Home / Data recovery / Laptops & MacBooks
MacBook & laptop data recovery. Even when it's dead.
On most MacBooks since 2018, and many thin Windows laptops, the storage is soldered to the logic board and encrypted. If the laptop won't power on, the way to your files is to repair the board. That is work most data recovery labs send elsewhere; it is our everyday bench work.
- Free initial assessment
- No data, no recovery fee
- Fixed price before any work
- Dead phones and MacBooks too
What you are seeing, and what it usually means
- Won't power on at all
- Commonly a failed power component or a short. Very often repairable.
- Liquid spill
- Switch it off and unplug it. Corrosion is the enemy; time matters.
- Powers on, no display
- Could be the screen, could be the board. We check before anything else.
- Apple quoted a new board
- A replacement board means a new, empty storage chip. Repairing the original keeps your data.
Clear prices. No surprises.
The free assessment tells us which level applies. You get one fixed price by email before any work starts.
Logical
from €149inc VAT
The device still works, but files were deleted, formatted, corrupted or locked by ransomware.
- 2 to 5 working days
- Our lab, Mullingar
- No data, no recovery fee
- Return shipping included
Electronic
from €299inc VAT
The device is dead: won't power on, won't charge, liquid damage. We repair the board to reach the data.
- 5 to 10 working days
- Our lab, Mullingar
- No data, no recovery fee
- Return shipping included
Physical
from €995inc VAT
A hard drive is clicking, beeping or has been dropped. The drive has to be opened in a cleanroom.
- 5 to 14 working days
- Specialist cleanroom partner
- No data, no recovery fee
- Return shipping included
No data, no recovery fee
If we can't recover the files you need, you don't pay for the recovery.
The initial assessment is always free. If a separate in-depth diagnostic is needed, we quote it first and it is only payable if you approve it. If we then can't recover the files you told us matter, there is no recovery fee and we return your device; you pay only the return postage.
How we recover it
We diagnose the board with a microscope, multimeter and schematics, repair the fault, and copy your data off. Older laptops with a removable drive are simpler: the drive comes out and is recovered directly.
- 01
Tell us what happened
Use the short form, call or WhatsApp. We reply with how to send it, or when to bring it in.
- 02
Free initial assessment
When it reaches the bench we find out what has failed and what is likely recoverable. No charge.
- 03
Fixed written quote
One price by email, with return shipping included. Nothing is opened or recovered until you approve it.
- 04
Your data back
Copied to a new drive and sent back tracked with your original device, or ready to collect.
What our customers say
Top quality service, would highly recommend. Recovered USB files that were lost.Excellent service! They replaced the swollen battery and repaired the damaged charging board and cable in just 2 hours. Fast, professional and reliable.They kept my half dead machine alive for well over six months past its 'this should really be left to die' point... give sound advice that you can trust.Trace Lab is run by the workshop team at Creative IT, rated Excellent on Trustpilot from over 3,600 reviews since 2009.
Questions
Apple said my data is gone. Is it?
Not necessarily. A board replacement loses the data because the storage is on the board. Repairing the original board is a different route, and it is how data comes back from many "dead" MacBooks.
Will the laptop work afterwards?
Often, yes. Where it's worth fixing for good, we quote that separately. Your data comes first either way.
Do you need my login password?
For encrypted MacBooks (FileVault, T2 and Apple silicon), yes, once it powers on. We ask only when it's needed.
Other devices we recover from
Hard drives
Clicking, beeping, not detected, or dropped. Desktop, laptop and external drives.
See how we recover it →Phones
Photos and messages from iPhones and Android phones that are dead, dropped or wet.
See how we recover it →SSDs, USB & cards
SSDs, NVMe drives, USB sticks and memory cards from cameras, drones and dashcams.
See how we recover it →RAID, NAS & servers
Business storage that has dropped a disk, won't mount or rebuilt the wrong way.
See how we recover it →Board-level repair
Told it's beyond repair, or quoted a new board? A second opinion costs nothing to ask for.
See how we recover it →Lost data? Talk to the lab today.
Free initial assessment. No data, no recovery fee. Fixed price before any work.