Mid2015 15" Retina - is this the beginning of Staingate?

[alex_at]

Recently I noticed some spots on my Macbook Pro Retina 2015 15" - i thought it would be typical stains you would find on a laptop screen.

After wiping it with my apple cloth the stains remained. I cleaned them again with optical lens cleaner I use for my screens and expensive camera lenses - screen cleans up but stains remain.

Is that the beginning of staingate?

How?

The Macbook sits at exactly the same place since it has been removed from its original packaging, beeing used with external screen, mouse, keyboard. In the last 4 or 5 years I've had it I only moved it twice, and when I moved it the screen was never closed. The screen also was never touched.

How?

How odd are my chances about Apple's willingness to replace that issues at their cost?

See attached pictures.

Thanks,


Alex

 

[MathChief]

I have a 2013 13inch Retina MBP, which does not affect the usage indoors.

Unlikely Apple is willing to replace them at their cost, as I was told some years ago at an Apple store.

 

[DeltaMac]

Your picture shows an area in the bottom right corner of the screen that looks almost exactly the same shape (and location) as the right fan.
You said that you have always used it with an external monitor. Do you mean that you have always used it with the lid closed (clamshell mode) and you seldom actually used the internal screen? That could explain that shape that area on the screen, with air always moving across that small area, only a fraction of an inch when the screen is closed , you might expect that would eventually "carve" into the screen.

 

[alex_at]

@DeltaMac

No always opened, never closed. The display essentially is open since the day I bought it. It stands opened up next to the screen - sometimes I use the internal screen additionally.

does the coating have any other functions than being antireflective?
Any uv or blue light blocking that may cause eye damage or irritation when being used with damaged coating?

 

[ght56]

Yes, that looks like the AR coating is beginning to visibly degrade, but it is hard to tell for sure with how dirty the screen is.

 

[alex_at]

ght56 - everything that can be cleaned with apple microfiber and lens microfiber with lens cleaner has been cleaned off the screen. There's nothing more I can clean away. (except the dust in sitting on the lower edge by the hinge)

 

[nathan_reilly]

oh yeah, thats it. its happening. I got a replacement display out of apple, but this was years ago...still use the machine. I put a piece of paper in between the keyboard and display when closing it. I have heard that some folks finger oil/sweat is more likely to dissolve the AR coating than other folks, so some of us see this way before others do.

*I should add that the paper, 8.5X11, protects almost everything except the bezel. And they are readily available haha.

 

[alex_at]

Well the point is I never touch the display, the keyboard, trackpad - only for cleaning dust off the display every few months - so basically I never thought I would ever encounter that issue at all

 

[nathan_reilly]

hmmm. For my first display I certainly noticed it disappearing at correspondingly high-touch areas of my upper case, but my second display now has it running around the outside almost entirely, but essentially nowhere that is masked by the paper when my laptop is closed. I just did some quick googling and found some mention of AR coatings degrading with "environmental" exposure, so these compounds may just get fragile with time?

 

[Maconplasma]

Well the point is I never touch the display, the keyboard, trackpad - only for cleaning dust off the display every few months - so basically I never thought I would ever encounter that issue at all

You clean your screen every few months? WOW! I can see going as long as once a month but especially since you don't close the lid it's susceptible to dirt grime and moisture.

 

[Natzoo]

Apple will probably cover this in 3 years, keep that receipt handy

 

[alex_at]

Maconplasma, yes only every few months as there is usually only dust sittin on it

The picture make the display look dirty, but it isn't. It's as clean as it can be - apart from the misterious retina issue spots