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Picture Included. Mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro green/purple lines on screen. Freezes. Sometimes 3 beeps.

Alright I have a Mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro purchased in June 2012. For about the last month, I have this issue where as I am using it random colored lines will show up on the screen (lines usually green, purple, but occasionally the issue occurs while booting and lines are black on white background). As soon as the lines appear, everything freezes. Sometimes the computer automatically reboots. Other times, it will just turn off and start beeping 3 times in a row. AT first, I thought this may be a video card error because it happened a lot when I was watching videos. However, it also happens randomly when I am just using safari/chrome with no other programs runnings. The most annoying part of this issue is that it is completely random. Computer won't act up for maybe 2 days straight during all activities (videos, surfing the web, etc). Then I will have a day where the problem is consistent.


Also, although I think this is just a correlation, all problems started after upgrading to Yosemite.


Picture below:

User uploaded file


Does anyone else with a Macbook Pro (especially 2012) have this issue? These two discussions seem to be describing this very situation:

Screen froze, purple lines, three beeps. Help!

Macbook Pro screen glitches, 3 beeps, NOT THE RAM

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Mar 5, 2015 10:42 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 7, 2015 8:18 AM

Hi Jerinv06,


From your description of the issue along with the photo, it appears that your MacBook Pro is suffering from a kernel panic, causing the unexpected restart. This information coupled with the photo indicates there is likely a hardware issue with your computer. If you'd like to obtain service for the MacBook Pro, please see the information in the article below.


Apple - Support - Service Answer Center


Have a great weekend,

Alex H.

46 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 7, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Jerinv06

Hi Jerinv06,


From your description of the issue along with the photo, it appears that your MacBook Pro is suffering from a kernel panic, causing the unexpected restart. This information coupled with the photo indicates there is likely a hardware issue with your computer. If you'd like to obtain service for the MacBook Pro, please see the information in the article below.


Apple - Support - Service Answer Center


Have a great weekend,

Alex H.

Mar 8, 2015 9:29 PM in response to chuck_3rd

thanks alex. I'm going to the genius bar later this week for them to get a look at the issue.

in the meantime, do you have any idea why the problem occurs when I apply a little pressure to the bottom of the computer (under the command screen). here is a video of the situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88C34bHZAd8&feature=youtu.be


also, i found this thread describing my exact situation: Field of vertical lines all over Macbook Pro screen? (+ freezes, beeps)


do you have any idea of a solution from reading that?

Mar 15, 2015 6:14 PM in response to Jerinv06

I am having the EXACT same situation. I took it to the apple store a few days ago and the guy at the "genius" bar couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. It's not my hard drive or RAM (which I have replaced several times). He offered to have me pay for them to take my computer to the apple repair place so they could figure out what is wrong with it which would cost $250. I am having the exact same problem as you and I'm not paying $250 for them to find out a problem before they charge me additionally. Still have no solution though. Sorry. I'm out of warranty :/ I have a 2012 mid-year MBP and have had it for about a year and a half. If you find a solution, please let me know.

Mar 16, 2015 11:49 PM in response to Eatinganapple

I tried by best to research and avoid paying the 280 but after a month I gave up. I need s functional computer and 280 is better than a new computer. However, I do personally know multiple people with mid 2012 MacBooks experiencing the same issue. this makes it seem like a problem that occurs with the computer with age. Hopefully enough people bring it up to apple and they offer to cover the costs like they are doing for the gpu issues on the 2011 computers.

Mar 18, 2015 10:16 AM in response to Jerinv06

Glad to see I'm not the only one having these issue. I suspect something's wrong with the heat management system. My brother and I both got Macbook Pros when we went to college. They worked fine for about 6 months then they both started developed this issue. Eventually when the issue got bad enough I took it into a registered Apple repair place and they repaired it under warranty, by replacing the entire logic board. Now almost a year later I'm getting the same problem again. I really don't want to have to replace it out of warranty. Come on Apple a laptop should last at least 2 years.

Apr 14, 2015 6:00 PM in response to Jerinv06

I'm having the same issue with my mid 2012 13 inch MBP. Apple Hardware test detects no issues, software update didn't fix it, even replaced my RAM but nothing. I'm so torn deciding whether or not to bring it in and pay for them to fix it... almost feels like I should just get a less expensive laptop that isn't made by Apple. I second your hope that eventually they'll offer to cover the cost like they did with the 2011 ones... my $1,200 laptop should last more than two years- especially considering I've never dropped it or gotten it wet, and have always had it protected by a good quality case. Seems like everyone complaining about this issue has the same model too, worth looking into how Apple was convinced to introduce their last "recovery program".

May 20, 2015 1:30 PM in response to Jerinv06

****LONG TERM SOLUTION*****.


Hi everyone. I also am having these exact problems. Just for everyone's benefit, here are links to all other threads I can find with people who are also experiencing the same problems. It seems to me this is a fault that is present in many Mid 2012 macbook pros.User uploaded file

Macbook Pro screen glitches, 3 beeps, NOT THE RAM

Field of vertical lines all over Macbook Pro screen? (+ freezes, beeps)

Macbook Pro purple lines on screen?

Macbook Pro display glitches and laptop freezes

Re: Screen froze, purple lines, three beeps. Help!


I have a Mid 2012 MacBook pro and experience all of the same issues as described on all of these threads.

  • laptop will randomly freeze
  • glitches then appear on the screen, mouse stops moving, keyboard is unresponsive
  • the laptop then shuts down and won't turn on again
  • it then starts beeping 3 times while the screen remains black. I have to hold down the power button to stop the beeping
  • sometimes, after the screen freezing and glitching, it will restart
  • some days it will only happen once, other days it will literally happen 6 or 7 times
  • can happen while watching videos, just browsing on safari or it can happen while still on my home screen. It is completely random.
  • I have run system diagnostics, i have wiped the laptop and reinstalled the Operating system, I have brought it to an apple technician who didn't know what is wrong with it. I have wasted hours on the phone to apple support who have just said its out of warranty and they can't cover the costs even though I have told them that this seems to be a manufacturers fault.


The bottom line is, I bought this MB just over two years and spent a lot of money on it, I have taken perfect care of it, never dropped it or spilled anything on it and it is always kept in a protective bag. It therefore is completely unacceptable that I should be experiencing these issues with one of the most highly regarded brands around. It's not good enough and we should not have to incur costs to repair these faulty laptops.


***SO, THE LONG TERM SOLUTION***

I went to the genius bar today and had a chat with a very helpful individual who told me that apple will not recall or release a 'repro' on a line of products based on what people say on forums. Apple will only cover the costs and accept fault if they see that there is enough people experiencing the same issues on the same line of products. She said that we need to go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/ and fill out tis feedback form. If enough peole do it, Apple will see that this indeed is a fault with 2012 MacBooks!

This means they will cover the cost of people who are experiencing these problems!

I know it's not an immediate solution, but it seems to be the only way Apple will realise and hopefully the, accept the fault.

May 27, 2015 6:47 PM in response to davidh_10

Has anyone that have this problem found that connecting to a third party monitor is also causing this? After the last update, I cannot connect my Macbook to my external monitor using a display port to Dvi cable which I had been using since I purchased the laptop in 2012.


This is completely ridiculous that this has been happening to so many people, I have been searching for months for a solution and this is the first thread where I have found some solid proof that this isn't a rare case for these MacBooks. Im out of warranty and am also in college so I can't afford to take it to the genius bar to have it "fixed" and cannot afford to purchase a new Macbook. Plus as a computer science major I absolutely need a laptop especially during the school year. I thought when I paid as much as I did that I would be getting a premium laptop that wouldn't fail me so soon but so far this whole experience is proving me wrong.

Jun 7, 2015 9:10 AM in response to Jerinv06

I wanted to check in here as I am starting to have the same issue. I personally have modded my computer so I know Apple will immediately fault me for that. I have upgraded my Ram and installed a data doubler with a SSD drives.


I will say though, everything was fine until I downloaded Yosemite. Once that came into play everything has been whacky. Anyone else? I also see that there have been over 930 people who viewed this thread so I'm sure it's not just us. I left feedback on Apple feedback so hopefully we see a solution soon.

Picture Included. Mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro green/purple lines on screen. Freezes. Sometimes 3 beeps.

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