broken lcd screen macbook air made in china

Apple"s standard policy is that a screen that survives the shipment from the factory in China and is delivered to you intact after that trip has no defects, and they will generally not repair it as a defect if the glass is broken under the standard "defects in materials or workmanship" warranty.

b) You blew the backlight fuse. Check it, if blown, solder on a new one. WIll put up a video on how to replace a backlight fuse & spot it on a Macbook air shortly, but do check other videos for how to do QFN/other motherboard microsoldering.

Yeah they"re expensive as !@#$ and going down in price. I"m a more expensive vendor and I have them for $110, eventually they"ll be $40-$70 just like the 11.6" Macbook Air.

Apple doesn"t sell replacement parts to users, only to their authorized resellers and service centers. However, some used Apple screens are available in the aftermarket, as, for instance from ifixit.com.

C) Buy a used MacBook (perhaps you could find one with broken electronics, or a bad keyboard or inoperative logic board) and take your chances that its screen will be good;

D) Find a non-authorized repair shop that can replace the screen (thus offloading the "where to get the part" challenge onto the shop, along with the risk that the "new" screen won"t work); or

The law firm Bursor and Fisher filed a class action lawsuit against Apple this week over unusually common screen cracks on M1 MacBooks, reports 9to5Mac. The firm is accusing Apple of knowingly selling laptops with fragile displays that tend to crack under normal use in some cases and then refusing to repair them without charge. Bursor and Fisher is now seeking compensation for all expenses associated with repairs.

While Apple"s latest 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks based on the M1 system-on-chip received great reviews and made many owners happy on launch, there is also a large number of customers who have experienced unexpected screen cracks and were forced to pay $600 ~ $850 to Apple for repairs. Apple insists that screen cracks were not its fault, but were caused by mishandling or by a small item or particle becoming lodged between the keyboard and screen.

Last week, class action law firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP said it had begun looking for owners of Apple"s latest MacBooks with cracked LCDs to make "potential legal claims against" the company. Apparently, lawyers from Bursor & Fisher were quicker, so they filed the case 5:21-cv-07109, Almeida v. Apple this week.

"The M1 MacBook is defective, as the screens are extraordinarily fragile, cracking, blacking out, or showing magenta, purple and blue lines and squares, or otherwise ceasing to function altogether," the lawsuit reads.

"Thousands of users from across the globe have reported this issue directly to Apple and on Apple sponsored forums," the lawsuit continues. "Nonetheless, consumers who have attempted to secure replacements or repairs have been rebuffed by Apple, often forced to pay out of pocket upwards of between $600 and $850 for repairs themselves or to secure replacements without Apple’s assistance. Others who have secured repairs or replacements from Apple have quickly experienced the problem reappearing on the repaired or replaced laptop."

Truth to be told, Apple issued a notice on August 27(opens in new tab) asking owners of MacBooks not to use any camera covers, palm rest covers, or keyboard covers with their laptops because "the clearance between the display (screen) and the top case is engineered to tight tolerances [which is why] leaving any material on your display, keyboard, or palm rest might interfere with the display when it"s closed and cause damage to your display."

That plaintiff wants Apple to compensate the cost of repairs for himself and other people with similar problems as well as award "reasonable attorney"s fees and costs." But screen repairs are very costly, just like lawyers in the U.S. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Apple will admit the issue and what the plaintiff and people similarly situated will get from the "Think different" company.

An Apple patent from earlier envisioned a future MacBook that would fit within a keyboard. Strictly speaking, the concept isn"t new and has been tried in many computers of the yesteryears. However, some enterprising Chinese resellers have taken the idea to an entirely new level. Twitter leaker @DuanRui reports that Chinese audiences are increasingly looking towards a screenless MacBooks as their goto computing devices.

Essentially, the MacBook"s screen is stripped off entirely, leaving just the keyboard (and the peripherals underneath). This contraption is then sold as-is at a discount. They are often cheaper than used MacBooks, making them more attractive to budget-minded customers. It is a win-win situation as one gets the computing power of a MacBookfor cheap. The reseller gets to sell the screen separately, and most importantly, a perfectly functional laptop is saved from the landfill.

It is better than the Mac Mini in some use cases because of the keyboard and touchpad. The lack of a webcam can be addressed by an external soluition. There is very little tweaking required, as MacBooks have no qualms running without displays, and iFixithas an excellent guide on how to go about it. On the Chinese marketplaces such as Taobao, an early 2015 MacBook without a screen can go for as low as RMB 799 (US$127). Some newer and better-specced models can be had for around US$400.

The 2010-2017 MacBook Air was a popular model while it was in production. The lightweight, long battery life, and affordable price point made them a great buy for a large group of people. This model is aging quite well and has very few issues. They continue to be a very usable computer, especially for people who don’t need a lot of power to meet their computing needs.

I have an article with all the common issues I see on this particular model MacBook Air if you want to learn more about the machine. See my A1466 MacBook Air common issues page for detailed information on what may happen as your computer ages.

One of the issues these MacBook Airs do have is a fragile display. The LCD panel is more easily cracked than other models of Macs, and the repair options are more difficult due to the design of the screen. The light design is partly to blame, as well as the thin design of the display assembly itself.

The cost of repairing common MacBook Air issues is generally very affordable, especially as the computer ages. For screen repairs, the cost of a professional repairis quite affordable.

When it comes to the A1466 MacBook Air, you have two options for screen repair. You can either replace just the cracked LCD (as long as the display assembly is still in good shape), or you can replace the entire display assembly.

Replacing the entire display assembly is what Apple offers at the Apple Store, as it is a much easier method than replacing the LCD panel only. Replacing the LCD panel only is a difficult procedure that requires a lot of skill and patience. Usually replacing the display assembly is faster, but not always.

I will cover both methods of MacBook Air screen repair in this article. I will start with the easier and more expensive display assembly replacement, then move on to the more difficult, but cheaper, LCD-only repair. But first, we will go over some reasons you may choose one type of repair over another.

There are a few reasons you might need to replace the entire display assembly rather than just the LCD panel. I have an article I wrote about the types of damage done to a MacBook that would make the screen need repair, but the two main issues are liquid damage and dents.

Basically, if the display assembly is damaged to a point where it should be replaced, then replacing the entire display assembly is going to be the best way forward. The display assembly includes the LCD panel, back housing, bezel, iSight, hinges, and more.

If there is liquid damage that caused the screen to not work properly, it is very likely that the components inside the display assembly are damaged which is best to repair by replacing the entire display assembly. If there are major dents or a bend to the display housing, then a new LCD panel will likely not fit nicely into the original display assembly.

It is very rare to have to replace the display assembly. Over 95% of the people who contact me looking for a MacBook Air screen repair just require an LCD replacement.

LCD panel replacement is by far the most common type of service that is necessary for a MacBook Air screen repair. Generally, the LCD panel is cracked or broken in some way, and by replacing the LCD panel we are able to fix the computer completely.

There are many ways that the LCD panel in a MacBook Air can fail, but the most common is cracking or bending to the point of cracking. The bending on this model can even come from something as simple as opening and closing the computer from the corner of the display instead of the center.

While LCD replacement on a 2010-2017 MacBook Air is a much more difficult job than replacing the display assembly, it does save you a lot of money to perform this repair. Due to the difficulty in completing this repair, I do recommend you utilize a good repair shop to complete it for you.

Finding a good part to replace your broken part with can be a little daunting. There are a lot of places you can source these display assemblies, but most are on used markets like eBay, or from sellers that source refurbished models from China.

I have an entire page dedicated to sourcing the display assembly for a 2010-2017 MacBook Air. Check it out for how to tell what years are compatible with which display assemblies, places to purchase that give you the best chance of having a good outcome, and more.

Apple uses odd screws on their MacBook Air line (and most of their laptops created after 2011). These more specialty screws require more specialty screwdrivers that you are not likely to have laying around the house. The tools needed for the display assembly replacement are:

It is important that you set aside enough time to complete the repair in one sitting. You want to set aside enough time to deal with any problems or difficulties you may run into without having to rush at all. I recommend setting aside 4 hours for this project. It takes most experienced technicians less than 30 minutes to complete this repair, but you want to be able to relax and focus, especially if it is your first time completing this repair.

Usually, the most important aspect of anyone’s computer is the data that is stored on it. Be sure you back up any important data before completing any repair. It is best to always have a backup of your important data, but you want to double-check that absolutely everything you would want is backed up before opening the machine up.

Once you have all your important data backed up, go ahead and shut your computer down. This is done by clicking on the Apple logo at the top left of the screen and selecting “Shut Down…” from the list. Confirm you want to shut your computer down when prompted, and wait about 10 seconds after the display goes black before closing the lid of your computer.

Once the screws are removed, you can lift the bottom cover off the MacBook Air as shown in the picture below. Simply grasp the bottom cover from right behind where the two long screws came out, and lift it towards yourself. There are a few plastic tabs holding the cover in place, so it does take some force to remove the bottom cover.

As you probably noticed above, 2010, 2011, and 2012 models of the MacBook Air have the iSight cable connected to the IO board that you just removed. If you have one of the 2013, 2014, 2015, or 2017 models, you will remove the iSight cable from the logic board.

Take a deep breath and take your time here. These cables are pretty delicate and I have seen a lot of connectors pulled off the cables during a first-time repair.

Now it is time to wiggle the display loose from the top case. And you are officially halfway done with this repair! Now you just follow these instructions but in reverse.

Now that the repair is done it is time to test everything out. There are a few things that the display assembly does that you want to be sure to test.

Connect to your wifi and go to an area where the wifi may be a little weak, but where it worked in the past. Verify you are still able to browse the Internet as you did before the repair.

If there are any issues with the tests above, you can refer to my troubleshooting page for the A1466 MacBook Air. I cover common repair issues and how to fix them in depth.

Congratulations on completing the display repair on your MacBook Air! Let me know how it went, and if my instructions helped you enough that you want to show your gratitude with remuneration, I would love it if you bought me a donut!

First, a word of warning: this repair is considered difficult even by full-time technicians. To become proficient at this particular repair requires a lot of practice. I personally practiced on damaged display assemblies that were bent or liquid damaged until I had mastered the procedure… but it was still very difficult to complete until I had done about 50+ repairs. If you are a beginner, this repair might end up causing more frustration than it is worth.

Finding a new LCD panel to replace your cracked or failed LCD can be difficult. There are sellers on eBay and Amazon that source LCD panels that are grade B or have visual defects, then when you install it into your computer and notice the issue (after hours of work) they say you caused the damage. For this reason, it is best to go with a reputable repair shop to source the part.

In my experience, most reputable repair shops will not sell the part to a customer looking to repair the computer themselves. There are two reasons for this. 1. The rate of breaking the part is quite high on this repair when somebody doesn’t have the needed experience. 2. The rate of returns when people get 10% into the repair and realize it isn’t doable for them is quite high.

I have an entire page dedicated to sourcing the LCD panel for a 2010-2017 MacBook Air. Check it out to find places to purchase that give you the best chance of having a good outcome and more.

The same tools are used to disassemble the MacBook Air as with the display assembly repair, but for LCD replacement you will also need a couple of additional tools and some special adhesive. The tools needed for the LCD panel replacement are:

Be sure to set aside plenty of time for this repair. I recommend splitting it into two parts. You start with the display replacement guide above to get the display off the computer, then rest and do something fun for a few hours, then come back to this guide to replace the LCD panel on your display. Overall I recommend setting aside an entire day for this repair.

It is much easier to do this repair with the display assembly removed from the computer. My display replacement guide above will get you through to having the display separate from the computer, then you move on to the process of removing the LCD panel itself from the display assembly.

The bezel is the silver strip that surrounds the screen on these A1466 MacBook Airs. Note that the bezel is held in place by a very strong adhesive, so the goal here is to heat up the adhesive to make removing the bezel easier.

In my experience, a temperature of around 300 degrees with a small air nozzle works really well. Keep the nozzle close to the center of the bezel and work your way around using movements as shown in the video. It is important to not let the heat stay in one area too long. You want to take care not to melt the rubber gasket that surrounds the screen and also to not cause damage to the backlight sheets that are just under the LCD panel.

You run the knife under the bezel starting at the bottom right corner of the screen. Work your way up and around until you have cut the adhesive between the bezel and the LCD panel all the way around the screen. Take extra care around the iSight camera. Just to the left of the iSight camera is the iSight camera board which is easily damaged during this process. Also, take extra care at the bottom left of the screen, this is where the iSight cable is easily nicked during the process.

There are 5 screws along the bottom of the LCD panel that are covered in little black pieces of tape. Use your tweezers to remove those pieces of tape, and then remove the screws. There are also two black screws holding down the inverter board at the bottom of the LCD. These two screws also get removed.

This is another part of the repair where you need to relax and take your time. Use the hot air and small nozzle to heat up the right-hand side of the LCD, right where it connects to the edge of the display assembly. There is a 2mm piece of double-sided tape under this area that is holding the LCD down.

I like to angle the hot air towards the edge of the screen and move it along pretty quickly, in order to keep the backlight sheets directly under the LCD from getting damaged.

Once the edge is warmed up, use your painting knife to slide under the screw post on the farthest right side of the display. This will lift the display just a little and cause upward pressure on the LCD panel. Keep heating the edge of the LCD panel until you see it start to lift a little, then work just the edge of a business card into the gab, and slowly move the business card up to separate the LCD from the housing.

This part of the repair takes a while, you want to work in sections, so heat up the tape holding down the LCD panel, then move the card a little bit up, then heat up the next area, and move the card up a little more. The better you do this part the easier the rest of the repair will be, so take your time.

The left-hand side of the LCD panel is held down by a larger piece of adhesive, this makes it quite a bit more difficult to use the business card method. For this part of the project, you will first heat the left side of the LCD where the adhesive is, then apply upward pressure by lifting on the right-hand side of the LCD panel.

Lift the right-hand side of the LCD panel very, very, very slowly while continually moving your heat up and down the left side of the LCD. This will allow the LCD to pull free of the tape, or the tape to pull free of the housing.

Now that the LCD panel is removed, you can see the piece of metal along the bottom that the screws were screwed into. This piece of metal needs to be moved back into the display assembly so it is ready for your new LCD panel to be installed.

Heat up the metal as it is attached with the same tape as the LCD panel was attached with, then use your painting knife to get between the metal and the LCD. This is usually pretty easy after just completing the more difficult LCD removal process.

This is where your 1mm tape comes into play! You want to replace any of the black tape that was damaged or removed during the process so far so you can install the new LCD and have adhesive around the whole thing.

I like to start by replacing any tape that was removed from the metal piece that sits below the LCD panel at the bottom of the assembly, then carefully put that metal piece back into the housing and screw it in as shown in the pictures. Note that the adhesive you just put in faces up towards you.

First, you want to use your can of compressed air to carefully blow any dust from the backlight sheets before installing the new LCD. Take care to not let those sheets get moved around in the process. They need to sit exactly where they are.

Remove any backing from the adhesive that you installed, and also remove the backing from the LCD panel. You can leave the plastic on the front of the LCD panel, but be sure you remove it from the back before installing.

Then you want to line up the circles on the top right and left of the display with the cross hairs on the LCD panel. Once those are lined up you can slowly sink the LCD into the housing, then gently run your finger around the whole LCD panel along the edge to make sure the adhesive is attached to the LCD panel as well as the back housing.

Apply the 12mm tape all around the LCD assembly. Note you want 1-2mm of the tape to cover the LCD panel to help keep it in place. Cut a small piece of the 12mm tape to go above the sight camera. Be sure to leave the area to the left of the camera open where the light sensor is located. The pictures show how it should look when you have completed the work.

Remove all the backing from the tape and install the bezel. I like to start by lining up the top right and left of the bezel, then letting it drop in just like I did with the LCD panel. Gently push on the LCD around the edges to make sure the adhesive is sealed.

Now that the repair is done it is time to test your MacBook Air. There are a few things that the display assembly does that you want to be sure to test.

Connect to your wifi and go to an area where the wifi may be a little weak, but where it worked in the past. Verify you are still able to browse the Internet as you did before the repair.

If there are any issues with the tests above, you can refer to my troubleshooting page for the A1466 MacBook Air. I cover common repair issues and how to fix them in depth.

Congratulations on completing the display repair on your MacBook Air! Let me know how it went, and if my instructions helped you enough that you want to show your gratitude with remuneration, I would love it if you bought me a donut!

If you have just read through this guide and decided you would rather have somebody else do the project for you, please consider letting me repair your Mac screen! I have completed literally thousands of these Mac screen repairs, and have them down to a science. I keep my overhead low and provide a quality service for an affordable price.

I would love to help you get your MacBook Air back up and running properly. If you would like me to repair anything on your computer, you can either go through filling out the order form for a MacBook Air repair, or you can use my quick quote form to get a quote on the project you would like to have done.

In addition to this, though SC which was vigorously supported by Foxconn had been performing mass production for LTPS, TFT, LCD displays at the beginning of 2012, did not make a great progress for the reason that SC failed to neither win over the Apple iPhone orders and nor get authorization in CG Si and IGZO technology of Sharp.

But do you know which iPhone 6 LCD made by these three display penal manufacturers is more cost-effective? Let’s go on with this article and sort things out. Not too long ago, REWA has analyzed the JDF(BOE) and LT(IVO) China made iPhone 6 LCDs in some ways. After several months’ development, how is the situation now? We have tested 3 mainstream China-made iPhone 6 LCDs by JDF(BOE ), TM(Tianma) and SC from aspects of “Appearance” and “Function” in order to make a comparison with OEM ones and give us clarity of thought.

After installed in the mobile devices, it’s much easy for us to find that all these three China made LCDs have a small gap between the LCD and device body, especially SC.

It can be observed visually that LCD Display and Touchscreen digitizer flex cable made by JDF, TM and SC are different in texture. 5) Structure Generally speaking, there are two kinds of mainstream cell phone display constructions of formation, “G+G” and “In-cell”.

Compared with the In-cell structure of OEM LCD, JDF, TM and SC which use G+G touch screen display technology thus cause their overall thickness greater than the OEM ones.

Testing Touch screen digitizer by moving the app icon in all directions including swiping from the edge of the screen, JDF, TM and SC display have no problems with touch function.

Testing LCD display in the pure color of gray, white and black, a part of JDF, TM and SC LCDs have somewhat degree problems of backlight leakage, but it does not affect the normal use and can be ignored in a certain sense. Note: The severity of this problem in the actual situation is a lot more slight than the captured pictures above.

After playing video for 72 hours, JDF, TM, SC have no obvious differences with the OEM ones. CONCLUSION From a series of tests we can find there are only a few differences between OEM display and China made LCDs. In terms of quality, JDF & TM are better than SC. For Price, JDF is more favorable than TM. Therefore, on the market condition that OEM LCDs being out of stock, JDF LCD is the most cost-effective choice for you. Want to order our products? Please contact us: PRE-SALES Skype: rewatech Email: service@rewa.tech AFTER-SALES Skype: support-rewatech Email: support@rewatechnology.com And you can also check our repair guides：

People had a lot of questions when I pulled out my M1 MacBook Air at a party over the weekend: “What is that?” “What happened to your laptop?” “Is that the new Mac?” This was to be expected, as there certainly was something different about mine. See, my MacBook Air doesn’t have a screen — and I made it that way.

Don’t worry — it’s not broken. All I did was take apart my laptop without, you know, re-attaching the display. It has now been simplified into just its bottom half: an aluminum slab with an embedded keyboard and trackpad. I’m calling it a “slabtop” now. And I kind of like it.

It’s a whole-ass computer inside a keyboard, not unlike PCs of yesteryear like the Apple II and Commodore 64. But this M1-powered slabtop is different from those relics; it’s got a trackpad, a long-lasting battery, and it has AirPlay.

It sounds silly, but I swear a slabtop is more fun to use than a laptop. It’s freeing at a party where you can wirelessly connect to a TV with the keyboard in your lap — your hands freely flailing without smacking your screen during a Drawful game session with friends.

Look, I’m not crazy — I don’t go around looking at laptops and wondering how they would look with their heads chopped off, but I’ve probably replaced over a hundred display clamshells during my time as an Apple “Genius,” and I’m comfortable with it. The idea that plenty of people beat me to it also didn’t hurt: it’s been trending on Twitter and discussed on Reddit ever since that patent was published. Someone even made a slabtop with the forsaken Touch Bar, retaining at least one screen on their lap.

You do lose some functions when you delete the screen; hopefully, you’ll never need to fix your computer because you can’t see the recovery mode screen on an external monitor. Also, if you want to wirelessly stream to your TV, you’ll need to first physically plug the slabtop into a display to get to the AirPlay controls. You’ll also lose the built-in webcam, so if you’re doing any Zoom sessions, you’ll need an external one.

You could also lose access to Wi-Fi on certain older MacBook Pro models from 2008–2010 because the AirPort card and antennas were embedded in the display hinge. Thankfully, many of those models still have built-in Ethernet jacks from the era before Apple started taking away ports. (Ports are back, BTW.)

If you have a MacBook, you know, just sitting around, chillin’, happy as a clam...shell... you could make your own slabtop! Or you could be me and volunteer your cousin’s 2009 15-inch MacBook Pro while they aren’t around to supervise it.

But if your cousin isn’t as forgiving as mine, perhaps the eBay route is your best bet. I found recently sold listings for broken Touch Bar MacBook Pros going for around $400, either because they had cracked screens or a problem with the flexible display ribbon cables. But, hey, who needs flex cables anyway when we’re dropping dead weight?

Before we get started, make sure you have a toolkit with all the needed screwdriver bits: a pentalobe P5 to open up most MacBooks made 2012 or later, a Phillips 00 to open up most MacBooks 2012 or earlier; either way, you’ll want a full Torx set sizes 3-8 for various internal parts. You might also want a tri-wing Y1 driver to remove many 2010–2012 MacBook batteries (to avoid accidentally turning on your MacBook while working) or, in the case of the 2009 MacBook Pro, a pentalobe P6. It’s also nice to have a nylon pry tool and tweezers to safely pluck connectors and collect screws, or you could just grow your nails out for a few days as a substitute.

You’ll also need to have a monitor or TV to use your slabtop and a means to physically connect them. If your Mac only has USB-C ports like my M1 MacBook Air, get a USB-C to HDMI cable or a USB-C hub / dock that has a video output. But if your Mac is a bit older like that 2009 MacBook Pro, you’ll need a cable that goes from mini DisplayPort to whatever your external monitor uses, such as HDMI, full DisplayPort, maybe even DVI.

While I took apart the computers using sheer instinct, I did find a very good M1 MacBook Air display removal guide at iFixit and another one for the 15-inch 2009 MacBook Pro. If you’re opening up a different MacBook or maybe even another laptop entirely (heck, you could make a Chromebox from a Chromebook if you wanted to), you should look for a guide online on how to take it apart — or be like me and don’t, that’s up to you! Please be advised: I take no responsibility for any damage or injury caused by your attempt.

2009 MacBook Pro: The fan started spinning because I accidentally turned the computer on during surgery. Don’t forget to disconnect the battery. Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

For the past decade’s worth of MacBooks, the first step is to open the bottom case. Flip the MacBook upside-down and remove all the bottom screws (as many as 10) with either the pentalobe or Phillips driver, depending on the model. Be sure to note where each screw goes since some are longer than others, and the wrong ones could cause damage.

You may still need to pry slightly before it opens — with my M1 MacBook Air and the 15-inch 2009 MacBook Pro, I just needed to grab the aluminum base at the back edge near the vents and pull — you’ll feel a couple snaps from clamps holding them together, but don’t worry, it comes off easily. Most other MacBook models released come apart the same way — except for one major anomaly in the 12-inch Retina MacBook. That model has its battery and logic board attached to the bottom case with sensitive ribbon cables connected between the slabs. For that, I would recommend following this guide closely to avoid damage to the cable or battery.

The second step is to disconnect the battery. I made the mistake of skipping this step on the 2009 MacBook Pro and accidentally turned it on during surgery — better on my cousin’s MacBook Pro and not my MacBook Air, am I right? Anyway, for the 2009 MacBook Pro, I removed three pentalobe screws (tri-wing for the next few model years up), lifted the battery halfway up with its handy pull tab, then disconnected the battery.

The 2011 MacBook Pro’s battery is much easier to disconnect; you don’t even need to take the battery out. Ditto the M1 MacBook Air’s battery: all it takes is a flip-up and pull of the metal locking handle of the battery connector. (See image above.)

The third step is to disconnect and remove anything that comes in the way of getting to the display hinge screws, including internal video connectors, antenna connectors, and — in the case of my M1 MacBook Air — even the antennas themselves. Don’t worry — after the display is removed, you can put the antenna back and still keep Wi-Fi connectivity for your slabtop, unlike my cousin’s machine. Removing all these parts can be tricky, so you might want to follow an online guide for your particular model.

Disconnecting the antenna cables in the M1 MacBook Air. Don’t worry — these will go back when we finish up so you can keep Wi-Fi. Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

The fourth step is to remove the display clamshell. For my M1 MacBook Air: with the display cable disconnected and the antennas out of the way, I pick up the laptop and open the clamshell toits widest point, maybe 130 degrees. I then place the laptop upside down with the keyboard slab fully on the desk’s top and the display clamshell hanging down and off the edge of the desk like a wing. Hold it so it doesn’t slide off the table while you perform the next steps!

With the Air, there are six Torx screws holding the clamshell to the keyboard slab — three on each side — I removed two from each side and then only removed the last two screws after I was sure I could keep the lid from falling. The screen won’t necessarily pop off, though. You’ve got to dislodge the hinge from the frame first, and my trick is basically just to push the laptop screen as if I’m closing it while it’s upside down on the desk. It should pop out when the lid is nearly perpendicular to the base.

By the way, that step is a bit easier on the 2009 MacBook Pro. I kept the display open at a 90-degree angle off the desk instead of fully opening it, removed the screws, and then lifted the display straight up and off without any pushing or sliding.

The slabtop is almost ready, but you’ll need to put a few pieces back in if you want to close it up again and have Wi-Fi. With my M1 Air, all the non-display parts, including the antenna and its connectors, went back in. I even put the display hinge screws back in for safekeeping. I then reconnected the battery and firmly pressed the bottom case cover back on, and it gave a satisfying snap. Now I’m only 10 screws away from the final product — my new slabtop!

Did you succeed as well? If so, let’s go plug it in! You can connect it to a monitor or TV with the right cable, power it on, and you should get a picture on-screen in about the same amount of time it took on your built-in one — though, if it’s an M1 MacBook, you might not get a picture until it’s finished booting up. If the monitor gets to the login screen but only shows a wallpaper with nothing to click, it’s because the slabtop has phantom limb syndrome and thinks it should output to the primary built-in display, but you can hit Command + F1 to switch to mirror mode, which should then reveal the main screen. You can also now mirror your screen wirelessly to an AirPlay-compatible TV or streaming box. Once it appears on the TV, disconnect the cable and enjoy the freedom of a slabtop on your couch!

After Samsung, iPhone screens tend to be the ones that require frequent repairs. This could be because iPhone screens are made of glass - they crack pretty easily if subjected to rough usage!

There is no dearth of iPhone replacement screens in the market. Such is the quality of the ‘high copies’, that it becomes extremely difficult to distinguish it from the original!

All original Apple screens are manufactured by LG or Sharp, whereas the high copies are manufactured by aftermarket companies such as Longteng (IVO), TianMa, ShenChao, KingWo (Teevo), JingDongFang (JDF/BOE) and AUO.

Let us take the example of an IVO screen. A company first contacts IVO and asks them if they can produce a kind of LCD for their phone. They cannot ask IVO to develop LCDs for an iPhone outright - this could lead to copyright and patent issues with the parent company, Apple!

IVO and the company will sign an agreement, post which the company asks IVO to study the LCD in question. Once IVO produces the LCD, the company will ask its own factory or a third party’s factory to assemble the screens and proceed to sell.

Once the demand for these screens builds up, the company looks for other factories to assemble the screens for them, and continues to sell them in the market.

Eventually, the company will not assemble the screens themselves, as more brands keep coming in. They will directly sell the IVO LCDs to certain factories. These factories purchase the spare parts like the glass, frame, backlight, OCA, etc. themselves, and assemble the LCD with these spare parts.

To create a more effective cost-benefit ratio, and to compete with other similar factories, they may use different grades of spare parts, resulting in the differing quality of LCDs. In fact, the quality of Aftermarket LCD depends not only on the LCD, but also the quality of the spare parts used.

While it is always ideal to advise customers to buy original screens, the price differences between the originals and the copies could lead them to look around, and choose the cheaper alternative anyway!

It is clear that the copies aren’t direct ‘copies’ of the original iPhone LCDs. They are closely compatible replacements that have been manufactured from scratch and may have varying differences in quality. Here are some of the quality issues customers may have to face:

One feature that differentiates an original from the copy is how the digitizer (touch sensor) is designed. In the case of an original, it is manufactured as part of the LCD itself. In the case of a copy, the digitizer is placed on the glass.

As mentioned earlier, while the bare LCDs are manufactured by a few, several other companies purchase these and assemble them along with the other spare parts to make them functioning screens. The quality of the spare parts used determines the ultimate quality of the screen.

So, even if you could purchase an LCD from the best “copy” manufacturer,  the digitizer/touch (as part of the separately-manufactured glass) might have been sourced from non-dependable sources!

For instance, with the iPhone 6S and 6S+, Apple moved the chips responsible for touch processing onto the LCD itself. The ‘copy’ screen will end up having ‘copy’ chips too!

Additionally, if you drop an Apple original, the glass often breaks, but if the LCD itself is unharmed, you can continue to use it until the glass is fixed. This is usually how Mobile Repair Stores and Aftermarket Suppliers refurbish original parts with aftermarket glass. As for the copies, since the digitizer is on the glass, it stops working when it breaks. In fact, the LCD itself is more likely to break due to the thinner and more fragile glass.

The LCD panels may have poor image quality, as mentioned earlier. They could have issues in brightness and contrast, a more ‘coarse’ look as compared to the original, and a reduced refresh rate.

There will always be a telling difference between the performance specifications of an original and a copy. For instance, in the case of a copy, the battery can get drained more quickly and mess with the operating system which was meant for the original screen design. Your backlight could get damaged too!

With the 6S, 6S+, 7 and 7+, the home button- part of the 3D touch- is part of the screen assembly. A lot of times, the home button flexes on copies don’t work properly and stop the touch ID from working.

There are issues with the frame that holds the LCD in place - often, they just come off! This can cause damage to the flex cable, and the screen will need to be replaced.

Given the differences between the original and the Aftermarket copies, it might seem wrong to promote the sale of the latter. However, it is a fact that customers tend to choose the cheaper copies over the originals. Also, customers may have to wait longer to get original replacements as most Mobile Repair Stores don"t keep them in stock.

So, what is important is to get replacement screens that are as close as possible to the originals. As mentioned earlier in the article, some of the most popular brands available in the market are Tianma, IVO, BOE, etc.

KingWo claims to provide a close to perfect copy of the iPhone LCD, especially in terms of brightness and polarizer. Here are some of the features it offers:

The BOE screen is thicker than the original because of a plastic layer added to the phone glass lens. The assembly weight, the home button size, and the thickness of the whole screen and glass lens are higher than the original.

In terms of price, ShenChao and JDF are usually considered as the cheapest screens you can find on the market. For Middle of the pack in terms of quality with a competitive pricing TianMa and Longteng are good choices. For the highest quality on the market KingWo (Teevo) and AUO are your immediate go to choices.

At TechRepair, we provide iPhone LCD screens and digitizers that are individually tested and packed into premium boxes. These parts are tested when manufactured and certified by our team to ensure the highest quality standards.

Looking for someone to sell your broken or unwanted screens? Sell them to us for in-store credit or PayPal! All screens will be tested by our team to verify the working status, and offer you the best rates on the market!

We started out building 2011 - 2012 13" MacBook A1278 screens and used up all the stocks of brand new aluminium lids in the UK. We then bought in bulk from the factories in China helping us keep all of our own and customers MacBooks looking brand new.

MacBook Air screens were our next accomplishment  which were alot more difficult as the Backlight and perspex diffuser are part of the backlid and difficult to transfer - we managed it and were able to transfer good LCDs from scratched/dented lids into brand new bare lids making the screen look new again.

We can also change the LCD Panels alone and even made our own LED Backlight tester which we used to spot any imperfections in the diffusers before permanently sealing in the LCD

The beauty of this is that we keep the original webcam, ALS (Light Sensor) and hinges which are often not working or poor quality on the replacement screen assemblies. There is also calibration routines that need running on T2 2018+ MacBooks which only Apple has access to which can cause issues. These are not required with an LCD Only swap as the original serial number and data is held in the camera board which is kept original.

If you have a 2016 model with the shorter LED Backlight cable, these are prone to a fault called "Flexgate". We are able to replace the LED Backlight cable for a longer version while the LCD Panel is removed.

On 2016+ MacBook Pro"s Apple has located the screen control board (TCON) inside the base of the MacBook. Great for making the screen thin but this puts the board in a vulnerable location and prone to liquid damage.

In this instance on a 2016 A1708 we removed all of the corroded components, cleaned up the solder pads and used replacement components from a Donor TCON Board. This worked and we got the screen running perfectly again saving the customer hundreds of pounds on a replacement.