A sanity check please: White mark on display (M1 MBA)

[pullman]

Hello everyone 

I just bought a refurbished M1 MBA which is in excellent condition overall. Very few external marks, battery at more than 90% etc. When I came home and reinstalled Sequoia I noticed a white mark in the lower right corner. I hadn't seen it in the shop because it only appears when there's a white background. It is invisible on dark backgrounds.

From searching online I've seen varying reasons, from marks like this being caused by pressure when the lid is closed to flaws within the display assembly itself.

Has anyone seen such a mark on this MBA model before?

If it is pressure-related, it's likely from the power button which is considerably stiffer than the other keyboard keys due to the TouchID. I imagine that it doesn't "give" as much as the other keys do when the lid is closed.

But if it is a flaw in the display itself then I'm more concerned as it may indicate a bigger problem with the computer. In that case, I'm wondering if there might be a possibility for an Apple replacement (even though I bought this refurbished from a dealer).

In any event, I'd be very grateful for your thoughts on this, so thank you very much in advance
philip

 

[okkibs]

The long and short of it is that the entire lid needs replacing to fix this (cost is about $700). You did not buy a refurbished Mac, this is a trick where sellers claim it's refurbished to raise the price but in the end it's a used one that was sold to them or that they otherwise acquired from a business through recycling and so on.

As you can clearly see this isn't just used but also damaged and the only sane option is to return it and get your money back. Apple isn't too likely to repair this for free even under warranty and the chances that there is a manufacturer warranty on this thing are even smaller.

And avoid that business. Refurbished means that at the bare minimum every component was verified to work. The display for example is verified with a couple different colors precisely so you can spot issues like this that aren't always visible. They either didn't bother to spend 3 minutes on this or even worse if they knew and decided to sell it like that regardless.

I don't buy anything refurbished with the exception of Apple refurbished straight off Apple's own store online or in person. It's to me a typical sign that a business wants to charge more for used devices. I prefer either businesses that sell used devices and never use the word refurbished or even better find someone in your area who sells their own personal device that they likely took good care of and that you can check out in person as well.

 

[MultiFinder17]

It just looks like a little pressure mark. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it bothers you, in which case mention it to the place you got it from and see what they can do for you.

A refurb machine has been used, so some signs of use are normal, it's up to you to determine if it fits within your particular measurements of acceptability. Given that you said you didn't notice it unless there's a pure white background under it, I wouldn't call it too bad of an issue personally, but everyone has a different tolerance for these sorts of things. So long as it works for you, you do you.

 

[okkibs]

A refurb machine has been used, so some signs of use are normal

What is the point of paying extra for refurbished then if it's just another used 5 years old M1 machine? Do words have no meaning anymore?

see what they can do for you.

They're not going to swap out the display assembly with an original OEM part that costs 700 bucks that's for sure.

 

[pullman]

Thank you both for replying and for sharing your opinions honestly. It helps a lot. My main concern is if this is something that with time is likely to get worse.

I was fairly lucky in that for the price I paid (699 Euro) I got a fully specced M1 Air with the 8-core GPU and 16GB, (though "only" 500GB SSD). And the battery is at 95% which in itself is pretty good for a machine that was built in 2022.

I know the shop, it's one of the last physical private computer shops here in The Hague. They also have other 16GB M1 Airs so I could possibly switch to one of them, unless they agree to replace the display assembly. I will at least ask for that.

If they don't want to do that, and if they don't have another 16GB M1 Air with similar battery capacity and cosmetics, then I will ask for my money back. At least that's my gut feeling at the moment. I am hesitating a bit, though, because all the "mechanics" – hinges, keys and trackpad – are perfect. So I'm worried I might not find a similarly good copy in a rather long while. I want this machine in silver and they are pretty rare in these here parts, it seems.

Cheers
philip

 

[TorontoSS]

I thought I’d share what happened to me. I have an m2 MacBook Air - and i had a very similar white spot on the corner. It was not a pressure mark according to apple, they called it a “Dull pixel cluster”. I had apple care so they just fixed it but the whole display got fixed. I would say, it’s best to get your money back if you can.

It’s not a deal breaker and won’t really matter BUT in my opinion you didn’t get a fair price since it came with a fault and you can get M2 macs refurbished for a similar price.

Hope this helps.

 

[pullman]

Thank you very much for sharing this, especially as it's in the same area.

Edit: Just to clarify – was your spot also only visible against white backgrounds, like in Finder and Word? Btw I did run the built-in hardware test which reported no errors.

I will go to Apple today and ask if it may be such a dull pixel cluster.

cheers
philip

I thought I’d share what happened to me. I have an m2 MacBook Air - and i had a very similar white spot on the corner. It was not a pressure mark according to apple, they called it a “Dull pixel cluster”. I had apple care so they just fixed it but the whole display got fixed. I would say, it’s best to get your money back if you can.

It’s not a deal breaker and won’t really matter BUT in my opinion you didn’t get a fair price since it came with a fault and you can get M2 macs refurbished for a similar price.

Hope this helps.

 

[TorontoSS]

Thank you very much for sharing this, especially as it's in the same area.

Edit: Just to clarify – was your spot also only visible against white backgrounds, like in Finder and Word? Btw I did run the built-in hardware test which reported no errors.

I will go to Apple today and ask if it may be such a dull pixel cluster.

cheers
philip

Yes - mine was only against white backgrounds. If it were my work laptop, i would just let it be and not care because i can still do whatever i do. but my work laptop isn't mine. mine was in the left corner but similar area just other side.

i think they did a test on mine too but there wasn't an issue but you can see it visibly with the naked eye - just like yours.

 

[pullman]

Thank you for explaining it further. That does seem like the mark on mine. Unfortunately I have just discovered that the Apple Store here in town is closed until mid-August so my only alternative is to go to Amsterdam which is a pretty big hassle. I'll speak with the shop to check their reaction and if non-cooperative I'll return it and wait for a better deal.

It's a bit tricky to find the 16GB M1 Air in silver, which is what I prefer, so I may have to wait a bit before finding one I like.

Again thank you very much for helping me.
Philip

Yes - mine was only against white backgrounds. If it were my work laptop, i would just let it be and not care because i can still do whatever i do. but my work laptop isn't mine. mine was in the left corner but similar area just other side.

i think they did a test on mine too but there wasn't an issue but you can see it visibly with the naked eye - just like yours.

 

[pullman]

Just a little update. I went back to the shop today and returned it which went without a hitch. The money will be refunded to me. In the meantime I found a space grey M1 in mint condition for 100 Euro less. It "only" has the 256GB SSD but that will easily be enough for me as I never put lots of stuff on my notebooks. Space grey wasn't my first choice as I've always had silver but I rather like it so I'm very happy with this solution.

Thank you again everyone for having helped me.
cheers
philip