Thin Horizontal Lines on Rev 2 MBA?

[echo44]

the lines

I am wondering if the lines are normal for this product?
After obeserving them on the demo unit in the apple store they seemed
more related to the surface of the screen rather than the LED panel
as if they reside in the glass? Aren't they also on the old models?
I thought the same lines were ther only a lot less prominant?
I did not see them on the new mac book pro but that machine has different glass?

 

[mhnajjar]

Just opened mine that came Monday today...Was conflicted about keeping it until Apple offered me $150 to keep it...Anyways, mine has these lines as well...Not sure what the best strategy to take here is, this is going to be a pain to take in to the Genius' ...I guarantee they will say they can't see the lines...And to think I went with the 2nd Air because it had a screen better than the Macbook and awesome size to replace my first gen Air...

Y2J

Why did Apple offer you $150 to keep your machine

 

[kanpachi]

I am wondering if the lines are normal for this product?
After obeserving them on the demo unit in the apple store they seemed
more related to the surface of the screen rather than the LED panel
as if they reside in the glass? Aren't they also on the old models?
I thought the same lines were ther only a lot less prominant?
I did not see them on the new mac book pro but that machine has different glass?

It's not normal considering the lines don't appear on the old and new MB/MBPs. If you look at the Air from the side, the lines are actually red so either there's something up with the screen transistors and the glass/screen is muting the effect depending on the angle or the LED panel itself is defective.

I do notice though that the glare on this screen is much less pronounced than the former glossy and new MB/MBPs, so perhaps the lines are a result of a "bad car window tint job" (lines instead of bubbles though) effect to minimize glare? But if that were the case, I would think the lines would be visible when the screen is off, but maybe the anti-glare coating is beneath the external display layer.

Why did Apple offer you $150 to keep your machine

I guess it's their way of admitting there's an obvious problem?

 

[twist2b]

I guess it's their way of admitting there's an obvious problem?

I don't know if that is a true story. I have NEVER heard of that before!
I would REALLY like to find out whats going on.

SOMEONE EMAIL STEVE!

 

[lewchenko]

This is pretty worrying for me. Its kinda stopped me in my tracks at purchasing an air now.

The last thing I want to do is buy one and find fault with the screen (especially as one of the reasons Im buying the air is due to the fact that the screen is supposed to be better than the macbook)

You know its an expensive computer, and nothing short of perfection is expected.

Apple seemed to really have dropped the ball with their latest batch of products, what with faulty trackpads in the macbooks and macbook pro's and now dodgy 'textured' screen interference on the air's. Well atleast the air's dont overheat now like the Rev A models..

For Christ's sake Apple ... sort out the Quality. What next... the 3 red rings of death!

 

[kanpachi]

Per request and consideration of the MacRumors community as well as other Mac users out there, I submitted the email below to Steve Jobs regarding this issue. Will let everyone know if I hear back despite the unlikeliness of this happening.

---
to sjobs@apple.com
date Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 2:22 PM
subject MacBook Air Display Defect

Steve,

Whether it is you or a representative of you reading this, I just wanted to let you know that many people (especially myself) are quite disappointed with the display in the recently launched MacBook Airs. There are thin horizontal lines that span across the entire screen throughout the vertical landscape of the display appearing about every 1-2 pixels. As you can imagine, this is quite distracting and damages the overall user experience.

Given the high price point of this product and similarly high gross margins that you enjoy, I would have hoped that additional investment would have been put into the QC and manufacturing processes to avoid these type of issues. We have already seen issues with the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros - specifically, unreliable trackpad responses, dents in the unibody enclosure, unusual fan noises, etc. - and to see these types of problems on a revised notebook model is not very confidence-inspiring to say the least. You already target a very niche market with this notebook who are willing to pay a premium for the portability and beautiful display, but because of the issues, this has deterred many people from purchasing it. As this problem becomes more well-known, I can only imagine it losing popularity.

I have been a die hard Apple fan for years - starting all the way from the Macintosh LC days playing Shufflepuck Cafe and using Writing Center, but it is clear that QC has suffered greatly in recent years due to the growing demand of your products. I actually received a call from one of your engineers to inquire further into the issue which is reassuring, but to accept that such a fundamental flaw in the display has already reached the masses (which could have been fairly easily caught in the QC process) makes me question the company's emphasis on product quality vs. design.

Anyways, there are a lot of disgrunted and concerned users out there (including myself). My hope is that this message will at least bring more internal attention to the matter and a resolution will be available soon.
---

 

[aristobrat]

The fact that you've received a call from an Apple product engineer is impressive, period.

What did the engineer ask? What did you tell them? And more importantly, why aren't any other Air owners beating this drum?

 

[kanpachi]

The fact that you've received a call from an Apple product engineer is impressive, period.

What did the engineer ask? What did you tell them? And more importantly, why aren't any other Air owners beating this drum?

He asked me to explain the issue in more detail and wanted me to send the Air in for investigation, but I didn't since he wanted me to ship mine first as collateral in exchange for a replacement.

I basically told them about the horizontal lines, how they spanned across the entire vertical landscape of the screen and how it was pretty annoying. He seemed sincerely apologetic about it and was serious about getting the issue resolved.

Not sure why people aren't responding more to this - either they're okay with it or aren't really being vocal. But I anticipate more people will mention it in the coming weeks as the Air only came out very recently.

 

[Cynicalone]

What is the best way to see these "lines"? I have my Macbook Air 1st Gen. sitting next to my Macbook Air 2nd Gen. and I can't see them. I tried to see them with a blank page open in Firefox, (all white screen) still couldn't see them.

 

[Essjay]

I see the horizontal lines across my 2.0 SSD but they are barely noticeable for my eyes. For example while I type this I have to squint and be a few inches form the display to notice them. Is it more pronounced on your Air or is this just my eyes failing me?

 

[Cynicalone]

I see the horizontal lines across my 2.0 SSD but they are barely noticeable for my eyes. For example while I type this I have to squint and be a few inches form the display to notice them. Is it more pronounced on your Air or is this just my eyes failing me?

You must have better eyesight than me. I'm practically kissing my screen and I can't see them.

 

[kanpachi]

You might be able to notice them better if you look at the screen from the side at about 15-20 degrees from the side. When I do that the lines become red. It's also more noticeable if there's some color on the page (but not too much) like the Google homepage. But just want to caution you that once you notice them, you probably can't "unnotice" them anymore!

As for the Gen 1 Air, people have said that the issue isn't as bad so you're lucky. But I guess nothing's perfect since the Gen 1 has heat issues and such.

Also, the lines are most noticeable when sitting at a typical viewing distance (about 1-1.5 feet) away from the screen. I can't see them myself either when getting to kissing distance.

 

[Cynicalone]

I'm not questioning what your saying I believe you must see them but I just can't. I tried what you suggested still can't see them. The screen seems identical to my 1st Gen Air. I have them on my desk sitting side by side. I just can't see it. Maybe it doesn't effect all of the screens? I wonder if NC MacGuy can see this.

Or admittedly I could just be going blind in my old age.

 

[mhnajjar]

Do you both have the same manufacturing facility and production week? List first few digits of your serial numbers

I am still gussing this is due to some nVidia fault but I'll check hopefully this Saturday when I get the time to visit the Apple store.

 

[Cynicalone]

Do you both have the same manufacturing facility and production week? List first few digits of your serial numbers

I am still gussing this is due to some nVidia fault but I'll check hopefully this Saturday when I get the time to visit the Apple store.

On the second generation the first 3 digits are W88.

EDIT: Just checked the display is 9C9A.

 

[Essjay]

On the second generation the first 3 digits are W88.

EDIT: Just checked the display is 9C9A.

I have the same serial and display model as you, and I am also having trouble seeing the lines.

 

[Cynicalone]

It is a different display than my 1st Generation MBA which is using a 9C6F display.

 

[mhnajjar]

W88 means nothing since it is common since that it would be W88 for sure where W8 is the facility and 8 is the year lol .

Please provide more like the next two digits after that to show what week even though I am thinking you might have the same week also.

BTW, in a dark black screen, do those lines appear greyish under full screen brightness?

 

[Cynicalone]

Please provide more like the next two digits after that

43

 

[mhnajjar]

43

Thanks, this means that yours was produced in week 43 of this year. Now we are just waiting for the rest of the guys who are having this problem to provide us with these two digits and hopefully screen part number.

BTW, my B.Sc. degree is from TU so how is Tulsa nowadays. I spent there 4 of the best years of my life. It had (hopefully still has) a lot of nice people representing the South

 

[Cynicalone]

BTW, my B.Sc. degree is from TU so how is Tulsa nowadays. I spent there 4 of the best years of my life. It had (hopefully still has) a lot of nice people representing the South

Tulsa is still a nice place.

I live in Brookside if you're wondering. I know the TU area well you would be impressed with all the improvements they have made to the area over the last couple of years.

 

[kanpachi]

Mine is W8843 as well.

I'm not questioning what your saying I believe you must see them but I just can't. I tried what you suggested still can't see them. The screen seems identical to my 1st Gen Air. I have them on my desk sitting side by side. I just can't see it. Maybe it doesn't effect all of the screens? I wonder if NC MacGuy can see this.

Or admittedly I could just be going blind in my old age.

Maybe that's the case, but hopefully not. The lines are also visible when you see the initial gray screen upon boot up, but maybe your screen just doesn't have them.

 

[Starfall]

Mine is W8843 as well.

Mine too. (And I see the lines)

 

[mhnajjar]

Is it confirmed now that all week 43 MBA2 having the lines

 

[frunty]

Mine too. (And I see the lines)

Lines on mine and I've got W884304xxxx.