A2338
MacBook Pro 13 inch with M1 or M2
One A number for two generations, and the last MacBook with a Touch Bar. A tough board, with a few clearly identified weak spots.
One number, two chips
Both the 2020 model with M1 and the 2022 model with M2 carry the number A2338. From the outside they are indistinguishable and most parts fit both. For us it makes little difference: the work and the prices are the same.
Unlike the Air, this one has a fan. That means it can keep going longer under load, and it also means dust gets in. Nothing dramatic, but it is why we always take in the cooling when we do a clean.
What we see most often on this board
- It will not charge, or only on one of the two ports
- It gives no sign of life, not even on the charger
- The Touch Bar is black or flickers while the rest works
- Liquid went over it
- The screen stays black but you can hear the fan spinning
- It gets hot and shuts down while you are doing nothing heavy
The Touch Bar as a case of its own
The Touch Bar is a small screen with its own driver circuitry. If it goes black while the rest of the machine works fine, that is usually the cable or the driver and not the whole board. That is a targeted repair and not an expensive one.
Otherwise this board behaves like a larger M1 Air: the weak spots sit around the edge, at the ports and the power side, and the core is generally healthy. That is why the share of boards we bring back to life here is high.
Prices
What it costs on this model.
| Repair | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Charging port or charging chip | Component replaced or port resoldered | €149 |
| Logic board, heavy | Short on a rail, IC replaced, several traces | €229 |
| Touch Bar | Cable or driver circuitry repaired | from €169 |
| Liquid damage | Ultrasonic cleaning, corrosion removed, repair | €299 |
| Cooling clean | Fan cleaned and thermal paste replaced | €89 |
| Data recovery | Temporary repair or chips moved to a test board | from €349 |
If only the Touch Bar is out, do not have the whole board replaced. That is nearly always a repair on its own.
Your files
Soldered storage, so repair and not replace.
As on every Apple Silicon model, your storage is on the board and the key depends on the chip itself. So we do not replace this board, we repair it. That is not only cheaper, it is the only way your files stay where they are.
Questions about this model
Do I have an M1 or an M2?
The A number will not tell you, both are called A2338. Look in About This Mac, or give us the serial number and we will look it up. For the repair it usually makes no difference.
Only my Touch Bar is dead. Does the board have to come out?
No. That is as a rule the cable or the driver circuitry for that little screen. A targeted repair, not a board swap.
It gets very warm. Is that normal?
Under heavy load yes, in normal use no. Often it is simply dust and old thermal paste. That is the cheapest intervention there is and it buys life expectancy as well.
Read on
The repairs that apply to this board.
Next step
Dead, or will it not charge?
Both cases repair well on this board. Post it in, we measure it through and you get a fixed price.