Grainy Image on MacBook Air 2020

I just talk to an Apple tech. He seemed to be new, as he was not aware of this problem, but when connecting remotly to my MacBook, he agreed that the quality of the image was poor. At first he asked me to reinstall OS Big Sur, but after searching through his database, he told me it was a known issue, and that the technicians only suggest to adjust the lighting. They cannot repair it and they are not offering any compensation. I think it was the last time I paid more for a « better » computer.

An answer in cases such as these, had been suggested to acquire an external

USB cam (with microphone?) to use instead of the low-resolution built-in one.

Issues such as this had been known to mac users who've visited discussions online

in the past year; some had used advance warning to consider other options. A few

bought other models, or stayed with an older product that worked adequately.

Depending on where the product was bought, the opportunity to return within

14-days of initial purchase ~ appears to be valid only those from Apple directly;

and not a policy of those bought from 'authorized independent reseller' outlets.

While my older portable Macs are doing OK, they're not put upon for newer tasks.

Good luck & happy trails!🌿🌞🌤🐝🎣🐢

I just bought a MacBook Air 2020 not even two months ago and the camera quality is HORRIBLE. I don't understand how Apple can get away with such horrible quality. This is definitely not a minor issue and it seems like all users have experienced this. I just spoke with Apple support and they said this is basically how the camera functions so in any type of light that is not super bright, don't expect any quality camera. Infuriating. APPLE! Yall gotta fix this. We know you can afford it and it is the right thing to do.

As I said in a previous comment, I have the same problem with my MacBook Air 2020. Today I went to Costco, and I went to the laptop section to check the quality of the cameras. The light in the warehouse is quite good, so the image quality looks okay for someone who wants to buy a Macbook. But if you hover your hand 5 inches away from the camera to just provide a little shade, you can see that the quality of any 2020 MacBook, Air or Pro, is really poor.

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.

All the posts in here should be enough for you. There is no fix, either you live with it, return it ASAP (14 days max), or call Apple Support and ask them to send you a free webcam for false advertising seeing how they advertise "high-quality" FaceTime on the Macbook Air's page. There are no other options.

The worse investment I've made is this MBA 2020, which I got a couple of weeks ago. The quality of the webcam is pathetic. What do we have to do to ensure Apple acknowledges & owns up to their mistake? Their Tech Support & Repair isn't helping. Kindly advise.

As one more frustrated/disappointed owner of a 2020 MacBooks Air (who spent an hour in the phone without Apple Support with them claiming to troubleshoot an issue that clearly isn’t fixable), I’m wondering how I can go about getting a free webcam like you suggested? Also, do we think apple might issue a recall? The camera really is terrible— like as bad as a flip phone from 2003. Thank you for any guidance on how to semi-ameliorate this waste-of-money purchase!

Apple support employees are unwilling/unable to simply admit the camera is unacceptable. I went to the store, had an appt. to ensure everything was working correctly, and the Apple folks told me it could be my WiFi. I told them my iPhone, iPad, and iMac all use the WiFi without the grainy, poor camera. It was embarrassing to see them unable to just say the camera is lousy. Poor show Apple. I am returning.

Yeah, the Apple support person I talked to was similar. They made me troubleshoot all sorts of things that didn’t help. I didn’t realize how bad t was until after the return window, so I’m screwed. I’m just hoping enough people will get on their case about this that there’s a recall. But probably wishful thinking.

It is appalling that Apple did not care about an important component in today's world. Since this MBA has good quality, Apple knows it can sell. So, it does not care. I plan to return this and get a Mac mini for $650 in Costco.

I have the same problem with a recently purchased device. The camera is so bad that I am constantly being asked about it during conferences. The Apple dealer says this is normal. But compared to my MacBook 2015, the picture quality is much worse. I even got the tip to buy an external camera for my new laptop. This is really more than ridiculous.

I thought it was just me! I had a 2015 MacBook Air that just went out, and the quality on this new MacBook Air is HORRIBLE. The camera looks like it went back in time instead of forward. This is a huge problem.

Yes. They take you through this process and a number of others when you contact them. Nothing works. The camera is duff and Apple clearly does not care. Very odd for a company that relies on its reputation so much. They are clearly taking their customers for granted.

I just called Apple support because of the bad image quality. They recommended me to upgrade to Big Sur. This could improve the camera performance. Also, you could adjust the monitor settings a bit. So from "True Tone" to something else. Let's see...