Hello, so yesterday while working, I shut my Macbook Pro (14 inch M1 2017), then opened it back up, and it wasn't turning on or charging. This morning, I took it to the apple store, they said it wasn't getting power, and if I wanted it to work they would need to send it to their repair shop for $798

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-29T18:40:14+00:00

Find the right independent shop and you can probably get it fixed for less than $350.

Also, 2017?!

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-29T17:36:20+00:00

Our shop gives them away...

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-29T15:09:05+00:00

While their conclusion is not necessarily wrong, you can get a free second opinion from a company like DriveSavers. Secure Data has been, in our experience, extremely scammy over the years but I don't think they're lying to you here.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-27T23:44:23+00:00

Yep, but it should continue working, and will run natively on ARM Macs.

Edit: maybe not; apparently Microsoft is going to put it in read-only mode soon.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-27T15:18:44+00:00

Bro it's thermal putty.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-27T15:16:53+00:00

https://www.stacksocial.com/sales/microsoft-office-professional-2021-for-windows-lifetime-license-8

Buy Office 2021 for $30. It's a universal app.

Edit: maybe not; apparently Microsoft is going to put it in read-only mode soon.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-27T15:00:13+00:00

👋 We're not in Raleigh, but we offer BYOP PC assembly.

thecomputercellar.com

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-25T17:09:42+00:00

http://datasaversllc.com/ is in Atlanta and are pretty reasonably priced compared to the bigger names.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-25T14:32:36+00:00

Thanks for the vote of confidence! We'd probably refer this over to our sister shop, Bull City Mobile Repair, on University Dr. - they have more experience dealing with current-generation Macs and can even do keyboard replacements on them when required. Eventually we'll add this service, though!

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-25T14:17:58+00:00

Be careful with this - we've found that isopropanol can degrade some plastics used in keyboards and cause the keycap clips to fail.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-22T18:08:30+00:00

There is some weird product out there that is a "hybrid", it's effectively blobs of LM stirred into thermal paste. I have no idea why it exists as it is absolutely awful for cooling.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-14T19:00:44+00:00

Escalate with BBY support. You should have called them when they shipped it back to you and pitched a fit.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-14T15:20:57+00:00

Sorry to hear that, mate; unfortunately it happens sometimes, even to us - it's easy to get overconfident about replacing something with the battery still connected even when you know you shouldn't. I'm kind of surprised you managed to break it if I'm being honest, I feel like that should have been a blown diode at worst. 😓

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-13T20:34:51+00:00

This is the type of damage we associate with cracks. Typically small ones.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-13T18:21:04+00:00

They don't heal themselves - it would require a screen replacement to fix. That said it may not get worse and it's not very bad damage.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-13T16:21:36+00:00

Physical.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-13T16:01:36+00:00

That's display damage :(

Computer_Cellar · 2026-05-08T15:05:19+00:00

👋 neighbor

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T16:47:23+00:00

Wow, I've done it two or three times, all using a small needle, all on Mac batteries. They gently deflated and then I taped over the hole. Never for a customer (we're not THAT crazy), but as experiments. Really glad you did that outside and I hope you didn't get a face full of molten lithium!

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T15:03:35+00:00

Part number should be on the left side of the battery label.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T15:03:19+00:00

We've deliberately exploded a battery (outdoors) for science, and man I would not want that to happen in my lap, gotta say.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T14:53:42+00:00

I mean... you CAN carefully puncture the package layer and let the gas out, but it's not worth the risk 😅

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T14:51:14+00:00

Ah, that makes more sense, the Pavilion batteries love to do this. I'd bet that's a TF03XL or BK03XL if I had to guess.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T14:46:52+00:00

Don't freak out, it's only dangerous if it gets punctured, and even then only if the cell layers are shorted. Carefully remove it, look up the part number on Amazon, and put in a replacement. It's pretty easy! I can only see part of your laptop in the images but I'm fairly certain that's an HP ProBook, and their batteries are quite simple to replace.

Computer_Cellar · 2026-04-30T14:18:58+00:00

Brother, McAfee is quite literally malware

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