Reports of new MBAs with screen problems

[ender21]

http://www.macworld.com/article/155374/2010/11/macbook_air_screen_issues.html

I've used two different units now and haven't experienced anything. Anyone else?

 

[Bluemeanie1976]

Not here... *touches wood*

 

[wirelessmacuser]

I've just experienced it on mine, again for the third time. I'm not surprised, since lately Apples quality control seems to be less of a priority. Time will tell.

I went through a lot of problems and four defective iPhone 4's before finally getting one that would place and hold a call. If not for the genius's verification that they were indeed defective, I would have been stuck.

It's just the nature of Apple's recent reduction in quality.

 

[Over Achiever]

I wanted to chime in I haven't had any problems so far, and the battery life after calibration has been excellent. I get over six hours on my 11" with just browsing and light work.

 

[Pipper99]

I read this today, and I'm nervous because my 13" shipped today. Argh. We'll see.

 

[AppleGoddess]

Logic board problems, none here I am on it 8 hours a day.

 

[teski]

I had horizontal lines on mine

My maxed out 13.3 arrived last week and had the horizontal lines which killed me when watching videos or dealing with pics. Apple support was fantastic and worked through a few things, and then declared the machine DOA. They gave me FedEx labels and had me ship it back and a new one is being sent out to me now.

I'll report back once I get my new one.

 

[blairh]

I wanted to chime in I haven't had any problems so far, and the battery life after calibration has been excellent. I get over six hours on my 11" with just browsing and light work.

What do you have brightness set at?

 

[iRun26.2]

I wanted to chime in I haven't had any problems so far, and the battery life after calibration has been excellent. I get over six hours on my 11" with just browsing and light work.

That is awesome! What screen brightness setting did you use?

Thanks!

(Opps! I guess I should have read the whole thread before responding).

 

[macbook123]

Post your display models so we can try to narrow down if it's a problem with the display itself or the controller. To do so go to system preferences -> Displays -> Colors, Open the default "Color LCD" profile, scroll all the way down in the list and click item 17. The model will be shown as a 8-digit code starting with 0000. Mine is 00009CF0, or short 9CF0.

 

[acb2m]

No issues so far with my 13". I did have 1 minor thing when I first booted it up. There was a small 5mm artifact right in the middle of my wallpaper, but only the wallpaper. I switched wallpapers 4 times and it was still there. But it did not appear in any window that I opened up over the spot. After about 20 minutes it went away and hasn't come back so "shrug".

 

[Over Achiever]

My display model is 9CF2, 11.6" screen.

My display brightness I've varied depending on ambient light, while in the radiology reading rooms I have the display set at 2-3 bars, otherwise it's currently sitting at half brightness (6-8 bars). I found I rarely need the screen at full brightness indoors, and no I don't feel like I'm straining my eyes either.

 

[FuNGi]

before another thread blows up with Apple haters, countered by devout fans, and sprinkled with the odd statistician read the Apple Support Discussion from whence this wicked rumour (and the media attention) sprang:

Allow me to quote from it for all those not willing to read it:

"Re: MacBook Air 11" Screen "Flicker" and Freeze
Posted: Nov 2, 2010 4:19 PM in response to: DanRyb from: Depths of One

An AppleCare representative told me that engineers are aware of this issue and they'll be issuing a software update soon to correct the problem.

I was instructed to take a picture and screenshot and mail it to them to confirm that my issue is the same one that they're aware of. My issue looks exactly like the one in the YouTube video but did fix itself just by closing the lid and reopening it. "

The thread:http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2629780&start=30&tstart=0

Don't get worked up. If you happen to be one of the unlucky few a fix is apparently coming.

 

[AppleGoddess]

Display 00009CF3 no problems

 

[MikePA]

Display 00009CF3 no problems

Same display, no problems.

 

[tim100]

what is causing the problems is anything activity causing this? how do I know if my machine has it?

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Display 00009CF3 no problems

I checked, this is the same one I have. Unfortunately mine keeps getting worse the more I use it. But at least it's not my primary computer, so I quit using it till there's a solution.

So it's back to using my trusty SSD equipped hi-res 15" mid 2010 i7 MacBook Pro. It's the most reliable of all my Macs.

 

[chrono1081]

As always the media blows up because its a mac, where as no one seems to care about the countless problems various win machines have.

I've always been an early adopter. Glitches and hiccups are the price you pay for this. You will see tons of stupid comments of things like "APPLES QUALITY CONTROL SUCKS" blah blah blah just like every other time a problem surfaces but in reality, it has ZERO to do with quality control, and more to do with mass manufacturing. People want cheap electronics, so they are mass manufactured, when they are mass manufactured, sometimes there are issues that cannot be seen until a ton of people have the machines. You can test all day in labs but until the public gets a large quantity of machines, you will never find all problems.

I myself had lines once and hopefully only once. No biggie. I closed the lid, and reopened it and they went away. I'm an early adopter and I expect it. The tradeoff of having such a great machine to use is worth it to me and I know I am covered under applecare for three years so I really could care less. If a problem happens, I send it in for a fix. I don't come cry about it on a forum like others will do.

Maybe I don't care so much because I've worked in IT for 15+ years and am used to hardware or machine failures. It happens, its not preventable, and Apple will fix it. No biggie.

 

[neteng101]

Unfortunately mine keeps getting worse the more I use it.

You're not getting it replaced?

 

[jeznav]

My maxed out 13.3 arrived last week and had the horizontal lines which killed me when watching videos or dealing with pics. Apple support was fantastic and worked through a few things, and then declared the machine DOA. They gave me FedEx labels and had me ship it back and a new one is being sent out to me now.

I'll report back once I get my new one.

I checked, this is the same one I have. Unfortunately mine keeps getting worse the more I use it. But at least it's not my primary computer, so I quit using it till there's a solution.

So it's back to using my trusty SSD equipped hi-res 15" mid 2010 i7 MacBook Pro. It's the most reliable of all my Macs.

Wirelessmacuser, is yours a custom order? RAM, CPU upgraded?

I have a feeling my maxed out 11" will have the same problem. It not the LCD display at all but the logic board.

 

[ender21]

I'm an early adopter and I expect it.

Yeah but haven't laptops been around for decades now? I can buy that suggestion with something like the first hddvd/blu-ray discs or players, or the Gen 1 iPhone, or the first CD players made, the first HDTVs, etc.

At the end of the day I'm a tech geek too and I will always trade a few bugs for greater usefulness/enjoyment than I had before, since it helps streamline the process for the next gen of tech. But that's what should happen. The process should iteratively get better despite scaling up of manufacturing. This is a notebook computer though. I don't see the "early adopter" correlation so much for this. However....

Maybe I don't care so much because I've worked in IT for 15+ years and am used to hardware or machine failures. It happens, its not preventable, and Apple will fix it. No biggie.

...I agree. I've been tearing apart, building, fixing, breaking, fixing again, computers and other tech since my parents' Apple IIe. Stuff happens.

Display 00009CF3 no problems

9CF0 for both units I've used. No problems.

 

[blairh]

My display model is 9CF2, 11.6" screen.

My display brightness I've varied depending on ambient light, while in the radiology reading rooms I have the display set at 2-3 bars, otherwise it's currently sitting at half brightness (6-8 bars). I found I rarely need the screen at full brightness indoors, and no I don't feel like I'm straining my eyes either.

That's awesome if that works for you. I personally can't handle anything below half brightness if I need to read text. Also don't like to go below that if I'm watching a movie, etc. So basically half brightness is the lowest I can stomach.

I keep brightness on at two or three bars below full when using my MBP at home. With that said I'm guessing I'd get close to 5 hours with my normal use. Tempting, but I think I'll keep my MBP for travels until the MBA battery continues to make improvements. I'm glad it works for you.

 

[potentpotable]

9CF2

And I had a video card glitch.

 

[ImperialX]

Nope, and 99% of MBA adaptors don't either.

It's just a bad batch, that's all. The media exploding because it's a Mac? Expected.

 

[ender21]

The media exploding because it's a Mac? Expected.

I'm wondering where everyone is seeing the media "exploding" about this. I saw the report I posted and then another on PC World, but that's all so far. They appear to just be reports, as well.

I'm seeing more about the iphone Daylight Savings issue than I am about this.