Thunderbolt Display turns off randomly

Got exactly the same problem - anyone know the solution ?

Agreed they should fix this - display can't just die after 3/4 years

Mine finally blacked out permanently, after 3 months of irregularly blacking out. I'm more disappointed than ever because I held Apple with very high regard. I don't even have anywhere to store the **** thing. This episode is a real game changer for me.

A company that cared one iota at all could so easily respond here, or contact affected users directly, but nada, nothing.

I WISH I had gotten 3 to 4 years of use, mine has now permanently blacked out after just a year and a half. I've already chucked iOS for Android and am in the probably 3 + year process of moving towards all cross platform software so that I can make the complete jump away from Apple. (iCloud to Amazon Cloud Drive, iTunes to Amazon music, Apple pro stuff to Adobe, etc. SO disappointing.

HAS ANYONE TRIED USING A THUNDERBOLT HUB with a new Thunderbolt 2 cable? They are crazy expensive ($200 plus) but if it gets my display working again it might be worth the investment (plus having HDMI out and USB 3 wouldn't hurt either).

Looks like this problem is showing on a huge number ofd monitors - Apple need to wake up to this - and fix the issue - cause it is annoying a lot of people

Don't know of anyone affected who's coughed up for a hub, but I certainly wouldn't entertain spending $200 if the thing isn't even going to start up, and be detected by any mac. I've tried my display on my own Mac Mini, and two Mac powerbooks at the current spec. Dead as a doornail.

Have located an Apple outlet here in Thailand, who can investigate the fault, and offer a repair price (which may not be economical) or a discounted replacement display on an exchange basis. As yet, I'm not sure how significant the discount is. Should find out next Saturday.

I have found a very reasonable solution to this issue.

I get the black out for a moment and then the display returns after a second or two. I have a macbook pro mid 2012 13" i5 with 16GB

intel hd400 graphics card - 1024 mb

I noticed if I go to the settings for display and choose "Scaled" option and choose 2048x1152, the blackouts are gone completely.

Then I figured... hey, why don't I lower the display resolution on my macbook pro, since I am not even using that display. I did that and then returned the resolution for my 27" thunderbolt to 2560x1440. No blackouts.

Having a lower resolution on my macbook pro, is far more acceptable to me than having blackouts and/or not being able to use the highest resolution mode for my very expensive monitor!

Hope this helps all of you out, and hopefully apple takes note of this information and makes it known - if it works for others as well.

Are you connecting to your Thunderbolt display with a Thunderbolt cable, or Firewire?

The reason I'm asking is because I had blackouts for many months, which were totally intermittent and could only be resolved by force-quitting my Mac Mini and a re-start. I did a lot of forum-searching and it appears that the power loss is to the USB/Firewire hub inside the display (or so I believe). I then remembered that, back in 2011, when I bought the system and set it all up, I hooked up my display by Firewire, not Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt was brand new back then, and I simply wanted to stick with what I knew, and already had a Firewire 800 cable (so saved a little cash).

I bought and hooked up via Thunderbolt cable and my display is now working as new. Truth be told, I'm pretty embarrassed by it as I've ranted and raved about an unsatisfactory purchase and lack of support for a while now.

Hope this helps someone somewhere, and for the time being, I'm a happy Apple-user again.🙂

Hey Steve, I'm not quite sure I am understanding what you have done. It sounds like you did NOT use the built in Thunderbolt cable for your Thunderbolt display? ...then you say you bought a new Thunderbolt cable and are using it instead of your built in thunderbolt? I'm traveling and have not had a chance to try out smallzworld.com but I have tried stuff similar to no effect so I'm not getting my hope up.

Ken,

A new, standalone, Thunderbolt cable connecting from my Mac Mini to the Thunderbolt display inputs (down by the Firewire and USB sockets), has got everything working for me, and it's been good as gold for almost 5 days now.

The Thunderbolt displays built in cable, which splits into what looks like a laptop power connector and a Thunderbolt connector, is now not being used at all.

When you get back off travel, buy or borrow a Thunderbolt cable, and give it a go. When I saw the big grey screen burst into life on that first try, I could've done cartwheels. Good luck!

I just wanted to share my Thunderbolt story.

Here is a brief timeline as I'm loosing the will to live at this point.:

Purchased monitor then after a year (just outside warranty) the monitor decided to not wake up.

Took it to Apple store where they replaced the Magsafe/Thunderbolt cable. ($350)

A few months after that it started doing the same thing again.

Took it back to the Apple store where they replaced the main controller...didn't fix the issue.

Was informed it would need the main panel replacing at an eye watering ($1200 plus tax)

Instructed by Apple to take it to another store for a 2nd opinion.

Same result, was instructed by the store to call Apple Care as they agreed it was 'a bit of a lemon'.

Apple Care essentially said they could offer a discount on the repair but it would still be just under a $1000.

So after at least 6 (out of the way) visits to two different stores and countless phone calls, I'm left with investing over $2500 into a monitor which, I'm not willing to do.

Cost of monitor + repair + repair = $TOO MUCH

The reason I paid out the money for an expensive monitor was that I wanted something reliable and durable. Neither of these things was achieved and to 'rub salt into the wound' I was politely told by Apple it was just tough luck.

I have invested heavily in the Apple ecosystem and feel very let down. I'm contemplating shifting my money elsewhere.

dj_heath, wow, I assumed that if I were near an Apple Store they would take care of this since it is OBVIOUSLY faulty hardware but you have shown me that Apple truly has, despite an over-abundance of billions of dollars in its coffers, just decided to stiff some people. I know my 1 to 2 year exodus from Apple will be painful (after 3 decades with the mac) but the Thunderbolt Display is the last, very expensive, straw. I'm already enjoying my new Android far more than I expected.

kenshack88 many thanks, I might just join you.

Before anyone who gets the crashing Thunerbolt disease migrates from Apple completely, or pays huge amounts of cash reacting to an Apple Genius diagnosis, try the same thing that has got me up and running. It's cheap(ish) or even free if you can borrow a Thunderbolt cable.

Leave the displays integral Thunderbolt cable unconnected, and connect to your display using a Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt cable (accessory).

I did this and, God willing, appear to have a fully functional Thunderbolt display again!

If you do try this, please post the outcome here, as it may potentially help, what appears to be, quite a big number of people who bought the Thunderbolt display in or around 2011.