Purple Distortion in Retina Display (Flexgate?)

Question

Purple Distortion in Retina Display (Flexgate?)

One fine evening you open your laptop and see this. What you do? I am suspecting this is caused by fractured ribbon connectors of the display as the purple lines start appearing after a particular angle of opening the lid. This is so embarrassing and irritating. The most frustrating part is that the entire display has to be changed for this is what I read. All my trust put in Apple for their solid built washed down the drain. My laptop is just an year and 3 months old. Can anyone help? An approximation of bill to fix this will also be great help as I'll then decide to go ahead with the fix or just shift to a more sensible laptop.

Posted on Dec 18, 2019 1:37 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 18, 2019 8:44 PM in response to arunabh_bhattacharjee

arunabh_bhattacharjee wrote:

My laptop is just an year and 3 months old.

Do you ever say what exact Mac is this?

See if you qualify:

https://www.apple.com/support/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backlight-service/

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Answer 2

sapper

Level 4

1,736 points

Dec 18, 2019 2:44 PM in response to arunabh_bhattacharjee

Do you have extended warranty on your MacBook? If so, it may be covered for repair even if it isn't covered under the Apple repair policy for certain models.

This may answer your questions: https://www.macrumors.com/guide/flexgate-macbook-pro-display-issue/

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Answer 3

Dec 18, 2019 2:49 PM in response to arunabh_bhattacharjee

Your appointment at an Apple-owned store (if available in your area) for a diagnostic, evaluation and hardware-oriented advice is free, in warranty or out.

They can tell you whether yours is covered by any special programs, or what the FIXED cost (no surprises) would be.

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Answer 4

Dec 18, 2019 8:37 PM in response to sapper

Unfortunately it's not under extended warranty. My Dad's mid 2009 MacBook Pro had no issues whatsoever in its period of service life so I did not buy Apple Care for this one too. Who knew Apple could have messed up such a gem of machine lately.

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Answer 5

Dec 18, 2019 8:51 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The diagnostic is free? When my laptop was under warranty the store people kept calling and saying please buy Apple Care or we'll charge you Rs. 3000 just for diagnosing your laptop problem. I had scheduled an call with Apple just now and even the guy on call said there will be diagnostic charges.

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Answer 6

Dec 19, 2019 5:27 AM in response to arunabh_bhattacharjee

So I visited iCare today. The guy at the store directly said the display has spoilt. I tried to convince him I can still use the laptop at particular angles so how can he say display has gone bad? But he just wouldn't listen. So he gave me a quote of whopping Rs. 85,000. I asked how much will you give me if I keep my laptop here and leave. He said sorry we only accept working laptops for exchange or sale. Well, 2 Lakhs down the drain it is then.

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Answer 7

sapper

Level 4

1,736 points

Dec 20, 2019 1:11 AM in response to arunabh_bhattacharjee

Sorry for your poor response from iCare. Rs 85000 is about £916 in sterling, and even I would shy away from that

Last year, I bought a MacBook Air from a guy who wanted £150 for it, but he couldn't get the OS to work properly, so he had it operating from a SanDisk dongle.

I took it to an Apple reseller asking how much to repair and to install a 500Gb SSD. They quoted about £835 (Rs77,433) which I declined, and bought my late 2013 27" imac instead for £650. The £185 I saved went to the repair of the macBook Air.

Have you considered buying a refurbished MacBook? There are plenty for sale on Amazon and eBay, and probably a whole lot less than Apple would charge.

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Answer 8

Dec 20, 2019 1:27 AM in response to sapper

I was considering the exact same solution. Let this 2 Lakh garbage lie until Apple launches a replacement program (hopefully) and buy a refurbished 2015 MacBook Pro which is a brilliant laptop.

However, I always doubted iCare. It is known for pathetic service and I had checked Google reviews which suggested the same about it. So, my friend today on behalf of me traveled to the Certified Apple Care Store near his house and guess what he quoted. Flat 50% less than the price quoted by iCare. So, now I am considering getting it repaired (not yet fully decided). I will search for other options too. But seriously, how is this iCare even Apple Certified. This is a clear scam. I wonder where the extra 50% would go. Shame on Apple to certify such stores even after so many complaints.

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Answer 9

Dec 18, 2019 8:53 PM in response to leroydouglas

Unfortunately no. I don't qualify for this. Mine is 15-inch MacBook Pro mid 2018 model.

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