What won't you work on when it comes to Apple/Macs

[NYJimbo]

I really fought hard to stay away from Apple repairs but for some reason the shops around me are not doing them anymore and I am getting lots of walk ins with macbooks and other Apple laptops. So far I have taken on simple stuff like hard drives or easy LCD replacements. I'm probably going to get a little deeper because I used to turn away a few people a month I am now turning away a half dozen a week. I am avoiding iphone and iPads as I dont want to have to do same day or next day, which is what most people expect on those devices.

Is there anything of the Apple computers (not devices like ipod, iphone,ipad) that you will not do ? Is there something you recommend to get into that is worth advertising and a good profit maker ?

 

[PCX]

These are worth your time.

iPhone Repair
iPod Touch Repair

Both of those you can do in 20 to 30 minutes and make between $65 and $100 profit each.

Macbook Screen replacements are worth your time if you can charge for the full assembly and labor, instead of having to remove the glass and change the LCD. If your only choice is to change the glass and or LCD and not the full assembly, then just make sure you charge enough for your time and that you make sure that your customers understand that it is impossible to get it perfect --meaning that there probably will be some dust between the glass and LCD. That said, a datavac and a decently clean room will go a long way to minimize this problem. In many cases, I can replace a piece of glass with little to no dust under it.


Personally, I stay away from the 1st and 2nd Gen iPads because they are time consuming and even harder to keep dust out of. I will change the glass in the New iPads for around $250 to $300 depending on our current work load and another $50 or so for the LCD if it also has to be replaced. This may seem like a lot, but if I do not charge this much, then it is not worth my time. That said, you may want to just stay away from them all together.


Other than that, a Mac is a PC with a Mac OS. The repairs are not very hard and many of them are easier to do than PCs. The great thing about them is that you can typically charge more for the repairs on a Mac than you could for a PC.


Acceptable turn around times:

iPhones: 1 to 3 hours.
iPods: 2 to 3 days
iPads: 7 to 10 days (allows time to order parts and procrastinate for a day if you are dreading the repair, never had anyone complain)
Macbooks: Depends on how close you are to an Apple store and their typical turn around time

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

Hard drives and RAM are easy money because for the most part the parts are non proprietary. Also, Data transfer is much easier with a Mac so there is some good profit there. So data transfer as part of a drive replacement or even as a service on its own is very profitable. The Apple stores are bound by replacing Apple branded like for like drives and RAM upgrades with Apple branded RAM are insanely expensive, so if you can offer a larger drive for cheaper or less expensive RAM you'll get a good amount of business. Sometimes liquid spills can be profitable as the Apple stores policy is just quoting the repair as a tier level mail in to the Apple repair depot even at the mention or sight of liquid. So we get a lot of liquid spills. Many times the damage is already done, but also many times a machine will just need a cleaning and a top case/keyboard replacement and even if the price tag comes up to $300 someone will pay it as opposed to paying double what Apple is quoting. We just always charge an upfront diag and even if the machine is not worth repair there is still money in getting their data for them.

We work on all models obviously, but you may want to stay away from Macbook Airs. Soldered RAM and proprietary PATA drives and SSDs make it so little can be done with them without being an Apple Service provider and GSX access. Even we are limited with cost effectively repairing the out of warranty ones. Also some of the very new Retina Macbook Pros and the just released iMacs you may want to avoid. However those are new and still under warranty so nothing to worry about there for a while.

Also, I'd be happy to help you with anything you need help on. But even though you don't know Macs very well, you are incredibly knowledgeable, so you will have no problem.

 

[NYJimbo]

... even if the price tag comes up to $300 someone will pay it as opposed to paying double what Apple is quoting.

This is what I am finding out late in the game. Take today for instance, guy walks in with a unibody macbook. Dead HD, doesn't care about the data, but it would be nice to recover some stuff.

This is 8 screws, pop the bottom, take out a couple of small parts and swap the HD with any decent drive. You are in and out in 5 minutes. But these Apple customers will pay more than PC customers. I'm not looking to rip people off, but its nice to be able to charge a little more and not have a hundred shops around me willing to do it for less.

Right now I am researching basic data recovery for Apple computers to see what I should buy (hardware/software) and what to learn so I can take on more "My hard drive is dead and I want my pictures" type walkins for apple stuff. Not business critical stuff, that I would send out or turn away.

 

[Martyn]

I've been using a MacBook for about 4 years but that is all of my Mac knowledge. Recently I got a call asking me if I "do Macs". Initially I said no but asked what did they want doing? The person said he wanted data transfer, setup on wireless and printing and a couple of other things. I did the whole job in an hour and realised how much more I knew over a "switcher" and that there is another stream for income. So the switcher market is a way forward into the Mac market initially. I just got a 2006 IMac this week because my client wanted the hard drive out of it for data recovery and she didn't want the IMac itself. So I'm going to try and get a bit more hands on the Mac family.

 

[smashedbotatos]

I always do Macs, iPhones, and iPod touches. I won't touch iPads though. I am the only one that will do it. As far as competitors go, I only have 2 in a 50 mile radius.

 

[NYJimbo]

Initially I said no but asked what did they want doing?

This is how I am getting into it. I now ask them what they need where I used to simply say "NO".

A guy came in with a macbook a couple weeks ago that needed a new fan. I turned it down. A couple days later I looked up the job and realized it was nothing and I had done PC laptops 10 times more complicated. I could have charged more for less work. Now I know.

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

This is what I am finding out late in the game. Take today for instance, guy walks in with a unibody macbook. Dead HD, doesn't care about the data, but it would be nice to recover some stuff.

This is 8 screws, pop the bottom, take out a couple of small parts and swap the HD with any decent drive. You are in and out in 5 minutes. But these Apple customers will pay more than PC customers. I'm not looking to rip people off, but its nice to be able to charge a little more and not have a hundred shops around me willing to do it for less.

Right now I am researching basic data recovery for Apple computers to see what I should buy (hardware/software) and what to learn so I can take on more "My hard drive is dead and I want my pictures" type walkins for apple stuff. Not business critical stuff, that I would send out or turn away.

So many shops/Techs are scared of Macs they'll send them away even if they are otherwise decent techs. We get customers from all over.

DiskWarrior and DataRescueIII will works wonders if used properly for data recovery. Only thing is you'll need to set up a bench Mac for running these. But buying a used Mac for a bench machine and taking on Macs will pay for itself in no time.

 

[NYJimbo]

Only thing is you'll need to set up a bench Mac for running these. But buying a used Mac for a bench machine and taking on Macs will pay for itself in no time.

That is my next goal for this month. I had mac clones years ago and a blue iMac, but now I want to buy a used Mac that I can slap around and learn all the inner workings. Just got to figure out whats the best for hacking/tweaking/learning.

Eventually I would like to do chip level Apple work, but thats well off in the future.

 

[ac1]

DiskWarrior and DataRescueIII will works wonders if used properly for data recovery.

I have heard great things about those two utilities. Can you please advise under what circumstances you use them? e.g. Umounted boot volumes etc

but now I want to buy a used Mac that I can slap around and learn all the inner workings

I think that might be a good idea. For macs especially, you learn a lot by having your own mac to practice tasks and scenarios on. The fact of owning a mac, is actually extremely helpful and you learn a lot more about the Operating System, than by doing the occasional mac jobs

 

[altrenda]

I got into it by necessity. In the entertainment industry, everyone from producers to $10 an hour assistants have MacBook Pros or Airs, as a fashion statement as much as a computer. They are at least half our business.

Hardware wise, there is nothing that different, although they are very dense designs. iMacs look a lot like laptops on the inside. Each new model has more proprietary hardware and seem to be getting harder to open.

Learning OS X is essential to being able to repair them. It is definitely not like Windows.

Remember these are $1000+ machines, not the plastic $250 Best Buy specials some people buy. Users expect them to be repairable and are willing to pay a reasonable price. We charge the same hourly rate for Windows or Mac.

A Mac mini is suitable as a bench Mac. A good bootable OS X external drive is helpful as well.

 

[Blue]

I've found that owning and using a Mac, even 'old' ones, can be of great help in solving customers' problems with theirs.

I'm using a PowerMac G4 MDD at my main desk at work, attached to a Cinema Display of the same approximate vintage. I know it might sound crazy, but other than its slow video performance, it has been fun and reliable. You learn the little stuff that makes it unique, like their open firmware/EFI, and ways of solving all sorts of 'weird' problems, e.g. clearing NVRAM/PRAM by holding P-R-Command-Ctrl keys at startup (the keys are different on some Macs, IIRC). I should disclose that before this machine, I received an iBook G4 as a gift, back in ~2005-ish. That machine, which I still use, is my first Mac.

IMHO, the greatest thing is that ALL of the documentation for virtually any Mac that comes in the door is all available, usually through Apple, or at least from sites which specialize in Apple repairs.

I've had very, very few customers ask whether I repaired Macs. The only Apple products which have come in the door have been half-demolished iPods and iPhones, their owners wondering whether I could fix them.

"Errrr....no, sorry. See that bit hanging out the side? That WAS its circuit board."

If any Macs do need repair, I'm no longer apprehensive at all about servicing them. But I don't even attempt the stuff I'd classify as 'consumer electronics' instead of 'computers and CIT-related' anymore, such as the aforementioned iPods and iPhones. I've found them to be too time-consuming for my current operation, and thus the labor cost too high to justify repairs in most cases. Same for the replacement parts; sometimes they're more than half the cost of a whole new product.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I've also 'revived' two Xserve servers, one PPC G5 and one Intel w/ Xeons, plus their accompanying Xserve RAID boxes. These guys were a HELLUVA lot different than any Mac I'd ever serviced before! A very cool, if not trying-at-times, learning experience.

FWIW, I'd highly recommend using Apple hardware when connecting to a Mac, e.g. use an Apple keyboard, mouse, and display if possible. Your best bet for solving most problems is to simply sit down and RTFM. Apple has done an excellent job of documenting their devices' installations, services, and repairs.

 

[buzzcut]

I did a screen replacement on a MacBook for a local Motel owner a few weeks at a third of the price that Apple quoted them. Since then they have referred 2 clients to me with the same issue. They were quoted $700 for the job. I'm thinking of getting myself a used Mac to play with.