Cracked screen MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

My 2019 16" MacBook Pro LCD randomly cracked and the screen went black. I had to talk to 5 different people for Apple to finally make a "one time exception" and fix it for me. I told one of the customer support staff that I never dropped my laptop and I merely closed and opened it to find a cracked screen (my argument was that this was clearly a design or manufacturing issue and not "accidental damage" like they told me it was), and they said that even though there are people who posted online with the same issue as me with the same laptop model, Apple won't have a repair program for that model unless the majority of users have the same issue. Which sounds extremely unfair and unethical - people will basically have to fight or pay up for Apple's mistakes

Me as well- after 3 months cracked bezel on right side. I am careful, and mostly it has been on my desk hardly moving it and I have never taken it anywhere other than from desk to desk. I called apple, they were kind but I was told to send it to an apple service provider and they would assess the damage and let me know if it is covered by the normal warranty that I have. No service rep close by. I could send it to Apple service but it would mean I would be without a computer for probably a few months and from what I have read here I would have to pay. TAfter paying 1,300 euros I am not ready to pay more. This was my 7th mac since 1994 and never has this happened. The seller suggested some black glue for now, which we did, so far it is ok but horrible to look at. Disgusted really.

The MacBook Pro is a lightweight, portable computer that can run on batteries. Being portable, it can easily be subjected to multi-G forces daily, just by being moved about in a completely ordinary way. This is extremely stressful to electro-mechanical equipment. I would never even think about NOT purchasing the extended warranty coverage for such a portable device.

What is NOT covered is screen glass breakage, liquid spills, or catastrophic failure (hard drops or "run over by a truck"). These items are covered for up to three years (now extendable) by AppleCare PLUS (two incidents of each type with a co-pay that essentially covers the labor). if you want the extended coverage, you must sign up within 60 days and an inspection or remote diagnostic may be required.

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If you made the decision to NOT pay for the extended warranty, you made a decision to bear the cost of repairs during the extended warranty period yourself.

When facing a problem later, the correct cost calculation is:

Example Total retail cost of repair: US$800

less Example amount you saved US$380

by NOT purchasing a service agreement

Effective incremental cost: US$420

PLUS the amount you saved by not buying the Service contract, which now must be spent as well.

I NEVER said it is the consumer's fault.

I said that Apple policy is that "glass does not break spontaneously". It is not a "defect in materials or workmanship" and therefore is not covered under the standard warranty.

That does NOT put the blame on you.

But nor does it accomplish what you would prefer -- that Apple pay for the repair.

Well the proof that glass does indeed break spontaneously seems to be given in the numerous reports of it doing just that. That it breaks through normal wear and tear in this new design suggests that there IS a design flaw. Shipping a product across the world means nothing, and has no logic to it. It's closed, in padded box. That's not how a laptop is USED. Customers are 'irate' because statements like "glass does not break spontaneously" is illogical relative to the day to day experience of using a laptop that needs to be opened and closed several times per day. If the clearance between the keyboard and screen is too tight then that action alone could be the cause of the cracking. It is a design flaw if previous laptops of the same model did not fail under the same conditions. It is up to Apple to recognize their mistake and make it good with customers.

Not a problem DEFriend58. I am under the impression that Apple are not letting this be an open platform for people to speak about their problems with these devices. Just to update you. I have emailed the retailer informing them of the issue with the device not being fit for purpose and that not as described. They telephoned me! Wouldn’t email back, they said that they could not take the device back for full refund but if the same thing happened again they would think about paying for the repair! Now I did not mention how much the repair would cost this company as they would be shocked! I said please put that in writing for me. They did somewhat. They said that they would not accept the laptop back as I had ownership for too long! Now I am going to inform them that this is being returned under Customer Rights Act 2015. And I will then post it to them. I will not accept it if they try to send it back to me! It is upto them to pay me back or it will be criminal then!

Your screen did not break on its own. It's become very clear the MBP "Touch Bar" design (2016-2019) has an inherent flaw causing the screens to crack, usually near the hinge points.

I just opened my MacBook pro 13in with TouchBar and noticed a small crack on the side of the bar under the display that says "MacBook Pro".. Nothing I did could have caused. It seemed to have just come out of nowhere..

I've also just discovered a small crack at the bottom of my screen where it says "MacBook Pro". I am very careful with the computer and definitely did not have anything in between that would cause it to crack. This seems to me to be a defect...

I have the same problem too, I don't believe it was caused by you, Apple knows it is the product with cheap material that is the problem. I have 5 friends with the same laptop, and 4 of them have the same issue. I will not pay apple that money, I rather go back to windows.

Cliff

I just stumbled onto this thread as I tried to explain the same strange phenomenon with my 13” 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Just last week, I was cleaning the screen - gentle wipes with a soft cloth. There was no significant pressure applied. And suddenly the screen cracked in the same area. I have since dispatched it Apple, with the expectation that it will be covered under my Apple Care plan. I have been a Mac user since 2003, and have owned Apple laptops since that time. This has never happened with any previous generation PowerBook or MacBook. This is a first. The fragility surprised me, and troubles me since I travel overseas frequently.

I had the same issue last week. I had the screen replace and within one week it happened again. Apple store denies any issues but as you can see it is not an isolated incident. I didn't take a picture the first time, although Apple has pictures. Last week I had the screen fixed due to a crack on the left side, where the sharp edge comes in contact with the bottom strip and five days later it happened on the right. Extremely frustrating, time consuming and costly. Shame on you Apple for not standing behind your product. I will never purchase Apple products again.

I am sure it is a engineering issue and not anything you did. I wasn’t sure the first time because I let my grown son watch a movie, he denied doing anything to it. The second time, 5 days after my repair, I knew it wasn’t something left on the keyboard. Apple needs to step up and admit the computer extremely fragile and pay for the repairs. I hope they fix the issues as I will not purchase another Apple laptop until it is proven it is worth the cost.

I had Apple care that was close to $300 and then had to pay $99 for repair. You are only allowed 2 so if I have this second crack repaired, my warranty will no longer be effective.

There has been a lot of follow up posts to this issue. It looks as though there are clusters of reports around 2016/2017 MacBook Pro screens cracking in similar places. Some below the screen and some directly on it.

In my case, a crack appeared spontaneously in the middle towards the lower third of the display after 20 days and I was told nobody has had this issue. It would be useful to conduct a poll.

I did not realise so many people carried documents inside their laptops. Either way, the previous screens of all my previous MacBooks were very resilient to many years out and about with constantly daily abuse. I still have a pristine MacBook Air late 2012. Now I would be very scared to so much as clean the screen of the new MacBook Pro 2017 Touchbar. My suspicion is that there has been a bad batch of screens put out in these models which may have been rectified but Apple has yet to acknowledge

This appears to be an inherent problem. The laptop is not fit for purpose. Many people are having issues with this and the standard response is "accidental damage is not covered". There is no damage to the screen of any kind, but the third layer is damaged. So how does this happen? I cannot accept 'accidental damage'. I think everyone needs to complain and not accept this. It's a 'cop out' as far as I am concerned. Everyone needs to complain and not accept this. They can sideline single complaints but there needs to be a tipping point before they take notice. Can anyone who is IT literate setup a blog page where everyone that has a problem can post. We need a critical mass.

Thanks