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What is going on with my rMBP 13' screen?

R

rzc16512

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 3, 2015
170
85
Hi all,

the other day I noticed the screen on my Retina Macbook Pro seems to be sticking off the side. If I rub my finger on the side of the unibody with the display shut my finger hits the display on one side but the other side I can see the tiniest sliver of the unibody. I feel like I am doing a terrible job of explaining what is going on so I will attatch some pictures. My laptop has never been dropped or put in a bag or had stuff stacked on it so I'm not sure what caused this.
IMG_0453.jpgIMG_0452.jpg
 
I would guess if you took it in, they would say it was a cosmetic issue and have you pay for it, but its still worth bringing it in... It also isn't that bad now, it gets worse... And one last question, do you carry it around much?
 
Unfortunately, the way the screen is attached to the body makes this somewhat common, even if most people don't notice it. There's not a whole lot of information out there online on this issue, but I had it myself and did some investigation and here's what I found.

In this photo, you can see at the top left and top right (just next to the hinge) there are three screws on each side. These hold the screen in place, and the Apple Store calls them Guiding Screws. When these are loosened, you would be surprised at just how much the screen can be misaligned from the base unit. For some reason, Apple didn't design it so the screen just snaps in place - it has to be aligned manually. It's surprisingly difficult to align the screen perfectly to the body.

The screen can be misaligned when it's in for a major repair - either a screen replacement or a top case replacement. It can also become misaligned if you bash the edge of the screen.

You can take it into the Apple Store and have them try to realign it - but know it probably won't come back perfect because it takes a lot of patience, trial and error and above all time to get it right. You can also try doing it yourself. It's quite straightforward - you just need a special screwdriver to remove the bottom panel, and another to fit these 6 screws (I can't remember what screws they are, but you should be able to find out online). You'll probably never get it perfect, but you can certainly improve it yourself.

macbook-pro-retina-display-innards-labelled.jpg
 
JD92 said:
Unfortunately, the way the screen is attached to the body makes this somewhat common, even if most people don't notice it. There's not a whole lot of information out there online on this issue, but I had it myself and did some investigation and here's what I found.

In this photo, you can see at the top left and top right (just next to the hinge) there are three screws on each side. These hold the screen in place, and the Apple Store calls them Guiding Screws. When these are loosened, you would be surprised at just how much the screen can be misaligned from the base unit. For some reason, Apple didn't design it so the screen just snaps in place - it has to be aligned manually. It's surprisingly difficult to align the screen perfectly to the body.

The screen can be misaligned when it's in for a major repair - either a screen replacement or a top case replacement. It can also become misaligned if you bash the edge of the screen.

You can take it into the Apple Store and have them try to realign it - but know it probably won't come back perfect because it takes a lot of patience, trial and error and above all time to get it right. You can also try doing it yourself. It's quite straightforward - you just need a special screwdriver to remove the bottom panel, and another to fit these 6 screws (I can't remember what screws they are, but you should be able to find out online). You'll probably never get it perfect, but you can certainly improve it yourself.
Click to expand...

Yep! This worked! Took me about 10 minutes but I'd say it's near factory if not on the spot! Thanks a bunch!
 
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