We love helping Mac Medics clients get their iPhones and iPods back to them quickly. We repair dozens of iPhones and iPods every week, and in the majority of the cases, the unit is fixed within a few hours of being dropped off here in our Millersville, Maryland Mac Lab.

There’e no need to send your iPod away to the West Coast or anywhere else (we hope it’s not some fly-by-night basement repair place) for that matter when you have a local, reliable, and trustworthy iPod/iPhone/Macintosh repair center right here in Central Anne Arundel County right near Arundel Mills Mall and BWI Airport.

Don’t forget that Facebook “Fans” of MacMedics get $10 off iPhone and $25 off Macintosh repairs. Make yourself a “Fan” right here and find out what all the buzz is about!

Here’s a testimonial that a nice guy who was heading to Afghanistan sent us. Nothing better than getting an iPhone back in the hands of a member of the Armed Forces.

“Mr. Stibolt,
 
I don’t know if you will remember me or not, but I am the U.S. Military member whose iPhone your company fixed the day before I left for deployment. Having my iPhone fixed same day was very helpful! I just wanted to thank you and your company personally again. Having my iPhone with me here overseas allows me to communicate with my family back home without worrying about big phone bills. I will be sure to mention MacMedics to every Mac or iPod/iPhone owner I see! So, thanks again and I look forward to doing more business with you in the future.

Sincerely,
Damu M.”

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: Is It Worth Repairing A Macbook Pro With $1200.00 In Liquid Damage? This dollar amount is a pretty common price quote from the Apple Store. Before you accept a quote for an “advanced” Macintosh repair of any kind (from anybody), be sure to get a second opinion from the experts at MacMedics. We’ve been fixing Macs since before the Apple Store and since 1989 in teh Baltimore-Annapolis-Columbia area.

It is best to see the unit, but there’s no harm in calling us to go over the options and details. Give us a shout anytime at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS!

First off, this is a far too common of an issue. We just successfully repaired a MacBook that had a “Blueberry Smoothie” spilled into it. Folks, please keep liquids at least an arm’s length away from your Apple laptop.

See this image large size here.

Being in a situation where liquid is in play brings up lots of questions. I’ll try to touch base on a few of the major ones here. If you find yourself in this situation, just call us at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS or send us an e-mail. We’re happy to talk shop about your Apple repair or service problems at anytime.

The first order of business is get the the MacBook or MacBook Pro right into us. Even if it appears that the unit is working after the spill, don’t assume you’ve dodged a bullet. Once there’s moisture inside the unit, it can grow into what we call the “creeping crud” which is really just corrosion that grows kind of like mold inside your computer. If this grows to a point where it’s touching two point that carry current, then zap! and you get a short and could end with with a fried logic board.

What to do if you have a spill: Turn off the computer, remove the power adapter, and if possible remove the battery. It’s pretty much pot luck on what to do next. If liquid went in the keyboard, then turn the unit upside down with the screen open. Use a stock of books to place the unit on it’s keyboard, with the screen open. Depending on the situation hitting it with a hair dryer might help too.

How to get started: For $99 we’ll open the unit up take a look around inside. If we see surface damage we can clean, we’ll attack it. If we have to go deeper with the unit we’ll let you know and as in the case of the “Blueberry Smoothie” unit we just wrapped up, it ended up being about $300 in labor to fix the unit. If the unit is beyond repair, the $99 still buys you some rudimentary liquid removal, and we’ll give you the facts on what’s going on.

This is far better then just signing the death certificate yourself, and even if the news is bad, $99 is a small price to really know what’s going on. Moving forward you can know that if you need to buy a new unit, your old unit at least had the best chance possible.

Is it worth fixing? If very well might be. In cases of liquid spills (coffee is the most common) the Apple Store is likely to quote you $1200.00 for your repair. Even if you have minor damage (that might seem major) it’s usually the same price. Here at MacMedics, we’ll just fix what’s broken, and accurately diagnose the problem you have. A common issue after a liquid spill is a bad keyboard, that might be $200 to fix. Another issue we see frequently is a unit that can’t charge the battery or can’t run off the battery. Again, a repair like this at MacMedics is generally going to be $200 to $300.

Even if you do need a new logic board, it’s quite likely that our price will be lower then the Apple Store, and unlike Apple, MacMedics puts a full 1-year warranty on our repairs. (Apple is only 90 days). The other factor is turn around time. At Apple, almost all liquid spills get shipped out for depot service. This can work against you as the unit is out of your control, and you could end up with a repair that is far more than what was quoted. As an Apple Authorized Service Provider, Apple frequently sends clients to us for major repairs because they know our prices are likely going to be better than theirs. Liquid Spills, major case damage, and MacBook and MacBook Pro LCD and glass repair referrals from the Apple store are a daily occurrence at both of our MacMedics repair centers.

There’s not much good news when you spill something into you MacBook Pro. If the unit is a total loss, and you do end up buying new, MacMedics will take the old unit as a trade in (in most cases). As an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, we carry the full line of Macintosh MacBooks. We can also help with removing the hard drive from a damaged unit, and if needed cleaning it. If the hard drive is a loss too, and we can’t do anything with it, we can put you in touch with one of our clean room data recovery partners.

One thing that many people forget to check is your home owners or renters insurance. If you laptop suffers major damage, in many cases your insurance will cover it. The deducible is usually pretty high ($250 to $500), but that’s better than getting nothing. Also, American Express offers 1-year of accidental damage protection when you buy with your AMEX card. Also, many other “high-end” credit cards also offer various protection from 90 days to 1-year.

There’s also a company called SafeWare that will insure your laptop against damage. It’s also possible to buy an extra insurance rider that can help protect your laptop if it get lost, stolen, or damaged.

Fly-By-Night iPod-iPhone Repair Startups Can’t Keep Their Hands Off Off Our Images

I fancy myself to be a pretty good photographer, but I’m NOT winning any awards or anything like former MacMedic Evan Bishop (If you’re looking for a GREAT Professional Photographer in San Diego, CA, please do look him up). As an amateur photog, I take a fair amount of of the pictures here at MacMedics. One of my images has been repeatedly ripped off for use by other iPhone service firms.

Why do less scrupulous iPhone/iPod service concerns keep ripping this image off? Well, here’s the reason: In order to take a picture of the highly reflective iPhone (shooting directly at the iPhone glass), you have to jump through some hoops to get the cracks to show up in focus. We then “lightly” edited the image of the broken iPhone in Photoshop to show off the cracks and make the image really “ad worthy”. We actually put quite a bit of work into just this one picture!

There’s quite an abundance of these “Fly-By- Night” businesses operating in the dark, murky waters of the Internet. A favorite place to hang up a shingle seems to be on-line classified giant, Craigslist. In most of the postings I’ve seen, there’s no website and no physical address to visit. So in essence, you’re going to hire a guy off Craigslist, who’s not part of a long-term reputable business, and invite him to your house to fix your iPhone? You might as well just wander over to your closest open-air drug market to see if you can find some small electronics repair help. Okay I’m sure that some of these guys are just trying to break into the biz, but really folks, people have been killed by people they have hired from Craigslist (and other on-line classified ads services).

If the repair you have done has a problem, do you really think this guy will come back and re-fix the problem? Where are his parts coming from? Are they real deal or just “high copy” foreign counterfeit replacement parts that came from eBay?

In the long run, do you really want some guy who ripped off his advertising artwork from someone else working on your iPod or iPhone?

In the case mentioned in this Blog post, the Craigslist poster did not even bother to try and crop our logo out! I guess that might be good for us, as it’s advertising for MacMedics. Here’s a link to a large size picture of the Craigslist ad posting so you can get a close look at our logo.

Here’s a link to another instance of the SAME image being ripped off by someone else from a previous post about this topic from the MacMedics Blog.

MacMedics Frequently Asked Macintosh Service Questions: Snow Leopard Installation

Do I need to to back up before installing Snow Leopard?

In a word YES! Whenever you run a minor or major software update, you DO need to have your data backed up (and be sure to have that back up tested as well!).

Time and time again we have clients come in with a major hard drive problem right after they have tried to upgrade their Mac OS.

Run Time Machine BEFORE you run that installer. If you are not on Leopard or Snow Leopard, run a program like SuperDuper to make a clone of your hard drive before you perform your upgrade. Even if you have a Time Machine back up, I highly suggest you have a fresh clone of your hard drive on standby whenever you’re running a major Apple software upgrade. This way if something goes wrong, you have a bootable copy of all of your data. Nice thing about a clone vs. Time Machine is you can boot off it and TEST it BEFORE you run a major upgrade. This way if something goes wrong you can get right back to work by booting off the clone.

Never run an Apple software update when you’re on deadline or have a major project due. Updates should always be performed when you’re not under the gun.

Should I unplug my external backup when installing Snow Leopard?

Yes. In fact MacMedics recommends that all USB and FireWire devices (except your keyboard and mouse) should be unplugged before you run the Snow Leopard installer. That holds true for any software update or upgrade as well.

See our full Snow Leopard upgrade Blog post with all the things you should consider here.

If you’re a creative professional working for an ad agency, graphic design or photography studio with Apple Macintosh computers in the Philadelphia Metro, South New Jersey, or Wilmington, Delaware areas, we’d love to help you.

We’re MacMedics Philadelphia, and as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Apple Authorized Value Added Resellers, MacMedics Philadelphia has what it takes to solve your Mac IT problems. We’ve been providing Macintosh Solution to Creative Professionals since 1989.

We’re here to provide the very best Macintosh Service and Consulting available, and we don’t require contracts or any other type of future commitments in order to receive very efficient and fast Macintosh service.

MacMedics brings the kind of technical and management capabilities that you would expect from a full-time IT professional — without the expense of a full-time professional. We don’t take sick days and we’re always just a phone call or e-mail away. We also offer remote desktop and telephone technical support.

If you’re not 100% happy with your current Mac Tech or Consultant, 2010 might be a great time to make the switch to MacMedics. Please call MacMedics for your free on-site Environmental Assessment. We would be delighted to give you a free second opinion on your Mac network or server installation. Please see our previous Blog post on topic.

One of our MacMedics Washington DC clients just submitted this review for MacMedics:

“My Procedure: Installs of 8GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive in a MacBook Pro 13″ about a month ago.

I highly recommend you visit them for anything Apple-related!”

Floyd W.
Glenn Dale, MD

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.

So we’re at it again! This time we’re helping a client get his money back from eBay and PayPal in a case of a counterfeit iPhone 3G S.

The side-by-side unboxing, package contents analysis, and real iPhone 3G S vs. fake iPhone 3G S video from MacMedics is coming soon.

Here’s some preliminary photos to get the story started. I also wanted to warn folks that to the untrained eye, you could easily get stuck with a phony iPhony on the street. The look, the feel, the weight, and even the Apple like retail iPhone box are all pretty convincing. iPhones make great gifts during the holidays, but don’t grab one too quickly. be sure to check it first. See my handy guide in six photos below. Links to large size photos taken with real iPhone 3G S are at the bottom of this post.

Here we go:

Real iPhone 3G S box for White iPhone 3G S is in foreground. Fake box which is taller and wider is behind it.

Again, real box is in foreground, fake box is behind it.

Smaller iPhone 3G S box is on the left. If you look closely you can see iCal and clock are set to same date and time. Fonts and icons vary, but all in same place.

Box contents from fake iPhone. Note stylus, old style iPhone power brick, battery booster, funky headphone, and free protective case!

Box contents from real Apple iPhone 3G S

The real iPhone 3G S is on left, the fake one on the right. You can see that it's pretty different. Note Internet Explorer icon in place of Safari.

Large size photos can be found here:

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-1.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-2.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-3.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-4.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-5.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-6.jpg

One of our clients, Ric Phillips just posted the following on our Facebook Wall:

“MacMedics is the type of company every business should want to be like. Customer service is outstanding. Technical knowledge is over the top. Repairs and upgrades, in most cases, accomplished in 24 hours. And, let’s not forget the discount prices they offer their customers. Who wouldn’t want their Apple products in the gentle hands of MacMedics?

Hands down, MacMedics ROCKS over all other independent computer businesses.”

Thanks Ric! If you missed our post from a few days ago with some anonymous comments from AppleCare/MacMedics clients, you can catch that here. Also, be sure to catch our MacMedics Blog post that has had some comments along these same lines from one of our satisfied clients at Johns Hopkins.