected and removed to check for damage on the other side, indicating a critical step in diagnosing the device's issues.

💡Connectors

Connectors in the context of this video refer to the physical links that allow components within the MacBook Air to communicate with each other, such as the keyboard, trackpad, and battery. The script describes the process of disconnecting various connectors as part of the disassembly and inspection process.

💡Screwdriver

A screwdriver is a tool used for turning screws. In the video, a T3 screwdriver is specifically mentioned, which is a type of small precision screwdriver used for removing the screws securing the MacBook's components. It is essential for the repair process.

💡USB Type-C Ports

USB Type-C ports are a newer type of universal serial bus connector that supports higher data transfer rates and can carry power for charging. In the video, the USB Type-C ports of the MacBook Air are found to be problematic and are replaced as part of the repair.

💡Power Cycling

Power cycling involves turning off a device, waiting for a short period, and then turning it back on. This can sometimes resolve issues by resetting the device's power management system. In the video, power cycling the MacBook Air is attempted to see if it resolves the charging issue.

💡Charger

A charger is a device used to supply power to or recharge the battery of a device. In the video, the MacBook Air's charger is mentioned multiple times, particularly in relation to issues with charging and the discovery that the USB Type-C ports are faulty.

💡Polyfuse

A polyfuse is a type of resettable fuse that protects electrical circuits from overcurrent. In the video, it is mentioned that messing with a Type-C charger too much can cause the polyfuse to blow, which would require the charger to be left unplugged for a period to reset.

💡Keyboard

The keyboard of a laptop is the input device used for typing. In the video, after resolving the charging issue, the repairer tests the MacBook Air's keyboard to ensure it is functioning correctly, which is an important step in verifying the laptop's overall functionality.

Highlights

Introduction to fixing a liquid-damaged MacBook Air model A2337.

Observation of external liquid damage spots on the MacBook.

Initial inspection reveals a clean internal state upon removing the back cover.

Disconnecting the battery as a precautionary measure.

Removing and inspecting the logic board for further damage.

Clean internal state of the MacBook indicates potential keyboard damage.

Attempting to power on the MacBook to check functionality.

Initial power cycling behavior observed when trying to charge the MacBook.

Inspection of USB Type-C ports reveals visible damage and tarnish.

Cleaning the USB ports with isopropyl alcohol and window cleaner to remove tarnish.

Testing the MacBook with cleaned USB ports shows improved charging behavior.

Further testing confirms that replacing the damaged USB Type-C connectors resolves the issue.

MacBook successfully charges and powers on after replacing the damaged ports.

Full functionality of the keyboard verified through testing various keys and commands.

Final confirmation that the repair was successful and the MacBook is fully operational.

Transcripts

hello interwebs welcome to let's fix

computers I've got our MacBook here this

is an a

2337 it's a MacBook Air and it's liquid

damaged um so we can see some spots on

top here and such uh so we're going to

find this thing well we're not going to

f it up yet we're going to take the back

cover off and see if we can resolve this

so um I'll just zap these screws out

we'll take the bottom panel off and just

see what we're up against and then I

know what kind of video this is probably

going to

be the answer to that is

spotless okay uh I'll just disconnect

the

battery right well this is looking

pretty darn

clean so I tell you what we're going to

to do we're going to roll the intro and

we're going to take out the logic board

and inspect the other side of it and if

that looks clean as well this might be a

very quick job but yeah see you guys

after the

break so I'm going to start out with a

T3 screwdriver and I'm just going to go

around and remove

all of the connectors going to the logic

board we've

got we've got one for the keyboard and

trackpad here I'll just lift that guy

off that's

fine um the battery obviously is already

disconnected we've got a keyboard there

we've got a speaker connector here and

the microphone array here just lift that

up lift the Locking bar and pull that

guy out

then we've got two type c connectors

here so we'll take out the two screws

for the little cover

plate and then that guy's going to pop

off we've got the Wi-Fi

antennas lift those guys

out we've got the display

connector then we've got two screws up

at this end of the key the logic board

I'll take those out now just so I don't

forget and then we've got another

connector here going over to what I

guess you could call the audio

board because it's got the

audio because it's got the audio circuit

on it and it's also where the touch ID

sensor connects so I need to disconnect

that guy we don't need to disconnect the

touch ID sensor at this point though or

that

speaker so now I should be able to

remove the 1 2 3 4 screws holding the

logic board in and that should come out

and sometimes and as is the case here

the standoff underneath the screw will

come out before the screw does so just

be wary of that that standoff is going

to fall out when I take the board out oh

that one is as well we can put these

back in it's not a big deal just

something to be aware of

right I think we're ready to go so now

I'm just going to gingerly give it a

lift this all seems to be coming

out this thing

is really

clean okay if there's any problems with

this with this

MacBook then I would say it's the

keyboard

uh thankfully I think I I might have

spare keyboards so we might be able to

test for that okay well I'm just going

to put this straight back in and I'm

just going to see if it turns on in that

case is rather

disconcerting right let's plug in some

power and see if it's going to

go okay we had 20 vol then it went

off Okay so we've got a little bit of

power cycling

here it seems to have given

up we did get up to 1.3 amps there that

looked like it was going to

go I'll unplug and plug it back in again

we'll try it

again I'm just going to have a look in

the USB ports as

well those might be

sketchy I'll try the other

Port oh it's actually cut off my uh

charger

right all right the second Port my

charger just cuts out if I try and plug

that one in what about the back Port

again no I'll try flipping the

connector oh no my charger doesn't like

that at

all okay yeah no we got problems there

right so that kind of

behavior that kind of behavior means

there's got to be issues with the ports

or the um uh or the USB control

ships I might just try some different

ports first because that's quite quick

and easy to

do it'll be the first time I've

encountered these ports failing but you

know first for everything I'm going to

see if I can can I pull those out

without taking the logic board

out will it let me come

on come out there we

go oh those ports look pretty

bad well that may well be our problem

let me give you a closeup of that so you

can see that the inside of those type c

ports look pretty

bad I'm going to attack those with some

uh isopropyl alcohol and just see if

those clean up

if not we've got some spares customer

might have a very lucky Escape

here right I'm actually I li I'm

actually going to start with some window

and glass cuz it's a bit more it's a bit

better as a cleaner it has surance in

it alcohol is usually the weapon of

choice because it evaporates sort of

instantaneously however this is a better

cleaning agent so I'm going to attack it

with this first and then I'll go over it

with

alcohol to uh clear off any standing

fluid any

residues there's a little bit of rubber

backing to these just to make a little

bit of a seal I'm not too worried about

damaging that because I'm more

interesting clean these up okay those

tarnished those tarnished pins seem to

have come up quite well they're not

Immaculate but they're a lot better than

they

were

there we

go all right not perfect but a lot

better let's give those a try I tell you

what I might do I might just try

plugging my um charger wire into those

and just see if it freaks out just by

being connected to

them yeah it

does yeah much just cut out

again oh it's Mega off this time I've

actually got to unplug and re and replug

the

charger

right I'll leave that off for a moment

while I just go and get a different type

c

connector right the charger has been

reset I'll just play plug my phone into

it just to make sure that it's

happy yeah that looks good if you mess

around a type-c charger too much then

there is a good chance that it will just

um it will just cut out and you'll blow

the polyfuse in it and if that happens

generally speaking just leaving it

unplugged for about half an hour we'll

probably reset

it okay right I'll just try these

connectors I've got

here cool so there was no reaction to

that we're not expecting anything cuz

it's not connected to anything but the

fact that this hasn't caused my charger

to cut

out same deal

there so that adds a lot of credence to

the

idea that this is

knackered

so I shall plug this into the laptop and

see if it

works now I'm kind of being a little bit

rude here by sliding in without removing

the logic board I would not advise this

however I think then I might just get

away with this and have my uh and have

my 10-minute repair

job all right let's try our luck

everyone

go five volts 20

volts okay Power cycled

again

oh it's

trying oh that's climbing I think that's

charge that looks like charge to

me ah it just made a unch charging beep

hazah I'm G to open it up and have a

look we need to try the other port and

try it in different

orientations oh look customer data uh

cool well that

works right tell you what I'm going to

do uh I'm going to pause the video for

um I'm going to pause the video for

about 10 minutes just so the laptop can

get some charge into it um and uh once

the once the battery has just got some

charge into it so it's not critically

discharged um we'll then unplug it and

we'll just try in all the orientations

just to make sure it works and that

being the case looks like just replacing

those type-c connectors has done the job

so this guy is obviously internally

shorted somewhere in the connector

there's no more visible issues with it

but presumably it's done some damage

inside somewhere no idea aware I'm

surprised that these guys can actually

fail to be honest cuz it's just a pinto

pin connection but you know as I say I'm

sure some people will say oh yeah I've

seen that before so good I'll see you

guys in a

moment okay right it's been 5 minutes or

so and our power level is up to 2.3 amps

so we've got the power out of a we've

got the power we've got the the battery

out of a low power State and it's

actually charging at a decent rate now

might go a bit higher than that um so

remember volts time amps equals Watts so

we're looking at a approximately 40 45

watt um uh power consumption at the

moment and that sounds about right for a

MacBook Air um I think some of these we

might see 65 watt charging but I don't

know which models exactly but 2.3 amps

is going to be approximately 40ish Watts

so that means it's actually charging

with with momentum now it's not trickle

charging when we were sitting at 1.6

amps and the laptop was powered on as

well that was kind of a very slow charge

that didn't look entirely convincing but

yeah um that looks good so let's

disconnect

that and I've I'll just flip the power

connector and plug it back in

again right it's gone straight back up

to 20 volts and as you can see we've got

that little staircase back up to charge

uh amperage again and this is what

MacBooks do um they'll start at a low

power draw and they'll step up the

charge rate um and they'll keep stepping

up until it reaches the point where it

wants to be or the charger says that's

enough so uh that looks pretty good

let's try the other

connector and once again we had a onch

charge chime there and we've got that

little staircase back up to charge rate

looks good I'll just let that settle

just so I don't you know I don't know if

it's possible to confuse it just by

constantly hot plugging it but I can't

imagine it does it any

good and flip the connector so we've

just tested all

orientations and there's our staircase

once

again excellent all right so it looks

like that was it uh it looks like they

had a splash I'll need to test the

keyboard next so um do I have a password

for this

laptop I do I'll just put the back cover

on here for now I'm not going to commit

to putting all the screws back in quite

yet because if the keyboard is knackered

then we're going to be pulling it all

apart

again

so let's open it

up okay so we're logged into this thing

now our batteries at 10% and Rising so

that's looking fine there's no alerts on

the battery although we'd want to give

it a full charge cycle to make sure um

and let's just do a quick keyboard

check just increase the

size 64 will do right the quick brown

fox jumps over the lazy

dog cool and shift the

quick cool the quick

nice command a

backspace volume

brightness um mute

unmute yeah that looks like that's going

to work to me uh let's see caps log caps

loock tab tab yeah enter Happy Days

that's simple all right I think we're

all done here everyone uh I'll stick the

screws back in and we're finished so

yeah um that was that one was a nice

quick easy one so I'll knock this out as

a quick and easy repair I hope you guys

found that kind of interesting um so

yeah uh the little type-c connector here

um so this there is a very tiny number

uh on this guy uh so that's a 821 d01

658 is the part number for those USB

ports they look completely fine but uh

if I plug my if I plug my charger back

into those I'll wager that the charger

will just throw a hissy fit again so

yeah obviously that has suffered some

kind of internal short or something I'm

really tempted to put that under the

microscope and look closer but I don't

actually care because um it's a cheap

connector put a new one in see you next

time everyoneon

bye