Apple Macbook Common Faults

 

We have been repairing Macbooks for several years now and as such, have noticed that some faults occur more on certain models.  Some models seem quite reliable, while others are constantly on our repair bench with the same issue.   Of course, if you spill a pint over any model Mac its unlikely to end well but on many of the newer models it seems that they often fail for no reason.

We really no need to see your machine to make any sort of proper assessment and diagnosis of the fault but if you would like to read about some of the common failures on your model then have a read below.

 
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Apple Macbook Repairs Aberdeen

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Macbook Common Faults and Repairs

Typical Faults Across All Models

Mac Liquid Damage:  Liquid damage can cause any number of issues when it gets into the system.  It will very quickly start to cause corrosion around chips and components, especially if there is power running through the system.  If you have spilled liquid on your macbook then we highly recommend you leave it switched off until it has been opened and any investigated.

Mac Keyboard Damage:  A liquid spill is, in 90% of cases, the cause of keyboard faults where some or all of the keys stop responding.  If the liquid has not made it further into the system then this is usually fixable by replacing the keyboard or top palmrest.

Mac Screen Damage:  Screen damage will usually look like a spider web or ink splodge on the screen.  Sometimes you make also have coloured lines or bars going down or across the screen.

Mac Battery Swelling:  Macbooks use Lithium Polymer batteries and as these begin to fail they begin to swell up due to gas being produced inside the battery cells.  This is an intentional failure mechanism but does need to be addressed as it can become dangerous to charge and continue to use these batteries.   On some models the swollen battery can start to cause the back of the macbook to be pushed open or deformed, in others it can cause the trackpad to stop working.  Continued use of a swollen battery can be a fire risk.  We can replace batteries on most models.

Macbook Air 2010 – 2011

CPU Fault:  The CPUs in these models are prone to failure to a greater extent than those of similar age systems.   Symptoms will typically manifest as a now power issue or no display.  Replacement processors are not generally available and replacement boards are expensive making this fault uneconomical to repair in most cases. There are many other, economically fixable, issues that can cause a no power issue or no display so we do need to see the machine to diagnose the fault

RAM Fault:  RAM failure will typically cause a repeating 3 audio beep code to be produced.   RAM in all Macbook Air laptops is soldered onto the main logic board.   Will it is possible to replace the RAM chips; it requires a lot of time to identify the faulty module meaning that this fault is often not economical to repair.  Replacement boards are expensive making this route, also, uneconomical.

SSD Fault:  Solid State Drives are significantly more reliable than mechanical drives in most circumstances but they can fail.  When they fail they need to be replaced.  If there is data on the drive that needs to be recovered then it is sometimes possible but SSD drives can be much more challenging that mechanical drives to recover data from.

Macbook Air 2013 – 2017

CPU Fault:  The CPUs in these models are prone to failure to a greater extent than those of similar age systems.   Symptoms will typically manifest as a now power issue or no display.  Replacement processors are not generally available and replacement boards are expensive making this fault uneconomical to repair in most cases. There are many other, economically fixable, issues that can cause a no power issue or no display so we do need to see the machine to diagnose the fault

RAM Fault:  RAM failure will typically cause a repeating 3 audio beep code to be produced.   RAM in all Macbook Air laptops is soldered onto the main logic board.   Will it is possible to replace the RAM chips; it requires a lot of time to identify the faulty module meaning that this fault is often not economical to repair.  Replacement boards are expensive making this route also uneconomical.

SSD Fault:  Solid State Drives are significantly more reliable than mechanical drives in most circumstances but they can fail.  When they fail they need to be replaced.  If there is data on the drive that needs to be recovered then it is sometimes possible but SSD drives can be much more challenging that mechanical drives to recover data from.

Tantalum Capacitor Fault:  A fairly common issue with these models is a failure of one of the tantalum capacitors.  Usually this will cause the system to not power on.  Repair is usually possible.

Macbook Air 2018 – 2019

USB Controller Chip Fault:  These machines often develop a fault with their CD3215 chips.  These control how the machine chargers through USB C.  Typical symptoms can range from the battery not charging to the machine not turning on.  Sometimes all ports will fail, sometimes only one.   Repair is usually possible

Keyboard Fault:  Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem inherent with the butterfly keyboard mechanism that this model uses.  Some are covered under an extended warranty program, you can find details here.

Macbook Pro 15” Retina 2012 - 2013

GMUX Chip Fault: This fault looks like a graphics chip fault but is actually caused by the U8900 GMUX chip failing.  Typically the symptoms will be your system showing you a Kernel panic message after doing something intensive or sometimes the machine will switch on but won’t provide a display though you can hear it’s turned on.  This is usually repairable.

Staingate Fault:  The anti-glare coating on the front of these screens often began to delaminate from the layer underneath.  The screen will continue to function but cosmetically it doesn’t look great.   Likely this is not worth fixing any more on these older systems as it requires the screen to be replaced.

Macbook Pro Late 13” 2013 – 2014

Staingate Fault:  The anti-glare coating on the front of these screens often began to delaminate from the layer underneath.  The screen will continue to function but cosmetically it doesn’t look great.   Likely this is not worth fixing any more on these older systems as it requires the screen to be replaced.

Macbook Pro 15” Retina Late 2013 – 2015

Staingate Fault:  The anti-glare coating on the front of these screens often began to delaminate from the layer underneath.  The screen will continue to function but cosmetically it doesn’t look great.   Likely this is not worth fixing any more on these older systems as it requires the screen to be replaced.

Macbook Pro 13” Early 2015

Trackpad Cable Fault:  These will often show symptoms of the trackpad and/or the keyboard not working.  The trackpad cable goes over the battery in this model and it’s likely the cable gets broken as the battery expands a little over time.

Macbook Pro 13” Non-Touchbar 2016

USB Controller Chip Fault:  These machines often develop a fault with their CD3215 chips.  These control how the machine chargers through USB C.  Typical symptoms can range from the battery not charging to the machine not turning on.  Sometimes all ports will fail, sometimes only one.   Repair is usually possible

Keyboard Fault:  Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem inherent with the butterfly keyboard mechanism that this model uses.  Some are covered under an extended warranty program, you can find details here.

T-Con Fault:  The T-Con board is located inside the mac and helps connect the logic board to the screen.  When these develop a fault the typical symptoms are block lines near the bottom of the screen which can come and go depending on how hot the system is and how far the fault has progressed.  We need to replace your screen to fix this fault.

Macbook Pro 13” Touchbar 2016 – 2019

USB Controller Chip Fault:  These machines often develop a fault with their CD3215 chips.  These control how the machine chargers through USB C.  Typical symptoms can range from the battery not charging to the machine not turning on.  Sometimes all ports will fail, sometimes only one.   Repair is usually possible

T-Con Fault:  The T-Con board is located inside the mac and helps connect the logic board to the screen.  When these develop a fault the typical symptoms are block lines near the bottom of the screen which can come and go depending on how hot the system is and how far the fault has progressed.  We need to replace your screen to fix this fault.

Keyboard Fault:  Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem inherent with the butterfly keyboard mechanism that this model uses.  Some are covered under an extended warranty program, you can find details here.

Flexgate / Stagelight Display Fault:  Another common issue with this model though usually only on the 2016 and 2017 models.  This is caused by a screen cable being too short and eventually the connection breaking inside the cable after repeated opening and closing of the screen.  It was fixed in later models when Apple lengthened the cable

Macbook Pro 15” Touchbar 2016 – 2019

USB Controller Chip Fault:  These machines often develop a fault with their CD3215 chips.  These control how the machine chargers through USB C.  Typical symptoms can range from the battery not charging to the machine not turning on.  Sometimes all ports will fail, sometimes only one.   Repair is usually possible

T-Con Fault:  The T-Con board is located inside the mac and helps connect the logic board to the screen.  When these develop a fault the typical symptoms are block lines near the bottom of the screen which can come and go depending on how hot the system is and how far the fault has progressed.  We need to replace your screen to fix this fault.

Keyboard Fault:  Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem inherent with the butterfly keyboard mechanism that this model uses.  Some are covered under an extended warranty program, you can find details here.

Flexgate / Stagelight Display Fault:  Another common issue with this model though usually only on the 2016 and 2017 models.  This is caused by a screen cable being too short and eventually the connection breaking inside the cable after repeated opening and closing of the screen.  It was fixed in later models when Apple lengthened the cable