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January 6, 2021 By Nathan

2017 MacBook Air Common LCD Failure

There is a common issue with the 2017 LCD assembly that causes the display to show just vertical lines with a horizontal break between one darker area and a lighter area. A picture of this issue is below.

I have seen 100’s of these across all models of the A1466 13″ MacBook Air, but I see the most in the 2017 model. I am not sure why the 2017 seems to break more commonly in this area, but I can say what causes the issue!

What the screen looks like on an A1466 MacBook Air with this particular LCD crack.

What causes the issue:

The issue shown above is caused by a hairline crack along the left side of the screen. The crack is in an area on the LCD that is not visible due to the metal frame (the bezel) that surrounds the LCD panel.

This crack may form from some sort of hit or physical jarring, but I have heard from many clients that it just seems to appear out of nowhere. I believe it may be caused by the flexing of the screen when opening, closing, or holding the computer by the edges of the screen.

When opening or closing the air by a corner of the display, you are causing a twisting flex in the display housing including the LCD panel. I think this is what causes that cracking to occur on the left side of the display.

Why just the left side? Again, I am not certain, but I believe it is due to the fact that there is more adhesive holding that side of the LCD panel to the display housing. I believe this extra adhesive locks the LCD in place to a point where it doesn’t allow the flexing of the panel, thus causing it to crack.

Another reason for the crack to be on the left side might have to do with the placement of the sleep magnet, frame being weaker on the left side, or a combination of issues. It also may be because most people are right handed and close the lid with their right hand causing the flexing on the left.

Pictures of the damaged LCD panel

Below are pictures of the LCD panel. In the photos we are looking at the back of the panel, so the right becomes left and the left becomes right. So you can see in the first picture what the edge along the LCD should look like. In the second picture you see what happens on the left side of the screen where the cracking causes the display issue.

Looking at the back of the A1466 LCD panel where no issue is present.
Looking at the Back of the LCD panel where you can clearly see the crack along the edge towards the middle of the screen.

Repair failure at 0% currently

I have repaired hundreds of A1466 Macbook Airs with this issue. I have yet to see one come back with the same issue as shown above. I believe the lack of the same issue happening again is due to the replacement adhesive allowing more flex to the LCD on that left hand side.

Below you can see a picture of the same computer shown above with a new LCD panel installed.

By just replacing the cracked LCD panel, you can save hundreds of dollars.

The repaired MacBook Air A1466 with new LCD panel installed.

Starting the repair process

If you would like to get your MacBook Air LCD repaired, I can help! Just send a note with a picture of the damage using the form below, and I will let you know what service you need.

Filed Under: Information, LCD Panel Only, Repairs

February 13, 2020 By Nathan

Mac Liquid Damage Repair Options

Red liquid indicator on Mac Logic Board

Our number one repair is (you guessed it) cracked screen repair! But we also do a ton of other repairs as well. Liquid damage is one of our favorites because we are usually able to help get a computer back up and running for $100’s less than what Apple charges. Sometimes the damage is so bad that we end up recommending Apple’s flat rate, but those scenarios are rare indeed. 90% of the time we are able to repair the computer for substantially less than Apple.

Here is a list of components that are damaged often when liquid enters your laptop in our experience: 

  • Keyboard
  • Logic board (also known as the mother board or main board)
  • DC-in board (also known as MagSafe board)
  • Battery
  • Display
  • Drive (both standard spinning drives and solid state drives can be damaged by liquid)
  • IO board (some laptops have a second smaller board called the IO board

Whatever the issue is with your computer, we recommend not trying to turn it on after it comes into contact with liquid. The best idea is to take it to a shop (like us) to complete a free diagnosis and a cleaning if necessary.

We always start the process with a free diagnosis. We take apart the machine to see how far the liquid got and which components are in need of repair. Sometimes the liquid doesn’t even make it to the internal components and the only replacement needed is the keyboard itself. Other times the liquid will have reached the logic board, but not shorted anything. In these cases we are able to clean the logic board with an ultrasonic cleaner to safely remove the liquid.

There are times where the logic board itself is damaged and there is a short causing the computer to not work. In these cases we offer a logic board repair service. We only charge for the service if it is successful. If we are not successful in repairing your logic board, there is no charge at all for the attempt.

The DC-in board is usually one of the cheapest parts to replace. There are times where the liquid just comes into contact with this part and swapping it out brings your Mac back to life. The DC-in board is also known as the MagSafe board because it is where your computer power cable plugs into the computer.

As you may have noticed, a lot of the parts that are damaged have something to do with moving electricity around your laptop: logic board, DC-in Board, and now battery. This is because the liquid can create a bridge for electric to flow from one chip to another where it isn’t supposed to go. This is called bridging a connection. Parts that have energy flowing through them are easily bridged by almost all liquids. As you can imagine the battery is one of those parts that is prone to shorting with liquid damage.

Many times a liquid damaged display will present itself as what appears to be clouds in the display. The display will still work, but the image will appear cloudy where the liquid has entered and gotten between the diffuser sheets. There is energy flowing to the backlight of the display, so sometimes the liquid will seep into the display housing and short the backlight circuitry, but this is very rare. We almost always see no backlight issues being caused by the backlight circuitry on the logic board side.

When the drive that holds your data is damaged we can offer data recovery services to get your data back. On some of the more modern model MacBook Pro’s, they have the chips that hold the data built into the logic board. If the data is needed from one of these models we do offer data recovery services to get that data back!

Some models have a second smaller board that have some of the ports. This smaller “IO board” connects to the logic board and if it is not working properly it can cause all kinds of symptoms. This is usually one of the cheaper fixes for liquid damage as it is an inexpensive part and can be swapped out without too much difficulty.

Whatever the issue is with your Mac, we offer liquid damage diagnosis and repair nationwide through our mail-in service. You can click to start the process of sending your Mac in for repair.

Filed Under: Liquid Damage, Repairs

January 3, 2020 By Jessie

Point of impact on an 11 Inch MacBook Air

11inchmacbookair003

This 11 inch MacBook Air was closed on a pair of earbuds, causing the LCD panel to crack and display vertical and horizontal lines. Replacing the LCD panel fixed this screen.

Filed Under: Repairs

December 2, 2019 By Jessie

Half of MacBook Air Screen Covered in Lines

This 13" MacBook air took a hit to the bottom left that cause half the display to show white instead of the age. lines are also viewable on the left side going vertically as well as about 2/3 of the way to the bottom of the display.
If you look closely, you can see the distortion where this 13 inch MacBook Pro was cracked on the lower part of the left side of the screen. The display is also divided in half, with only the right side of the screen showing the expected image. This was likely caused by the ribbon cable that allows the I/O board on the display to connect to the LCD panel itself. The new LCD panels come with this new IO board including those ribbon cables, so a new LCD panel fixed the display nicely.

Filed Under: Repairs

November 4, 2019 By Jessie

11 Inch MacBook Air field of flowers in cracked LCD

11inchmacbookair004

This 11 inch MacBook Air A1466 was hit on the back of the screen, causing the LCD panel to become damaged and show black and purple spots on the display. We repaired this laptop by replacing the LCD panel. Sometimes display damage really can look like art!

Filed Under: Repairs

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