crwdns2936637:0crwdne2936637:0 crwdns2853008:0crwdne2853008:0 crwdns2861143:0crwdne2861143:0

The March 2015 update of Apple's 13" MacBook Air features fifth generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, resulting in slightly increased performance and battery life.

crwdns2934591:0623crwdne2934591:0 crwdns2934593:0crwdne2934593:0

crwdns2933897:0crwdne2933897:0

External screen to LVDS connector

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a Macbook Air with a broken screen that I’m trying to salvage. I want to turn it into a desktop computer using an external screen, keyboard and mouse. I know for a fact only the screen is broken, as the rest of the laptop and left half of the screen was working fine before I wiped and restored the OS. Now however I see only a black screen when I turn it on and it won’t connect to an external display.

The only option I can think of is to somehow connect an external monitor to the built-in LVDS connector. Does anyone know of an adapter I can use? Replacing the screen is not economically viable for a computer this old.

Update (01/03/2022)

A quick update. I rebooted using Option+Command+P+R and finally got a mouse pointer! The computer was in internet recovery mode and searching for a Wifi network that doesn’t reach here. The middle of the screen is broken so previously I wasn’t seeing the spinning globe. I managed to choose the correct network and entered the password, after which it finally started booting and I got the recovery screen. The external monitor then started working and I’m reinstalling the OS right now.

crwdns2934089:0crwdne2934089:0 crwdns2934093:0crwdne2934093:0

crwdns2934109:0crwdne2934109:0

crwdns2853045:0crwdne2853045:0 crwdns2853046:0crwdne2853046:0
crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0 0

crwdns2942205:01crwdne2942205:0:

Thats a good sign! Just need to replace the display then.

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

crwdns2934285:0crwdne2934285:0

crwdns2933313:01crwdne2933313:0

crwdns2934221:0crwdne2934221:0
crwdns2931211:0crwdne2931211:0 crwdns2931215:0crwdne2931215:0 crwdns2934225:0crwdne2934225:0

crwdns2933897:0crwdne2933897:0

There is no LVDS to external display adapter. There are display conversion kits which take a still working display turning it into a external display but that’s not what we have here.

Frankly, I don’t remember if the MacBook Air’s allows clamshell use. Basically, plugging in an external display, keyboard and mouse/trackpad using the system with the lid closed like the MacBook Pro’s can. Give that a try!

crwdns2934105:0crwdne2934105:0

crwdns2853045:0crwdne2853045:0 crwdns2853046:0crwdne2853046:0
crwdns2889612:0crwdne2889612:0 0

crwdns2944067:02crwdne2944067:0:

Thanks for the answer! The problem is no matter what I do I can't get the external screen to work, even if I close the lid. I hear the startup sound when I switch it on and I get the backlight to work, but that's it. I even took it to the Apple store today where I was told the only way to troubleshoot it is to replace the screen first.

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

@Johann du Plessis - There are independent Mac repair shops which might be able to dig a bit deeper, but they may require a fee.

Maybe you can find another system which is going for cheap to get the display otherwise its time to replace the display if you want to keep this great system woking.

crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0crwdne2934271:0

crwdns2934285:0crwdne2934285:0

crwdns2934229:0crwdne2934229:0

Johann du Plessis crwdns2934231:0crwdne2934231:0
crwdns2936625:0crwdne2936625:0:

crwdns2936751:024crwdne2936751:0 0

crwdns2936753:07crwdne2936753:0 0

crwdns2936753:030crwdne2936753:0 2

crwdns2942667:0crwdne2942667:0 77