Q: MacBook Pro Retina display burn-in?

I just ran into this issue. I have an LG panel. I came back from a walk (computer was sleeping) and it seems to have gone away...However, it happened real quick today and I wasn't at full brightness either for the burn in to occur. It's also been weeks since I had the computer and I have used it quite a bit. Weird. Not really happy either, being the first Mac I've ever owned. I expected more from Apple.

If it goes away, is it going to be a persistent issue? Will I see it again? Will my monitor eventually just burn out? I get this awful feeling in my stomach that the monitor will burn out exactly as my warranty and Apple Care is up and/or it won't be covered by their warranty because companies are really slimy with how they word those things...In my experience over the years, displays are one of those things a company NEVER wants to cover.

I guess I'll take it into the store...But now if they can't see the burn in...What then? They won't replace it I imagine? And if I get it replaced will it be fixed? Can I wait for a while until they are certain they've got the production issues resolved? So I can go in with confidence that I'm getting a fix? Or is waiting a bad idea? Very frustrating to have to play this game as a consumer.

Thanks for correcting that, I dont know how I ended up with a p on the end lol :)

Sorry you got one of the defective ones. It's unlikely to leave any permanent issues (actual burn-in) but Image Persistence could be quite annoying day to day.

AppleCare should still cover for repairs. Generally speaking I've had exceptionally good experince with Apple's Support people.

If you can see it, then it is there and you would be able to re-produce it at the Apple Store as well. Just leave Safari open on the darkest solid gray background from "Desktop and Screensaver Preferences" for 20 minutes. I would suggest you practice this a couple of times before going in. Also arrive earlier than your appointment so you won't have to keep the genius waiting for 20 minutes.

Now that you are past the 14 days there's no rush. If you like to wait you can wait for more updates/news.

I would like to know, how many people have JUST bought there Macbook Pro Retina, and are experiencing these issues?

2.6/16/512

Week 30 or 31 (different sites give me different information.)

Samsung LCD

No IR

And now for the lesson ...

I've been an Apple user since the early 80's and an Apple owner since the late 80's.

I've think I've owned 10+ Apple computers in that time plus numerous add-ons and other devices.

I've stuck with Apple for several reasons, but one is the awesome customer service they give.

I always buy AppleCare on mobile devices, they're far more susceptible to having issues due to being carried around and also having to be built to tighter tolerances.  I highly recommend getting it.

I've had a few issues with hardware over the years, generally Apple build quality is very good, but you're always going to get some examples of a unit that are not quite right when you're making millions of them.

My 1st iPhone (1st gen) had the 'dark display' issue, took it to the store, they replaced it on the spot. That replacement had some other issue a few months later that scrambled it.  Again replaced without any fuss.

My wife's 1st gen iPhone (her first apple product) had a digitiser issue, replaced again without problems.

My previous MBP had the NVidia graphics fail, took it to the store.  Had it back 3 days later fixed, including it travelling across the country and back to get fixed (they didn't have that model to replace for me any more)

Bought a refurb iPad 2 when the 3 came out, immediately found that it had a serious digitiser issue.  Once again replaced without fuss.

(Note: I don't consider any of this 'bad', we've had multiple other Apple devices in that time too without issues)

The 'secret' to getting replacements easily?

1. Be well informed what the issue is

2. Be prepared to demonstrate or have photos/video of it doing it

3. And above all be polite to the Apple Representative, but be firm about what you need to be happy. 

Never fails.

Sorry to see so many folks have issues with the rMBP here. 

Quite frankly it is the most amazing machine I have ever had.

Good luck with getting your issues solved.

.. .Well OK, I have also stuck with Apple cause Windows ***** and I'm an old UNIX geek ;-)

Update to my week 33 LG panel

Day 1 - perfect

Day 5 - IR after 10 minutes

Now Day 8 - IR after 5 mins... getting very fed up!

Scheduled return on Day 11

Still undecided whether to try another order or wait for now...

On a sidenote, I see Samsung have been told to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages in the US Intellectual Property lawsuit.

Maybe Apple could reinvest some of that $1.05 bn in Samsung retina panels

My BTO 2.7GHz/16GB/256GB arrived today! Just to clarify, it is my first Retina display MacBook Pro. It seems to have no image persistence whatsoever, but the display is only slightly more bright than my old 2009 white MacBook. However, it's not dim by any stretch of the imagination, and I don't notice the warm tones some of you with LG displays complained about, even when compared with my iMac (which is a great display with a near-perfect white point). It is by far the most amazing display I've seen on a computer. Then, I went and checked the display manufacturer. LG. I would keep it because it doesn't have IR, but I've read about so many cases of where you guys have had the issue develop over time; that makes me worried. Because of this, I will go to the Apple Store today to try to find a laptop with a Samsung display.

I have school starting next Monday and I really need to have time to install all the software and have it ready by that time; I can't order more computers online. I'm probably going to have to go to the store this weekend or today and unbox laptops until I find one with a Samsung screen.

Just some more information I got from that http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php link.

That's also what I got when I looked at Terminal.

LP154WT1-SJA1

DCN231602T7DMJ0AH

I wouldn't add this to the list yet, because as I've said, it has no ghosting as of now, according to others it could develop later, and I might return this computer soon anyway.

heh, your built to order Macbook with the LG screen doesn't have IR... yet. Sorry =( I honestly think all of the LG screens are bad from the sounds of it. You just may not be hit by the problem right away. I use my computer a good bit and it's been about 3 weeks since I purchased it and the ghosting reared its ugly head today. So give it some time... Get Apple Care, etc. I have a feeling Apple is going to take a serious bath on some screens...

I'm curious what the chance of me getting them to swap out the screen for a Samsung screen in the store is...This is a super big inconvenience and they should have caught this issue with their QA since it's so wide spread.

Maybe you will get lucky like me and they will give you a new computer with a samsung screen.

my-username-was-taken

heh, your built to order Macbook with the LG screen doesn't have IR... yet. Sorry =( I honestly think all of the LG screens are bad from the sounds of it. You just may not be hit by the problem right away. I use my computer a good bit and it's been about 3 weeks since I purchased it and the ghosting reared its ugly head today. So give it some time... Get Apple Care, etc. I have a feeling Apple is going to take a serious bath on some screens...

Always worth comparing feedback in other threads,   Any rMBP owners here with a flawless LG screen?

Yes get AppleCare as if you do have a problem you won't have to worry about getting it fixed in the future is needed.  MY LG screen so far is great.

Hi,

First, I am not an apple-fanboy. When I first saw the rMBP specs I was really compelled by such amazing combination of features, so I just pull the trigger to buy my first apple computer. After 3 weeks of waiting my rMBP arrived. I was well aware about the “image retention” problem, so I quickly checked it for the issue and at that time I did not noticed any problem (LG display, week  29). Maybe I was not looking carefully enough, but it happen that one night I suddenly noticed some image retention. The next morning I made some tests: first left the screen in some static webpage (the apple store) and then check in the gray background. Unluckily, the result was clear: my rMBP suffer the image retention problem. After more testing, I found that the problem was actually very bad, 4-5 minutes where enough to produce an image retention that remained 1-2 minutes.

I feel real panic when realized that my 14-days return period was already expired (this happen on the “day 15”). I was contacted by apple on “day 17”. It was the usual history: they told me that it was "Normal"… I tried to explain about how bad was the problem and why I think that a very expensive “Retina MBP” with a “stunning display” should be free of any image artifacts; Answer: the representative wanted to give me some recommendations to minimize the effect (that was what really ****** me off). I finally got my call transferred to a manager/supervisor who expressed his will to help, BUT I was over the 14 days return period. Then he asked me to bring the computer to an authorized service center for a “pro-“diagnostic. The service center kept my computer for 2 days, and they found something faulty, the report said: “blurry image after warm up” and “AST sensor fail (ch-B1)”. That report was enough to grant me a replacement (I still do not know if the faulty hardware/sensor was actually related to the screen image retention, but it was clear that the unit was defective). At that point Apple was kind enough to grant me an in-advance replacement, so I had the opportunity of compare the faulty and new units side by side. It happens that the new one has a Samsung panel (in 3 days I have not noticed any problem).

There is a very noticeable difference between the image in the LG and Samsung panels. Both are good displays (of course, I prefer the one without the image retention). But in my opinion, after a cold boot the image was actually better in the LG screen (more crisp, natural colors [not so saturated as in the Samsung panel], better contrast). So, my ideal would be an LG display without the ghosting issue. Therefore, my advice for anyone with this problem is to push Apple until you get your computer exchanged, repaired or refunded. But, regardless of whether you get an LG or Samsung panel you should base your decision on whether the screen presents some problem with the image, otherwise you could be dropping a gorgeous glitch-free LG display (I really hope that such thing exists).

Apple: you should raise your awareness about the defective units and stop wasting your costumers time, just give a no-question exchange for the defective units (should be easy for you to identify the batch that has the defective component). Costumers paid a premium price for these computers, so we all should get a premium product and support. Apple should accept that something is wrong with these units. In my case it took me more than a week of phone calls, emails and travels to a far-away service center. This is quite far from my ideal of a premium warranty.

I am amazed with 1500 replies and 150K views there is still no Apple response to this problem and stores/Applecare are still inconsistent with addressing this problem.

The Apple Retail Store closest to me refuses to replace the display because this is "normal display characteristic" because the head genius could reproduce it on all the Retinas on display (which are all LG panels).

Luckily the other Retail Store in my area had a differing opinion.

Honestly. At this point. They should just put out a recall and switch everyone over to the Samsung panels. I mean, I guess let's see here...Give it a little bit to see if any LG panels do end up being "good"...But how long? I don't think there's any "good" LG panels. It's just a matter of "when" they go bad.

@a10a Thanks for that info, it's nice to know what I may have to go through. I sincerely hope that I don't get sort of runaround when I go to get mine fixed. It is most definitely NOT a normal thing nor is it acceptable. This too is my first Mac. I think that retina display really drove a lot of new people to Apple...It's a real shame that the same thing may lead to driving people away as well.

I just wanted to add to the general conversation that I was wondering if anyone with this problem has calibrated the monitor with one of the various pucks like eye1 or Spyder?  If that has had any effect on this burn in phenomenon?