Soldered, encrypted flash and a dead logic board. This is the one recovery nobody can do — here is why, and what to do instead.
This one we turned away, and it is worth explaining why, because it is the single most common false hope in Mac recovery.
The MacBook Pro had taken a liquid spill and the logic board was dead — no power, no display, nothing. On an older Mac that would be recoverable: the storage was a separate drive you could lift out and image on its own. On this machine it was not. The flash is soldered directly to the logic board, and on any Mac with an Apple T2 chip or Apple Silicon it is also encrypted by that chip, with the key fused into the same silicon that had just died.
That combination has no way through. The data cannot be read off the flash without the board, and the board is gone. There is no bench, no tool and no lab — ours or anyone else’s — that can recover data from a dead-board soldered-and-encrypted Mac. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either going to fail or going to charge you for trying.
So we said no, and we did not charge for looking. What we told the owner is the only honest advice there is: on these machines the recovery is your backup. Time Machine, iCloud, or a clone — set one up while the Mac still powers on, because once the board dies the data dies with it. We would far rather tell you that now than take your money for a job that cannot be done.
Send us your device for a free diagnostic, and tell us a little about what happened — an engineer will review it and confirm your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. For anything urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
From £300 plus VAT for Macs with a removable drive, and £550 for a Fusion Drive. Where the storage is soldered to the logic board it isn't something we take on. No fix, no fee on most jobs.
Yes, with your account password. FileVault and hardware encryption are only recoverable for the device's owner.
Start with an instant online quote, or call and talk it through with us first. You'll have a clear, fixed price before any work begins.