crwdns2933423:0crwdne2933423:0

The larger of Apple's MacBook Air laptops featuring dual microphones and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.

Candle Wax is ruining law school!

I tipped a burning candle over onto my 4 month old macbook air. I immediately wiped off the majority of the wax and stuck the computer in the fridge. I took the computer to the apple store and they quoted me upwards of $755 for repair. They claim the wax seeped under the keyboard. I have a hard time believing this because the laptop worked perfectly. The major issue was that the keys were all stuck. In particular, the 'shift' key was stuck down forcing the computer to boot in 'safe mode.'

I am wondering 1) how I can check to see if the wax is ACTUALLY in the computer and not just on the keys and 2) how I can get this repaired for less expensive.

I am a law student, living on student loans, I really REALLY need this to be less expensive. e.g. I found a refurbished keyboard/top case for about $69. Could I replace that myself (or have a tech savvy friend replace it)?

crwdns2934081:0crwdne2934081:0 crwdns2934083:0crwdne2934083:0 crwdns2934093:0crwdne2934093:0

crwdns2934109:0crwdne2934109:0

crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0 1
crwdns2947414:01crwdne2947414:0

Ask how they determined that the wax got past the keyboard. I can't see how this could be more than an upper case replacement. That's a really, really low price on the refurbished part, be suspicious!

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

crwdns2934285:0crwdne2934285:0

crwdns2933313:01crwdne2933313:0

crwdns2934051:0crwdne2934051:0

Today I will answer this in the form of a movie.

The Good - Candle Wax is has extremely low conductivity so the probability of you damaging essential electronic components is very low to no chance.

The Bad - Make absolutely sure you are getting the right part before you order it. The last thing you want is to buy the part only to find it does not fit. I recommend taking it apart and making sure everything matches before ordering.

The Ugly - Your tech savvy friend better be pretty good because this is a difficult system to get in and out of. Additionally if candle wax did get onto the motherboard (which I doubt it did), then he should not use any metal tools, excessive force, or a lighter to clean it off.

The End - There is an excellent guide on how to get to the upper case provided by the iFixIt staff and I have the link right here.

crwdns2934105:0crwdne2934105:0

crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0 3

crwdns2947414:01crwdne2947414:0:

Thank you for your help! I am going to take it to a 3rd party repair place for a second opinion on the extent of the candle wax damage. If they have some refurbished topcases available, I'll probably opt for that. I'm glad you agree that it likely didn't make it into the motherboard. Thanks again for helping. I really appreciate it.

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

crwdns2934285:0crwdne2934285:0

crwdns2934229:0crwdne2934229:0

amy crwdns2934231:0crwdne2934231:0
crwdns2936625:0crwdne2936625:0:

crwdns2936751:024crwdne2936751:0 0

crwdns2936753:07crwdne2936753:0 10

crwdns2936753:030crwdne2936753:0 16

crwdns2942667:0crwdne2942667:0 1,770