bazaarone

Q: Major problems with Thunderbolt display & MB Air

Since I received my Thunderbolt display yesterday and hooked it up to my 2011 MB Air,  I've had nothing but problems.

 

Software update is fully up to date, including the TB Display firmware.

 

I'm experiencing three major issues:

1. About half the time when I connect the display, my connected USB devices are non-functional. Unplugging and reconnecting the devices does not fix it.

2. Also, about half the time when I disconnect the display, the MB Air does not reconfigure the monitor layout. Putting it to sleep and/or disconnecting / reconnecting monitors does not fix this. I have to hard restart my laptop.

3. When connected through the TB Display, my Mac will infrequently not recognize key up events from my USB keyboard, causing keys to repeat until I hit them again. For an idea of frequency, it has happened 4 times so far thus far while writing this post.

 

Also a couple of minor niggles:

1. The default color calibration is WAY different from the MB Air's screen. It's most obvious with yellows which have a severe green tint on the TB display. For example, note windows in Mail appear very slightly orange on my MB Air (as expected given the color value), while on the TB display it is florescent yellow with a slight greenish tint.

2. The sound is a lot poorer than I had hoped. I wasn't expecting anything really amazing, but with the "built in subwoofer" I expected noticeably better bass than my MB Air's built in speakers provide.

 

The minor issues can either be minimized (with color calibration and equalizer) or ignored, but the major issues make this display completely unusable for me. Is this just a defective unit, or are these widespread issues?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

PS. Total instances of keys getting stuck while writing this post: ~9. Seems to only be space and delete that get stuck so far.

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 8:19 PM

Close

Q: Major problems with Thunderbolt display & MB Air

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Previous Page 2 of 30 last Next
  • by BryantAXS,

    BryantAXS BryantAXS Sep 26, 2011 5:49 PM in response to tthiel1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2011 5:49 PM in response to tthiel1

    I believe I installed both of them already.

     

    I just tried again.  The MBA update said "this software is not supported on your system"

     

    and the TB Firmware said "Your system does not need this update"

     

    ... I remember updating the firmware before, after it was  released a few weeks ago.  I believe this is the same thing.

     

    Thanks again for the help.

  • by Esoterik,

    Esoterik Esoterik Sep 26, 2011 7:09 PM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2011 7:09 PM in response to bazaarone

    Confirming same issue here.

     

    11" Mid 2011 Macbook Air (MBA) that randomly drops characters from a wired apple USB keyboard when plugged into the back of the thunderbolt display.

     

    Have applied both firmware updates and restarted the mac a few times to no avail.

     

    Bluetooth wireless apple keyboard works fine...

  • by monkeyhaakon,

    monkeyhaakon monkeyhaakon Sep 27, 2011 12:16 AM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 12:16 AM in response to bazaarone

    Issues confirmed here. We have two brand new i7 MB Airs, and yesterday we got two brand new Thunderbolt Display 27. Keystrokes are lost, usb ports stops working etc - all the bugs the thread starter describes. We have applied all updates as of today.

  • by MultiplePerspectives,

    MultiplePerspectives MultiplePerspectives Sep 27, 2011 12:25 AM in response to BryantAXS
    Level 1 (50 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 12:25 AM in response to BryantAXS

    My MBP 17" 2011 6950m has random dots flickering all over my 27" cinema display.

  • by tthiel1,

    tthiel1 tthiel1 Sep 27, 2011 6:46 AM in response to monkeyhaakon
    Level 2 (160 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 6:46 AM in response to monkeyhaakon

    Pretty crazy...you would think Apple would have tested theses display with Apple wired keyboards.  It will be interesting to find out if an exchange worked for anyone.

    The keyboards have firmware too so maybe there will be an update for the keyboard to fix this.  These displays are so perfect for Air users that I would rather buy a wireless keyboard than not have the display.

  • by LetsJoeBlue,

    LetsJoeBlue LetsJoeBlue Sep 27, 2011 5:18 PM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 5:18 PM in response to bazaarone

    Same here MBA 13, brand new Thunderbolt 27", both patches applied.  This is RIDICULOUS!!!  One more problem.  If you have a USB mouse, it missed clicks too!  Jeez....

  • by tthiel1,

    tthiel1 tthiel1 Sep 27, 2011 5:38 PM in response to LetsJoeBlue
    Level 2 (160 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 5:38 PM in response to LetsJoeBlue

    What mouse? My Logitech G500 works fine.  Nobody has talked to Apple about this yet?  I would think a firmware update would be coming soon to resolve these issues.  But it is really odd that it affects an Apple wired keyboard of all things.

  • by LetsJoeBlue,

    LetsJoeBlue LetsJoeBlue Sep 27, 2011 6:23 PM in response to tthiel1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 6:23 PM in response to tthiel1

    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000--it's one of those with a tiny USB dongle.  The BT Magic mouse I have works fine.

  • by iconmaster,

    iconmaster iconmaster Sep 27, 2011 8:30 PM in response to tthiel1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2011 8:30 PM in response to tthiel1

    Resetting the MacBook Air's SMC solved the keyboard issues. My mouse still quits working spontaneously a couple times a day, requiring me to unplug and reconnect the USB receiver. This is only a problem when the receiver is plugged into a USB port on the Thunderbolt Display or on the wired keyboard connected to it -- not when connected to a USB port on the MacBook Air itself.

  • by lachness,

    lachness lachness Sep 28, 2011 5:17 AM in response to iconmaster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2011 5:17 AM in response to iconmaster

    I have a MBP 2011 17inch with all patches applied.  Thunderbolt display with all firmware updates.

     

    The display works great untill I disconnect the Thunderbolt Cable and do some work in the field.  I come back and reconnect the thunderbolt cable.

     

    Display works, ethernet works, Firewire works.

     

    USB does not work (no keryboard).  Camera does not work, Sound Does not work, Microphone does not work.

     

    I have to reboot the macbook to get the USB and all the rest working again.

     

    Talked to AppleCare, I am sure they have never seen  or touched a Thunderbolt display @ this time.

  • by stacecom,

    stacecom stacecom Sep 28, 2011 9:52 AM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2011 9:52 AM in response to bazaarone

    Adding my voice to the chorus.  I have a new 13" MBP and Thunderbolt Display.  I'm seeing dropped keystrokes on my USB keyboard (MS Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000) connected via the Thunderbolt Display.  These symptoms did not exist before I got my TB display.

     

    Did all firmware updates and SMC reset.  No real help.  It may have reduced the frequency of dropped keystrokes, but I haven't actually been able to tie down what a regular frequency is, since it would flair up and be horrible at times, and other times be quite rare and sporadic.

  • by iconmaster,

    iconmaster iconmaster Sep 28, 2011 11:17 AM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2011 11:17 AM in response to bazaarone

    The USB drops are starting to drive me crazy. My wireless Kensington mouse just quits working multiple times a day, requiring me to disconnect and reconnect the receiver. Then it'll work again for a while, though sometimes I get several drops in a row. I've tried zapping PRAM, resetting the SMC, and all Thunderbolt-related updates have been applied.

     

    The USB in the Thunderbolt Display is just screwed up somehow. I hope this can be fixed in software.

  • by BryantAXS,

    BryantAXS BryantAXS Sep 28, 2011 11:21 AM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2011 11:21 AM in response to bazaarone

    As I've mentioned, I have an external harddrive that is plugged into the back of the TD which loses power, similar to the keyboard issue (which i also have).  I'm wondering if anyone else who has a device plugged into the back can actually tell if the device is getting power when its plugged in?

     

    What I have found is that when the harddrive is plugged into the TD AND the thunderbolt cable is plugged into the Macbook Air, the harddrive gets no power...but, when I unplug the thunderbold cable from the macbook air, the harddrive once again gets power.  (the power is obviously coming from the display, but since the thunderbolt cable is disconnected from the computer, its not recognized)

     

    Wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue?

  • by johnthefryer,

    johnthefryer johnthefryer Sep 28, 2011 12:24 PM in response to bazaarone
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2011 12:24 PM in response to bazaarone

    Same issues as everyone else here with dropped keystrokes when keyboard/mouse plugged into the Thunderbolt Display. I wonder if the keys are dropped during high ethernet demands and even the uber-fast Thunderbolt connection can't keep up with the data so keystrokes/mouse clicks are missed?

     

    UPDATE: Nevermind, I just unplugged the ethernet cable so there should be minimal communication demand and I still had the same issues.

  • by lachness,

    lachness lachness Sep 28, 2011 12:35 PM in response to johnthefryer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 28, 2011 12:35 PM in response to johnthefryer

    I wanted to give you folks an update on this.  I received an Thunderbolt Display firmware udpate today  Verision 1.0.

     

    Now all the troubles with USB, sound, camera, microphone are gone.

     

    I have a firewire drive plugged into the TD and it works fine (but it is a LaCIE 2TB drive so it has it's own power adapter, if that could make a difference).

     

    Just a positive update.

     

    thx

    Lach

Previous Page 2 of 30 last Next