gadget_aussie_man

Q: Thunderbolt Display turns off randomly

I have a new Mac Mini 2011 i7 Quad CPU version.  I have a Thunderbolt 27 inch display.  I have found that the display randomly turns off and won't turn on when I use the keyboard or mouse.  This occurs when I am doing stuff on the machine, it is not a display sleep issue.  The first couple of times I had to use Remote Desktop to reboot the Mac Mini to fix the issue.  The last time it happened I removed the Thunderbolt plug from the Mac Mini and reinstalled it and this fixed the issue.  I have the latest software updates on the Mac Mini and the Thunderbolt Firmware update on the Display.

 

I am running Lion 10.7.1

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 9:35 PM

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Q: Thunderbolt Display turns off randomly

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  • by busterbear,

    busterbear busterbear Oct 22, 2014 5:20 PM in response to bearheart
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 5:20 PM in response to bearheart

    6" cables? Aren't those kind of short? Is that what you meant to type? I have the same setup as you, and still have the flickering issue. I have not tried to do a firmware update to the TBDs. Have to investigate that.  I did hook up a third monitor, a Viewsonic 1080p and that has not had a flickering issue, just the 2 TBDs

  • by bearheart,

    bearheart bearheart Oct 22, 2014 5:40 PM in response to busterbear
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 5:40 PM in response to busterbear

    I have a Late 2013 Mac Pro (cylinder) and two TBolt displays. I just purchased two 2m cables from OWC and it's reduced the problem a lot, but it's not entirely resolved -- I still get occasional blinks from one of my displays.

  • by bearheart,

    bearheart bearheart Oct 22, 2014 5:41 PM in response to busterbear
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 5:41 PM in response to busterbear

    Thanks for catching my typo. I think I fixed it. ; )

  • by djgray,

    djgray djgray Oct 22, 2014 11:38 PM in response to bearheart
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 11:38 PM in response to bearheart

    I have had it later on at Apple Service and they've changed motherboard and power supply and nada.

     

    then they've changed LCD Panel and is now working.

     

    So at the end was LCD panel itself faulty - after 3 years

  • by tyler.duzan,

    tyler.duzan tyler.duzan Oct 23, 2014 3:08 PM in response to djgray
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 23, 2014 3:08 PM in response to djgray

    I'm having this same issue on a brand new TBD and rMBP 15" (like bought within the last week).

     

    Randomly I will see the TBD go black, then it will come back and I'll have the display, but my USB ports will stop working.  I originally thought it was an issue caused with an Aune T1 USB DAC/Amp I was using, so I disconnected it.  Then I thought it might be Steermouse for my G400s, so I uninstalled it and rebooted.  Unfortunately that doesn't appear to have resolved the issue.  It's very intermittent, but nonetheless is happening.

     

    My hardware details are below:


    Hardware Overview:

     

    Model Name: MacBook Pro

    Model Identifier: MacBookPro11,2

    Processor Name: Intel Core i7

    Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz

    Number of Processors: 1

    Total Number of Cores: 4

    L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

    L3 Cache: 6 MB

    Memory: 16 GB

    Boot ROM Version: MBP112.0138.B07

    SMC Version (system): 2.18f10

     

    System Version: OS X 10.9.5 (13F34)

    Kernel Version: Darwin 13.4.0

    Boot Volume: Macintosh HD

    Boot Mode: Normal

     

    Thunderbolt Display:

     

      Vendor Name: Apple Inc.

      Device Name: Thunderbolt Display

      Vendor ID: 0x1

      Device ID: 0x8002

      Device Revision: 0x1

      UID: 0x0001000000000000

      Route String: 1

      Firmware Version: 26.2

      Port (Upstream):

      Status: Device connected

      Link Status: 0x2

      Port Micro Firmware Version: 2.0.7

      Cable Firmware Version: 0.1.18

      Cable Serial Number: C4M431400MFDNWFAZ

      Port:

      Status: No device connected

      Link Status: 0x7

      Port Micro Firmware Version: 2.0.7

     

     

    From what I've seen in this ~30 page thread is that it appears most people have attributed the issue to a faulty All-in-One TB cable off the TBD and that replacing this with an external 3rd-party (OWC or other) TB cable fixes the issue.  I'm going to try that to see if it resolves the problem, but as an interesting point on this almost every one of my coworkers with a similar configuration has the same exact issue, except for those using older (non-Retina) MBPs which seem to have no problem with their TBDs. 

     

    I'm pretty surprised that this issue has persisted more than 3 years considering the cost of a MBP + TBD is >$3000.  It's beyond ridiculous this has not been resolved at this point.

  • by tonyelias1979,

    tonyelias1979 tonyelias1979 Oct 29, 2014 5:25 PM in response to pablo.k
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 29, 2014 5:25 PM in response to pablo.k

    I am having exactly the same problem, I fixed it by using my MBP laptop charger instead of using the magsafe from TBD and its working fine ever-since, so I think its something has to do with the power source of the TBD.

  • by tonyelias1979,

    tonyelias1979 tonyelias1979 Oct 29, 2014 5:25 PM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 29, 2014 5:25 PM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    I am having exactly the same problem, I fixed it by using my MBP laptop charger instead of using the magsafe from TBD and its working fine ever-since, so I think its something has to do with the power source of the TBD.

  • by tyler.duzan,

    tyler.duzan tyler.duzan Oct 30, 2014 9:11 AM in response to tonyelias1979
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 30, 2014 9:11 AM in response to tonyelias1979

    I will try that as well.  My new 2m Thunderbolt Cable from Apple arrived today, so I am going to try what other's suggested and not use the all-in-one Thunderbolt connector and see if the behavior still occurs first.

  • by friguyb,

    friguyb friguyb Nov 1, 2014 8:58 AM in response to friguyb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 1, 2014 8:58 AM in response to friguyb

    The problem totally disappeared after installing the latest OS Version Yosemite. I am now a happy user

  • by hColl,

    hColl hColl Nov 14, 2014 3:52 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 14, 2014 3:52 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/13/thunderbolt-display-firmware-update/

     

    Has this update helped anyone? My TBD is black for 3 weeks now. Cant work anymore, and I already said my goodbyes. Tried it out with this firmware update, but of course, it is still plain black. Even with 3rd party tb connector.

     

    So I'm finally giving up. Already bought a Dell monitor, and not even considering buying another monitor from apple.

  • by Tim Hassett,

    Tim Hassett Tim Hassett Nov 14, 2014 5:32 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Nov 14, 2014 5:32 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    You guys see the new Thunderbolt Display firmware update 1.2 that just came out?!?!? 

  • by rcx1,

    rcx1 rcx1 Nov 14, 2014 7:17 AM in response to Tim Hassett
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 14, 2014 7:17 AM in response to Tim Hassett

    I installed firmware 1.2, but the display still turns black.

  • by hColl,

    hColl hColl Nov 15, 2014 12:54 AM in response to rcx1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 15, 2014 12:54 AM in response to rcx1

    Same as mine...

  • by Dave Wood,

    Dave Wood Dave Wood Nov 18, 2014 9:25 AM in response to hColl
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 18, 2014 9:25 AM in response to hColl

    I also installed the new Thunderbolt Display firmware update 1.2, and it has had no effect, screens (I have two TBD's connected) still flicker and occasionally shut off requiring a disconnect/reconnect. I also tried a 2m Thunderbolt cable from Apple, also with no effect.

     

    Interestingly, the system profiler showed the Firmware version of my displays 26.2 before and after the update. So it's possible the update didn't even do anything, although, trying to run it again says all displays are already up to date. I didn't notice what the port or cable firmware versions were before the update, so it's possible they've changed...

  • by busterbear,

    busterbear busterbear Nov 19, 2014 12:31 PM in response to Dave Wood
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2014 12:31 PM in response to Dave Wood

    As others. Nothing has changed since firmware update. 2 TBD displays still flicker, alternately. New MacPro. New TBDs.

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