MacBook Screen Repair is a very often job we do at Fastest Mac Repair and PC Repair. The reason it is common is that many people drop from the bed, step onto, punch, or run over their MacBooks with a car! Yeah, that happens too! These MacBook damage incidents, in a way, are normal. People have always broken MacBooks by accident! It is nothing new. Today, however, we did a MacBook pro screen repair for another reason that needs to be mentioned here, in case you don’t know about it yet!

The reason this 2020 Macbook pro came in for repair, was the screen had lines on it and it was flickering. Many people get confused when it happens. They think this is a 2-year-old MacBook pro, why would the screen go bad like this? They try connecting the MacBook pro to the external monitor via HDMI and try other things suggested on the internet, but nothing works. The MacBook Pro screen either flickers or shows black lines across the bottom or doesn’t show anything at all unless you close a bit or keep it open at a certain angle.

This (famous) MacBook pro screen issue is called FlexGate. (“Flexgate” like “Batterygate” are sarcastic terms to describe the issues, because of how Apple responded and handled them). The screen problem itself happens because of the faulty screen flex cable (hence the “flexgate”). A paper-thin type of cable that Apple introduced to their screens since their 2015 MacBook pros and use flex cables for MacBook screens to this day. The biggest problem with the flex cables is that they are made out of paperlike material, which tends to wear out a lot quicker, especially if you open and close them more often than usual. Plus perhaps some of the first flex cables weren’t even made from the best materials, to begin with.

2016 and 2017 MacBook pro models like A1706, A1708, and A1707 had the most Flex cable failures. They were failing so much that people turned it into a class action lawsuit against Apple in 2020. Because Apple didn’t want to honor screen replacement when people started bringing them back when they experienced this issue. With every customer, Apple tried to weasel its way out of it and would only replace screens for people who were really adamant with their demands. The more timid customers would just turn around, leave or pay the full price to replace the MacBook screen replacement. It all went on for a while when these most problematic MacBook pros became older and then Apple was able to say that they are too old and normal wear and tear was expected for these flex cables.

All this time Apple denied its responsibility to reimburse customers for bad screen cable design. And how can you blame them? It would have cost them millions. I’m sure that would have made Apple shareholders unhappy. So they just threw their customers under the bus and had them bear the consequences. By the way, there was a second class action lawsuit over flex cables filed against Apple, but just like the first one in 2020, this one was thrown out by the judge and that was the end of it!

Then in 2018 Apple “got caught” making the 2018 MacBook pro screen flex cable a little longer. Which for some people meant that they admitted their (probably accidental) wrongdoing with the short and fragile flex cables on their previous models of MacBook pros. Making the cables longer and improving their quality made the issue go away partially, but not completely. MacBook Pro screen flex cables still go bad and it happens pretty often.

It is not uncommon for them to fail after around 2 years. Some manage to last longer. It probably depends on how often and how many times you open and close the lid on your Macbook Pro.

Either way, if your MacBook Pro has screen issues related to the flex gate cable, we can help. MacBook screen replacement is a pretty quick repair. It takes about an hour (usually less) if we have the screen available in stock for your particular MacBook. We try to have them in stock, but sometimes we have to go pick them up from our suppliers. Which also can be done the same or the next day at the latest.

If you are not sure if you have a “Flexgate” issue on your MacBook, call us at 805-585-5535 and we will help you diagnose it! Or stop by at 3339 Kimber Dr. STE D, Newbury Park, CA 91320 – The fastest mac repair in the Thousand Oaks area!