Water damage a minus. AppleCare Plus. What happens now?

May 31, 2022 12:49 PM

My son spilled half a glass of water across his MacBook Air (M1) keyboard last night. We have AppleCare Plus on it and as far as I can see water damage is included in the “accidental damage” scenarios it covers. Laptop was still working when we shut it down, but I know the risk of rust or corrosion is still there after the machine dries out. What are our next steps?

So here’s what happened:
- He spent about half a minute trying to mop up the water before realizing it had gotten under the keys and called for help.
- We turned it upside down until the water dripping out came to a stop.
- Turned it off but it started back up again (maybe due to closing and opening the lid etc) - but once it hit the login screen we were able to tell it to shut down and with the lid kept open it has not woken up of its own accord. The login screen seemed to work as normal.
- We had put it in a ziploc with rice briefly but reading up on that further made it sound more like a myth so we undid that.
- Ultimately we left it propped open facing downwards on a towel to dry out fully.

We then did a serial number lookup and confirmed that AppleCare+ was active.

Based on some further reading, my understanding is that water damage can happen instantaneously (with power on, water can short-circuit things and direct power were it shouldn’t go) but also slowly for quite some time afterward (as parts of the logic board that had been exposed to water and minerals plus air begin to corrode and rust). Some articles talk about the next power-up, even after taking a couple of days to dry out, as when the damage can hit — others that it may happen much more slowly (over weeks or months) if particular connections corrode to the point where they crumble or can’t conduct electricity anymore.

How does that connect to the AppleCare+ repair process? If I bring in the machine now (not yet powered up, presumably no visible corrosion yet) will they use the water-contact indicator to acknowledge that they need to replace the logic board, or will they not do anything if the machine (currently) works as expected? Should we keep using the machine (after letting it dry another day or two) and wait for issues before we bring it in?

Hoping that someone out there who has had this kind of experience can contribute with how AppleCare+ handled it and what you would do if it happened again.

posted by sesquipedalia to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Best answer: I would call Apple and open up a support case with them. They usually set up a Genius Bar appointment if you're near an Apple Store, and you physically bring in the machine there.

They know how to fix it -- their phone support folks are generally quite good, and will get all the relevant facts collected before you bring the item in.

Have the serial number handy before you call.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:55 PM on May 31, 2022 [4 favorites]

What wenestvedt said. Call Apple Care and explain the situation and ask them for next steps and to make a note in your file/account. They may want to proactively address it or may say to wait until it is an actual issue. They may also give you advise on what steps to take immediately to possibly narrowly avert a tragedy. Did this with a kid's iPad.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:02 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]

I spilled tea on my laptop two Christmases ago and it was absolutely covered by Apple Care. The difficult bit was getting to an accredited store over the holidays, but the staff were brilliant and got it fixed within a couple of days.

I didn't do anything to the laptop to dry it out beyond standing it on end in a warm room for a day or so. It's been fine ever since (and I don't hold my cup of tea over the keyboard while reading MeFi anymore).
posted by Orkney Vole at 1:05 AM on June 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

I spilled water on my MacBook Pro. Twice! In both cases, within a day I could feel that the keyboard had been damaged. My AppleCare+ covered keyboard replacement but with some out-of-pocket required from me as well. Your best bet is to call Apple support and they'll tell you whether they should check it even if you don't notice any damage. They are the experts, and if they tell you they should check it, then I would just go ahead and do that and not bother to speculate how they check it.
posted by Dansaman at 10:56 PM on June 3, 2022