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I got a flickering screen...
- Thread starter iW00t
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miniConvert
macrumors 68040
Time to return it, I guess, assuming it's going to bother you on the brightness setting you want to use.
I have to say that Apple SUCKS in terms of quality control. My keyboard space key is squeaking and my trackpad button wobbles so I'm taking mine in today to get it repaired. Returning it for a new one is too risky - and that's crazy.
Good luck with yours.
Yea, it does suck to have these problems but every device has some problem or the other. We have to be thankful that Apple actually takes care of their customers. Had the same happened with any other company, you'd be jumping through hoops for just basic service.
Sbrocket
macrumors 65816
Don't be silly, many people are more than satisfied with Apple's quality. Every single company that manufactures some type of product has faults that slip through quality control. It would be cost inefficient to somehow test for little things like this. Stop with the fear mongering.
xpovos
macrumors 6502a
I had a friend at a motorcycle dealership who was fond of saying, "you never actually know how good a company's customer service is until you've had a problem with their product."
True, true. And even though I've had more than my fair share of problems with Apple products, I have to give props for the service I've received as a result of those problems. This customer service is likely the only reason I continue to buy Apple products, even after having such an uncommonly high number of issues.
I've noticed this flickering too, but only on certain shades of gray. Are there people out there who aren't having this problem? That is, would there be a chance things could be improved if I complained? (I think, however, for me also, the risk of yellow is greater than the risks of gray)
Cybergypsy
macrumors 68040
Cybergypsy
macrumors 68040
i had a flickering screen. i took it into genuis and as soon as he saw it he said he'll swap it out for a new one. the only problem is that they are out of stock at my local store :-(
my bro has the new mbp as well and his screen (as far as i can tell) is non flicker. i put them side by side and the difference was very obvious. i couldnt live with that. its a fault and it should be changed imo.
the new mbp will be my 4th in 14 days. i was getting kernal panics on the first two and flcikering on the third. my brothers 'seems' to be totally ok, although his battery is already 95% health/capacity.
i love mac and my macbook has (touch wood) been problem free for 7 months, but my experience with sr mbp does suggest some kind of quality control problem.
my bro has the new mbp as well and his screen (as far as i can tell) is non flicker. i put them side by side and the difference was very obvious. i couldnt live with that. its a fault and it should be changed imo.
the new mbp will be my 4th in 14 days. i was getting kernal panics on the first two and flcikering on the third. my brothers 'seems' to be totally ok, although his battery is already 95% health/capacity.
i love mac and my macbook has (touch wood) been problem free for 7 months, but my experience with sr mbp does suggest some kind of quality control problem.
djinn
macrumors 68000
I have the flickering screen problem as well, only thing is it is completely random, so I haven't taken it into the Apple store, in fear that they might accuse me of trying to get a new computer of them. (Does anyone know what shades of colour and what brightness exxagerate the flickering... maybe I could conviince them then). I also have the crack in my Macbook and plan on getting it replaced this weekend.
As for Apple service, it is the best IMO. I spilt coke on my iPod and sent it back... got another no questions asked.
EDIT: I also have to get the wobbly trackpad fixed
As for Apple service, it is the best IMO. I spilt coke on my iPod and sent it back... got another no questions asked.
EDIT: I also have to get the wobbly trackpad fixed
People need too realize that majority of the macs are 100% perfect. People come to a forum to complain. It's like living at a hospital and you would think it looks like everyone is sick.
Of course apple has some flaws as confirmed by others the screen issues and the thermal paste issues, but it isn't as people are making it out to be.
Of course apple has some flaws as confirmed by others the screen issues and the thermal paste issues, but it isn't as people are making it out to be.
Fear mongering? I had TEN MBPs last year and all had some kind defect (LCD grain/uneven illumination, extreme heat, warped casing, bulging/dented aluminum, whining etc). I also had several macbooks and while the problems with them were mainly cosmetic, they were still defective (peeling black finish, mooing (later fixed, but not for a long time), hinges that squeaked like old doors, flickering screens, adapters with a loud sizzle sound etc...). I'm on my THIRD MBP SR in three weeks (first had non-functioning key and yellow tint; second had flickering screen; third squeaking space bar and rattling trackpad button). The latest one is the best one I've had, despite the squeaky space bar and trackpad button and I'm keeping it but already handed it in for repair. And there are many many examples of people going through numerous MBPs to get one that doesn't have any problems. Before anybody says it was a bad batch: I've had from different batches, different stores (online/brick) at different times so the chances that I'd have so many with problems are almost nil if it weren't the case that there is large quality control problem. Also, before anybody says that I'm being too picky: Apple themselves replaced many of the defective units and they wouldn't have done that if they didn't think there was something wrong.
I AM picky and I should be when I'm forking over thousands of dollars on computers. Apple takes care of you? Yes, but not until they already wasted your time making you beta test their hardware. If they truly cared about customers, they'd make sure to improve their quality control. That's real care, not the kind of band-aid solutions that wastes customers' time and energy to get what they should have had from the beginning. They count on MANY people not caring or bothering about fixing small things - that way Apple can save money by skimping on QC and fixing things for the relatively few customers who do care about quality. Most people will never notice defects other than ones that interfere with their computer's functioning. Economically, it makes no sense for apple to have good QC - they save a lot of money by simply only fixing the poor quality control once customers have complained.
I'm sorry, but Apple quality control truly does SUCK. I've never experienced anything like it before.
I agree with PDE (if I can agree, it more seems like what he's saying is fact). I haven't had as many computer as him though, only three MacBooks and one MacBook Pro, and all have been defective. I'm going to get a new MacBook Pro soon, hopefully issue free, but honestly, I don't expect it.
Take it back, what if it gets worse. You're gonna wish you took it back in the beginning when you first noticed it! You might eligible for a replacement right now but later on, they might ask you to wait for a week to replace the screen.
I hate to have to agree. When I showed my flickering screen to one of the apple guys in the store, he said he couldn't see it. FOUR other apple reps couldn't see it, even though to my eyes it was very obvious. Luckily a former genius came by and cofirmed the flicker. I think that if it had been outside the 2 week period, I would have had a hard time getting it taken care of. They would have simply said that it's within specs. Because it was 2 minutes old, they replaced it without too much hassle.
Hope it works out.
I thought I had an almost perfect SR MBP until I noticed heavy flickering on the right side of the display this afternoon. I have it set up with an external monitor at my desk, so I haven't looked at the MBP's display all day. However, when I had to do a reboot I noticed the flickering on the grey boot-up screen. The strange thing is that now, back at home, the flickering is almost gone. For every time i shut down the system, wait, and start it up again it gets less flickery. I am thinking it may have something to do with where I placed the MBP, right next to an Airport Extreme N base station. Almost reminds me of old CRT TVs that would get distorted if you placed it close to something magnetic.
The one I got was sitting on my lap when it started flickering - there was nothing that could have interfered. There's something else going on here...at least I think so.
I'm not entirely sure if we're talking about the MBP or the Macbook here, but I have a Macbook and...
I've got the problem too (barely noticeable flickering at anything other than full brightness). From what I can tell from reading the forums here and Apple discussions, one kind of flicker, the one where the backlight actually turns on and off, is caused by a bad inverter. (An example on Youtube here, and it seems this is the one people have an easy time getting replaced. The other kind of flicker, the one that seems to be discussed in this thread, looks more like this one.
I've never tried to get it fixed because it's so subtle, I don't think any technician/Genius would notice it. Sort of how some people can see a CRT flicker at 70Hz and some people can't. I also noticed that it's a lot more apparent in a dark room, followed by a room lit by incandescent light, and you can't see it at all under fluorescent light (probably because the fluorescent lights actually flicker themselves).
I've got the problem too (barely noticeable flickering at anything other than full brightness). From what I can tell from reading the forums here and Apple discussions, one kind of flicker, the one where the backlight actually turns on and off, is caused by a bad inverter. (An example on Youtube here, and it seems this is the one people have an easy time getting replaced. The other kind of flicker, the one that seems to be discussed in this thread, looks more like this one.
I've never tried to get it fixed because it's so subtle, I don't think any technician/Genius would notice it. Sort of how some people can see a CRT flicker at 70Hz and some people can't. I also noticed that it's a lot more apparent in a dark room, followed by a room lit by incandescent light, and you can't see it at all under fluorescent light (probably because the fluorescent lights actually flicker themselves).
puckhead193
macrumors G3
i don't understand why you would put up with a defected screen... that thing would be back at apple before you could say "cat in the hat" and would keep on going back until i'm satistied. You are paying a lot for something that is somewhat right..
Well I do not want to play the Apple QC lotto anymore. It is very slight and only obvious under some conditions.
kelau09
macrumors member
Do not be so picky. You are not affected by the tint issue. It is a laptop, not a $1000 S-IPS screen.