MacMedics Case File: White MacBook With Spectacularly Broken LCD.

This white, plastic Macbook came into the MacMedics shop via one of our institutional Macintosh repair contracts. It looks like someone dropped something on the top of the unit to puncture the screen back (the part with the Apple logo on it) and broke the LCD hard enough that a convex lump is visible on the front of the LCD.

See this picture large size here.

See this picture large size here.

See this picture large size here.

No problem! We have the parts to fix it in-stock so we had it fixed same-day.

If your MacBook or MacBook Pro has a broken LCD, MacMedics can fix your laptop! The Apple Store charges as much as $1200 in some cases to fix this problem. We can usually fix most LCDs from $349 to $549. All commonly used LCD are in stock. WE stock over a dozen different types and sizes.

MacMedics has also become quite well know for our MacBook and MacBook Pro Uni-Body glass repair. We can fix this issue as well, and again for hundreds of dollars less the Apple Store.

If you are in the Baltimore or Washington DC area, just stop by our Millersville or Lanham office and we can get your Apple laptop repaired and back to you very quickly (most cases are handled in 24 hours). If that’s not fast enough, MacMedics does offer low-cost MacBook rental units to keep you up and running is you’re headed out of town or on a deadline.

Getting An Accurate Macintosh Repair Diagnosis Is Important. You’ll Always Get One At MacMedics, And Never For More Than $49

Recently, a MacMedics client showed me an on-line review of another Apple Authorized Service Provider that shares the Metro area with one of the MacMedics offices. To keep things as fair as possible I won’t name names or locations.

Here’s a copy of the review that was marked 1 out of 5 stars:

“Let me fill you in on my story. I’m a sophomore in college, and I own a MacBook Pro. One day the display just stops working. External displays don’t even work. So I bring it to an Apple store nearby. They tell me they can’t cover it under the warranty because of the “external damage” (really nothing more than a few scratches and a small bump or two). So, they want to charge me $1300 for repairs. I figured I’d just take it to an Authorized Service Provider, and have them fix only the parts that aren’t working. Little did I know that about a week later I’d get a call saying they couldn’t do anything for me and that they’d have to charge me $125 for “Diagnostics” when they can’t even tell me what’s wrong with the thing. Overall, if it’s a hardware problem, I’m not even sure if it would be worth trying to save the computer. You may as well just buy another one?”

Let me tell you why this type of situation never happens at MacMedics:

1. If you bring in a unit that is obviously beyond our help, we won’t try to entice you to check it in for a diagnostic if we don’t think it’s going to be worth fixing. In many cases, if you stop by with your sick Mac, we’ll be able to tell pretty quick if we think it’s worth fixing or even worth looking into. We’ll often plug a unit to see what’s up while-you-wait if we have open bench space when you stop by. We know that nobody wants to be without their computer, and in many cases we find out your issue might be a simple problem like a bad power adapter, corrupt power manager, or a bad stick of RAM (all which can often be fixed on the spot).

2. If we have to open up your MacBook or MacBook Pro to look inside for trouble, and we deem that it needs a repair that is either too much for you, or just to expensive in general the fee is only $49. That fee is only charged IF you decide NOT to fix the unit.

3. If you bring us a Macintosh computer for service, we will usually have an answer for you within 24 hours. Never a week or more as was the case in the review mentioned here.

4. If your unit is super sick (like it needs a $1200 repair) it may still have salvage value. A. We’ll help move you into a new Mac and transfer all of your data (if your data is healthy) for a flat fee of $99. B. If you unit has any value to us, we’ll offer a trade-in value for it. (That’s not something Apple does or anyone else we know of.)

5. Our in-shop techs will be honest with you. We will try to find the cause of your computer’s issue, and report back to you with ALL of your options.

In some cases of a major hardware failure, MacMedics, might be able to move you into a pre-owned Mac. We often can move over your upgraded hard drive and/or RAM to try and maximize the value of what you have already paid for.

We really do love what we do, and no matter what your situation is, we would LOVE to talk to you about your problem. Give us call, send us an e-mail, or just stop by either of two Apple Certified Mac Labs in Millersville or Lanham, Maryland.

Before you make an appointment, drive to the mall, find a parking spot, and then lug your Mac through the Annapolis Mall to get to the Apple Store, please consider supporting your local neighborhood Mac shop! Visit MacMedics in Millersville (near BWI airport) or Lanham, Maryland (near RT 50 & I-495) the next time you need Mac sales or service.

See our Blog post with all the details on why to come see MacMedics instead of trekking to the Apple Store. Clients that come to see us, often tell us they will never go back to the Apple Store for Macintosh sales OR service!

Or review this quick top 11 reasons here:

1. No appointment is needed: No need to call ahead when you’re ready to come visit MacMedics! Just walk in and our Apple Certified Techs will take great care of you.

MacMedics Frequently Asked Macintosh Service Questions

What is the cost for upgrading an iMac hard drive through an Apple Authorized Service Provider?

In most cases if your current drive is healthy enough for a large data transfer, and your data is backed up, MacMedics can perform this popular service for $150 plus the cost of a hard drive. A new “top-quality” 1 Terabyte hard drive can be provided with a full three-year manufactures warranty for about $130 making the total procedure with a new 7200 RMP hard drive about $280. MacMedics offers a full 1-year “no-hassle” parts and labor warranty on hard drives that are purchased and installed by us.

Also, if your iMac is still covered by AppleCare, installing a new third party hard drive won’t void your warranty (if performed by MacMedics). Your extended warranty will still be in effect, but will NOT cover the new non-Apple hard drive.

Another scenario that comes up quite often at MacMedics is where an iMac that is under warranty and it’s hard drive has failed. We can still replace your hard drive under warranty AND also offer a new larger, faster third party hard drive. We just charge you for the hard drive upgrade, and the replacement hard drive supplied by Apple is given to you to keep.

Your old hard drive will be placed in a static bag and returned to you (if out of warranty). The old hard drive can serve as a rudimentary “snapshot in time” back up that can be given to friends or a family member to serve as an “off-site back up”.

Obviously if your current hard drive is sick, or your data is in jeopardy, labor costs can be higher. For situations where your data is NOT backed up and the health and security of the data is unknown, MacMedics can remove your hard drive without testing the machine, and perform our Tier-1 data recovery where we make a cold clone of your drive (if possible). Data recovery can be tricky and each case is different, so it’s not always possible to spell out all of the details and possibilities in advance. If the $99 data recovery fee is successful we will copy that data without further inspection or review to any computer or external hard drive if you’re NOT having your computer repaired. See our data recovery “Frequently Asked Questions” at this link for more details.

Don’t forget that if your iMac hard drive (or other Mac desktop) is more than three-years old, then MacMedics recommends a proactive hard drive retirement. See our website http://www.HardDrivesDie.com for more info.

Not near a MacMedics office? We do accept mail-in repairs! Just put your iMac in it’s original shipping box, and either send it via the carrier of your choice, or call/e-mail us and we’ll arrange to send you a pre-paid shipping label.

The Apple Store does not perform hard drive upgrades, they also can’t rescue data that may be at risk. Folks from all over the world send us their Macs need repairs. If your local Apple Authorized service options are limited, let us help you out. Just fill out this form, and send your iMac in!

Update 12/16/09 If you read my Blog post below you’ll see my ten reasons for coming to visit MacMedics vs. making a trip to the Apple store. I love the Apple Store and what they do there, but as a local business owner I hope you’ll come see us instead. As the owner of MacMedics I do have my reasons, but don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at the first two Yelp.com reviews for the Apple Store in Annapolis.

Lots of MacMedics clients and Mac friends I’ve been talking to recently have commented on the longevity of MacMedics. If you have not heard, we’re now in our twentieth year of business (pretty cool). It’s nice that I no longer have to explain that Apple is NOT going out of business, why Apple has no market share, why Macs cost so much, why would anyone want a Mac, aren’t PC’s so much better then Macs for business, and why Macs are not just for hobbyists, gamers, and people who wear sandals?

Now, the conversations are much more positive! The most prevailing questions seem to be related to be how on earth can MacMedics’ TWO Maryland based Macintosh sales and service locations continue to proper and expand when we have to compete directly with Apple’s very strong retail store presence in Maryland and Virginia?

The MacMedics Millersville/Baltimore office is in the middle of three local Apple Stores in Baltimore-Annapolis area, (Annapolis, Columbia, and Towson, Maryland) and the MacMedics Lanham/Washington DC office also in thick of Apple Store country (including first Apple Store in Tysons Corner as well as Bethesda (soon to be in it’s own new “store front” location on Bethesda Ave.), Clarendon, Pentagon City, and also Annapolis).

First of all, Apple sends tons of people to us directly from the Apple Store and from AppleCare telephone support. The folks at Apple know that for many repairs, MacMedics’ labor pricing structure and service parts costs are different (and usually LOWER) than Apple, so for most repairs, MacMedics is less expensive than Apple (and many others as well). When you factor in that all MacMedics “out-of-warranty” Macintosh repairs we perform are covered by our 1-year “no hassle” warranty. This fact makes MacMedics the BEST choice for ALL Apple out of warranty repairs. The Apple Store and other AASP’s only offer a 90-day warranty on Apple service repairs.

When faced with a major repair like a logic board or LCD replacement, our price is hundreds of dollars less than the Apple Store. The Apple Store also does not offer full repair services for their iPod and iPhone family of products. They will exchange certain units in certain circumstances, but not always and generally a “whole unit” exchange is MORE expensive then just having the exact problem fixed by MacMedics.

What about AppleCare and Apple Warranty repairs? Well, as an Apple Authorized Service Provider, MacMedics is the place for that as well. With no lines, no lugging your Mac gear though the mall, and our award-winning in-lab service, it’s pretty clear that we are on our game. At the Apple Store you have to compete with the crowds, and those crowds mean that there’s an equally large amount of Apple hardware in the back room waiting for the Genius team to get to it. We almost always start your repair the same day you bring it to us. As soon as we have a repair plan and cost estimate we’ll call you and give you all of your choices. You never have to worry if we’re push you one way or another when considering to buy a new Mac (or used Mac) or to perform a repair. It’s always your choice, and we’ll advise you like family when it comes to making a decision about replacing an older Mac or one that may not be worth investing any more money in. As an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, MacMedics is well suited to help you find a new Mac when you’re ready for one.

We’re also quite proud of the fact that MacMedics almost never uses Apple depot (mail-in) service. We perform any repair we can in-house, and that translates into a faster turn around time for you.

MacMedics’ Millersville headquarters is a hassle-free place to come when you need Macintosh support. We have over 3000 square feet dedicated to ONLY Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone service. That’s larger then most Apple Stores, and far more “service” space then pretty much anywhere else. Don’t forget that our Lanham, MD location is just as well suited to handle your Mac service and sales needs.

Here’s TEN great reasons to come see MacMedics Mac Lab in Millersville or Lanham:

1. No appointment is necessary at MacMedics: Just walk in and our Apple Certified Techs will take great care of you.

2. No lines: We’re always busy, but there’s almost never a wait to speak to a MacMedic Tech.

3. Quick Check In: Tell us what your Mac’s issue or problem is, and we’ll get right on the case! We’ll call you to talk in detail when we have an idea of what’s going on with your unit and what ALL of your options are. MacMedics offers an initial Macintosh Dialogistic for your computer at no charge. If we have to dig deep with part testing or advanced software testing our fee is only $49, and only if you choose NOT to have your machine repaired.

4. No lugging your iMac, Mac Pro, or G5 through the mall: Our front door is less then 10 steps from our parking lot. You can bring your Mac in, or come in and get us, and we’ll carry it in for you.

5. Quick Turn-Around: Our goal for in-lab service it to have it done in less then 72 hours. Many repairs take less time, and if that’s the case then your Mac will be back to you even quicker.

6. Hassle free warranty: Got a Mac that needs out of warranty service? The Apple Store only offers a 90-day service warranty. MacMedics “Hassle Free” warranty is a full 1-year!

7. Need a new Mac? We’ve got them: Come pick out what you want, and we’ll be happy to help with no sales hype! MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, so you can get the equipment you need coupled with the very best advice from the experts at MacMedics.

8. Full Service for iPhone & iPods: While the Apple store might do a whole unit replacement or offer a small discount for buying a new unit, MacMedics will fix just the problem your iPhone or iPod has, thus saving you money. All iPhone and iPod repairs MacMedics perform come with a full one-year parts and labor warranty.

9. Same day service for iPods & iPhones: In most cases if you drop off your iPod or iPhone in the morning, we’ll have it done later that same day!

10. Advanced, complex, or difficult repairs are performed at MacMedics every day: If you’ve been quoted an exorbitant amount of money to have your Mac fixed at the Apple Store, MacMedics can help! Liquid damage, fried logic boards, SuperDrive replacements, broken LCDs or MacBook Pro glass, and severe Macintosh case damage are all offered at MacMedics and often for hundreds of dollars less then Apple (or anywhere else!).

New Bonus Reason: The Apple Store Can’t Upgrade Your Hard Drive. MacMedics Can! See our new blog post from 1/30/10 to get all of the details here. A common issue we help clients with here at MacMedics is “upgrading” or “retiring” a failed (or perfectly good) hard drive. What many people don’t know is that we can “upgrade” your computer to a larger size hard drive, even if your hard drive has failed under Apple warranty.

Update 5/26/09 Need another reason? We are pleased to announce that Apple has selected MacMedics for a quarterly Commitment To Excellence service award for the second time. Only 179 Apple Service locations were honored with this award putting MacMedics in the top 5% of all Apple Authorized Service Providers in the United States and Canada. Get the scoop here.

Don’t take our word for it. Here’s three recent comments from clients MacMedics has performed Apple warranty repairs for:

1. As always the people at Mac Medics were right on point and offered the best quality service. I have never been disappointed with any visit to them and would highly recommend them to anyone who needed service.

2. They went beyond just repairing the problem. They made recommendations and then provided solutions as to how I might prevent the possible consequences of the problem in the future. I am highly satisfied with every aspect of their service.

3. This MacMedics location is unbelievable….repaired in under 24 hours. Called me to come pickup and explained all repairs and warranty issues.They are definitely the hardest working group in your network. I can’t say enough abut their professionalism and attention to detail.

MacMedics is a 100% Apple Macintosh-only, award-winning consulting and service firm founded in the Annapolis area in 1989. As Apple Authorized Value Added Resellers and Apple Authorized Service Providers, MacMedics is able to provide full-spectrum Apple-centric and specialized consultation and service to wide array of industries, agencies, and organizations.

MacMedics offers their progressive style of on-site Mac service and repair to most of the Mid-Atlantic region via their three offices located in Baltimore, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, PA. MacMedics services all Macs, Macintosh servers, and Mac networks in professional, government, educational, and home environments.

Here’s ten reasons to come see the friendly folks at the MacMedics Mac Lab in Millersville or Lanham:

1. No appointments are necessary at MacMedics: Just walk in and our Apple Certified Techs will take great care of you.

2. No lines: We’re always busy, but there’s almost never a wait to speak to a MacMedic Tech.

3. Quick Check In: Tell us what your Mac’s issue or problem is, and we’ll get right on the case! We’ll call you to talk in detail when we have an idea of what’s going on with your unit and what ALL of your options are. MacMedics offers an initial Macintosh Dialogistic for your computer at no charge. If we have to dig deep with part testing or advanced software testing our fee is only $49, and only if you choose NOT to have your machine repaired.

4. No lugging your iMac, Mac Pro, or G5 through the mall: Our front door is less then 10 steps from our parking lot. You can bring your Mac in, or come in and get us, and we’ll carry it in for you.

5. Quick Turn-Around: Our goal for in-lab service it to have it done in less then 72 hours. Many repairs take less time, and if that’s the case then your Mac will be back to you even quicker.

6. Hassle free warranty: Got a Mac that needs out of warranty service? The Apple Store only offers a 90-day service warranty. MacMedics “Hassle Free” warranty is a full 1-year!

7. Need a new Mac? We’ve got them: Come pick out what you want, and we’ll be happy to help with no sales hype! MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, so you can get the equipment you need coupled with the very best advice from the experts at MacMedics.

8. Full Service for iPhone & iPods: While the Apple store might do a whole unit replacement or offer a small discount for buying a new unit, MacMedics will fix just the problem your iPhone or iPod has, thus saving you money. All iPhone and iPod repairs MacMedics perform come with a full one-year parts and labor warranty.

9. Same day service for iPods & iPhones: In most cases if you drop off your iPod or iPhone in the morning, we’ll have it done later that same day!

10. Advanced, complex, or difficult repairs are performed at MacMedics every day: If you’ve been quoted an exorbitant amount of money to have your Mac fixed at the Apple Store, MacMedics can help! Liquid damage, fried logic boards, SuperDrive replacements, broken LCDs or MacBook Pro glass, and severe Macintosh case damage are all offered at MacMedics and often for hundreds of dollars less then Apple (or anywhere else!).

It pays to get a second opinion from MacMedics when you’ve been quoted an expensive Macintosh repair elsewhere. Repair costs on all modern Apple products are up, as more and more technology has been crammed onto the logic board and other major parts.

Case in point, a nice lady brought in her G5 iMac to sell to us for parts. We had close 10 people in the lab when she came in, so we did not get much of a chance to talk to her. She had said she wanted to drop the unit not for repair, but for us to buy it for parts and that it had a bad logic board. We got a call from her a few days later to see what we had found out. When she rang in on the phone, I had a chance to get some more details from her. We talked about the leaking capacitor issue, and I wondered if that might be her issue. Turns out, that she had the unit looked at by another Apple Authorized Service Provider, who convinced her she needed a new machine. Sound familiar? She really could not tell me too much about the issue, so I told her I would look at the iMac personally and call her back later that day.

First thing I noticed was that the unit did not power on. It was stone dead. Not always a symptom of a logic board, so I’m thinking that trying a power supply might be wise. Sure enough, I put in one of our test iMac power supplies (we keep all types in stock for just this reason). The unit worked great and passed all Apple Service Diagnostics.

So this story has a happy ending. MacMedics was able to bring a sick unit back to life for about a quarter of the cost of a new logic board. Client was happy to save some serious money and keep the unit for a few more years. The other cool thing about having your Mac serviced here at MacMedics is we offer a full one year warranty on all repairs NOT covered by Apple’s warranty.

Many service places (some Apple Authorized and some not) often take the worse case scenario approach and start thinking about the worse possible problem. Here at MacMedics we take a “bottom up” service approach, where we look for all the small things first, and work our way up to the larger items. This is why folks have been coming back to MacMedics for over 20 years. We are fanatical about providing the very best Mac service and support. We are also absolutely thinking ultimate precision when we take your unit apart and then put it back together. Apple computers are made to have very tight cases and close fitting precision parts.

We’ve blogged about this before. Read some of our posts on Macintosh service quality.

Nobody likes to see a broken Macintosh laptop LCD, especially us. We love Macs, so we don’t like to see them hurt and broken after a bad drop or other unfortunate incident. Replacing the MacBook LCD can be an expensive repair when you seek help from Apple. They treat the entire LCD and top case of a MacBook as one part, and it’s expensive! MacMedics offers a flat-rate discounted LCD replacement service for the Black and White MacBook screens for $349. We’ll replace your broken or non-working) MacBook LCD with an OEM part, and return it to you as quickly as possible. If your MacBook has case issues or other problems associated with the broken LCD we’ll work with you to find the best solution for fixing those issues as well. Best of all if our replacement LCD screen has a problem it’s covered by our MacMedics full one-year warranty. (Fine print: we won’t replace the LCD if it’s been broken a 2nd time, so let’s be careful out there!)

Lots of companies are now jumping on the Mac service band wagon. When you have a major Mac service service need like an LCD or logic board, please consider that MacMedics is the regional leader for Apple Macintosh sales and service. We pioneered on-site Macintosh service, and our in-lab service is also highly regarded and award winning. Macintosh computers are highly engineered and as such they often have very small parts, various sized screws, and very tight fittings cases. All three of these things frequently trip up firms that are NOT specialized in Mac service. (see our blog post about how a big box store fried a perfectly working iBook) We frequently see computers after they have already been someplace else and NOT properly serviced. MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Service Provider and we’ve been fixing only Macs for over 20 years. So, before you ship your beloved laptop (or desktop) to places unknown, consider sending it to MacMedics. Also, all non-warranty Apple repairs are covered by our no hassle 1-year MacMedics warranty. If it fails, we fix it free.

See this image large size.

Ship your unit into us, or drop it off and for a limited time we’ll send it back to you via Fedex standard air shipping free of charge.

Add a 500 GB hard drive to any MacBook or MacBook Pro LCD replacement service for just $159 in a MacBook including a bit by bit clone data copy. When you get your unit back, your data will be in just the same place you left it. Also, your old drive is yours, so we’ll return that as part of the service, or we can make it into a portable back up drive for $40.

MacMedics is now also offering Apple iPhone 3G service and repair. Got a cracked screen?? Don’t pay Apple $199 to get it fixed! Come see us and we’ll do it same day for $109.99. Best of all, NO LINES here at MacMedics.

MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller with offices in Baltimore Maryland, Washington DC, and Philadelphia Pennsylvania. When you’re ready for a new Mac system, please consider the following:

1. All new Macintosh equipment supplied by MacMedics is pre-tested and pre-configured for your needs.

2. If the Macintosh you want is not in stock at MacMedics, shipping on custom Mac orders is always free and fast!

3. If you have an older Macintosh computer that contains your data, we’ll transfer that data to your new computer for a flat fee of $99. We’ll also securely erase the data off your old hard drive, and responsibly recycle your old Mac and/or hard drive for free.

4. MacMedics is also an Apple Authorized Service Provider, so we’re able to service what we sell.

5. Consider all of the above, but also with no lines, no loud music, and no sales hype when you’re exploring your options to repair or replace your computer.

There are lots of choices when it comes to Macintosh sales, but we hope you’ll consider MacMedics when you’re ready to move up to a newer and faster Mac. If you have questions, please get in touch with your local MacMedics office.

Washington DC 1-888-4-DC-MACS
Baltimore 1-866-MAC-MEDICS
Philadelphia 1-877-626-MEDIC

The crew here at MacMedics are straight-talking, honest, Apple Certified Macintosh professionals who love helping our clients repair or service older Apple gear just as much as as we enjoy upgrading clients into a new Mac. Come take advantage of our 200 plus years of combined Macintosh experience, 45,000 on-site and in-lab service jobs, and over 20 years in business. You never need an appointment to visit, and it’s just 15 feet from your car to our front door.

MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Reseller in Maryland