MacBook Pro screen blinks

I would give it a shot. I went in because one day the computer would not boot up - it had power but nothing came up on the screen.

The screen had flickered a very few times over the years - I just shrugged it off, as I had no idea about the problem or this thread at the time.

Anyway, they replaced the logic board for free -- said there was a known issue. I was ecstatic. I had no AppleCare (never bought it) and was braced for a huge bill. It ended up being $700+ but it cost me nothing. I'm a customer for life because of that.

I have seen no flickering since then, though I did get one of the two onboard fans replaced last year after it started making a racket. I still think the computer runs too hot, though. My husband's Macbook is cool as a cucumber - mine is really hot to the touch most of the time.

Definitely take the computer in. I've been in there when folks bring in their iPods and iPhones that they've dropped and shattered the screen or whatever - I've heard the geniuses say that Apple's policy is one-time free replacement on those things even when it's flat-out the customer's fault, so I get the feeling they have the same attitude about all their products. Worth a try.

Kren,

What model MacBook Pro do you have? I thought they were only recognizing the problem with the 2008 models.

Folks. Here's an update.

I went to the Apple Store in Philly today and unfortunately they told me I'd have to pay for the repairs. Wouldn't have mattered if I had bought Applecare after this point. They were asking for something like $300+ for repairs. I tried to make it a point that they were replacing 8600GTs which they had acknowledged had an issue why couldn't they also replace this one but no dice. Sadly disappointed.

Trekpixel,

I'm in the same boat as you. I could pay the $340 flat rate fee for the fix and possibly get a good board. But from what I've been reading over the months this almost never happens. In which case they would send it in again and again until they replace the entire machine. So I'm looking at this as a $340 new system upgrade. The only real variable is the replacement. I could actually get a good board with no blink and have to keep my old machine. In which case I'm not sure $340 is worth it. There is always the hope that this will finally be classified as a recall and the $340 would be refunded, but that's a long shot.

2008

Thought I just add another voice here! Having the same problem as everyone else (Late 2008 15'inch 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo) Screen only flickers with "Better Battery Life" Setting... Using the higher preformance setting makes my computer too hot to handle and the fans way too noisy...

No warranty left... 😟

I've had this problem for several years also, but I've only rarely used my MBP away from my desk where it's been hooked up to an Apple 24" display I bought with I got the MBP in late 2008. As long as the lid of the MBP is closed and I'm using the Apple display monitor, it never ever blinks. It only happens when it is using the screen of the MBP.

After reading many of the posts here about the costs, aggravation and time it takes to replace it, I've simply used it and the Apple display as a desktop replacement at the office. After all, these 2008 models are about 3 and a half years old now and the newer models seem to run circles around the 2008 models. I have a late 2011 MBA and I was floored at how much faster it does just about eveything, so it replaced my MBP when I recently got the Thunderbolt display. Sometimes it's just time to move on, which IHO applies to the 2008 MBP's.

Yes, when you pay $2000 for a computer and it turns out that the entire line has a massive defect, it's best to simply shrug your shoulders and "move on" after the vendor blows it off for three years.

Exactly. After 3 years of being blown off, the combination of the computer's depreciation in value coupled with the frustration and waste of time to get something done becomes not worth spending any more time and effort on it. Although I sympathize with your comments, there comes a point when something like this simply isn't worth the effort any longer.

My Late 2007 Macbook Pro's GPU recently failed completely. Turns out I was lucky it didn't happen sooner as the ATI card in it was apparently famous for the meltdown. I am in the middle of an architecture grad program and I had to scramble to find a new laptop on a limited budget. A friend came through and sold me his hardly used late 2008 model on the cheap. I've been using it for not even a week now and the flickering seems to be getting worse. If you max out the ram in these machines and install a SSD, they are plenty fast. I would be fine using this model for the next two or so years and I do really graphically involved tasks.

So needless to say that it's a pitty that the most expensive computers out there (and by a wide margin) can come with these kinds of defects. I grew up with macs. Up until the last couple years envisioning using a pc was impossible. The differences seem to be getting fewer and fewer.

Long story... shorter:

I have a Late 2008 MBP 15" with the flickering issue and Applecare since day one (I got it as soon as it came out in Italy). In the 3 years of AC coverage I swapped 2 motherboards (could have been more, but I needed the machine for work) but after a few months the issue always came back. After the end of the warranty and the 3 months since the last repair (4th month) I called Apple because the issue was presenting itself again. I managed to get another mobo swap for free and I got 3 flickers in 10 minutes (I filmed it with my phone and sent back the unit very disappointed). After 6 weeks full of phonecalls with the tecnicians and the Apple phone guys I managed to get a new late 2011 machine (with full warranty, so 1+2 years) but it was a real struggle. From what I understand there is a mix of "ignore the problem" methodology and ignorance. The tecnicians (tech guys affiliated with Apple) just had no idea of what the issue could be and had no interest in knowing about this thread. On the phone you are treated as if you were the only unlucky guy in the world with this kind of issue. You can tell them that you know that most of these units have this very same defect but they will hear from one ear and let it out from the other one. When I gave them back my incredibly faulty just repaired unit I got really angry (politely). The phone support finally looked into the issue (without agreeing that this is almost default stuff for late 2008 mbps) and called me back suggesting me to JUST USE THE OTHER VIDEO CARD (9600m GT) and I would sufer no issue. That really made me mad... next time they asked if I agreed to switch display and I refused because both I read here that it did nothing and I don't see how a display could be the cause when one video card behaves differently from the other one... in 5 seconds she then agreed that they would swap the unit with a new one (2 hours before she said that it just would never happen) and after a few weeks I finally got a speedy, brand new machine. I even had the chance to buy BTO options for this unit, which makes my very bad story become a great support example by Apple. In a very questionable and wrong way I received (I am not alone as this thread testifies) the best support ever with a total of 6 years and a quarter of warranty covered machines.

For those who are in the end of their Applecare, do something right now or it will become a nightmare!

Can you tell me which number you called? I can't even get a number to call from Apple website because it first tell me to enter serial number and just told me the warranty is expired and wouldn't give me a support number to call.

I called Apple's number as seen on their website. Being in Italy it is surely different from the one you used. If you already changed motherboard in the past at least twice maybe you still stand a chance, I was lucky (but it is very much understandable that I was right to ask for free service) because I called them to blame the last repair (second one) that was made 4 months before (3 month warranty for repairs outside applecare).

I think that seeing how many have the issue there should be a major recall that Apple is avoiding for obvious reasons, but the bright side of the flickering is that it can be mitigated by changing video card and it does not cause crashes (at least in most cases). The famous nvidia bugged cards in the earlier mbps (8600m gt) killed the notebooks and was a lot more widespread than this one... that time no applecare was needed to get a repair/replacement AFAIK.

I was told to have my machine sent in for a logic board replacement... and after seeing how it DOESN'T work anyway, I just want to call apple and have them send me an all new machine... I think that going through the hassle of sending in my laptop for repairs, and then get it back to see that it still has the SAME issue... I don't think it's worth all the hassle really. And having my machine away from me for longer then a day (I'm a Graphic Designer) is almost TORTURE...

I was told to switch over to the 9600 card as a temporary fix. The problem is, the heat it causes has now limited me on what I can do on my Skype. I can't video call, the last time I did my computer did an auto shut down because it got to hot. I can no longer screen share for the same reason... This is just one big problem after another. And my screen flickering started about a year after I installed Snow Leopard (when it started happening I thought it was my imagination), so I don't think thats the problem...

Wow, egyptlang...

Your computer should not be shutting down when using Skype. What message do you get?

Where do you use your computer when the shut down happens, on a table or on your lap?

Reset your PRAM. Reset your SMC.

What error message do you get when you want to screen share?

Message was edited by: Erica M31