MacBook Pro display on Big Sur

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MacBook Pro display on Big Sur

I upgraded my MacBook Pro (13in, 2017) to Big Sur 11.5.2 about three weeks ago. Ever since the update the quality of my display has has been mediocre at best. It is hard to describe, but the easiest is perhaps to say it simply is not bright enough. Any place there is a bit of darkness in photos (shade, eyes, etc.) is simply too dark. It isn't the photos. They are stored in iCloud and all appear just fine on our iPad. I have maximised the screen brightness (not enough), verified my profiles (fine) and had a little play with calibrating the colour profile (no noticeable affect). Any further suggestions on what might have been changed by the update, or what else might have gone wrong coincidently would be appreciated.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Sep 6, 2021 5:29 PM

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Answer 1

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Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

67,348 points

Sep 10, 2021 1:20 AM in response to jhh

Thank you for this last image, that is what we needed, to understand what you are actually seeing.

More than the image itself, what I think more clearly shows the problem are the icons on the Dock - particularly the blue color in Mail, Safari, etc is much darker than it should be.

Maybe it is worth trying to calibrate the display.

First, just to be sure (you probably have checked this already, but still) in System Preferences->Display->Color, the profile selected is Color LCD, right?

If it is not, change it and see if that solves it.

Otherwise, click Calibrate... and follow the instructions. This will create a new calibrate color profile. Let us know.

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Answer 2

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 7, 2021 8:25 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Yes, the default profile was selected.

As I said before the problem is hard to describe. Comparing the same photos on the MacBook and an iPad, the photo on the MacBook has much more intense colours and a greater contrast. "Editing" the photo on the iPad I can get close to its appearance on the MacBook by taking the "HIGHLIGHTS" and "BRILLANCE" adjustments both down to ca -90 and "BRIGHTNESS" to -50. That will give you an idea.

The report from Etrecheck follows. I don't see any issues relevant to the display.

Thanks for you help.

Etrecheck Report 2021-09-08

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Answer 3

Sep 8, 2021 1:27 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

You should really uninstall avast. It is not offering any protection, is consuming resources, degrading performance and maybe giving you a false sense of security, whilst making your system potentially less secure.

Effective defenses against malware and other threats

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Answer 4

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 9, 2021 7:03 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Three photos attached.

Original - the photo as exported from Photos on the MacBook ion medium quality so that I could attach it.

Screen Shot 2021-09-10 at 1.55.05 PM - a screen shot of the same photo opened in Preview

Photo - a photo taken with my iPad of the screen on the MacBook displaying the photo, i.e. what I see.

Thanks yet again for your help.

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Answer 5

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 9, 2021 7:23 PM in response to jhh

Switched to my iPad to see what the post looked like. I don't know where the third photo got to but I think the first two give us the answer. The screen shot is the same as the original photo but is not what I see. The colour rendering on my display is stuffed! Just to ensure you have all three photos I'll add the last photo taken from the iPad here again.

Thanks again for your help.

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Answer 6

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 10, 2021 10:29 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

OK. We were on the correct default display profile. On my MacBook I can only change the white point. I just kept playing around and the attached was achieved at 9000! Quite a ways from the default, but it looks pretty good when I compare it with the original on my iPad. I had a quick dive into photos and looked over a range and they all look good. I think we have solved this! (I actually tried a white point of 9500 but that introduced some blue.) Thank you very much for your help.

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Answer 7

Sep 7, 2021 6:43 AM in response to jhh

Go to System Preferences->Displays->Color.

Make sure that the default profile is selected. It is probably called "Color LCD".

If that does not help, or if it was already selected, then tell us more.

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.

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Answer 8

Sep 8, 2021 1:26 AM in response to jhh

I don't see anything in there that would affect the display, but I do have a word of advice about your system (see below).

Regarding the display issue: would it be possible to show some screenshots illustrating the issue?

In order to determine whether this is a software display issue or hardware, in this case I think it might be helpful, for comparison, to see an image of the mac screen taken, eg, with your iPad, and the same captured with Command-Shift-4.

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Answer 9

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 11, 2021 12:58 PM in response to jhh

I was a bit quick with that reply. I had to rush off to some friends with dinner. Later in the evening when MacOS chose to use night mode the picture quality was poor. This morning I had a more careful look around and while some pictures seem to have improved others are definitely poorly displayed. I don't think the calibration has solved the problem, just shifted the way things look.

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Answer 10

Sep 12, 2021 6:37 AM in response to jhh

I don't know what else to suggest. Maybe have your mac checked. Maybe there is an issue with the screen itself.

If you can temporarily attach an external screen to your mac and compare how the images, from the same mac, display on the internal and external, this may give some ideas.

I would have suggested using your iPad with Sidecar as an external display, but I don't tink that is supported in 2017 models (could be wrong).

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Answer 11

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 12, 2021 4:29 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Yes sidecar is available. I hadn't used it before. There is a striking difference between displaying a photo on the MacBook and then sliding it over to the iPad. I guess it is time to get the screen assessed. Thanks once again for all your help with this.

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Answer 12

a brody

Level 10

84,011 points

Sep 7, 2021 6:32 AM in response to jhh

Change the dark mode settings.

https://9to5mac.com/2020/12/01/dark-mode-on-mac-big-sur-more/

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Answer 13

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 7, 2021 7:20 PM in response to a brody

Dark mode is already off. It shouldn't be impacting the display.

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Answer 14

jhh Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 9, 2021 7:06 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thanks for the pointer to John's article. All good stuff. AVAST was recommended by a Mac support person at work when I retired. I really should have known better. AVAST will now go.

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MacBook Pro display on Big Sur

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