Flexgate Issues with MacBook Pro Displays and How to Fix It

The brilliant integration of hardware and software is what has made the MacBook Pro a top gadget in the market. Even though the device never fails to provide a premium experience, it has its own drawbacks and flaws, which make users think before making a purchase. These include multiple display problems, which are a nightmare for MacBook Pro users.

You may have landed here because you are also have fault with the display on your MacBook Pro. Everything has been covered in this text to make things simpler for our readers. From discovering what the Flexgate issue is to checking out the signs and then proceeding to learn what you can do to fix it. We’ll try to provide you with all the information regarding the Flexgate issue on a MacBook Pro.

Contents

Signs Of FlexGate Issue

Specific signs and symptoms may easily identify a Flexgate issue. Damage to the Flex cable of your MacBook Pro may result in the following symptoms and behaviours:

Stage Light Effect

In such a case, the display backlight of your MacBook Pro will show alternate bright and dim areas over the entire lower end of your screen. This creates a unique “stage light” effect. This symptom comes initially due to less serious damage and should indicate you are experiencing backlight issues.

Backlight Switches Off After Opening Lid Beyond a Limit

At times, the damage may cause issues where the display may seem fine while you slowly open the lid of your MacBook Pro, but beyond a certain angle, everything goes all black. You won’t be able to view your display when the lid of your MacBook Pro is opened all the way up.

The display may return once you start closing the lid after a certain angle. Such behavior clearly indicates a problem with your flex cable, and you must have it fixed as soon as possible.

Total Backlight Failure

This can be considered the last stage of damage, where your display totally blacks out and becomes blank as your backlights are completely off. People may confuse this symptom with other problems, as a blank display could be indicative of multiple issues. However, by observing carefully and closely, you’ll be able to notice the display isn’t completely blank.

In fact, you’ll be able to see the text and pictures on the screen, but they’ll be too dim for your eyes to catch. This indicates the backlight is not functional, and the flex cable has been damaged beyond the limit.

Glitches With Graphics

This symptom is quite different from the rest mentioned above, and it isn’t wholly the backlight responsible for this issue. The display in such a case will remain as bright as it was. However, you may experience certain graphic glitches. Your display might begin showing negative colors, vertical patches of distorted graphics with varying color and brightness, and even an entire tint of a color all over the screen.

Apple’s Response to Flexgate Issues

At first, all Apple did was wait and watch as the complaints regarding the Flexgate issue grew worldwide. Later on, in 2018, Apple tried combating the problem by increasing the length of the flex cable by 2 mm. A longer cable would induce less strain on the cable while opening and closing the lid.

It is still unclear whether this fix completely gets rid of the problem or whether it’s just temporary relief. As far as we have experienced, the issue still persists in the 2018 and 2019 models. However, the issue has been minimized, and the reports aren’t as large in number as they were for the 2016-17 models.

With public backlash, Apple launched a repair program where they offered to replace the display of the affected models completely free of cost. This only applied to the 2016 and 2017 models. Maybe with further backlash, Apple will also introduce the program for the affected 2018 and 2019 models.

Wrapping It Up

With this segment of the text, our article comes to an end. After going through this text, you now know everything related to the Flexgate issue experienced on the MacBook Pro and what you can do to fix it. If your MacBook Pro model is eligible for the free repair service program by Apple, that’s the best option you can go for.

Otherwise, you’ll have to spend some money on changing your display from a trustworthy expert. You may as well go for micro-soldering to save your time and money, as it has proven to give decent results. We tried our best to provide you with all the vital information regarding the Flexgate issue on MacBook Pro.

Nick Miller

It's Nick Miller a 25 year old tech enthusiast and senior editor at Flexgate, i try to make tech simple for the everyday person. You will find review about tech, tools and Computer hardware here.

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