Cinema display won't turn on

In regards to what I wrote before;

And I'm right. It IS the iMac. In the meantime I found out my ACD is perfectly OK. It's the Thunderbolt ports on the iMac that gave out. And yes, both of them. I can attach whatever Thunderbolt devices I want; they are not seen by my iMac. Looked a bit further on the forums. Seems this is a hardware issue, and it may even mean replacing the whole motherboard. At least one person said that is what the Apple store did for him to get rid of the issue.

This happens almost exactly on the day that my iMac is out of warranty. Grrrr...

My 2011-era 27" Apple LED Cinema Display, used as an additional display to my iMac, started acting up about six months ago. The backlight would not go on unless I disconnected and reconnected the display cable. Then, one day, it would come on no more. In addition to the dead display I noticed that the MagSafe adapter on the display's pigtail was also dead: no lights, would not charge my MacBook Pro, etc. I tried pursuing a warranty repair from AppleCare based on MacBook Pros currently under AppleCare which use this as an external display, but to no avail.

I ordered the new power supply linked in this thread from DV Warehouse for $109. Yesterday I replaced the part in about 15 minutes. I used a suction cup to remove the display glass, then a couple Torx bits to remove the screws. Using rubber gloves, the part was very easy to swap out. Put everything back together and the display is working great. All in all, I'm not happy that the power supply failed so soon on such an expensive device. Prior to this I had viewed the Cinema and Thunderbolt displays and iMacs as impenetrable as I had been hesitant to attempt to disassemble the front glass, etc. Very easy repair and I'm back in business.

I just purchased a used Apple LED Cinema Display 27. Granted, I got a good deal for it and the seller fully disclosed that it had a problem. The problem is that it usually does not come on unless you repeatedly partially plug and unplug it from the wall outlet several times. I say "partially" because, as per the seller's instructions, I only plug it in until I can fell a little resistance and see the logo on the back of the mid-2012 Macbook Pro to which it is hooked up, dims a bit (the displays Magsafe connector is powering the laptop). I do this 4 or 5 times and then fully plug it in. This works about half the time. If it doesn't work the first time, I do it again and it usually works. When I have to do it twice, on the first (failed) attempt, I can see a very brief and faint two-inch tall horizontal line appear about one third of the way down the display... as if it were trying to start. Suspecting the backlight, I have tried darkening the room and looking for a faint image with a flashlight when the screen fails to start but I have seen nothing. Even when it fails to start, the Macbook is aware of the display and acts as though it were working. When the display is working, however, it is stunning. Crisp colour, no flickering, no shaking... and sound to die for.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Better yet, has anyone solved it?

Thanks in advance

I am in the UK and having the same problem with a 23" Cinema Display and 13" MacBookPro to the extent that I now don't dare to disconnect the two - if I do it can quite literally take days to get them to pair up again!

I am quite sure this is NOT a connector problem - as others have said it all started after recent updates to the OS!

I was looking for advice re replacing the monitor till I read this thread - unfortunately here in the UK we have to pay anything up to double the US prices for Apple products due to Apple's policy of just using the same sum and changing the $ sign to a £ one in front!! this makes the 27" Thunderbolt display prohibitively expensive here especially since it is now so long in the tooth and no sign of it being updated.

As someone else has said - Apple need to take responsibility for this and stop ignoring what is obviously a big problem for many, once loyal, customers.

I am in the market for a 27" or larger screen - I am afraid my replacement display now will NOT be an Apple one 😟

My 27" cinema display is having same issues. Audio works, but no display. Many people mention reconnecting the device several times before it starts working again.

I think the trick is to disconnect the cinema display completely (usb, power, mini display port) and let it sit there for a few minutes (or longer) before attempting to reconnect again. That way the capacitors inside have time to fully discharge.

My display worked fine with my personal MBA (2014). A couple years later I received a new MBA (2015) from work but the cinema display would not turn on.

After fiddling with a bunch of recommendations in this post what I discovered is that if I power off the new MBA, plugged in the monitor and powered the MBA on again, the display comes up.

Just plugging in the display cable while the laptop is running does not work.

What is really frustrating is that I have a Samsung 27" 2560 x 1440 monitor that works fine when I swap the cable, and cost less than half the Cinema display. I don't think I'll be buying one of these again.

Same issue ,But it normally says leave out for 10 seconds ,but mine takes a a few hours ,maybe the power unit is dying but it still works ,then you need to PRAM as well with your MBP,once you plug it in too early after a 5 or 30 minutes ,you have to start again we do not know how long it takes for all the power to dissipate, there is no power button to press so simple power cord removal makes the power unit discharge and reset wait a day,if it is cold keep it warm ,also I tried inserting the USBinto its own port ,but just to see if it some how does anything ,I have a 24 and a 27 inch and swap them over with 2 MBPs And I have 3 LCD ADC 15 ,20 23 inch and many others so I have a lot of experience with power outages too my apartment has 15 ampere and if there is a fluctuation ,example put the electric kettle on then the power unit will fail so check everything also check the wires clean the pins humidity and heat or cold ,how comedy iPad takes one night to power up ? because all the plugs are competing for power.

USB is a whole separate circuit from the display video. So fiddling with the usb shouldn't affect the video.

If this happens again try doing a smc reset.

Don't know what else to tell you. FWIW, whenever possible I generally always get my connectors, adapters, cables, etc. from www.monoprice.com.

Agreed!

Same problem here. Won't even turn on. Definite grounds for a Class Action Lawsuit!

Same Problem here.

Apple Cinema Display + MacBookPro8,2 + Lion

This morning, the external display just stayed black. USB port is working...

There was a new firmware update today. December 2, 2012. We'll see if it fixes the problems.

The new firmware update does not fix the problem for me. I'm going to have to take the monitor in for service (again) before the Applecare I purchased for it runs out.