Display black spots

I've been dealing with the exact same thing. I have had 2 screens replaced since February of this year and am experiencing the same spots on my third screen. I have had discussions with my repair centre and have just sent a detailed letter (including pictures and related links from this forum) to Apple. My AppleCare warranty runs out in June 2009 and I don't want to have to deal with this issue after then. I will let you know what kind of a response I get from Apple.

For your reference, here are the links I am listing in my letter:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1092319&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1135725&tstart=90
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6086372&#6086372
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1101704&tstart=75
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1605062&tstart=120
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1222085&tstart=225

hang in there,
Heidi

Hi,
My absolutely new Macbook Pro- just 3 months old has developed a similar problem as well. I don't use my Macbook Pro very often and yesterday when I booted the machine, I noticed two rows of about 8-9 uniform looking smudges on the lower half of the screen. I have a feeling the spots are somehow caused by the keyboard. Tried to remove it with plain water and lint-free cloth - no luck so far. Have taken an appointment with the service center. The phone support person said he has never heard of such a problem. I am an illustrator and cannot work with the ugly stains on the screen.
Aaargh! I spend 2000$ on it!

I just visited the Apple Service center (Maple Technologies)and after trying to clean the spots - they agreed that somehow the keyboard had made those marks on the screen. As my MBP is under one year warranty they have agreed to replace the screen for FREE! I have to wait for a week for the display to arrive and then they will replace it within a day.
I have been advised to buy a protective cover for the keyboard. This seems to be a very basic design problem...or maybe just my MBP assembly is faulty.

I have had my mac book pro for 8 months. I have a keyboard cover, and apple care. I am noticing faint burn marks on my display which seems to be caused by my keyboard. I'm an editor and it is really annoying to have these marks on my display. After reading the post I will now try and see if they can fix it.

Thanks

I have had similar problems with a 15" 2.16 MB Pro. Apple replaced the screen more than 1 year ago, and the new one does the same thing. The protector does not help. I have used radtech protectors for years. seems to be a manufacturing defect. it only shows when the screen is white...kinda get used to it...but apple should solve this problem as it has been occurring for years...

Yesterday I got my display replaced. According to the experts in the service center, this is caused by shutting down the lid after the MBP has been in use for a while and its body has warmed up. The warm keys sort of create a burn on the screen! So now after using the MBP I shut it down and wait for the body to cool before I shut the lid down. Also have been forced to buy an expensive Marware screen/ pad protector kit..
Apple should seriously look at this issue. It is daft to have a laptop which you can't shut immediately after you've finished using it. Kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop.

I wouldn't be surprised if keyboard protectors actually make an issue like this worse rather than better, Andy. They inevitably decrease the clearance between keyboard and screen and over a prolonged period that could get nasty. You might want to take this up with radtech.

Cheers

Rod

Good observation Rod. My sister used a keyboard protector on her Macbook, and after a few weeks she had some square-shaped splotches all over her screen. They don't wash off either...

Same issue here. I really look after my MBP and I have the screen issue flakey / corroded paint near the keyboard and track pad.

I nearly bought a new MBP but this has put me off I'm going to run this one into the ground. My Powerbook G4 is in much better shape and it's twice as old.

Toe

I just want to add myself to the people suffering from the same problem. I bought my MacBook Pro 15 on September 2008 from the Apple Store Japan site. Two dark greyish spots appeared on the left side of the display just a few days ago. They're really irritating. I don't have AppleCare but it's still covered under the one year warranty so I will bring it to the Apple Store in Osaka sometime this month. Here is the link for the photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37126301@N00/3261715791/

They are not very noticeable but they are irritating! And I'm very careful handling my macbook pro. I always clean the screen with the screen cleaner (the black one) that came with the Mac. Never used any solutions or any other cleaner. And when I close the lid or carry it with me, I always put the screen-keyboard guard that came with the Mac when I bought it (it was just the plastic sheet that was placed in between the screen and the keyboard when I opened the box). I'm concerned that these spots will increase so I want to be proactive about it.

This machine is too expensive and so I expect this machine to be of excellent quality, especially when it's only 4 months old! v _ v;;;

Thank you.

Message was edited by: SunBurn

I've had my MBP for a couple of years and noticed a small dark line developing at the bottom center of the display. The interesting thing is, it moves. It is currently in the middle of the display. It has taken some time to get there. I also have those gray spots in the center of my display and in different places towards the bottom as well. I'm no longer under warranty and don't have extended warranty either. It seems with the amount of issues people are having with this Apple would/should do something about it. If anyone has success in fixing this, I'd love to know. Thanx!

I've had my MBP for a couple of years and noticed a small dark line developing at the bottom center of the display. The interesting thing is, it moves. It is currently in the middle of the display. It has taken some time to get there. I also have those gray spots in the center of my display and in different places towards the bottom as well. I'm no longer under warranty and don't have extended warranty either. It seems with the amount of issues people are having with this Apple would/should do something about it. If anyone has success in fixing this, I'd love to know. Thanx! (Sorry about the double post on this one).

Hi,

I have a dark spot on my MacBook display of diameter 0.15 inches (or 4 mm). The spot is bright if looked from an angle.
I brought my Mac to the Apple Care and I just received the verdict: the spot was caused by ME by applying extra pressure to the LCD!. Which is not covered by Apple Care warranty!

That's interesting since I am 100% sure that I didn't harm the screen. The guy even suggested that I forgot my pen on the keyboard and closed the laptop! That's great!

I told the customer service to send me back the laptop as it is after they offered a repair for $700 plus tax! I will travel for the next two months and I need the laptop. But I am determined to go on with this since I love my Mac, I spent a lot of money on it and I know for sure that the spot appeared there without my "help"!

I hope that one day Apple will fix the dark/white spots issues on a product that otherwise is near perfection. Until then I'm pursuing my search for an Apple customer service who will recognize my problem and eventually do something with my Mac without blaming me for something that is a product flaw!

Best,

Adrian D.

Same problem here with a MBP 15,4" 2,4ghz that in June will be 2 years old.

So far has been the worse Apple Computer I ever had in my hands...

-I had to replace my battery after less than 100 cycles.
-Sleep & wake up problems since the 1st day.
-Wifi drop-outs during 1 year when on battery.
-black/grey spots all over my screen.
-And finally, now my MBP is on repair because the Nvidia GPU has died!!!

All this in less than 2 years!!!

Apple: what's next??????

My black mark is a 1 inch teardrop that appeared in an upper corner of the screen. I'm under warranty (since buying a new macbook a month ago after someone broke into my apt and stole the previous one - adding insult to injury) but was told at the Apple store that this kind of damage is ALWAYS caused by the owner. I filled out the form anyway and it was confirmed that it was my fault ... that I must have bumped it up against something. I hadn't taken it anywhere or been rough with it in any way! I know that I can't fight city hall, but what is the least expensive way that I can have it fixed? (Apple quoted something close to the price of the computer. NO.)