MacBook screen white, white with lines or washed out: what it means and what to do

Updated 12 October 2026 · CrackMac guides

A completely white screen, or white with lines, usually means the panel isn't getting a proper image signal, because the panel or its cable is damaged. A washed-out but readable screen is more often a setting. The quickest way to tell them apart is an external monitor: if it shows a normal picture, the Mac is fine and the problem is in the built-in display.

First, the free checks

1. Restart. Hold the power button until the Mac turns off, wait ten seconds, and turn it on again. A one-off freeze of the graphics can leave a white screen that a restart clears.
2. Connect an external monitor or TV. If the picture there is normal, the Mac's graphics are fine. If it's white there too, the problem is inside the Mac or in macOS.
3. Take a screenshot. Press Command-Shift-3 and look at it on another device, or on the external monitor. If the screenshot looks normal, macOS is drawing the right picture and the built-in screen is failing to show it.
4. Try safe mode. If the screen goes white only after login or only with one app, start in safe mode to rule out software. On a Mac with Apple silicon, hold the power button until you see startup options, select your disk, hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode.

If the whole screen is washed out but readable

This is usually not damage. Check these settings:

• System Settings, Accessibility, Display: turn off Invert colours and Increase contrast, and set any colour filters off.
• System Settings, Displays: set the colour profile back to the one named after your MacBook, such as Color LCD or Apple XDR Display.
• If brightness is stuck very high or very low, turn off automatic brightness and True Tone and try again.

If the colours shifted towards yellow rather than white, see this guide. If the picture is too dark instead, see this one.

White with lines, or white after a drop

A white screen with vertical or horizontal lines, especially after a drop, a knock or pressure on the closed lid, is hardware. Either the panel's own electronics are damaged or the flexible cable that runs through the hinge has failed. Signs it's the cable. The picture changes when you move the lid, or it works at some angles and not others. More on that.

Either way, Apple and most repair shops replace the whole display assembly. Here's what that costs by model, and whether AppleCare covers it.

White spots or patches

Small bright spots or cloudy patches are different from a white screen. They're usually pressure marks or a damaged backlight layer. Here's how to tell them apart. The free screen test fills your screen with solid colours so you can see exactly where the marks are.

Keep working while you decide

If the whole screen is white, use an external monitor. Here's how to connect one when you can't see anything. If only part of the screen is white or striped, you can block off that part and keep using the rest.

Here's how to block off the white strip and use the rest of the 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.

Is only part of the screen affected?

If the white area or the lines cover one edge and the rest of the screen is clear, CrackMac makes the clear part usable again. It paints the bad strip black and keeps windows, the menu bar and the pointer on the part that works.

• 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.

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