New MBPs: Backlight issues? Is your backlight evenly distributed?

[2contagious]

Hi,

I just noticed that on a black background, my 17" i7 MacBook Pro has two areas in the lower middle area of the screen, where the backlight is too bright compared to the rest of the screen. It is very noticeable on a black background and grey.. Is anyone else having this problem?

Other things I noticed:
- there was dust on the plastic cover that you take off the case when you use it for the first time
- the aluminium enclosure was slightly dirty, could be rubbed off though..
- there are two minor 'impurities' in the aluminium (?!).. two tiny grey spots/blemishes basically
- there were a few minor scratches on the aluminium casing.
- the apple logo at the back glows in a much warmer (yellow-ish) colour than the previous generation mbp (?!)
- the screen seems not as bright as the previous generation
- the keyboard backlight seems not as bright as the previous generation

What do you guys think.. should I get an exchange? :/

 

[Hellishness]

i would ask for a replacement. especially for the screen backlight issues and the case blemishes/scratches.

Oh, and I would really like to know if any of these are recurring problems.

 

[2contagious]

i would ask for a replacement. especially for the screen backlight issues and the case blemishes/scratches.

Oh, and I would really like to know if any of these are recurring problems.

Hi, thanks for your post
Considering the backlight is LED, shouldn't it be completely equally lit? could anyone please confirm this? ...or is there always going to be some bits which will be slightly darker / brighter when viewing a black image/background?

 

[Sir Cecil]

there was dust on the plastic cover that you take off the case when you use it for the first time

That's shocking. Is the dust still on the plastic wrap after you removed it? If so, take the wrap to an Apple Genius and ask them to check it out for you. I believe Apple's policy says that if there are more than five specs of dust on the plastic wrap, you are entitled to a replacement plastic wrap. Otherwise, it will need to be serviced.

 

[Thunder82]

Hi, thanks for your post
Considering the backlight is LED, shouldn't it be completely equally lit? could anyone please confirm this? ...or is there always going to be some bits which will be slightly darker / brighter when viewing a black image/background?

LED backlit does not necessarily guarantee that you'll have even backlighting, although it's generally MUCH better than CCFL screens. I'd take it back and exchange it either way.

 

[Hellishness]

That's shocking. Is the dust still on the plastic wrap after you removed it? If so, take the wrap to an Apple Genius and ask them to check it out for you. I believe Apple's policy says that if there are more than five specs of dust on the plastic wrap, you are entitled to a replacement plastic wrap. Otherwise, it will need to be serviced.

lol i chuckled at that thing too.

 

[pastparticiple]

OP if there are things that make you question if the machine is operating correctly take it back...never mind the snotty and condescending comments. When paying this much you deserve to get a new and perfectly functioning machine.

I am pretty sure most of you would be suspicious as well if you pulled a brand spanking new computer out of the box and it was dirty...nice try though with the demeaning dismissal.

 

[mac88]

If you are not satisfied then return the machine. You paid a great deal of money for it and if the screen is not right, then you should have one that is. Good luck!

 

[2contagious]

so nobody else has noticed any similar backlight issues?
about the dust: I was just telling about the dust and dirt because it's something that was off and seemed quite weird.. not to mention the slight scratches on the lid..

 

[Hellishness]

So did anyone else have any problems like this?

 

[Jazwire]

So did anyone else have any problems like this?

I wasn't going to say anything, but I noticed the same on my 17" when I opened it.

It was kinda dirty,there was fingerprints on it, and some other spots on it, not sure what it was or not sure i want to know.
If these things weren't only 48 hours old, I would of guessed I got a used one.

I started thinking maybe they re-used cases or something, or the chinese worker that made my computer was eating lunch when he was packing mine up.

But I must say I did notice it wasn't "clean" like new electronics usually are.

My backlighting seems fine on my machine, it does seem darker, the highest bright setting is bright, but one click down is quite a bit dimmer and then scales down good.

The keyboard isn't as bright as my C2D 15", the Apple on the back is brighter than my 15".

I havent noticed any aluminum scratches or impurities but haven't gone over it with a fine tooth comb either, but nothing that stands out.

 

[Hellishness]

I wasn't going to say anything, but I noticed the same on my 17" when I opened it.

It was kinda dirty,there was fingerprints on it, and some other spots on it, not sure what it was or not sure i want to know.
If these things weren't only 48 hours old, I would of guessed I got a used one.

I started thinking maybe they re-used cases or something, or the chinese worker that made my computer was eating lunch when he was packing mine up.

But I must say I did notice it wasn't "clean" like new electronics usually are.

My backlighting seems fine on my machine, it does seem darker, the highest bright setting is bright, but one click down is quite a bit dimmer and then scales down good.

The keyboard isn't as bright as my C2D 15", the Apple on the back is brighter than my 15".

I havent noticed any aluminum scratches or impurities but haven't gone over it with a fine tooth comb either, but nothing that stands out.

ok, so it seems like people are getting some dirty MBPs? thats really weird....but not a big deal since its not a logic board failure or major scratches like the OP.

 

[2contagious]

jazwire: could you please check if there are any backlight problems/unevenness when displaying a black image? I'd like to know if it's just my mbp or if it's "normal". my 2006 macbook pro with CCFL backlight did NOT have this unevenness (or at least it didn't have any unevenness that was noticeable or stood out).