Q: MacBook Pro Retina display burn-in?

There is an article at 9to5mac relating to some issues including the ghosting problem:

http://9to5mac.com/2013/03/20/macbook-pro-with-retina-display-problems-in-every- dimension/

@bseand, I don't know exactly how long, because it wasn't listed as a separate  labor item on the work order.  The work order was primarily to replace the display, and the Genius included my comment about the creaking, and they fixed it.  I dropped the computer off on a Sunday, and they said they'd order the panel on Monday for a Tuesday arrival, and the computer was ready to pick up by 8PM on Tuesday.  The Genius said all they had to do was clean it out, but given that mine creaked from new, I suspect they did something else to fix it.  Smear a little grease in there perhaps?

I've been following the thread since November when I bought CTO rMBP 2.3,16,256 with LG display and now I'm after a screen replacement so my story below:

I realized about the IR problem few hours after getting mine however as I bought from authorized Apple reseller I was not able to return or exchange as some resellers don't have the same policy as apple stores do.

At day one I run the test and was able to reproduce the IR within 6 minutes at full brightness. I started to use it normally as in normal use it was almost unnoticeable especially that I'm using it mostly connected to two 27" TBD monitors in clamshell mode unless I'm on the go. I'm a pro photographer with over 15 years of pro digital imaging experience and use a lot Adobe LR and other Adobe CS apps that have the IR prone grey bg color so it was noticeable at those grey areas only.

This is obvious that when working professionally it doesn't matter if it develops within 5 or 25 minutes as those time frames of constant work at single app are normal for numerous activities and believe me or no but when you are working constantly the screen saver doesn't start :-))))) as suggested in support article relating to prevent the IR.

Recently I started to run the tests again to check how it goes now and to my surprise the IR was much much better now that at the day one. In my case the rMBP is often on for over 10 hours and warm with the display off and closed (clamshell) so maybe it had any influence on the crystals behavior - those are only my speculations.

Anyway recently I was not able to reproduce the IR at full brightness within 20 minutes of checkerboard test. I was able however to reproduce it at low brightness (some 2-3 dots of brightness from the bottom) and it was within 15 minutes - not less. Comparing to 6 minutes at any brightness at day one it was much improved.

Anyway it was annoying me only with being aware that I have it and that the display is not perfect while it supposed to in such a great machine. I tried my luck at Genius bar at apple retail store to no avail - the apple test passed and no service for me no matter if I can prove it or not otherwise. The apple test is being run in network boot mode with no way of tweaking the brightness at that time and it ends up at black screen - not grey (after another black minute lag) so no way to reproduce anything in my case as in many others.

I tried another time at authorized service center and this time they started with the apple own test as well and ended up with nothing again but I said "let me show you on my own test" and 15 minutes later I presented the IR at my own tests. They honestly agreed that indeed the IR is there and decided to replace the screen at this point and this is in my opinion good and honest way of dealing with this problem. I was told it will take 5 working days and to my surprise at the next day I was informed that my macbook is ready (3 days before original date).

Now I have Samsung that has a uniform backlighting, no uneven areas, no bad pixels and no mura as for right now.

The contrast is indeed lower, so is the full brightness however not that much. The max brightness is still fine in my case. It has different white balance comparing to LG (described as yellow tint) however I use it only for rough sRGB verifications so I even don't bother in calibrating it not to cut off any of the color dynamics as a consequence. Color critical work is done on calibrated external monitors only in my case.

I must admit that the service in my case was excellent - no scratches, perfect cover alignment etc. I can only reproduce the cracking noise at the bottom casing press as some reported here. However I'm not sure if it does anything wrong to computer internals or is it only the noise?

@Bartek72

Thanks for the article link.  It's the most significant article clearly summarizing the issues from a 'trusted source' that I have seen to date!

To: ALL

I suggest that anyone who has any contacts in the high tech community, especially computer review / information sites, should forward this article link to them.  If we can spread this info to enough sources who then re-post or look into the issue it could finally force Apples hand to acknowledge the issue publicly.  Which should, in turn, cause some sort of corrective action to be made by Apple management.

Here is the link again (if you can't copy link here, go to link and copy from address bar):

http://9to5mac.com/2013/03/20/macbook-pro-with-retina-display-problems-in-every- dimension/

Update. Took to apple store after calling first and they said its a known issue and set up an appointment. Genius rep ran a test and verified screen issues. I have this screen below. Anyway I'm not certain what all the issues are about because they were willing to replace it right then and there in the store But I had a stripped screw on the bottom of my case so they need to ship it off to fix that as well. Otherwise I would've had a brand-new LCD done at the store. When I get my MBP back next week I will report back

LP154WT1-SJA1

Experiencing the ghosting issue. I took my MBP w/RD in, the Genius ran their tests to confirm what I said was the issue. They did not have the lcd screen to replace my defective computer so I have to make another trip out to get it fixed once the part arrives.

I asked to have a Samsung display this time, not another LG, to which the Genius responded he can't do that.

LP154WT1-SJA1

They said the same thing to me but when they change the screen it now has better results and bye bye ghosting

 

This was an email I sent to Mr Tim Cook In where I received a response from

<Edited by Host>

After I was out of the 14 day return policy I felt the need to communicate to Mr Cook. This was written on January 14, 2013.

I have yet to purchase another Rmbp. I am waiting for the Haswell release.

I thought someone may need the above info. Although Tim did not communicate with me directly the Executive Relations Contact center did contact me and opted to allow me to get a refund on the machine after the 14 day return policy.

Hi Tim,

 

Hope all is well.

 

I am offering a free focus group study that is valued at over $150,000.00.

All you need is to spend a few minutes to read this as to what I am observing with the Culture of Apple, Policies and Products.

TIm, I understand there are many challenges you face on a day to day basis.

I have been faced with many challenges, frustrations regarding Apple's policies, products and culture as a consumer.

I am an evangelist for Apple products. I have 6 adult children who use Apple products on a daily basis.

My brother in law has been an Apple Evangelist since the beginning of Apple. He operates a large Apple Media Lab for a large school system.

Anyway, My concerns are not motivated by money however they are out of concern about the deterioration of the Apple Brand.

Apple is loosing Authenticity that Made Apple!

Here is a short tIme line.

December 2, 2012.  We spent a little over $5,000.00 on Apple Products.

I invested in the 15" Macbook Pro with Retina. Before I purchased I reviewed the forums and discovered the Retina Burn in Discussion Group.

I went ahead and made the purchase thinking after the release in June 2012, the supply chain would have been fixed with the partnership with LG.

Well it is definitely not fixed.

I remember how General Motors used to treat customers in the automobile business in getting the cars out in the market with known product issues and allowing the consumer to be the ginny pigs of GM's Quality control program. Come back and spend time with us at your local GM service department then we will go through the paces and figure it out at that time.

Apple seems to be replicating this approach to market.

The  problem I am having occurs after the 14 day return policy. Now I am left with a $3,000.00 Flagship product that is defective and I am being treated like a second class citizen based on Apple policies and so called "3 minute Retina burn in Test", which is performed by a Genus in the middle of a retail showroom.

 

 

I felt I need to communicate my experiece from a recent visit at the Apple Genus Bar.

I came in due to the burn in on my 15 inch Macbook Pro retnia display configuration 2.6/16meg ram, 512 SSD which has a LG display. We purchased this Laptop Online on December. 2, 2012.

Well today the genus ran the "Test" for Retina retention for 3 minutes and it pass "APPLE's Engineers Standards". This was done in the showroom with very bright lights.

I was very very frustrated due to the fact the display does have goasting and burn in when I am at home using this machine.

The genus explained to me that they are willing to order a replacement display even though the test passed. However, they would not be able to replace the display again if I came back and the "APPLE's engineered approved  3 minute Test" passed. Really?! I also paid for APPLE CARE.

At home I ran a 7 minute test that I found on this forum with the solid gray color as a background and the test shows several bars.

It is extemely frustrating as a consumer of Apple producs to experience this ongoing denial of this issue. The lack of quality control to many of their products is going downhill. Besides this issue, I have also had to return an IPAD 64 gb AT&T due to light bleeding.

I believe what most consumers want is acknowledgement that they screwed up and will be fixing the problem and provide the solutions once and for all. Not to drag it on and hope that eventually this will cleaned up down the road.

The covert way Apple treats consumers seems to stall the proces by providing the "APPLE Engineered TEST" with the hopes consumers will give in to their process. Then the consumer has to go back get the display replaced and start the entire cycle of action once again which will take a couple of months then it starts over again.

It is hard to trust in Apple's quality and customer interaction processes when it relates to onoging probems with Apple's downward spiral with  Quality Control. Stop the cover up.

A multi billion dollar company has no forsite to tell us that they have no ability to know what part # and or manufacture display replacement I will get is a joke. When I ask a straight question to a Genius about has there been any technical bulletins released regarding the Issues with Retina display and he has no knowledge is suspect.

I am loosing faith in Apple's Authenticity. The belief that when a product is released it has gone through extensive quality control so that when the consumer purchases the product it simply works. No hassle. Not being treated like we have to provide your quality control. In the past this is one of the reasons I enjoyed the buying experience of Apple products. I am willing to pay more when it just works.

Tim, I had a phone conversation one time with a CEO who decided to call me back after I left a message with his Administrative Assistant for a free focus group study. He listened.

 

 

Sometimes we need to communicate to gain insight what is happening on the streets.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Hang in there everyone. Now that there is some press and a law suit perhaps Tim may begin to listen.

Hi! I want to update my old post.. I have had my macbook pro retina display for 2 weeks and so far no IR. I run the checkerboard test many times also for 30 mins, but it seems to recover well after it. I have a LG display SJA2.

For what concerns the fan noise many customer were complaining of, fans start to run vary fast just one time, when I turned the mac on for the second time. It lasts about one minute, then it never shows up again. No sounds problem as reported by many customers playing some youtube or itunes songs..so far everything sems to be all right..

I hope everything will remain the same...

@Optimysticguy

No offense but the CEO of the 2nd most valuable company on the planet will never read or see your emails, and he shouldn't as that is not part of his job.  He may see a summary of data from the heads of the different departments which may include return and failure rates of particular products.  The executive relations people are there as a buffer between escalated customer issues and top department managers.  You would have gotten the same results if you had taken up the issue with Applecare and escalated it to a senior adviser level.

Did you honestly think that by belittling Apples quality control, engineering, genius bar,  internal software and Apples 'foresight' that you would get 'Tim' excited about your issue or your $150,000 focus group study?

Personally I would have deleted your letter after reading the second line.  You did not even get to the point of your letter or the problem you had until the 16th paragraph!  By the way; you did not include the response they sent you.  What did it say?

PS:  You may want to use spell check next time you write a personal letter to a CEO....

I have a 15" model with a Samsung screen and have no issues with it.  Occasionally, the case may make a subtle noise if my palm rests heavy on the computer.  So WHAT? 

Some of these posts defy credibility when trivial complaints are made over a "creaking" noise.  I'm no Apple apologist, but clearly some people need to get a grip.

Ran this test on my BRAND NEW Early 2013 rMBP and i am proud to report that even though its a LG panel there was NO image retention whatsoever.

So I think the early 2013 machines are not affected... or am i giving false sense of security in my dispaly

i cranked this thing to FULL brightness and ran the test and full brightness is hard on my eyes!

I think us with the early 2013 machines might have better supply chains!

Others with 2013 machines have reported IR.. so it remains random..

so rMBP's are pretty much a lottery... lovely

I wonder if I can theoretically return this machine and go back to a classic MBP even though this machine was a lemon exchange for a classic MBP... i seriously have BAD LUCK with laptops!

then again should i not worry too much about IR if i already tested for it and if i have applecare i mean i otherwise LOVE this laptop

Message was edited by: alin0steglinski