Introduction
This guide will show you how to fix the “Staingate” issue on Apple MacBook displays. Staingate happens when the anti-reflective coating on certain models of MacBook displays begins to delaminate and wear off, causing a stain-like appearance that is noticeable when the screen is off, on a low brightness setting, or when sunlight is hitting the screen. Staingate is a very widespread issue, and many people unfortunately end up replacing the display or even the entire MacBook because of it. This guide will fix the Staingate issue and make the display look brand new.
What you need
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Tool used on this step:Microfiber Cleaning Cloths$3.99
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Dampen a microfiber cloth with water.
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Use the cloth to clean the screen of dust and debris.
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Put on latex gloves.
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Dampen a separate microfiber cloth with Listerine or white vinegar.
Has anyone actually done this with success? Do I have to put a screen protector on? Is Apple still offering free fixes for this in November 2022? I acquired a 2015 15" Macbook Pro. Thanks.
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You may have to wipe the screen a second time as some stains can be stubborn.
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Apply more Listerine or white vinegar onto the cloth as needed.
done it 3 times and it isn't clear yet or all gone. now tried both paste. better.
not perfect Mac book pro 2013. they should have recalled them all.
Hi there all , yes actually they did in 2015 ….
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/12/20/mac...
Also there is still a petition on
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/12/20/mac...
May can help you all
Ps: take it easy with H2O on your screen 🙀
tomorrow will try vinegar.
DE: Man darf von etwa 5 bis 10 Minuten kreisförmigen Wischens des Bildschirmes ausgehen bis alles entfernt ist ;)
EN: You can expect about 5 to 10 minutes of circular swiping of the screen until everything is removed ;)
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Install the new screen protector on your MacBook screen to minimize glare and to get some of the anti-reflectiveness back.
Hi there would you provide a pic of it , thanks
So this is removing the coating altogether. An acceptable and cheap workaround, but you do end up with a very glossy screen that will be hard to see in many conditions.
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Staingate should not occur again as long as you install a reputable screen protector afterwards.
Staingate should not occur again as long as you install a reputable screen protector afterwards.
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Ist es möglich, das Glas auszubauen? Ich habe ein MacBookPro11,4 – MacBook Pro (Retina, 15', Mitte 2015).
Followed instructions provided and used cleaning vinegar. Took a while and repeated rubbing of some areas with fresh vinegar, but end result very good and screen as new. Only in two bottom corners either pressed too hard or got some fluid behind the glas that shows up on the display with different “wet” colors. Hope that over time - if it is fluid - this will evaporate/disappear. But still happy with results as it so much improved. Thanks for sharing this approach.
Can confirm that few days later the “wet” colors in bottom corners have completely disappeared. This approach completely fixed the “staingate” issue for us. Thanks.
Thanks for the instructions! Works perfectly on our MBP early 2015.
Sue and Sergio
Thanks! I was a bit scared, but I tried cleaning one corner first and it worked fine on my MBP early 2015. I used listerine dissolved 50% in water and it solved the problem.
All you need is some Cleansing Handy Wipes from Boots. Blue packet. Ensure that your laptop has been on and warm - so the screen is warm. Shut it after an hour or more use, to ensure the screen has been hot/warm. Shutdown the laptop and use the wipe. Mine came out within minutes with no effort - to spanking new! Good luck
Do you mean this kind of wipes?
Boots Baby Biodegradable Baby Wipes, or this one;
No7 Biodegradable Cleansing Wipes 30pk
It worked well for me as well. Quite a bit of rubbing but well worth it as my screen is clear again. I do have a 'wet' color display in bottom left only of my screen as Henk above described. Hopefully will disappear also.
Wet color display in bottom left was gone after 4-5 hours. Screen looks great!
I used toothpaste instead of vinegar. Screen is like new. Seriously
It took me three times; I used the listerine because i had some; that seemed to break down the coating which then appeared ALL over the screen, then I tried the toothpaste thing, the helped. today I used white vinegar and it took 2 hours but my screen is crystal clear. that was such a scam, apple should have recalled all those models and replaced for free. ordered a protective screen cover from amazon. but seriously I am a girl and I was always so gentle with my Mac book pros and cleaned less then normal person as not to damage.
never found this product "Boots Baby Biodegradable Baby Wipes"
This is FANTASTIC Solution, i was told by the Laptop service, it will cost me 600.000,- Rupiahs. It worked very well and easy with just White Vinegar and microfibre, be careful with your hands though, it created this toxic smells though. THANK YOU!! very happy with the result.
I can't believe the difference! I tried typical window cleaners and they didn't work. I used the distilled white vinegar and it worked perfectly.
Tip: let the vinegar soak in a bit, but don't over do it. Use some elbow grease and watch the anti-glare stain disappear. I ordered an anti-UV screen protector now to give me back some of those anti-glare and anti-uv properties, plus I place a super thin micro fiber cloth on the keyboard now to stop grease from my fingers to transferring on to my screen or protector.
I used ISOPROPANOL which is a strong alcohol. It worked in few minutes
This was great! I used white vinegar on a MBP Mid 2014 model, and it came off very easily (it also was riddled with the staingate issue so that may have helped). Thank you for putting this together. There weren't any issues after cleaning it at all - looks like a brand new screen. Trying to find a screen protector that isn't polyurethane, but for now - this looks great!
Had many computers in suffering from this issue, 12”, 13”, 15” - lots!
I’ve tried everything, 14% white vinegar, all the different flavours or Listerine, baby wipes (all the brands I find). Up to now, I’ve had most success with ‘Carolin’ disinfectant wipes, a brand available in most supermarkets here in France.
I recently bought a 2013 15” MacBook Pro with 16gb of RAM AND 1TB of storage, for my wife, planning to install Sonoma with one of the EFI Patches.
When it arrived I saw it was suffering from staingate, in some places with a green tinge around the edges. Didn’t have any Carolin wipes but we’d just been to Lidl in Nice and had bought some of their W5 Disinfectant Wipes.
Why not, I thought. Whereas the Carolin wipes did the job, with them it took about 45 minutes to clear quite a bad case.
With the W5 wipes a 15” screen was no more difficult than cleaning normal fingerprints and ‘coughs’ from a screen; five minutes at most.
Highly impressed. Wouldn’t use them to ‘clean’ a screen NOT suffering from Staingate!
LISTERIN DESTROY THE SCREEN IMMEDATLY AND MAKES THE STAINGATE FAR WORSE!
Who comes to the idea to use this?????
It costs me 200 EUR. THANK YOU IFIXIT.COM
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