Any ideas what might be the problem with a laptop screen?
4I have a MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013). I am thinking maybe the connection between the screen and the motherboard is loose? I get some horizontal temporary white lines (intermittently and in no way predictable) when I move the lid or touch the metal bezel around the screen in what seems like random places. Then today when I moved the lid a bit the entire screen acted like I had highlighted text in a word doc (eg turned that translucent blue color) except it happened to my entire screen. Then it goes away when I move the lid a bit more (I can make it happen reliably by moving the lid slightly).
It is hard to google this for potential solutions as when you put in translucent or highlighted blue screen it usually presumes blue and blank rather than just highlighted blue or some highlight box thing that people have trouble getting rid of… I can’t seem to find this particular problem. One I did find that seemed somewhat similar says upgrading software might fix it. That seems a bit odd to me as moving the lid affects the problem and that seems more like hardware to me.
Any ideas what might be screwed up? And how hard/how long it takes to fix? I am hoping I don’t have to leave it to get fixed because there is nothing like a 3+ hour drive (this is not highway driving - try mostly one lane each direction, no shoulder, farm equipment often on the road, etc., going through towns of 200 with speed traps (where it drops from 50mph to 25mph in the space of like 30’) to get to an apple store. I called apple support and they were no help - the girl I talked with said go ask in a store, no matter what I asked she said she had no idea, go ask at a store… Maybe she would have been more helpful if apple care hadn’t expired 2 years ago? Sigh.
- 5 comments, 18 replies
- Comment
You’ve had this laptop apart if I remember correctly, which is good because you’ll need to know how to take it apart. Between the logic board and the screen there will be a multi stranded cable, usually with flat connectors at the end but individual wires bundled up so they can pass through the hinge.
This cable is either loose or damaged. More than likely damaged, but you can check to see if a connector is loose first.
eBay will be your friend for a part like this.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/LCD-SCREEN-CABLE-HINGE-FOR-MACBOOK-AIR-A1370-A1465-2010-2011-2012-2013-2014-2015/401400224367 might be a fit, use your model number in a search.
@djslack Actually this is not the one I created out of two broken ones. That was a G3 time period one. This one I have never taken apart. I think apple must have damaged the cord back at the end of my apple care when they replaced a bunch of things as this started to have very intermittent issues from that point on. Sigh.
Is iFixit reputable? They seem to sell the tools and parts to fix crap. This is an A1466 and with a quick check it looks like, fortunately, lots of parts still available. I swear if they wrote the model any smaller you’d need an electron microscope to read it. Sheesh.
@Kidsandliz ifixit is reliable but you may find the special screwdrivers you need for less on eBay as well. But it is good to support ifixit as they have a good mission, and they are the source that will tell you exactly which tools you need (plenty of the 20-in-1 style tool kits on eBay have them all, the most specific one you need is the pentalobe driver).
The cable can fatigue from normal use, although if the laptop has been repaired it may have gotten tweaked or pinched and accelerated its deterioration.
@Kidsandliz did you ever make a call to Apple about the issues after they returned your MacBook Air? You could try to have your case re-opened from those notes.
I don’t know how your laptop was repaired but mine always goes in thru the Apple mail-in program (I think if you live more than 60 miles away from an Apple Store you qualify for it). Most Apple Stores now use a repair hub in Houston TX.
My MacBook Pro was destroyed by the repair facility! It went in two more times and couldn’t be repaired or came back in worse condition. I found many other cases like mine.
If you never made a call back to Apple you could try to have your case re-opened by either calling back to AppleCare or calling Apple HQ and asking to speak to someone in Customer Relations.
@fjp999 Thanks for the suggestions. At this point I have no memory of what I did.
@Kidsandliz Apple use to keep a detailed history online but now it is only for the past 90 days…
You can always try giving CR a call. They are very friendly and if they can help they will. CR should be able to pull up your MBA history with Serial #.
@fjp999 thanks for that info
Does it work okay with an external monitor?
Though it does seem like an issue with the screen connection. (I have a MacBook that had a software-correctable issue with the video hardware, it looked similar but it was due to memory corruption and wasn’t affected by how you poked or prodded the laptop.)
iFixit is good I’ve purchased a few things from there and their disassembly guides are very clear and helpful.
If you have the tools maybe you could take the laptop apart before buying any new parts and just look at the cable, maybe re-seat and/or clean the connectors.
Also try searching for “loose MacBook Air LCD connection” or variations and see if somebody’s symptoms match yours (rather than searching for the symptoms).
@awk I don’t have an external monitor to hook it too (sure wish I did - sometimes a 13" screen is just too small when grading papers and having to toggle a lot). Thanks.
@awk @Kidsandliz What about a tv?
@awk @Seeds Nope. No smart TV either. 1993 Sony 12" and a 32" target cheapie that works perfectly and I will be keeping until it dies. My livingroom is small enough that this works perfectly.
@awk @Kidsandliz does the 32" have an HDMI port? Doesn’t need to be smart
@awk @Seeds Hmm that I have no clue. I’ll have to look tonight.
I think the cable @djslack mentioned is loose or is failing. FWIW, I have encountered loose connections 2 or 3 times over the years. In each case I was able to reseat the connection and this resolved the problem. I put a touch of hot glue on the connector locks after reseating to help keep it from working loose again.
@ruouttaurmind Thanks for the suggestion. What looks a little scary is the video I watched on how to get the screen bezel loose. The rest of it looks like unscrew a million screws to get the bottom off and the connection is right there. The video I watched didn’t actually identify the connector but seeing as it had a long cable I am presuming that is what it is, so don’t even need to remove anything else from the computer other than the bottom to get at one end of it.
Now getting to the screen end of the cable… well that is another story. I need to get the bezel off carefully and from the video it looks like it takes around 10 min of sawing with a piece of plastic - if you know what you are doing on not your first try. How long on one’s first try - well who knows. Not sure how to get it back on or clean up all the stuff left behind after you saw it off.
Guy in the video kept saying be careful not to bend the bezel or you will never get it back on; be careful or you will trash where the cord plugs in, be careful when you pry off the channel the cord goes through on the hinge… That concerns me a little bit - all the “be careful what you could trash” part.
Then the actual process of replacing this looks easy once everything is exposed. I’ll have to hunt for how you assemble the bezel again (clean it, reglue it…). Maybe will take an hour or so?
@Kidsandliz Try reseating the end that doesn’t require removing the bezel and we’ll all keep our fingers crossed that does the trick. If not, might be time to budget for some paid expertise. It’s like buying insurance… if Geek Squad (or whoever) breaks it… that’s on them.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@ruouttaurmind I should have thought of that (eg try the easy end first). I am wayyyy tooooo tireeeeddddddd. Thanks.
https://i.giphy.com/media/4ldPb1FzfmvVm/giphy.webp
Sounds like either the screen is broken or something is wrong with the cable.
I’ve had laptops come in the shop that looked fine just sitting there, but soon as you flexed/moved the lid, you’d get lines or no picture. It ended up being a broken screen
@clonetek Well hoping the cable. That has to be cheaper to fix.
@Kidsandliz you never know, the screens I change out on windows based laptops are $50-$75 on amazon
@clonetek @Kidsandliz Most cable problems will mess up different parts of the screen each time you flex the cable. Screen problems tend to be in the same places each time. The size of the problem might change with how far it flexes.
@clonetek @hamjudo Where the problem is varies so if I am lucky it is just the cable. I sure hope so anyway. Thanks for that info.