Please break the news to me gently...

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I've had and loved my mac for a little over a month. I use it for a ton of stuff, but the most important function for this story is a 3rd party iTunes alarm. I woke up one morning, iTunes blasting to wake me up, and in my stupor I knocked over a glass of water...



directly



onto



the



macbook pro.



I freaked out, could hear it making all sorts of noises, but eventually I calmed down and let it dry. About 20 minutes later I turned it on, and everything worked great.



Fast forward to two weeks later. Everything's still working flawlessly, I've performed a range of tasks and there has yet to be water damage.



With one exception.



Near the bottom-middle of the screen there's a small, brown splotch. It won't go away. I've turned the screen off and on, restarted the computer multiple times (I obviously have no idea what I'm doing), and pleaded with my computer. However, all of this was to no avail - the splotch was still there.



So, here's where my question lies - what does this mean? Are they dead pixels, or did the water do something much worse? Does it require thousands of dollars or simply a download of some display fixing program? I fear the former.



Thanks so much for reading.

-tdnc101

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    tag me backtag me back Posts: 121member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tdnc101



    So, here's where my question lies - what does this mean? Are they dead pixels, or did the water do something much worse? Does it require thousands of dollars or simply a download of some display fixing program? I fear the former.





    Chances are if it's in an organic shape, but well focused on the screen, it's some kind of physical damage.

    Sorry.

    Does the patch originate at the edge of the screen? If it doesn't then it's unlikely to be water damage and should be warrantable...
  • Reply 2 of 14
    tdnc101tdnc101 Posts: 109member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Tag Me Back

    Chances are if it's in an organic shape, but well focused on the screen, it's some kind of physical damage.

    Sorry.

    Does the patch originate at the edge of the screen? If it doesn't then it's unlikely to be water damage and should be warrantable...




    Thanks for the response.



    Perhaps splotch was the wrong word, more like a diagonal line that rounds off at one end, increasing in size slightly. It's small enough that I could see how it could be pixels. Sadly, it doesn't originate at the edge of the screen, so there goes my warranty tactic...



    So, let's say it is physical damage. Is there any way I could buy a new display or repair it somehow? And what do you think that'd run me?



    -tdnc101
  • Reply 3 of 14
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tdnc101

    Thanks for the response.



    Perhaps splotch was the wrong word, more like a diagonal line that rounds off at one end, increasing in size slightly. It's small enough that I could see how it could be pixels. Sadly, it doesn't originate at the edge of the screen, so there goes my warranty tactic...



    So, let's say it is physical damage. Is there any way I could buy a new display or repair it somehow? And what do you think that'd run me?



    -tdnc101




    If it's not at the edge of your screen then it's not the water damage. It does however sound a little bit like impact damage. No idea on what this will cost you. Ask at the service outlet.
  • Reply 4 of 14
    Can you post a picture of the damage?
  • Reply 5 of 14
    icibaquicibaqu Posts: 278member
    it could be manufacturer damage. my girlfriend had this thing that started that way and then started basically "growing" across her screen. she described it as a plant, but it was just fucked up lcd pixels.



    long story short: apple store replaced under warranty.
  • Reply 6 of 14
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    DON'T POST A PICTURE TAKE IT IN GET IT FIXED SAY YOU DON'T KNOW NOTHIN!
  • Reply 7 of 14
    audiopollutionaudiopollution Posts: 3,226member
    Did the lip of the glass hit the screen where you see the damage?



    Also ... when you take it in for repair, it will be be highly likely that the water spill will be visible internally.
  • Reply 8 of 14
    agnuke1707agnuke1707 Posts: 487member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by audiopollution

    Did the lip of the glass hit the screen where you see the damage?



    Also ... when you take it in for repair, it will be be highly likely that the water spill will be visible internally.




    Oh, they WILL know water got spilt on it, while he may not have a problem now, what about corrosion down the line ... is this a possibility. I killed a BT keyboard by spilling water on it. I took it apart and let everything dry, but about a month later it stopped working, took it apart and found corroded parts on the board ... it doesn't hurt to take it in. Just say you have this spot appearing on your screen and nothing else. See what the wonderful genius bar comes back with...
  • Reply 9 of 14
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by the cool gut

    DON'T POST A PICTURE TAKE IT IN GET IT FIXED SAY YOU DON'T KNOW NOTHIN!



    *seconded



    Also, don't worry about water damage that much.. modern electronics don't corrode all that much (wires are insulated, solder doesn't oxidize, etc).. the thing you have to worry about with liquids is shorting out something, but that problem goes away once it dries.



    You should've waited longer than 20 minutes to turn it on though.. I would've gone for about 4 hours.



    although, when I spilled water on my keyboard the other day, I only waited 30 seconds (HEY! I was busy!)



    Good luck man. Remember, it's possible the screen damage was from something else.
  • Reply 10 of 14
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    You noticed the splotches and got concerned. That's all you need to say. If they ask if anything else happened to it, you have amnesia and simply reply, "Not that I recall." Got it?
  • Reply 11 of 14
    agnuke1707agnuke1707 Posts: 487member
    Or leave it with them to check out the screen and when they open it up and call you about the water damage, you just tell them the Genius that spilled the water on it owes you a new MBP...
  • Reply 12 of 14
    tdnc101tdnc101 Posts: 109member
    Awesome, thanks all. I think I'm going to play stupid about the entire thing as suggested, hopefully that'll work out.



    If it is going to cost me, anyone have a ballpark estimate?



    -tdnc101
  • Reply 13 of 14
    tdnc101tdnc101 Posts: 109member
    Sorry, I'll only bump it once, but I don't want to call the store to ask because then obviously the blame'll be on me and I'll have to pay for it.



    Anyone - anyone - have even the slightest idea on how much it will cost?



    Thanks,

    -tdnc101
  • Reply 14 of 14
    agnuke1707agnuke1707 Posts: 487member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tdnc101

    Sorry, I'll only bump it once, but I don't want to call the store to ask because then obviously the blame'll be on me and I'll have to pay for it.



    Anyone - anyone - have even the slightest idea on how much it will cost?



    Thanks,

    -tdnc101




    Sorry, don't know how much it'll cost. Somewhere between warrantable (Free) and about half what you paid for the computer. The damn neck for an iMac G4 costs $395 to give you an idea on the cost of Apple parts. Bet that the display for an MBP will be significantly more than that. What's wrong with going to the store? Just take it in, play dumb and don't worry about it. Even if they do try to blame it on you, argue enough and they might cut a deal. I dropped my G4, causing the neck joints to break and the screen to tilt badly (the rest of my computer was fine, thank God), but when I talked to Apple they said it was a shame I didn't have AppleCare because they chalked it up to normal wear on the joints. You never know what they will or won't do unless you take it to them.
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