Thin Horizontal Lines on Rev 2 MBA?

[echo44]

Strach that, I did not see them as I was reinstalling OS X for more HD space, the new display is much worse. As someone said before it looks like cheap recycled paper. I will be returning the Air and pick up a different laptop as I need it for school, and photography. These lines are very distracting and I will not pay 2.5k on a laptop that is not perfect.

Bummer! After your first post I had hope; and was thinking about picking up an air 2.0 today. But as of yet no one who is able or has seen the lines has
received a new air without the lines I am betting all units are affected and
it is related to the method of glass manufacture rather than the led or card.For me the best way to see the lines is open up a window which has a white background like clicking on the hard drive to look at files. Just as you described the white looks like parchment paper or recycled paper and when you look closer the reason it look like that are the lines.

I guess I will either wait until this gets sort out or spend 2.5k and live with it


It was really noticable at the Old Orchard Store in Skokie where they have
an old MBA next to a new MBA and behind the two a new MBP the only computer with these lines was the new MBA

I hope someone will post who has noticed the lines and exchanged for a unit that doesn't have the lines. That is the only way we will no if this is a limited issue or widespread?

 

[kanpachi]

Scratch that, I did not see them as I was reinstalling OS X for more HD space, the new display is much worse. As someone said before it looks like cheap recycled paper. I will be returning the Air and pick up a different laptop as I need it for school, and photography. These lines are very distracting and I will not pay 2.5k on a laptop that is not perfect.

Serious? Was hopeful from your previous post that an exchange would do the trick, but apparently not.

 

[xBeeza]

echo44 - Do you know if all of the screens in the Old Orchard Store where set to the same brightness ? Did they have the same screen shot on them ? I've just noticed that if I stare at my Acer 24" external monitor long enough I notice faint horizontal grey lines. I turned the brightness down and they start to go away. I don't notice that they turn red when you look at the monitor from an angle however. Could it be that all screens have these lines to some extent ?

 

[Y2JDMBFAN]

I just went and did the same comparison at the Orland Park Apple Store and saw the same thing. These lines are present on my 1.86/128 SSD and on the Rev 2 unit at the store, and they are not on the Rev 1 unit. It appears to be something to do with the glass in my opinion and not necessarily the screen itself. I'm not sure if this is a deal breaker for me or not at this point, but I went from a 1st gen Air, which I sold, to the Macbook Alu, which had a crappy screen, swapped it for a MBP, which I didn't open because I didn't want to chance not liking the size and ended up with a 2nd gen air with the 1.86 and 128GB SSD, hoping it was going to be perfect. Now I see these lines and am disappointed. I may try to send this back without paying the restocking fee, because if I am paying $2600 with tax, I want it close to perfect.

Y2J

 

[echo44]

echo44 - Do you know if all of the screens in the Old Orchard Store where set to the same brightness ? Did they have the same screen shot on them ? I've just noticed that if I stare at my Acer 24" external monitor long enough I notice faint horizontal grey lines. I turned the brightness down and they start to go away. I don't notice that they turn red when you look at the monitor from an angle however. Could it be that all screens have these lines to some extent ?

They were both at maximum brightness displaying the same content.
I tried changing the brightness on the mba 2.o the lines didn't change
which is what makes me think this may be in the glass or between the glass and the LED? The old mBA showed no evidence of the lines at any brightness level

 

[Y2JDMBFAN]

Has anyone seen one of these without the lines?

 

[HeadForTheHills]

MBA going back :-(

Somewhat disappointingly - my MBA 2 : 1.6GHz 128SSD has to go back

It finally arrived today:

Before I even turned it on, I noticed the USB door was bent: not flush at the rear like plastic not clipping into place.

On power up I could immediately see the infamous grey lines - even on the splash background screen.

W8845 serial number

 

[Y2JDMBFAN]

Mine is/was W8844...I was in love, but I can't stand the gray lines...I wish I wouldn't have read the forum post. However, the online Apple Store is taking it back without a restocking fee. So that is one good thing...I will probably buy another one after Christmas, hopefully the issues will be worked out. Everyone who has this problem should call and complain about it. I am going to pick up an MSI Wind today to hopefully tide me over...I have an original EeePc, but it is too small...

Y2J

 

[keantan]

Somewhat disappointingly - my MBA 2 : 1.6GHz 128SSD has to go back

It finally arrived today:

Before I even turned it on, I noticed the USB door was bent: not flush at the rear like plastic not clipping into place.

On power up I could immediately see the infamous grey lines - even on the splash background screen.

W8845 serial number

After reading that I am concerned now: My MBA 1.6/SSD is due for delivery tomorrow. And seeing everyone's problems I hope my computer will be OK

 

[dogg]

Received my MBA rev 2 today. I have the lines,, and in addition no 4 finger swipe!!!

 

[wheelerw]

Could anyone with this problem post a picture of it? Or is it tough to capture it with a camera? My MBA 1.6 with SSD is due for delivery on Thursday. Thanks in advance!

 

[kanpachi]

Could anyone with this problem post a picture of it? Or is it tough to capture it with a camera? My MBA 1.6 with SSD is due for delivery on Thursday. Thanks in advance!

Here is a good picture on MacRumors that very closely matches the issue. Apparently this plagued the old 15" PowerBooks as well.

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33933&d=1130818514

Mine is/was W8844...I was in love, but I can't stand the gray lines...I wish I wouldn't have read the forum post. However, the online Apple Store is taking it back without a restocking fee. So that is one good thing...I will probably buy another one after Christmas, hopefully the issues will be worked out. Everyone who has this problem should call and complain about it. I am going to pick up an MSI Wind today to hopefully tide me over...I have an original EeePc, but it is too small...

Y2J

Well, at least it's better now than later when you don't have the option of returning it.

 

[r6girl]

I've looked and looked with various backgrounds and lighting conditions, but my Air does not have these lines. And 4 finger swipe works for me, too. Maybe I got lucky?

 

[aristobrat]

Here is a good picture on MacRumors that very closely matches the issue. Apparently this plagued the old 15" PowerBooks as well.

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33933&d=1130818514

Wow, that PowerBook issue really sucked. Took Apple MONTHS to get the issue resolved, and the fix was to ship your PB in for a whole new screen.

I'd guess that if the Air's problem was the same as the hi-rez PB's (horizontal banding), then viewing these two attachments full-screen would make the point clear. They're from the thread you linked to, so all credit goes to the folks who posted them there.

In the pass/fail one, if the FAIL is clear to read, then it's probably the same issue. On the desktopsplitologinscreen one, if it appears that the left side of the screen has a pattern noticeably different from the right, then it's probably the same issue.

Remember that if you click on the attachment in Firefox, it'll open in a new window at a reduced-size. Click on the graphic again to view it at 100%.

 

[aristobrat]

I've looked and looked with various backgrounds and lighting conditions, but my Air does not have these lines. And 4 finger swipe works for me, too. Maybe I got lucky?

Maybe batches of Airs went out with the wrong specialized version of OS X on them. I recall NC MacGuy saying that the 4-finger swipe worked for him and that he didn't notice any lines.

Be interesting to see if everyone seeing the lines also can't 4-finger swipe. Also be interesting to see their OS X build number from "About This Mac".

 

[Cynicalone]

Maybe batches of Airs went out with the wrong specialized version of OS X on them. I recall NC MacNut saying that the 4-finger swipe worked for him and that he didn't notice any lines.

Be interesting to see if everyone seeing the lines also can't 4-finger swipe. Also be interesting to see their OS X build number from "About This Mac".

No lines and I have the 4 finger swipe.

 

[echo44]

Here is a good picture on MacRumors that very closely matches the issue. Apparently this plagued the old 15" PowerBooks as well.

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33933&d=1130818514



Well, at least it's better now than later when you don't have the option of returning it.

wow Kanpachi! Thats it that is the same thing I was seeing on the displays at the apple store. Do you know what the cause of the problem last time was?
I guess I am going to wait until this issue is fixed.

 

[bwiley]

I'm not seeing any of these problems.

Picked my Rev 2 MBA up last week from the Apple store in Carlsbad, California. Gave my Rev 1 MBA (also SSD) to my wife.

I have seen no lines, and my four finger swipe works just fine. Guess I got lucky twice, as I had no over-heating or noisy fan issues with my Rev 1 MBA either. Frankly, I haven't experienced a single problem I've seen written about - but that might be luck of the draw.

By the way, both Rev 1 and Rev 2 MBA's seem to work (i.e., launch programs, wake up from sleep mode, less prone to spinning beachball-of-death, etc.) better than my two 17" MBP's with 4 gigs of RAM (both of those models are less than 12 months old). I'm absolutely in love with these SSD's - just need more storage capacity!

Now, if they could come out with a MBA with 17" monitor (I actually do need the larger screen for some pretty intense spreadsheet work) and a 256 gig SSD (so I can keep my iPhoto and iTunes collections intact) - I would be in heaven. Unfortunately, I realize the likely market for Apple for such a machine is probably to small to warrant it ever getting built.

Still - no "grey lines" problem, and 4 finger swipe working well.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Maybe batches of Airs went out with the wrong specialized version of OS X on them. I recall NC MacNutGuy saying that the 4-finger swipe worked for him and that he didn't notice any lines.

Be interesting to see if everyone seeing the lines also can't 4-finger swipe. Also be interesting to see their OS X build number from "About This Mac".

I fixed that for you.

And fwiw, someone mentioned the lack of 4 finger swipe to be an issue for users outside the US. I am sorry that I can't see how that relates, but that is what I read elsewhere.

 

[Y2JDMBFAN]

Here is a good picture on MacRumors that very closely matches the issue. Apparently this plagued the old 15" PowerBooks as well.

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33933&d=1130818514



Well, at least it's better now than later when you don't have the option of returning it.

That picture shows my problem exactly...

 

[kanpachi]

wow Kanpachi! Thats it that is the same thing I was seeing on the displays at the apple store. Do you know what the cause of the problem last time was?
I guess I am going to wait until this issue is fixed.

Hey, you can take a look at the original thread here, but it seems that it was an issue with the screen that could only be fixed with a replacement.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/158751/

You can Google "powerbook horizontal lines" to see other related articles.

 

[NC MacGuy]

Having seen the pic, I can say that mine definitely does not have the lines. 100% positive - and 4 finger swipe works.

It seems that non-U.S. buyers are the only ones getting shortchanged on the four finger swipe.

 

[echo44]

Having seen the pic, I can say that mine definitely does not have the lines. 100% positive - and 4 finger swipe works.

It seems that non-U.S. buyers are the only ones getting shortchanged on the four finger swipe.

I trust you! But I will feel better when someone who has the lines
returns their unit and obtains one without the lines! So far no one has achieved
this.
I do feel confident If this turns out to be a widespread issue apple will stand behind their product they always do

 

[aristobrat]

I fixed that for you.

Oh, crap, I can't believe I did that. "MacNut" is the license-plate of a Mac consultant that some departments of the company I work for use.

And fwiw, someone mentioned the lack of 4 finger swipe to be an issue for users outside the US. I am sorry that I can't see how that relates, but that is what I read elsewhere.

Hmmm. So then there's no correlation between the 4-finger swipe and the lines? After having read that the new MB and MBPs had a special build of OS X, I was really hoping this line issue was a case of Apple accidentally throwing the wrong build in the new Air. Le Sigh.

 

[aristobrat]

I do feel confident If this turns out to be a widespread issue apple will stand behind their product they always do

My very first Apple purchase was one of those 15" PowerBooks that had the screens with the horizontal banding issue.

Apple finally starting replacing the screens for people that complained, but they never did a general recall or anything. It took a few months of people on the forums here and elsewhere sending in their PowerBook for repair (and getting them back with a new screen that had the same issues) before Apple finally got it nailed out.

If this is a physical screen issue, I really hope that Apple addresses is more promptly and publicly. The only communication on that issue was owners posting in the thread linked to earlier.