Key Takeaways
- You can buy a broken M1 MacBook Air for under $200 and use it as a desktop Mac by removing the display.
- “Headless” MacBooks are a way to use Apple laptops with external monitors or Apple Vision Pro without the hassle of a screen.
- The removal process is quick and easy, taking about 30 minutes with the right tools.
The best laptops are more powerful than ever, and that means most people won’t need a desktop computer in 2024. Hooking a laptop up to an external monitor, docking station, and a good set of peripherals will do the job as good or better than having a dedicated desktop PC. But what if you only want to use your laptop, specifically a MacBook, with external monitors? In that case, the display only gets in the way. Enter the wonderful world of “headless” MacBooks. In other words, laptops with the display ripped off. There are surprisingly a handful of reasonable situations where it makes sense to remove your MacBook’s screen, but the biggest and most obvious one is when your display is broken or cracked.
For people with a broken MacBook screen, a common thought is to use their laptop in what is known as clamshell mode. With the lid closed and power connected, a MacBook can output macOS to an external monitor for use just like any other desktop Mac. However, in this scenario, you aren’t able to use the MacBook’s built-in keyboard and touchpad. Keeping the cracked display on there is just a constant reminder that your MacBook is a shell of its former self, and provides no value. So, instead of buying a new laptop or paying for an expensive repair, you can take off the screen and turn your MacBook into a one-of-a-kind computer.
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Ready for the crazy part? You shouldn’t just make a headless MacBook if you have a broken one — you should actually go out and buy one. An M1 MacBook Air with a cracked screen can be purchased on eBay for under $200, and I bought one for about $140. There were a handful of similar listings for cracked M1 MacBooks Air for around the same price, which is insane, when you think about it. Getting an M1-based computer for less than the price of a pair of headphones or earbuds is a steal. I did just that, and the results were amazing.
MacBook displays are expensive
Often, it’s better to buy a new MacBook if your screen breaks
At this stage, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t just decide to buy a replacement MacBook Air screen and fix the broken laptop. The primary reason is cost, because it doesn’t make any financial sense to repair the screen on an M1 MacBook Air. Whether you get a brand-new display from Apple’s self-service repair store or buy a used one from iFixit, it’s going to cost you about $400. That’s excluding the tools you need, if you don’t already have them. I needed a screwdriver with pentalobe and Torx bits, plus a spudger and tweezers, to make my MacBook Air headless. I had all these on-hand, but needing to buy or rent them will drive the total repair cost upward.
Regardless of whether you need to buy tools or not, the MacBook Air is still not cost-effective to repair. I paid about $140 for the broken laptop, so buying a replacement display would put my total expenses at $540 for a like-new M1 MacBook Air. That computer isn’t worth that much in 2024. You can buy a refurbished and working M1 MacBook Air for $400 online right now — the same as you’d spend for just a replacement display. The person I bought this laptop from ended up just upgrading to a new M2 MacBook Air instead of spending the time and money on a replacement, and that’s probably what I would’ve done.
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But I took on this project because I wanted a headless MacBook Air specifically. You see, one of the best features of Apple Vision Pro is the ability to use a nearby MacBook in virtual reality using a feature called Mac Virtual Display. When in this mode, your MacBook’s built-in display shuts off, so there’s really no point in it being there. Moreover, the display adds extra weight and top-heaviness to the MacBook, which isn’t ideal if you want to use it while lying down. So, taking inspiration from YouTuber Luke Miani — who first undertook this project — I began my quest to create a $140 headless MacBook.
Making a ‘headless’ MacBook costs nothing
About 30 minutes and the right tools are all you need
I’m pretty comfortable working on laptops and other small electronics, especially those from Apple. But to get a good gauge of the time and knowledge required to complete a repair or project, I always check the difficulty rating and time estimates on an iFixit repair guide. The process of removing and replacing the display on an M1 MacBook Air was supposed to take between a half hour and a full hour, which didn’t sound too bad. If you have experience working on tech, iFixit’s estimates are spot on — I finished removing the display in a little over 30 minutes.
Overall, the process is super simple. You’ll want to power down the MacBook you’re using and close it immediately, because accidentally pressing a key, the trackpad, or opening the hinge could trigger the auto-boot function. Removing 10 pentalobe screws of varying lengths reveals the MacBook Air’s internals, which are mostly battery cells. Disconnecting the battery is the first major step in every laptop repair guide, and that’s the case here. The logic board is in the top right corner of the chassis, and it’s tiny. All that’s left is carefully disconnecting the MacBook’s antennas, removing the antenna bar, and removing the hinge screws.
To actually remove the display, you’ll have to lift the top case up and position the laptop open at a 90-degree angle. Then, pushing the display assembly straight away from the top case should separate the two halves of your MacBook. However, if the MacBook you’re using has been dropped, warped or bent aluminum could make the process more difficult. I had to fight with it for a few minutes, but eventually managed to dislodge the display assembly from the top case. After that, following the steps in reverse gave me a headless MacBook.
It’s way better than clamshell mode
You’re still able to use the keyboard, trackpad, and ports on your MacBook
Using the headless MacBook Air somehow exceeded the high expectations I already had for this project. The keyboard and trackpad included on the M1 MacBook Air are both very good, and Apple’s trackpads specifically are excellent for productivity. I connected a single Thunderbolt cable from the Dell UltraSharp 34 ultrawide monitor to the MacBook Air, and using the built-in keyboard and trackpad, that was all I needed. There were no broken displays, USB hubs, or peripherals in sight. This setup replaced my M2 Mac Mini and Logitech peripherals for the time being, and I didn’t miss them at all. The headless MacBook Air got the job done, and in some ways, provided a simpler user experience than a desktop.
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For $110 less than I paid for my pair of AirPods Pro 2, I got a working Apple Silicon computer, and that’s a steal. It’s not surprising that this headless MacBook Air works so well either, when you think about it. At its core, this laptop is still an M1 MacBook Air, which was one of the best-value Apple laptops ever when it released. It has an M1 chip, supports the latest macOS Sonoma, and features a timeless design. If you like cheap and powerful computers, consider joining me in the headless MacBook revolution.