Cracked screen MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Andrea,

Apple should repair it without charge. It happened to me, and reported Apple's design flaw to my insurance. I did not pay for this repair -- because there is a design flaw on the thick cables that run across the bottom screen of the MacBook Pro. So these cables could cause stress as you open and close your laptop. Because the glass screen that Apple uses is too weak and fragile and the hinge does not provide enough space for any expansion - that cable could push the fragile screen and result in a crack. I think this is an easy repair because it is just cosmetic.

[Edited by Moderator]

"How could this happen?!"

Some debris was lodged in between the screen and the keyboard housing (top case). When you closed it you cracked the screen. If you have AppleCare Plus Apple will repair your MacBook under the accidental damage program. Just pay the required deductible.

I got the same problem. MacBook Pro 15'' TouchId (2018)

My display cracked "out of the blue" when it was closed.

I was on my desk, MacBook closed on external display. Suddenly the external display went black. I checked to MacBooks Power (because that's the only reason I know why it could disconnect the display) - but nothing. All fine.

I opened the MacBook and I just saw some kind of bluescreen (like windows did) - but more or less a bluescreen with some snowflakes on it - not completely blue. This was all over the internal display.

I shut down the MacBook (hardware button)

I restarted.

I was surprised to see a tiny crack at the bottom right of the display and some colorful lines on the right side.

I didn't disappear after restarting.

Then I shut down again and lifted it up to make some more pictures of it while powered of (there was nothing to see on the display or on the keyboard or at the case)

Then I put it on the desk again, powered on and: .... **** - even more cracks!

It worked a while, but now the screen is completely black and doesn't work at all.

It's still working perfectly when it's connected to an external screen, but still...

It's so strange! And do not have to mention that I am very, very careful with my MacBook. It's THE thing I earn money with and 99% of my work is done on a desk with external screen and closed MacBook. So I do not carry it around a lot, don't open/close it very often.

Luckily I could convince a guy at an Apple Store that this is a true story and they will do it on warranty!

Maybe it helps some of you to have another one here who got the same problem.

Some words for google: Cracks on MacBook without physical impact. Cracked Screen while closed.

Directly after bluescreen and hard shutdown

After lifting it up and make some more pictures while powered of

Nothing, no crack to see at the bottom right corner

What needs to be made clear here is that it isn’t actually the screen itself that’s breaking. Neither the LCD panel, not the glass that covers it. The part that is breaking is actually the thin glass strip located BELOW the screen, with the MacBook Pro text on it. The glass of this is far thinner than that of the screen, and as a consequence will clearly be more fragile.

I don’t buy into the “you must have shut the laptop with something trapped between the keyboard and screen” responses I’ve seen here because the section that is cracking is NOT over the keyboard.

Mine cracked despite the MacBook living in a Henge Vertical Dock, being used connected to an external display, keyboard, and trackpad.

One thing that has crossed my mind is that the glass that is cracking is located right by the hottest part of the computer. The heatpipes all run across the back of the case, and the exhaust vents out of here. Under heavy use, the case on my MacBook is so hot in this area that I wouldn’t want to use it as a LAPtop.

The extreme heat build up here is making me question whether or not thermal expansion is causing the cracking issues that many are experiencing.

Good news. During the second visit to the Apple Store and other employees, the monitor break was recognized as a factory problem. The staff took a lot of time and took a close look at the display and also recognized that the large crack was caused by a hairline crack on the lower left edge of the monitor. It's a shame that not all employees work as professionally as the 2 colleagues in the Apple Store Berlin today. But I'm very happy that it ended well. I was also confirmed by one of the employees that 3 other cases of this problem had already been reported in the store. It goes on. Nevertheless, also in consultation with the Apple Store Berlin, enter this error at https://www.apple.com/feedback/ to make it easier for others to claim the damage.

Yep, that's what it costs. Unaffiliated repair shops told me they would have to pay $1,000 just to buy the part to do the repair so I went back to Apple. It came to $875. Apparently a screen sensor was also broken so that jacked the price up even more. Funny part was that when they gave it back to me the Genius tried to wrap it in that foam warp stuff and she put a thick rubber band around it to hold it in place. That's literally what they said caused my screen to break (putting pressure on the cover while it was closed)...which was apparently user error when I do it (which I didn't btw) but it's standard practice when they do it. So I asked her to open it up and show me that there were no new cracks. We didn't see any. But... when this first happened and I questioned what could have caused it since I hadn't opened it in days and it was on my desk untouched the whole time.. they told me that the cracks sometimes are too small to be visible at first but that they can expand from unseeable to large enough to see over time. So...I could have cracks caused by the clerk's handling of my computer but since they won't be visible for a few days I don't know. I guess if they do appear those will be labeled as user error as well. Now it's basically a paper weight since I'm afraid to even touch it. I had the idea to trade it in and get an older model but they won't even take it as a trade in. They offered me nothing for it. I thought that was odd since I've traded in older, less in demand models before for good money. I can only conclude they don't think much of their own product.

It's a design flaw the computer screen for some reason is glass all the way down to the crack of the base of the computer that meets the keyboard. Dirt and crap get easily stuck in the crevices and there is barely any space to clean or push out the dirt since they made this crevice so tight. I had closed my computer on something that must have been in there and there's already a small chip at the bottom of my screen. If I had apple care it would cost me $99 to replace the screen if I Don't have apple care $600+. They don't care about the customers or that they screwed up on how they made these. In older versions, the screens were raised up more had space for stuff to get through and the bottom was plastic between the screen and keyboard so this was never an issue. I cannot believe I didn't see this when I first bought it. I assumed the bottom strip was some type of plastic but I was very wrong. Now I have to pay $100 or more for some type of air compressor cleaner to clean between the cracks so I don't damage the screen more. The warranty doesn't cover this type of damage and I had a couple of weeks left to see and they said they don't cover it. I've had this computer for only 11 months. I spoke to people over the phone they don't seem very interested in fixing this issue. Too bad so sad it's your fault and "pay for it" attitude and it's not our problem and it's still gonna cost you out of pocket even with apple care. I won't be buying apple anymore.

[Edited by Moderator]

100% Yes. I have a late 2017 Macbook Pro, I baby it. It has been in a case since the day I got it. I do use it very often but never has anything happened to it. A couple of days ago, I noticed a chip in the glass right above the camera near where the laptop closes and the notch to open the laptop by the trackpad followed by a small crack in the LCD. A few hours later, the crack in the LCD grew and now the screen is just black. The computer still makes noise and displays when plugged in via HDMI so clearly, the screen is broken. Again, no impact and it would be nearly $450+ to fix and it just isn't worth it.

Update

so I took it for repairs but did have to contact apple and after a chat and sending them photos (they are awear of the issue and so is the retailer I bought it off) they covered all costs of the repair.

The same probem happened to me. Upon opening of the display, I had no choice but to crack the corner.

This is not accidental but more a design flaw that exposes the display to get punctured by the frame. When the display is air sealed tight with a sheet or paper in between. It will lift the hinges by the thickness of the paper (0.0045") which makes the opening uneven to its ordinary way of opening. Accidental is when you physically throw or drop or put pressure on the product. In this scenario, the product defectively caused the display to crack.

Apple is not here. Apple Support Communities is a User-to-User support forum. If other users can not help you think of a fix, No further help is likely to be forthcoming using this medium. There are no standard mechanisms for escalating problems to Apple Support from here, and Apple Engineering and Marketing Movers and Shakers do NOT monitor these forums looking for trends and outstanding issues.

DO NOT "wait for Apple to provide a fix". Unless and until a large number of users present their issues through standard problem-reporting channels, Apple does not know there is a problem, and is NOT working on a fix. Being selfish is the best policy, getting yours fixed helps everyone.

If advice supplied here does not provide resolution, You must take additional steps to resolve your issues. Contact Apple support directly through one of these methods:

• contact telephone support (free for 90 days with a new Mac, of for three years with AppleCare purchase)

• make an appointment at the genius bar at an Apple-owned store for hardware evaluation and advice (free anytime, but after five years parts may no longer be available).

• initiate an Online chat

• Visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider (there may be an "evaluation fee", but if they perform any service for a fee, ask for a rebate of the evaluation fee).

If you want to send your preferences directly to Apple use the feedback links:

Product Feedback - Apple

.

If the crack affects ONLY the bezel, you can:

• pay Apple to replace the entire display

• buy an aftermarket blank bezel on eBay and replace the bezel, or have an independent computer shop do this for you. **

**may impact your WARRANTY, use caution.

• place a strip of Vinyl tape over the bezel area to prevent stray glass from causing more problems as well as "clean up" the look of the bezel. Black Electrical tape would serve this purpose.

I expect you have been given the personal opinion of one of Apple's about 750,000 employees, who is faced daily with customers who are distressed when they realize that Apple is not going to pay for a new screen for them. When you push on these beleaguered people, and accuse them of being unfair (when they have no recourse but to refuse your claim under warranty) they are going to push back.

But if you were to pursue whether this was the "Official Policy" of Apple Inc, I expect you would get back something closer to what I wrote above: That this is not a defect in materials and workmanship, and is not covered unless you had purchased AppleCare PLUS in the first 60 days of ownership. (in which case there is only a more modest co-pay, about US$100.)

I feel for you, but there is nothing I can do to help you. As a work-around, you can connect an external display or TV set for now.

Apple does not agree that your broken screen is a defect in materials or workmanship. It did not come to you broken. "Wishing that was the way it worked" does not make it so.

If you did not buy the extended coverage (where your cost to replace the screen would be the US$100 deductible) you saved about US$350.

Now you will need to add an additional about US$450 to the money you saved to get the screen replaced.

The only other way is to have a court of competent jurisdiction rule that it is a defect. The initial consultation with a competent Attroney will cost more than the cost of replacing the display.

Don’t bother fixing it! Maybe try to plug in an external monitor and use it as a workstation - or maybe you can use an iPad or even one of the larger iPhones as the external display. - it’s definitely not worth the investment to pay out of pocket for then repair! I have a 2013 MBA that is still working fine, so I bought a dell inspiron 15 5505 ryzen 7 4700u for less than the cost of the screen repair and upgraded the memory to 32 gb plus added a 1Tb NVME drive to the 256gb drive - and it was still in the ballpark of the cost of the MBP screen repair - while the display isn’t as crisp/bright as the MacBooks and since this model is sort of the upper entry level model, it’s not quite as sleek or quite as light, but it’s good enough for my needs, plus it’s speedier and it doesn’t hang up like my MB Pro did, and hence exceeds any of my processing or storage needs. Plus, the fan doesn’t run nearly as much on the Dell in comparison to the MB Pro or MBA, which was rather frequent plus the Apples heated up a lot too.

So overall, I have zero regrets about not having the screen repaired and I am very happy about not throwing away any more money on such a poorly designed, over priced, and underperforming Apple product! This one is expandable to 2TB and unofficially up to 64 gb Ram. So if I need a better display to one day do more graphic oriented work, I think it should be able to handle it. But only time will tell I guess. But no denying its definitely more bang for the buck for my needs with possibility to upgrade it even further if necessary!

Maybe when this pandemic ends, I’ll take the broken MBP someplace to see if it will boot up to an external display and if it can be salvaged as an additional workstation. But as of yet, I haven’t been successful in getting it working with an older model display or TV via hdmi, but hoping I just need the certified usb c/hdmi apple adapter instead of this cheaper third party one that I had on hand.

PS- I also sort of regret buying this refurbished iPad Pro from Apple as well! This touch screen is the absolute pits. It hangs up constantly plus typing on it is awful as well!