CrackMacLines on a MacBook screen: why they appear, and how to fix them
Lines on a MacBook screen, vertical or horizontal, almost always mean the display panel or its cable is damaged, most often after a drop, a knock or pressure on the closed lid. Software rarely removes them. The fix is a new display, an external monitor, or keeping to the part of the screen that still works.
Not ready to pay for a repair? If the damage sits along an edge, you can block off the broken part and keep using the rest.
Why there are lines on your MacBook screen
- A drop or knock: the most common cause. It breaks rows or columns of pixels, or the circuits that drive them.
- Pressure on the closed lid: a full bag, or something left on the keyboard when it closed.
- A worn display cable: lines that flicker or change as you move the lid.
- Liquid: lines that appear days after a spill.
- Rarely, software or graphics: lines that also appear on an external monitor, or only in one app.
How to get rid of lines on a MacBook screen
- Restart from the Apple menu. A one-off graphics glitch clears.
- Take a screenshot with Command-Shift-3 and look at it on your phone. Lines in the screenshot are software; lines only on the screen are hardware.
- Connect an external monitor, as below. A clean picture there confirms the display is at fault.
- If it's hardware, nothing at home removes the lines. The display assembly gets replaced. Here's what that costs by model.
- Until then, if the lines cover only one edge, keep that edge clear of windows and use the rest.
First, a two-minute test
Plug in any external monitor or TV with the right cable. Then look at two things.
- The external screen is clean. The Mac is fine. The damage is in the built-in panel or the thin cable that feeds it.
- The external screen shows the same lines. The fault is inside the Mac, usually the logic board. That's a bigger repair, and not one a screen replacement fixes.
While you're at it, open and close the lid slowly and watch the lines. If they flicker, move or disappear at certain angles, the display cable is the likely culprit rather than the panel. On some older MacBook Pro models a cable that wore out with lid movement caused exactly this, and it was cheaper to fix than a whole panel.
What the lines tell you
- A few thin lines, fixed in place. Damaged rows or columns of pixels. Usually stable for a while.
- A wide band of colour or static along one edge. A cracked area of the panel. This is the most common pattern after a corner hit, and the one you can live with.
- Lines that spread or multiply over days. The crack is growing. Back up now and decide soon.
- Lines across the whole screen. The panel is badly damaged. Plan on a repair or an external display.
Horizontal lines and flickering
Horizontal lines follow the same rules as vertical ones: fixed lines that appeared with a knock are panel damage. Lines or flicker that change as you move the lid point to the display cable, especially on some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models, where a display cable that wore with use caused uneven light or flickering along the bottom. Flicker that also shows on an external monitor, or that started after a macOS update rather than a knock, is worth a restart and a check for updates before assuming hardware.
Repair or live with it?
A display replacement on a recent MacBook Air costs roughly $330 to $600 at Apple, more on a Pro, and $99 if you have AppleCare+. Independent shops are often 20 to 35 percent cheaper. The full breakdown is in what a MacBook screen replacement costs.
If the lines sit along one edge and the rest of the picture is normal, living with it is a reasonable choice, especially on an older Mac. The problem isn't the lines themselves. It's that macOS doesn't know those pixels are gone, so windows, menus and the pointer keep landing on them. That part is fixable.
Lines running across the screen instead? Here's the guide to horizontal lines.
If the damage runs along one edge, CrackMac can keep windows, menus and the pointer off it. There's a free 30-minute trial.
Keep it from getting worse
Don't press on the lines to "test" them, don't close the lid on anything, and keep the Mac out of hot cars. Pressure and heat both make cracks spread. There's more in will a cracked MacBook screen get worse.
Quick answers
Can vertical lines on a MacBook screen fix themselves?
Almost never. Lines that appear after a drop come from physical damage to the panel or its connection, and they usually stay the same or spread. A restart or SMC reset only helps when the lines are a software glitch, which is rare after an impact.
Are lines on a MacBook screen the graphics card or the screen?
Connect an external monitor. If the external picture is clean, the Mac's graphics are fine and the fault is in the built-in panel or its cable. If the external monitor shows the same lines, the problem is inside the Mac.
Damage along an edge?
CrackMac keeps windows, the menu bar and the pointer on the part of the screen that still works, and paints the dead strip black. You draw the line once, on a picture of your screen, and it stays out of your way after that.
- 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.