Sierra makes my 2011 MBP screens blurred

[coghlan]

I didn't have this problem with El Capitan, but ever since I upgraded my 2011 MPB to Sierra, I've had problems with blurred screens/fonts. It's driving me nuts. If I log off, the problem briefly goes away and then returns.

I should mention that I do not have a Retina screen and use 1280x800 screen resolution.

 

[FNH15]

What, exactly, do you mean by "blurry?" A screenshot when this happens would assist us in pinpointing the cause...

 

[coghlan]

What, exactly, do you mean by "blurry?" A screenshot when this happens would assist us in pinpointing the cause...

Sorry for the delay in replying. I think I found the trigger. First, I have 15" MBP 2011 (non-Retina). I use 1280x800 rather than 1440x900 resolution to enlarge all fonts. Fonts were always clear under El Capitan, but suddenly started becoming fuzzy/blurry/bleeding, especially on menu bars. I finally got fed up and experimented to see what would trigger this behaviour.

After launching Word, Excel, iTunes, Safari, Chrome...all the applications I usually run, I discovered that what turns the display fuzzy is launching Photos. When this app is loaded, my fonts are fuzzy and tend to have "shadows". Very annoying to look at. However, as soon as I quit Photos, the problem goes away.

 

[lclev]

That is just weird but given all the interesting issues I have had with Sierra nothing surprises me. I wonder if you would change the resolution to 1440x900 if that would make the fuzziness go away in Photos. I understand why you want the larger resolution but for the sake of seeing if that fixed the fuzziness in Photos it would answer that question. I imagine Sierra may have been optimized for 1440X900.

 

[coghlan]

That is just weird but given all the interesting issues I have had with Sierra nothing surprises me. I wonder if you would change the resolution to 1440x900 if that would make the fuzziness go away in Photos. I understand why you want the larger resolution but for the sake of seeing if that fixed the fuzziness in Photos it would answer that question. I imagine Sierra may have been optimized for 1440X900.

If I start at 1440x900 and launch Photos, the fonts don't turn fuzzy. The problem seems to clear up, at least for a while when I switch back to the lower res.

 

[lclev]

Well from what you indicate it seems to be only Photos that triggers the problem. I did change my MB Air to 1280x800 and opened Photos. I had no fuzziness. I opened the photo editor part and messed with it for a while and everything looked fine.

I do have a 2011 Macbook Pro but it is at work and I will not be able to test it until Sunday. I will give it a try and let you know what I found.

I know there was a recall on the video cards of the 2011 MB Pro that expires December 31, 2016. Unfortunately I don't think fuzzy fonts in photos will convince them to fix it as the problems most have had are much more severe. I also hesitate to suggest it as they are using refurbished logicboards and a number of people have had issues with those too.

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

 

[coghlan]

Well from what you indicate it seems to be only Photos that triggers the problem. I did change my MB Air to 1280x800 and opened Photos. I had no fuzziness. I opened the photo editor part and messed with it for a while and everything looked fine.

I do have a 2011 Macbook Pro but it is at work and I will not be able to test it until Sunday. I will give it a try and let you know what I found.

I know there was a recall on the video cards of the 2011 MB Pro that expires December 31, 2016. Unfortunately I don't think fuzzy fonts in photos will convince them to fix it as the problems most have had are much more severe. I also hesitate to suggest it as they are using refurbished logicboards and a number of people have had issues with those too.

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Yes, I also had the video card problem back in 2015. The no-lead solder that had been used created open connections, and Apple replaced my MB. This new problem only started since I installed the new OS.

 

[scrmtrey]

Why would u want to lower resolution on 15inch screen ? It is bad even on native resolution, of course it will be blurry and fuzzy on non-native resolution.

I mean what did u expect to get a retina out of 2011 mbp ? Some people on this forum really surprise me on the next level. And also the new font on sierra is not designed to be on non-retina screens.

 

[thekev]

And also the new font on sierra is not designed to be on non-retina screens.

How do you figure? Apple still supports a number of non-retina screens. It's unlikely that a hardware issue would produce blurry text, but I don't know how you could claim any of this.

 

[coghlan]

Why would u want to lower resolution on 15inch screen ? It is bad even on native resolution, of course it will be blurry and fuzzy on non-native resolution.

I mean what did u expect to get a retina out of 2011 mbp ? Some people on this forum really surprise me on the next level. And also the new font on sierra is not designed to be on non-retina screens.

I'm a boomer and have presbyopia, so I need fonts to be a bit larger. With Windows I can just use a custom DPI to achieve scaling. With a Mac, I have to change to a lower resolution to achieve the same.

Everything was fine under El Capitan. Fonts were coarser with the lower resolution, but there was no ghosting/smearing. With Sierra, everything is just as it was under El Capitan...until I launch Photos. This causes ghosting/smearing. Our MBP is a shared computer, and everyone in the family notices it.

To clear up the ghosting/smearing, I have to reboot or quit Photos.

 

[CreativeSeoul]

I have an MBP Early 2011 15'' and facing the same problem with the blurred screen when I reduce / change the resolution size from standard to a lower one. I don't have this problem, when I have the standard scaled resolution. I tried everything from PRAM to SMC Reset, restarting, quitting all apps. Nothing worked. Also I never used Photos before, but i started and quit it by myself. Still the blurred screen / fonts are there since I updated from El Capitan to Sierra (10.12.2). In El Capitan and also before I never had this kind of problem. It is very frustrating and I cannot use my setup like before. Aynonelse facing these issues or has other suggestions?

Also in the Apple forum 2011 MPB owner are reporting this problem. (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7725238?start=0&tstart=0)

 

[CreativeSeoul]

Well from what you indicate it seems to be only Photos that triggers the problem. I did change my MB Air to 1280x800 and opened Photos. I had no fuzziness. I opened the photo editor part and messed with it for a while and everything looked fine.

I do have a 2011 Macbook Pro but it is at work and I will not be able to test it until Sunday. I will give it a try and let you know what I found.

I know there was a recall on the video cards of the 2011 MB Pro that expires December 31, 2016. Unfortunately I don't think fuzzy fonts in photos will convince them to fix it as the problems most have had are much more severe. I also hesitate to suggest it as they are using refurbished logicboards and a number of people have had issues with those too.

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Could you tell us what happened in your case? Thanks!

 

[PurrBall]

I did some testing with the MBP in my signature, and I am able to reproduce the issue. When running at 1280x800, and with Photos open, some sharpness processing seems to be applied to the screen which affects legibility. Here's photos for those curious.

Normal:


Photos.app open:

 

[scrmtrey]

How do you figure? Apple still supports a number of non-retina screens. It's unlikely that a hardware issue would produce blurry text, but I don't know how you could claim any of this.

Because the font is thin and light (on higher resolution (retina, 1440p on 25inch) its not a problem, when u got so many pixels to cover font).

 

[BarracksSi]

I did some testing with the MBP in my signature, and I am able to reproduce the issue. When running at 1280x800, and with Photos open, some sharpness processing seems to be applied to the screen which affects legibility. Here's photos for those curious.

Normal:
View attachment 681999

Photos.app open:
View attachment 682000

I can't tell any difference in these pics. They both look like they're out of focus just a bit.

 

[xraydoc]

I did some testing with the MBP in my signature, and I am able to reproduce the issue. When running at 1280x800, and with Photos open, some sharpness processing seems to be applied to the screen which affects legibility. Here's photos for those curious.

Normal:
View attachment 681999

Photos.app open:
View attachment 682000

I see a slight difference. There's a ringing along the bottom edge of the text on the second image. Obviously a software bug since it only occurs after running Photos. I suggest you leave a feedback/bug report with Apple.

 

[coghlan]

I can't tell any difference in these pics. They both look like they're out of focus just a bit.

Yes, I couldn't really see a difference either. I'll try to see if I can grab a couple of screen shots with SnagIt and post them.

 

[PurrBall]

Sorry, it is indeed a very hard-to-see difference, and it probably helps that I have the high-res model. It would be interesting to compare with the standard-res model.