Macfixer.Co.Uk

A 2013 iMac came in this morning refusing to boot. Hard drive is dying and owner has no proper backups.
If you don’t do backups it’ll be too late to take action after your computer croaks. iCloud drive is useful but it's no substitute for a proper backup solution. In macOS it's simple to do with TimeMachine, all you need is a USB hard drive.
If you're reading this and are one of the all too many who don't backup your computers, please make today the day that changes.

That's another iMac given a new lease of life with an SSD upgrade. If you have a 2012 or newer 21.5-inch iMac it's an even better upgrade, these machines are strangled by slow laptop sized hard drives. Upgrading to SSD makes them feel like new again.

New car graphics have been ordered and are on route. A subtle re-vamp of the original which will look great once applied to the MacMobile. Thanks to Chris at BigBlueWolf design. Chris also came up with MacFixer as my business name six years back, clever chap! If you need any design or print work, pay him a visit at http://www.bigbluewolf.co.uk

Do any of my followers have an eye for design? I need to sort the graphics for my new car. I could repeat what I’ve done on previous 3 cars, it’s OK and gets me business but I’d like something funkier - but still simple and Apple’esque. Ideas gratefully received!

Last week I had three MacBooks come into me following liquid spills.
Obviously the best advice is to keep your beer, wine, water or coffee well away from them in the first place but, should the worst happen, tip it upside down, place on the edge of a table, keyboard flat on the surface with a towel or kitchen roll under keyboard to absorb the liquid and the display hanging over the edge.
Then seek assistance to get it opened, dried and cleaned ASAP. Time is the enemy here, delay getting help and the chances of a positive outcome are greatly reduced. And please don't cover it in rice, it doesn't do anything at all!

I frequently get called upon to assist in resolving problems caused by adware and malware clogging up your web browsing, hijacking search results and otherwise causing slow performance and general misery. Installing dodgy YouTube downloaders and other nefarious software is one of a myriad of ways in which it gets onto your system but there are steps you can take to protect yourself.
1. NEVER install software unless you trust the source. The Mac App Store is generally OK, as a...re downloads from trusted sites, but elsewhere you need to be cautious. By entering your password when you install software you give that software full access to your system And for dodgy software that's never good. 2. Install a good adware/malware scanner. I personally favour the one from Malwarebytes. The download is a trial but the basis service is always free and so does not require payment when the trial expires. Run it once a week and it will root out anything that should not be there and quarantine it. https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac-download / 3. If you have Mackeeper installed, get rid of it. Better still, let Malwarebytes do it for you, horrid software that is best kicked into the long grass. 4. And finally, backup. No excuses. When your drive dies or your laptop is stolen it's too late. Do it now, go on, put the coffee down and go backup!
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Another example of buy cheap, pay twice. Customer had an iPhone 7 'repaired' 8wks ago. Touchscreen failed and repair outfit refused to fix claiming it was due to a drop. Brought in to me and on opening I find a cheap'n'nasty copy part. The one on the left is the copy, with a fake touchscreen controller chip. OEM on right, the cable layout at bottom is distinctly different and easy to spot. These copy parts use older touchscreen technology and the controller chips are poor copies. You might save £30 or £40 but it's a false economy, they all fail prematurely, that is if they work at all. All my repairs come with a 12mth warranty.

Had a customer call this morning asking for advice. Following a liquid spill on her daughters MacBook Air, Apple had confirmed it was dead and as they were unable to read the SSD she was advised to take it to Kroll Ontrack. Kroll are Apple's data recovery partners and recognised experts in data recovery.
Kroll subsequently quoted £800 for the work needed to recover data from the SSD. Taken aback by the cost she wanted a second opinion and whilst I advised Kroll were the exp...erts and trustworthy I agreed to take a look.
So I was more than a little surprised to find that I was able to access and recover all the data with some data recovery tools. I can understand staff at an Apple Store won't have the expertise but Kroll must have recognised this was a simple task, far different from the more complex recovery where hardware is damaged and detailed and painstaking data recovery is necessary.
Two hours later the data had been recovered and restored to a USB Hard Drive. Total cost £90.00.
Three lessons here, I'll be less trusting of Kroll from now on, keep liquids away from your computers and for goodness sake, backup your data. Backups are easy, data recovery can be complex and expensive. And backups are even more important when the data is three years of Uni work and your finals are a month away!
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As a small thank you to our emergency services I'm extending a permanent 10% discount on all iPhone and iPad repairs to members of Police, Fire, Ambulance and NHS services. This offer also applies to serving members of HM Forces.

My thoughts on Apple’s batterygate, primarily to get some facts into the rubbish being spread! http://www.macfixer.co.uk/iphone-batteryg ate-some-thoughts/

Very busy today, lots of booked repairs, if you need a fix before the New Year get in touch. We're open tomorrow until 2pm then closed New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Normal service resumes Tuesday 2nd January 2018.

Apple UK have now followed up the US statement on battery issues affecting 6 and 6s series with UK pricing.
If you have an issue with your SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s or 6s Plus model iPhone slowing down due to a failing battery, and can’t wait until late Jan 2018, or have an iPhone with a failing battery that’s not covered by this program, we will match Apple's £25.00 price for iPhone battery replacement from now until end of 2018 and can complete the work with a lot less inconvenience using genuine batteries. And we back up our work with a 12mth warranty on battery replacements.

We are open 9:00- 1:30pm today then closed until 29th Dec. Have a Merry Christmas, and try not to drop the new gadgets!

Repaired a MacBook for an elderly gentleman yesterday, hard drive had failed, luckily it was still working just enough for me to secure most of his data. When I returned it he remarked on my poppy pin and whilst chatting he mentioned he was D-Day veteran so I told him there was no charge for the fix, I served 14 years in the Army so it was the very least I could do, instead I took payment in bourbon biscuits (done my diet no good at all!). Had a lovely chat about army life and technology, he's an avid Apple fan with MacBook, iPad and iPhone, and had a better grasp of them than many half his age!

Another example of Apple's in-store support staff being rather less than 'Genius'. Customer takes his non-booting 2012 MacBook Pro in for repair. Genius Bar staff tell him the hard drive has failed and five years is about it for a hard drive. It's too old for them to fix but they recommend he upgrades to a new iPad Pro instead.
Customer calls me to ask if I can replace the hard drive. Knowing 2012 models have an issue with hard drive cables failing I offer to test first and, ...lo and behold, the issue is indeed the cable. So, instead of £100ish for a new hard drive and installation plus the hassle of restore data from backup (if there is one), the end result is a simple fix with all data intact for £50.00.
It took me 5mins to diagnose this, if the hard drive is not detected, remove it, connect via SATA - USB cable and attempt to boot from USB. If it boots then it is the cable.
So why are Apple giving incorrect advice, sales targets perhaps?
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excellent service would highly recommend...

Top top service and for a good price. Contacted Darren one evening and dropped my iPhone off the next morning, which was repaired and ready for collection the same day. Look no further for you apple repair needs.

Thank you MacFixer for super quick & excellent service! So pleased :)

Quick and professional service - very impressed and would recommend to any other professionals needing a speedy service!

Needed a screen for my phone called up they had one in stock poped over and it was done in an hour great repair great price

I've used MacFixer a number of times over the years (most recently in the last week) for a variety of iPhone repairs from broken screens to diagnosing and replacing various components. The service and communications are excellent and the speed of repair by post is great. The quality of repair is usually flawless, however on the one occasion we had a minor problem it resolved straight away with no fuss whatsoever.



I buy my phones outright and wouldn't trust anyone else to repair devices worth many hundreds of £s. I could get basic repairs done locally for slightly lower prices, but there are so many horror stories about botched repairs leaving those devices permanently damaged that I send them to the person I can trust.

I have used MacFixer a number of times (careless family members!) and have no hesitation in recommending him for any iPhone, iPad or Mac repair or upgrade. Service is fast, attention to detail is absolutely spot on. I won't use anyone else now.

Highly recommended! Many repairs carried out quickly and professionally on a number of devices for my family members. Why go anywhere else?

Had screen and battery replaced on iPhone 6, very good quality and very friendly chap! Definitely recommend to anyone in need of apple help!

Great prompt and honest service. Would definitely recommend

First time customer. Came highly recommended and would definitely forward the recommendation to others. Lovely man, reassuring and knows his stuff. Sick MacBook after an OS update. Dropped it off in the evening, was ready mid morning the next day. Very reasonable prices too.

First class service from Darren 'Macfixer' today on replacing my daughters iPhone glass. Turnaround in less than an hour. One happy girl, let's hope she stops playing drop with it!

Darren rescued me from a minor heart attack this evening when a slip of a finger in a restart landed me in potential hot water. Charming, efficient, and knowledgeable. Hope to use his services again very soon.

Darren is great! No problem to big or too small when it comes to Apple. My Mac Book has been with Darren on several occasions now and everytime he has been quick, always helpful and very reasonably priced. Great person to trust with your Apple products.



Darren comes to collect your device from your home which is prefect when you do not drive. What's best, is that he descibes the problem with your device in both technical terms and then simply explains the problem which is always great when you have no clue on computers and the technical speak.



Will never go to anyone else. Thank you as always!

Darren 'MacFixer', has helped me out at short notice on a couple of occasions now, despite being super busy. He's polite, friendly, quick and a total Apple genius. I would and will, highly recommend him to anyone.

So, thanks Darren for brilliant service once again! Ruth :-)

Can't recommend Darren enough. As soon as he opened my Mac Book Pro he knew the fault straight away and told me the costing there and then. He had my Mac Book Pro over night and I've just picked it up. It's working again and I can't thank him or recommend his services enough. Thank you so much Darren, you're brilliant.

Brilliant service. I've used MacFixer on several occasions over the last few years. Constantly delivers an on-time and cost effective service.

Big thanks to Darren at Macfixer for fitting a new battery in 30mins and only £25. iPhone6 was having severe battery issues holding charge and shutting down at 30-40% capacity. Battery had warped which I now know can crack the screen too, and was running hot. If you’re experiencing similar issues call him now. Top job.

As a family we've used MacFixer several times for various iPhone and iPad issues and wouldn't hesitate to use again.

Excellent service and communication, makes getting any device sorted hassle free.

Highly recommend �

excellent service would highly recommend...

Top top service and for a good price. Contacted Darren one evening and dropped my iPhone off the next morning, which was repaired and ready for collection the same day. Look no further for you apple repair needs.

Thank you MacFixer for super quick & excellent service! So pleased :)

Quick and professional service - very impressed and would recommend to any other professionals needing a speedy service!

Needed a screen for my phone called up they had one in stock poped over and it was done in an hour great repair great price

I've used MacFixer a number of times over the years (most recently in the last week) for a variety of iPhone repairs from broken screens to diagnosing and replacing various components. The service and communications are excellent and the speed of repair by post is great. The quality of repair is usually flawless, however on the one occasion we had a minor problem it resolved straight away with no fuss whatsoever.



I buy my phones outright and wouldn't trust anyone else to repair devices worth many hundreds of £s. I could get basic repairs done locally for slightly lower prices, but there are so many horror stories about botched repairs leaving those devices permanently damaged that I send them to the person I can trust.

I have used MacFixer a number of times (careless family members!) and have no hesitation in recommending him for any iPhone, iPad or Mac repair or upgrade. Service is fast, attention to detail is absolutely spot on. I won't use anyone else now.

Highly recommended! Many repairs carried out quickly and professionally on a number of devices for my family members. Why go anywhere else?

Had screen and battery replaced on iPhone 6, very good quality and very friendly chap! Definitely recommend to anyone in need of apple help!

Great prompt and honest service. Would definitely recommend

First time customer. Came highly recommended and would definitely forward the recommendation to others. Lovely man, reassuring and knows his stuff. Sick MacBook after an OS update. Dropped it off in the evening, was ready mid morning the next day. Very reasonable prices too.

First class service from Darren 'Macfixer' today on replacing my daughters iPhone glass. Turnaround in less than an hour. One happy girl, let's hope she stops playing drop with it!

Darren rescued me from a minor heart attack this evening when a slip of a finger in a restart landed me in potential hot water. Charming, efficient, and knowledgeable. Hope to use his services again very soon.

Darren is great! No problem to big or too small when it comes to Apple. My Mac Book has been with Darren on several occasions now and everytime he has been quick, always helpful and very reasonably priced. Great person to trust with your Apple products.



Darren comes to collect your device from your home which is prefect when you do not drive. What's best, is that he descibes the problem with your device in both technical terms and then simply explains the problem which is always great when you have no clue on computers and the technical speak.



Will never go to anyone else. Thank you as always!

Darren 'MacFixer', has helped me out at short notice on a couple of occasions now, despite being super busy. He's polite, friendly, quick and a total Apple genius. I would and will, highly recommend him to anyone.

So, thanks Darren for brilliant service once again! Ruth :-)

Can't recommend Darren enough. As soon as he opened my Mac Book Pro he knew the fault straight away and told me the costing there and then. He had my Mac Book Pro over night and I've just picked it up. It's working again and I can't thank him or recommend his services enough. Thank you so much Darren, you're brilliant.

Brilliant service. I've used MacFixer on several occasions over the last few years. Constantly delivers an on-time and cost effective service.

Big thanks to Darren at Macfixer for fitting a new battery in 30mins and only £25. iPhone6 was having severe battery issues holding charge and shutting down at 30-40% capacity. Battery had warped which I now know can crack the screen too, and was running hot. If you’re experiencing similar issues call him now. Top job.

As a family we've used MacFixer several times for various iPhone and iPad issues and wouldn't hesitate to use again.

Excellent service and communication, makes getting any device sorted hassle free.

Highly recommend �