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.
All right. I hope they can fix it with some macOS update soon.
But at the end, did you ask for your money back and stay with or previous MacBook or did you change it for another model?
Same thing here... the camera image quality of my Mac air 2014 was much better than my brand-new 2020. Unbelievable !!!
May I know any solution for this?
My image is very grainy. I see others’ images are quite sharp ! Wish this can be resolved!!
Yeah, I think the quality is worse than my 2014 MacBook Air. Really bummed that this is my experience, especially with all the touted upgrades like the M1 chip.
Even I've noticed that, in the beginning I thought it might be because of low light, and when I tested the camera quality in day light, it was still terrible and grainy. Even other people that happened to join the meeting complained the same and I could see previous gen MacBook Air camera is good.
Any suggested fix for this?
Wow. For my own computer I have switched to Dell xps. Happy with it. My daughter is Still attached to the Apple ecosystem so we got a new macbook pro For online college. Camera is terrible. 2014 Macbook air camera is way better. I guess I should return it and get her a dell. Called Apple support they were no help . Bought webcam app which did not work.
I have purchased a new MacBook Air 2022, to replace a MacBook Air from 2015. Not that the older MacBook had to be replaced, because it still works great. I just wanted a new MacBook. The quality of the webcam in the new MacBook Air is bad, compared to the older one. It's painful! Imagine Steve Jobs getting a new MacBook Air and calling loved ones! He must be turning around in tech-haven now. He is missed as he made sure only superior quality products were sold! Shame!
Very upsetting to see that my 2013 MacBook Air has better camera quality than my 2020. Very unfortunate downgrade.
Used screen cleaning gel and ensured my internet connection was up to par, it is simply the device.
I just bought this laptop a few weeks ago and the camera is absolutely terrible. I had called tech support to address the issue. I've had several people tell me that it is possibly my lighting quality, when there is plenty of lighting. I've also had the technicians tell me that it is the software the causes the issue. They advise I swap out my laptop for a replacement. STILL an issue. Really disappointed in the quality of the camera and how grainy and pixelated this is. For goodness sakes, the newest iPad pro has better camera quality than the laptop. How embarrassing for apple!
I purchased 2 for my twin daughters, which are freshmen at college in Virginia (17.5 hrs away), if I’d known how terrible the FaceTime was going to be I wouldn’t have invested in the 2 MacBook Airs that I purchased. Highly disappointed!
I just purchased the MacBook Air and the picture quality is terrible. I spend time speaking to tech support and was told that it was the adjustment of the display which we changed and it look a little better but nothing compared to the quality picture I had on my 2013 MacBook Air. Not only is the picture grainy the color is off with a yellow ting which even show up on the pictures I downloaded from my old Mac. The tech said I was the only one that they knew of that had this issue yet here I am with 900 other people. I am thinking of returning and getting my money back and I've been an Apple customer since the 80's. The whole point of the new MacBook was for Zoom meeting and it's a terrible picture.
Sadly there isn't much you can do except ask to return it and buy another model (or a refurbished/owner by a third party Pre-2018 MacBook Air). If you can't return it due to be over the limit of days possible, the best you can do is call AppleCare, get escalated to a senior advisor and convince them to send you a Webcam for free due to the Macbook's Air info page obviously false advertising:
"The FaceTime camera lets one — or many — of your friends and family members see you in high definition."
Source: https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/
IF you need a good camera for work (and you bought it for that reason), and the info page states it give you "high definition" camera, then I feel most agents would agree with you deserving a free webcam if it cant be returned anymore.
My Macbook Air 2020 came yesterday. After I opened it and tested the camera I was shocked. My early 2014 Air has 20x better quality for its camera. Since I primarily use my computer for Zoom these days, I thought I must have gotten a dud. I called Apple support today and they let me know that the 2018, 2019, and 2020 models are all having this camera quality issue. They told me to use "ambient lighting" to improve it (lol). One tech support person told me that the issue developed at the beginning of 2020. Another person told me it's a hardware issue that only impacts the Macbook Air 2020. So, I'm not sure, but I can say that no one wanted to be direct about it even though they all said that there was information in their database about this problem and that others have called in with this same issue. They said it was built to be this way, but no one knows why. There is currently no fix for it. They told me I could either pay to upgrade to the Macbook Pro (which doesn't have camera problems) or return the Air and go for a 2017 or previous model... I am still shocked. Why would they make a decision to downgrade the camera? It is so bad!
I am having the same issue about the grainy camera of MacBook Air 2020. I just got my laptop this Monday. I spoke to three advisors about this concern and they provided with all the possible ways to fix the issue. None of those resolved the camera concern. Now, I'll be sending my laptop for service and Apple will check what's wrong with the camera and try to fix it. If it still does the same thing, they'll give me a new one which I am concerned since I am not the only who's experiencing this issue. For those who returned your laptop, what course of action did you do? Did Apple give a new one with a better camera? Did you upgrade to MacBook Pro?
Grainy Image on MacBook Air 2020
