Kim. It's sad to hear this. This particular thread is on the aluminum previous gen macbook pros, but I hear the new unibody ones have their own set of issue. I'm getting a replacement unibody macbook pro next week, and I fear these similar display issues. The new unibody screens do seem much brighter than the previous gen one. Hell. If they don't have a stupid yellow band on the bottom, I'll be in heaven.
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SR MBP LED LCD yellowish and gradients issue
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Kim. It's sad to hear this. This particular thread is on the aluminum previous gen macbook pros, but I hear the new unibody ones have their own set of issue. I'm getting a replacement unibody macbook pro next week, and I fear these similar display issues. The new unibody screens do seem much brighter than the previous gen one. Hell. If they don't have a stupid yellow band on the bottom, I'll be in heaven.
Well it's a total of seven screen across 3 different macbook pros. I thought it may have been that too, but on my latest POS macbook pro, they replaced the logic board completely and I still had the yellowing. The screens are generally low quality (as a previous poster mentioned). They either have yellowing issues or horrible uniformity. Hopefully, my replacement unibody mbp will be a little better.
I guess I got lucky. Mine (from October, but pre-unibody) is perfectly even. However, the color tones do not match my external LG 24" monitor. It looks like the color temperature is a little more towards the 'tan' end of the spectrum (only noticeable when side-by-side). You can set the LG to something similar, but I prefer pure neutral white. There's nothing objectionable about the MBP display, though. The lid doesn't close on its own either.
If I "clone" the display to the external, the output is pretty lousy to the external monitor, but that's probably the monitor's fault as it seems poor at scaling. I guess that's why it cost half what my previous 24" LG monitor cost (which is connected to my PC as a 2nd monitor; it scales VERY well to all resolutions and can rotate to vertical portrait mode as well; it also has a set of HDMI inputs available on it for easy use with home theater equipment whereas this LG is DVI and VGA only. But it looks great at full resolution and that's all I really need with my MBP anyway and was around $300 whereas the other LG was around $550; maybe you get what you pay for, but places like Best Buy have a pretty limited selection on any given day and their inventory changes over time as to what they carry. Sadly, buying monitors from mail order can be bad news if you get a dead pixel or other problem as many won't let you return it whereas Best Buy will let you get a refund or a replacement within 14 days).
If I "clone" the display to the external, the output is pretty lousy to the external monitor, but that's probably the monitor's fault as it seems poor at scaling. I guess that's why it cost half what my previous 24" LG monitor cost (which is connected to my PC as a 2nd monitor; it scales VERY well to all resolutions and can rotate to vertical portrait mode as well; it also has a set of HDMI inputs available on it for easy use with home theater equipment whereas this LG is DVI and VGA only. But it looks great at full resolution and that's all I really need with my MBP anyway and was around $300 whereas the other LG was around $550; maybe you get what you pay for, but places like Best Buy have a pretty limited selection on any given day and their inventory changes over time as to what they carry. Sadly, buying monitors from mail order can be bad news if you get a dead pixel or other problem as many won't let you return it whereas Best Buy will let you get a refund or a replacement within 14 days).
Yet another update: Apple if offering me a unibody mbp as a replacement. I seriously hope they have better screens than the aluminum line as my repair experiences were speedy but a complete nightmare. I was not able to receive a single screen without significant panel defects.
What do I say to Apple to get this replaced?
I have had this problem from the start and I just looked into which monitor I have (appears to be the LG 9C67). I guess I sort of dismissed it as a viewing angle, but now it appears I'm getting dead pixels all over the middle of the screen, in addition to the yellowish tint on the bottom. I know this computer is a over a year old, but I have babied this thing (never dropped, always been in case). The Apple "Genius" told me he hadn't seen such a clean laptop for being a year old.
To add on to this issue, I've already had the casing replaced, the logic board repositioned, the trackpad button replaced, superdrive replaced, RAM, and the Battery replaced as well. Now, it is the LCD ... I'm starting to think I just got a lemon, but what is the best way to tell apple I want a replacement before I'm really screwed when my AppleCare goes out?
Can anyone help me?
I have had this problem from the start and I just looked into which monitor I have (appears to be the LG 9C67). I guess I sort of dismissed it as a viewing angle, but now it appears I'm getting dead pixels all over the middle of the screen, in addition to the yellowish tint on the bottom. I know this computer is a over a year old, but I have babied this thing (never dropped, always been in case). The Apple "Genius" told me he hadn't seen such a clean laptop for being a year old.
To add on to this issue, I've already had the casing replaced, the logic board repositioned, the trackpad button replaced, superdrive replaced, RAM, and the Battery replaced as well. Now, it is the LCD ... I'm starting to think I just got a lemon, but what is the best way to tell apple I want a replacement before I'm really screwed when my AppleCare goes out?
Can anyone help me?
Jottle -- what is the best way you have found to get your MBP replaced? I just posted above with the issues I've had, and I'd be willing to pay a little extra to get an upgrade to a unibody if this will settle my issues. What have you said to them?? Have you called or gone into the Apple Store?
What do I say to Apple to get this replaced?
I have had this problem from the start and I just looked into which monitor I have (appears to be the LG 9C67). I guess I sort of dismissed it as a viewing angle, but now it appears I'm getting dead pixels all over the middle of the screen, in addition to the yellowish tint on the bottom. I know this computer is a over a year old, but I have babied this thing (never dropped, always been in case). The Apple "Genius" told me he hadn't seen such a clean laptop for being a year old.
To add on to this issue, I've already had the casing replaced, the logic board repositioned, the trackpad button replaced, superdrive replaced, RAM, and the Battery replaced as well. Now, it is the LCD ... I'm starting to think I just got a lemon, but what is the best way to tell apple I want a replacement before I'm really screwed when my AppleCare goes out?
Can anyone help me?
Tell them everything you just said without the replacement part. Say you need this computer for work/school w.e reason and mention everything that had to be done and how annoyed you are about the shipping time back and fourth. Be stern but not nasty, apple usually work's with their customer's to make them happy =).
Thank you Diseal3. I will give them a call today. I actually need this computer for both work and school and since I will be headed to Grad School next fall, it is important that I am not dealing with these issues in the middle of term papers and exams -- not to mention all the other design work I am doing for work.
I appreciate your reply.
Well, I just got off the phone with an Apple rep and he refused to do a replacement at this point, even with all the problems. He told me I did not have enough "major issues" that were documented to warrant a replacement at this point ...
Anyway, he did say they would take a look at it and if the screen was messed up that they would talk about replacement unit. I am just nervous that they will not catch it, or care to catch the LCD issues. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to deal with them? Should I continue to call?
Anyway, he did say they would take a look at it and if the screen was messed up that they would talk about replacement unit. I am just nervous that they will not catch it, or care to catch the LCD issues. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to deal with them? Should I continue to call?
Here is what I did. This has served me well:
I've dealt with Apple "geniuses" in the apple store before. They are trained to stifle any complaints at this level and tell you that almost everything is within spec. This is Apple's party line: "Don't repair anything that looks somewhat abnormal unless the customer pushes." I've had them do this to me in the past with my mbp lcd display as well. If you escalate to a manager at the apple store, 99% of the time the manager will say something like "OK, we'll do a one time good faith repair or replacement." The lower level people at Apple stores really have zero power, and the managers are there to make peace with the customers and keep $$$ going into the store and prevent $$$ from going out My advice for getting around "geniuses" is to find an apple authorized repair center (3rd party techs) that can look at your screen. They are almost always better trained than apple store minions, and they can order parts in from apple if they deem it defective. Trust me, this is the way to go if you have the option. If this doesn't work, your most powerful and most useful line of action (skip the above if you don't want the hassle) is to call Applecare. Explain the issue to the first person that comes on the phone to help you and tell them that you're having repeated issues with your laptop. Then immediately ask for a "customer relations" or "2nd tier corporate customer relations" representative. These people have SO MUCH more power than lower level CSR. They can authorize repairs w/out seeing your machine (based on trust) and they have the power to eventually authorize a replacement computer if your computer cannot be repaired within 3 repairs. I've had 5 AWFUL yellowing screens on my previous generation aluminum macbookpro, and my customer relations representative was great through all of it. I had to email him pictures of the screen on 3 separate occasions, but because apple couldn't get me a SINGLE good screen, I'm going with these unobody mbp's since I do not have the option of a refund. These unibody mbp's do have other screen issues (as noted in this thread), but at least they don't have the bottom 1/3 ugly yellowing that the previous gen mbp's had. Try my method if you're still unhappy with your screen. But it really is a large gamble to play the screen lottery. Most have small issues. Some have very significant issues that make you wish you never exchanged your lcd