Apple is known for its strict policy on liquid damage on its devices. In fact, Apple’s warranty does not cover this type of damage, even for products that boast a certain water resistance (such as the iPhone, the Apple Watch and some AirPods models). To check if a device has been exposed to liquids, Apple uses several methods, both internal and external. And now, on the latest Macbooks, Apple has introduced a new system to detect liquids in USB-C ports.
Macbook: a liquid demon
The novelty was discovered by 9to5Mac, who noticed the presence of a new one system daemon called “liquiddetectiond” in macOS Sonoma 14.1. Don’t worry, there’s no need to call the exorcist. A demon, in computer jargon, is a program that runs in the background and performs certain functions. In this case, the demon deals with detect and analyze the presence of liquids in each USB-C port on your Mac.
The demon is defined as un “Liquid Corrosion Detection and Mitigation Demon.” This means it can recognize when your computer has come into contact with liquids that could damage its internal components. A similar feature already exists on iPhones and iPadswhere the daemon warns the user to unplug the charging cable if liquid is detected in the connector.
Will the user receive a notification?
However, on the Mac, the daemon appears to have the for “analysis” purposes only and not for “warning” purposes. In fact, the daemon code shows no trace of an end-user functionality, such as an alert message or notification. This suggests that the system will only be used by Apple technicians to determine if a Mac has suffered damage from liquids (and therefore voids the warranty claim).
This is just one of the many ways Apple has to check the status of its devices. As Apple’s website explains, “Mac notebook computers and some Apple wired and wireless keyboards have Liquid Contact Indicators (LCIs) to help determine whether these products have been exposed to liquids.”