Why do horizontal lines appear on the MacBook screen? Can I fix that?

There are situations when you end up with horizontal lines appearing out of nowhere on the MacBook screen. These issues are not common, but it’s definitely a warning sign and why some people end up worried their device has a problem. It’s very important not to panic, and instead you should narrow down the causes behind these problems. Most of the time, they can be solved rather quickly.

Use a Cleanup Tool

It also makes sense to run a few maintenance scripts. Most of the time, these will solve any glitches or problems that appear out of nowhere. Even if it might not seem like a lot, adequate and frequent maintenance will certainly solve most of the problems. Use that as an advantage, and make sure that you always run all the necessary maintenance scripts at least once a week or every 2 weeks.

Restart your device

If you see any horizontal lines on the screen, you should always try to restart your Mac. These issues can be small software problems that appear, especially if the Mac was on for a while and you didn’t restart. So yes, try restarting the device first. Usually it would stop most problems. If not, you should consider checking the other fixes shown below.

Are you using an external monitor? Check the connections!

When you use an external monitor, these horizontal lines appear due to an improper connection. You need to check and ensure that all connections are working the way they should. Normally, it won’t take a lot of time to solve that issue. Just disconnect and reconnect cables. Replacing any faulty cables, if necessary, will help!

Try another display

You should also try to replace your current display with a new one. Switching the port from DisplayPort to HDMI can also help as well. It might be completely possible that the display is malfunctioning, so having a replacement is definitely a good option.

Check the Mac temperature

When the temperature is very high, it’s possible that you can encounter some on-screen glitches. Horizontal lines are definitely a downside of high temperatures. If that’s the case, shut down your device as quickly as you can. Let it cool down, and start using it again. You can also try to optimize the airflow and ensure the MacBook doesn’t overheat as much!

Run the Apple Diagnostics

It’s also a good option to run the Apple Diagnostics. The tool itself can be accessed via restarting the computer and pressing, then holding D. Release the D key when you see the progress bar appearing. 

These are all quick fixes that might help solve your MacBook issues. It’s very important to try and solve them yourself, but you can also go to an authorized repair shop if the issue persists. Yet for the most part, these problems are not very prevalent. They can be fixed on your own, with the right measures like the ones displayed above!