CrackMacHow to clean a MacBook screen and get rid of keyboard marks
Shut the Mac down, unplug it, and wipe the screen with a soft, lint-free cloth lightly dampened with water. For stubborn smudges and keyboard marks, Apple says a cloth moistened with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol is fine. Never spray anything onto the screen, and skip glass cleaners. They can strip the coating.
Step by step
- Shut down and unplug the Mac. A black screen also shows every streak.
- Dampen a soft, lint-free cloth with water. Microfibre is ideal. Wring it out so it's barely damp.
- Wipe gently from one side to the other. No pressure. Pressing hard on an LCD can leave marks of its own.
- For marks that stay, moisten a clean part of the cloth with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol and wipe again.
- Dry with a dry part of the cloth and let the Mac sit for a few minutes before you close the lid.
If your MacBook Pro has the nano-texture display option, use only the polishing cloth Apple supplied with it, dampened with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol for stubborn marks. Other cloths can damage that finish.
Never use
- Glass cleaner, window spray or anything with ammonia or bleach.
- Paper towels, tissues or rough cloths. They scratch the coating.
- Sprays aimed at the screen. Liquid runs into the edges.
- Hydrogen peroxide or abrasive cleaners.
Keyboard marks that won't wipe off
Normal keyboard marks are skin oil and wipe away with alcohol. If you see key-shaped patches that look cloudy or uneven even on a clean screen, the anti-reflective coating has worn through. This happened on some Retina MacBook and MacBook Pro models from 2012 to 2017. Apple ran a quality program for it that has since ended. It's cosmetic, and a full display replacement is the only fix.
Keep the marks from coming back
- Wipe the keyboard every week or two, the same way.
- Don't put a keyboard cover, a thick cloth or a camera cover between the keyboard and screen. Apple warns that anything there when the lid closes can damage the display, and a crack is a lot worse than a smudge. See screen cracked by itself.
- Close the lid gently and check the keyboard for crumbs, pens and earbuds first.
Quick answers
Can I clean a MacBook screen with alcohol?
Yes, carefully. Apple says a cloth moistened with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol can be used to wipe the display for hard-to-remove smudges. Moisten the cloth, never the screen, and don't use it every day.
Why does my MacBook screen have keyboard marks?
When the lid is closed, the keys touch the screen and leave skin oil on it in the shape of the keyboard. Usually it wipes off. On some older Retina MacBooks, years of contact wore through the anti-reflective coating, and that doesn't wipe off.
Can I use Windex on a MacBook screen?
No. Glass cleaners with ammonia, bleach or abrasives can damage the display's coating. Use water or 70 percent isopropyl alcohol on a soft, lint-free cloth.
Smudges wipe off. Dead pixels don't.
If cleaning showed you a crack, a dark band or lines that stay put, the damage is inside the panel. When it runs along one edge, CrackMac blacks it out and keeps windows, menus and the pointer on the part that still works.
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