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
yes. I had purchased exact same 2020 MacBook Air model and it had worse camera than 2015 MacBook Pro. After a lot of research I figured out that since 2018 Apple changed the MacBook design and made the lid slimmer and put in the same camera they’ve used on older macbooks but made the camera hole much smaller. If you compare both camera holes side by side and look at the size you’ll see the new MacBook has small tiny camera hole which leads to less light and all photos and videos look grainy in low light thus your new MacBook has grainy and low quality camera. It doesn’t actually have a worse camera but due to this flaw in the design the camera sensors get less light and makes it blurry. The only fix is to add more brightness with better lighting but it doesn’t help much or to pay for an app and download it to enhance your webcam to apply filters over it and increase the brightness of the image. There doesn’t seem to be any other fix. Just return the MacBook if you aren’t satisfied and wait for new one or buy an external wireless camera or use your phone as the camera or iPad. A lot of users on here have this issue but on reddit and other places most people have ignored this issue and instead blamed the users for not knowing how to use the MacBook properly and not doing their “research” for calling this a downgrade in camera quality. They’re ignorant of the fact that in 2018 this design change happened. The brand new users who don’t complain are either upgrading from latest macbooks or those who never bothered paying attention to camera quality or don’t care or new MacBook users. Only people with older macbooks like 2015 or 2012 are the ones complaining and if you google 2018 MacBook camera issues or 2018 MacBook low quality grainy camera you’ll find tons of posts and stories and even YouTube videos and some general advice or fixes. That’s the best advice I can give you. Google that maybe you’ll find something there. That’s how I found out about this whole issue. You can even google check my webcam resolution and I compared the resolution and sensor of 2015 MacBook and 2020 MacBook side by side and the 2020 has same exact model of camera same exact resolution just worse contrast and brightness due to low light. But do the experiments to find yourself. Good luck!
Disappointed with apple silicon MacBook Pro (2020) camera. With upgrades it was nearly $2000. The camera is way WORSE than my previous MacBook pro (2012). Very grainy, I've never had this problem before. Also sometimes the person on the other side has said they can't even see me at all, they get a black screen. Did Apple use a cheaper camera to help pay down the cost of apple silicon? I don't want to answer FaceTime calls on my MacBook now.
Just purchased my 2020 MacBook Air to use for zoom teaching. How did I miss this issue? Wow. The picture is so bad that my students asked me what is wrong at my home. Image grainy and dark. I was using my 2011 iMac until now for zoom; picture there 100% clear and never an issue. I suppose that is why I overlooked the camera; I wrongly assumed it would be an upgrade from my 2011. I will be crossing fingers to return this —I have surpassed the 30-day return—for something with an acceptable camera. Anyone know if the pro version has a camera worth recommending?
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!
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.
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.
Wow! reading all these comments and realizing it's not just my computer.
This is TOTALLY unacceptable that the camera isn't working on such a high-priced new machine.
Happy to get together and collaborate to ensure apple takes care of this and honors their customer base.
Please everyone demand that apple remedy this issue or... class action?
Frankly, I don't know what action to take. I have spoken with Apple support several times, with the Apple retailer/dealer and was on various Mac forums for advice.
The answer is always the same: you can't improve the camera, you can only buy an external camera, you have to buy a completely new Mac with a different camera, you shouldn't be so obsessed with brilliant pictures etc.
So what can you do? I bought a MacBook Air two weeks ago for almost 1400 euros and I'm also puzzled by some of the answers from Apple.
Dylan, thank you for that info. Unfortunately, I'm in the US. Not sure if those laws apply here. So for the additional court fee money, I guess I'll just try to buy a webcam from Amazon or one of the office supply stores.
For anyone who buys a webcam or spends any other money on this problem, keep your receipts and documentation. Hopefully someday Apple will be held accountable and should fix the issue, as well as reimburse any costs you incurred. (I learned this the hard way with a defective washing machine)
I just purchased a MacBook Air 2020 and it also very grainy. It's worse than my old MacBook Pro which has a CD player. I'm thinking of returning it. On Zoom, I even changed the HD settings. Nothing has helped.
Same issue here. 2020 MacBook Air i5 512GB / 8GB, I am returning it to the store this week. Not only is the camera abysmal but the fan seems to come on all the time, especially during any web conferencing such as Zoom or Google Meets. My 2015 MacBook Air performs better on all fronts. This is truly pathetic that the newest laptop is actually a downgrade to one 5 model years before it.
Unfortunately none of those simple solutions solve the problem. The camera quality is bad, period. Very disappointing that this is even a recommended answer from Apple. Are you going to do something about this shameful camera, Apple?
After I returned my first MacBook saying the camera was defective, I took a look at all the display models. They all had the same very bad camera quality. An Apple Engineer is supposed to contact me Thursday and tell me what the problem is. I had sent my Mac data to Apple. If it's software, I'll keep it. If it's hardware, I'll return my 2nd MacBook this month. It's not worth having an awful camera for the next 3-4 years.
Grainy Image on MacBook Air 2020
