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Users Find Some New MacBook Pros Suffer From Major Graphics Issues

"These are the best Dongles we have ever made" - Phil S.

Bubba Satori said:
Yes.
Dongles on the other hand are insanely profitable.

Dongles.png
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MacRumors said:



Since new MacBook Pro models launched last month, an increasing number of early adopters have reported serious graphics issues on Apple's latest notebooks. The glitches and other problems appear to be most prevalent on built-to-order 15-inch models, but standard 13-inch and 15-inch configurations are also affected.

MacRumors reader Jan Becker, for example, said the graphics began to glitch on his new high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro, equipped with built-to-order AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics, while transcoding video with Adobe Media Encoder in Premiere Pro. The notebook subsequently crashed.


Becker claims when he took his MacBook Pro to an Apple retail store to be replaced, an employee said the graphics issues are likely a hardware problem. He later claimed he received a phone call from Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, where it allegedly has a team of engineers looking into the issues.The most common symptoms reported by users include brightly colored flickering, full-screen checkerboard patterns, screen tearing, and other visual artifacts. Affected systems may subsequently experience unresponsiveness or a kernel panic, sometimes resulting in the MacBook Pro crashing.

2016-macbook-pro-glitching.jpg

15-inch MacBook Pro with AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics with full-screen visual artifacts​

The high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and built-to-order AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics appears to be most commonly afflicted, but several users have reported similar issues on 15-inch models equipped with standard AMD Radeon Pro 450 or AMD Radeon Pro 455 GPUs as well.

MacRumors reader Jayselle recorded his 15-inch MacBook Pro with AMD Radeon Pro 455 graphics flickering while connected to two external LG displays.


It is not entirely clear if the issues are a hardware or software problem. The graphics appear to act up most when users are completing intensive tasks, such as transcoding video with Adobe Media Encoder, syncing large photo libraries with Photos, or using other Adobe apps such as Photoshop and Lightroom.

It would initially seem the issue is limited to 15-inch MacBook Pro models with dedicated AMD graphics, but there are a few isolated reports of graphics issues on 13-inch models with integrated Intel Iris 540 and Intel Iris 550 graphics -- including the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with a standard row of function keys.


User complaints extend to the Apple Support Communities and other MacRumors discussion topics, indicating the graphics issues are rather widespread, but not all users are affected. Some speculate the latest macOS Sierra beta may fix the issues, but evidence remains anecdotal.

Separately, a number of users are reporting brief glitches during the boot up process on new MacBook Pro models, particularly along the bottom of the screen. It appears this issue is related to FileVault 2 startup disk encryption, as the glitches go away for many of these users once the feature is disabled.

checkered-mbp.jpg

As insurance, Apple's extended holiday return policy is currently in effect. MacBook Pros purchased or delivered between November 10 and December 25 are eligible for return until January 8, 2017 in the United States, Australia, and Canada, or January 20 in the United Kingdom and some other European countries.

Select 2011-2013 MacBook Pro models have exhibited similar graphics issues in the past, including distorted video, no video, or unexpected system restarts. Apple accordingly launched a Repair Extension Program offering free repairs and refunds, but not before facing a class action lawsuit over the matter.

Apple appears to be aware of and is investigating these latest graphics issues, but it has yet to publicly comment on the matter. Apple been actively exchanging MacBook Pros for affected customers, according to users. Schedule a Genius Bar appointment or contact Apple Support to facilitate this process.

Article Link: Users Find Some New MacBook Pros Suffer From Major Graphics Issues
Click to expand...
This can be fixed in 10 minutes with a good programmer.
 
aristobrat said:
Out of curiosity, how new are you to following Apple in terms of product issues?

Here's a partial list of some of the bigger ones that happened before Cook's reign.

Here is a paragraph from a MacWorld review of updated Apple PowerBooks from back in 2003.

http://www.macworld.com/article/1027456/15inchpowerbookg4s.html

There are more Titanium and Aluminum PowerBook quality issues listed here and here. Apple had to create "Repair Extension Programs" for two of the Aluminum PowerBook problems.

iBooks from 2001-2003 had enough issues with components failing on the logic board to get their own worldwide logic board repair extension program.

In 2006, a lot of MacBooks were affected by the "Random Shutdown Syndrome", where when a component inside got hot enough, the MacBook would turn off. This quality issue got enough traction that zdnet published an article telling owners how to proactively check for it.

MacBook Pros were notorious for yellow tinted screens back in 2008, very similar to what's going on now (IMO). A MacRumors user returning MBPs with yellow tinted screen ended up getting banned from Amazon for life because of it. :/

In 2010, yellow tint issues were affecting iMacs, and it got a fair amount of coverage in the blogosphere:
Apple admits to yellow-tint iMac issues | MacWorld
The Conclusion to the Faulty iMac Saga: The Beginning of the Fix - gizmodo
How to address a cracked, flickering, or yellow-tinted 27-inch iMac screen - cnet
Apple Acknowledges, Will Service iMac Screen Color Issues - gigaom
Apple Claims Display Issues on 27-Inch iMac Have Been Addressed - macrumors

There are other quality control snafus (from swelling batteries to bad capacitors in iMacs to hi-res G4 screens with horizontal banding issues) to pad between the dates above, but I think enough is listed to demonstrate that quality issues and Apple aren't anything new under Tim Cook.
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Thank you. This is nothing new for apple. And the sky is not falling. Rev A products have problems. There will be a repair program. Life will go on. The dramatics will continue about something else.
 
Mark Booth said:
I'm not an Apple hater. I've been an Apple fanatic for 30+ years, preaching the Apple gospel to anyone that would listen.

That is, until the last year or so. The luster has faded from that once-shiny piece of fruit. Apple has lost its way. Apple is chasing the easy dollars at the expense of its dedicated fan base. Apple used to be about always doing the RIGHT thing. Not just socially and in business, but in the way it treated ALL of its customers, pros and beginners alike.

Apple is now just another electronics manufacturer. It's on its way to being another Sony. True innovation has given way to stagnation and the manufacture of appliances.

And that makes me very very sad.

Mark
Click to expand...

I agree. In particular your use of the word appliances.

There was a time when Apple hardware was exciting. Now it is about as exciting as an appliance - a toaster, an oven, a fridge...

It could be argued that computing has reached that age, where it is as common and stable as an appliance, at least for some (such as those only seeking to log into instagram), but even still, what happened to Apple's ability to inspire and excite?

While their industrial design still shines over that of HP or Dell, or many others, does that really matter when that is all they seem to have going for them now. And I must say that too is fading a bit as they exit the peripheral market (Airport, monitors).

I am not a doomsayer. I won't predict what the company could or will do.

I can only say for myself that the past while their product launches have gone from something I looked forward to, to something I will catch the highlights on MR for. This reflects what might be called a lack of 'exciting new products', but in a mature market, we should not expect much more than small changes. This is where the risk to Apple lies as I see it - the products have become more and more akin to disposable appliances, and who gets excited or is loyal to disposable appliances? When people that used to be excited by their designs and technology begin to see them as exciting as when Braun releases a new electric shaver, they won't be anything different from the HPs and Dells of the computing world. As things stand now, based on comments on this board, when that happens, they are going to be in bad place when people see for double the price all you get is a shiny case at best.
 
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I have the same issue as the news article describes. Rendering in Premiere or Media Encoder CC 2017 causes the system to hang and the screen to display the same craziness.

2.9GHz 460 Radeon 1TB SSD

I assumed that it would be fixed in a software update but the news article made me call Apple. They have just told me that they have no way of knowing what the problem is yet and to just have the machine replaced. I really hope that this is just a small batch of machines and not something common to most of them :/

Any news yet? Is this a hardware issue?
 
Does anyone know anything about computers? The graphics architecture of these machines is fairly different between the base 13 and the 15" versions. If glitches are appearing on BOTH, it's not likely that this is hardware, but rather a systemic software issue that likely relates to specific components that these machines share exactly. It may be as simple as a software issue relative to the new color output.

Robert
 
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Apple should just build their own GPU. Remember the Late 2008 MBP with the Mr Blinking Blinky issue that Apple kept denying was a problem? It seems to be always something to do with GPU for Apple when it comes to problems.
 
p
dark knight said:
I have the same issue as the news article describes. Rendering in Premiere or Media Encoder CC 2017 causes the system to hang and the screen to display the same craziness.

2.9GHz 460 Radeon 1TB SSD

I assumed that it would be fixed in a software update but the news article made me call Apple. They have just told me that they have no way of knowing what the problem is yet and to just have the machine replaced. I really hope that this is just a small batch of machines and not something common to most of them :/

Any news yet? Is this a hardware issue?
Click to expand...

Oh dear, this looks like chaos and trouble for the company. The battery problem of the iPhone 6S is another one: nobody knows why this happens that it suddenly shuts down - even older iPhone 6 users are having this issue. First everybody thought it was a small batch but now it seems it is even more widespread. The same is maybe true for the Apple MacBook Pro issue? The more units they sell the more customer feedback is going on?
 
aristobrat said:
Out of curiosity, how new are you to following Apple in terms of product issues?

Here's a partial list of some of the bigger ones that happened before Cook's reign.

Here is a paragraph from a MacWorld review of updated Apple PowerBooks from back in 2003.

http://www.macworld.com/article/1027456/15inchpowerbookg4s.html

There are more Titanium and Aluminum PowerBook quality issues listed here and here. Apple had to create "Repair Extension Programs" for two of the Aluminum PowerBook problems.

iBooks from 2001-2003 had enough issues with components failing on the logic board to get their own worldwide logic board repair extension program.

In 2006, a lot of MacBooks were affected by the "Random Shutdown Syndrome", where when a component inside got hot enough, the MacBook would turn off. This quality issue got enough traction that zdnet published an article telling owners how to proactively check for it.

MacBook Pros were notorious for yellow tinted screens back in 2008, very similar to what's going on now (IMO). A MacRumors user returning MBPs with yellow tinted screen ended up getting banned from Amazon for life because of it. :/

In 2010, yellow tint issues were affecting iMacs, and it got a fair amount of coverage in the blogosphere:
Apple admits to yellow-tint iMac issues | MacWorld
The Conclusion to the Faulty iMac Saga: The Beginning of the Fix - gizmodo
How to address a cracked, flickering, or yellow-tinted 27-inch iMac screen - cnet
Apple Acknowledges, Will Service iMac Screen Color Issues - gigaom
Apple Claims Display Issues on 27-Inch iMac Have Been Addressed - macrumors

There are other quality control snafus (from swelling batteries to bad capacitors in iMacs to hi-res G4 screens with horizontal banding issues) to pad between the dates above, but I think enough is listed to demonstrate that quality issues and Apple aren't anything new under Tim Cook.
Click to expand...

Believe me, I've been around since the black and white Mac days and I know Apple very well. I know about a lot more issues that aren't publicly known...as I worked for AppleCare in the early 00's. An example is a huge issue with 3rd party RAM and Drives in the titanium PowerBook that fried the logic boards in 2002. No one knew about it because Apple changed them out without telling the customer the details for $0.00. Even out of warranty (a happy customer is a quiet customer). Kbase had a huge red note on it telling you not to speak about it. Since most people never bother opening up the laptop after upgrading it...most never noticed their Maxtors and 3rd party ram were now Apple branded. There were a lot of hush hush issues like that. So I know more than most about this subject. It is with that that I can say the items coming out of Cupertino...or rather China...now are having issues that are immediately noticeable and not items you find out after components start to get heavy usage hours on them. QuickSilver G4's had logic board and processor board failures like crazy....but only after 1+ years of heavy use. Not a week after shipping. I almost think Apple might know about these issues prior to shipping and just lets it go because it's cheaper that way. Years ago that was not the case as extensive research was done to see what was going on. Today they seem to know. Just my $.02.

I direct you here LOL!
 
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jwpoof said:
Thank you. This is nothing new for apple. And the sky is not falling. Rev A products have problems. There will be a repair program. Life will go on. The dramatics will continue about something else.
Click to expand...

This is NOT a rev A problem. This is a problem with a machine that should never have been built, and certainly should never have been sold as a "Pro" machine.

Rev A of the MBP actually worked beautifully. Sure, the aluminum bent more easily than it should have, but it was a great Macintosh back in 2006. It was rev B when they starting having problems with the graphics chips (the 2.2/2.4 Nvidia fiasco). That one was Nvidia's fault, but Apple hasn't been able to get graphics right on a laptop since.

What Apple is calling "Pro" these days is actually an executive laptop. It's thin and pretty, the perfect machine for a lawyer, a high-level manager, or even a CEO to carry. But it's not up to hard work.

How can Apple fix it?

Start by making it thicker. More battery, more cooling, more RAM, more powerful processor, more powerful graphics chip, more storage. An actual pro would be happy with a machine 3x the thickness if it had the needed power.
 
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Mildredop said:
They won't be over until there's a viable alternative.

Windows isn't something I'm interested in going back to and Google aren't offering anything. For the time being, as much as I want to leave Apple, I'm stuck.
Click to expand...

Oh I agree. But no so long ago their products were nearly flawless. I find a new bug everyday in iOS now
 
Victor Mortimer said:
What Apple is calling "Pro" these days is actually an executive laptop. It's thin and pretty, the perfect machine for a lawyer, a high-level manager, or even a CEO to carry. But it's not up to hard work.
Click to expand...

Lol that you think lawyers don't put their computers up to hard work. My CPU spends more time pegged now than it did when I was a microprocessor designer.
 
keysofanxiety said:
I know! This is the first time a Mac has ever had graphics issues. The 2007-2008 NVIDIA MacBook Pros were faultless. And let's not forget how rock solid the 2011 AMD MBPs were.
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Early 2013 rMBP with 5 logic board replacements due to AMD GPU reporting in....

Now out of Apple Care :eek:
 
Victor Mortimer said:
This is NOT a rev A problem. This is a problem with a machine that should never have been built, and certainly should never have been sold as a "Pro" machine.

Rev A of the MBP actually worked beautifully. Sure, the aluminum bent more easily than it should have, but it was a great Macintosh back in 2006. It was rev B when they starting having problems with the graphics chips (the 2.2/2.4 Nvidia fiasco). That one was Nvidia's fault, but Apple hasn't been able to get graphics right on a laptop since.

What Apple is calling "Pro" these days is actually an executive laptop. It's thin and pretty, the perfect machine for a lawyer, a high-level manager, or even a CEO to carry. But it's not up to hard work.

How can Apple fix it?

Start by making it thicker. More battery, more cooling, more RAM, more powerful processor, more powerful graphics chip, more storage. An actual pro would be happy with a machine 3x the thickness if it had the needed power.
Click to expand...

Are we going to have this discussion with every issue out there?

News: New MacBooks get scratched easiliy
MacRumors Forum Poster: That's because Apple needs a thicker computer and more RAM!

Give it a rest already. These new MBPs run cooler than previous ones, and their CPU performance is much better because they don't throttle nearly as much. So, no, they don't need more cooling or thicker design.

I'm an actual pro and I don't want a machine that is 3x thicker. You assume too much.
[doublepost=1480786285][/doublepost]
keithjfuller said:
Every professional knew these jokebook pros were garbage. Now regular people are starting to see it too.
Click to expand...

Can't afford one?
 
Last edited:
Cineplex said:
Believe me, I've been around since the black and white Mac days and I know Apple very well. I know about a lot more issues that aren't publicly known...as I worked for AppleCare in the early 00's. An example is a huge issue with 3rd party RAM and Drives in the titanium PowerBook that fried the logic boards in 2002. No one knew about it because Apple changed them out without telling the customer the details for $0.00. Even out of warranty (a happy customer is a quiet customer). Kbase had a huge red note on it telling you not to speak about it. Since most people never bother opening up the laptop after upgrading it...most never noticed their Maxtors and 3rd party ram were now Apple branded. There were a lot of hush hush issues like that. So I know more than most about this subject. It is with that that I can say the items coming out of Cupertino...or rather China...now are having issues that are immediately noticeable and not items you find out after components start to get heavy usage hours on them. QuickSilver G4's had logic board and processor board failures like crazy....but only after 1+ years of heavy use. Not a week after shipping. I almost think Apple might know about these issues prior to shipping and just lets it go because it's cheaper that way. Years ago that was not the case as extensive research was done to see what was going on. Today they seem to know. Just my $.02.

I direct you here LOL!
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing this. This reminds me of the downfall of Commodore, a home computer company in the 1980ies and early 1990ies that have built the Commodore Amiga (Amiga 500, 600, 1200, 2000, 3000, 4000...). They shipped a lot of components (for example accessory cards) which had issues and pushed them into the market even if engineers have told them before that it would cause issues to customers. And all of that because to save some costs which has caused a lot more harm to the company afterwards by replacing faulty parts. In the end they became bankrupt because a lot of management failures have added more and more problems to their business and they never have found a way to build up a reliable business customer base.
 
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keysofanxiety said:
??? Do you mean the 15" Early 2013 with the NVIDIA 650M?

If so, there's still a repair program for it: https://www.apple.com/uk/support/macbookpro-videoissues/
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****, you're right, see attachment. I knew it was one of the "bad batch" ones though, as the Apple guy mentioned it when I brought it in to be fixed under AppleCare.

I happened to have bought the 2011 AMD MBP as well, I sure know how to pick them!

Good to know about the repair program, I have until March 2017 apparently, hope I now have a good one! :)
 

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A-Sign said:
Thank you for sharing this. This reminds me of the downfall of Commodore, a home computer company in the 1980ies and early 1990ies that have built the Commodore Amiga. They shipped a lot of components (for example accessory cards) which had issues and pushed them into the market even if engineers have told them before that it would cause issues to customers. And all of that because to save some costs which has caused a lot more harm to the company afterwards by replacing faulty parts. In the end they became bankrupt because a lot of management failures have added more and more problems to their business and they never have found a way to build up a reliable business customer base.
Click to expand...
They would have sank a lot faster if the Video Toaster and Scala MM wasn't only on their platform. The broadcast and cablecast markets kept them going for a bit after the consumers left. Right now Apple doesn't even have that, a killer app. Final Cut? Nope. They killed that market. Logic? Not really...Pro Tools is #1. Shake? Oh ya...NO! There is nothing to keep the customers retained. Well they are #1 in emojis!
[doublepost=1480787091][/doublepost]Remember that article a few weeks ago about the graphics card reporting the wrong version in System Profiler? I bet that is related.
 
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Cineplex said:
Right now Apple doesn't even have that, a killer app. Final Cut? Nope. They killed that market. Logic? Not really...Pro Tools is #1. Shake? Oh ya...NO! There is nothing to keep the customers retained. Well they are #1 in emojis!
Click to expand...

Because build quality, screen quality, input quality, design, etc. doesn't count at all. Because macOS doesn't count at all. Nothing to keep the customers retained. You're right - all of us who bought new Apple products are just crazy mad, so leave us here, leave us in our insanity - go, my friend, go far away. Go! Leave this place of misery! No, no need to write a response, I'm just crazy as the rest of them, just leave me here and go! No, no, no, I'm serious, don't write anything, don't click that 'reply' button - just go! We'll stay here and suffer with our MacBook Pros, while you enjoy the sanely problem-free world of Dell and HP. Because Windows 10 is just the same, right? Even better, right? Because they also have that great build quality! Yeah. That's the sane choice - keep saying that to yourself and leave!
 
I used to use Macbook Pro 2011 15' model and had the similar GPU glitches issue.
I wrote in another thread about a month ago already, but, again, this new 2016 models are too thin, and they might have heat and solder issue just like 2011 model.
Apple thinks only how it looks and how thin they can make. But that's the wrong direction for especially 15's.

I purchased 2015 refurbished 15' on the same day of the announcement of 2016, which made me disappointed, and Im happy with my decision.

I read some users are claiming the battery life is much shorter than Apple's announcement.
This might be related to this graphic issue.
When solder crack is happening, it consumes more energy. It's kind of energy leaking on the solder points between logic board and the graphic chip.
 
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