CrackMacPressure marks, white spots and backlight bleed on a MacBook screen: what they are and whether to fix them
Pressure marks are bright or cloudy patches left where something pressed on the screen, and they're physical damage. Backlight bleed is light leaking around the edges, visible on a dark screen, and a little of it is normal. Mild pressure marks sometimes fade. Marks that last more than a couple of weeks usually mean the display needs replacing if they bother you.
Check your screen with the free backlight bleed test. It shows bleed, clouding and blooming.
How to tell which one you have
Open the free screen test and look at solid white, solid grey and solid black, ideally in a dim room.
- Backlight bleed: a soft glow along the edges or in the corners, visible on black and invisible on white. It's the same every time.
- Blooming: on MacBook Pros with mini-LED screens, a halo around a white cursor or white text on a black background. It's how those screens work, not damage.
- Pressure marks: brighter or cloudier blotches inside the screen, easiest to see on white or grey. They often have a clear shape: a round spot from a pen, a row of squares from the keyboard.
- Keyboard-shaped marks that wipe partly away: these may be grease from the keys on the anti-reflective coating rather than pressure. Clean the screen first. Here's how to do it safely.
- Black spots: dark rather than bright patches are a different kind of damage. See this guide.
What causes pressure marks
Behind the LCD sit thin sheets that spread the backlight evenly. Press hard on the closed lid and those sheets dent or shift, and the light comes through unevenly. The usual culprits:
- a tight laptop bag or a sleeve stuffed with chargers and cables
- books or other things stacked on the closed MacBook
- closing the lid on earbuds, a pen or a USB stick
- a thick keyboard cover, which presses the keys into the screen when the lid is shut
On the last point, here's why Apple warns against keyboard covers.
Will it get worse?
A pressure mark from a single event usually stays the size it is. If the marks keep growing, or new lines or dark areas appear, the panel itself is cracked inside. Here's how that happens without visible cracks in the glass.
Lines or a dark area spreading in from one edge? That part of the panel is failing, but the rest can keep working. CrackMac keeps your work off the damaged strip, with a free 30-minute trial.
Fix it or live with it?
There's no software fix for pressure marks, and no safe home repair. Pressing or massaging the area makes it worse. The repair is a new display assembly, which is expensive. Here are current prices. Many people live with a faint mark, because it's mostly visible on white backgrounds.
Normal backlight bleed and blooming aren't faults. Apple may replace a screen with very strong bleed under warranty, but only if it's severe.
A mark along one edge: work around it
Where the mark sits decides your options. A blotch in the middle sits behind whatever you're reading, and no software can move it. A mark near an edge is different, because you can give up that strip and keep the rest. That covers:
- a bright band along the bottom from closing the lid on something by the hinge
- a cloudy patch in one corner
- a strip with lines, flicker or dark areas, where the panel is damaged as well as dented
CrackMac lets you draw a line on a picture of your screen. Windows, the menu bar and the pointer stay on the clear side, and the strip is painted black, which makes a bright mark much harder to see. A mark in the middle of the screen is outside what it can fix, so check where yours is with the screen test first. More ways to do this are in how to block off part of a Mac screen.
If the damage runs along one edge, CrackMac can keep windows, menus and the pointer off it. There's a free 30-minute trial.
Quick answers
Do pressure marks on a MacBook screen go away?
Light marks sometimes fade over days or weeks once the pressure is gone. Marks that are still there after a couple of weeks are usually permanent, because a layer behind the panel has been dented or shifted.
Is backlight bleed on a MacBook normal?
A little is normal on LCD MacBooks, the Airs and older Pros. You'll see it as a faint glow at the edges on a black screen in a dark room. MacBook Pros with mini-LED screens show a halo around bright objects on black instead, which is called blooming and is also normal.
What causes pressure marks on a MacBook screen?
Something pressing on the closed lid. The usual causes are carrying the MacBook in a tight bag, stacking things on it, closing it on a pen or earbuds, or a thick keyboard cover pushing the keys into the screen.
Mark or dead strip along one edge?
A faint mark in the middle of the screen is something you live with or repair. When it's a bright band along the bottom, a cloudy corner, or a strip that has gone dark or flickers, CrackMac keeps your windows, the menu bar and the pointer on the clear part and paints the band black, so you stop seeing it. Try it on your own screen for 30 minutes before you pay for a repair.
- Works on macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
- Free for 30 minutes of use, then a one-time price. No subscription.
- A refund within 7 days, no questions asked.