Mid 2014 with White Spots on Screen

[guitarplyrstevo]

Hey guys,

I noticed today that my 15" Mid 2014 Macbook Pro has 3 white spots on the screen. These spots can only be seen on a white background, but it is definitely something that is bothering me.

I keep my Macbook in very good condition and never allow any situation where it could be damaged, so I would like to rule out physical damage. However, I am not sure the Apple guys will do the same.

I did not purchase the extra Apple Care, but I still am under the standard manufacturer warranty until March of 2016.

- Have any of you experienced this same issue?
- Is this a manufacturer defect, or do I just have terrible luck?
- Also, were you able to resolve this issue?
- If so, how did that process go?

Here is a picture showing these white spots on my screen: Link
It is a little hard to see them from the picture, so I placed white arrows showing where they are.

I currently have an appointment at the Apple store this coming Friday, so I'd like to gain some knowledge from you guys so I can have this issue taken care of. Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven

 

[Dead0k]

try blue/cyan solid backgrounds to see them better. (i think i had something similar with other laptops, even had this stuff on a new one)
screen was being pressed a bit by something.

So i guess there were no issues at the time you bought it?!

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

I didn't notice anything.

Did you ever find out what pressed on your screen? Did the white spots spread or get worse?

Thanks for the tip! It is easier to see them now using a cyan background.

 

[yillbs]

those look like impact spots. Happened to an older pro i had, screen closed, dropped, or hit on something. In my case it was where my dog decided to sleep on it

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

those look like impact spots. Happened to an older pro i had, screen closed, dropped, or hit on something. In my case it was where my dog decided to sleep on it

I'm having a hard time accepting that because the laptop is always in a protective bag when not in front of me. Even if I step away, the screen is closed.

I've seen some people having white spots show up on their rMBP, calling them muras. Are any of you familiar with that?

 

[TheEnthusiast]

LCD mura most likely. I have one in the lower left portion of my late 2013 13 inch rMBP. I never consulted Applecare about it since I got used to it over time and at the time I first noticed it, I was planning to buy a new rMBP anyway. It's typically from some form of sharp pressure/tap, typically directly on the screen. You have Applecare so you should be able to get a new screen. One spot I could live with (without warranty), 3 with warranty? no chance.

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

LCD mura most likely. I have one in the lower left portion of my late 2013 13 inch rMBP. I never consulted Applecare about it since I got used to it over time and at the time I first noticed it, I was planning to buy a new rMBP anyway. It's typically from some form of sharp pressure/tap, typically directly on the screen. You have Applecare so you should be able to get a new screen. One spot I could live with (without warranty), 3 with warranty? no chance.

Do you think Applecare will cover this? I did not pay for the extra warranty, so this would have to be covered by their standard 1 year warranty.

"A sharp pressure/tap, typically directly on the screen", I know it wasn't physical damage, hell, if you turn the screen off there aren't any scratches or nicks whatsoever! I guess I am really afraid that they will just write it off as physical damage. I have an appointment set for this Friday, so we will see what actually happens then.

Until then, what are your thoughts?

 

[TekGuy]

Do you think Applecare will cover this? I did not pay for the extra warranty, so this would have to be covered by their standard 1 year warranty.

Until then, what are your thoughts?

I don't think anyone can say 100% for sure but as it's still within 1 year warranty and if there are no obvious signs of damage ie. been dropped, chipped, water damage etc then I see no reason why not. At the end of the day if Apple refuse and say it's physical damage then i'd be telling them to prove their claim it was caused by physical damage and not a defect, if they don't i'd get my own technical report elsewhere.

 

[Dead0k]

this could be done even during the manufacturing process. So stick hard to this theory and maybe you will get lucky, but dont get rude the dont like it. The interesting thing that those pixels show their defect only in specific colors, which means that it is a technical issue. As far as i remember red color, orange and other savage colors were reproduced nicely.

I had this issue on a new windows laptop. It was hard to see it, thus i had noticed it already after 2 months of usage.

 

[TheEnthusiast]

Do you think Applecare will cover this? I did not pay for the extra warranty, so this would have to be covered by their standard 1 year warranty.

"A sharp pressure/tap, typically directly on the screen", I know it wasn't physical damage, hell, if you turn the screen off there aren't any scratches or nicks whatsoever! I guess I am really afraid that they will just write it off as physical damage. I have an appointment set for this Friday, so we will see what actually happens then.

Until then, what are your thoughts?

Knowing Apple, by this time next week, you would have already scheduled a repair or received your machine after repair. Don't say anything beyond the obvious though i.e "you noticed these white spots after you turned on your machine and you're unsure what they could be" Be polite, as someone else said. As long as there isn't any physical damage, I'd say everything should go fine. These spots can also occur without directly applying pressure to the screen. They'll probably examine the screen, wipe it with a microfibre cloth, run a hardware test, and then tell you that you need to schedule a repair; I've been through the process before.

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

I don't think anyone can say 100% for sure but as it's still within 1 year warranty and if there are no obvious signs of damage ie. been dropped, chipped, water damage etc then I see no reason why not. At the end of the day if Apple refuse and say it's physical damage then i'd be telling them to prove their claim it was caused by physical damage and not a defect, if they don't i'd get my own technical report elsewhere.

Note taken. There are definitely no signs of any damage to any part of the laptop. I hope they don't refuse, but if they do, I'll definitely need the proof.

this could be done even during the manufacturing process. So stick hard to this theory and maybe you will get lucky, but dont get rude the dont like it. The interesting thing that those pixels show their defect only in specific colors, which means that it is a technical issue. As far as i remember red color, orange and other savage colors were reproduced nicely.

I had this issue on a new windows laptop. It was hard to see it, thus i had noticed it already after 2 months of usage.

This definitely could have been done during the manufacturing process. I completely agree with you about not being rude. I'll definitely keep a level head throughout the entire process.

Knowing Apple, by this time next week, you would have already scheduled a repair or received your machine after repair. Don't say anything beyond the obvious though i.e "you noticed these white spots after you turned on your machine and you're unsure what they could be" Be polite, as someone else said. As long as there isn't any physical damage, I'd say everything should go fine. These spots can also occur without directly applying pressure to the screen. They'll probably examine the screen, wipe it with a microfibre cloth, run a hardware test, and then tell you that you need to schedule a repair; I've been through the process before.

I really hope you are right.

You mentioned to "[not] say anything beyond the obvious though i.e "noticed these white spots after turned on [my] machine and [I'm] unsure what they could be" " Why is that?

 

[TheEnthusiast]

You mentioned to "[not] say anything beyond the obvious though i.e "noticed these white spots after turned on [my] machine and [I'm] unsure what they could be" " Why is that?

I said that in regards to the fact that some people may go in and mention "LCD muras can be caused by pressure being applied directly to the screen." So, whereas one could simply say what you quoted, s/he would add the "apply pressure to the screen factor" and suddenly, the person who has to decide if the defect should be covered may think that the "defect" was caused by physical damage rather than faulty hardware, which could affect coverage since Applecare physical damage is not typically covered.

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

I said that in regards to the fact that some people may go in and mention "LCD muras can be caused by pressure being applied directly to the screen." So, whereas one could simply say what you quoted, s/he would add the "apply pressure to the screen factor" and suddenly, the person who has to decide if the defect should be covered may think that the "defect" was caused by physical damage rather than faulty hardware, which could affect coverage since Applecare physical damage is not typically covered.

Ah, gotcha. I misunderstood you the first time, but that makes sense.

My plan is to show the problem, tell them I just noticed it a week ago, and say I'm not sure how they came about and I'm afraid the problem may get worse; since that's exactly what happened.

Appointment is still set for this coming Friday.

Any other advice is much appreciated!

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

UPDATE:

I just returned back from the Apple store near me. They now have the computer and have scheduled to replace the screen under their standard warranty. Turnaround time: 5 business days, Saturday included.

Knowing Apple, by this time next week, you would have already scheduled a repair or received your machine after repair.

Process: I walked in to the Apple store, checked in to the Genius Bar, and was asked if my computer was backed up. After about 40 minutes of waiting (the store was very busy), an Apple Genius walked over and asked the problem.

After telling him I was seeing white spots on the screen (mind you, I did not point out where the spots were), he restarted my computer and started to run a hardware test, ran off their local server. The hardware test checked out fine.

After passing the hardware test, he started to run what he called a "pixel count". This 'pixel count' is nothing more than the screen displaying various solid colors one after another, and visually checking for imperfections. The results, from what I remember, are the following:

Red: Pass
Green: Pass
Blue: Pass
Gray: Fail (the Genius immediately noticed 2 out of the 4 white spots)
Black to white: Fail
Black: Fail (Although I didn't see any imperfections, but he sure did)

All in all, this was a very pain-free process. I kept calm, was polite, and did not say anything beyond the obvious, and it all paid off.

I felt obligated to write this since, I found a lot of threads all over the internet of people having similar problems and promising to follow up with the overall process, but failed to do so.

I hope this thread will help others prepare and understand the Apple RMA process when having an LCD related issue. If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask away.

Thanks!

 

[Dead0k]

check the new screen twice good luck

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

check the new screen twice good luck

Thank you for the suggestion, and it was the first thing I did!

The screen looks as it should, and the entire process was very painless. I'm still covered under their standard manufacturer warranty until March of 2016 so if anything should happen to the computer, I am covered.

Cheers!

 

[unagimiyagi]

The white spots are a problem in that once you notice it you can't unnoticed it. These are manufacturing defects. Why? Because I treat the laptops the same and some have them, and some do not.

 

[MrGimper]

I had this on a 13" Air and I had the entire top-clamshell/screen replaced under warranty no questions asked.