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mattsinsight

Q: 27" inch thunderbolt display buzzing brightness setting

My 2012 27" Thunderbolt Display recently (past 2 weeks) started a loud buzzing (electrical-sound) when the brightness of the display is modified brighter or darker.

 

At 100% brightness, the sound is very audible. Very annoying. Less audible but still buzzing even at the lowest brightness setting.

My display has sat on my desk and not moved more than one time in the last 18 months that I have owned it.

 

I run external audio and when the audio is completely unplugged and muted, the buzzing is still relative to the brightness-settings.

It's noticeably located on the bottom-left side of the display (when facing it). Moving the display tilt using the back stand-hinge doesn't change the buzzing.

 

Is anyone else experiencing this?

Does anyone know if Apple is recalling these or fixing them based on a recall due to this sound?

Some forum discussions say that this could be the transformer?

 

Any suggestions would be helpful.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Magic Trackpad

Posted on Sep 19, 2013 10:07 AM

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Q: 27" inch thunderbolt display buzzing brightness setting

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  • by givealoha,

    givealoha givealoha Jan 26, 2014 12:31 PM in response to mattsinsight
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2014 12:31 PM in response to mattsinsight

    EXACT same issue. Help?!?!

  • by AndrewDustin,

    AndrewDustin AndrewDustin Feb 19, 2014 3:35 PM in response to mattsinsight
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 19, 2014 3:35 PM in response to mattsinsight

    Same here! I have found that unplugging my display from the wall and allowing it a few hours to sit will help but only temporarily... the sound comes back within a couple hours of use...

     

    Apple please help!?

  • by turbostar,

    turbostar turbostar Feb 19, 2014 4:07 PM in response to AndrewDustin
    Level 4 (2,925 points)
    Feb 19, 2014 4:07 PM in response to AndrewDustin

    Take a few videos showing the issue and go to an Apple store to get it fixed hopefully under warranty

  • by mattsinsight,

    mattsinsight mattsinsight Feb 20, 2014 10:09 AM in response to mattsinsight
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2014 10:09 AM in response to mattsinsight

    Taking it in to Apple Genius Bar in an hour with video from my iPhone.

    Will update this when I get back

  • by antonlelcuyse,

    antonlelcuyse antonlelcuyse Feb 25, 2014 3:25 AM in response to mattsinsight
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 25, 2014 3:25 AM in response to mattsinsight

    I'm also experiencing this problem. Very annoying, condering the display is out of warranty (over 2 years old). I hope it is software/driver related.

  • by mattsinsight,

    mattsinsight mattsinsight Feb 25, 2014 10:28 AM in response to mattsinsight
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 25, 2014 10:28 AM in response to mattsinsight

    Received it back from the Apple Store yesterday!

     

    Went to the Genius Bar. We were able to reproduce the sound right away (since I unplugged my monitor directly after using it and spent 2 minutes carrying it to the store).

     

    Originally the Genius Associate recommended a firmware update, but then discovered my display was running on the latest firmware.

     

    Then checked-in my display so they could examine it, and found out that the issue lie with the Power Supply 250W.

     

    Since my display was out of its 12-month warranty, I had to shell $67 for NEW Power Supply 250W and another $39 in labor.

     

    Total to have it fixed: $106 - Not complaining. I thought that was very reasonable.

     

    Very happy with it now. Not a single peep from the monitor in the last 24 hours of use. Display still looks brand new. Thank you Apple Geniuses