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LarryJoe33

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jul 17, 2017
2,684
1,164
Boston
Hi, my son cracked his screen in his Early 2013 15" MacBook Pro (A1398). I am trying to help him with repairing it. I did some research and it appears that a new lid with screen is a fairly easy DIY. Replacing just the retina display in his current lid looks extremely difficult.

Any thoughts on approach? Where is the best place to buy this? Any other options I a missing?
 
Forget trying to replace just the screen as you may make things worse by trying to separate the screen from the housing which contains the camera and wifi antennae.

One option may be to buy a used "for parts" MacBook from your local buy/ website like Craigslist. I've done this to repair a couple of Airs.
 
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There are some other screens out there that are brand new, but they have a plastic casing rather than an Aluminium one. They tend to be refurbs as well. The LCD itself is flawless, but just comes in a plastic casing. I’ve used them before, and I would say that they are Perfect for those on a budget.
 
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I second @Audit13 opinion. On these thin laptop screens, it is near impossible feat to successfully replace the internal components of the screen without possibly damaging something else in the process.

My suggestion would be to by a used replacement monitor off a reputable seller on eBay, or a for parts MacBook from eBay/Craiglist/Facebook Marketplace. The extra you spend is worth avoiding the frustration and stress of tediously replacing the parts within the monitor.
 
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There are some other screens out there that are brand new, but they have a plastic casing rather than an Aluminium one. They tend to be refurbs as well. The LCD itself is flawless, but just comes in a plastic casing. I’ve used them before, and I would say that they are Perfect for those on a budget.
they are still very expensive, used genuine screen from local seller can be better choice
 
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