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Late 08 Macbook Pro screen flickering
- Thread starter smokedog
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Me too.
What type of laptop was fixed?I had it repaired at Apple, and they put in a new inverter just last Tuesday, but it didn't fix the problem, and so I took it to an Apple Reseller rather than Apple. As a smaller shop, the service is WAY better.
Apple's repair service uses an assembly line approach. They try to get customers in and out of the store in 10 minutes, or 5 minutes if they can manage it, and seem like they have to rush without properly trying to diagnose the issue. The reseller I went to instead has spent the time to find out the real cause of the problem. They phoned yesterday to tell me they didn't know
(), but I have to appreciate the effort they put in, and will return to them in the future.
Me too.
I had it repaired at Apple, and they put in a new inverter just last Tuesday, but it didn't fix the problem, and so I took it to an Apple Reseller rather than Apple. As a smaller shop, the service is WAY better.
Apple's repair service uses an assembly line approach. They try to get customers in and out of the store in 10 minutes, or 5 minutes if they can manage it, and seem like they have to rush without properly trying to diagnose the issue. The reseller I went to instead has spent the time to find out the real cause of the problem. They phoned yesterday to tell me they didn't know
I've noticed that, they will sit and chat for an hour or more to get a sale though .
maybe they should open Apple repair centers then they could just send those with issues their so new customers wouldn't meet those who have dared to bring faulty product in for a fix , which could jeopardize a sale
....I saw that happen once this guy was shouting about having to have 2 machines replaced in five days and 3 people who I assumed were about to buy overheard and walked right back out .
Well when it comes to sales, a sales rep will sit with you for an hour in order to make you feel comfortable with a purchase, and it doesn't matter how busy the shop gets later. Same with software. I see older customers who go in and ask questions about iPhoto and stuff, and they get personalised help at one of the many machines.
Repairs? They help you, but there are too many people who go in there for help. Add to their appointment system, they need to get you out in 15 minutes (the next appointments). I just don't think they diagnose the problem. They don't even try to figure it out. They listen to your story and ask questions for 5 minutes, spend 5 minutes staring at the machine, and they may send it to the back and tell you to come back to the shop in 1 hour. With the number of people going into the store, do they run their hardware diagnostics DVD on it? Do they perform further tests if the tests come back negative.
My Reseller is doing that right now, and my reseller in Australia does the same.
Repairs? They help you, but there are too many people who go in there for help. Add to their appointment system, they need to get you out in 15 minutes (the next appointments). I just don't think they diagnose the problem. They don't even try to figure it out. They listen to your story and ask questions for 5 minutes, spend 5 minutes staring at the machine, and they may send it to the back and tell you to come back to the shop in 1 hour. With the number of people going into the store, do they run their hardware diagnostics DVD on it? Do they perform further tests if the tests come back negative.
My Reseller is doing that right now, and my reseller in Australia does the same.
So I decided to go ahead and call apple support prior to my appointment at the Genius bar tomorrow....
If anyone goes this route, beware that one of the things that they will try is an NVRAM reset (P-R-Option Key-Apple Key at startup, wait for two chimes to release). One of the things that this does is reset your display settings, specifically the "Better Performance" setting goes back to "Improved Battery Life." Since this problem, at least for me, has been much more prevalent when running off of the 9600 chip, obviously switching back down to the 9400 makes the problem appear to have improved, when it really hasn't. Make sure that you switch back to the better performance option and try that again for a few minutes before commenting on whether or not that helped.
Ugh, they ran me through all the scripted support answers/tests, and now I'm hold waiting for her to check with sales support on a DOA/replacement scenario. I'm within the 14 days, so I do not see why they wouldn't do that for me. Of course, this is my first experience ever with Apple support, so what do I know?
Stay tuned...
Ok, part 2... They are going to issue me a replacement (or a refund, depending upon whether or not a like-for-like refurb is available). Pretty cool how they do it. They send me a shipping label and as soon as I have FedEx scan it at a drop-off location, the Apple warehouse releases the replacement. They're giving me overnight shipping as well. Cool. Provided the refurb doesn't disappear (i.e. gets sold) before they put the replacement hold into the system! Fingers crossed.... I hope the replacement is better.
If anyone goes this route, beware that one of the things that they will try is an NVRAM reset (P-R-Option Key-Apple Key at startup, wait for two chimes to release). One of the things that this does is reset your display settings, specifically the "Better Performance" setting goes back to "Improved Battery Life." Since this problem, at least for me, has been much more prevalent when running off of the 9600 chip, obviously switching back down to the 9400 makes the problem appear to have improved, when it really hasn't. Make sure that you switch back to the better performance option and try that again for a few minutes before commenting on whether or not that helped.
Ugh, they ran me through all the scripted support answers/tests, and now I'm hold waiting for her to check with sales support on a DOA/replacement scenario. I'm within the 14 days, so I do not see why they wouldn't do that for me. Of course, this is my first experience ever with Apple support, so what do I know?
Stay tuned...
Ok, part 2... They are going to issue me a replacement (or a refund, depending upon whether or not a like-for-like refurb is available). Pretty cool how they do it. They send me a shipping label and as soon as I have FedEx scan it at a drop-off location, the Apple warehouse releases the replacement. They're giving me overnight shipping as well. Cool. Provided the refurb doesn't disappear (i.e. gets sold) before they put the replacement hold into the system! Fingers crossed.... I hope the replacement is better.
great for Apple sales but not for customer genuine satisfaction(as you know) maybe a like for like service like I suggested , put the Genius bar in it's own location and sales in store , bit more space for them to create something nice on too.....I should work for Apple , I'll sort em out
MacBook Core Duo.Me too.
Just called Apple again - it'll need a repair (the inverter, no doubt). Unfortunately, I can't be without a computer for a week at this point; not sure what I'm going to do.
What are the odds of having two inverters fail at random? I hope this isn't a sign of a larger problem (which will inevitably materialize after AppleCare expires in 4 months).
Happy to report I received a replacement Unibody from Amazon and this one is flawless. Glad it only took 1 return to get the good one
It will not show up on a diagnostic, nor will it show up on the 3-4 hour stress test that they run at the repair center... I got screwed because of this, because mine flicked like crazy in front of the genius and he said to replace the logic board and when he sent it out, they reported "no trouble found" and sent it back...
I wonder what I can do next...
In my experience , not much of anything shows up on hardware diagnostic. Another diagnostic tool is needed, maybe we will see one in SL ?.
Very very same thing on my 2.8GHz 15" Unibody MBP.
And this one was a replacement to the last one which fried itself because the built in fancontrol doesn't ramp up the fans when the CPU goes above 90 degrees celsius (recipe for a lot of dead logic boards).
I'll ask apple about it, my support agents are starting to know me by voice I think
And this one was a replacement to the last one which fried itself because the built in fancontrol doesn't ramp up the fans when the CPU goes above 90 degrees celsius (recipe for a lot of dead logic boards).
I'll ask apple about it, my support agents are starting to know me by voice I think
No flickering on a late Nov, 9C85 screen, 15" MBP here. Glad to find another issue I DON'T have (no locking up or black screens either.)
John B.
John B.
I found this thread because I've been having the same problem. I have a new 15"MBP 2.8Ghz which I bought as soon as they came out. I noticed the screen flicker very early but ignored it but it's getting worse and annoying me a bit now. Trouble is I really can't afford to send it back to mac to be fixed/replaced as I use it for work everyday and it's my only computer.
From my experience it flickers all the time, even at the higher brightness but it's less noticeable. I find when I switch to the high performance graphics it disappears. As I type this with the power supply plugged in it seems fine but the moment I unplug it it comes back.
I'm in London. Does anyone know how long I will be without a laptop if i send it back or has anyone worked out an easy fix for it yet? Can they help at the Mac store?
From my experience it flickers all the time, even at the higher brightness but it's less noticeable. I find when I switch to the high performance graphics it disappears. As I type this with the power supply plugged in it seems fine but the moment I unplug it it comes back.
I'm in London. Does anyone know how long I will be without a laptop if i send it back or has anyone worked out an easy fix for it yet? Can they help at the Mac store?
This is happening on my brand new MBP, too. This machine was shipped to me straight from China, but the screen flickering only happens severely at brightness levels of 2 and 3 (from the lowest). Thankfully it doesn't happen much at level 1, which is basically the only setting I use other than full (to save battery life).
Same prob for my 17". ended up exchanging for a matte and no flickering. My 15" uni never had this problem. It seems only few are affected.
Could anyone share a bit more detail about what this flickering looks like? It appears there are two types of behavior on the Unibody MBPs which are referred to as flickering.
One is that the screen occasionally flickers black for a very short time. This has been captured on camera where is is clear the screen becomes black for a short time periodically.
The other appears to be more subtle, and most of the posts in this thread refer to it. I'm looking for a bit more info about what this flicker looks like.
Is this flicker something that everyone can see, or only something that those sensitive to flicker notice? I notice when I look at various LCDs at home and work that I can see a subtle flicker on all of them. This includes my unibody MBP, which coincidentally has been straining my eyes recently.
It would help me if someone who has had this problem to define how it looks in a bit more detail so I can rule out whether the subtle flickering on my MBP is normal or might be contributing to my strained eyes. Thanks!
One is that the screen occasionally flickers black for a very short time. This has been captured on camera where is is clear the screen becomes black for a short time periodically.
The other appears to be more subtle, and most of the posts in this thread refer to it. I'm looking for a bit more info about what this flicker looks like.
Is this flicker something that everyone can see, or only something that those sensitive to flicker notice? I notice when I look at various LCDs at home and work that I can see a subtle flicker on all of them. This includes my unibody MBP, which coincidentally has been straining my eyes recently.
It would help me if someone who has had this problem to define how it looks in a bit more detail so I can rule out whether the subtle flickering on my MBP is normal or might be contributing to my strained eyes. Thanks!
^^ It's a strobing effect. It's very obvious. I'm sensitive to flickering, as I'm a Lighting Technician, but even the Genius noticed it immediately.
I took in my two-day old 2.53 that had this problem, and they gave me a new 2.66.
I took in my two-day old 2.53 that had this problem, and they gave me a new 2.66.