2022 | 20 hours | $20 | Soldering, Electronics, Hardware

The 2016 13' Macbook Pro had known backlight issues and was offered free repairs, but mine was a 15' and didn't qualify, even though it had the same issues. Since the screen was virtually useless anyway, as the display turned black once it was opened more than 45 degrees, I decided to try my hand at repairing it.

I first disconnected the screen from the base, watching YouTube videos to make sure I didn't break anything. I was very surprised at how few parts were required to connect the display. (ignore the fingerprints on the screen)

The band of electronics connected to the display 'clicks' into the base. Three black strips of varying widths are all that connect the display with this band. These strips bend as the laptop is opened and closed, and with repetitive strain, they have potential to break, thus breaking the connection of the minuscule copper wires inside (shown under microscope). The backlight strips in the 2016 Macbook Pros were not long enough and are pulled too taut when the laptop is opened, greatly increasing risk of breakage. You would think Apple could've spared a couple extra millimeters of copper.

The backlight strip is the yellow/black band in the middle, shown in picture. I covered it with heat tape.

It was clear that I would have to remove the broken part of the strip. I snipped it off, and to make up for the lost length and to add a few more millimeters, I ordered a backlight strip online to solder them together.

Pictured is a practice strip. This is microscopic work and I didn't want to mess up on the important bit. I scraped off the black coating to reveal the copper, then used flux to solder each individual wire together.

Although the connections are very tiny, I was able to successfully connect it, but the real backlight strip was even smaller.

My dad helping out

All the parts were absolutely miniscule

After many hours of relentlessly soldering, I had probably breathed in fumes that are still affecting my brain function to this day, and I hadn't been successful. In the end, my dad had to take it to his workplace and use a microscope with a greater degree of magnification. According to his records he spent 6 hours on it.

I was skeptical that it would work as it looked like what's shown in on the left and it was way longer than necessary, but I made sure the heat tape was covering everything and I reassembled everything.

Because of the extra length and thickness, I had to cut and remove a portion of the display bar. It was just plastic so I assumed it wasn't anything too important.

I finished putting everything together, opened the computer, prayed, and... it worked! I had never been more shocked in my life. Everything worked perfectly.

I'm still using this computer two years later and it has had no issues. Totally worth the eye strain, headaches, and inhalation of the tin and lead fumes!

Lesson is, if you try something crazy, if you try hard enough, it just might work.