gadget_aussie_man

Q: Thunderbolt Display turns off randomly

I have a new Mac Mini 2011 i7 Quad CPU version.  I have a Thunderbolt 27 inch display.  I have found that the display randomly turns off and won't turn on when I use the keyboard or mouse.  This occurs when I am doing stuff on the machine, it is not a display sleep issue.  The first couple of times I had to use Remote Desktop to reboot the Mac Mini to fix the issue.  The last time it happened I removed the Thunderbolt plug from the Mac Mini and reinstalled it and this fixed the issue.  I have the latest software updates on the Mac Mini and the Thunderbolt Firmware update on the Display.

 

I am running Lion 10.7.1

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 9:35 PM

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Q: Thunderbolt Display turns off randomly

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  • by bikkuri,

    bikkuri bikkuri Oct 26, 2011 8:34 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 26, 2011 8:34 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    Since I rarely turn off or reboot my server, I didn't realize it before. When I boot up my engine, the TBD stays black and doesn't light up in one out of five cases. I have to unplug and replug the TB-cable in order to get it to work properly again.

    Having said that, besides these new symptons I haven't had any blackouts while the system was up for nearly a week now.

  • by BarrettF77,

    BarrettF77 BarrettF77 Oct 26, 2011 9:36 PM in response to bikkuri
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Oct 26, 2011 9:36 PM in response to bikkuri

    There is a efi firmware update and driver for the thunderbolt issued tonight.  I don't have these issues on my 2011 imac with my TBD.  Did this work for you guys?

  • by Hacir,

    Hacir Hacir Oct 26, 2011 10:21 PM in response to BarrettF77
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 26, 2011 10:21 PM in response to BarrettF77

    No, I continue to see this issue the moment I switch to native resolution.  Tonight's new firmware update did not resolve this for me.

  • by gadget_aussie_man,

    gadget_aussie_man gadget_aussie_man Oct 27, 2011 3:06 AM in response to BarrettF77
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Oct 27, 2011 3:06 AM in response to BarrettF77

    I have applied the mac mini efi update and the Thunderbolt software update and I have re-enabled the autobrightness box in display preferences.  So far so good. 

  • by b-light,

    b-light b-light Oct 27, 2011 5:54 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 27, 2011 5:54 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    New Mac Mini server user with 27" Thunderbolt display attached. The screen blankout happens randomly at least once a day and sometimes twice a day. I figured out early on that simply unplugging the display cable from the mini and reinserting does the trick. Hoping for a fix soon.... also had a second Dell 24" attached and no problems when the TB goes blank.

  • by bikkuri,

    bikkuri bikkuri Oct 27, 2011 6:15 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 27, 2011 6:15 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    Now available for download: Thunderbolt Software Update

     

    "This update addresses an issue that causes some users of the Apple Thunderbolt Display to experience intermittent black screens. It also includes stability improvements for Thunderbolt devices."

  • by jliv,

    jliv jliv Nov 12, 2011 9:48 AM in response to bikkuri
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 12, 2011 9:48 AM in response to bikkuri

    Indeed it does. Thanks Apple.

  • by CDNHAM,

    CDNHAM CDNHAM Feb 10, 2012 6:08 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2012 6:08 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    Well I got that update and it fixed the problem. 

     

    I just upgraded the RAM in my 13" Early 2011 MacBook Pro to 16GB with 3'rd party "Mac Ram" and lo and behold, every 15 minutes or so, my TB display blanks out for a split-second and then comes back. 

     

    There was a major update in the last 2 days too, which I think I applied yesterday morning, so it could be *that* causing the problem.  I wonder if there was a "code loss" and the patch fixing the problem never made it into the mainstream codebase. It certainly wouldn't be unheard-of, especially here. (Just did it while I was typing this.)

  • by frankphx,

    frankphx frankphx Feb 19, 2012 10:40 PM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 19, 2012 10:40 PM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    The update fixed the intermeditent blackouts for me... except, now its a FULL BLACKOUT and I have to restart the macbook pro to get the monitor to start back up again. Happens once every 2 to 3 hours. Thinking it could be a device connected to the monitor, I have nothing plugged in directy to it. Keyboard and mouse are connected directly to the macbook usb ports. Unplugging/replugging the thunderbolt cord does nothing to start the monitor backup. HELP!!!!!

  • by toto65,

    toto65 toto65 Feb 20, 2012 10:54 AM in response to frankphx
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 10:54 AM in response to frankphx

    Oggi  mio thunderbolt display e stata sostituita sheda controllo sembra essere tutto ok nessun lampeggio usb e periferiche ok vi faro sapere se tutto e ok tra qualche giono e rimasto in assistenza apple 12 giorni.

  • by frankphx,

    frankphx frankphx Feb 20, 2012 7:27 PM in response to frankphx
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 7:27 PM in response to frankphx

    Disabling "screensavers", "dim display", and "turn display off" has resolved my display from turning off and never turning back on without a full reboot. (I had dim after 2 min enabled becuase i wanted to be good to the enviroment).

     

    -- Running 64bit Windows 7 on MacBook Pro 13 (BootCamp).

  • by frankphx,

    frankphx frankphx Feb 27, 2012 8:34 PM in response to frankphx
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 27, 2012 8:34 PM in response to frankphx

    Nevermind, disabling "screensavers", "dim display", and "turn display off" has NOT resolved my display from turning off and never turning back on (without a full reboot). Can anyone help? What's the poing in having an awesome monitor if it only works for 5-70min before turning off and having to reboot =(

  • by npalombo,

    npalombo npalombo Feb 28, 2012 3:35 PM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2012 3:35 PM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    I had this problem coinciding with the 10.7.3 update and an upgrade to 16GB of RAM on a 2011 mac mini. I applied the thunderbolt firmware update with no improvement. Then I applied the mac mini EFI update and it seems to be fine now.

  • by bikkuri,

    bikkuri bikkuri Feb 28, 2012 11:33 PM in response to npalombo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2012 11:33 PM in response to npalombo

    Since I upgraded my Mini 5,3 to 16GB RAM I'm experiencing  blackouts again. Different to those before, when I had to unplug the cable to get a picture again, these blackouts are short and sporadic. They only occur on my Mini not on my Air.

    Could there be any connection to the upgrade?

  • by Icp30,

    Icp30 Icp30 Mar 4, 2012 8:55 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 4, 2012 8:55 AM in response to gadget_aussie_man

    Purchased 4GB Mac Mini, Jan 2012- Had initial problem with Thunderbolt display right out of the box- the fan was broken and sounded like a jackhammer. Sent it back to Amazon, got a brand-new one,    **Just did it! While I was typing, the screen went black!**  and initially it worked fine, then a few minutes later had a random black-out of the screen. Could still hear sound through thte screen speakers- This now occurs randomly about every 10-45 minutes. To make the screen come on, I have to reach behind the Mac Mini, unplug the Thunderbolt display, and wait a few seconds, then plug it back in. It resumes working, whatever I was viewing has continued (like this forum). I have updated the Mac software, and the display states it does not need any updates, and will not allow the Thunderbolt update to install.

     

    In the course of troubleshooting this with the Apple Care specialist, she had me do several hard shutdowns, to save time, and the Mac Mini developed a disk error that required me to do a full reinstall, and lose all of the stuff I had just transferred from my other desktop. Luckily I only had a couple of weeks of un-backed up stuff to lose. The disk error occurred again, and this time I simply exchanged the Mac Mini at Best Buy (it was within 30 days). I set up the system, checked for updates, and with the new Mac Mini machine, I am still having these intermittent blackouts. I ran a troubleshooting analysis program last week, and sent it to Apple, and the results are pending.

     

    If you are having similar problems, please document them, because the Apple care specialist seemed to have never heard of this problem.

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