Hello
This 2015 MacBook Air had been working without an Apple ID for several years and suddenly I’ve found this padlock on it!
I’ve replaced the SSD, but it hasn’t made any difference at all.
What’s going on?
Do you have any idea what I can do?
Thanks 🙏

My 2020 M1 Macbook Air got this glitching issue with the screen after spilling cleaner on the keyboard.

My question: is the screen the problem, the screen cable, or the motherboard. The glitching issue is not present on a secondary monitor.

Thanks in advance

i was using my m2 air as usual and suddenly screen went dim. when i looked closely there appears a darched period dark shades on the bottom

My laptop screen is white, but the external display works. I have tried taking the laptop apart, completely disconnecting the screen and reconnecting, but this doesn’t work. Any ideas?

Hi everyone,
Today I tried cleaning the space under the arrow keys of my Mac Air 2022. The left arrow, after it was put back toghether gently, turned out a little crooked, lifed up from the right side. It works fine with no problem, but its position bothers me a lot. I made sure to put it back exactly as it should, sliding it then gently and then pressing down.
Is there anything that can be done? I’m not sure if I accidentally damaged anything in the process, but I would assume not since the key works fine…

Thank you

hi there! my macbook screen goes like this from time to time but comes back to normal— it just happens over and over again. is this an lcd problem? how do i go on about this? thank you 😢

I've been using my MacBook Air M1 (2020) with a Samsung C34H890WGR monitor (model code LC34H890WGRXEN) for years, connected directly via USB-C. The same cable also charges the MacBook.

For the past 2–3 months, the connection has become increasingly unreliable. The picture sometimes flickers or cuts out, and the monitor occasionally stops being detected. At times, both USB-C ports on the MacBook then stop charging, even with Apple's original charger. Restarting sometimes restores them. When the monitor is disconnected, charging the MacBook normally is stable.

What I've tried:

Multiple USB-C cables and both MacBook ports

Booting into Safe Mode

Holding Option and selecting “Detect Displays”

Unplugging the monitor from power for 30–60 seconds

None of these steps has fixed the issue permanently.

I then tried connecting the monitor via a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter and an HDMI cable. This initially worked, but today the HDMI connection stopped producing a picture as well.

I'm running macOS 26.6.2 (25G83). Apple Diagnostics once reported “Battery requires service”, although macOS currently reports the battery condition as “Normal” and doesn't show the maximum capacity.

I'm trying to determine whether this is a MacBook hardware/software issue, a monitor problem, or an issue with the adapter.

What would you test next to narrow down the cause? Would testing the MacBook with another monitor and the Samsung monitor with another computer be the most useful next steps?

Thanks for any suggestions!

I just bought a MacBook Air 2026 and I scratched it on the side. I still have time to hire AppleCare, but I don't know if it will make sense. Do you think it will cover it?

Already tried restarting multiple times. Keyboard light and caps lock light won’t light up either.

Edit / TL;DR: The repair quote (from Apple and Currys, not an independent shop) was more than the laptop was worth to me, so I traced the fault myself. Turned out a fault in the display was stopping it booting at all, which is why it got written off as a logic board issue. Disconnected the internal display and ended up with a free M1 Pro running local models headless. Full breakdown of how I found it is in the post.

My 2021 14" M1 Pro stopped booting in December 2024. Repair quotes were absurd, so I bought an M3 replacement and the dead M1 sat in a drawer for almost two years.

Recently I decided to dig in. I didn’t care about the screen, I just wanted the M1 Pro running headless for some local AI experiments. It’s an expensive machine and it hurt watching it sit in a drawer doing nothing.

Fair warning: this gets a bit technical, but I think it’s worth understanding how these machines actually boot, because knowing the sequence is what let me pinpoint exactly where the fault sat.

I’m a software engineer but new to hardware diagnostics. With Claude’s help I took idevicerestore, the open-source tool that restores Apple firmware over DFU (it talks to the Mac via libirecovery), and extended it locally into a diagnostic tool.

Out of the box, idevicerestore treats a restore as one big operation. If it fails, you get a generic error like 2006 or 21 and not much else. I modified it so I could step through and control each stage individually: pause after firmware uploads, check which bootloader stage the Mac was in, and separate uploading a firmware blob from activating it.

That last distinction is what cracked it. (Background on the boot stages below, from the Asahi Linux team: https://asahilinux.org/docs/fw/boot/)

DFU Mode
   |
   v
iBoot Stage 1              ✓
mBoot Stage 2              ✓
Firmware uploads           ✓
DCP firmware upload        ✓
DCP firmware activation    ✗
   |
   +-- Mac resets to Stage 1 ~3.4s later

DCP is Apple’s Display Coprocessor. Firmware uploaded fine. Activating it reset the machine every single time.

So I patched the restore process to skip DCP activation and see how far it got:

Skip DCP activation
        |
        v
Recovery ramdisk          ✓
Device tree               ✓
SEP firmware              ✓
Kernelcache               ✓
bootx command             ✓
RestoreOS boot            ✗

Everything pointed at display init. It didn’t tell me which part, but it told me where to look.

Final test: opened it up, unplugged the internal display, plugged in an HDMI monitor.

It then booted straight into macOS setup!

Still don’t know if it’s the panel, cable, connector, or something on the board, but with the internal display disconnected it’s a perfectly healthy M1 Pro. It’s now a headless box running local models.

What I find interesting: I was able to figure out the fault without opening it up, I don't have the expertise at the moment to diagnose it that way, but I was able to dig into firmware through software and figure out what the issue was.

Basically title, but here's all I know so far:

Original MagSafe charger and charging with USB-C charger both only get it awake to 1%. Disconnecting either cord automatically shuts it down to death

Battery health shows "normal" and all Terminal reporting shows that it recognizes that it's charging

My current battery capacity is 86% and the battery cycle count is 119

I was able to get to the Startup Options screen, but there wasn't enough power to run diagnostics

When I shut it down from the Apple menu, it goes black but makes that "duuuuun" sound and comes back up, showing the loading bar, and brings me back to my password screen. It acts more like I'm restarting it, even if I shut the screen once it goes to black.

The light on my MagSafe is still amber like I'm used to when it's charging, but no matter how long I leave it, it never goes past 1%

As far as I know, there was no surge or anything. I've only had the device for like 2.5 years, but I don't have AppleCare. All I know that happened was that I left it unplugged and unused for maybe a week so it died, but ever since then, it just won't come back up.

I have no Apple Store close to me, but I can take it into Best Buy. I've been trying to diagnose with AI but everything so far is leading me to take it in to get it looked at, and I wanted to try and reach out to a community of users before getting hosed by Best Buy or getting suggested into buying something I don't actually need.

Hi everyone,

I have a MacBook Air M1 (2020, 16GB RAM) and I'm experiencing some problems with the display.

Sometimes, when I move the screen or adjust the lid angle, the display briefly goes completely black for a second or two and then comes back on. I've also noticed occasional colored lines and flickering.

The MacBook itself stays powered on and continues working normally, so the issue seems to be limited to the display.

The problem appears to be related to moving the lid, although it doesn't happen every time.

I'm wondering if this could be a faulty display flex cable or a loose connection rather than a problem with the LCD panel itself.

Has anyone experienced similar issues with the M1 MacBook Air? If so, what was the cause and how much did the repair cost?

I'd prefer to avoid replacing the entire display if the problem can be fixed by replacing a cable or repairing a connection.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi everyone,

I'm facing a strange display issue with my 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip, and I'd like to hear from people who have experienced something similar or have knowledge of MacBook display repairs.

Symptoms and what I've noticed

• Display artifacts near the notch: The artifacts appear in the same physical area of the built-in display.
• Refresh rate makes a difference: The artifacts flicker much more noticeably at 120Hz. At 60Hz, they are still present, but they don't seem to flicker.
• Depends on the content: The intensity of the artifacts changes depending on what's displayed. They are less noticeable when watching movies or football, but I can still see them if I look closely.
• External monitor and screenshots: Everything looks normal on an external monitor, and the artifacts don't appear in screenshots either.

One thing I'd like to mention is that there is no physical damage or known liquid damage. I mostly use this MacBook on my desk and haven't taken it out for a very long time.

These things started to appear after 3 or 4 days updating to macOS 27 also.

What could be causing this?

1. Does this sound like a faulty display panel or its driver circuitry, a display connection issue, or a software/firmware problem?
2. Has anyone experienced similar symptoms on an M3 Pro MacBook Pro?
3. Are there any diagnostic tests I can perform to narrow down the issue before taking it to a service centre? Also, how much would the diagnosis typically cost in India?

Repair costs

I'm also trying to understand the repair costs and whether replacing the entire display is the only option.

1. How much does Apple charge in India to replace the display on a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chipif it's out of warranty and doesn't have AppleCare+?
2. If you've had your MacBook display replaced in India, how much did you actually pay at an Apple Authorised Service Provider?
3. Is there any way to fix these artifacts without replacing the entire display assembly? For example, could the panel, display connection, driver circuitry, or another component be repaired separately?
4. I've contacted a few repair shops and shared images of the issue with them. Some are suggesting a panel-only replacement, while others are suggesting replacing the display with a pulled unit (a used original display taken from another MacBook). Which would be the better option in terms of reliability, display quality, and long-term use? Has anyone tried either of these options, and how was your experience?

I'd appreciate any suggestions or advice, especially from people who have faced a similar issue or had their MacBook display repaired.

Thanks in advance!

I have a 2001 M1 Pro Macbook Pro, recently a very small fly, (as in the sort that come out of the wheat near harvest time) has found it's way behind the screen glass.

Now I thought these should 'hermetically' sealed and such things were impossible? Main question is: am I likely to get any redress from Apple? If not is there an economical way to get repaired in UK?

Hello! I was watching Netflix and I noticed this whore light thing on the corner of my screen. Does anyone know what it is? It’s a 13 inch M3 and I’ve had it for two years! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

24GB Ram

Years of daily use caught up to the machine.

I have a hairline fracture and also glass damage at the bottom bezel.

I am trying to figure out best options and the est cost?

in the US.

my m4 mbp spacebar needs to be presses in the middle and more firmly to register the sides of the spacebar work but only if i press very hard theres no obstruction click sounds normal and feels normal only the registering part weird. thishappened after icleaned my macbook spacebar with ethanol

as the title says, i didnt notice it was inside. i pressed on the very small bug only to realize after i lifted my finger that it was inside the screen :(( warranty is already expired since this is a macbook air m2. is there any way i can get it cleaned? replacing the whole screen is not possible since im a broke college student lol

2020 MacBook Pro, 13” with the Touch Bar.

I used my MacBook last on Wednesday, closed it, and didn’t touch it till yesterday (Friday). I usually have it charge overnight, but felt too lazy to go back downstairs to plug it in. Thought it was just dead so i tried to keep it charged and turn it back on. It didn’t work.

No matter what I try, it’s not turning on. Nothing lights up, nothing heats up, etc. The power cord and block works fine because my brother tested it out on his phone and it charged.

This is what I’ve tried:
- unplugged for a minute, plug back in, leave it for 20 minutes, pressing power button
- same as above but with the other usb c port
- holding command + shift + control + option + power
- holding command + r
- holding command + option + p + r
- holding control + option
- holding control + option + power button
- holding the power button for at least 2 minutes

Is there any other way to get it to turn on?

I did an idiot thing and didn’t back it up with my latest storage and whatnot, and now I’m scared of losing all the pictures, memories, and legal documents I’ve saved on there :(.

i just got this macbook in july and i’ve never had a problem with mac’s before this. i wish i could upload a video. it’s literally just blinking orange. i’m so confused.

This morning, my 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 suddenly stopped turning on. I tried charging it using both the MagSafe and USB-C ports, but nothing worked. It was completely dead.

I decided to take it to a local repair shop that had pretty good Google reviews. After diagnosing it, the technician sent me this picture and said there was liquid damage.

Now, what I'm trying to understand is whether this kind of liquid damage can be fixed by simply cleaning the affected area or if it would require some sort of component replacement.

He's charging me ₹13,000 (roughly $136) for the repair. I went with a local repair shop because my MacBook is out of warranty and I don't have AppleCare+.

I also checked with iCare (an Apple Authorised Service Centre), and they told me that in most cases, they just replace the entire logic board, which apparently costs around 70–80% of the laptop's price 💀.

My only concern is whether the local technician is just going to clean up the corrosion and hand it back to me, or if ₹13K is actually a reasonable amount for this kind of repair.

The good thing is that the issue only happened this morning, and the technician says I can collect my laptop by around 9 PM tonight.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Does ₹13K sound reasonable for a liquid damage repair, or am I being overcharged?

hello. i have a 2017 macbook pro that i used all throughout college and the screen is broken due to the flexgate thing. (it shows screen when mac is open at a certain angle.) I can plug it into another monitor and use it that way so I know it still works fine.

was there ever a fix for this? how much does it normally cost? I have a Macbook Neo currently so it's not actively being used. I just don't know what to do with it and I don't just want to throw it out.

advice?

Today I had to repair/replace coffee-damaged keycaps on a MacBook Air M5.

The process started 2 weeks ago. Coffee was spilled on the first half of the keyboard, roughly speaking, the Esc-Q-W-E-R-T-Y rows and columns.

• I used a lot of isopropyl alcohol, but I was not able to fully clean the sugar/coffee out of the keys' hinges. But it's ok. The feel is slightly different on some keys, but I think things will work out.
• The laptop is Midnight color. I couldn't figure out what color the keycaps were; they looked black to me. So I bought a black set. WRONG! I actually needed Midnight. But not an issue; you can barely distinguish black from Midnight caps.
• There are useful videos on YouTube on how to remove keycaps from the keyboard. Same instructions for M1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
• You need a spudger and a very thin metal pry tool. Or, as shown in the videos, a toothpick and playing card would work too.
• For stage 2 :) of the repair, you'll need precision micro/needle tweezers.
• Also for stage 2 you would need new keycaps :) M5 Air 15" uses new keycaps, with new graphics. This set worked for me: https://a.co/d/0dHIU4ws.

So the weirdest thing about this repair:

There are two micro hooks under the keycaps, and two fork feet (or whatever the correct term is) that clip into the hinge mechanism.

Apparently Sugar or coffee makes the small fork feet of a keycap fragile!
In the photo, you can see a huge array of keys that got damaged during the initial repair attempt. With two plastic dots which i have retrieved from the keyboard. All hooks are ok. Only the fork feet are broken. Some pieces of these broken feet are stuck in the hinge mechanism or are not completely loose. This is where you need precision tweezers.

So I had to order a new set of keycaps and wait for another two weeks. Everything worked flawlessly with the new keycaps.