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!
Glad to see I am not the only person having these issues. People looking at me like, what happened to your camera, why you so grainy. Come on Apple, what you doing about this? I had to buy an APP to connect my phone and use it as my camera. Should not have to do that at all.
No fix from Apple! They’ll tell you to wipe the glass a million times and go to a room with better lighting. I stopped using it and now use my Microsoft Surface, as the camera is amazing, even in a low light room. I wish I could return this laptop!
Moe11211 wrote:
Apple has no interest in rectifying this issue. I’m almost 100 they are reviewing every complaint on this forum. It’s disgusting from a trillion dollar company
Apple is actually not reading everything on this forum. Its for us users only.
Apple what are you going to do about the grainy worst facetime camera? How can you ugrade macboo air but camera quality is so ******? Nothing that they have recommended works,not even using a ring light works.
Well Apple deleted my comment, as I recommended we create a fb page and obtain possible media coverage about this issue, since they’re not doing anything to rectify the issue. This device is very expensive for them not to address these issues!
I’ve had this laptop for a couple days, its not my computer internet connection, I work from this laptop and etc. Check the thread, majority are experiencing the same thing, if it was as simple as internet connection, I don’t think we would be in here. Thanks.
That’s what I want to avoid from happening, I seen one person say they bought another one just to see and it was the same outcome with the camera quality. I was going to go to the apple store tomorrow but there’s no point I see. The laptop overall besides that one issue is lovely but I hate joining my job zoom with an ashy camera
What? Dont say this lol youre a liar haha.
I know for a fact they are all built this way lol.
You may not be able to notice as much because you have more natural light, but the problem is on ALL models.
This is confirmed 100% lol
Its an issues with the hardware of the screen blocking light to the camera or not allowing enough in or whatever lol.
All info was on page 23 of these complaints.
I went so deep with Apple on this.
So it means I know you are lying. Weird comment.
I took mine to them in less than a month of purchasing and they said to try natural light and ring light and nothing works. I want to bring it back so bad but don't know if they'll take it back after 6 months. I have to be using my phone which shouldn't be after spending so much money on a laptop.
Just want to hop on and say I'm having the same issue. It's such a disappointment! I really hope Apple steps up and fixes this issue. This is my first time investing in a brand new mac and all of my work is online Zoom meetings so having such a bad quality webcam is hugely problematic.
I've had my new MacBook 2020 for awhile -- but didn't really get "into" my camera issues until today.
#1 - using the camera is a huge hassle... somehow on my macbook13 I could just click an icon and boom make a quick video message or snap a picture and it was EXCELLENT.
#2 - I have YET to figure out how to easily make a quick video and the picture quality on my first trial (and it was a TRIAL) was absolutely dismal.
#3 - what good is it to have a screen with such stellar resolution (it is wonderful) but not be able to create a video or photo from the (expletive) camera? It is simply lousy! My very first digital camera (circa 1998 or so) was better than this!
I'm so disappointed. I wonder if they can take the old camera from my macbook 13 and put it in the 2020? Sheesh! Should I have bought a Dell? (ick, no)
Sad in Texas.
Literally just made a call via WhatsApp, video quality was as it should be as soon as I got in the call. Then I ended the call and tried FaceTime again to see if it's because of the application or something else, and when I got in the call my video quality was as it should be. (Same as the one on 2017 models) let me know if this helped you because I'm really puzzled about this. hahaha
I lost my first response. Sheesh, I've been using computers since the early 1990's and now I'm losing my mind. ROFL.
SOMEtimes the problem with grainy images or videos is due to low light, but that isn't the case this time, at least not for me. The light is just fine, but the subject image (in this case, me) is out of focus. Occasionally the background is in focus but the subject is always blurry.
Maybe I'll make an appointment with the GeekBar or whatever it's called, when I have a spare day to spend. In the meantime, it's just videos to my grandson (almost 5 years old) and granddaughter (almost 2 years old) so they aren't nearly as critical as I am.
Thanks for the responses.
Grandma
Hi Grainy Image,
That sounds so unfortunate. Really, this is the first time I’ve *ever* been disappointed in an Apple product, ever since I started with the old Apple IIc back in the day. Holy cow that was in the ‘80s!
Of course I didn’t have problems with the iPhones that everybody complained about since I didn’t have that model. One thing I hope will be certain... Apple will learn from this mistake.
Perhaps they could begin by offering customers who are dependent on their laptop cameras a price-break on an external camera. A significant price-break, please, if you’re listening, O-Omnipotent-Apple-Wise-Ones?
Thanks!
I can't express how disappointed I am with the quality of this camera! It looks like they found the cheapest camera that they could attach to the system and slapped it in. It is pure garbage... I am so upset.
Grainy Image on MacBook Air 2020
