Weird 13" MBP Screen Problem?

[WalkingSnake]

Alright, I've taken to this to an Apple Authorized Service shop, but I want to get opinions on the board and see if anyone else has had this problem.

Check the attached picture. My screen has a weird glitch where a stripe appears glitchy. Sometimes it'll be different colors, sometimes it'll be weird patterns, sometimes it's black, sometimes it's not there at all and my screen looks perfect.

The screen itself doesn't seem to be broken. If I wiggle my screen around, I seem to be able to get it to go away for a little while and my screen looks normal. Weirdly, it also seems to go away the warmer the Macbook gets.

The problem doesn't show up on an external monitor.

The shop told me it looks like a chip or something has been either knocked loose or broken in the shell of the screen (the plastic around the hinge is cracked in a couple places, unfortunately probably from being dropped in the past) and the entire screen and top half of the laptop would need replacing - and quoted $510 for the repair.

Since I could get a refurb Macbook with better specs than my Mid-09 MBP, I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative for fixing this?

Thanks guys!

 

[discounteggroll]

sorry to tell you, but it's a defective LCD display. It goes away/changes when your twist/turn/torque it, correct?

where are you located? $510 is an obscene quote but it's the reality, especially when going through apple or an authorized service provider. There are places that do the repair on the LCD itself (pulling the glass and replacing the display). This is a trickier repair as the glass is very fragile and sometimes results in breaking.

The easier (and more expensive as you have been quoted) is replacing the whole display unit and transferring the airport card to the new one

 

[WalkingSnake]

sorry to tell you, but it's a defective LCD display. It goes away/changes when your twist/turn/torque it, correct?

Yep. I figured it was something along those lines. It used to only happen occasionally but seems to be happening all the time now.

 

[AWallen90]

Yep. I figured it was something along those lines. It used to only happen occasionally but seems to be happening all the time now.

You can remove and replace the LCD unit without actually taking everything apart. It works similarly to how you replace the digitizer on an iPhone, it just takes longer and you need to be more careful. If you want to tackle the problem yourself you can get it fixed up for just over $100. Good Luck.

 

[AWallen90]

Make sure to view a video on how to remove the LCD assembly before ordering one so you know if you can handle the job it is quite involved for a first time tinkerer.

 

[WalkingSnake]

I've replaced the LCD on a Dell before. I'd imagine this would be quite different.

Where can I find screens that work well?

 

[discounteggroll]

You can remove and replace the LCD unit without actually taking everything apart. It works similarly to how you replace the digitizer on an iPhone, it just takes longer and you need to be more careful. If you want to tackle the problem yourself you can get it fixed up for just over $100. Good Luck.

of course it's possible, but I don't think too many people are keen on pointing a heat gun to their display and suctioning the glass off with mini plungers while working around the adhesive with a plastic card

 

[AWallen90]

of course it's possible, but I don't think too many people are keen on pointing a heat gun to their display and suctioning the glass off with mini plungers while working around the adhesive with a plastic card

That's very true, I always like to take on my own repairs. I would just call it a digilizer replacement on steroids.

 

[AWallen90]

I've replaced the LCD on a Dell before. I'd imagine this would be quite different.

Where can I find screens that work well?

Replacing a screen on a Dell should not even be on your mind, it is vastly different, quite a bit more challenging.

Screen can be had on eBay, there are dedicated parts websites, but make sure you even want to attempt the repair before ordering a new screen.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

of course it's possible, but I don't think too many people are keen on pointing a heat gun to their display and suctioning the glass off with mini plungers while working around the adhesive with a plastic card

With the right suction cup, no plastic card is needed!

This is very different from a Dell for a few reasons.

a) Front glass. If you use too much heat, you mess up the glass, surrounding black portion, and can burn the keys. If you use too little, you get nothing done. Good heat management is key here. Cover the bottom case to avoid burning anything. Don't bother disconnecting the top case from the bottom, if you do, you're doing too much work, wasting time, and risking damage to components you do not even need to open, much less take apart. Cracking the glass is pretty simple.

If you start from the bottom right where the logo is and work around, you should be good. If you have a card that allows you to bend the glass a little, you can slowly rip the adhesive off. You should pull at a point where it is peeling off slowly over a few seconds, without you pulling hard.

b) LVDS cable. It's hidden in there. I've gotten it into the LCD while riding in the backseat of a van before, but that's after a few weeks of it bothering me immensely. It's easy to rip the bracket off. The LVDS cable also doesn't stick out very far, so it is a pain to plug it into the LCD at first.

I like to use a small flathead screwdriver to guide the LVDS cable into the LCD on each side, after pulling it through a little. A GPS suction cup does wonders compared to the ones with levers as it allows you some wiggle room to bend the glass without breaking it, which is how you can get the adhesive up out of your way very quickly. At any point, it's best to be prying the black part away at an angle from the display assembly. GPS suction cups that curve, that are of small size give some good leeway to move your hand back and forth.

Good luck!

 

[WalkingSnake]

So I think I'm not handy enough to quite do this on my own, haha.

So is the $500 the Apple service shop wants to replace the entire top portion of my laptop a good estimate? Would I have better luck somewhere else?

 

[discounteggroll]

So I think I'm not handy enough to quite do this on my own, haha.

So is the $500 the Apple service shop wants to replace the entire top portion of my laptop a good estimate? Would I have better luck somewhere else?

definitely better luck elsewhere if you are going with exchanging the LCD but keeping the display housing/glass...Otherwise, the display assembly itself is $500 from apple as a complete unit. Where are you located?

 

[WalkingSnake]

definitely better luck elsewhere. Where are you located?

Indianapolis. There's an Apple store on the other side of town, I wonder if they'd do anything different.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

So I think I'm not handy enough to quite do this on my own, haha.

So is the $500 the Apple service shop wants to replace the entire top portion of my laptop a good estimate? Would I have better luck somewhere else?

Apple stores won't do anything different for you.

Your glass and assembly are fine, so $500 is insane. You're replacing working parts by paying $500.

The LP133WX2-TLG6 costs $46 in bulk. That's what's broken here. $500 for a $46 part + labor is very high. There are repair centers local to me that perform that repair for $140 total, and they do a good job, and this is New York - where EVERYTHING is overpriced. Paying more than $200 for that at this moment is a ripoff, especially outside of NYC as the price of replacement glass has fell as well. Prices used to be artificially inflated by many repair depots that wanted to cover themselves if they accidentally broke the glass upon entering, but that isn't so bad with quality glass in the $20s and $30s.

 

[WalkingSnake]

Still no luck. The local Mac repair place insists on a $510 repair here. Is this something any PC repair shop might be able to do?