Earlier this month, Apple released a support document that warned MacBook owners not to close their laptop with a camera cover installed. And as with all wearing masks in public debate, there are some people who don’t like to be told what to do, even if it’s for their own good.
First of all, some clarity.
Apple did not say, “Don’t use the camera cap.” Apple said clearly, “Don’t close your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with a lid over the camera.”
Apple even went so far as to clarify the problem:
“If you close your Mac laptop with a camera cover installed, it could damage your screen because the separation between the screen and the keyboard is designed for very tight tolerances. Covering the built-in camera could also interfere with the ambient light sensor and prevent functions like auto brightness and True Tone working. “
I spoke to an Apple repair technician, who, on condition of anonymity, gave ZDNet a summary of the problem.
“What we have been told is that since people started working and studying more from home, the use of camera covers has increased dramatically,” the repair technician told me. “It makes sense, people are increasingly using video, and it can seem intrusive, so being able to slide a cover through the camera offers some privacy, even in the middle of meetings, where people might not want to go offline. But consequently screen breaks have increased. And it’s a pretty distinctive screen break, leaving a bright white line in the center of the screen, so we know why it happened, even if people are evasive about how it happened the damage “.
Another reason is tighter tolerances.
“That new 16-inch MacBook Pro has the thinnest bezel I’ve ever seen,” said the veteran tech, and they’ve been doing this job for several years and have handled almost everything Apple has done during that time. “It’s almost non-existent, and anything that comes between the screen and the body can break the screen in the blink of an eye. They do it, they just go ‘pop’ and the damage is done.”
“Just the other day, I saw a screen that had broken when someone closed a coin on it. I left a nice print of the coin on the screen. The owner told me ‘it just happened’ … hmmm, OK.”
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And it’s not just camera covers that are the problem.
“We see that MacBooks come in with all kinds of garbage stuck to the camera,” the technician told me, “from the rubber stickers. In the first days of the pandemic, I had a friend who entered with a MacBook with enthusiasm. little plastic on the camera and now he wanted it to work because his boss was going to use Zoom more. He wasn’t going out, and it was cheaper for him to buy a webcam than to replace the screen. “
“Oh, and there was this other one,” they recalled. “I had a band aid on top of the camera. And it looked worn. Hmmm.
Apple’s support document includes information for those who need to use the camera covers, and states that the camera cover should not be thicker than a normal sheet of printer paper (0.1mm) and should not leave residue of adhesive. Homeowners using a camera cover that is thicker than 0.1mm are advised to remove it before closing the laptop.
Sort of like a post-it note.
However, there is some good news in all of this if you have broken your screen.
“Yes, AppleCare + covers this damage,” confirmed the technician. “Without that, a screen replacement is a very expensive repair job, especially on that new 16-inch MacBook Pro.”
Instead of using the camera covers, Apple recommends keeping an eye on the camera indicator light. If it is glowing green, the camera is on. If not, it is off. And Apple claims that the camera has been designed in such a way that it cannot be activated without the camera indicator light coming on.
