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Apple botches Macbook board design: again!

Louis Rossmann · 279.6K views · 2018-12-07 · 18:27

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Overview

Louis Rossmann, an independent repair shop owner, explains a recurring MacBook logic board design problem that leads to failures such as a black screen. The video is part of his right-to-repair advocacy.

On Hacker News

Mostly used as an example in repair debates, with commenters calling the design an oversight or an anti-repair tactic.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2020–2021

Topics

Repair, teardowns & right to repairConsumer devices & gadgets
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right to repairmacbooklogic boardapplehardware design

What people said

Greek0 · 2021-05 · Criticism

The repairability Rossmann is talking about is not user-replaceable components. His repairs usually require soldering to replace components. One of his main critique points is that Apple makes it hard to repair their products, even for electronics professionals. In the past, Apple has also altered designs so that small electrical problems suddenly fry the most expensive component on the board, the CPU. Either this is an embarrassing, junior-level oversight or a deliberate anti-repair-buy-new-hardware tactic. See, for example, [VIDEO] As such, it seems you are arguing against an idea that no one is suggesting.

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RicoElectrico · 2021-04 · Criticism

The style of issues he has to deal with are stupid design on Apple part that compromises longevity and resilience. Like really retarded, easily avoidable crap. And sheer spite. e.g. [VIDEO] [LINK] [LINK]

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rrmoelker · 2020-03 · Reference

Scrape off rust, replace chips that have been shorted. Does depend on chips being available and some knowledge on how to diagnose the damages (e.g.: board schematics). Here's an example of new age Macbook pro's dying from little water ingress (design oversight). And a combination of knowledge and a simple chip can fix your nearly write off Macbook. [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Louis Rossmann, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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