Screen is flashing black to the point it's unusable.

Please refer to this for visuals.


Some weeks ago, my MacBook Pro 2018 (Touch Bar) started acting weird. I was back from the other place so I couldn't care about a single black-flash or two and watched some movies. However, it got worse when using those full-screen or heavy applications.


And I had to go to another country so I brought my other Laptop with me. But when I came back, I did some troubleshooting -

  • Ran in Safeboot
  • Ran in Recovery Mode
  • Reseted NVRAM and SMC or whatever
  • Wiped the entire disk and re-installed Sequoia
  • Downgraded to Ventura


All of those results in the same flashing black.

Then, I thought it was the cable since the disk was wiped clean and it was a fresh install. But however, whenever I'm running CleanMyMac and stuffs, it doesn't seem to do that thing. The same when watching live from Twitch or Youtube in full-screen mode.

So, I'm still confused if I should be reseating/replacing the cable.


But yes, tilting the lid and leaving it at about 45 degree (almost-close lid) seems to solve the problem but all I could do in that angle was press enters on terminal.


So my questions are

  1. Is this a confirmed cable thing or is there any fix that I missed?
  2. Is reseating/replacing cable doable by a non-Apple-tech? (I have experience with Windows Laptops but I'm afraid Macs would have different structure although I do know they will also have similar structures)

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.7

Posted on Oct 7, 2025 7:50 AM

Reply
4 replies

Oct 7, 2025 8:47 AM in response to nyanya88

From your description, it does sound like a hardware issue.

Unfortunately there is no way of knowing for sure if it's the board connector, the cable or the display.


At this point you have a couple of options:

1) Take it to an Apple Store or AASP for an evaluation and estimate.

2) Search the web for some on-line repair guides or videos and take the DIY plunge.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Screen is flashing black to the point it's unusable.

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