MBA mid2011 screen has vertical hue/shade

[nasl_al]

Hi. I need some help for my MBA Mid2011 11.6inch (Core i5 2467M 1.6GHz). I bought it 1 week ago in a 2nd hand shop here in Japan. For 1 week I was using it for light everyday tasks like emails and internet only. Just yesterday I found out a vertical hue/shade about 2 inches in the middle of its screen. It is only visible in dark colors. It didn't show up on screenshots so I think it is more of a hardware issue. I attached pictures for reference. Haven't done AHT yet.

 

[Audit13]

Does it change as you move the screen back and forth? Appears on external monitor?

 

[DeltaMac]

You can try the hardware test, if you like.
But, I doubt that you will get a failure code from that, as the display panel has a failure of some kind, probably the backlight.
Maybe you could try reseating the internal displayport cable (connects the LCD panel to the logic board.)
If that doesn't help, then, yes, good idea to try an external display through the external mini displayport on your MBA.
If you get the same image problem on an external display, then you should replace the logic board.
I expect that none of that will help, which will leave you with the display panel. You would replace the display unit (known as the clamshell - the top lid assembly)

But, to me, that would be a relatively minor fault on a 6 year old system (that you can't "un-see" now)
You say that in normal use, the stripe is not really visible. I would go with that

 

[Sedulous]

Unless it appears on an external display, it may be limited to internal display. Does seem unusual.

 

[nasl_al]

Does it change as you move the screen back and forth? Appears on external monitor?

No, it doesn't. I also tried the cleaning-cloth technique but got no luck. I am currently purchasing a miniDP to HDMI connector. I will connect it to external display later and post an update.

 

[Sedulous]

No, it doesn't. I also tried the cleaning-cloth technique but got no luck. I am currently purchasing a miniDP to HDMI connector. I will connect it to external display later and post an update.

Another way to check is check if it appears in screenshots. The purpose of this is to determine if issue is with GPU or display.

 

[DeltaMac]

OP stated in post #1 that the fault does not appear in screenshots

 

[nasl_al]

Another way to check is check if it appears in screenshots. The purpose of this is to determine if issue is with GPU or display.

No, it doesn't appear on screenshots. I tried it for attachments on my claim to the shop since they are offering a 7-day warranty. But when I checked it, it's not there.
[doublepost=1506299675][/doublepost]

You can try the hardware test, if you like.
But, I doubt that you will get a failure code from that, as the display panel has a failure of some kind, probably the backlight.
Maybe you could try reseating the internal displayport cable (connects the LCD panel to the logic board.)
If that doesn't help, then, yes, good idea to try an external display through the external mini displayport on your MBA.
If you get the same image problem on an external display, then you should replace the logic board.
I expect that none of that will help, which will leave you with the display panel. You would replace the display unit (known as the clamshell - the top lid assembly)

But, to me, that would be a relatively minor fault on a 6 year old system (that you can't "un-see" now)
You say that in normal use, the stripe is not really visible. I would go with that

I would try opening it too since I am planning to purchase some tools. I have a 2008 iMac 20inch back home which is not loading CDs. Sorry to be off topic but I guess it's time to get more intimate with my macs.

 

[Sedulous]

Ok, so if that does not appear in screenshot, then it propbably means it is not the GPU and likely the display itself. Yeah, that vertical anomaly is not backlight. The backlight is from a strip of LEDs along the bottom that sends light through a diffuser layer. If the backlight were bad, it would be uneven but increasingly diffuse starting at the bottom of the display as a spreading vertical gradient. The fact that boundary is sharp would strongly suggest this is not backlight. I would guess connection to display is bad or somehow loose.

 

[Audit13]

The video cable is held quite tightly in place but it is possible to come loose.

Get a 1.2 pentalobe screw driver and open it up to check for loose connections.

 

[Sedulous]

The video cable is held quite tightly in place but it is possible to come loose.

Get a 1.2 pentalobe screw driver and open it up to check for loose connections.

There are two ends of the LVDS cable. One connects to the Mac logicboard and the other connects to the PCB behind the display bezel. I hope it is just a loose connection to the logicboard. Unless you have experience pulling off the bezel, I wouldn't suggest doing so.

 

[nasl_al]

The video cable is held quite tightly in place but it is possible to come loose.

Get a 1.2 pentalobe screw driver and open it up to check for loose connections.

I will check it once I get the tools I ordered online. I wish it's just a loose cable too as what you guys said.
[doublepost=1506385870][/doublepost]

There are two ends of the LVDS cable. One connects to the Mac logicboard and the other connects to the PCB behind the display bezel. I hope it is just a loose connection to the logicboard. Unless you have experience pulling off the bezel, I wouldn't suggest doing so.

Thanks. I have no experience opening a mac so your suggestions are of great help. Although I have one more question, if it's not a loose connection or any other sort, would you recommend replacing the clamshell assy?

 

[Sedulous]

I will check it once I get the tools I ordered online. I wish it's just a loose cable too as what you guys said.
[doublepost=1506385870][/doublepost]
Thanks. I have no experience opening a mac so your suggestions are of great help. Although I have one more question, if it's not a loose connection or any other sort, would you recommend replacing the clamshell assy?

That is a difficult question for me to answer. It is very likely the problem is with the assembly. Could be the inverter or bad LVDS cable or something in the display board... or hopefully something simple as a bad connection. The replacement of the MBA LCD is only for the very brave. They are terribly expensive so it might not be worth cost/risk.