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Sudden burst of dead pixels rMBP

Z

Zach23

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
119
8
Hey guys,

Weird thing just happened. I am 10000% sure that before today there were absolutely zero dead pixels, the screen was flawless. Today, as I was watching a movie ("Away We Go" with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, but I digress) 5 dead pixels appeared. These are 5 separate locations of dead pixels. However in 2 of those locations, all four pixels that make up the retina's "one" pixel died. How could this have happened!? Can I fix it?

Pic below:

I set the desktop background to be black so you guys could see better. They are very noticeable. It seems like on that big stuck pixel, its red, green, and blue.

2zQv3.jpg


wat do macrumors?
 
Zach23 said:
Hey guys,

Weird thing just happened. I am 10000% sure that before today there were absolutely zero dead pixels, the screen was flawless. Today, as I was watching a movie ("Away We Go" with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, but I digress) 5 dead pixels appeared. These are 5 separate locations of dead pixels. However in 2 of those locations, all four pixels that make up the retina's "one" pixel died. How could this have happened!? Can I fix it?

Pic below:

I set the desktop background to be black so you guys could see better. They are very noticeable. It seems like on that big stuck pixel, its red, green, and blue.

Image

wat do macrumors?
Click to expand...

As with every other Apple product, the solution is to take it to the Apple store. They'll most likely give you a new laptop as the screen on the rMBP is hard to replace.

Be sure you backed up your data
 
i have a macbook pro early 2011 and i get a whole cluster of stuck pixels down the bottom right corner of my screen if i watch a movie.... thankfuly for me they disappear as soon as i switch to a my desktop from the movie screen...
 
i also noticed that i have 4 white dots on the right edge of my screen when i watch a youtube video, but they disappear if its just my desktop with a black background... maybe its just the video?
 
mdapple said:
i also noticed that i have 4 white dots on the right edge of my screen when i watch a youtube video, but they disappear if its just my desktop with a black background... maybe its just the video?
Click to expand...

in my case i think its my screen as it happens to every video.... though oddly enough the pixels do seem to follow the screen across as i am swipeing with 4 fingers.
 
Update: Went to the apple store and swapped for a new one. All is well. Thanks guys.
 
You guys are gonna like this. Got the new one I mentioned in the post above. Pristine Screen. Two days later, a massive white stuck pixel. Maybe it's my software?
 
Tried any of the usual fixes instead of returning it? Might save you some hassle in the long run.

Whilst I've never had any experience with stuck pixels, it seems that they are pretty easy to fix, although nothing is guaranteed.

Dead pixels on the other hand.....
 
Maybe it's Maya Rudolph

Were you watching Away We Go again? Is Maya Rudolph the common link here??
 
striker33 said:
Tried any of the usual fixes instead of returning it? Might save you some hassle in the long run.

Whilst I've never had any experience with stuck pixels, it seems that they are pretty easy to fix, although nothing is guaranteed.

Dead pixels on the other hand.....
Click to expand...

I have tried many things including JScreenFix including the massaging of the pixel. I have massaged the pixel to no avail. I feel like a pixel-whore. Free pixel massages. It's not like a stuck pixel I've seen before. When you look closely you can see red, blue, and green but from afar it looks white. It's like a cluster of smaller pixels. Maybe these are harder to fix.

ljf5000 said:
Were you watching Away We Go again? Is Maya Rudolph the common link here??
Click to expand...

Nahhh, I was playing the Binding of Isaac. HOWEVER, Maya Rudolph's dad is Jewish. Jewish people read from the Torah. In the Torah, Isaac is a patriarch of the religion. There MUST be a connection!
 
area5x1 said:
They'll most likely give you a new laptop as the screen on the rMBP is hard to replace.
Click to expand...

After ordering a replacement screen and it taking 2 days to arrive, it took Apple 1 hour to replace my screen and return it to me, so the RMBP screen replacement can't be all that hard to do... It's expensive though, 740$ replacement if not under warranty is what my order sheet says.
 
JohnDoe98 said:
After ordering a replacement screen and it taking 2 days to arrive, it took Apple 1 hour to replace my screen and return it to me, so the RMBP screen replacement can't be all that hard to do... It's expensive though, 740$ replacement if not under warranty is what my order sheet says.
Click to expand...

I got the new one on friday, so I'm well within 14 days. We'll see what happens though.
 
Zach23 said:
I got the new one on friday, so I'm well within 14 days. We'll see what happens though.
Click to expand...

Yeah it'll depend on their stock availability. When I first brought mine in they said they didn't have any equivalent units in stock and were not sure when they would get some, so it was probably faster to just replace the screen. I was hoping for an entire laptop replacement since I already have quite a few cycles on my battery, but I can't complain since my 14 days are up. Since you only got it Friday, your cycle count is very low anyway.
 
JohnDoe98 said:
Yeah it'll depend on their stock availability. When I first brought mine in they said they didn't have any equivalent units in stock and were not sure when they would get some, so it was probably faster to just replace the screen. I was hoping for an entire laptop replacement since I already have quite a few cycles on my battery, but I can't complain since my 14 days are up. Since you only got it Friday, your cycle count is very low anyway.
Click to expand...

Ya but I'd rather a new one anyways. Still, what are these stuck pixels? I can't tell if they are dead or stuck. I think stuck because there is some colour but they don't blend into any coloured background. No matter what, it is always visible. Weird.
 
Ok after some research I'm finding that in my case all three subpixels are stuck. One is stuck red, one is stuck green, and one is stuck blue. Is it odd that all three are stuck? Maybe it is a software issue?

Thanks for the help, hopefully it can help others.

Edit: When all three are stuck in green, red, and blue, it makes the full pixel look white and is called a "hot pixel."
 
Yeah I got one pixel that is giving me problems on my MBPr right now, but it only shows up on a black background. Don't know if that is worth going to the Apple Store over, going to try to fix it with that app described above.
 
Zach23 said:
You guys are gonna like this. Got the new one I mentioned in the post above. Pristine Screen. Two days later, a massive white stuck pixel. Maybe it's my software?
Click to expand...

Are you in an unusual environment at all or have unusual usage patterns? What's the ambient temperature? Is it very humid or dry? Not sure if or why these would matter for stuck pixels, but with 2 machines developing the same problem maybe there is something in common triggering it. It's possible that it's just a random occurrence of course, but with 2 machines I would be looking for something to explain it.
 
katmeef said:
Are you in an unusual environment at all or have unusual usage patterns? What's the ambient temperature? Is it very humid or dry? Not sure if or why these would matter for stuck pixels, but with 2 machines developing the same problem maybe there is something in common triggering it. It's possible that it's just a random occurrence of course, but with 2 machines I would be looking for something to explain it.
Click to expand...

I was trying to think of patterns. I live in Toronto, so nothing weird. For hot pixels, it would make sense if the problem was hardware related but I can't think of anything that would relate the two computers. As for software, the new computer is running a back up of the old one but I'm not running any weird software that nobody else isn't running.
For example, gfxCardStatus, Caffeine, flux, moom, onyX, I used to use CleanMyMac but I recently uninstalled it, and thats really about it other than the obvious google chrome, VLC, and iTunes..
 
This happened with my 27" Cinema Display I ordered a few years ago. I had about 25 stuck pixels in lime green. Oddly enough, after about a week they started working again.
If worst comes to worst, you have to remember you're under warranty for at least a year so you have plenty of time to take care of this, you don't have to exchange right away, especially with supplies as tight as they currently are.
 
JohnDoe98 said:
After ordering a replacement screen and it taking 2 days to arrive, it took Apple 1 hour to replace my screen and return it to me, so the RMBP screen replacement can't be all that hard to do... It's expensive though, 740$ replacement if not under warranty is what my order sheet says.
Click to expand...

They replace the entire back shell. The screen can not be removed from the aluminium casing.

I assume they implemented something in their new hinge design to allow for easy replacements, as it does seem very different from the standard MBPs.
 
Zach23 said:
I was trying to think of patterns. I live in Toronto, so nothing weird. For hot pixels, it would make sense if the problem was hardware related but I can't think of anything that would relate the two computers. As for software, the new computer is running a back up of the old one but I'm not running any weird software that nobody else isn't running.
For example, gfxCardStatus, Caffeine, flux, moom, onyX, I used to use CleanMyMac but I recently uninstalled it, and thats really about it other than the obvious google chrome, VLC, and iTunes..
Click to expand...

Do you use it in clamshell mode frequently while using an external? Maybe the exhaust vents are blasting on the LCD?

I've had the base model for 3.5 weeks now and am just an hour away from TO (i can see it across the lake), so the ambient temp/humidity likely aren't to blame as this hasn't happened to mine through the heat wave we've been having.
 
Looks like dust. Wipe the screen with your finger.

lol I'm kidding. Wouldn't that be funny though?

Take it to apple. Some places have a dead pixel warranty tho. Meaning they will only do something if there are 5 or more dead pixels for example.

Zach23 said:
Hey guys,

Weird thing just happened. I am 10000% sure that before today there were absolutely zero dead pixels, the screen was flawless. Today, as I was watching a movie ("Away We Go" with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, but I digress) 5 dead pixels appeared. These are 5 separate locations of dead pixels. However in 2 of those locations, all four pixels that make up the retina's "one" pixel died. How could this have happened!? Can I fix it?

Pic below:

I set the desktop background to be black so you guys could see better. They are very noticeable. It seems like on that big stuck pixel, its red, green, and blue.

Image

wat do macrumors?
Click to expand...
 
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