A MacBook does not normally tell you that it is failing: it simply will not charge; it will not wake up; or will be stuck on the folder icon. If your MacBook has removable storage (a 2.5 inch drive or one of Apple's blade SSDs) then it is very likely that the data can still be recovered for customers all over Swansea and the Gower even if there was spillage.
A free diagnosis is given on all Apple MacBook jobs, prior to any service being performed. One fixed quote will be provided in writing for your approval, prior to commencing any work.
In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. This is true of all our services except for failure of electrical/mechanical components, chip level repairs, DVRs and forensic analysis. Our full price list can be seen at the cost of data recovery page.
The first step for each Apple MacBook job is to match the customer's problem symptom(s) to the fault, and these 15 cover nearly all types of failures that reach the bench.
When liquid enters the MacBook computer, it will race corrosion across the logic board. Usually removable storage will be unaffected.
At board level there is no life left in the computer's hardware but the data has survived on a removable drive or blade; therefore extraction of that data is better than attempting a repair.
Your internal hard drive or SSD failed or lost your operating system. First we create an image; then we ask questions.
After a failed macOS upgrade, your machine is stuck in an infinite loop. Your files remain safe.
If you've got a pre-2012 Apple machine, it will have a standard disk drive that gets standard head failures. That can be bench worked.
The Apple gumstick module dies just like any other SSD. We use our native adapters to create images from those modules.
You've erased a partition from Disk Utility by mistake: if it was removable storage your data can be retrieved for the remainder of the time that space is available.
FileVault volumes can be recovered normally if you know either the password, or the recovery key; make sure you have one ready.
The APFS snapshot as well as trashed files are still recoverable from their physical disk blocks for as long as they exist: simply do not use that Mac.
Screen failure does not affect the data stored on your perfectly working hard drive: it's an easy recovery with our standard extraction methods.
SSUBX/SSPOLARIS blade controllers will occasionally drop their mapping and disappear. In this situation we would perform service mode operations to restore the connection.
In 2009 to 2012 models the internal SATA cables can wear out over time, causing them to fail and indicate a dead drive. The actual drive however can be imaged normally.
The battery swell is enough to bow the chassis and put pressure on the board. The storage then unplugs and recovers.
Spills to the track pad cause liquid to enter through the track pad causing short circuits at the bottom of the board but leaves the drive/blade (located at top of the board) intact.
Blades from another lab that are sent back with a "dead" diagnosis will receive a legitimate second chance to run on new adapters (sometimes this is all you need).
Storage is the determining factor for all things. Up to 2012, MacBooks used standard 2.5-inch SATA hard drive units. Between 2013 and 2017, Apple began using their own style of "gum stick" (blade) SSDs. Both have an unpluggable design and can also be imaged upon our adapters as well as being commonly recovered at our facility. In 2018 with the introduction of the T2 processor and subsequently Apple Silicon, the SSD was soldered to the board and encrypted in hardware. The information contained on this SSD will never be able to be removed from a failed motherboard and two years ago we abandoned efforts at the motherboard level due to the odds being too poor to sell. Please check the model year or contact us so we can determine which category your MacBook falls under.
More MacBooks arrive wet than broken in any other way. Liquid goes straight to the logic board, but on removable-storage models it rarely gets to the data and the drive or blade will image cleanly after extraction and treatment. What ruins spill cases is delay and optimism: charging it "to check", waiting a week in rice. Power off, unplug. Move fast, and files nearly always make it.
The primary focus of MacBook recovery is to quickly get your removable drive/blade into an imaging setup:
Both 12+16 pin and gumstick type adapters image directly off your blade without having to borrow a donor MacBook.
Any mechanical 2.5 inch drives located inside a MacBook prior to 2012 can be treated like a traditional hard drive and run on our PC-3000 machine.
Damaged blades and connectors from a spill will be cleaned and serviced in order for the module to read.
The Apple native file systems are parsed: snapshots are retrieved; FileVault is opened using the password you provide.
Volumes that have been erased, missing snapshots and previously deleted files can now be recovered through "carving" (so long as the free space occupied by these deleted files has not yet been overwritten).
Recovery of a previously unrecovered drive from another lab gets an honest second shot at recovery on other hardware.
The dividing line is 2018. Before that time, a drive or blade can be unplugged and recovered. After that date, with T2 (or an Apple Silicon chip), your encrypted SSD is soldered onto your motherboard and there is no honest lab in the world which can promise you anything different. All of these cases (spill survivors, frayed-cable impostors, missing blades) ultimately end the same way: take out the module, image the module, get your data home.
First get a quote over the telephone or use our free on-line diagnostic. The majority of customers then have their media sent to us via post, this is tracked and insured.
Do you want to send a drive from your computer, laptop, MacBook, iMac, CCTV / DVR or server? Please do not send the complete unit of computer or device with a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD) inside. Please remove it and only send the drive itself. For a server, please remove all disks and label them by their bay. We will also not perform removal of internal drives from devices in order to access data. Also, we will not extract data from devices where storage is soldered onto the motherboard (such as T2 and Apple Silicon Macs and some thin laptops). Additionally, we do not recover data from phones and tablets, only drives that can be removed and sent to us. If you're not sure which kind you have, ring us first.
↓ Print the booking-in & shipping form (PDF)
Clearly mark the parcel with the name Bristol Data Recovery, and when your media has been diagnosed we will call you immediately.
If unsure about what to post, please call us first on 0800 689 0668 (the free phone number), or complete a free online diagnostic.
Diagnostic provided at no charge. Fixed quote. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Start now or call the freephone.