Q: MacBook Pro screen blinks

Take it in. Take it in. It's not getting fixed by any updates. I hung around right until the day before my warranty ran out hoping it would magically disappear. Even if you do take it in, there's no guarantee they will fix it for good. There's been stories since this thread began years ago of parts replaced and the blink returning.

At least you have the warranty but even without the warranty Apple should be addressing this at no cost. In my case I got a new machine after 9 weeks and at least 3 replacement parts didn't fix the issue. Good luck.

Would it help if we mailed this to large sites so they can publish the story?

I bet if something like this would happen on the iphone every single customer would get a new iphone. I guess we Macbook Pro customers are worth less (or just not that important for the company).

These companies need media pressure to respect their customers these days, how sad really.

The only place I've seen it reported was cnet in 2008 and that took user comments from Apple discussions so it might well be worth contacting tech sites and putting pressure on as you say.

My guess is that Apple will deal with them on a case by case basis since admitting to the obvious flaw will be damaging to their reputation and costly to remedy. Better for them to pretend it's not a wide-spread issue and appease the people who kick up the most fuss. I imagine there will be a lot of people out there not bothered by the blink, not moved to get it fixed or maybe even not noticing...yet!

I'd suggest- be one to kick up a fuss, refuse to pay for repairs even if out of warranty/apple care etc. If that doesn't work there are plenty of consumer rights places out there that would take an interest and I for one would be happy to add my experience to their investigations.

Oh and Kimkay- back up your macbook with time machine before you do take it back. You may not see the same machine again!

Message was edited by: Terald

Yesterday I tried resetting the Energy Saver -- Better battery life -- and I thought it had stopped, but I just saw it blink just now, so that was short-lived. I will have to take it in and yes, I'll back it up first.

I'll follow up with my results. Thank you for the sage advice.

I'm having the issue too. I just filed a bug in http://bugreporter.apple.com/

By doing the same you are making apple engineers listen to us.

Such a long post so not going to read in it and I am sure someone has probably suggested it but considering it has two video cards in it you change settings in system preferences to allow for best performance which will stop the computer from switching from GPU to another?

Yep changing the video card to 9600 is the same as change to "Best Performance" in GPU. Differently from the new macbook pro with Intel/Nvidia chipset, the selected GPU don't auto-switch with its load.

The same is not true for the current macbook pro line.

The current MBP line with the Intel/Nvidia chipset can be changed to use just the 330m graphics card.

You go to energy saver and uncheck the "automatically switch graphics for beter battery life" or whatever the dialogue is.

Hmm didn't know, but you cant switch to use only the intel correct?

Anyway... For god's sake... This thread have more tan 70 pages, we are a lot of people, lets do something. This problem have been occurred for a lot of people since 2008!

Lets file this as a bug at http://bugreporter.apple.com/

I know it is tedious, but is the way they rank the problems. Don't forgot to add a link to this huge thread.

post your BUG #, mine: BUG# 9015555

Message was edited by: Filipi Nascimento

I took my Jan. 09 MBP in a few weeks ago, because of the blinking problem and was pretty summarily told that it was either my hard drive going, or the operating system. The top of the screen was also going black some. I ordered a new hard drive and am currently trying to decide whether to use Carbon Copy Cloner or my Time Capsule to back up.
Fortunately, I wanted a bigger drive anyway - because from this thread I have a feeling the new drive won't solve the problem.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that it is not the Hard Drive. I have 2 hard drives that I have swapped out and the blinking and dimming problem persist no matter what. I have also posted a long time ago, steps I took regarding my problems. I have formatted and re-installed multiple times, and my screen problems always start up when I install the 10.5.6 or higher update. It actually started when Apple released the NEW Magicpad updates awhile back. Apparently the 10.5.6 update includes Magicpad drivers which is probably why these problems persisted for me with all new updates. Prior to installing updates, I have no problems with my screen.

It has to be a driver or software issue, because I have installed the OS on two separate hard drives and it starts happening after the update only. The machine I am having the problem on is a mid 2010 17 inch Macbook Pro i5. It also started happening on our late 2009 13 inch core 2 Macbook Pro. Explain that APPLE. My theory is that the Magicpad drivers conflict with the Macbooks or Macbook Pros. Maybe my issue is different than other. It seems like different people describe their issues differently on this forum. Mine is specifically that when my screen dims it immediately brightens again and does not stay dim. I can reproduce this by pulling out my Magsafe cord. When I pull it out, the screen dims but goes right back to original brightness. So it never dims properly. Essentially it makes the screen look like it flickers briefly.

I can confirm that replacing the HD with a new one do not solve the problem...


In fact, no known replaced part solved the problem.

pudge77 wrote:
… Maybe my issue is different than other. …

I think it might be. There are two discrete issues which seem to be affecting MBPs, the flickering brightness which you appear to be describing, and an out and out blinking which affects the models with dual NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT and GeForce 9400M graphics cards, when using the 9400M.

Is there any remedy to the flickering from the video? I have the 9400M and 9600M GT. Do I just live with it and will the display die at some point?

Interesting. My MacBook Pro purchased Feb. 2009 started the "glitch" symptom around November as well. Do you suppose there was some update then that triggered this? Btw, since this issue, I've had my display replaced and promises to replace logic board but instead an LB gasket was replaced as the "Geniuses" say there is nothing to indicate an LB problem. At one point they offered me a brand new comparable unit which I was ready to take (although it would mean having to purchase $1200 or more of software/etc. that is not compatible with new OSX) and was then talked into having the LB replaced -- which they did not do. It's very aggravating (taking it in multiple times) and annoying (I don't like the irregular screen glitch) and am afraid it will totally break down (I have one more year warranty). I just now switched to the other chip to see if that helps.


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" SailorTriforce
Re: MacBook Pro screen blinks
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 8:27 PM in response to: munchnstuf

For the record, I got this computer in March 2009 for my birthday. These issues started this past November for me. I have had a screen replacement and logic board replacement, and the problem persists. I have submitted a complaint to Apple.. I'm very unhappy. I've come to expect so much more than this from Apple.. this is beyond ridiculous.

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sabatier1

Re: MacBook Pro screen blinks
Posted: Feb 10, 2011 4:49 PM in response to: dutchbb

Well iv had my macbook 2 years now and the problem has only just started in the last 2 months or so.

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