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bazaarone Author

Level 1

0 points

Major problems with Thunderbolt display & MB Air

Since I received my Thunderbolt display yesterday and hooked it up to my 2011 MB Air, I've had nothing but problems.

Software update is fully up to date, including the TB Display firmware.

I'm experiencing three major issues:

1. About half the time when I connect the display, my connected USB devices are non-functional. Unplugging and reconnecting the devices does not fix it.

2. Also, about half the time when I disconnect the display, the MB Air does not reconfigure the monitor layout. Putting it to sleep and/or disconnecting / reconnecting monitors does not fix this. I have to hard restart my laptop.

3. When connected through the TB Display, my Mac will infrequently not recognize key up events from my USB keyboard, causing keys to repeat until I hit them again. For an idea of frequency, it has happened 4 times so far thus far while writing this post.

Also a couple of minor niggles:

1. The default color calibration is WAY different from the MB Air's screen. It's most obvious with yellows which have a severe green tint on the TB display. For example, note windows in Mail appear very slightly orange on my MB Air (as expected given the color value), while on the TB display it is florescent yellow with a slight greenish tint.

2. The sound is a lot poorer than I had hoped. I wasn't expecting anything really amazing, but with the "built in subwoofer" I expected noticeably better bass than my MB Air's built in speakers provide.

The minor issues can either be minimized (with color calibration and equalizer) or ignored, but the major issues make this display completely unusable for me. Is this just a defective unit, or are these widespread issues?

Thanks in advance for any help.

PS. Total instances of keys getting stuck while writing this post: ~9. Seems to only be space and delete that get stuck so far.

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 8:19 PM

438 replies

Dec 13, 2011 12:12 PM in response to Salkin1001

I've been using the TB display with an Air initially and now a Mini. A couple of weeks back, all the ports on the back of the display stopped working. It was sent away to a repair agent who diagnosed a faulty logic board and I got it back last night.

Hooked it up today, good sign, I can charge something from a USB port. But then I plug in some devices and absolutely nothing happens. Plug the same devices straight in to the Mini and they work immediately.

Makes you wonder if they even tested it before sending it back to me.....

Dec 13, 2011 12:33 PM in response to fredfromfrankfurt am main

Hello fred,

same thing for me, I couldn't do the upgrade. Très bizarre...

Dec 13, 2011 12:37 PM in response to Mattheo Lescaht

I did the new upgrade. Worked for me. Haven't seen any problems recently.

MacBook Air - Thunderbolt Display.

Initially I had lots of problems.

HVCC-Jam

Level 1

4 points

Dec 19, 2011 7:26 AM in response to bazaarone

Exact same issues w/MacBook Pro 17 and OSX Lion although my USB connection never works and the Display Ethernet seldom works.

James

Dec 19, 2011 10:24 AM in response to HVCC-Jam

TB display is getting collected again tomorrow to go of for repair to the same place as last time. Strange thing is that the ports all worked fine for a few hours following the firmware update, but I got up the next morning and they'd stopped again.

Really frustrating and if it takes a similar amount of last time to go and come back (plus lots of lovely marks on the screen from the suction cups and greasy pawprints) then Apple will have had it for longer than I have since buying it.

Phips

Level 1

5 points

Dec 19, 2011 10:35 AM in response to mikeadams

mikeadams wrote:

Strange thing is that the ports all worked fine for a few hours following the firmware update, but I got up the next morning and they'd stopped again.

Hi Mike - I'd be really interested to hear how you get on if it comes back and you can resist the urge to apply the Thunderbolt update.

I still haven't applied the update since I got my replacement screen, and it's been working fine now for, what, two or three weeks. I'm fairly sure that's what screwed my first monitor up.

Try not to apply the update when your monitor comes back, and report back to the thread your findings please?

Edited: Added a URL to show my 'updates' dialog

Dec 19, 2011 10:50 AM in response to Phips

When this one came back with the new logic board, I didn't apply the update and the ports were dead. Although a couple of times when the Mac was switched off, the USB ports suddenly got power. I applied the update and the ports immediately worked when the display was connected to the Mac and also when off. I left it backing up overnight and they stopped working at some point.

tthiel1

Level 2

184 points

Dec 21, 2011 7:01 AM in response to bazaarone

I really doubt its the update but more likely you need a new monitor. I have a TB disolay from the first day and it works fine. Gig E and all ports are in use. All updates applied. Using a 13' MBA. This monitor has alot of electornics in it and my guess is there are some faulty circuit boards around so only a replacement will work.

Dec 28, 2011 3:53 AM in response to tthiel1

Got an email today asking me how satisfied I was with this latest repair attempt but I still don't have the display back. Called Apple who have confirmed the repair is complete (have replaced the logic board again). Only problem is the repair agent is shut until next week so I'm not quite sure how anything's being updated on the system at the moment.

HVCC-Jam

Level 1

4 points

Jan 4, 2012 7:28 AM in response to bazaarone

Hello,

Yes, my TB display (w/MB Pro 17) demonstrates similar behavior. Also if I disconnect my MB Pro and reconnect it, the USB and Ethernet will never work and I must restart my MB Pro. It appears that my TB display connected TB Time Machine does work throughout this evolution.