MacBook Air M1 that won't turn on: what we find most often on the board
The best-selling Mac of recent years is now coming across the bench. Good news: its logic board repairs well.
The 2020 MacBook Air M1 is everywhere: students, remote work, families. Five years on, the first logic-board faults are showing up, and they look alike.
The three common faults
Won't charge, or charges then stops: the USB-C charging circuit (CD3217 chips and their surroundings) is sensitive to poor-quality chargers and liquids. Chip replacement by micro-soldering.
Won't turn on after a liquid: the M1 has no fan, the board is compact, and a liquid quickly reaches the power rails. Cleaning, corrosion removal, then replacement of the shorted components.
Black screen, but the Mac boots (sound, backlit keyboard): screen flex or backlight circuit. Repaired without changing the screen.
Price and turnaround
MacBook Air M1 logic-board repair is at a fixed price on the prices page, announced after diagnosis; allow a few days, tests included. If the only goal is to recover your data, it is 249 €, and nothing if we don't succeed.
Also worth it
A new battery at five years gives the M1 back its original battery life, and it is a simple repair. The M1 remains an excellent machine; repairing it makes sense for several more years.
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