MacBook Pro: “spotlights” at the bottom of the screen, or a screen that goes off when opened

On the 13" and 15" MacBook Pro from 2016 to 2019, the flex cable that feeds the backlight runs through the hinge and wears with every opening. Too short by design, it ends up cracking: the defect known as “flexgate” or “stage light”.

The symptoms

• Bright zones at the bottom of the screen, like spotlights, when the Mac is nearly closed.
• The screen goes completely dark when opened beyond a certain angle, and comes back when closed a little.
• The Mac works normally on an external screen.

The repair

Apple doesn't sell the flex on its own: their solution is the complete screen, at the price you can imagine. At the workshop we repair the backlight flex by micro-soldering, or extend it with an extension flex, which also removes the cause of the defect. The original screen is kept.

What you should know

If the flex is completely severed and the screen has been forced open several times, the repair remains possible in most cases; we confirm at the diagnosis. The price is that of a component-level repair, far below a screen.

This defect doesn't affect MacBook Pros from 2020 on or MacBook Airs, whose flex was redesigned.