Restore SSD data from bad logic board

Question

Retina MacBook 2015

Repair information and guides for the 2015 Retina MacBook Air. Model A1534

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Quincy @lqoyzy

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Restore SSD data from bad logic board

Hi, Friends,

My Retina MacBook 2015 accedently went broken, the guys in Apple Store tell me the logic board is bad(don't know the reason, they only do replaycement, I guess the SSD is good till now), now I need to restore some important data from the soldered SSD. It's somewhat an impossible mission to unsolder it.

Any idea on this? Does logic board of this type, could pin out some hidden interface like SATA to access the SSD? or some debug pins to achive this?

Thanks!

Quincy

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i do not know a way of getting the data off a non working Macbook. the logic board is way to small to work with (i think its the size of an iPhone 4). unfortunately in this case i do not believe there is too much you can do other than ask apple to try and retrieve the data in some way

crwdns2934271:0Ndz 3, 2016crwdnd2934271:0 Reboot Gozo crwdne2934271:0

They only do replacements.

crwdns2934271:0Ndz 5, 2016crwdnd2934271:0 Quincy crwdne2934271:0

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Dan @danj

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Ndz 3, 2016

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Sadly, as we drive the size of systems smaller, the ability to get to the storage subsystem as an independent part is becoming harder or just impossible.

Unlike the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air systems which have a removable SSD units that is not the case in the new MacBook models. Here is a picture of the logic board so you can see for your self: MacBook Logic Board the Orange block is the SSD unit. There is no means to remove it and even if you could desolder it there is no means to connect it to another system to read whats on it. The same issue applies to ones cell phones and tablets which have likewise soldered flash memory chips.

With these closed systems it's becoming more important to have backup drives or use iCloud services to store your files as you never know when they will fail.

Sorry you're out of luck here ;-{

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Thanks, Dan, anyway, that's helpful. You are working in Apple?

Apple store had replaced a new logic board for me. And I accept data missing. Maybe the best way to restore the memory of a trip is to go there again.. :-)

Btw, it seems MacBook 2016 has independent storage subsystem? There's 20 pins pad near the flash.

crwdns2934271:0Ndz 5, 2016crwdnd2934271:0 Quincy crwdne2934271:0

No, I don't work for Apple presently or have I in the past. I've been using & repairing computers just for quite a few years (40 + years).

Apple has policies in place to dispose of bad parts like your logic board. Often with newer systems they require the part be returned to be investigated on why it failed. So you won't have access to the part any more.

Just because you see a bunch of connectors or what may appear to be empty solder connections don't assume their function is what you wish it to be. I promise you, I would have told you if there was any glimmer of hope, sadly there is none.

I do encourage you to visit an Apple Store or someone who supports Apple products to see if they can help you recover any data that might be in your iCloud account. In any case see if they can help you setup your iCloud account so your data is backed up there. Or, look at getting an external drive which you can backup your system at home, Better yet setup both!

I wish I had better news for you.

crwdns2934271:0Ndz 5, 2016crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

It's OK, I don't use iCloud for photos but do native backup monthly. It's a black swan event that I'm too busy to do it this month and the event hits me. I've recovered my work environment and documents which are sync daily. Only some important photos lost.

Thank you for your help!

crwdns2934271:0Ndz 5, 2016crwdnd2934271:0 Quincy crwdne2934271:0

Hi Dan. Recently I have encountered the same problem as Quincy. My Retina MacBook 2015 went broken and guys in Apple Store told me the logic board is bad. I'v brought it to one external engineer and he told me the problem seems to come from the CPU and there is no way to repair. My only option is to replace it with a new logic board and lose all my data.

I noticed this same question has been asked and answered 2 years ago and there was no way to recover data back then. Could you please tell me if there's any technology upgrade so that my data has some luck to be retrievable?

Thank you!

crwdns2934271:0Mud 19, 2018crwdnd2934271:0 Carina crwdne2934271:0

@carinalee - Sorry to say the Retina MacBook has not changed its basic design (2015 - 2018). For all practical sense your MacBook is no different than a cellphone, once its broken you've lost whats on it, unless you've made the effort to backup aggressively.

crwdns2934271:0Mud 19, 2018crwdnd2934271:0 Dan crwdne2934271:0

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i do not know a way of getting the data off a non working Macbook. the logic board is way to small to work with (i think its the size of an iPhone 4). unfortunately in this case i do not believe there is too much you can do other than ask apple to try and retrieve the data in some way — Reboot Gozo
Thanks, Dan, anyway, that's helpful. You are working in Apple?

Apple store had replaced a new logic board for me. And I accept data missing. Maybe the best way to restore the memory of a trip is to go there again.. :-)

Btw, it seems MacBook 2016 has independent storage subsystem? There's 20 pins pad near the flash. — Quincy
No, I don't work for Apple presently or have I in the past. I've been using & repairing computers just for quite a few years (40 + years).

Apple has policies in place to dispose of bad parts like your logic board. Often with newer systems they require the part be returned to be investigated on why it failed. So you won't have access to the part any more.

Just because you see a bunch of connectors or what may appear to be empty solder connections don't assume their function is what you wish it to be. I promise you, I would have told you if there was any glimmer of hope, sadly there is none.

I do encourage you to visit an Apple Store or someone who supports Apple products to see if they can help you recover any data that might be in your iCloud account. In any case see if they can help you setup your iCloud account so your data is backed up there. Or, look at getting an external drive which you can backup your system at home, Better yet setup both!

I wish I had better news for you. — Dan
It's OK, I don't use iCloud for photos but do native backup monthly. It's a black swan event that I'm too busy to do it this month and the event hits me. I've recovered my work environment and documents which are sync daily. Only some important photos lost.

Thank you for your help! — Quincy
Hi Dan. Recently I have encountered the same problem as Quincy. My Retina MacBook 2015 went broken and guys in Apple Store told me the logic board is bad. I'v brought it to one external engineer and he told me the problem seems to come from the CPU and there is no way to repair. My only option is to replace it with a new logic board and lose all my data.

I noticed this same question has been asked and answered 2 years ago and there was no way to recover data back then. Could you please tell me if there's any technology upgrade so that my data has some luck to be retrievable?

Thank you! — Carina
@carinalee - Sorry to say the Retina MacBook has not changed its basic design (2015 - 2018). For all practical sense your MacBook is no different than a cellphone, once its broken you've lost whats on it, unless you've made the effort to backup aggressively. — Dan

bfg737 @bfg737 crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 1 3 · Answer 1 · 2020-11-09T12:10:18-07:00

bfg737 @bfg737

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Huk 9, 2020

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Www.AppleExpert.ca in Calgary do offer a service of getting data off an SSD on an A 1534 broken logic board.

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Retina MacBook 2015

Restore SSD data from bad logic board

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