M1 MacBook owners complain about easily cracked screens

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited July 2021
A small number of users are reporting a potentially serious issue in which the LCD screens of Apple's latest M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro are easily cracked or damaged.

MacBook Air


Owners outlined the supposed problem in an Apple Support Communities forum thread that aired multiple claims of cracked screens on recently purchased M1 MacBook Air or 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro devices.

The post's creator asserts the problem manifested overnight "for no apparent reason."

"I left my computer on the top of my desk during the night and the next day I opened it the screen had 2 small cracks on the right which damaged the functioning of the screen," they said.

Specialists at an authorized Apple repair facility said the damage, described as a "contact point crack," did not fall under the company's standard warranty and would therefore not be covered. Others who experienced identical issues and took their unit into an Apple Store were informed that the damage was a "point of contact crack," suggesting a piece of debris was sandwiched between the display and the top case. At least one user was told that a "pressure crack" from mishandling caused a fracture in the display glass.

For most, the explanations provided were unsatisfactory as they claim no errant crumbs or waste were present before closing the clamshell computer. Others said they were using the device normally and did not exert undue force on the display. While Apple covered repair costs in some cases, many users were forced to pay for an out-of-pocket repair or screen replacement amounting to more than $500.

Nearly 50 people responded to the original post saying they encountered the problem. A Reddit thread referenced in the Apple Communities post seemingly corroborates the issue with initial disclosures dating back to December 2020.

9to5Mac reported on the topic earlier today.

It is unclear how many MacBooks are impacted by the screen cracking anomaly, and its cause is unknown. Some speculate that the gap between the screen and top case is too narrow, allowing for even the smallest pieces of debris to press against the LCD.

Multiple members of Apple's support forum claim the company is concealing the issue, but there is no clear evidence that Apple is aware of a widespread problem or has instituted a policy to deny related repairs.

Read on AppleInsider
spock1234MikeDZPL
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 85
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    My ex wife put a binder on top of her iBook way back when and the screen stopped working. In this age how many would know they did it and claim otherwise. 50 out of 10 million.  Sounds about right. Especially when they can go online and find a great excuse to blame someone else. 
    JFC_PAwilliamlondontommikeledewmelkrupp
  • Reply 2 of 85
    Apple needs to step up or this will result in yet another lawsuit...  potentially class action.

    I have worked on industrial designs where we had to take significant precautions to prevent cracking of a clear plastic lens.  While a notebook computer would not experience the same level of physical stress, incorporating clamped plastic in a design can be quite tricky.
    williamlondonasdasdMikeDZPL
  • Reply 3 of 85
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    I wonder how many iPhones spontaneously developed cracked screens over the years, when in fact people started carrying them in their back pocket. 
    JWSCbaconstangJFC_PAzeus423williamlondonlkrupppscooter63stevenozMikeDZPL
  • Reply 4 of 85
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Apple needs to step up or this will result in yet another lawsuit...  potentially class action.

    I have worked on industrial designs where we had to take significant precautions to prevent cracking of a clear plastic lens.  While a notebook computer would not experience the same level of physical stress, incorporating clamped plastic in a design can be quite tricky.
    How many WinTel laptops experience the same issue?  Little to no info?  It's not because it doesn't happen.  It's because they're not Apple so no one cares.  How many screens are cracking vs how many being sold?  

    I suspect its more with people not accepting responsibility for their precision piece of tech and expecting it to be Apple's problem.
    StrangeDayswilliamlondondewmemacpluspluspscooter63JFC_PA
  • Reply 5 of 85
    Fyi, Apple Watches burn your skin, iMacs are crooked by fraction of a mm that hurts one's neck, people killed! from airtags, etc etc etc etc 

    There is a cottage industry of free money grabbers and media attention creeps that make every product mysteriously break, crack, blow up or try to harm you. What these slimes have done is make most people believe very one of these stories you hear are just grifters look for the aforementioned. You see that with stories like this and dimwits like a previous poster claiming he wonders how many iPhones did this too!
    Just fools and grifters harming consumers from getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises.  

    williamlondontommikelelkrupp
  • Reply 6 of 85
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    I closed my 2018 MBP with an errant paperclip inside soon after I bought it. Cracked the screen a cm or two above the hinge. I was bummed, but it seems to be holding up fine since.  
    Why don’t I do crap like that when the thing is already 5 years old?
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 85
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    Depending on the tolerance between the case and display, something as insignificant as a grain of sand could cause a contact point crack. Apple has gradually reduced the tolerances over the years; the old stamped aluminium Macbooks/Powerbooks had fairly big buffers (~2mm) at the screen corners to help protect against this. The unibody Macs reduced this significantly to around 0.7mm, not sure what it is on the latest ones; but the display glass has become thinner too. I frequently get keyboard marks on the display of my 2015 Macbook, and I nanny it more than I should have to; ensuring there is never pressure on the display. Dust causes scratches on the display so now I regularly clean the display to avoid permanent marks.

    Computers are a tool, not a piece of art to only be looked at. The number of issues attributable to Apple's obsession with thin is absurd, but apparently they never learn.
    edited July 2021 baconstangspock1234dewmemuthuk_vanalingamlkruppMplsPktappeOfer
  • Reply 8 of 85
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    Fyi, Apple Watches burn your skin, iMacs are crooked by fraction of a mm that hurts one's neck, people killed! from airtags, etc etc etc etc 

    There is a cottage industry of free money grabbers and media attention creeps that make every product mysteriously break, crack, blow up or try to harm you. What these slimes have done is make most people believe very one of these stories you hear are just grifters look for the aforementioned. You see that with stories like this and dimwits like a previous poster claiming he wonders how many iPhones did this too!
    Just fools and grifters harming consumers from getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises.  

    There are plenty of spurious lawsuits that is for certain, but there are also people like you who claim no problem is ever Apple's fault. It's usually somewhere in the middle.
    avon b7seanjmuthuk_vanalingamasdasdgatorguydope_ahmineOferMikeDZPL
  • Reply 9 of 85
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    elijahg said:
    Depending on the tolerance between the case and display, something as insignificant as a grain of sand could cause a contact point crack. Apple has gradually reduced the tolerances over the years; the old stamped aluminium Macbooks/Powerbooks had fairly big buffers (~2mm) at the screen corners to help protect against this. The unibody Macs reduced this significantly to around 0.7mm, not sure what it is on the latest ones; but the display glass has become thinner too. I frequently get keyboard marks on the display of my 2015 Macbook, and I nanny it more than I should have to; ensuring there is never pressure on the display. Dust causes scratches on the display so now I regularly clean the display to avoid permanent marks.

    Computers are a tool, not a piece of art to only be looked at. The number of issues attributable to Apple's obsession with thin is absurd, but apparently they never learn.
    Does this mean that the MacBook should go “unapologetically plastic” so it can be more “bendy?”  😆
  • Reply 10 of 85
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    JWSC said:
    elijahg said:
    Depending on the tolerance between the case and display, something as insignificant as a grain of sand could cause a contact point crack. Apple has gradually reduced the tolerances over the years; the old stamped aluminium Macbooks/Powerbooks had fairly big buffers (~2mm) at the screen corners to help protect against this. The unibody Macs reduced this significantly to around 0.7mm, not sure what it is on the latest ones; but the display glass has become thinner too. I frequently get keyboard marks on the display of my 2015 Macbook, and I nanny it more than I should have to; ensuring there is never pressure on the display. Dust causes scratches on the display so now I regularly clean the display to avoid permanent marks.

    Computers are a tool, not a piece of art to only be looked at. The number of issues attributable to Apple's obsession with thin is absurd, but apparently they never learn.
    Does this mean that the MacBook should go “unapologetically plastic” so it can be more “bendy?”  😆
    Haha not sure I'd go that far ;) The old plastic Macs look so... cheap now, even though they were pretty premium at the time! It always amazes me how flexible PC laptops are, it's no wonder they fall to bits after a few years or less.
    baconstangravnorodomasdasdMikeDZPL
  • Reply 11 of 85
    JFC_PAJFC_PA Posts: 932member
    A glass screen getting cracked isn’t surprising. Miss use has got to be trivially easy to do and unknowingly as well. 
  • Reply 12 of 85
    JFC_PAJFC_PA Posts: 932member
    This wouldn’t have happened under Elon’s leadership!!!


    DOOMED. 
    Wgkruegerspock1234williamlondonArchStantonyoyo2222lkrupppscooter63applguyh4y3s
  • Reply 13 of 85
    zeus423zeus423 Posts: 230member
    genovelle said:
    I wonder how many iPhones spontaneously developed cracked screens over the years, when in fact people started carrying them in their back pocket. 
    ...in their back pocket so it falls in the toilet.

    I added the missing piece.
    tommikele
  • Reply 14 of 85
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    I bet it won't be an issue if MacBooks had OLED instead. 

    But again, it's time for MacBooks to go "tablet" so it can accommodate better cameras and sensors. There is absolutely no way to fit high resolution sensors on a thin display. 
    williamlondonlkruppradarthekat
  • Reply 15 of 85
    viclauyycviclauyyc Posts: 849member
    genovelle said:
    I wonder how many iPhones spontaneously developed cracked screens over the years, when in fact people started carrying them in their back pocket. 
    I carry my iPhone in my left front jeans pocket. I rather it nuke my balls than have a crack screen. 
    williamlondontommikelezeus423
  • Reply 16 of 85
    elijahg said:
    Fyi, Apple Watches burn your skin, iMacs are crooked by fraction of a mm that hurts one's neck, people killed! from airtags, etc etc etc etc 

    There is a cottage industry of free money grabbers and media attention creeps that make every product mysteriously break, crack, blow up or try to harm you. What these slimes have done is make most people believe very one of these stories you hear are just grifters look for the aforementioned. You see that with stories like this and dimwits like a previous poster claiming he wonders how many iPhones did this too!
    Just fools and grifters harming consumers from getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises.  

    There are plenty of spurious lawsuits that is for certain, but there are also people like you who claim no problem is ever Apple's fault. It's usually somewhere in the middle.
    In the post I wrote (that you “responded” to): “Just fools and grifters harming consumers from getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises”.

    I realize reading is a difficult proposition for some, however, even a clearly, ahem, modest reading comprehension ability should be able to understand “getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises” if they make an effort. Further, even this modest ability should not make one unable to identify, within the statement, the following: 1. no company was named ergo it was a company/corporation agnostic statement.  2. It speaks exclusively ,and as an absolute, to protection and just compensation for consumers. 3. (This one is likely going to be beyond the previously identified limited comprehension) “Fools” was seemingly much more appropriate than “grifters”.  

    tommikeleStrangeDayspscooter63saarekrbelize
  • Reply 17 of 85
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    More whining by people who don’t take responsibility for their actions, blaming Apple and sleaze bag ambulance chaser lawyers.

    I would bet almost all of these incidents are user caused despite what they would claim. Nothing is ever their own fault.
    lkruppcolumbia
  • Reply 18 of 85
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    elijahg said:
    Fyi, Apple Watches burn your skin, iMacs are crooked by fraction of a mm that hurts one's neck, people killed! from airtags, etc etc etc etc 

    There is a cottage industry of free money grabbers and media attention creeps that make every product mysteriously break, crack, blow up or try to harm you. What these slimes have done is make most people believe very one of these stories you hear are just grifters look for the aforementioned. You see that with stories like this and dimwits like a previous poster claiming he wonders how many iPhones did this too!
    Just fools and grifters harming consumers from getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises.  

    There are plenty of spurious lawsuits that is for certain, but there are also people like you who claim no problem is ever Apple's fault. It's usually somewhere in the middle.
    "People like you"? Really dude? More like people like you who think everything is someone else’s fault or Apple or Google or whoever should have foreseen Armageddon and included it in their warranty. Archstanton is spot on. This kind of crap and denial by users and support for exploitation by buyers and lawyers needs to stop. I am tired of having that cost built in to everything I buy.. it’s not somewhere in the middle. It’s way out 5het3 on the ver6 far edges. Some people never experience these issues and some people always do. Kind of like being a hypochondriac. I coughed, oh my god I’ve got lung cancer caused by the odors coming from my spaghetti and meatballs. I must find a lawyer and sue Barilla and Ragu . They should have known this would happen. It’s definitely their fault. The fact I ate that six times a day every week for 30 years is irrelevant.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 19 of 85
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    "The post's creator asserts the problem manifested overnight "for no apparent reason."

    "I left my computer on the top of my desk during the night and the next day I opened it the screen had 2 small cracks on the right which damaged the functioning of the screen," they said."

    They did nothing. They didn’t touch or do anything and it just happened out of nowhere! Okay. Sure.
    lkruppcolumbia
  • Reply 20 of 85
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    tommikele said:
    elijahg said:
    Fyi, Apple Watches burn your skin, iMacs are crooked by fraction of a mm that hurts one's neck, people killed! from airtags, etc etc etc etc 

    There is a cottage industry of free money grabbers and media attention creeps that make every product mysteriously break, crack, blow up or try to harm you. What these slimes have done is make most people believe very one of these stories you hear are just grifters look for the aforementioned. You see that with stories like this and dimwits like a previous poster claiming he wonders how many iPhones did this too!
    Just fools and grifters harming consumers from getting recompense when an actual, and rare, problem arises.  

    There are plenty of spurious lawsuits that is for certain, but there are also people like you who claim no problem is ever Apple's fault. It's usually somewhere in the middle.
    "People like you"? Really dude? More like people like you who think everything is someone else’s fault or Apple or Google or whoever should have foreseen Armageddon and included it in their warranty. Archstanton is spot on. This kind of crap and denial by users and support for exploitation by buyers and lawyers needs to stop. I am tired of having that cost built in to everything I buy.. it’s not somewhere in the middle. It’s way out 5het3 on the ver6 far edges. Some people never experience these issues and some people always do. Kind of like being a hypochondriac. I coughed, oh my god I’ve got lung cancer caused by the odors coming from my spaghetti and meatballs. I must find a lawyer and sue Barilla and Ragu . They should have known this would happen. It’s definitely their fault. The fact I ate that six times a day every week for 30 years is irrelevant.
    Why would eating six times a day give you lung cancer?
    elijahgh4y3s
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