24" LED Display with 2011 15" MPB

Sure I did. Thing is that they don't take the time to wait for the problems to occur. And when they keep the hardware for testing overnight, they run a diagnostic which the display apparently always passes. You have to actually use the display to notice the blackouts and flickering. That's why I resorted to a video capture.

Unplugging the USB cabel from the ADC multiadaptor cable lessens the blackouts for me... not ideal, solution... but at least improves this serious problem somewhat...

I was just told by an Apple Customer Rep that the Thunderbolt update released couple days ago WAS NOT meant to address the Apple 24 display issue. He informed me that a separate firmware update is on the way, in next 2 weeks (wherever have I heard that before). I told him that Apple techs need to clarify that on the release notes.

I may just use the $100 credit I received from Apple as a consolation to buy the 27 inch display if this keeps up.

Just after the update I had the impression things were improved. Now more then a week layer I do not think something really changed. The flickering is gone down in frequency but the number of black outs and the duration of the black outs have gone up.

I wonder what happens when the new MBA's come out and buyers experience tha same problems as we have with our TB fitted Mac's.

Hey all,

Just wanted to chime in here. I'm having the same issue - 2011 Thunderbolt MBP 15" hooked up to a 24" cinema display. Screen blanks for a few seconds here and there then progressively gets worse and eventually goes all wiggly and just craps out. Only way to reset it is to unplug power, display port, usb and plug them back in. A short time later it all happens again. Frustrating.

I called Apple last week about it and they suggested I take both my display and the laptop to the local apple store, which I did. We hooked it up to an in-store ACD and it started happening immediately.

They ordered a new logic board and I dropped the system off last Thursday to get worked on. Just received it back this morning.

Hooked it up to my ACD and a short time later it all started happening again... AFTER being repaired AND having the firmware update applied!

FIX THIS APPLE!

here's a video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QeC97tHq-Q

First posted about this on March 25th...... went to store..... yep they saw it..... claim its software and will be fixed soon.... 3+ months....... some days (like today) 20 blackouts an hour........ sometimes 3 in a row.......

July 25th is my date...... if not fixed they will have to trade this in on a 27....... enough is enough......

Just blowing steam....... :-).....

-Lee

Okay just a quick update. I finally applied the TB update on my relatively new 2011 17 inch Macbook Pro. I currently use gfxCardstatus to switch between the MBP's ATI and Integrated GPU and here are my observations:

1) First the good news: When I use the ATI card I get no problems at all. The flickering and blackouts are gone. My 24 ACD works normally without a hitch.

2) Now the bad news: When I switch to the integrated Intel 3000 I get artifacts and hard system freeze. I had to depress the power button to hard reboot. I don't know if this has something to do with the gfxCardstatus app.

3) Now I set gfxCardstatus to dynamic and the system chooses the ATI card every time.

In my case if I keep using the ATI card I won't have any problems. I will be running my ACD with my 2011 MBP for a few days more and see if the flickering problem returns.

Looks like I spoke too soon. The flickering is gone but my 24 ACD still suffer from random blackouts even when using the ATI graphics card. It took about an hour before my ACD starting blinking again.

Today I got my 2 years old 24" replaced by a 27" (Demo model) by my local Apple Autorized Reseller @ +€250. (The original price difference in NL)

Will pick it up mid next week, hope my probs are solved.

I finally applied the updated FW patch...and I too still have the problem. I will say that the blackouts are much fewer than previous updates (and I don't really seem to be getting the flashing and zigzags that were going on before). However, given this has been going on since February for me, I am still PO'd that Apple hasn't fixed this. They have until the end of the month and then I'm taking my setup into our local Apple Store (and talking to our business rep) to push for an upgrade to a 27". I'm fed up. It stinks because I prefer the 24 over the 27 given my home office space. Come on Apple...fix it already!!!

After using my 24" ACD for a couple of hours I have observed three things:

• The display seem stable on the first hour or so of use but quickly starts randomly blacking out after that.
• The flickering did not go away with the update, it just happens far less but its there.
• The intervals of the black outs are now between a few seconds to even thirty minutes without interruption.

Needless to say, one downside of less frequent blackouts and flicking is that it will be more difficult now to reproduce the problem in a Apple service provider. I'll be taking this to an ASP soon and get it replaced or fixed. I honestly like the resolution of the 24 as it is so much more easier on the eyes then the 27 inch. Oh well.

UPDATE: as i mentioned in my first post above, the apple store replaced the logic board over the July 4th weekend. the issues still persisted after the "fix". escalated to level 2 tech @ applecare who once again suggested i take it into the apple store.

had my appointment this morning and the "genius" found a tech bulletin requesting any laptops having this issue be replaced and returned to engineering. so obviously they know this is happening and they're trying to fix it.... and i got a new 15" MBP out of the deal - which was kind of a headache because i had installed an OWC ram kit and SSD. had to swap those out with the new machine and all was good...

... for the first few hours. then the blackouts started again!

NEW laptop, SAME monitor... the issue persists.

here's everything I've tried:

• the factory ram & hard drive
• upgraded SSD/RAM
• using *just* the display cable w/ standard apple power adapter & no usb
• display cable + usb
• display cable + power
• firmware update vs no firmware update
• 10.6.7 vs. 10.6.8 vs. Lion Gold Master
• my 24" cinema display vs. a demo cinema display @ apple store
• Dell 2407 display
• logic board replaced
• 15" MBP completely replaced...

was able to replicate the issue across ALL test cases over the past few months.

frustrating.

Just chiming in to say I have this issue as well on a new 27" imac and a 24" LED display.

I had my display repaired just before getting the imac for a completely different issue and they obviously saw no problems with it while they had it.

I have not upgraded my firmware yet and was planning on waiting until I upgraded to Lion before calling applecare.

When it first started it was hardly at all but it has definitely increased in frequency to the point where it is getting hard to deal with.

One interesting thing is that the display also malfunctions and flickers running windows with bootcamp, same flickering behavior and blackouts.

Lori

I am experiencing similar issue with external Dell 30 inch display. This display worked fine with my 2009 Macbook Pro.

Upgraded my laptop to 2011 Macbook Pro with Thunderbolt and now my display goes completely blank or completely fuzzy several times per hour. The latest firmware patch did nothing to improve it.

...peter