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Yikes, what are people cleaning their screens with??? I've owned MBPs since the Titanium G4 and I've never seen this problem. Damp microfiber cloth - water only people!!
 
This problem is extremely frustrating. I had to purchase a Macbook Air instead of a Macbook Pro because of this severe issue. In fact, I was ready to shell out around $1500 for a Pro, but this "staingate" thing prevent me to do it, I simply couldn´t justify spending that much money and keep thinking if I will develop at some point this problem or not.

What mostly surprised me is that Apple still DOES NOT announce this problem as PUBLIC, despite the lots of customers affected, why Apple??? They should make it, because in my ****** 3rd world country without Apple Stores and only Authorized Resellers, unfortunately, the customer service is not that great, they will do anything to avoid honor this kind of warranties.

Anyway, since I seriously doubt the 2016 revisions are unaffected, I suppose the best thing to do in my situation is to keep my 2015 Macbook Air, which is perfectly fine, but with just an OK display. On the other hand, I will never purchase the new Macbook "Pro's" (soldered SSD's, bad battery life, video problems, crappy keyboard, etc. etc.). I think the Air is the only way to go right now, disappointed because they did not refreshed it with a modern display (at least 1920x1080) though.
 
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Ohh boy! I remember when people said we were cleaning our screen wrong:eek:

I remember those people! I wonder where they're all at now… sure seemed like they came out of the woodwork to spit their 2¢ of wrong opinion then, I'm certain they'll do "the right thing" now and come forward and apologize and acknowledge their jackassery. Positive they will. Surely.
Those people: still active and posting nowadays, complaining about complainers and spitting jokes behind who experienced issues. Obviously with arrogance.
 
Have this on mine as well but it only bothers me when the screen is off. Will def take it to the applestore anyway.
 
Yikes, what are people cleaning their screens with??? I've owned MBPs since the Titanium G4 and I've never seen this problem. Damp microfiber cloth - water only people!!

This is only a problem with Retina MacBooks as far as I am aware.
I only clean my screen with a microfiber cloth and moisture and have this problem, so that is not it.
 
Does this impact the 2015 15 inch retina macbook pro as well? Is this an issue that could arise for macs purchased from Apple in 2017?
 
I really hope you are not right on this one, but I'm afraid you may be right after all...
If I'm not missing something, 2015 and 2016 12" MacBook are using the exact same display assembly.
We know for sure that 2015 MacBook is affected.
I would say it's fair to conclude 2016 MacBook is affected as well.

There only is a 5 month gap between 2016 MacBook and MacBook Pro, my inner pessimist is preparing for issues with my nTB MBP.
 
Any one know if Apple will still replace the screen if my stain spots are only on the outside perimeter of the display over the black part of the screen? I have one on the top left and another one at the bottom middle of the display but nothing on the display proper. I live an hour and a half from the nearest apple store so i just wanted to make sure. Thanks!

Yes they will. Had the same scenario on my screen #2
 
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Does anyone know if they just replace the screen or do they replace the whole top? I have stuff on the lid that I'd like to keep.
 
I'm talking with an AppleCare chat rep right now, and he's saying that this does not apply to the 2015 Retina MacBook. He also says that recalls are the same as Quality Programs, which doesn't sound right, so I'm suspicious...
 
Probably a bad supplier also. remember the yellow tint issue?

Probably a situation where a supplier is forced to turn bad due to pressure from Apple to cut costs. Then when the consequences show up with a bunch of dissatisfied customers, Apple tries to quietly "handle" each case. I wonder if Apple would ever issue a full recall if an iPhone model ever experienced a Galaxy Note 7 battery issue and millions were affected. I would have to believe that they would have no choice, but knowing Apple, it would take a good amount of negative publicity before that announcement was made.
 
Has apple actually fixed the issue that caused the anti reflective coating to wear off ? Or do the replacement screens do the same thing after a while?
 
After seeing this post, I decided to contact apple and take my 2012 15" rMBP to my local genius bar today. After explaining how I heard apple recently extended the replacement program and showed them my screen which only had a slight imprint of the keyboard and trackpad, just barley noticeable when the screen is off, the rep tried to clean my screen to no avail. He wasn't aware of the extension but he looked up my serial number and was shocked to see that it was eligible for a free replacement. So I can confirm that my rMBP, that was purchased in October 2012, and other rMBPs purchased after June 2012 are in fact still eligible for the replacement program.
 
mine completely lost it's antiglare coating. I ended up scrubbing it off because it was so annoying. This issue and the endlessly breaking charge cables have marred my experience of apple so badly. I'm afraid unless apple does some kind of magic with the next few models i'll be getting in the bed with that pervert windows 10 and some kind of razor. Sorry apple but damage is already done not coming straight out and saying this is an issue. They seem to revel in these annoying issues as being user error not their terrible material uses. I already hate apple the company i don't want to hate apple products.
 
Apple's QA Department did a terrible job here.
Even if it's a free replacement, it already caused trouble and aggravation to the enduser.
Not a good experience.

It is annoying. But I'm not sure how they could have tested for this. It seems Samsung or LG produced the screens, but I'm not sure even they could test for this easily. It takes a fair bit of time for the problem screens to reveal themselves.
 
Oh the repair programs. My Early 2011 17" MBP died just before christmas due to gfx chip failure, while having a fan replaced and getting cleaned inside. The service guys tried to fix it on their own, and missed the end of 2016 deadline for a free repair, and the chips are no longer available. This means the machine is dead and I'll be buying a GTX 1070 monster laptop to play and develop for VR. It will be bulky, with short battery life, but a true power machine. Bye bye MacBooks...
 
What an unfortunate choice of name — Staingate.

What is the source of the stain, eh laptop owners? Hmmm? Hmmm???

It's not a stain, but loss of the anti-reflective coating.

I had mine replaced last year.
It looked to me it was a reaction to the oil in your fingers.
Mine was all around the centre top where I would open it up.
 
My late '13 is on screen number three. It's such a bizarre problem.
I was good for 2 years and laughing at everyone else with the problem and then it happened to me in 2016. I couldn't believe it. Then I got it fixed within a hour with excellent service thinking I was home-free. It started again in late 2016. Can't believe this crap. Insane. How on earth can it come back after REPLACING the displays????

I bet you they are replacing the displays with the same displays since they have so many in stock just hoping that it doesn't happen with the replacement displays and if it does they just replace it again with the same display.

Because if they were using completely new displays with different materials it wouldn't be happening again. Surely they have enough resources to know what's causing the issue. There are only 1 or 2 components of a display that would cause this specific problem. I believe they don't mind replacing the display since the customer will eventually be persuaded to come to the conclusion that their computer is old enough that they should buy a new one.

There is no other explanation since they know what is causing the problem and refuse to replace displays with current displays. Apple is so cheap that they simply don't want to throw away millions of panels in stock. The repair hours it takes to pop off and replace a display once or even three times is literally minutes and those faulty displays they have in stock cost more than those repair hours.
 
Any one know if Apple will still replace the screen if my stain spots are only on the outside perimeter of the display over the black part of the screen? I have one on the top left and another one at the bottom middle of the display but nothing on the display proper. I live an hour and a half from the nearest apple store so i just wanted to make sure. Thanks!

They replaced mine a month ago (same day repair). It was just the black perimeter, but all round where the screen touched the metal part when closed. Good luck.
 
Will I be eligible for this program even if my MacBook Pro's warranty has expired and I don't have an Apple Care?





If you purchased a 12-inch MacBook or MacBook Pro with Retina display and have experienced issues with the anti-reflective coating wearing off or delaminating, Apple will repair the notebook free of charge.

MacBook-Pro-anti-reflective-wearing-off.jpg

Apple will replace Retina displays on eligible models purchased as far back as June 2012 until October 16, 2017, or within three years of the original date of purchase, whichever is longer. The program was extended to provide affected customers with a longer window of time to get their notebook serviced.

The program has not been publicly announced, but Apple confirmed to MacRumors that repairs continue to be handled internally through AppleCare. Apple does not plan to announce the program publicly at this time, unlike its iPhone 6s battery replacement program and over a dozen others listed on its website.

We recommend affected customers schedule a Genius Bar appointment at an Apple Store or contact Apple support by phone, online chat, or email. Click on "get help" on this page, and then select Mac > Mac notebooks > Hardware Issues > Display Issue and support options should be presented to you.

Apple's support website will ask for your Mac's serial number, which can be found by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen and clicking on About This Mac in the dropdown menu.

Affected customers can also visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider to determine if their notebook is eligible for coverage. If you have already incurred out-of-warranty costs related to this issue, you may be eligible for a refund, which can be initiated by contacting Apple support directly.

MacRumors revealed the repair program's existence in October 2015 following over two years of online complaints from thousands of customers within our discussion forums, on the Apple Support Communities, and elsewhere.

A website called Staingate contains a gallery of MacBook Pro models with seemingly damaged anti-reflective coating, revealing that the blemishes can extend across the entire screen in extreme cases. Meanwhile, a Facebook group related to the issue has nearly 9,000 members and continues to see regular activity.
 
I had mine replaced last year.
It looked to me it was a reaction to the oil in your fingers.
Mine was all around the centre top where I would open it up.
Nope. Not true. Since I had that problem and got my panel replaced I never touched the display to make sure it wouldn't happen again. Well, it happened again. I only use a damp cloth to clean my display. It's obviously not the adhesive around the frame. It's the display coating.
 
Has been going on about a year on my wife's 13" retina MBP from Early 2015 mostly around the camera. Think they would cover it?

Update: chatted with Apple Support. They said I probably qualify for the program. I'll take it to the Apple Store on Sunday.
Mine looks similar to this. I was told to take it in for repair and they would decide if I qualify.
(the light is my camera)
 
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If I buy a new Macbook Pro 2015 from say BestBuy right now, will it have this problem? Apple (from chat) said the issue was fixed and no 2015 models are affected, but I don't trust them, there are lots of people complaining, they should make this problem public in a repair program FOR LIFE, not just 3 years, what happens if after 3 years the issue is back?
 
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