iMac Retina 5K Display changes tones when waking from sleep -- Is this normal?

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iMac Retina 5K Display changes tones when waking from sleep -- Is this normal?

Every single time that I wake my Retina iMac from display or system sleep, the colors on the monitor seem to change tones twice:

First the display goes from dim to slightly brighter (within first 1-3 seconds)
Then the display goes from cooler (blues) to warmer (yellows) (within first 5-10 seconds)

Does this sound normal? Do you suspect the pixels are just warming up? I tried calibrating my display, but this doesn't fix it.

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 31, 2014 9:58 PM

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Answer 1

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Fusion Factor Author

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Jan 16, 2017 4:45 PM in response to bricolage

OP here. Thanks for chiming in! I think it's safe to say that this is part of the 5K Display's warmup routine and that the cooler colors are not meant to be shown. I've grown to ignore the tone change after having this Mac for 2+ years now. Hopefully it doesn't bother you for much longer either.

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Answer 2

Nov 1, 2014 1:25 PM in response to Fusion Factor

Wondering about this as well.

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Answer 3

nirmalts

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Nov 2, 2014 2:16 PM in response to ItsInMyVeins!

I have this on my iMac 5K too

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Answer 4

Fusion Factor Author

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Nov 3, 2014 12:51 AM in response to Fusion Factor

Update:

I'm guessing the dim to slightly brighter is caused by the "Automatically adjust brightness" setting in System Preferences > Displays (see below)... it's likely the ALS (ambient light sensor) is adjusting the brightness in the first few seconds from awakening to set the brightness to optimal levels?
The cooler to warmer tint change doesn't seem to occur anymore (this is after ~3 days of usage). Maybe the 5K Display has a bit of a break-in period?

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Answer 5

Nov 3, 2014 1:43 AM in response to Fusion Factor

I haven't been using the option to automatically adjust brightness. On the other hand, I assumed that it was a case of it going first to a "standard" setting, then adjusting to the setting I had. Someone mentioned to me that users might affect this too (as well as the color profile), but I'm logging in as the admin so that shouldn't be an issue (?).

Either way, I've been using my mac since last week and it's still doing that slight change in tone. I guess I'll see if it changes soon. Contacted Apple Support and I'll hear from them today – if anything new comes up I'll make sure to post it here.

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Answer 6

nirmalts

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5 points

Nov 3, 2014 2:17 AM in response to ItsInMyVeins!

Sorry for hijacking this thread. Do you all, as new iMac 5K users, face this problem?

iMac 2014 5K Bluetooth Trackpad Problem after sleep

If yes (or no) please discuss in the above thread if possible

Thanks in advance.

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Answer 7

Nov 4, 2014 12:47 PM in response to Fusion Factor

Is your iMac still fine – no tone changes etc?

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Answer 8

Fusion Factor Author

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211 points

Nov 4, 2014 12:50 PM in response to ItsInMyVeins!

I thought it had gone away, but I noticed it again last night when I got home after the display was sleeping all day.

Are you still experiencing it too? Did Apple Support have anything to say about this issue?

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Answer 9

Nov 4, 2014 12:54 PM in response to Fusion Factor

Yes, I'm still experiencing it.

Apple Care didn't really have anything to say about it – they weren't aware of this issue. The Retina iMac are brand new though, so that's hardly surprising.

I don't know, maybe it's just the display warming up or something?

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Answer 10

Fusion Factor Author

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Nov 4, 2014 1:52 PM in response to ItsInMyVeins!

Writing it off as "warming up" for the dim to brighter effect seems sensible... but cooler to warmer colors seems odd to me...

Fortunately, you can technically reach the cooler colors of your preference by doing a Display calibration, so it's not like the monitor is incapable of achieving that tone of color. But would be nice to understand why it changes tones in the first place. Perhaps it's doing a quick refresh to achieve an ideal color temperature?

Worst case scenario, Apple is very flexible with returns (when I bought my Retina MacBook that I felt had a hardware issue, they immediately replaced it without question) so worst case scenario you could always ask for a replacement given it's such a new / recently purchased machine. I considered doing this, but am concerned it might be an issue with all the the Retina iMac machines... would hate to have to swap & setup the computer all over again. 😟

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Answer 11

Nov 4, 2014 2:25 PM in response to Fusion Factor

If this is a software issue then it's fine – I'm just worried about it being a hardware issue that could worsen over time. But yeah, if it's common then asking for a replacement is a bit unnecessary.

I did discuss this on macrumors though, and according to someone there they experienced the same thing, though it seemed to happen a lot faster – a second or so after the brightness was adjusted. He/she had a SSD installed though, while I have a fusion drive. You use a fusion drive? If that's the case, a profile or setting or whatever being loaded after sleep mode might be the reason; it'd explain that difference in time at least.

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Answer 12

Fusion Factor Author

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Nov 4, 2014 2:33 PM in response to ItsInMyVeins!

I also have a Fusion drive like you. I did notice last night that the cooler to warmer switch does happen earlier lately (within 1-3 seconds after the dim-to-bright adjustment -- whereas it used to occur within 5-10 seconds). I think that's why I thought it had gone away -- maybe it was just happening earlier than I had expected?

I've been trying to take video footage of it occurring. If I ever manage to capture it on camera, I'll post it here.

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Answer 13

Nov 5, 2014 6:00 PM in response to Fusion Factor

Right, one thing I'm wondering about. Right after waking the imac up and that warm tone occurs – does it stay that way? The warm tone, I mean? Because it seems to me like I can't notice it anymore shortly after it occurs. Maybe it's just me getting used to it quickly?

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Answer 14

Fusion Factor Author

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211 points

Nov 6, 2014 1:43 AM in response to ItsInMyVeins!

Funny you should say that -- I think our eyes are doing the same thing of adapting to the environment after a few seconds.

The issue only bothers me for the first 15 seconds after I watch the colors swap. After time, I get used to it and don't mind it as much. I don't think the colors cool back down -- rather I think our eyes just come to accept it. 😝

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Answer 15

Nov 7, 2014 9:09 AM in response to Fusion Factor

Well, I did try to create two new calibrations – both very cool and both exactly the same, just to see if it was the profile that was affected somehow. Either way, after that tone change happens I tried switching to the other identical profile and it still looks exactly the same. Maybe it's not even a tone happening, maybe it's just the light doing a last minute transition or something – like you said earlier about a quick temperature refresh?

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