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OMG I just broke my screen: Update 10/1

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pitt1717

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 13, 2007
306
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So i have a 2012 retina MBP. Thing still works great but i dropped something and cracked the screen about an hour ago. I cant believe it, i baby this thing so much it still looks new. I am so upset.
i am trying to find a new screen to repair it, but having a difficult time finding in stock or its 600+ dollars. I was hoping this was gonna get me to the winter to see if i should pick up the last Intel MBP or go ARM or just move away and pick up a windows machine. at the very least i was hoping to have this as a backup or hand it to a family member. (did i mention how upset i am)

what would you guys do at this point:
  • replace the screen for 600+ dollars
  • move to windows (with newest intel chip i think i saw gen 11 making its way out)
  • wait and see what the last intel MBP is (whether it remains as is or get a final bump) i just worry about updates after 2 or 3 years
  • really consider arm? I am not pooping on arm and what can be done, just think the chip will be optimized for logic, final cut, garageband, etc. and in the end compiling programs, things outside of apple control will just have a marginal experience

ill be honest, i am getting a bit tired of the apple BS (prices never coming down for old tech, nothing seems innovative any more etc). But i am fully in the echo system. 3 MBP's, 4 iphones, 2 ipads, apple tv, Homepod, use homekit

thanks,
just had to vent
 
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Can you use it as a desktop? I use my MBP with an external monitor most of the time (and my iPad when I’m away). I much prefer this, especially with an EGPU.

Then again, if you’re itching to get away from Apple, can’t hurt to test the grass on the other side. It’s best to know what you like by giving it a try.
 
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I agree with not repairing it unless you can find a screen for around half the price you quoted above. As for waiting for the last Intel MacBook Pro, I believe that train has already left the station. Next stop: Apple silicon.
 
Definitely wouldn't repair it. For $700 to $800 you can get a 2015 15" in good condition off ebay. Take the $600 for repair plus the value of your broken one ($200 to $300). You could easily get a 2015. Although it's tough to consider spending that much on a 2015 model. Given the price of a new MBA.

At any rate your current MBP is only worth $400 to $500 in good condition. Only more if immaculate and decked out with upgrades.
 
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Time to go on ebay and see if you can find a display on there, or find a broken 2012 retina and see if it can be a donor screen. It happened to me once, I understand the pain and cost of replacing the display.
 
What do you use your MBP for? Could you reasonably switch to a Windows laptop, and not lose the ability to do what you needed? I know some folks, are pretty tied to the Apple ecosystem, and switching to Windows would be painful if not possible. You could purchase a decent Windows laptop, for a lot less money, and wait out and what Apple is going to do with their laptops next.
 
pitt1717 said:
So i have a 2012 retina MBP. Thing still works great but i dropped something and cracked the screen about an hour ago.
Click to expand...
First, I am sorry for your loss.
Second, a 2012 computer is a bit long in the tooth. I know you do not want to hear this, but let's use a little bit of comparison. A computer that is eight, going on nine years old is older than most of our cars. It is older than some of our houses, our children. Light a candle and think happy thoughts. Thank it for the good times and then move on.
Pick up a refurbished ( or new ) MBP16.
 
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lot of good points here and since i calmed down a bit im starting to be more rational. so if i come across a screen at a reasonable price ill bite, even if i get a new machine, cause like i said, this thing still runs well. i use it lately for work from home, light programing, GNS3 (Network lab simulation) light photo/video editing (very light) etc.

I know its well over due for an upgrade, and was about to get the i9 when it first came out, but co-worker got it first and i saw the throttling and decided to wait. during that time my kids MBP's with the crappy keyboards, well turned to crap, so that was strike 2 and was the second reason to pass on the i9. so i continued to hope they would fix the keyboard/ thermals etc. then the 16 inch came out, was ready again, then the arm info started to come out. guess it was the perfect storm for me to stall.

as for windows, i have a desktop i use for gaming and can get by with it. but really its just gaming and surfing/media consumption. i really do enjoy the apple echo system cause it works, but all the devices can use other systems like smarthings etc. but 1 thing apple does do right is privacy. so i would rather stay with homekit and i can use the ios devices to handle that. i just dont know how to use my ios devices with windows yet. And win 10 really isn't bad so at this point the OS's debate has become a toss up
 
At 8 years old, it's not worth paying $600 to replace the display. It's over.

Take that money, put in a little more, and get an Apple-refurbished 2020 MacBook Pro 13" (2-port model).

Or... put in a little more $$$ for the 4-port model of same.

DO NOT BUY any MBP from 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 (exception is the 16" model) due to the butterfly keyboards.

An alternative path:
2018/2020 Mac Mini.
Get the i5 or i7 model, 16gb of RAM minimum.
 
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Fishrrman said:
At 8 years old, it's not worth paying $600 to replace the display. It's over.

Take that money, put in a little more, and get an Apple-refurbished 2020 MacBook Pro 13" (2-port model).

Or... put in a little more $$$ for the 4-port model of same.

DO NOT BUY any MBP from 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 (exception is the 16" model) due to the butterfly keyboards.

An alternative path:
2018/2020 Mac Mini.
Get the i5 or i7 model, 16gb of RAM minimum.
Click to expand...

I’d stay away from 2016 and 2017 due to flexgate as well.
 
Fishrrman said:
At 8 years old, it's not worth paying $600 to replace the display. It's over.

Take that money, put in a little more, and get an Apple-refurbished 2020 MacBook Pro 13" (2-port model).

Or... put in a little more $$$ for the 4-port model of same.

DO NOT BUY any MBP from 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 (exception is the 16" model) due to the butterfly keyboards.

An alternative path:
2018/2020 Mac Mini.
Get the i5 or i7 model, 16gb of RAM minimum.
Click to expand...


i need a laptop, not a desktop.

as for the budget, i put away for this, so what ever i buy will be spec'ed out very well (buy once cry once is my motto). because as you see, i keep my machines for a while (first MBP 2007 to 2012). and really only moved to 2012 because my video card died in the 2007.
i hesitate because of my nature to keep things as long as possible, so i want to make sure its a system i know i will be able to live with. so i don't want to rush to a windows laptop, or arm etc. I'm caught in the crossroads right now. so if i can get a screen sub 400 and may do that to get me over the finish line.
 
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When my wife broke the screen on her 2014 MacBook Pro Apple quoted $1200 for the repair. I found an Apple display at Amazon for $212. There was an iFixit video on YouTube and took about an hour to replace. Afterward she said it was better than the original.
 
I can empathize! I'm in a similar situation with a 2017 13" MBP (bad screen and couldn't get it working with an external display) which I did not get AppleCare+ for as it was a gift and I missed the 90 day cutoff (thinking it was available within the first year) and apparently Apple won't repair it under "flex gate" as they consider it to have AD … so rather than spend anywhere from $450-$750 (or more) to replace the display, I bought a New DELL Inspiron 15 5000 (5505) AMD Ryzen 4700U CPU - 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-glare LED Backlight Non-Touch Narrow Border WVA Display - it's upgradable to at least 32GB (possibly 64 GB per the Crucial site) and will also be upgrading the storage from the baseline of 256GB to 1TB! And, I have yet to fully max out the RAM - but I am planning on upgrading it 32 GB RAM when it comes in next week along with add the 1TB ssd too (both ordered from BB)! I would say if you can deal with a FHD display I can recommend the Dell Inspiron laptop 5505 as a replacement option! Plus, you won't need an Apple Genius to have it upgraded! You could do it your self if you wanted to! It will be specced higher where it matter most to me (RAM + storage and all the missing ports on the new MBP, as my Dell includes a USB-C port too!) - I don't need an Apple Retina display (plus the displays on my 2013 MBA and the one on broken one on the 2017 MBP are not significantly that much better than the Dell Inspiron display is, and will be more affordable to replace if I have to do so in the future!)

I think I'm done with Apple laptops for at least the next half a decade, as this laptop should pretty much stand up to my needs and they say 4-5 years is average time before devices start to be outdated. The Apple laptops just don't seem to be worth the cost when there are so many other options available now, with better specs, especially if you can only afford their entry level models, like me.

But, if you're not concerned as much about future upgradability, the Microsoft Surface might be something to consider as well, as they seem to be slim and lighter devices. {But I see they don't have 16 or 17 models available, at least from the site I just checked out.} (In my case, I just didn't want soldered RAM and I wanted the multi-ports USB and HDMI, etc - which seemed to be the same sort of template the majority of slim and lightweight laptops seemed designed around. Plus, I didn't want to spend over a grand on a replacement device that did not allow for future upgrades to RAM or storage later on and lack of USB and HDMI ports, and with the 5505, I should be able to upgrade it on my own, without having to pay a certified Apple Genius or equivalent to do so, and can upgrade it and still be under the $1K mark - which could be close to the price for a new Retina display replacement on the 2017 model for Apple to replace it, because I'm sure it will end up at the top of the price range since they consider it due to accidental damage (seriously, they know they product has a design flaw, so it shouldn't matter, they should just replace the screen, or at least give the customer a break on the price, since they were unlucky enough from the start with the original purchase of a poorly designed product to begin with! OK, off soapbox and venting about the current corporate Apple mindset!)
 
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I tried replacing just the cracked glass portion of a 2012 MBP and 2/3 the way through I managed to damage the LCD screen (arrgh). I ended up snagging an excellent condition used screen (complete with lid and wires) off of eBay and replaced the top half of the MBP--for less than $80 I have a pristine screen.

Am sure the Retina displays are a bit more pricey, but you never know what will turn up on eBay and for what prices.

I totally understand you holding onto items for a while--am the same way. Getting a decent used lid/display will be much cheaper than buying a new laptop--and may even obviate that purchase for awhile. At least you could be back up and running and can consider other options without any sense of urgency/need. You've already taken the depreciation hit on your MBP, are you ready for another hit? (too much Dave Ramsey programs).

Am running Catalina on a mid-2012 MBP with 8GB ram and a Samsung SSD.
 
The price isn’t a quote from a repair shop. Its looking on eBay for a rated panel. I can find b rated but some pics are sketchy and really look like c. I just need a honest panel and I can replace it myself. Found a couple of sites that have honest pricing but are out of stock and no idea when or if they will get more in.

As for the dell I started looking at the XP’s line. They look pretty nice. The 17 has a 2060 or 2080 ( can’t remember) in it and is only marginally bigger than the 16 mbp . But it does come almost 1 pound heavier with the upgraded panel but again, windows laptops are moving to tiger lake and this just came out in I think April, so do I hold off until these get the upgrade which who knows when?????? And if I’m gonna spend 3k on a windows machine, then it needs to be almost perfect

This is my paralysis by analysis
 
Just out of curiosity, if you have been fine with your 2012 MBP Retina, why are you thinking of replacing it with a $3000 machine? There are plenty of decent mid-priced (less than $1K) Windows laptops that are extremely fast, very thin, and much lighter than your MBP. I have a 4 year old 15.3” HP envy that boots up in less than 30 seconds (cold boot).

You may want to try carrying around different sized laptops as well and see how well they travel and feel. My HP is very thin (and much lighter than my MBP) and really needs to be in a padded backpack or bag, due to its length it barely fits in the laptop compartment of my backpack. I would imagine that a 17” would be even longer. My aluminum framed MBP is smaller and built and is heavy like a brick and probably doesn’t need as much padding.
 
clueless88 said:
Just out of curiosity, if you have been fine with your 2012 MBP Retina, why are you thinking of replacing it with a $3000 machine? There are plenty of decent mid-priced (less than $1K) Windows laptops that are extremely fast, very thin, and much lighter than your MBP. I have a 4 year old 15.3” HP envy that boots up in less than 30 seconds (cold boot).

You may want to try carrying around different sized laptops as well and see how well they travel and feel. My HP is very thin (and much lighter than my MBP) and really needs to be in a padded backpack or bag, due to its length it barely fits in the laptop compartment of my backpack. I would imagine that a 17” would be even longer. My aluminum framed MBP is smaller and built and is heavy like a brick and probably doesn’t need as much padding.
Click to expand...

well if i get another MBP (16) its gonna be around 3k to 4k. so out of curiosity i made that my budget and looked at what i could get. after looking at youtube videos, the 17 xps is not much bigger and the screen looks beautiful. (i may stop by a BB or microcenter to see in person if available). I am not set on XPS, but all the reviews seem to give them good build quality, and as we know, its hard to beat apple in that department. Being out of the windows game so long, just don't know what company is up to the task in that regard, and that is a big deal to someone who likes to keep their machines so long.
 
pitt1717 said:
well if i get another MBP (16) its gonna be around 3k to 4k. so out of curiosity i made that my budget and looked at what i could get. after looking at youtube videos, the 17 xps is not much bigger and the screen looks beautiful. (i may stop by a BB or microcenter to see in person if available). I am not set on XPS, but all the reviews seem to give them good build quality, and as we know, its hard to beat apple in that department. Being out of the windows game so long, just don't know what company is up to the task in that regard, and that is a big deal to someone who likes to keep their machines so long.
Click to expand...
if your fine with windows then yeah you should absolutely get one, their performance for the dollar beats out mac anyday. 2070/80 beats out 5600 in a mbp easy

i on the other hand, after dealing with window's random crashes and its quirks, would not put important work files on a window system.
 
ilikewhey said:
if your fine with windows then yeah you should absolutely get one, their performance for the dollar beats out mac anyday. 2070/80 beats out 5600 in a mbp easy

i on the other hand, after dealing with window's random crashes and its quirks, would not put important work files on a window system.
Click to expand...

i know we are on a mac forum, and i love macos, but win10 is a pretty good OS. i can't believe I'm even saying this, but if you believe or even push the "crashes" nonsense of windows, your doing people an injustice. Heck even win 7 was stable. if these OS's weren't, businesses would have moved away.

That said what people have to remember, is that the issues mostly stem from people installing and removing garbage constantly. these things don't happen so much on a mac due to the limited apps available, including games and drivers.
I mean think about this. Look at all the different hardware you can buy. now imagine if apple devs had to write drivers/code for each one of those too. Don't you think there would then also be quirks? Controlling the hardware like apple does, is what provides their stability. however, this comes at a cost. As you said, dollar for dollar, the windows machine will beat out a mac.

But i don't want this turning to a who's better thread. I truly love the apple experience. I'm just getting a bit nervous that moving to ARM is going to turn the platform as a whole into a specific duty machine ala powerpc days. Where they are strictly going to target video/audio people leaving the mainstream people behind. (no more bootcamp, VM Fusion products etc.)

So I am at a point where I'm trying to now decide and bringing me to my original question of spending money to fix my current machine to get me through until more light is shined on what is to come of apple. but with the way things are currently in the world, i have to be careful not to spend too much to fix this as not to take away from what i saved for a new machine. Having a family of 4 makes you re-evaluate purchases sometimes.
 
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Did the same, kind of, with a 15" 2013 MBP back in March.

It's now connected to my telly via HDMI and I use it to watch films, youtube videos, test Big Sir betas etc.. I bought the cheapest 13" Air and am happy with it.

I thought I'd miss the screen size and was going to buy an external monitor to go with the Air, but haven't bothered. I run at 1680x1050.

To use the old Pro, I quickly open it, press the power button, and slam it closed again. It books happily to the TV and I use screensharing from my Air to log in and control it. I've also got my Logitech Harmony remote set up as a bluetooth keyboard so I can use that to skip forward/back/pause etc. in IINA (my media player of choice). At some point I'll buy a P5 screwdriver and remove the screen completely so that opening the lid and using the keyboard won't cause it to try and use the smashed internal monitor. As it won't be there :)
 
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pitt1717 said:
well if i get another MBP (16) its gonna be around 3k to 4k. so out of curiosity i made that my budget and looked at what i could get. after looking at youtube videos, the 17 xps is not much bigger and the screen looks beautiful. (i may stop by a BB or microcenter to see in person if available). I am not set on XPS, but all the reviews seem to give them good build quality, and as we know, its hard to beat apple in that department. Being out of the windows game so long, just don't know what company is up to the task in that regard, and that is a big deal to someone who likes to keep their machines so long.
Click to expand...

The XPS does look like a nice machine at a fraction of the MBPs!
And, the weight doesn't sound too bad at around 4.5-5 lbs for a 17" device.
Although I see they are following the same template as Apple with consolidating the ports to USB-C, but at least they are providing adapters (unlike Apple who makes you purchase one separately, adding on yet more cost to an already overpriced device!) :(

Also, isn't the 2012 device unable to be upgraded to the next OS release?
(If so, that might be another reason not to invest too much into your 2012 Apple MBP.
If you can use it with an external display, that might be the cheapest/easiest resolution for you at this point.)

Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide on!
 
pitt1717 said:
i know we are on a mac forum, and i love macos, but win10 is a pretty good OS. i can't believe I'm even saying this, but if you believe or even push the "crashes" nonsense of windows, your doing people an injustice. Heck even win 7 was stable. if these OS's weren't, businesses would have moved away.

That said what people have to remember, is that the issues mostly stem from people installing and removing garbage constantly. these things don't happen so much on a mac due to the limited apps available, including games and drivers.
I mean think about this. Look at all the different hardware you can buy. now imagine if apple devs had to write drivers/code for each one of those too. Don't you think there would then also be quirks? Controlling the hardware like apple does, is what provides their stability. however, this comes at a cost. As you said, dollar for dollar, the windows machine will beat out a mac.

But i don't want this turning to a who's better thread. I truly love the apple experience. I'm just getting a bit nervous that moving to ARM is going to turn the platform as a whole into a specific duty machine ala powerpc days. Where they are strictly going to target video/audio people leaving the mainstream people behind. (no more bootcamp, VM Fusion products etc.)

So I am at a point where I'm trying to now decide and bringing me to my original question of spending money to fix my current machine to get me through until more light is shined on what is to come of apple. but with the way things are currently in the world, i have to be careful not to spend too much to fix this as not to take away from what i saved for a new machine. Having a family of 4 makes you re-evaluate purchases sometimes.
Click to expand...
its an injustice for me not to say i had crashes on windows

the way window cache works, and leftover residues from the MSConfig, I was dealing with BSOD and had to defrag on a monthly basis. digging into the system32 files wasn't exactly a thrill either. having to delete any leftover cache after uninstalling a program just to make sure its completely gone its a hinderance i didn't have to deal with on mac.

this isn't a isolated incident, i remember going to my dad office about once a month to fix their computer issue, until i switched him onto a mac mini. after that he hasn't called me about tech issues, and that was a year ago.

in the last 10 years, i dealt with window bsod more than 100 times, on macos, less than 10 freezes, but macos freeze lets me resume my work right after reboot, so nothing is lost.

not to mention time machine is just so much easier and convenient to deal with than windows backup, which didn't even work that one time i tried it.
 
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