Macbook Air Screen keeps turning off while in use

Hi all,


I've had my Macbook Air for about 10 days now - it was working fine for the first 5 days, then I went away for a long weekend break, came home, switched it on and now it is all messed up.


Randomly and frequently while the computer IS IN USE the display will turn off for a seemingly random amount of time then come back on with no input from me. So just to be clear, this is not the power profile, or the energy saving setting... what happens is that while I am mid-typing or in the middle of a mouse movement (it has happend a couple of times during me typing this first paragraph already) the display on the Macbook will go completely black, as in the blacklight goes off and nothing can be seen on the screen - then, no matter if I carry on typing or if I just take my hand off the keys and give it no input what-so-ever, after some time (as short as 5 seconds or as long as 30 seconds) the screen will pop back on as if nothing had happened.


Some other things to note:

  • If I carry on typing when the screen goes dark the chracters i've typed are there when the screen comes back on - so it seems to be only affecting the display.
  • Whether I wiggle the mouse, bash keys or just sit back in frustration has no bearing on how long it takes for the screen to come back on.
  • It appears to occour more often when the macbook is on a solid surface like my desk as opposed to on my lap - though it has occured in both locations.
  • I have power cycled, restarted, rebooted etc a million times.
  • It happens in both OSX and Windows boots
  • It is truly random, I can go as long an hour without it happening, then it will happen 20 times in 5 minutes.
  • The keyboard backlight stays on throughout (if it is on already)


If this was a 5 year old laptop I'd be straight away assuming this was a display cable, inverter cable or lid-close switch problem, but it's only 10 days old! I'll be very annoyed if this is a hardware issue this soon. What should be my next course of action?? Phone Apple? Or take it straight to an Apple store?


My only worry is that its impossible to recreate the fault on demand, its very random - however I did record a video on my iPhone of it doing it constantly for a 3 minute period while I was using the computer (complete with my sighs of frustration as a soundtrack!!). Will that be enough to convince them if I'm unlucky (or lucky depending on which way you look at it!) and it doesn't display the fault when they inspect it??


I tried to embed the video but the video button above is greyed out, whats up with that?!


Thanks,

Seb

MacBook Air, Windows 7

Posted on Sep 17, 2012 1:27 PM

Reply
7 replies

May 27, 2013 7:21 PM in response to Sereia_do_mar

Step 1

Select "System Preferences" from the Apple drop-down menu at the top left corner of the desktop. Alternatively, you can open the System Preferences window by clicking the “System Preferences” icon in the dock.


Step 2

Click the "Energy Saver" icon in the Hardware section. The Energy Saver window opens.


Step 3

Click the "Settings For" drop-down box and select "Power Adapter" from the drop-down list. Click the "Optimization" drop-down box and select "Custom" from the list.


Step 4

Click the "Computer Sleep" slider and drag it all the way to the right. The slider will stop at "Never." Click the "Display Sleep" slider and drag it to "Never" as well.


Step 5

Click the "Settings For" drop-down box again and select "Battery" from the list. Select "Custom" from the Optimization drop-down box. Move both sliders to "Never."

Oct 18, 2012 6:00 AM in response to sakky29

Hi!

I didn't manage to find any solution...I went to a retailed store and they ensured me that that was because it was a defective one and that another one wouldn't do that...they said that I could return it, so I did so, and after waiting for 2 weeks I got a new one a week ago...and precisely yesterday it just did it again! what should I do now? return the new one again? and see if I have a better luck next time? so far within a week it has just happened once...how often does it happen to you?

Sep 23, 2012 9:41 AM in response to seb101

Hi Seb,


I've noticed the exact same issue with my brand-new MBA. I've had it for 8 days and it has happened to me 4 times already...I'd like to know if you figured out how to solve this or whether you made any progress; e.g. did you end up taking it to an Apple store? could they help you out there? I'd appreciate any tips on how to proceed next!


Thanks so much in advance,


Mar

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Macbook Air Screen keeps turning off while in use

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