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Repair guides and disassembly information for the MacBook Pro 16'' released in November of 2019. Model A2141, EMC 3347.

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small crack in display close to hinge

My screen suddenly showed stripes everywhere.
When I brought it to the local apple reseller they found a small crack close to the hinge and therefore refused to repair it under warranty.
Instead they offered me to replace the screen for 949€ (!).

I am wondering if this could be the same issue as with the M1 Macbooks.
There is an ongoing class action against apple regarding spontaneuosly cracking screens in the US. But they don’t mention the 2019 16” MBP’s there.
Isn’t it the same design and display they used in the 2019 Intel pros and the following M1’s?

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/26542...

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Back in 2014/15 Apple started working on the 2016 series MacBooks/MacBook Pro’s (Pro’s came out first) Jony Ive’s directive was to make the display assembly as thin as possible to his magic team. Surprisingly they achieved it! But at a cost!

The 2016/17 13” models have an acknowledged defect with a simple length issue with the displays backlight cable The Design Flaw Behind MacBook Pro’s “Stage Light” Effect. While there where reports of the 15” also having the issue, Apple never addressed there defect. We where the first to recognize the defect!

Apple also had a hinge pin issue where the fitting of the pin became loose so the display lid failed to stay up (covered under warranty).

A second sizable defect emerged which Apple still has not addressed, which could also be attributed to a design failure related to where the T-CON logic is placed. In previous models (and most other laptops) the T-CON was part mounted within the display lid where it is cooler. Apple made a bold design change! In order to thin the display they moved this logic via a set of thin ribbon cables into the main body of the system and placed it in one of the hottest areas the system has wedged between the CPU/GPU’s and the heatsink fin area. So while still in the design process they failed to realize over time the fans build up dust making the CPU/GPU cooling less effective and to add to it working pro’s where pushing the system hard (remember the system is labeled PRO with the understanding its a Pro’s system) sadly the 13/15” 2016/17/18/19 models are not!) While aggressive cleaning of the fans and fins areas can reduce display failure Apples use of a hot running Intel chips is the root issue! Intel lead Apple down the garden path promising cooler running chips which they failed to produce! Leaving you holding the bag forking over for a new display in a few years or so. We also figured it out as well before others and even Apple here in Answers!

Apple did improve the internal airflow within the 2019 16” MacBook Pro and carried the improvements over to 13” system in 2020 and Intel did finally release a cooler running chip as well (only the late 2020 and 2021 have them) even still the design is still lacking in my mind!

The third failure here is the use of a glass chin plate covering the fragile ribbon cables leading to the lid. As the lid is so close to the keyboard space it doesn’t take much like a paperclip to press into it not only damaging the plate but the ribbon cables behind! If you place a pen or pencil on the keyboard you can also crack the display as well!

Both of these issues are both design and user error! And all of the 2016 onward systems are at risk!

  • The 2015 ~ 17 12” Retina MacBook systems received the same design with the thinner display and moving of the T-CON board into the main case area. As this series runs so much cooler they don’t face the overheating, but the ribbon cable issues are still an issue.
  • The 2018 and onward 13” Retina MacBook Air systems received the same design with the thinner display and moving of the T-CON board into the main case area. Just like the 12” Retina MacBook its CPU runs cooler but faces the same risks of a paperclip or pencil resting at the wrong space.

So now lets look at the current 13” M1 MacBook Air & Pro systems

Apple is using the same design as the 2020 Intel MacBook Pro! So it faces the same physical risks. Thankfully the cooler running M1 SoC chip reduces the overheating issues within the main cases. But pushing the system hard without having enough air flow over time could lead to degrading of the T-CON logic.

As both models are using the same mechanicals as previous models I don’t see a higher risk than what they had. So unless someone can explain to me what’s different here that makes it more likely of failure I just don’t see it.

To be clear Apples display lid design from 2016 onward is physically weak!

  • Failure to offer enough protection at the chip area
  • Lack of flex in the hinge compensate for a pencil/pen lodged in the keyboard space using a similar design on how eyeglass temple hinges work.
  • While the Intel CPU’d 2016 ~ 2021 faced overheating issues due to hot running chips Apples fan ramp is still defective and could have been corrected years ago with a firmware upgrade. Yes, the fans would have run harder but saving you the cost of having to replace the display prematurely.
  • In addition the sensors are there to even warn you of the pending failure! All it needed is additional SMC code. So you could get your system to someone to clean the fans and fin areas of the dust and debris buildup. The fan’s need to continue to run longer as well.
  • The newer 2020 Intel onward Intel CPU’s which run cooler still need more thermal support as well as the same SMC code.
  • The display lid being so thin still has a risk of cracking if pressed (dropped) by an object. There are techniques to make this less of a risk! One simple one is learning from Bee’s Honeycombs! a honeycomb structure which is on the flat as well as two diagonal corrugated plates would offer more stiffness and compression risk. While these would add some thickness it would still be less than a solid plate at a much lighter weight. Aircraft passenger inner wall and floor panels use this technique today with aluminum corrugated panels similar to how cardboard is constructed.

Is Apple alone here nope!

We can’t blame Apple alone either! Our desires and how the media plays into this also amplifies things as well.

The designers punch list is driven by surveys (many highly flawed!), the media often over steps their role, either biasing their desires and feelings into what they report.

Apple (and all other hardware companies) face the same input problem issue as well - Today we have so many more means of communication! You or even me can write a note to big Tim and his staff has to sift through them all (I’m sure there are a ton of them alone)

The deluge of input has both positive and negative aspects. Finding the needle in the haystack of good information can be tough! It’s only when you get a sizable quantity of reports does the issue gets raised and that assumes the person/s doing the filtering do it well.

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2 Comments:

Wow man, thanks a lot for sharing this.

It is quite on point I would say.

I feel the difference in robustness between my 2014 MBP Retina and the 2019 one so much. And I have to say I am not a fan of these trends to slim light designs. I don't care if it is 3mm thinner and 200grams lighter when it breaks. Thats such a stupid tradeoff for a Pro Machine. I regret it more and more to buy these machines.

So I guess my only chance is to hope for a repair program (whigh apple will avoid desperately, since so many customers would be affected and those screens are expensive.)

The whole screen replacement is from around 700€ onwards and there seem to be no used market for it. So I looked on AliExpress and there are cheaper but also suspicious offers there directly from Chinese manufacturers.

Do you have experience with those?

(e.g. this one: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/G...)

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@Ted bert - Sadly I gave up ordering directly from China sites like Alibaba. Too many risks and as I'm retired I'm not doing that many repairs any more. I prefer using brick and mortar shops and I tend to go with recycled parts when ever possible.

Sadly the 19" screens are very hard to find new or even used. Many of the screens sold as new are not workable as they have not been programed! So you loose the TrueTone and and some you loose the FaceTime camera.

You're only option is <cough!> Apple Store repair service!

Don't forget to accept the answer - Thanks!

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