Have just purchased a new MacBook Air (2020 model). Have bought to use for home working (Zoom meetings, etc) and the image is really grainy when using Zoom or FaceTime. Is this normal with Macs?
MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15
Basically what it means is that they are very very aware of this issue.
Their process is to classify issues as either expected or unexpected. If it's expected it means it's "our fault" for not knowing the camera image quality is impacted by poor design not allowing for enough light to enter the lens. That they have no recourse to fix it. It is hardware and it's a design flaw. It actually has nothing to do with the camera quality. Not something they are currently able to fix. I said its false advertising and they said prove it. That's why your camera quality is better on older models. More light coming into the camera. Its beyond stupid they let this happen. haha Someone got fired for sure I imagine.
I have a Macbook pro 2019 I just purchased in Dec for 5500.
Its way better in natural light.
Who the **** has access to natural light in their office lol. I am lucky to have some and can see the clear difference, but at night it is unusable.
When I bought my computer for the Macbook pro this was still not classified expected behaviour. It became expected as I was negotiating with them.
This is why they sent me free accessories.
Now, they have changed the classification to "expected." This means you have no recourse whatsoever with Apple other than complain and hope they offer something in the future who those who did.
All you can do is return it and buy something else or wait for their next release otherwise.
Yes, you and all of these other people have fallen through the cracks. (As of Feb 25.) If "Apple cares" they would immediately fix this issue. They just pretend too like the others. Not a special company lol.
I have just made the experience of this problem one month after having purchased the new MacBook Air 2020. Impossible to FaceTime with this quality of picture past 5 pm - the 13 page long litany of similar complaints on the website offers no hope that this can be fixed. (And no, checking the connection and wiping fingerprints doesn't help a bit). And of course, it is too later for a refund. Honestly, Apple, first time in my life that I regret purchasing one of your products.
send Your complaint through this link here it will be reviewed individually by Apple management team
http://www.apple.com/feedback
just discussing here in the forum won’t help.
so if enough negetive feedback reach them they might see to this.
Just upgraded from an early 2015 MacBook Pro to the 2020 M1 MacBook Pro, and the camera picture I get from Photo Booth is actually worse than my 2012 MacBook Pro. It is incredibly grainy. Even the front-facing camera of my ancient iPhone 4 had better picture quality.
I sincerely hope this is a hardware or software error, and that it can and will be fixed soon. It would be a disgrace if it wasn't a mistake and that this is actually the intended camera quality.
I will update this answer when I have more news from Apple Support.
I upgraded to a Macbook Air 2020 a couple of months ago, and it's the worst camera I've ever seen in a Mac. No the screen is not dirty, and it's on the same wifi that I my previous Mac Book was using so it's definitely not the internet spped.
In today's world of zoom meetings, recordings, etc. this is just not acceptable!
I had a MacBook Air 2017, and I was using it with Zoom for my meetings. With my green screen behind me, I could put any background image, the illusion was almost perfect. But I made the mistake to replace it with a MacBook Air 2020. The camera is so bad, even with a lot of light in front of me (almost 500W of spotlight). The quality is so bad, there is a blur all around me, it's so ugly. I can't use my computer anymore. So frustrating...
Under English law, you have a right to return goods if they are not not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or as described. Apple may claim that the MacBook is of satisfactory purpose. However, if you mentioned to the sales guy that you wanted it for Zoom meetings etc, then you will have a better argument for claiming that it is not fit for the specific purpose that was made known to the company before you bought it. Apple may object but it is simple enough to draft a letter of claim (online examples are available) and to make an online claim. The court fee will be £60 or £70 and the online claim form is simplicity itself. I would claim myself but may just pay for a webcam. Not ideal but a lesson to check out all the reviews before buying in future.
I am convinced it's hardware at this point. I returned a macbook air in the summer and now have a macbook pro 16 inch and its the exact same problem. This is definitely a massive recall issue. What a brutal item on a computer to have this type of issue with. This computer is so perfect otherwise I want to keep it and just use my 2015 air for zoom meetings. That's how annoying it is to have to return another 99% perfect computer. How does something like this happen. I literally have to return it tomorrow and wait again to hopefully get a fixed one? This is so weird. @apple fix this!
Same here. I bought a 2020 Macbook Pro in November 2020, paid £1800.00. Worst image from camera I've seen for a long time in ANY computer in Zoom or FaceTime. My 2015 Macbook Pro that I replaced had a much better camera image!!! In my meetings the other participants immediately noticed the difference. I spoke with the people in the shop (IStore , Strand, London), but they couldn't offer any sensible explanation or help. There's something very strange with this. Apple has to do something!
Hi, sorry, no it's not a matter of Apple was plays bad with cameras. My 2015 Macbook Pro has a perfectly decent camera image for today standards to use in Zoom meetings etc. The problem is with the recent MacBooks which have a really awful grainy camera image, totally unacceptable by ANY standards.
It is unbelievable that this discussion about the poor camera of all MacBook Air 2020 now goes over 19 pages. I also want to emphasize that I have really tried everything possible that Apple support recommends for this problem: check the Internet, remove possible fingerprints, select HD settings, provide better lighting conditions, etc.... None of this works, the video image always looks bad and unfortunately so do I. Again: In times of video conferencing, the camera is extremely important! And I don't want to buy additional equipment (external camera, lighting...) to let my ultra-light MacBook Air grow into a device mania. That's really not state of the art, is it?
Apple, please finally make a concrete proposal on how this really annoying defect can be professionally fixed!
Not a lot of people mention this detail, but in addition to the poor quality of the image, the framing is really much narrower on my 2020 MacBook air compared to my 2017 MacBook Air, and I doubt that it’s a lighting problem... In order to get the same framing than my 2017 MacBook, I have to put my computer so far away that I can’t touch the keyboard anymore. What do you have to say about that, Apple? Îm selling this computer right away, any buyer here?
apple.com/feedback. That's about all you can do right now. At first we hoped if they heard from enough people they'd take action. Now they know and they're just ignoring us. HOWEVER, if a class action suit or a legitimate response is ever made, hopefully those who complained will get what's rightfully due to them.
I also went from a late 2014 MacBook Pro and the camera was much much clearer. I only bought a base model Air in Feb 2021, and I love all of the features, but with a cam this cheap this laptop is worthless.
As someone recommended earlier in this chat, I sent a complaint to apple.com/feedback about this problem. But so far I have not received a response. I also invested in a new laptop specifically because I wanted a fast and powerful device for video conferencing. This camera is absolutely the most pathetic thing Apple has come up with in recent years!
The Genius Bar will not do anything! I did that and they admitted they have heard several complaints about the same issue. The resolution they provided, “go to a room with good lighting.” It’s really sad and disgusting they, Apple, know what’s going on and refuse to doing anything about it. Im currently using a Microsoft surface, which has a better quality camera than a laptop I paid over $1k for!
Grainy Image on MacBook Air 2020
