Ripple on M1 MBP screen glass?

[James Godfrey]

Hi just wondering if anyone has noticed a ripple sort of effect on their M1 MBP glass, noticed it the other day whilst cleaning my screen.

It can only be seen side on in a light room when the screen is off… I am presuming it is like an anti reflective coating or maybe something under the screen (maybe adhesive or something similar).

I have taken a photo of my screen, it is hard to pick up but if you zoom in where the green bottle is in the reflection you can see how the ripple distorts the reflection.

Anything to worry about or is it normal? I am presuming it’s fine but just wanted to check.

TIA

 

[James Godfrey]

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, have contacted Apple and they say it’s not normal, but as it doesn’t effect the display and it is minor I am not sure if it’s worth replacing and potentially getting another with the same issue, but potentially other issues… as my display is perfect otherwise.

 

[GumaRodak]

Let me tell you one thing. If you would buy a new Porche and it came to you with scratched doors and the seller will tell you its not normal but the car is working, would you accept and just keep the car?

 

[James Godfrey]

Let me tell you one thing. If you would buy a new Porche and it came to you with scratched doors and the seller will tell you its not normal but the car is working, would you accept and just keep the car?

I would probably return it, but this seems so minor and you wouldn’t notice it unless you are looking for it.

So I am not sure what to do as I didn’t purchase directly from Apple, so it’s a bit of a hassle to return to the retailer.

I am more wanting to see if other users of the M1 MBP have this same issue as I don’t want to return it then get one with the same issue but with another problem, as currently there are no other issues with the device, no scratches, no dodgy keys, no dead pixels etc…

 

[Amphib13]

I took a look at mine...computer off and held it up to the light. I do see what you're referring to. I have to really look for it. I'd assume its normal. Mine looks excellent when on, which is really what matters. I don't anticipate staring at a black blank screen for any length of time any time soon. The "ripples" look like they're underneath a smooth surface. If it was the other way around maybe I'd be more concerned.

Next time I'm at the Apple store, I'll take a look at some others.

 

[James Godfrey]

I took a look at mine...computer off and held it up to the light. I do see what you're referring to. I have to really look for it. I'd assume its normal. Mine looks excellent when on, which is really what matters. I don't anticipate staring at a black blank screen for any length of time any time soon. The "ripples" look like they're underneath a smooth surface. If it was the other way around maybe I'd be more concerned.

Next time I'm at the Apple store, I'll take a look at some others.

After speaking with Apple support again today, they advised me to return to the retailer as it shouldn’t have any sort of ripples on the display, and it is potentially the anti reflective coating which hasn’t been applied correctly which ‘could’ lead to problems later down the line.

Spoke to the retailer and they have told me to return it for a replacement as they have deemed it a manufacturing defect.

Will be interested to know your findings checking models at the Apple store 👍

I found this online

https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/l1val1

so it’s definitely an issue which doesn’t look as though it’s present on all models.

A comment on that post also says they noticed it on their M1 MBP, and returned it for a replacement as their sister who has the exact same model didn’t have it.

 

[Amphib13]

After speaking with Apple support again today, they advised me to return to the retailer as it shouldn’t have any sort of ripples on the display, and it is potentially the anti reflective coating which hasn’t been applied correctly which ‘could’ lead to problems later down the line.

Spoke to the retailer and they have told me to return it for a replacement as they have deemed it a manufacturing defect.

hmm, interesting

 

[Apple_Robert]

After speaking with Apple support again today, they advised me to return to the retailer as it shouldn’t have any sort of ripples on the display, and it is potentially the anti reflective coating which hasn’t been applied correctly which ‘could’ lead to problems later down the line.

Spoke to the retailer and they have told me to return it for a replacement as they have deemed it a manufacturing defect.

I am sure that is a weight off your tech shoulders.

 

[James Godfrey]

I am sure that is a weight off your tech shoulders.

I could have just lived with it to be honest, but I am thinking long term, and I don’t want to prematurely suffer stain gate 😂

 

[Amphib13]

I could have just lived with it to be honest, but I am thinking long term, and I don’t want to prematurely suffer stain gate 😂

Thanks for posting this. My Apple store is in my local Best Buy so I raced over there..... they said it is defective and are giving me new replacement.

 

[James Godfrey]

Thanks for posting this. My Apple store is in my local Best Buy so I raced over there..... they said it is defective and are giving me new replacement.

Seriously! That quick! Well done 👍 better to be safe than sorry though, keep us updated on your replacement if it has the same issue…

 

[Amphib13]

Seriously! That quick! Well done 👍 better to be safe than sorry though, keep us updated on your replacement if it has the same issue…

Definitely. There's none in stock anywhere. So I'm out a machine till Thursday. I'll definitely report back. And thank you again for sharing this. It was bothering me but rationalized it away because it wasn't noticable when on. They were insistent that the display was unacceptable.

 

[Freeangel1]

First crooked iMac M1 stands. Now Ripple in MacBook M1 screens.

Quality control on these first Apple silicon machines is just BAD

 

[James Godfrey]

First crooked iMac M1 stands. Now Ripple in MacBook M1 screens.

Quality control on these first Apple silicon machines is just BAD

Yeah apples QC has gone down hill in recent years, maybe a lot of it is to do with the pandemic also, factory workers are likely under higher than usual pressure to pump out machines etc…

At the end of the day, if Apple want to charge high prices, customers expect high quality… simple! Things like this would be expected on a cheap machine ($500 or less) but when people are paying $1000+ it’s just not acceptable IMO…

 

[James Godfrey]

Definitely. There's none in stock anywhere. So I'm out a machine till Thursday. I'll definitely report back. And thank you again for sharing this. It was bothering me but rationalized it away because it wasn't noticable when on. They were insistent that the display was unacceptable.

Yeah it’s strange because usually the retailer who I have used have been very finicky about high value returns, years ago had to return an Apple Watch to them because the screen glass wasn’t seated properly, and they basically interrogated me on the phone.

However, with this, I just called them up explained what it was over the phone and that I spoke to Apple etc etc… as soon as I mentioned it’s possibly the anti-reflective coating, they interrupted me and said yeah we are aware of issues with that so please return it to us at your earliest convenience and you can order a replacement.

It seems to me like apple have a bit more leeway with retailers returning Macs which have any issues with the anti-reflective coating (sort of like they’re guaranteed reimbursement for a set period or something like that).

 

[Amphib13]

Yeah it’s strange because usually the retailer who I have used have been very finicky about high value returns, years ago had to return an Apple Watch to them because the screen glass wasn’t seated properly, and they basically interrogated me on the phone.

However, with this, I just called them up explained what it was over the phone and that I spoke to Apple etc etc… as soon as I mentioned it’s possibly the anti-reflective coating, they interrupted me and said yeah we are aware of issues with that so please return it to us at your earliest convenience and you can order a replacement.

It seems to me like apple have a bit more leeway with retailers returning Macs which have any issues with the anti-reflective coating (sort of like they’re guaranteed reimbursement for a set period or something like that).

Yeah, I'm pretty relieved it was returned so easily. I was actually thanked for bringing it in and told they hadn't seen it before. Of course I was still in my return window and did have Apple Care on that machine. Everything else on it was perfect.

Our M1 iMac arrived yesterday and it's fit and finish is gorgeous (thankfully). However, setting it up for my wife, first time Apple user, the machine kept giving errors on setup and would not let her create an iCloud account. Not a good first impression for her who is nervous about the switch anyway. I've pretty much led the charge to Apple in our family. Believe it or not, she was successful after setting up her account on her Android phone.

Once set up there, the iMac let her sign in and it was flawless after that. We're both very impressed so far.

I'm also anxious to hear how your replacement goes.

 

[James Godfrey]

Yeah, I'm pretty relieved it was returned so easily. I was actually thanked for bringing it in and told they hadn't seen it before. Of course I was still in my return window and did have Apple Care on that machine. Everything else on it was perfect.

Our M1 iMac arrived yesterday and it's fit and finish is gorgeous (thankfully). However, setting it up for my wife, first time Apple user, the machine kept giving errors on setup and would not let her create an iCloud account. Not a good first impression for her who is nervous about the switch anyway. I've pretty much led the charge to Apple in our family. Believe it or not, she was successful after setting up her account on her Android phone.

Once set up there, the iMac let her sign in and it was flawless after that. We're both very impressed so far.

I'm also anxious to hear how your replacement goes.

Fingers crossed all goes smooth, so you M1 iMac doesn’t have leangate then 😂

 

[Amphib13]

New replacement machine arrived today. It looks perfect. So glad I returned the other one instead of just living with it.

 

[James Godfrey]

New replacement machine arrived today. It looks perfect. So glad I returned the other one instead of just living with it.

Awww that’s fantastic to hear mine coming tomorrow so fingers crossed! 🤞

 

[James Godfrey]

New replacement machine arrived today. It looks perfect. So glad I returned the other one instead of just living with it.

Well had a bit of a nightmare, received my new MBP however, didn’t have chance to open it yesterday and here’s why…

I started the process of resetting my rippled MBP, followed the instructions on Apples support pages…

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in or recycle your Mac – Apple Support (UK)

Reset your Mac to factory settings to prepare it for a new owner.

support.apple.com

Made sure I signed out of iCloud, iMessage etc… no problem, my drive had file vault enabled also…

So when I finally booted into MacOS Recovery after realising after a few attempts Command R doesn’t work on M1 macs, I successfully erase my HD… no issues.

Then I went to reinstall MacOS about 30 minutes into installing I get the error:

‘An error occurred while preparing the update. Failed to personalise the software update. Please try again.’

So tried it all over again… 30 minutes later same error… so I presumed it might be my wifi so rebooted router and tried a third time… same thing.

So ended up just shutting it down, packing it up and sending it off… as it was really frustrating me.

Then found out online afterwards how to reinstall MacOS on an M1 Mac…

If an error occurs while updating or installing macOS – Apple Support (UK)

The message may say that an error occurred while downloading, preparing or installing, or that the software is damaged, could not be verified or failed to personalise. The cause of messages like these can vary, and sometimes they’re only temporary.

support.apple.com

-

So I am a little worried now that the return won’t be accepted by the retailer as MacOS is not installed on it 😂 also a bit concerned if it is accepted whether or not my data is safe… I managed to erase the HD which did have FileVault enabled etc it’s just basically MacOS is not installed on it… the Mac doesn’t appear on my device list or in Find My so I think I am good. Can you confirm?

Anyway, I will update on my replacement later when I get round to setting it up 👍

 

[Amphib13]

Well had a bit of a nightmare, received my new MBP however, didn’t have chance to open it yesterday and here’s why…

I started the process of resetting my rippled MBP, followed the instructions on Apples support pages…

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in or recycle your Mac – Apple Support (UK)

Reset your Mac to factory settings to prepare it for a new owner.

support.apple.com

Made sure I signed out of iCloud, iMessage etc… no problem, my drive had file vault enabled also…

So when I finally booted into MacOS Recovery after realising after a few attempts Command R doesn’t work on M1 macs, I successfully erase my HD… no issues.

Then I went to reinstall MacOS about 30 minutes into installing I get the error:

‘An error occurred while preparing the update. Failed to personalise the software update. Please try again.’

So tried it all over again… 30 minutes later same error… so I presumed it might be my wifi so rebooted router and tried a third time… same thing.

So ended up just shutting it down, packing it up and sending it off… as it was really frustrating me.

Then found out online afterwards how to reinstall MacOS on an M1 Mac…

If an error occurs while updating or installing macOS – Apple Support (UK)

The message may say that an error occurred while downloading, preparing or installing, or that the software is damaged, could not be verified or failed to personalise. The cause of messages like these can vary, and sometimes they’re only temporary.

support.apple.com

-

So I am a little worried now that the return won’t be accepted by the retailer as MacOS is not installed on it 😂 also a bit concerned if it is accepted whether or not my data is safe… I managed to erase the HD which did have FileVault enabled etc it’s just basically MacOS is not installed on it… the Mac doesn’t appear on my device list or in Find My so I think I am good. Can you confirm?

Anyway, I will update on my replacement later when I get round to setting it up 👍

Holy smokes how frustrating. Yeah, I followed the instructions in your 2nd link and the process took 10-15 minutes. Since I'm a total noob to Apple, every search I do is prefaced by what the device is......so anything related to this machine "M1" is included. I did the reset while at Best Buy and they were able to confirm I did it correctly.

It sounds to me like you just didn't get the process finished......honestly, I wouldn't worry. I would personally go about setting up my new machine and wouldn't give the rippled one a second thought. When dealing with returns, everything imaginable is probably seen. I'll bet not everyone even attempts to wipe their machines. I would think before repurposing this computer, a fresh install of the os would be standard protocol. The reason for the return was the defective display......

So no worries eh? Let's hear how the new one is!!!

 

[James Godfrey]

Holy smokes how frustrating. Yeah, I followed the instructions in your 2nd link and the process took 10-15 minutes. Since I'm a total noob to Apple, every search I do is prefaced by what the device is......so anything related to this machine "M1" is included. I did the reset while at Best Buy and they were able to confirm I did it correctly.

It sounds to me like you just didn't get the process finished......honestly, I wouldn't worry. I would personally go about setting up my new machine and wouldn't give the rippled one a second thought. When dealing with returns, everything imaginable is probably seen. I'll bet not everyone even attempts to wipe their machines. I would think before repurposing this computer, a fresh install of the os would be standard protocol. The reason for the return was the defective display......

So no worries eh? Let's hear how the new one is!!!

Yeah it was highly frustrating to say the least, I am so used to Intel machines of the past… took me about 20 minutes just to realise it’s different booting into MacOS recovery lmao!

In the end once I knew I was logged out of iCloud etc and the machine was wiped I just thought screw it, they can sort this 💩 out ha!

Luckily, in MacOS Monterey they have a ‘Erase all content and settings’ option in the regular settings, much like how the iPhone and iPads get reset, you don’t have to reinstall MacOS… I can certainly see why this feature is getting added, so much more simple to do.

Will post once I set up later 👍

 

[James Godfrey]

Holy smokes how frustrating. Yeah, I followed the instructions in your 2nd link and the process took 10-15 minutes. Since I'm a total noob to Apple, every search I do is prefaced by what the device is......so anything related to this machine "M1" is included. I did the reset while at Best Buy and they were able to confirm I did it correctly.

It sounds to me like you just didn't get the process finished......honestly, I wouldn't worry. I would personally go about setting up my new machine and wouldn't give the rippled one a second thought. When dealing with returns, everything imaginable is probably seen. I'll bet not everyone even attempts to wipe their machines. I would think before repurposing this computer, a fresh install of the os would be standard protocol. The reason for the return was the defective display......

So no worries eh? Let's hear how the new one is!!!

Got replacement all set up, perfect screen now, so glad I got it replaced, thanks for your help with this btw, much appreciated!

👍😁👍

 

[Amphib13]

Got replacement all set up, perfect screen now, so glad I got it replaced, thanks for your help with this btw, much appreciated!

👍😁👍

No, thank you! If you wouldn't have started this thread, I might've not gotten a chance to return it so easily. Glad it all worked out for you. 👍