Color dots on black background

[Kate_Kate]

Hi! After updating my Air M1 to Monterey 12.4, I've noticed a few color dots (green and red, sometimes blue) that are only visible on black background. At first, I thought of stuck pixels, but these dots come and go, and then re-appear again in different parts of the screen, they never stay on the same exact spot for long. It's very hard to capture these dots on camera.

I've already showed my MacBook to Apple Care Service in my country, and they told me that the problem is software related, hardware wise - it's all good.

Any ideas how to get rid of these dots or what might be causing them?

 

[arw]

Are you talking about the internal display or an external one? In case of the latter, what connection are you using as it can happen with bad/cheap cables.
Is it a specific application where you see these pixels? Some undeveloped RAW images of DSLRs show these pixels as part of their anti-dust algorithms.
edit: if it IS indeed a software issue (not hardware/driver), it should be visible if you take a screenshot of your desktop

 

[Kate_Kate]

Are you talking about the internal display or an external one? In case of the latter, what connection are you using as it can happen with bad/cheap cables.
Is it a specific application where you see these pixels? Some undeveloped RAW images of DSLRs show these pixels as part of their anti-dust algorithms.

Internal display. Looking at the black background in the standard Preview app.

 

[arw]

Can you take a Screenshot and look if it shows these pixels?

Take a screenshot on Mac - Apple Support

You can capture the entire screen, a window, or just a portion of the screen.

support.apple.com

edit: is it anything like this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/brand-new-2020-macbook-13-16gb-10gen-green-pixels-on-the-screen.2248466/

 

[Kate_Kate]

I can only see it on the screenshot if I move the picture to the spot where the dot currently is. Yes, it's something like that.

Here's the closest to what it looks like:https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251718408

Mine is way less visible though and I don't have as many dots.

 

[arw]

I can only see it on the screenshot if I move the picture to the spot where the dot currently is.

That means it's not captured in the screenshot.
Sorry, I have no further ideas than to try a PRAM, SMC reset and safe boot.
Then a backup and fresh install of Monterey.

 

[Kate_Kate]

Are you talking about the internal display or an external one? In case of the latter, what connection are you using as it can happen with bad/cheap cables.
Is it a specific application where you see these pixels? Some undeveloped RAW images of DSLRs show these pixels as part of their anti-dust algorithms.
edit: if it IS indeed a software issue (not hardware/driver), it should be visible if you take a screenshot of your desktop

If it's a driver related issue, can it be hypothetically fixed via an update?

 

[arw]

D

If it's a driver related issue, can it be hypothetically fixed via an update?

Yes, drivers are included in macOS (updates). To test it, you could boot in safe mode to see if this makes a difference.

Start up your Mac in safe mode

Starting up your Mac in safe mode may help you diagnose problems with your Mac.

support.apple.com

I'm surprised Apple wasn't more of a help.
In regard of your linked picture: Can you discern if it is a whole pixel in your case or like in the image, only a dot on one of the pixel's RGB colors?

 

[Kate_Kate]

D

Yes, drivers are included in macOS (updates). To test it, you could boot in safe mode to see if this makes a difference.

Start up your Mac in safe mode

Starting up your Mac in safe mode may help you diagnose problems with your Mac.

support.apple.com

I'm surprised Apple wasn't more of a help.
In regard of your linked picture: Can you discern if it is a whole pixel in your case or like in the image, only a dot on one of the pixel's RGB colors?

It's the same in the safe mode. Here's a zoomed-in photo of the dot. It definitely looks more like a dot rather than a whole pixel.

 

[arw]

Honestly, I would give Apple a call, describe what you already tried and demand a display replacement.
Maybe it‘s a bad connector/panel, who knows. But they will figure it out once you have sent them your MacBook.
From a technicians‘ perspective it‘s a good thing the defect persists in Safe mode, it eases troubleshooting.
Good luck!
PS: If they authorize a repair, don‘t forget to backup your data (if you haven‘t done so already). If it‘s not the display but GPU/logicboard, your SSD content is gone for good. And a backup is recommended anyway.

 

[Kate_Kate]

So, here's an interesting observation, this defect represents itself pretty much everywhere on the black background, including the boot up screen. However, when I entered the diagnostic mode - it wasn't there, no color dots.