May 21st, 2013
One of the many reasons people decide to purchase a MacBook is because of its portability Being able to just pick it up and go here or there with it without having to deal with a plug makes it easy to work and play on. The problem is that over time the battery life can decrease, which means you don’t have as much time to work and play before you have to search for the plug and an outlet.
If your MacBook hasn’t been able to keep up with the time you need to use it, you may be dealing with a dying battery. To know for sure, read the following signs of battery death.
#1: MacBook Needs to Charge More Often
If you’ve noticed that you need to plug your MacBook in more often, you are most likely dealing with decreased battery life. While sometimes it depends on what you’re doing on your computer (having too many programs running), if you notice that the battery life just won’t last long no matter what you do, it’s most likely dying.
#2: The Battery Won’t Fully Charge
When you charge your MacBook’s battery fully, it should say 100%. If it doesn’t, that signals a battery problem. It’s also a problem if the battery has an “x” on it.
#3: Check the Status of the Battery
MacBook allows you to check the status of your battery. Go to the battery icon on the menu to check the status. If it says “normal,” your battery should be okay. If it says “replace soon,” “replace now,” or “service battery,” the battery may need to be replaced.
#4: The Cursor Goes Crazy
Many people believe that there is a problem with the trackpad, mouse or keyboard when their cursor starts doing things on its own. It will fly from one side of the screen to the other, it will type in characters you didn’t intend to, and it may even open applications. Most of the time, it doesn’t have anything to do with what controls the cursor, it has to do with the battery. You can test this by plugging in your MacBook to see if the crazy cursor behavior continues. If it doesn’t, it’s likely the battery is dying.
#5: The Battery Burns You
When the battery alert goes off on a MacBook, many people just ignore it. They don’t mind plugging their MacBook each time they use it, so they go on with their business. The problem is that the MacBook isn’t made to do this with the battery. What could happen is that eventually, the battery could overheat, which could end up burning you.
MacBook Pro Service: Battery Replacement
If you shook your head yes for any of the above signs, it’s likely you need a battery replacement for your MacBook. iResQ has MacBook Air and MacBook Pro service. Battery cost ranges from $159 for the Air and $749 for the Pro with retina display. Certified technicians perform all battery replacements within 48 hours of receipt.
Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Share on Facebook
Posted in macbook repair | No Comments »
May 16th, 2013
If your iPod Touch goes everywhere that you do, it’s likely that it’s come into close contact with water at some point or another. While getting a few sprinkles on it won’t usually hurt it, having it dowsed in water will make it appear that it’s gone forever.
The good news is that most wet iPod Touches can be repaired, as long as you hand it over to certified technicians that know how the inside of the Touch works – like iResQ.
We see wet iPod Touches pretty often. Some people accidentally drop it in the toilet (yuck) and others just didn’t realize they placed it on a puddle of water on a counter. While they thought that their Touch was ruined forever, we were able to bring it back to life for relatively low cost.
The cases that end up really expensive is when the logic board is affected by water damage. Each iPod Touch has a logic board, which is the main brain of the device. For Touches, they have a dock connector, which is part of the logic board. This means that if water gets into the connector, it’s also likely it gets into the logic board. While this wet iPod Touch repair is possible if it didn’t get completed drenched, it can be quite costly.
What to Do After It Goes Kerplunk
The only way to know if your iPod Touch can be resuscitated is to allow our authorized technicians look at it. We have free diagnostics, so you’ll be able to know exactly how much it will cost to get your wet iPod Touch repaired before you go out to buy another one for $300 or more.
If you’re iPod Touch hasn’t suffered water damage yet or you just pulled it out of water, don’t turn it on. If it was on when the water hit it, turn it off.
Wipe the device completely dry. Try to get into every nook and cranny of it, so no additional drops get inside. You could even try shaking it to get as much water out as possible.
To dry out the phone, you can try the rice trick. The idea is to get the inside of the iPod dry by pulling the moisture out.
After 24 hours, you can try to turn the device back on. If it doesn’t turn on, then it probably needs to be looked at. Give us a call or complete the free iPod diagnostic form to send it in to us. We will be glad to check it out for you and give you a call within 24 hours of receiving it to let you know if your wet iPod Touch can be repaired.
Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Share on Facebook
Tags: can a wet ipod touch be repaired, repair for wet iPod touch, wet ipod touch repair
Posted in iPod Repair | No Comments »
May 13th, 2013
The reason why we love Macs at iResQ is they are essentially hassle-free. To keep our MacBook Pros working at their best though, we like to do some routine maintenance. We’re not talking about anything too difficult or time consuming, but enough to keep our systems running in tiptop shape.
What to Do for MacBook Pro Maintenance
Regular Back Up
We have a ton of data on our computers. It’s the only way we can keep up with all of the repairs and upgrades we offer to customers. If we were to lose data, it would be devastating, so it’s important to back up. Backing up every other week or once a month isn’t good enough. It’s busy around here! Backing up daily is what we do, and it’s good for everyone else to do too.
Software Updates
Software bugs can be annoying and slow work down. Security issues can be frightening. Software updates can take care of both of these, so we take advantage of them. Most of the software updates that are available are free if they are just fixing bugs and security problems. When software updates come along with new features, it also comes along with a cost.
Apple Updates
Apple makes it easy to keep up with their software updates. Simply go to “Software Update” from the Apple menu. You can do this manually each time, or schedule it to install automatically. We prefer automation because it’s easier.
Directory Maintenance
With all of the deleting and writing of data, the data on the drive can become fragmented. To organize all of the information, so programs run faster, we use Apple’s Disk Utility. Clicking on First Aid and then Verify Disk tells us if we need to repair it. If it does, we install the OS X disc and boot the system again.
Shut It Down
Macs can stay on forever, but it’s good to restart it every so often. Once a week is usually good, but even two weeks is okay. Just as long as it’s done at least a couple times a month will help a Mac stay fast and efficient.
Clean Up the Hard Drive
Every so often, it’s important to go through folders and files to do a little spring cleaning. Deleting files no longer needed and emptying the Trash can free up quite a bit of gigabytes on a hard drive.
Keep MacBook Pro Maintenance Under Control
Maintenance can be easy to forget when you’re busy working and playing on your Mac. To help you remember what to do to keep it running just the way you want it to, download MacWorld’s maintenance schedule. You can import it into iCal, which means you’ll get reminder alarms for maintenance tasks.
When You Need MacBook Repair or Upgrade
If you’ve done all of the maintenance, and it’s still not quite running the way you’d like it to, consider sending it in for a MacBook repair or upgrade. Our 24 hour diagnostics will identify any issues, and our certified technicians will be able to advise what can be done with it. Contact us today if you need help with your Mac!
Share on Facebook
Posted in macbook repair | No Comments »
May 7th, 2013
Plop! There goes your iPhone into water. You reach into wherever it landed, pull it out, and…PANIC. Oh no, it’s all over.
Wait…
It’s not over until it’s over. You may be able to save your iPhone with the rice trick.
First Step: DO NOT Turn Your iPhone On
Under no circumstances should you turn your iPhone on. This could be devastating for your iPhone, and in turn, you.
I know it will be difficult to fight the urge to find out if your iPhone really is dead, but as soon as you turn it on, you may short out the circuits, and that could kill it.
Simply wipe the outside of your precious iPhone with a towel, shirt, or whatever you can get your hands on.
Second Step: Get the Water Out
Shake the iPhone, so you can get as much of the water out of it as possible. Now, be careful. You don’t want to shake it so much that it flies out of your hand and shatters in thousands of pieces. Shake it vigorously with a really good handle on it.
Third Step: Start the Drying Process – The Rice Trick!
Rice has super absorbing powers. Find a plastic bag with some sort of closure on it such as a Ziploc bag (the freezer size). Fill the bag with rice, and stick your iPhone inside. Give it a good 24 hours or longer if you want to make double sure that it’s dry.
After 24 hours, take the iPhone out, and take a deep breath. This is the moment of truth. Plug your iPhone in and turn it on. Hopefully, it will startup just as it did before it decided to take a dive.
Fight the Urge to Use a Hair Dryer
You already know not to turn your phone on. There’s one more thing you should not do, no matter who tells you to do it.
The rice trick is what works the best if the iPhone is recoverable at all. You may hear of some people who used their hair dryer to dry their phone. It’s not the best way though. You could end up messing up the electronics inside with the heat. Yes, some people have successfully saved their phone using this trick, but it was mostly luck.
How iResQ Helps with iPhone Water Damage
If you take your iPhone out of the rice, and you’re not able to turn it on, iResQ may be able to help. Many times, our technicians can remove the damaged parts of the iPhone, and replace it with brand new ones. However, in some instances, the logic board becomes corroded. This is the most important circuit board for the phone. While it can be replaced, when you add in all of the other parts that need replacing, it may end up costing you quite a bit of money.
There’s no way to know though until a technician looks at it. It’s a good thing we offer a free diagnostic for iPhones. You can send in your phone, and our technicians will tell you whether it can be saved or if you’ll be shopping for a new phone.
Images courtesy of digitalart & thanunkorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Share on Facebook
Posted in Author Posts, iphone repair | No Comments »
May 6th, 2013
Hey folks. Welcome back. And bundle up, because winter isn’t relenting in Kansas. We at the Q were scraping snow off our windshields as of last Thursday. Yep, snow on May second. And third. Ah, the midwest. Well, it’s going to be wet this week, but at least it’ll be warm so we’re going to go ahead and call it spring. And that means a spring deal. For the month of May we’re repairing glass panels on your Unibody MacBook or MacBook Pro for a special discounted price. 13″ models are only $95 and 15″ models are just $105. Just check out the MacBook Pro repair services, click glass panel replacement and enter coupon code MAYDAY at checkout for your discount.
Have a great week everybody, and stay warm and dry.
Share on Facebook
Written by Eric
Tags: Apple, iResQ, MacBook, MacBook Glass Repair, MacBook Pro
Posted in Author Posts | No Comments »
