You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Extremely Blurry Screen M1 MacBook Pro 16

Hello! I’ve got an M1 MacBook Pro 16 from my work. I’ve been using it just fine, but recently the internal display just randomly got insanely blurry (it’s practically a black screen). I generally use my Mac with an external display connected via thunderbolt usb c, and that works fine. It’s just the internal display.


Is there any way to fix this, or is this just a screen hardware issue? I’ve attached a photo that shows what this looks like during boot, where you might usually see the apple logo and a loading bar. It’s clearly distorted and just barely recognizable. I can still control the laptop, but when I get to the login screen it’s just a big gray blob.

Posted on Mar 8, 2023 6:33 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 17, 2023 10:51 AM

Yes, and if Apple refuses to provide a satisfying solution, we should consider a class action.

Similar questions

122 replies

Apr 15, 2023 7:25 PM in response to Cupid_Bot

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…

Feb 19, 2024 2:53 PM in response to claud1us

Just wanted to let others know who have the same issue, that I saw someone’s message on here about consumer law today and realised I could file my own claim. By the end of the day was offered a FULL refund for my faulty device.


I posted on this thread last month when my laptop screen went blurry/black, and after going to the Genius Bar was told it would cost my £700 to fix.


Today I realised that if you can prove the laptop has a fault that wasn’t due to personal damage (get a Genius Bar Diagnostic for this) you can claim on Consumer Law.

In the U.K., you have 6 years to claim under this law, and essentially weighs up what’s a fair amount of time you can expect a device/object etc to work.


Thankfully I bought from Costco, and today started a complaint through Resolver. Within 12 hours I had a call from the warehouse manager at the Costco I bought the laptop, and after hearing everything and seeing the Genius Bar diagnostic report, offered me a full refund.


Very thankful for the amazing retail workers/managers out there!


Just wanted to let everyone else on this thread know, so that you can hopefully get the same outcome.

If you need more info, in the UK you can call Citizens Advice, and they’ll explain Consumer Law to you and help!


Hope this helps someone out there!


*Background Info : Device is 2 years and 3 months old. Issue happened out of warranty*


*To do this I had an Apple Diagnostic Report, all my receipts / evidence of purchase*

Apr 16, 2024 12:19 AM in response to Cupid_Bot

I am Ugandan and this happened to me. I am very heart broken. 💔

This was my first MacBook and the most expensive thing I have ever bought in my life. I used it for school studies and music production. And now I can’t access my music and work in my laptop. I bought my MacBook when I was studying in the UK for about 2500 pounds from an Apple Store. I am now in Uganda and have no access to any Apple stores here. And the only service store here charges about 1450 dollars for a new screen to be imported. It’s been two months since this happened and I am still stranded.

Hopefully God will make a way for me to get my machine back ❤️🙏🏿

Apr 20, 2024 12:30 AM in response to GeorgBor

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”.

Apr 23, 2024 11:17 PM in response to Cupid_Bot

My M1 MBP purchased in Ukraine in November 2022 (so, out of warranty) went out yesterday. Same symptoms – dark screen with very faint contours of my desktop picture, and still works with external display likewise.


I've tried to turn it off and on with a BetterDisplay, but clearly with the same negative result as everyone here.


Apple magic in action – buy a premium laptop for $2.5k and get a desktop instead in a mere 17 months.

Jan 8, 2024 11:53 PM in response to Cupid_Bot

Same here.


My company purchased 20 MBP 14, 2021 (16/512) batch back in 2022.

Few weeks ago I opened one of the few brand new laptops and have this issue out of the box.


Went to the Apple Store. They want me to pay 800$+ to replace a brand new screen and don’t want to accept that it is a manufacturer’s defect…


Sucha a shame.

Feb 1, 2024 6:50 AM in response to Cupid_Bot

I am having the same issue. Macbook Pro with M1 purchased Nov. of 2021. Just randomly started to pixelate and half the screen went black and then it all went black. Can see light from apple logo but fuzzy. Hooking up to a display does work. I talked to a manager and they literally said I have to pay for it. This is a crime honestly. I already spent $2k and now they want me to pay to fix a hardware issue that isn't user error…

Feb 18, 2024 3:32 AM in response to blurfocus

This thing happened to me too, but after just 3-4 days. It does go back and forth (working sometimes, and sometimes not), and this typically shifts when ever I close the laptop and open it back up again. I did go back to the apple store to check if there were any connectivity issues, they opened the laptop twice to double-check, and everything seemed to be in order.


I did manage to replicate the issue at the store where the screen was working at first, and after they checked the laptop, it went back to blurry, but they still won't repair this for free and are telling me they have to either switch out the entire screen, or logic board; which I would have to pay for (close to $1000 USD here in Thailand).


As everyone has stated, it's crazy that most people have had problems with the logic board and then have the same issue, and that this happens right after 1 year when the warranty has expired.


Good luck to everyone, I hope for at least some people, this will iron itself out and they won't have to spend another cent on their expensive device. For me, I'll sell this marked as broken screen and give the problem to someone else.

Feb 18, 2024 4:48 AM in response to Cupid_Bot

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.

Extremely Blurry Screen M1 MacBook Pro 16

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.