Apple MacBook and iMac Repair

Macs tend to slow down with everyday use. Old system files, unused settings and half-removed software build up over the years and stop the machine running smoothly. In the worst cases they bring down your programs or the operating system itself. The cleanest fix is to wipe the drive and install a fresh copy of macOS.

We install the newest macOS version your Mac supports. On older machines that is the last version Apple released for that model. We can back up your data first, so please tell us if you need that.

Liquid is one of the worst things that can happen to a laptop. Even with careful use, accidents happen, and a glass of water, wine or soft drink can end up inside the machine. Bring it in as soon as you can, because the symptoms often do not show up straight away. This is especially true when the liquid contains sugar. At first the sugar forms an insulating layer on the components and hides the real fault, while it keeps attacking the board underneath. By the time the machine stops, the damage can be bad enough that the only repair left is a new logic board.

When we take in a Mac with liquid damage, we remove the battery first and check which parts were affected. Where it is needed we clean the whole board in an ultrasonic bath and replace the damaged parts.

One exception to No Fix, No fee. Ultrasonic cleaning uses expensive cleaning materials, so it has a fixed price of €50 including VAT. That fee is payable even if the board cannot be brought back to life.

Apple products such as MacBook and iMac can also have logic board problems. The fault can be a small one or a very complex one. Board faults usually come from one of the following:

1. Faulty AC adapters, electrical surges or a sudden change in voltage. This can come down to several things, such as bad wiring in your home.
2. Manufacturing defects (common issues more info here...)
3. Normal wear and ageing
4. Impact and liquid spills
5. The machine was dropped
6. Graphics chip problems

Our technician has extensive experience with chip-level board repair. In most cases we can also repair faults that are returned by the manufacturer's authorised service centres or by other repair shops with a "non-repairable or motherboard failure" note.

Over the years the cooling system in a MacBook or iMac becomes less effective. Dust and humidity build up into a layer that blocks the airflow through the fan, and the thermal paste on the heatsink dries out and stops carrying the heat away. You can find more info here...

This causes several problems:
1. The fan gets noisy.
2. The machine gets hot to the touch.
3. Software runs slowly, freezes or crashes.
4. The battery drains faster.

What we do about it: a full internal clean, fresh thermal paste, and a new fan where the old one is worn out.

A trackpad that will not click, or a pointer that jumps around, can come from several things. A loose trackpad screw, a swollen battery pressing on the trackpad from below, or a trackpad that has simply failed. Some models, such as the MacBook Pro 13 from 2014 and 2015, have a known problem with the trackpad cable. An external mouse is a workaround, but the clean and lasting fix is to replace the cable or the trackpad itself.

There are several reasons why a MacBook keyboard stops working:
1. Wear and tear
2. Coffee, water or another liquid spilled into the keyboard
3. High humidity, which on our island takes out a lot of keyboards
4. Keys that stick down and will not come back up
5. The butterfly keyboard used on newer models, which is fragile and loses key caps easily

An external keyboard will get you working again, but replacing the keyboard is the proper fix. On butterfly keyboards single keys can often be replaced on their own. We keep a wide range of keyboards in stock and can fit them at a very reasonable price.

A cracked screen, coloured lines across the picture, dead pixels or a display that will not light up all point to a screen replacement. Our team has extensive experience with MacBook and iMac screens.

MacBooks from 2017 onwards also have a type of failure with very similar symptoms. For more information click here...

If the screen stays black or shows black frames and lines, the cause can also be a graphics chip fault on the logic board. We repair those too.

If your MacBook no longer lasts on battery the way it used to, it probably needs a new battery. With newer machines the battery often starts to swell as well. A swollen battery does not just lose capacity, it is dangerous, and it can damage the machine around it. Some models, such as the MacBook Pro 15 from 2015, are more prone to this. Apple runs a recall programme for those, more information here...

We replace batteries in every kind of MacBook. We keep a wide range in stock, so in many cases we can do the job by the next day, and we can order in anything we do not have.