Apple May Have Quietly Addressed 'Flexgate' in 2018 MacBook Pros

iFixit reports that Apple may have already taken steps to reduce the likelihood of 2018 MacBook Pro users experiencing display lighting issues dubbed Flexgate. Affected machines could see uneven lighting that looks like a "stage light" effect with the display potentially failing completely over time.

macbook pro flexgate
iFixit was tipped off by MacRumors forum user Olivia88 posting in our Flexgate megathread that their 2018 13" MacBook Pro appeared to have a longer cable than previous models. iFixit confirmed this finding:

Since we were just wrapping up writing the repair manual for the 2018 model anyway, we checked inside our 2018 15” MacBook Pro again to measure its cable against its 2016 predecessor—and found the 2018 cable was, in fact, a full 2mm longer. Since this change appears in both our 15” model and Olivia88’s 13” model, it’s plausible this change is present in multiple, if not all, 2018 MacBook Pros.

iFixit speculates that this could prevent some of the wear and tear that had previously caused the failure though they weren't able to say for certain.

Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue, and our Flexgate guide covers what your options are if you are affected by this issue.

Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

snowboarder Avatar
62 months ago
let's see... Broken keyboards, flexgate, graphics glitches, T2 chip fiasco.
Anything is working properly in their Macbook "Pro"?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trifid Avatar
62 months ago
Let's see...all these "problems" were only mentioned by a few people here and there online, and never gained any traction, sign that are probably issues that occur very very rarely, nothing systemic. So I would venture to say that 99% of MacBook "Pro" are probably working properly? Mine is, and the ten of thousands my company provides to its employees are at least, we all use Touch Bar MBP at this point and I never saw people suffering these issues, aside from a couple of colleagues having issue with a key on the keyboard. I am sure someone suffered these issues, like it happens with all man made items, but pretending these are serious widespread issues...sign of the times I guess.
Read the flexgate thread, this user lokitech posted the following:

“...I work for a company that uses only Apple product and in the year 2016, we brought 160 laptops MacBook Pro 15 top model then out of 160 laptops so far 20 laptops are affected with this display flex cable issue not sure how many would be further and 56 laptops are affected with the keyboard issue...”

By his report alone, it would be around 12% failure rate for flexgate, but it can only get worse with time, the more you open/close the more wear and tear. The issue is significant, Apple needs to issue a repair program.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdnz Avatar
62 months ago
so only 2018 models are different and address the issue? 2016/2017 are due to break sometime?
Yep.

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
snowboarder Avatar
62 months ago
No issues here. Outstanding laptop.
My 2017 13-inch - less than a year in: spacebar is starting to be sticky, graphics is going crazy in Fusion/Resolve.
The worst is the glitches are being rendered, not only displayed :(
Counting Powerbooks I'm probably on my Apple laptop #20. Absolutely no problems before.
They are not only completely not reliable anymore, they are more expensive every year.
As someone mentioned in another thread - you can get 64GB of RAM in a Lenovo P1 for almost the same money
Apple wants for 32GB (64GB not available). 32GB in Lenovo is 3x less expensive. Same RAM.
We are talking probably the most expensive PC brand.
Better screens, better graphics, 64GB RAM. All that for much less money.
When MBP was a great reliable machine, I paid the Apple tax. Now - it simply makes zero sense.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
c0ppo Avatar
62 months ago
Everything is working in mine.
People with problems are obviously more vocal about it.
Yup. Those pesky unsatisfied owners should keep their mouths shut. They are hurting dear, old and poor Apple!

/s
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sracer Avatar
62 months ago
Hey, let’s face it. Apple IS a premium product. I pay a little more because I expect more.

My last MBP suffered a screen failure less than a month after the warranty expired. Pay up, sucker was all I got. Still, I didn’t beat feat. I AM a die hard fan. I admit it. The general public, not so much. The road Apple is going down kinda reminds me of Sears, or Sony at their peak. Hubris. The fan boys like me will come back, the general public won’t stand for it as long. Fan boys will tolerate a lot more than the general public. In the long run, it will cost them.

It’s a shame, it’s still a decent product, but the issues with my last MPB did leave a bad taste in my mouth and had I not been one of the “flock” I probably would have gone elsewhere for my newest laptop. Given the control Apple has over the software across the spectrum of devices offered does help. 99% of the time, this stuff works.

But, I feel as though I’m paying for a Lexus or Infinity of the computer world. I should get service commiserate with the coin I lay out...
And as long as you continue to pay for that level of quality and don't receive it, Apple has no incentive to do anything differently.

Most Apple customers are not much different than the hardcore fans. They're locked into the ecosystem and while they grumble about things like the loss of the headphone jack on the iPhone, a notch, high prices, they still buy the product. There's a current dip in iPhone sales due to the high price, but that is only temporary. Those holdouts will need to replace their iPhone... if not this past cycle, then the next. They'll bite the bullet and pay the price because there is no other option for them (and Apple will discontinue the older, cheaper models).

I continue to be perplexed as to why so many come to Apple's defense whenever the awareness of a defect is raised. Looking at the trackrecord of such customer reports, when was the last time that such a report of a hardware issue turned out to be nothing?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Firmware

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware update for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 6B34, up from the 6B32 firmware introduced in November. Apple does not provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update, but prior software releases ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

'All-Screen' iPhone Under-Display Camera Enters Development

Wednesday December 6, 2023 2:03 am PST by
Apple's Korean suppliers have begun developing smartphone under-display cameras (UDC), paving the way for the first iPhone with a true "all-screen" appearance. According to The Elec, LG Innotek has entered the preliminary development of the UDC, which sits under the display and does not result in a visible hole in the panel when the camera is not in use. A UDC differs from a typical front ...
magsafe blue 2

iOS 17.2 Brings Qi2 Support to iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Models

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:04 am PST by
The iOS 17.2 update that Apple is set to release to the public in the near future will bring support for the next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models. Qi2 was mentioned in the release notes for the RC version of the update that came out today. With the addition of support for the new standard, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models will work with Qi2...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
airpods pro bulbs

Black Friday Prices Return for AirPods Pro 2 With USB-C, iPad, and More

Tuesday December 5, 2023 7:30 am PST by
Today we're tracking a collection of deals that are matching - or nearly matching - the same all-time low discounts we saw during Black Friday. This includes the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C, 9th generation iPad, and M1 MacBook Air. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the ...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....