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Flexgate On M1 is Real and I got it Fixed !! BUT...

I own an M1 MacBook Air (Invoice/Order Date 22.12.2020 ) After about 6 months in, one fine day I noticed these dark spots on the bottom of the screen and found out that it’s a well known issue known as “flexgate” or “ stage light” issue that first affected some units of 2016 MacBook Pro model. 


The explanation to this issue was the thin & weak display flex cables being used which are pulled tight when you open and close the lid eventually break resulting in the backlighting issue and maybe complete failure of the display itself.


Now, Huge thanks to Apple for fixing this free of charge since my MacBook was under warranty. FYI I took it to one of the conquer care technologies Service Center in Hyderabad, India. I was initially worried that they might write it off as user induced damage and what not but they did check other stuff like liquid damage etc… and found nothing so basically if you have it under warranty, chances are it’s fixed free of charge provided it has no other used induced damages.


However, My main concern and the reason for posting this is “What if my MacBook was out of warranty or what if this issue returns after lets say another 6 months?” Honestly, I’m both skeptical and worried about the durability of the display and treating it like a new born baby. (Not flexing the lid much) Because it can cost a fortune to repair the display. 


Apple did come up with free repair programs in the past for the out of warranty units where it was fair and required so I hope you look into this, identify the potential batch/units that got affected and announce a free repair program for the m1 MacBooks as well.


When I spoke to customer care, I was told that Apple doesn’t consider third party sources like other social media discussions and the ideal place to bring this to Apple’s notice is the Apple’s  Community right here. 


Any Explanation or assurance would be much appreciated.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Nov 24, 2021 3:39 AM

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Posted on Nov 25, 2021 10:51 AM

Macbook means it's either an Air or a Pro from their notebook series. To refer to any other Mac, they have different names like iMac for desktop series or Mac mini etc... I didn't post to Air or Pro particularly because this issue is happening on both the variants so wanted to have a common thread. Also, referred to M1 just to indicate these are 2020 models. If there's any issue with this placement, feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate place. I couldn't find such an option to do that.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 25, 2021 10:51 AM in response to Lanny

Macbook means it's either an Air or a Pro from their notebook series. To refer to any other Mac, they have different names like iMac for desktop series or Mac mini etc... I didn't post to Air or Pro particularly because this issue is happening on both the variants so wanted to have a common thread. Also, referred to M1 just to indicate these are 2020 models. If there's any issue with this placement, feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate place. I couldn't find such an option to do that.

Flexgate On M1 is Real and I got it Fixed !! BUT...

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