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Uneven illumination

My powerbook was delivered on 24th Oct and no white spots (yet). The screen was perfect up until yesterday when I noticed a general unevenness of illumination.

The bottom corners of the screen now appear brighter and a darker patch hangs over the middle of the dock and extends about 1/3 of the way up the screen.

It's not blindingly obvious but very annoying to me, I'm just concerned it might be described as falling within normal parameters if I send the computer back.

Anyone else experiencing similar problems?

Posted on Nov 11, 2003 12:44 AM

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1,364 replies

Aug 17, 2018 1:08 PM in response to pintofguinness

Watch it closely. I'm skeptical of the NVRAM solution. I had the same illumination problem and it was tied to temperature and brightness (as you have seen, right after sleep). My guess is that all the NVRAM/rebooting was not fixing the problem but it was just warming up the display...

Aug 17, 2018 1:08 PM in response to pintofguinness

I had white spots AND uneven illumination. It has been repaired. Took about a week (sent it on Saturday, arrived Monday, they sent back following Monday, I received Tuesday). It was on Hold awaiting parts for most of that time.

IF the LCDs are in stock it can arrive in Houston, be repaired, and sent back in the same day. OTOH, some folks were on parts hold for more than 2 weeks. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't seem able (or willing?) to let you know about parts status in advance. You might try asking others who have gotten theirs back recently (mine's been back 2 weeks now) for their experience.

Good luck!

Nov 11, 2003 1:39 AM in response to Phill Ashworth

I had this problem with my powerbook too, in addtion to the white spots. It extended from the lower right to to cover about half the screen. This occured at anything BUT full brightness. I called apple and described the problem and they promptly issued me a box to send it back for repair / replacement. I had only had it for a week and a half.

Nov 13, 2003 6:05 AM in response to Phill Ashworth

Since first appearing the problem with my LCD has got much worse, initially a minor annoyance the right side is now very much dimmer than the left rendering it almost unusable.

I called Apple support in Italy yesterday and the first person I spoke to started saying I would have to take my Powerbook into an Apple reseller even though I purchased it from the AppleStore, she then put me on hold and the line cut off.

Luckily the second attempt was a bit more successful, both the customer care representative and technician were very helpful and courteous. They arranged for the machine to be picked up next week by DHL and indicated a 3-5 day turnaround for the repair.

Oct 20, 2015 1:15 PM in response to Phill Ashworth

My PB goes off tomorrow to Apple so that the uneven illumination problem can be fixed.

I will miss it. Sniffle.

Odd that at max brightness the problem goes away but at lower settings it is so uneven.

Nov 17, 2003 5:25 AM in response to Phill Ashworth

Hi.

I got my 15in Nov 10 in the UK. No sign of white spots, but it does exhibit the darker right hand side. As most of my work happens towards the left side, with palettes and whatnot on the right, I didn't initially notice it. It also isn't affected by the screen being full brightness.

In addition, I can't get rid of a blue cast. I've calibrated, ColorSync'ed and even used third party calibration utlities, but it still looks way too blue.

Not sure if I want to complain, as I don't do colour critical work on the machine. If I started to, I would probably add a second monitor. Besides, I have fallen in love with this laptop in a way I didn't with the Pismo I still own.

Heather K

Nov 18, 2003 4:53 PM in response to Phill Ashworth

Yep, another one here. It's been bugging me for a few days because the uneven brightness is quite slight - just enough to make me think there's something wrong with my right eye. Annoying.

Guess I'll wait a few days and see how bad it gets.

I'm loathed to send my PB in for repair just yet as I've installed the 7200rpm Hitachi drive inside and I'm buggered if I'm going to take it all apart again!

But ****, this uneven brightness is really bugging me now.

Nov 21, 2003 7:58 AM in response to Phill Ashworth

Powerbook was picked up on Monday and delivered back to me this morning (Fri), a 3-5 day turnaround as promised. Screen looks great no unevenness in illumination and no white spots.

Only problem is there is now a scratch or crack in the screen about 2cm long just below the menu bar clock that with a light background looks like a hair stuck on the screen. It is definitely a physical defect as you can feel it when you run your fingers over it. Not major but it just shouldn't be there on a brand new very costly machine, so looks like it's back to Apple another time (sigh).

Nov 23, 2003 6:14 AM in response to Phill Ashworth

Yep, I have exactly the same problem, very frustrating. I know apple are good with repairing under warranty, but last powerbook I bought it took 6 weeks to get back to me, so I'm not to keen to let my new powerbook out of my site!!! Also my internal mic is not working properly, it's crackling pretty badly. Anyone else had problems with their internal mic?

David

Uneven illumination

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