Display problem

[David Megri]

Hi everyone!
I am new here so I am sorry if this issue was discussed and solved. I couldn't find it.
My macbook pro 15 retina late 2012 a1398 has display problem. When I use let's say youtube in a browser and then switch to desktop I can see the silhouette of the youtube page in the background for 1-2 minutes and than it fades away. I am trying to understand the character of the problem. Is the matrix broken (I hope not) and I should change it or is it a software issue? Or is it caused by drained battery? Screenshots are enclosed. Any thoughts would be useful.

 

[darkmatter343]

It doesn't like the fact you're looking for torrent sites

Does the same issue persist if you hook up an external monitor?

First thing, see what happens if you hook up an external monitor. Next, hook up an external drive with a version of MacOS your 15" supports, and try to boot from that. See if the problem persists. Or if you have the time, try to re-install MacOS, that would be my first steps. Maybe someone else can chip in if clearning the Pram/SMC would help?
Also, drop into the genius bar and see what they think.

 

[savagemic]

Looks like burn in that's weird!

 

[smirking]

I am trying to understand the character of the problem. Is the matrix broken (I hope not) and I should change it or is it a software issue?

It's an issue with your panel. I have the same issue on my external LG 5K monitor. It's a fairly common issue for LG 5K owners. I didn't realize people as far back as 2012 rMBP owners were also getting it.

I don't think there's anything you can do. I'm also surprised that you've only recently noticed it. I don't know if this is something that appears with age. In my case, it started happening right from the start. It only happens when I've got a light colored background on the screen with pure white backgrounds the most problematic. Dark colored backgrounds are fine.

You're stuck with it. Sorry.

 

[David Megri]

It doesn't like the fact you're looking for torrent sites

Does the same issue persist if you hook up an external monitor?

First thing, see what happens if you hook up an external monitor. Next, hook up an external drive with a version of MacOS your 15" supports, and try to boot from that. See if the problem persists. Or if you have the time, try to re-install MacOS, that would be my first steps. Maybe someone else can chip in if clearning the Pram/SMC would help?
Also, drop into the genius bar and see what they think.

OMG Apple has my torrent history

Thanks a lot for an answer! I have already reset PRAM and SMC and it didn't help. But I will definitely try to hook up an external monitor and if it doesn't help I will try to boot my mac from external drive with an older MacOS. These are actually good ideas. Thanks again.
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It's an issue with your panel. I have the same issue on my external LG 5K monitor. It's a fairly common issue for LG 5K owners. I didn't realize people as far back as 2012 rMBP owners were also getting it.

I don't think there's anything you can do. I'm also surprised that you've only recently noticed it. I don't know if this is something that appears with age. In my case, it started happening right from the start. It only happens when I've got a light colored background on the screen with pure white backgrounds the most problematic. Dark colored backgrounds are fine.

You're stuck with it. Sorry.

I bought it from another person couple of days before and I hadn't noticed it.
BTW in my case it's vice versa, it only happens when I've got dark colored backgrounds. I really hope you're wrong that I am stuck with it
Anyway thanks for an answer. I appreciate it.

 

[smirking]

BTW in my case it's vice versa, it only happens when I've got dark colored backgrounds.

If this is what I think it is, then you're getting image retention. You're not retaining the dark images. You're retaining the lighter one. You just can't see it until something dark is then laid over on top of the retained lighter image so it may appear like the dark backgrounds are the problem when it's actually the opposite.

I have this on my external LG 5k Monitor and apparently lots of LG 5K and 5K iMac owners also report this. Fortunately, it's not an issue on the actual screen of my 2018 MBP.

Well, it's also not that big of a deal to me either. The retained part of the screen is usually gone completely within 10 minutes. You can minimize this effect either by making your UI as light colored as possible or as dark colored as possible. It's when you have a mix of light screens and darks screens when you'll notice this the most. It also only happens on parts of the screen that remain static. If you're watching a video, none of that is going to be retained because it changes too fast.

 

[David Megri]

If this is what I think it is, then you're getting image retention. You're not retaining the dark images. You're retaining the lighter one. You just can't see it until something dark is then laid over on top of the retained lighter image so it may appear like the dark backgrounds are the problem when it's actually the opposite.

I have this on my external LG 5k Monitor and apparently lots of LG 5K and 5K iMac owners also report this. Fortunately, it's not an issue on the actual screen of my 2018 MBP.

Well, it's also not that big of a deal to me either. The retained part of the screen is usually gone completely within 10 minutes. You can minimize this effect either by making your UI as light colored as possible or as dark colored as possible. It's when you have a mix of light screens and darks screens when you'll notice this the most. It also only happens on parts of the screen that remain static. If you're watching a video, none of that is going to be retained because it changes too fast.

"Retention"👍 This is the word I was looking for English isn't my mother tongue so it was kind of challenging to describe the issue. You described it very accurately. Especially the part about the mixture of light and dark screens and the static areas. That is exactly what's happening. And yes everything's ok when I watch a video. I have already switched MacOS interface from dark mode back to original and it minimized the effect a lot. It looks like I have to get used to that. Thanks for your time. You helped a lot.🤝

 

[iMacDragon]

Yeah, some panels just do that, some are worse than others, but it's not faulty per-se and won't stick around longer than ~10 minutes at worst usually.