Applied Pressure to Lid Causes Cracked Screen in Touchbar Macbook Pro?

[Tiredofsillyexplanations]

I recently purchased a brand new 15in Macbook Pro with touchbar for a king's ransom and it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of hardware I've ever owned. I've been a loyal Apple customer since college, but at this point I have to question the quality of their hardware after my latest experience with their newest product.



I usually carry my laptop in a backpack when traveling to and from work. The sleeve has significant padding and has been very protective of my previous macbook (late 2012 13in MBP). I carry with me some disposable tupperware, and a sweatshirt/gym clothes as well. A few days ago I arrived at work and opened my laptop, but the screen didn't immediately come to life. I must have turned the laptop off prior to leaving home, so I pressed the touch ID button, but couldn't wake it. Suddenly I noticed some light emitting from the corner of the screen and my heart sank. The screen was completely cracked and remained blank.



I've never had an issue with Apple's quality quite like this, but I find it completely outrageous that this product could be so fragile as to be rendered completely useless after being packed snuggly into my backpack. There was never a point where any heavy blunt object crashed into the lid, so I'm completely at a loss as to how Apple could sell this product where slight pressure on the lid could cause the entire screen to break.



Has anyone experienced this yet?



I've tried bringing this to my local Apple store, however the "Geniuses" deemed this accidental damage and refuse the cover the repair. This whole experience has made me question continuing to support their product line because honestly, how could I ever feel comfortable replacing the screen (for an exorbitant sum) with no guarantee that this won't happen again. The product is so fragile that a little bit of pressure from a tightly packed bag of soft clothes would render the product completely useless.



Apple used to stand by their products and this was a major factor in my continued support, but now I'm honestly afraid to ever purchase their products again for fear of ever leaving the house with a device unless it's wrapped in a kevlar vest.



SAD!

[doublepost=1541020302][/doublepost]I had the same problem. 3 weeks old 15 inch always kept it in the case during transport .
Never lost it, jumped on it,sat on it or putting anything between when closing it.
Crack on the screen, and when cleaning it with a cloth the whole screen went blury.
Apple claims the screen has been put under pressure , and that it is a user fault.
I have had 5 different portable Macs, and never had any probems with the screens.
Some of them have endured hard use by my kids, fallen off the table, kids sitting on it, pressing the screen with their fingers, and still working properly.
Mac so new they didnt have spare parts for more than one month.
Ended up paying 750 usd for a new screen.
Guess it might happen again, and they will claim the same story once more.
The worst thing is that they dont believe you when you explain what has happened.

 

[isabella dovidio]

I recently purchased a brand new 15in Macbook Pro with touchbar for a king's ransom and it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of hardware I've ever owned. I've been a loyal Apple customer since college, but at this point I have to question the quality of their hardware after my latest experience with their newest product.



I usually carry my laptop in a backpack when traveling to and from work. The sleeve has significant padding and has been very protective of my previous macbook (late 2012 13in MBP). I carry with me some disposable tupperware, and a sweatshirt/gym clothes as well. A few days ago I arrived at work and opened my laptop, but the screen didn't immediately come to life. I must have turned the laptop off prior to leaving home, so I pressed the touch ID button, but couldn't wake it. Suddenly I noticed some light emitting from the corner of the screen and my heart sank. The screen was completely cracked and remained blank.



I've never had an issue with Apple's quality quite like this, but I find it completely outrageous that this product could be so fragile as to be rendered completely useless after being packed snuggly into my backpack. There was never a point where any heavy blunt object crashed into the lid, so I'm completely at a loss as to how Apple could sell this product where slight pressure on the lid could cause the entire screen to break.



Has anyone experienced this yet?



I've tried bringing this to my local Apple store, however the "Geniuses" deemed this accidental damage and refuse the cover the repair. This whole experience has made me question continuing to support their product line because honestly, how could I ever feel comfortable replacing the screen (for an exorbitant sum) with no guarantee that this won't happen again. The product is so fragile that a little bit of pressure from a tightly packed bag of soft clothes would render the product completely useless.



Apple used to stand by their products and this was a major factor in my continued support, but now I'm honestly afraid to ever purchase their products again for fear of ever leaving the house with a device unless it's wrapped in a kevlar vest.



SAD!

This is exactly what happened to me!!!
[doublepost=1549503428][/doublepost]This is exactly what happened to me!!!

 

[Marshall73]

Zombie thread brought to life. Impact fracture in the original images. If you don’t have AppleCare + then contact your home insurance for an accidental damage claim.

 

[Stuart Cook]

I recently purchased a brand new 15in Macbook Pro with touchbar for a king's ransom and it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of hardware I've ever owned. I've been a loyal Apple customer since college, but at this point I have to question the quality of their hardware after my latest experience with their newest product.



I usually carry my laptop in a backpack when traveling to and from work. The sleeve has significant padding and has been very protective of my previous macbook (late 2012 13in MBP). I carry with me some disposable tupperware, and a sweatshirt/gym clothes as well. A few days ago I arrived at work and opened my laptop, but the screen didn't immediately come to life. I must have turned the laptop off prior to leaving home, so I pressed the touch ID button, but couldn't wake it. Suddenly I noticed some light emitting from the corner of the screen and my heart sank. The screen was completely cracked and remained blank.



I've never had an issue with Apple's quality quite like this, but I find it completely outrageous that this product could be so fragile as to be rendered completely useless after being packed snuggly into my backpack. There was never a point where any heavy blunt object crashed into the lid, so I'm completely at a loss as to how Apple could sell this product where slight pressure on the lid could cause the entire screen to break.



Has anyone experienced this yet?



I've tried bringing this to my local Apple store, however the "Geniuses" deemed this accidental damage and refuse the cover the repair. This whole experience has made me question continuing to support their product line because honestly, how could I ever feel comfortable replacing the screen (for an exorbitant sum) with no guarantee that this won't happen again. The product is so fragile that a little bit of pressure from a tightly packed bag of soft clothes would render the product completely useless.



Apple used to stand by their products and this was a major factor in my continued support, but now I'm honestly afraid to ever purchase their products again for fear of ever leaving the house with a device unless it's wrapped in a kevlar vest.



SAD!

I recently purchased a brand new 15in Macbook Pro with touchbar for a king's ransom and it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of hardware I've ever owned. I've been a loyal Apple customer since college, but at this point I have to question the quality of their hardware after my latest experience with their newest product.



I usually carry my laptop in a backpack when traveling to and from work. The sleeve has significant padding and has been very protective of my previous macbook (late 2012 13in MBP). I carry with me some disposable tupperware, and a sweatshirt/gym clothes as well. A few days ago I arrived at work and opened my laptop, but the screen didn't immediately come to life. I must have turned the laptop off prior to leaving home, so I pressed the touch ID button, but couldn't wake it. Suddenly I noticed some light emitting from the corner of the screen and my heart sank. The screen was completely cracked and remained blank.



I've never had an issue with Apple's quality quite like this, but I find it completely outrageous that this product could be so fragile as to be rendered completely useless after being packed snuggly into my backpack. There was never a point where any heavy blunt object crashed into the lid, so I'm completely at a loss as to how Apple could sell this product where slight pressure on the lid could cause the entire screen to break.



Has anyone experienced this yet?



I've tried bringing this to my local Apple store, however the "Geniuses" deemed this accidental damage and refuse the cover the repair. This whole experience has made me question continuing to support their product line because honestly, how could I ever feel comfortable replacing the screen (for an exorbitant sum) with no guarantee that this won't happen again. The product is so fragile that a little bit of pressure from a tightly packed bag of soft clothes would render the product completely useless.



Apple used to stand by their products and this was a major factor in my continued support, but now I'm honestly afraid to ever purchase their products again for fear of ever leaving the house with a device unless it's wrapped in a kevlar vest.



SAD!

I believe too that there is a design fault with the new Mac Pro screens. I recently purchased a top of the range highly expensive 15inch Mac Pro for my teenage daughter. Her screen cracked soon after purchasing it after travelling to school with her protected back pack. We initially put this down to a item being sandwiched between the screen and the keyboard even though my daughter was confident that this was not the case. As the Mac Pro was so new, Apple in Hong Kong did replace the screen. Thank you. But last night when my daughter was merely opening the screen, it cracked again. Damn. My daughter informs me that other girls at her school have had the same problem with the new Mac Pro. Apple needs to upgrade its hardware suppliers it seems and better test its products before launching them. They charge a premium so the quality needs to be top notch. Sadly it isn’t at the moment. We remain Apple fans but quite frustrated at the moment.

 

[giffut]

Yes. its another design flaw. The screen glas is too thin, it is glued into the enclosure with vertical tension and empty spaces at the bottom, close to the logo, create break points easily triggered by simply cleaning with a cloth. It may be heat related. The scientific term for this is called "spontaneous glas breakage". The fragile display cable is easily damaged when this happens, too. There are huge threads on apple discussion boards about this and the denial by apple to repair under warranty.

I now firmly believe - after personal experience wirh several machines starting with a 15 macbook 2016 up to the 2018 ones - this is another planned obsolence/repair cost generating design choice, as is the glued top and display assembly and the completely soldered mainboard components, including the bad thermals and generally steadily lower quality of materials used, while increasing prices.

 

[brianjsw01]

This just happened to mine as well. Like the Mint Mobile commercials all I can think is "That's not right." I never let so much as dust collect on this thing. I open the lid, hear a cracking sound but didn't think much of it. Later in the day while cleaning the display I saw a mark on the bezel by the MacBook Pro logo. I couldn't remove it. Turns out it was a shatter point in the glass, and when I scraped it glass particles chipped off everywhere. I did nothing to cause this. This is a design flaw. I'll be taking it to Apple tomorrow, am sure they will make me pay. Thankfully it's a work laptop so I can expense it but I can tell you this just isn't right, there's something wrong with the build on these things.

 

[vemac575]

Sucks man. Bite the bullet, replace the screen.

 

[gozulin]

This happened to me as well. The laptop was closed and in a padded backpack, in a plane.

 

[Rwaview]

Might be a pressure crack, as it is common to have some small object, such as a pen, or other object accidentally left in the hinge area when the lid is closed. It probably releases when the lid is next opened, and you might not even know which item caused it, until you see the crack. That hinge area can apply a huge amount of pressure when some object is left there, and the LCD cracks easily as a result. It's a common cause for cracks in that area, and a drop is not needed. And, because of the location near the hinge, would usually considered accidental damage.

[doublepost=1556007465][/doublepost]I have the same issue with a 2018 MacBook Pro 13”. Hairline crack on the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The apple technician said that I may have dropped or applied pressure to the screen and caused the crack. I explained the laptop has never been dropped or had any unusual pressure applied to it.

It appears that I will have to pay to fix the hairline crack which will require changing the screen costing $475 + tax.

There are others who have experienced this same issue, so I hope that apple will correct this problem and cover the repair for replacing the apparently fragile and defect computer.

 

[cerberusss]

[doublepost=1556007465][/doublepost]
It appears that I will have to pay to fix the hairline crack which will require changing the screen costing $475 + tax.

If you've bought that laptop with a creditcard: some offer a 180 day insurance.

 

[2namanuva]

Hey man,
I’ve had the exact same problem but my fracture was even smaller. Barely noticeable in fact. Having owned a Mac laptop since 2002, I can safely say there is a major design flaw with this model. I know several people personally who have all had the same issue. All my previous MacBooks went everywhere with me and took a pounding and never had an issue. I closed things in the lid accidentally, all sorts. This laptop I had for three months and it never left my desk in that time. I never closed anything in it that was visible to the eye and yet when I took it in while still under warranty, the “genius” who served me said there was a point of impact even though there wasn’t a single mark anywhere else on the computer. He was super patronising and I could tell that was their standard response to anyone with the same issue. When I took it to a licensed 3rd party store, the tech there said he couldn’t help me as apple had made it clear they wouldn’t replace any of these issues under warranty. He also told me that he has had a crazy number of people come in with the same issue and this is someone who has worked with their products for years. This is a product wide issue and a design flaw that can’t be fixed easily so they won’t do a recall as it’s too costly. Instead their line is you damaged it, your fault. The truth is in their quest to make everything skinnier they’ve made a terrible product that I am now stuck with. I’ve also seen repeat user names on a number of threads around this issue giving the same line about single point of impact meaning it’s your own fault and I wouldn’t be surprised if apple was actively trying to quash any discontent. It’s a real shame that there is no accountability from their end. I think it’s worthwhile trying to log how many people are having this issue to expose this.

 

[PeterBrems]

Same problem with my less than one year old MacBook Pro. No pressure applied.

And no Apple support

 

[simonmet]

The 2015-era MacBook Pros were tough. I really hope they improved things on the 16" (since they reverted to the scissor keyboard) but I'm not holding my breath.

This is why Apple is a $1.5 T company: by driving build quality and longevity down and margins up. Pro machines should not be fragile. Being robust and reliable is one of the most defining characteristics of "Pro". Too bad Apple doesn't think this anymore.

 

[baisan]

Same thing happened to my MacBook Pro, I was just watching movies before it happened, paused it to grab something, came back the screen was shaking then I shut it down and restarted then now it's all black. One thing I noticed was the hairline crack from the inside (the LCD). Here's a photo. Took it to the retailer and they blamed me. I honestly didn't crack it, there was nothing stuck in between the screen and keyboard. Never dropped or mishandled. I look after my things really well. But this crack baffled me.

 

[come2yogi]

Just registered to share my experience regarding this.

I am on my 4th Apple laptop, MBP 16". I have had pretty good experiences with all of them. Last week after I pulled the MBP out of my laptop bag, nothing was displayed on the screen, except for a few squiggly lines on the bottom right corner. The glass appeared to be fine. After taking it in for repair they said that there were two "hairline cracks", and it would cost me $780+ (including tax in California) to have the screen replaced. I treat these expensive laptops with the care they deserve. I have no idea what could have caused this damage. The repair shop person said that had there been only one hairline crack, Apple would have covered the cost of the repair, but since there were two, I would have to pay for the repair. She didn't know why Apple had such a policy. She also mentioned that screens sold since 2016 are very sensitive to pressure and crack more readily as compared to laptops manufactured earlier.

She did suggest that I call Apple Support, and see if they can help out in either reducing the cost of repair or covering it entirely. I did and thankfully, the senior advisor, who helped me on this case, stepped up and had Apple cover the entire cost of the repair after I calmly explained the situation.

So, it is possible that you may get a kind senior advisor who helps you defray the cost of repair. Wouldn't hurt to try. Good luck!