MBP 2016 screen goes black, no explanation

[dapork]

Hey everyone. So I have a 2016 MacBook Pro. In 2018, when it was still under warranty, I had to send it back to France where I bought it because the screen would go black and eventually it stayed black indefinitely. They replaced the screen.

I teach online classes. In between classes yesterday the screen went black. The keys were still lit up, as was the touch bar. Nothing seemed to work, so I restarted. Back to normal.

Is this an indication that the same hardware issue is happening a second time? I never received an explanation the first time, and this computer has never been dropped or anything. Repairs are out of the question this time. No more warranty. Last year one of the speakers stopped working; I brought it to a shop and they said Apple would charge €600 euros to replace it.

I'm crossing my fingers this is a software issue. I'm afraid the screen will at some point go black while I'm in the middle of a class.

 

[brianmowrey]

This is 13" or 15"? 13" is covered by Apple Flexgate Service Program for 4 years after purchase date.

Though, if the screen came back on after restart, your issue could be much less dire. You might just need to reset your P/NVRAM to clean things up.

 

[dapork]

I'll try that. Nah it's a 15". I take it the 13"'s had even more issues?

 

[Hankcah]

Hey @dapork - any update on this? I'm having the same issue. Black screen, keyboard would like up, and worked fine with external monitor - until a few days ago. Now it's completely dead. I'm keeping my options open to eBay service companies with great reviews, but also don't want to waste a ton of money.

MBP 15" A1707 Late 2016 w/ Touchbar

 

[dapork]

@Hankcah Well I did reset the P/NVRAM. All I can really do is wait to see if it happens again. I'm not very confident because a couple years ago I'm sure I did the same thing, and although then the screen would always come back on after a restart (in the beginning), it gradually remained black until I had to sent it away. Looking at what the reset does, I also do not know what I could've done to cause something like that to happen. I'm hoping it was just a glitch.

Last time and this time I posted on Apple Discussions but received no replies. I guess we have the same computer so if something changes I'll post updates here, whether it be tomorrow or 2 months from now. If you find anything let me know will ya?

 

[Hankcah]

@Hankcah Well I did reset the P/NVRAM. All I can really do is wait to see if it happens again. I'm not very confident because a couple years ago I'm sure I did the same thing, and although then the screen would always come back on after a restart (in the beginning), it gradually remained black until I had to sent it away. Looking at what the reset does, I also do not know what I could've done to cause something like that to happen. I'm hoping it was just a glitch.

Last time and this time I posted on Apple Discussions but received no replies. I guess we have the same computer so if something changes I'll post updates here, whether it be tomorrow or 2 months from now. If you find anything let me know will ya?

Having mine serviced at the moment and it appears both my battery died AND the flex-cable (flex gate) issue happened to my screen. Flexgate is covered on the 13" but not 15" MBPs.

Repair costs $250 for battery, and another $550 for new assembly. Not much wiggle room in those prices anywhere you look. I went with the entire assembly as I did have a small cosmetic ding on the corner of my cover for a few years. I figure a good condition 15" MBP with a new battery, screen, and flex cable - would go for a decent price on the used market. Sucks to pay that much but it's cheaper than a new one and I still really love the laptop. Hoping to get 5 more years out of it. Fingers crossed.