Cost to Repair a Water-Damaged Laptop

Last updated on June 15, 2022 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using publicly available sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

Unfortunately, accidents happen and there are some moments of inattention when tea, coffee, or water gets spilled on the laptop. When this happens, it is bad, but it is not always bad enough to cause total damage to your laptop.

Once you’ve poured something onto your laptop, the first thing you need to do is turn it off and remove the battery. After that, check if the warranty offers you repair in case of accidents. If so, don’t try to fix it yourself and get it to the repair shop.

How much does it cost to repair a water-damaged laptop?

Most of the time, you should not spend more than $110 (that's 3.7 hours of your life at a $30/hr wage, or $44 in 1990 money) for repairing a water-damaged laptop, while for the cheapest repairs you will have to pay anywhere between $40 and $50.

This means that usually, you should expect to spend anywhere between $40 and $110 (about $44 in 1990 money) for repairing a water-damaged laptop, depending on the severity of the damage. Be prepared to spend the highest possible amount of money if the motherboard of the laptop is damaged somehow. On the other hand, it will cost you the least amount possible to fix some functional deterioration on the chipset or keyboard.

You might also like our articles on the cost of a laptop, laptop screen replacement, or laptop hinge repair.

The overall repair cost will be greatly influenced by the brand of laptop. For instance, you will have to pay more than $160 (about $64 in 1990 money) if you need to repair the motherboard of a MAC.

In the table below you will find the average repairing costs of a water-damaged laptop for some of the most popular brands.

Laptop brand	Water  damage repair cost
ASUS	$40-$110
HP	$40-$130
Dell	$50-$100
Apple/MAC	$90-$220
Lenovo	$40-$110

MAC/Apple laptop water damage repair cost

Not only the price of a new MAC or Apple laptop is higher than other brands of computers, but the repairing costs are also more expensive. You will have to pay $75 to $90 even for slight damage on the keyboard of your Apple laptop or MAC.

Expect to spend $160 to $220 if the motherboard of your Apple laptop or MAC is somehow damaged and needs to be repaired.

Dell laptop water damage repair cost

In case your Dell laptop is water-damaged you will have to spend anywhere between $35 and $110 to repair it.

The cost of the motherboard would be almost $105, while for a water-damaged keyboard with a backlit you will have to pay anywhere between $35 and $60 to repair it.

Lenovo laptop water damage repairing cost

Compared to the Apple laptop repairing costs, for a Lenovo, you will have to spend considerably less. For instance, you will be able to fix the keyboard of a Lenovo laptop that is damaged because of spilled water for only around $55.

In case the motherboard is damaged, you will have to spend anywhere between $65 and $140.

However, the average cost to fix a water-damaged Lenovo laptop would be approximately $110.

ASUS laptop water damage repair cost

Depending on whether your ASUS laptop has a backlit keyboard or not, it will cost anywhere between $35 and $60 to repair the water-damaged keyboard.

In case the motherboard of an ASUS laptop is water-damaged, you will need to get anywhere between $65 and $110 out of your pocket to fix it.

The overall cost of repairing a water-damaged ASUS laptop would be anywhere between $35 and $110.

HP laptop water damage repair cost

In general, HP laptops come with a more sensitive motherboard and any contact with water will make them vulnerable to losing their functionalities. As with any other laptops, any contact with water will generate a short circuit and so the motherboard and other accessories will get damaged.

If the keyboard of your water-damaged laptop has a backlit, you will have to pay around $55 to repair it, while for a keyboard without any backlit you will not have to spend more than $45.

On the other hand, you will need to pay around $130 to repair a motherboard that was damaged through a short circuit. The least possible amount of money to fix a water-damaged chipset or motherboard would be anywhere between $75 and $85.

So, the overall cost to repair a water-damaged HP laptop would start at around $45 and go up to $130.

Conclusion

Accidentally leaking water onto your laptop can be one of the most daunting experiences. The best solution in this regard, however, is to keep liquids as far away from the laptop as possible and if accidents still happen, you will have to move quickly and call a laptop repair shop to make sure that your laptop is repairable.