MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air repairs
Screens, keyboards, batteries, logic boards and drives — on every MacBook from the older Intel machines through to Apple silicon. Over twenty years of them.
What we repair on a MacBook
Any repair or replacement, on a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro. Hardware or software.
- Screen replacement
- Battery replacement
- Logic board repair
- Trackpad and keyboard
- SSD repair and upgrade
- macOS updates
- Hard drive replacement and recovery
- Memory upgrade, where the model allows
- Liquid spill assessment
MacBook SSD upgrades, and why the drive matters
Upgrading the solid state drive is one of the most common jobs we do. It's also where most of the mistakes get made, because MacBook SSDs use a proprietary Apple interface that changed from model year to model year. A drive that fits a 2013 machine will not fit a 2015 one.
Apple's own SSDs are expensive. Aftermarket drives such as OWC are a sensible alternative — but each one is compatible with a particular range of MacBooks and often needs a particular version of macOS. A modern OWC drive won't run under Mavericks, for example, though it will under High Sierra.
Give us the serial number or the model year and we'll tell you exactly which drives fit your machine and what macOS version it needs — before anything is ordered.
Try these first
Worth doing before you bring a MacBook in. Which steps apply depends on whether yours has an Intel processor or Apple silicon — they are not the same machine underneath.
Intel MacBooks
Roughly 2020 and earlier. Apple menu → About This Mac shows an Intel processor.
Reset the SMC
The system management controller handles power, fans, battery and sleep. Resetting it clears a lot of odd behaviour.
Reset the NVRAM or PRAM
Hold Option, Command, P and R on startup. This is where display, sound and startup-disk settings live.
Reboot in Safe Mode
Hold Shift while it starts. If the MacBook behaves in Safe Mode but not otherwise, the fault is software.
Check Activity Monitor
Sort by CPU and watch for one process sitting at the top. A single misbehaving app explains many slow MacBooks.
Boot to Recovery and run First Aid
Command and R on startup, then Disk Utility. It finds and often repairs directory damage.
Apple silicon MacBooks
M1, M2 and later — roughly late 2020 onward. About This Mac shows an Apple chip.
Shut down fully and wait
There is no SMC to reset on these machines. A full shutdown for thirty seconds does the same job.
Don't bother with NVRAM
Apple silicon Macs test and reset NVRAM by themselves at startup. The old key combination does nothing.
Reboot in Safe Mode
Shut down, then hold the power button until "Loading startup options" appears. Pick your disk and hold Shift.
Check Activity Monitor
Same as on Intel. Sort by CPU and look for the process that won't settle down.
Boot to Recovery and run First Aid
Hold the power button to reach startup options, then Options → Disk Utility.
Most "reset your Mac" advice online still assumes an Intel machine. On an M-series MacBook those key combinations simply do nothing, and people conclude the machine is dead when it isn't.
MacBook faults we fix
Pick whichever sounds like your machine. If none of them do, call and describe it.
Boots to a folder with a question mark
The MacBook can't find a system to start from.
What this means →Spinning wheel of death
The beachball never stops and nothing responds.
What this means →Kernel panic
The screen dims and tells you to restart, over and over.
What this means →Cracked or dead screen
Lines, dark patches, or nothing at all on the display.
Screen repair →Battery won't hold charge
Service Battery warnings, swelling, or minutes of runtime.
Battery repair →Trackpad or keyboard damage
Keys not registering, or a trackpad that clicks when it shouldn't.
Trackpad repairs →Logic board faults
Board-level diagnosis and repair, not just a parts swap.
Logic board repairs →SSD repair and upgrade
Faster storage, and the matching macOS version to run it.
SSD upgrades →Update the MacBook OS
Moving an older MacBook up to a supported macOS safely.
OS updates →Install macOS
A clean system installed properly, with your data brought across.
macOS installs →Hard drive replacement and recovery
Getting the data off first, then putting the machine back together.
Running slow, needs more memory
On the models where the memory isn't soldered to the board.
What MacBook repairs cost
Free diagnosis, then a fixed price before any work starts. Nothing goes ahead until you say so.
All prices include GST. Apple parts are quoted separately and shown to you before anything is ordered. Figures shown are indicative starting prices, pending Digby's confirmation.
Other things we fix
All Apple Mac repairs
- iMac, MacBook and Mac mini
- Hard drive and SSD replacement
- Damaged screens
iMac repairs
- SSD and Fusion Drive
- Power supply repairs
- Retina display handling
Laptop repairs
- Screen replacement
- Laptop not booting
- Overheating and power faults
PC repairs
- Windows update problems
- Network and print issues
- Windows not booting properly
Computer technician
- Update software packages
- Diagnose and resolve IT issues
- Email setup
Tell me what your MacBook is doing
Describe it and I'll tell you the likely cause and roughly what it costs — before you commit to anything.