Extremely Blurry Screen M1 MacBook Pro 16

I have the exact same problem. I signed on to tell others about how I was able to solve it myself. Since I could not see the screen, I connected an HDMI cable to my TV. I booted into recovery mode, which required, closing the screen, which would not let me access the keyboard and mouse, of course. I was able to use a Bluetooth mouse that I had paired while I had access when the TV was connected this let me select the first option in the recovery screen, and then I was able to open the screen and use the keyboard and mouse, to erase the partition and reinstall OS X, I did this in preparation for sending the computer in for service as I did not want to have my proprietary data at risk, but I was surprised to find that once the installation was complete, the screen came back. I’m completing the reinstall now, but the fact that the screen is back on likely means it will stay that way. Fingers crossed…

Today I had the EXACT same thing. I was working and then my laptop went black. Tried every trick online, and when it would start up it was extremely blurry and all I would see is the blurred Apple logo.

After seeing this thread, I really hoped it wasn’t the same problem I was having.. but it was.

I got a diagnostic from Apple Genius Bar, and was told that because it was out of warranty by 2 months that I would need to pay £700+ to get it fixed.

Absolute joke, after buying a laptop that cost £1700, it shouldn’t be breaking like this after 2 years.

The Apple tech told me that it’s a hardware issue, and that other than that my machine was working completely fine.

So now I need to buy a new computer/laptop, or use an external monitor. Never buying an Apple Laptop again !

I'm experiencing the same dark and blurry display issue after 18 months of ownership. I will add that I noticed some screen flickering a few weeks before, and a few instances where the screen went out but came back after closing and re-opening a few minutes later. Then it became a permanent problem.

Apple support referred me to a local authorized Apple Service Provider. I told him I tried all the tests and tricks without success, but that I've been using an external monitor without problems. He checked for physical damage, but saved me the $35 intake fee for them to run the same tests I've already done. He said that the graphics card is fine if it worked with my external monitor. Basically, I would be charged $925 for a full screen replacement. He said he had not heard of any widespread display issues since the 2016 models.

Those of us with this issue may be on the early end of something that points to a larger manufacturing issue, or we are just an unlucky batch. Either way, no recalls or warranty extensions have been offered by Apple to resolve this yet.

A 16-inch M1 Macbook of the same age without screen issues is valued at $1.5-2K. So, spending nearly $1K for a replacement screen is unreasonable. Plus, how long would a replacement screen last? Another 18 months?

Hi all, just wanted to share.

I was able to log in somehow through the very blurry screen. I then connected it to an external monitor.

After hours of playing with the “display” settings, the screen came on unbelievably.

I believe now the issue is the “pro motion” option in the display settings. Changing it to 60hrz, and set the preset to HDR seems to have done the trick. (See pic)

FYI, I did update to Sonoma and had to go through the whole thing again, and it was more of a pain the second time because for whatever reason Sonoma removed the 60hz option, and was only allowing the “Pro motion”. (Thanks again Apple!!!) Eventually it resolved itself when connecting to a different, older monitor, which made it match the main display (the Mac display) to the monitors.

its been holding now for several days, though there is a line that appears at times in the middle of the screen. That tells me there is something broken with the monitor but the OS is making it worse.

Hope this helps.

I had the same problem, even after a restart. I hooked up an external monitor, logged in, and used a tool I have called "Better Display" to turn off the built in LCD and turn it back on again. That worked for some reason.

So following up on this. Guy at Genius Bar in Shanghai did a diagnostic on my laptop and taught me how to do data backup on an external drive, so I can wipe the drive and reinstall the software from scratch. But in his personal estimate, which he based on the results on the diagnostic test he did in store, it’s a 90% chance it’s a hardware issue and the disk wipe is not likely to fix the problem. But I will go on with it anyway just so that when I call Apple to appeal I want to be able to say that I’ve done all I could.

as noted by others here, this does not appear to be a user problem. I don’t even bring m my laptop to work, I’ve never dropped it or spilled anything on it, nor is there any physical evidence of damage. I was using the laptop when t suddenly and inexplicably went dark. My laptop is less than two years old, as I bought it in August 2022. My previous MacBook Pro, which I used much more often, lasted for seven years, and I sold it (or traded it in, don’t remember). So I’ve been buying apple products for 13 years and as a loyal customer this 2 year failure is disappointing.

as another noteworthy thing, the Genius service guy advised me to buy Apple products in China next time. Local laws here mandate laptop and other electronic sellers to provide two year hardware guarantee. Canada does not mandate such thing. Some provinces in China even mandate 3 year guarantees. So folks, the days of China being mocked for selling fake products that fall apart by the time you bring them home are over. Today, China has better consumer protection than the collective “West”.

So, no reinstall helped. The problem just kept coming back. I contacted Apple and they replaced it for free (2 months out of warranty, props to Apple) I just had to pay for the labor because I was using one of their approved service centers since I'm not close to an Apple Store, but since I'm in Thailand at the moment the labor was like $20 lol. Oh, and they did confirm it was a hardware issue.

Same issue happened before a week

I took it to service center they said display has to be replaced.

It's cost around 85k inr.

So I decided to to get back and work with external monitor

When I bought new monitor and plugged in type c again my laptop 💻 display started working.

I don't know what happened.

But again in night it went to black and blurry

One interesting finding I had was that when getting the MacBook into diagnosis mode and running the offline tests (by using an external mouse, keyboard & display to get through the dialogs while having the notebook closed), the screen works perfectly fine. But only during testing. So it seems weird that it is something with the screen or the lid angle sensor.

Maybe some others with the same problem could confirm whether this works on their machines or not? Then it would be something completely different (and I am not sure why replacing the screen would fix the issue as the screen is working perfectly fine).

Maybe something on the motherboard on the path to the lid angle sensor? Diagnosis says "everything works fine"...

¿is the result the same in Safe Mode?

So after calling AppleCare, Apple Customer Service, escalating to management twice and going to 2 Genius Appointments, they all told me there was nothing that could be done but pay $748 to replace the screen on my 2021 M1 MacBook Pro.

I asked about trade-ins even and they said its broken so cant trade-in for anything, BUT I went to just 1 more Apple Store since I was desperate and there was one person who agreed that it was most likely a hardware issue and seen no damage internally or externally, so he put through a trade-in for $810.

For me, it was better to trade it in and pay $800ish more for a new M3 MacBook Pro (with student discount) then pay to fix it.

Unless you're under warranty, I'm afraid your hefty fee will be US$ 900 to replace the screen. My screen's still like that after few weeks, and many of us are waiting for a product recall or something.

No it's a hardware problem with newer MacBooks, it requires a replacement screen.

Costco has two year warranty on their electronics so take it back to them and they should fix it for free or replace it