Reason for Yellow Tint

[redeye be]

this is caused by a sticker?

highly unlikely.

OMG.

These are the first picture i see of the issue. Most remarks I read were about a yellow gradient in the lower parts of the screen. Those screens are just ridiculous.

I nevertheless keep on hoping it's the sticker. As it does seem so easy to fix.

 

[mkrishnan]

Does the Apple logo look yellowed on the back, also?

 

[kolax]

Nah, Apple logo is white from all angles - but the Apple logo has a white cover on it, so wouldn't be affected by the yellow tint.

 

[4np]

this is caused by a sticker?
...
highly unlikely.

Ouch... that looks horrible! I sure hope my MacBook Pro that arrives next friday is not going to look like that :S

In apple hardware you frequently see these yellowish / golden strips everywhere. Either for cunductivity or protection? Anyways; I can imagine that it may reflect yellowish light; I only wonder if it can be fixed in 'just 2 minutes' (I think it's a whole lot of more work) and if it really is caused by some strip or sticker.

One would think that if it indeed is a sticker they should have changed production lines by now...

Also, reading the other threads, I am getting the idea that the yellow tint problem mostly occurs in Samsung screens and the LG screens tend to be better... Also, it looks like the problem is less frequent on the latest builds...

 

[Sbrocket]

Wow, that's the first pictures I've seen too...that's horrible. Glad mine doesn't look like that, I would have sent it back in a heartbeat. Didn't know it was such a readily noticeable problem. I thought people were just being nit-picky.

 

[Smoothie]

Those pictures show the yellow tint when viewed from the side. Every LED backlit MBP I've seen exhibits that, including the panels made by LG/Philips. Unlike LCD TVs, most notebook computers have displays that don't have a wide viewing angle. Even with non-LED backlighting, the display will tend to get washed out when viewed from the side. I think that the problem with the MBP LED display that most people are referring to is seeing a yellowish tint when viewed from straight ahead -- usually on the lower portion of the screen.

 

[4np]

Those pictures show the yellow tint when viewed from the side. Every LED backlit MBP I've seen exhibits that, including the panels made by LG/Philips. Unlike LCD TVs, most notebook computers have displays that don't have a wide viewing angle. Even with non-LED backlighting, the display will tend to get washed out when viewed from the side. I think that the problem with the MBP LED display that most people are referring to is seeing a yellowish tint when viewed from straight ahead -- usually on the lower portion of the screen.

The other screens in the same photographs were photographed at the same viewing angles and don't show the yellow coloring... must be a MBP thing then? Or a LED screen shing...

 

[kolax]

The other screen in the photo is a MacBook not a Pro, hence why there is no yellowing.

 

[Smoothie]

The other screens in the same photographs were photographed at the same viewing angles and don't show the yellow coloring... must be a MBP thing then? Or a LED screen shing...

It appears to be an LED thing. I know a guy who travels alot with his 17 inch MBP. He's applied a film made by 3M over the display to reduce the viewing angle even more. He does this for security. Someone sitting next to him on a plane can't see the display at all.

 

[kolax]

It appears to be an LED thing. I know a guy who travels alot with his 17 inch MBP. He's applied a film made by 3M over the display to reduce the viewing angle even more. He does this for security. Someone sitting next to him on a plane can't see the display at all.

Haha. If you are after privacy and don't want people seeing your screen, seems daft to get the biggest laptop there is.

 

[Mr Fusion]

Those pictures do not represent the problem!

Those pictures show the yellow tint when viewed from the side. Every LED backlit MBP I've seen exhibits that, including the panels made by LG/Philips. Unlike LCD TVs, most notebook computers have displays that don't have a wide viewing angle. Even with non-LED backlighting, the display will tend to get washed out when viewed from the side. I think that the problem with the MBP LED display that most people are referring to is seeing a yellowish tint when viewed from straight ahead -- usually on the lower portion of the screen.

Thank you.

The yellow tint from the side is not the yellow tint defect that myself and others are returning MBP's for. The problem occurs when the display is viewed from straight on, not up or down or side to side. The bottom third of the screen has a yellow tint. It is a hardware issue, those who have claimed to have fixed it by calibration either did not have this particular issue to begin with or only minimized its effects.

That it occurs on just one similar part of the screen, and that it is not tied to either glossy / matte or manufacturer makes an object placed on it during assembly [like a sticker] a likely culprit.

 

[Burnsey]

Thank you.

The yellow tint from the side is not the yellow tint defect that myself and others are returning MBP's for. The problem occurs when the display is viewed from straight on, not up or down or side to side. The bottom third of the screen has a yellow tint. It is a hardware issue, those who have claimed to have fixed it by calibration either did not have this particular issue to begin with or only minimized its effects.

That it occurs on just one similar part of the screen, and that it is not tied to either glossy / matte or manufacturer makes an object placed on it during assembly [like a sticker] a likely culprit.

I know they go yellow from the side, my point is that it's more yellow at the bottom than everywhere else. In other words taking a pic from the side makes the problem more apparent than taking a pic of it dead on.

In the first pic I posted, the display is clearly more yellow at the bottom, when in fact the yellowness should be uniform (and indeed there is slight yellowness towards the top). in the third pic I posted the bottom part is more yellow than towards the top, when theoretically it should be uniform in yellowness.

 

[aliquis-]

We've seen sloppy thermal paste application, why not sloppy stickering?

lol, maybe someone put like 50 stickers in there, just to be sure!!

 

[aliquis-]

The other screens in the same photographs were photographed at the same viewing angles and don't show the yellow coloring... must be a MBP thing then? Or a LED screen shing...

Viewing angles for the MBP are said to be 110/120 degrees, maybe the other is 160 degrees or so.

 

[Aranince]

You know...I just noticed this: I have an LCD desktop screen (19") and every so often it turns yellowish. And the reason is the plug into the computer needs to be readjusted. Could the connection possible be part of the problem?

 

[digitalpencil]

not familiar with the issue as I haven't ordered mine yet but are you sure this isn't merely a driver/calibration issue.

Only reason i mention is due to reports of flickering, black screens etc on connection/disconnection of vga/s-video adapter which, triggers the display settings to re-calibrate.
Also, my current iBook G4 suffers this problem except that it tints the screen blue. This was a known issue according to apple but a fix was never released as it only affected a few early models.

Very much doubt this is caused by a sticker.. hopefully, a driver update will alleviate this issue.

 

[Killyp]

You know...I just noticed this: I have an LCD desktop screen (19") and every so often it turns yellowish. And the reason is the plug into the computer needs to be readjusted. Could the connection possible be part of the problem?

Doubt it, you're connecting via VGA no? All internal Apple displays are connected digitally, which means you get everything, or nothing. There is no in-between.

 

[Sopranino]

Don't know if this has already been posted but I'll bring the info to those know who don't know.

I was speaking to a college at work (we sell laptops, tv's etc) and he said he had had to deal with a customer returning a MBP because of yellow tint. I was interested since I have the same problem with mine.

Apparently, the problem is that there is a yellow sticker at the side of the screen that is there to act as a seal - so if it gets broken Apple know you have tampered with the screen. But, this yellow sticker reflects light sometimes and is projected onto the screen, hence causing this problem.

I'm not sure where the sticker is, but it might be near the last 3rd of the screen ; possibly why people notice the bottom of the screen being yellow.

He said that he called Apple, and they confirmed the yellow sticker problem, and said it would be a 2 minute job opening the screen and removing the sticker.

I'm going to take mine to my local Apple vender and see if this is truely the case - nothing fully confirmed yet.

That is a rather interesting revelation. If accurate that means the bottom 1/3 yellow tint problems are actually pretty minor.

I have read through the rest of the posts in this thread and I note with interest the pictures posted showing an overall yellow tint. Two things that I should mention regarding those pictures:
1) The yellow tinting is only visible at an extreme angle.
2) The yellow tint applies to the ENTIRE screen.

Conclusion: Those pictures, although very good, show a different issue (which, by the way, is actually not a problem). The issue revolves around two further points.
1) At an angle an LED backlight can give a slight yellow tinge to the entire screen.
2) The colour profile plays a role in the side view tint.

Solution: For the overall yellow tint as shown in the pictures is to play around with the colour profiles until you have one that works well for you. (And short of working in an environment where accurate colour is required, you can set the profile to be anything that you like)

Kilamite, are you going to post back with the results of your trip to the Apple Store? I think everyone here is going to be very interested in the verdict.

Sopranino

 

[4np]

The other screen in the photo is a MacBook not a Pro, hence why there is no yellowing.

Yeah, and the other screen is a cinema display, so what? It just shows that only the MBP shows yellow and the other screens do not disform...

 

[SirCrumpet]

Doubt it, you're connecting via VGA no? All internal Apple displays are connected digitally, which means you get everything, or nothing. There is no in-between.

hmm... I seem to remember having the same problem (colour issues) using a dodgy connection from my MBP to a 24" Dell LCD using only a DVI Cable...

 

[maverick808]

Doubt it, you're connecting via VGA no? All internal Apple displays are connected digitally, which means you get everything, or nothing. There is no in-between.

Actually, only receiving part of a DVI signal is certainly possible. It's easy to see on any connection. Plug the DVI cable in until you have a perfect picture and then pull it out very very slowly. At some point you'll definitely see parts of the image flicker, a whole color to be lost (screen goes completely blue tinted or something), or other defects.

It would be true that you could only get all or nothing if there was only one wire, but look at your DVI connector. Any one of those pins not connecting means part of the information is lost.

In short, yes, a loose or damaged DVI cable could be the problem.

 

[mrb2]

this is caused by a sticker?

highly unlikely.

OMG Please read people...

These pic's do not show the yellowish issue!!!

The yellowish on the pics is the (bad) viewing angel and is visible at all macbook pro's and has notting to do with a defect.

The yellowish at the bottom of the screen is visible when looking from the front. So it has notting to do with viewing the screen from the side.

 

[yrsonicdeath]

Actually, only receiving part of a DVI signal is certainly possible. It's easy to see on any connection. Plug the DVI cable in until you have a perfect picture and then pull it out very very slowly. At some point you'll definitely see parts of the image flicker, a whole color to be lost (screen goes completely blue tinted or something), or other defects.

It would be true that you could only get all or nothing if there was only one wire, but look at your DVI connector. Any one of those pins not connecting means part of the information is lost.

In short, yes, a loose or damaged DVI cable could be the problem.

I agree I think this mostly applies to digital TV signals, although even then it's possible to get a pixelated, partial picture.

 

[kolax]

I went to my Apple Retailer (note: it isn't an official Apple store) and spoke to the guy. He seemed oblivious to anything related to yellow tint. He said he'd book it in for repair and that's all he could offer.

I decided to call Apple to see if I got a different story - the guy was very helpful. Gave me a few tests to try, and he determined the problem was all over and not related to software (i.e. a hardware fault) since we booted off a CD and the fact that the yellow tint was there during startup at the grey screen and also when in safe mode.

The Apple guy on the phone also didn't know anything about yellow tint. Bit disappointing that no one seems to know about it (or they are pretending they don't know).

I'll try and get in touch with the guy who told me that it was a yellow sticker and see who he got in contact with to get that information. But for now, there doesn't seem to be a solution Apple offer apart from a replacement/repair.

Having never opened a laptop screen before - it seems like it is a lot of work, thus a quick repair doesn't seem likely.

It would be nice if someone from Apple could acknowledge the problem and give us guidance on the cause and the best solution. I don't really want to be without my MBP for a few weeks.

Sorry for the disappointment - but the yellow sticker as a cause is still possible.

 

[maverick808]

I went to my Apple Retailer (note: it isn't an official Apple store) and spoke to the guy. He seemed oblivious to anything related to yellow tint. He said he'd book it in for repair and that's all he could offer.

Scotsys on Nicolson street? They are generally quite good and handle repairs well.

I still don't believe the problem could be a sticker and whoever told you this was either a doofus or was having a laugh at your expense.