Unusual side bar on m1

[evan47]

My one month old MacBook Air is giving me problems.
It keeps very briefly showing a side bar with some text on the right side of its screen.
It is too quick to read or even click on to.
I am also having a white square flash towards the centre of the screen too.
Contacted Mac support, tried a restart, a shutdown and reinstalled Mac OS but still have the problem.
I am returning it to apple.
Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[chabig]

Does anyone else have this problem?

Why ask? You're returning the machine to Apple for service. That's the right thing to do. End of story.

 

[evan47]

Why ask? You're returning the machine to Apple for service. That's the right thing to do. End of story.

I am just wondering if this is a common fault or have I just been unlucky. Or, hopefully somebody would have a more useful answer.

 

[chabig]

My question was serious. I've never understood why anyone not looking for a problem solution would seek consolation from others that they are not alone, given that it has no effect on the outcome.

If yours was a widespread problem, you would have heard about it in Mac news. Given that there are no headlines, you should assume that you were unlucky.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

My question was serious. I've never understood why anyone not looking for a problem solution would seek consolation from others that they are not alone, given that it has no effect on the outcome.

Because calling Apple will result in a "We haven't seen this problem before but I can escalate to Engineering. In the meantime, have you tried reinstalling macOS?"

I'm not saying Apple is lying, but they've have a reputation for lying about known issues.

 

[casperes1996]

Curiosity is fine. - Being curious to know if one’s issue is unique or there’s an explanation to it is just regular good-ole curiosity.

Anyway, I’m on the other hand curious if per chance the sidebar on the right you mention may not just have been the Notification Centre/Widget area?

No clue about the square in the middle you mention

 

[xraydoc]

My one month old MacBook Air is giving me problems.
It keeps very briefly showing a side bar with some text on the right side of its screen.
It is too quick to read or even click on to.
I am also having a white square flash towards the centre of the screen too.
Contacted Mac support, tried a restart, a shutdown and reinstalled Mac OS but still have the problem.
I am returning it to apple.
Does anyone else have this problem?

Sounds like you're popping up the Notification Center without realizing. Click on the clock in the top right corner and see if that's what you're seeing.

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

My one month old MacBook Air is giving me problems.
It keeps very briefly showing a side bar with some text on the right side of its screen.
It is too quick to read or even click on to.
I am also having a white square flash towards the centre of the screen too.
Contacted Mac support, tried a restart, a shutdown and reinstalled Mac OS but still have the problem.
I am returning it to apple.
Does anyone else have this problem?

Maybe some screenshots would help (if possible)? If it is indeed the Notification Center (or something else), other forum members might be able to identify your problem. Maybe it is not a (hardware) issue at all.
But you should return it anyway for your own peace of mind.

 

[evan47]

Maybe some screenshots would help (if possible)? If it is indeed the Notification Center (or something else), other forum members might be able to identify your problem. Maybe it is not a (hardware) issue at all.
But you should return it anyway for your own peace of mind.

I have checked the notification centre and it seems ok.

 

[evan47]

Sounds like you're popping up the Notification Center without realizing. Click on the clock in the top right corner and see if that's what you're seeing.

I have tried and that is not what I am seeing.
It happens even when I am streaming video without touching the laptop at all.
It is less apparent when I am not in full screen view, also, if I am in small screen but stretch the pane with the pointer so it is almost full screen it is less apparent.

 

[Andropov]

Because calling Apple will result in a "We haven't seen this problem before but I can escalate to Engineering. In the meantime, have you tried reinstalling macOS?"

I'm not saying Apple is lying, but they've have a reputation for lying about known issues.

Well, since companies are made of people, it's not unlikely that the person that first answers your support call genuinely doesn't know that your particular issue is actually a common issue. Not necessarily Apple's policy.

Sometimes they do lie, though.