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Thunderbolt Display Problems - Ports all dead

ascender

ascender

macrumors 603
Original poster
Dec 8, 2005
5,062
2,934
Am pulling my hair out with this one....

I got a TB display from the first batch that Apple shipped out in the UK. Very impressed with the screen quality and brightness compared with other screens I've used. However, I can't help but feel I've been sold a lemon and am not sure how to escalate it to try and get it resolved.

After about a week, all the ports on the back stopped working. No USB, no Ethernet, no FW800. Turning the Mac Mini off would restore power at least to the USB ports. Apple said it was a known issue and to wait for the update. At least I could still use the screen. I spoke with them again and went through the usual resetting of PRAM etc to no avail.

Firmware update arrived, didn't make a difference. By now the screen was also failing to wake from sleep sometimes meaning I'd have to power off the Mac Mini and reboot it. Apple said to take it to a service provider. Did that, but the service provider was no longer authorised to repair Apple kit. Apple then organised an uplift by a repair agent in England after I pointed out that Glasgow wasn't just "a 5 minute drive" from Edinburgh.

After hassle with the courier, a week later the screen came back. After cleaning it up to remove the suction-cup marks and various marks, powered it on and the same problem was present. Reinstalled the firmware update which again fixed the problem for a couple of hours, but at some point the ports stopped working. Spoke with Apple, they recommended I take it to a local repair agent (they must have remembered about Cancom existing). Phoned them and they recommended leaving it until mid-January as they have a 2 week waiting list and you could add 2/3 weeks on to that because of holidays.

Apple are now picking up the display again and re-sending it to the same repair agent in England.

Is this normal for Apple? I've bought a fairly expensive screen which hasn't worked since day one and as they attempt to repair it, I seem to the one out of pocket in terms of time, money and inconvenience. Has anyone had any luck in getting Apple to replace a faulty device like this or offer a refund or a swap for something that works like an older 27" display?

Thanks.
 
I would say 2 things:

1. Are you sure its not the computer causing the issues. Any chance you can take your computer to another display to see if the problem occurs?

2. Enough is enough on the repairs of a new unit. I would tell apple you have spent enough time waiting for proper service and ask them to replace it. Be nice about it and sound really bummed. Also remind them that you waited for a firmware patch that made no difference and you would have simply returned it if not for the recommended wait by apple. Chances are they are not offering to replace because you are not asking for it.
 
This is a known problem with the Thunderbolt display. I find unplugging the display for about 5 mins resets it and then everything will function as normal until the display/computer sleeps or is switched off.
 
Sorry, forgot to mention that the exact same problems occur when connected to a Macbook Air.

I've seen this mentioned on the Apple support forums, but there's mixed messages on there, some people are saying its been fixed by the recent firmware update and it hasn't fixed it for others.
 
I'm planning on taking mine to an Apple Store with my MBP to confirm the problem is with the display and not the laptop.
 
Spoke to someone "senior" in Applcare who confirmed that they won't consider a replacement until they've attempted a repair three times.

They won't consider a refund as its outwith the 14 day window for this, even though they are aware of an identical fault which needed a firmware update to fix it.

Repair agent have just let me know they've received the display, hooray! But they have no suitable machines to test it with until next week at the earliest. If I'd known that I wouldn't have sent it away just now.
 
colshine said:
I'm planning on taking mine to an Apple Store with my MBP to confirm the problem is with the display and not the laptop.
Click to expand...

Have you had a chance to do this yet?

I think my display is still with the repair agent. Apple say the repair is now complete (another new logic board and PSU this time) and I should have the display back by now but the repair agent is shut until next week so I'm not quite sure how they can have closed the job.
 
I went to the Apple Store today and they decided it was defective and to swap it. However, they had none in stock so I am waiting for a replacement.
 
colshine said:
I went to the Apple Store today and they decided it was defective and to swap it. However, they had none in stock so I am waiting for a replacement.
Click to expand...

That's a good result, shame they didn't have any in stock.

Chased the repair agent for an update and they've said its now been passed to another engineer so should be diagnosed and fixed this week....
 
They've now got the replacement all-in-one cable which takes the TB signal from the monitor to the computer. Unfortunately replacing it has killed the video signal from the monitor....

They've ordered another new logic board for it now.
 
This would have been much easier in the US. They don't have an Apple store nearby? if I had this issue I am confident I could take it into an Apple store and get a new one right away.
I have one of the first TB displays too and have had no issues of any kind.
 
DarwinOSX said:
This would have been much easier in the US. They don't have an Apple store nearby? if I had this issue I am confident I could take it into an Apple store and get a new one right away.
I have one of the first TB displays too and have had no issues of any kind.
Click to expand...

Apparently there's no hard and fast rules when it comes to replacements or number of attempted repairs they'll do and its evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

There's an Apple store 45 miles away but I couldn't get through there at the time due to some work I had on. With hindsight that would have been a better option, but it would have been at my cost. If they weren't able to repair or replace while I waited, how many more trips would it have taken to get a resolution? Just really frustrating.
 
ascender said:
Apparently there's no hard and fast rules when it comes to replacements or number of attempted repairs they'll do and its evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

There's an Apple store 45 miles away but I couldn't get through there at the time due to some work I had on. With hindsight that would have been a better option, but it would have been at my cost. If they weren't able to repair or replace while I waited, how many more trips would it have taken to get a resolution? Just really frustrating.
Click to expand...

I get why you wouldn't want to do that drive its just surprising to me that in UK with its better consumer protection laws it appears to be hard to get your display fixed.
 
Good news! The replacement logic board has arrived.

Bad news! Its not fixed the (new) problem or presumably the original one.

They've now had to order a new LED display for it to see if that fixes the dead screen issue. I have emailed Apple about it as I got the contact details of a senior adviser yesterday. TBH I'm not even :mad:, I'm just :confused:
 
I got a call this afternoon that my local store will have my replacement display in stock tomorrow and they will reserve one for me so I can pick it up over the weekend at my leisure. Hopefully the new one will resolve all my issues.
 
Why does Apple's customer service sucks so badly in Europe?
I had already several similar experiences..

alq.
 
ascender said:
Am pulling my hair out with this one....

I got a TB display from the first batch that Apple shipped out in the UK. Very impressed with the screen quality and brightness compared with other screens I've used. However, I can't help but feel I've been sold a lemon and am not sure how to escalate it to try and get it resolved.

After about a week, all the ports on the back stopped working. No USB, no Ethernet, no FW800. Turning the Mac Mini off would restore power at least to the USB ports. Apple said it was a known issue and to wait for the update. At least I could still use the screen. I spoke with them again and went through the usual resetting of PRAM etc to no avail.

Firmware update arrived, didn't make a difference. By now the screen was also failing to wake from sleep sometimes meaning I'd have to power off the Mac Mini and reboot it. Apple said to take it to a service provider. Did that, but the service provider was no longer authorised to repair Apple kit. Apple then organised an uplift by a repair agent in England after I pointed out that Glasgow wasn't just "a 5 minute drive" from Edinburgh.

After hassle with the courier, a week later the screen came back. After cleaning it up to remove the suction-cup marks and various marks, powered it on and the same problem was present. Reinstalled the firmware update which again fixed the problem for a couple of hours, but at some point the ports stopped working. Spoke with Apple, they recommended I take it to a local repair agent (they must have remembered about Cancom existing). Phoned them and they recommended leaving it until mid-January as they have a 2 week waiting list and you could add 2/3 weeks on to that because of holidays.

Apple are now picking up the display again and re-sending it to the same repair agent in England.

Is this normal for Apple? I've bought a fairly expensive screen which hasn't worked since day one and as they attempt to repair it, I seem to the one out of pocket in terms of time, money and inconvenience. Has anyone had any luck in getting Apple to replace a faulty device like this or offer a refund or a swap for something that works like an older 27" display?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with my TD and my MBP-R. I went through all kinds of gyrations, but finally stumbled on the workaround solution and identified what needed repair. I disconnected the Thunderbolt Cable Connector that runs from the All-in-One display cable to the computer's Thunderbolt port. I left power connector from All-in-One cable plugged in to computer. Then I took an extra Thunderbolt cable and connected it to the Thunderbolt port on the computer with the other end connected to the Thunderbolt port on the TD. Apparently, with my unit, either the All-in-One cable or the electronics from where it comes in the TD is bad. I'm taking it to the Apple Retail Store in a day or two for repair.

Hope this is helpful. All ports on display are now functional even when computer wakes from sleep or is commanded to re-start. I don't have to disconnect or monkey around with anything.

BB
 
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