⟐ Commented January 06, 2026 at 17:42 MST

Apple even allowed the batteries of M1 MacBook Air to be user-serviceable, but not the Pro models.

Apart from immediate accusations of corporate greed, what could the technical reasons for them to eventually decide not to allow end users self-service the batteries despite clearly intended to allow such operation by design?

⟐ Answer accepted August 27, 2022 at 11:25 MST

If I shake my Macbook sideways with the device parallel to the floor I can feel/hear something wobbly moving around. Does anyone here have any idea what component causes this?

I also seem to notice that when the Macbook is closed with the lid down, grabbing it with both hands and using my thumbs to firmly press on top of the lid near the centre and than shaking it sideways lessens or stops the wobble. Like it comes from the screen, but feels it comes from the case.

I am very curious what it is and if it’s normal.

⟐ Commented June 18, 2025 at 14:21 MST

⟐ Answered September 27, 2023 at 5:57 MST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eUxSBHV...

⟐ Commented August 23, 2022 at 5:28 MST

the title says it all. I saw a glitchy pixel line at the top flickering a few seconds before the screen was just black. All i have as a second screen is a laggy tv. I obviously restarted already and installed the latest macOS update. I use tools like BetterTouchTool, Alfred and Bartender, if that may cause an issue maybe (?)

It happened after I transported it in a backpack. But this can only be a coincidence, because the laptop is well protected in a special compartmant and i have nothing inside the pack that could pressure damage the display or something. The case itself also doesnt show any signs of cracks, scratches, dents, bents or anything.

The battery is also fully charged and I have never used any third party method to charge it.

During the macOS update the tv got no signal but you could see a very dark and very blurry image of the apple and the progress bar.

Using my iPad in sidecar mode froze the image on the ipad after 1 or 2 minutes. The tv signal was solid though as long as i didnt restart or pressed the power button or something.

In the sea of outdated articles I tried a few things but every restart or long press of the power button results in no signal on the tv. so its very hard and frustrating to not see anything at all.

i dont know what long pressing the power (touch id) button does, though… as i cant seeee it :D

Ive read a lot that this is more often a software issue than a hardware issue and would like to avoid sending it in.

Since I’ve had very good experiences in this forum already, I hope you guys will rescue me once again :(

Thanks!

⟐ Commented October 19, 2024 at 1:32 MST

While I was wiping of the water the computer turned on several times and it all seemed to be fine.

How ever, I am still a little bit afraid that I might have ruined something so I just left it shut down.

How long should I wait before using it again? To make sure the water get dry… I don’t have any tool to open it.

⟐ Commented November 25, 2023 at 8:09 MST

Subsequently reading this MacBook Pro 16" 2021 Screen Replacement, I came to think: great! My plan should work! If there's a guide for this, and iFixit sells the parts (on rare occasion, when they come up), then surely this is a viable solution 🙂

However... I've since stumbled across this post Display issues on MacBook Pro 14" M1 - Shadows on Screen

The updated first answer gives me a strong impression that any attempt to replace the display with a donor (not sourced directly from apple) would essentially be futile, due to the apparent need for system calibration to pair it to it's body.

There is a caveat in that second post, insofar as desoldering a couple of specific ICs and transplanting them onto the new display should get around the apple calibration/serialisation issue. However, I attempted to shop around little ol' New Zealand to find someone to do such a repair, found a repairer who works with someone who apparently has the full schematics for this model of mbp, and has experience with this sort of repair, and this is the response I got from them when asking if they'd do it:

"this type of job is beyond their capabilities. It’s mainly due to the schematics of the board, security that Apple puts on its logic boards & the complexity of it (High risk of it not working) & they don’t think it would be a successful job"

So, back to my original question: is it an exercise in futility trying to use a donor display assembly (that is not sourced directly from apple) to replace the display of a broken A2385 mbp?

Or is there some solution to my goal here that I haven't thought of (aside from getting a new logic board from apple instead)?

Thanks for any and all help!!

Currently, I have in my possession a 16" 2021 M1 Macbook pro A2485, which I *think* is missing the logic board only (bought of trademe (NZ eBay equivalent))

I want a functional 16" 2021 Macbook pro A2485

I believe the cheapest solution is for me to purchase an identical model (A2485) MBP with a broken display, and have my current display assembly, which I believe is perfectly functional, transplanted into an otherwise perfectly functional MBP with a broken/malfunctioning screen. I currently have my eye on a A2485 with the auction closing in a few days, to enable this - *if* I can get a repair combining the two, to actually work

Alternatively, I believe another solution would be to have a matching, functioning logic board with paired touch ID transplanted into my current MacBook shell, such as this one MacBook Pro 16" (2021 A2485 M1 Pro) 10-Core CPU/16-Core GPU Logic Board with Paired Touch ID Sensor . I am under the impression that this will be more expensive (I do not have the liquid-damaged logic board to exchange through apple's self-service program), but obviously that depends on how much a A2485 MBP with broken display ends up costing me, so that may not necessarily be the case

So as far as I can tell, my options are as follows:

Option 1: attempt possibly futile display assembly transplant from Mac with no logic board to Mac with broken screen

- Find ways from iFixit big brains to make this less likely to be futile 🙏 🤞

Option 2: buy logic board with paired touch sensor to transplant into my current Mac with no logic board. Hope that iFixit big brains tell me if this is a dumb idea/ how I can make it work without it likely going 🍐-shaped

Option 3: %#*@ it all to hell, throw the beautiful MacBook I have in the trash/ on a $1 reserve auction for some poor soul to go down the same rabbit hole/ dead end as me

A final note/ question on Option 1:

Is it somehow possibly to do something like do display transplant without T-CON transplant, and also intentionally break something isolated like a lid angle sensor, then go to an authorised apple repairer to have intentionally broken sensor repaired, and then in the system calibration post-repair, apple inadvertently fixes the display serialisation/ non-matching T-CON?

I'm probably showing just how naïeve I am with the above suggestion - maybe the lid angle sensor is a dumb example and there's a better part to try that on with, maybe the authorised repairer will notice a display mis-match when attempting the repair and refuse service, maybe the system calibration post- authorised repair will only work for said repaired part, or maybe apple will pick up the non-apple-sourced display on calibration and not complete it. I dunno. But figured it's worth throwing out there! Thoughts?

Or any other suggestions for me avoiding going nuclear on option 3? Thanks!!

⟐ Commented June 16, 2023 at 7:08 MST

I have noticed that since my post iFixit has published a guide which mentions this issue:

MacBook Pro 14" 2021 Screen Replacement

Anyway, this got me thinking. Which other models have this same problem? Does the new 2023 14" have the same issue where it needs the Apple System Configuration tool? Does the new 16" have this issue? How about any of the new Airs?

If anyone has a list of models affected by this issue, could you please share it with me or the community? I would be very grateful.

Thank you.

Ryan

⟐ Commented July 12, 2025 at 11:58 MST

I decided to prop it tent shaped in my airing cupboard to hopefully dry it out, now I have no display at all.

I have managed to get the bottom case off to see the damage and its completely bone dry, does anyone know where the water damage indicators are situated cos I see no red dots on it.

Am I screwed or would it be worth taking a chance at the Apple Store?

⟐ Commented August 25, 2023 at 7:51 MST

But as of today, I experienced it without having an external display or anything connected. Here's a video of the problem in action.

This is obviously frustrating to me and I hope it's not a hardware issue, just the hassle of reinstalling the device. What are your opinions?

⟐ Commented February 06, 2026 at 13:10 MST

When someone wanted to replace the display by himself before, for example on a 2016 15” MacBook Pro, everything worked, on Intel macs with truetone, the display could be replaced as well, but the truetone stopped working after the replacement, unless the new panel was paired with the board.

However, I can't find information about macs with mini LED ( 16" M1 Pro) - I just read that it's even more of a problem. What are the problems with replacing the display yourself on this generation?

I saw a video that if some specific chip is not transfered (soldered) from the old assembly, the backlight will not work properly. Is this true? Will everything except truetone work if I replace only the LCD layer (Aliexpress type 400eur) and leave the other parts of the display including backlight layer from the original panel? Thanks for the info

⟐ Answer accepted August 05, 2025 at 2:10 MST

However my big concern is one program that has not been updated for Apple Silicon: Silhouette Studio. Every other problem application has been retired or updated so I'm set otherwise. Has anyone seen any issues with the Silhouette software on Apple Silicon machines like this with Rosetta 2 or will I basically need to run my Intel computer for this one application?

⟐ Answer accepted January 09, 2024 at 22:07 MST

⟐ Answered October 17, 2023 at 7:12 MST

⟐ Answer accepted July 20, 2022 at 2:31 MST

I took it to a local Mac specialist and he confirmed the logic board survived the spillage but either I need a new display or connector.

I can find a whole display on eBay no problem but I wanna find out if I can get a separate connector and see if that works. Any idea where I can get hold of one?

⟐ Answered March 30, 2022 at 4:25 MST

⟐ Commented February 07, 2026 at 5:44 MST

I'm looking for detailed instructions or a guide on how to properly install this full upper case assembly. I've looked at the general battery replacement guides and teardowns, but I need something more specific that addresses replacing the entire upper case unit.

Has anyone done this repair or know of a guide that covers the replacement of this complete assembly?

⟐ Answer edited November 17, 2025 at 21:13 MST

⟐ Commented June 13, 2025 at 17:58 MST

.

Attached is the socket i'm speaking of. TY!
Greg

⟐ Commented July 16, 2024 at 11:01 MST