Screen flickering problem plagues MacBooks

MacBook owners just can't seem to get a break, it seems. The loveable laptops have had a handful of problems since their debut, ranging from the random shutdown syndrome (which was later fixed), to the whirring moo problem (also fixed), to the discoloration issue (yep, fixed), to the plastic cracking crisis (no idea what's going on there). The latest problème du jour apparently has to do with flickering screens, which seem to crop up on an unpredictable basis, but might possibly be triggered by high CPU load. Apparently this issue has been discussed on Apple's own web forums for months, but the particular thread was recently locked for no reason, reports AppleDefects. Further, other Mac sites, including MacinTouch and O'Grady's PowerPage, are reporting similar problems with older PowerBook and MacBook Pros. Hopefully this will all be swiftly resolved with a firmware update in short order. A sample video of the problem can be found on the next page.

Read - AppleDefects
Read - O'Grady's PowerPage
Read - Apple forums

[Via The Inquirer]

[nick @ Dec 1st 2006 9:11PM]

Yeah, it's definitely true. I've had one friend tell me about this problem too. But, in defense for the Mac people out there... Out of numerous friends who do have the Macbooks, I only know of one that has had so many problems as mentioned in this article..

(nicholas)
http://www.tingog.com

[JohnE @ Dec 1st 2006 9:28PM]

WOW! I just got a new MacBook (duo 2). Today I noticed the flicker and thought it was an application problem or maybe the angle of my MacBook BUT I still have my original MacBook (core duo) to test against. No problem with that one. I put them side-by-side. I beg, please fix this!!!

[mitch @ Dec 1st 2006 9:33PM]

Hehehe
I love it when these mac problems come out and I get to laugh in thier faces once again. And you thought Windows was buggy?

[Jeff @ Dec 1st 2006 10:03PM]

grasping at straws there buddy.

[deslock @ Dec 2nd 2006 8:46AM]

mitch, this is not an OS problem, so your comment about Windows' bugginess is misplaced (and comparing Windows' temperamental behavior to OS X certainly doesn't cast Windows in a positive light).

[Gus Miller @ Dec 3rd 2006 5:26PM]

Ahem.... It's not Mac OS X... It's a firmware thing, and just to let you know, it's the same hardware base you're running, Mr. Windows. =)

It's a pity that one has to have a floppy drive to fix any firmware problem on a PC, anyhoo.

I haven't had this problem with my MacBook at all... I almost always run the screen at full brightness, and it hasn't shown any signs of wearing out, or anything. Going on 4 months now. On top of all that, it's in my backpack everywhere I go, so it's taken a beating.

And no, I needn't remind you of the problems of your choice OS...

[Eric @ May 23rd 2007 5:30AM]

Uh... Yeah. Hey Mitch, do you really think that Mac's OS has anything to do with a screen flicker? That's called hardware. I JUST got done using PCs for ~13 years. Have had my Mac for about 2 months and I got to say--this if the first time im my life that I actually "get work done with the computer" instead of "work on the computer". Seriously. Good luck with your inefficient PC endeavors.

[kdmaster @ Dec 1st 2006 9:33PM]

in a product that many people use i guess lots of defects can come out-discoloration,cracking....etc

[mike @ Dec 1st 2006 9:45PM]

hmm... I've never had problems w my Macbook... and yes, I think Windows is buggy.. and when it works, it's a pain in the ass.. and badly designed... and 5 years out of date.... and it looks like crap...

[Rusty @ Dec 1st 2006 9:53PM]

My Dell 5150 was ROCK solid for 2 years....in and out of heat, cold, bouncing inside a roller case..
My Dell E1505 after 9 months works perfect in the same conditions. Maybe it's just that it's a Mac?

[Gilbert Tang @ Dec 2nd 2006 4:16AM]

Funny, I had the very same Inspiron 5150 and it was plagued with problems. And by "plagued" I mean it had FOUR replacement motherboards (loose a/c input, random shut-off x2, loose power switch board connector), TWO palm rests (random shut-off, bad trackpad), TWO bad memory modules, ONE replaced LCD (about 15 dead pixels), ONE replaced chassis (also from the random shut-off issue), ONE replaced A/C adapter, ONE replaced mini-pci wireless card, and COUNTLESS (seriously, they used to just send me rolls of the feet on the 3M sticky paper) little rubber feet from the bottom. Prior, I had a Dell Inspiron 4000 and 4300 respectively and BOTH were also plagued with problems, though not as numerous. Dell quality has DEFINITELY been on the decline (there was even a post about this on Engadget some time ago from a tech-support company rating the overall reliability of various manufacturers' laptops). It's a shame, really.

Now, I have two laptops. First, I have a cheap Gateway MX3228 (using it to write this post) which I bought as an emergency backup when my 5150 broke. I didn't expect much, but I have to admit, it's been just fantastic. And second, I have a new 15" Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro. This computer is just out of this world. After finally making the switch (hesitantly) I couldn't be more pleased. I use this computer for photo/video editing, writing, creating music, itunes, etc.

[deslock @ Dec 2nd 2006 8:47AM]

YMMV. I support a few dozen Windows workstations, laptops, and servers as well as a bunch of Macs. The defect rate of the HP and Dell hardware is slightly higher than Apple's, though I'm not unhappy with any of those companies.

When it comes to software, it's a different story. Issues seldom come up with OS X, and when they do it's reproduc-able and fixable. With Windows, several of the machines suffer from memory management issues, USB flakiness (with how Windows mounts drives and devices), and random quirks that sometimes require reboots. The laptops' power management often doesn't work reliably. My Windows Mobile 2005 device crashes at least a few times per week and the built-in syncing software sucks so bad that I stopped using it. And let's not even get into Windows' horrid security or Active Directory and Group Policy weirdness.

[FJ3E @ Dec 1st 2006 9:53PM]

PIGHEADED STEVE JOBS, YOU READING THIS?? YEAH WE KNOW YOU KEEP TRACK OF PRODUCT NEWS ON ENGADGET.

INVEST IN QUALITY ASSURANCE!!!!

"It's not about making money. We try to make the best product that we can."

[skylor Werden @ Dec 1st 2006 9:55PM]

i've been having the same issue for 3 months now. i have taken the macbook to the store 3 times, and the flicker would never happen. on the last vist, it finally did it and they ordered me a new motherboard and new screen. (they should ahve just replaced it!)

[Jeff Foster @ Dec 1st 2006 10:06PM]

out of the dozen or so people i know with macbooks, i've yet to hear of anyone having this (or really any of the other) problems.

"plague" seems like a strong word. :P

funny thing is that this is only news because it's Apple. Every single PC laptop owner i know has at least 4 or 5 retarded problems (mouse doesn't work until restart, case cracks, very loud, CDs aren't recognized, etc.) on 2 or 3 month-old machines, but it's never news. No one cares that Dell and Gateway machines have stupid Quality Control issues, apparently it's a given.

Maybe that's good news for Apple: every single tiny little issue gets publicized specfically because they make such a good product that these things actually ARE news.

:)

[Mark @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:54AM]

You have a point there, I think. I know my old Compaq had a case crack due to a flawed hinge and fan noise issues (which tech support refused to acknowledge since it was ALWAYS buzzing, only when the system was under any load.) With my MBP I've had the battery, logic board, power inverter (well, this was a bonus, I didn't have issues but it was replaced with the mobo) and a buzzing fan replaced. Now this could be seen as a poor track record, but compared to the previous laptop I was just happy they fixed it.

[TheCount @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:25PM]

I love how your reply to people saying it's a mac problem (which it is) is to say, "Well, PC users have problems all the time and it never makes news!"

You need to understand that a products quality isn't a result of what YOU think. And a products quality isn't defined by how bad the competitions quality is. If I own a Macbook at it's on the fritz, the only thing that matters to me is the quality of Apple Macbooks. You tell me, "Hey, Dells have to be restarted all the time because their mice stop working" doesn't help me in the slightest when I have a flickering macbook sitting in front of me.

[AndrewG @ Dec 4th 2006 6:22PM]

"Every single PC laptop owner i know has at least 4 or 5 retarded problems (mouse doesn't work until restart, case cracks, very loud, CDs aren't recognized, etc.) on 2 or 3 month-old machines, but it's never news. No one cares that Dell and Gateway machines have stupid Quality Control issues, apparently it's a given."

Of course it's common knowledge that companies look for the cheapest way possible to make the product so they can sell it for cheaper so cheaper people will buy it. Those people that usually buy cheaper stuff treat it worse because they think for the most part, a laptop is a laptop. People pay more for an Apple thinking it has slightly better build quality since it's not brought in from a Chinese factory and Apple doesn't just slap their name on it. Arima laptops are sold in all forms around the world and Gateway/Emachines and others just stick their name on it and call it theirs. They have no real control over the quality of plastics or cracking, they just are supposed to help you if any of that happens.

Also, all those problems you describe sound like problems caused by the user, aside from the cracks and fan which are related to the mass production and worse quality control. Half the time CDs not being recognized and other stuff like that is because people install burning software from bloatware companies like Roxio, Sonic, Symantec, etc. A base install of windows with normal windows burning engine and everything else, rarely has problems.

[six2one @ Dec 1st 2006 10:08PM]

my macbook pro (2.0 core duo) has this problem slightly, mine was bought new on sept 1st

[jimijay @ Dec 1st 2006 10:23PM]

I called Apple about the thread being locked-- I had participated in the thread and my posts were deleted. No slander or cursing, I told me story of discoloration, heat sink replacement, failed battery, and now the flicker. I suggested a recall but I guess that didn't rub them too good.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Macbook (when it works) but damn, this has been a severe letdown, not to mention, I have a G3 iBook paperweight from the infamous logic board failures.

A few words for the wise: BUY APPLECARE!

[jimijay @ Dec 1st 2006 10:26PM]

...and I forgot, the tech at Apple told me that Macbooks within the 3rd to 6th MONTH of production may have this fault.

[DavidZ @ Dec 1st 2006 10:49PM]

My Macbook - bought in April - had this problem. After a big go 'roud the apple techs decided it was the inverter that was causing the problem. They replaced it and all is well

[Jon Graft @ Dec 1st 2006 11:13PM]

This is what I hate about Engadget. If Apple sends out a product with multiple problems, then they lightly criticize it saying "Oh apple...what were you thinking!"

Now, if this was SONY, Engadget would be saying "And Sony does it again...Sony products are terrible...blah blah blah". Sometimes I think Engadget just hates SONY and loves Apple and Microsoft. :-(

[Jeff @ Dec 1st 2006 11:41PM]

I love how whenever someone finds a new problem with an Apple product Apple immediately locks the thread, and continues to deny the existence of the problem until they either make a fix for it, or come out with a new revision of the product and suggest that everyone buy the new one.

[KorruptioN @ Dec 1st 2006 11:53PM]

Could the flickering (at least with the Macbook Pro) be because of the X1600 GPU? I know that for a while, a lot of X1600-equipped Asus notebooks suffered from a similar flicker issue. I think a fix has been released though...

[Kevin @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:27PM]

Interesting...wasn't Asustek listed as the manufacturer of the MacBook?

When all else fails, PEBKAC

[andrew harrison @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:32PM]

as far as i know, these issues aren't with the macbook pros, only the macbooks. I bought a new macbook pro c2d yesterday [15", best computer i've ever bought] and it doesn't flicker or anything at all.

[andrew harrison @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:32PM]

as far as i know, these issues aren't with the macbook pros, only the macbooks. I bought a new macbook pro c2d yesterday [15", best computer i've ever bought] and it doesn't flicker or anything at all.

[Aaron @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:54AM]

Stubborn Mac user: "Well, um... they're still, you know........ aw, shit..."

[Eric @ May 23rd 2007 5:39AM]

..."they're still.... you know.... MUCH better than any PC ever made." Coming from a guy show used PCs for ~15 yrs. Get on the other side of the fence and you'll see. Until you've been on both sides, you opinion doesn't matter.

[LR @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:55AM]

Isnt it just a bug with the light sensor? im not a macbook user but if it has a light sensor equipped to change the lcd backlight brightness there have known to be bugs with these sometimes. Happens to alot of bravia first series s-version lcd tv's

[rawr @ Dec 2nd 2006 4:23PM]

This is my theory. Every so often my macbook pro screen will flicker just barely perceptibly. I think perhaps fluorescent lights flicker at an imperceptible rate. Also, it will do it if I'm sitting under a ceiling fan that has light shining through it. The fix is easy: If you notice it happening just change the brightness manually, that way it will ignore the small changes in light in favor of your personal setting. Its really not that big of a deal...

[Luke Seeley @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:42AM]

I've been having this problem too; I was watching my screen spaz out right before stumbling upon this article...I also had the stains, got the topcase replaced, and have the stains again.

FLAWBOOK. I"m getting a MBP next time...

[Chris @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:04AM]

It makes me sad that the MacBooks keep having so many problems, I kinda want one. And thanks for the sample vid, I had no idea what a flickering screen might look like. :-P

[Deluxe @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:47AM]

Hmm, seems as though these FadBooks are well worth the extra cash!

[SwissFreek @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:39AM]

Yeah, I noticed that my MacBookPro had this same problem a few weeks ago. I thought it was the ambient light sensor getting weird readings from fluorescent lighting at school or something, but it really only happens when I'm running Parallels (high CPU load), so who knows maybe it really is a problem. It doesn't happen very often and doesn't bother me much. I have a rev1 2.16 GHz core duo, for the record.

[SwissFreek @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:43AM]

For what it's worth, you fanboys writing in all caps that Steve Jobs needs to invest in quality control should take a look around. It's not like Apple is the only company that has ever had quality control issues. My friends with HP's love their HP's but are resigned to the fact that it's going to have to be sent back to HP for something major at some point, and that's just the way it is. Apple just gets a lot of press because of who they are. No one cares if that budget PC laptop maker's (not necessarily HP) computers have glitches. While a lot of people see Apple as the Mercedes Benz of computers, remember that the MacBook is a *cheap* laptop, relatively speaking.

[Alex @ Dec 2nd 2006 7:14AM]

At least for Apple it's once in a while for Windows, well... hohumm!

[mitch @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:11PM]

I guess thats fair, but my point was that lately it seems like there have been a lot more problems with macs than a windows machine. When was the last time an error in windows made headlines, or a third party hardware manufacturer had even close to the amount of problems macs are having? It just seems to me like apple is having some quality control issues, as opposed to whichever company manufactures a windows box.

[RobERT @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:36AM]

Once you get a bad Apple product (I had the notebook problem) you see that there are two Apples: the cool, hip image 10% above the water but underneath is the other, real Apple 90% below the water - poor, obstinate, unfriendly, arrogant customer service that tries to make you as the cause of their defective hardware or in denial that a problem even exists even though many others are reporting the same problem.
After running into the "real" Apple I changed my opinion of them completely. Before I was a Macfanboy, now...I ain�t. I wish there was more reporting on the "real" Apple.

[essjay @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:14AM]

My first gen MacBook is the first Mac I've ever owned and I've had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. I really don't get it. If I bought a laptop with a flickering screen, cracked plastic or one that was shutting down randomly I would just return it straight away as its not "Fit for purpose" under the UK's Sales of Goods Act. Just because its an Apple it doesn't mean you have to wait around for them to patch the problems, the law is on your side. Apple aren't special in this respect.

[Big Ed @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:09PM]

As with any new product, the new Macbooks just require a little tweaking and they'll be fine. There's no use comparing it with a two year old Dell laptop whose hardware problems have been fixed a long time ago.

[Dr. Slump @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:27PM]

I've been having this problem with my Core Duo MacBook. It sometimes goes away for a week or more, but it always comes back. I'm crossing my fingers for a firmware fix.

[deslock @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:55PM]

mitch, my experience is that defect-rates for Apple hardware are not any worse than they are for other brand-name PC manufacturers. Apple-related problems makes headlines at tech blogs for a few reasons:

[1] People expect problems with Windows, so they just don't make for interesting reading anymore. Especially since XP is 5 years old.

[2] Because Apple promotes themselves as a step above the competition, any Apple defects make for better news.

[3] The "cult-of-mac" are perceived as believing that they're "holier-than-thou". This has caused a significant backlash, which makes any Apple problems more sensationalistic.

[4] The iPod is still the market leader after years of supposed iPod-killers have come and gone. Everyone is waiting for it to fail.

But once Vista is released, any problems with it will certainly make the news (at least at blogs like this).

[Jeff Foster @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:05PM]

I have no interest in helping you, in the slightest, when you have a flickering macbook sitting in front of you.

what i'm saying is that not a single person i know who owns a macbook has ever had any of these issues, so i question exactly how much of a "plague" it is... tends to be a vocal minority, and it's only news because it's Apple. I'm not saying the problem doesn't exist, and i dont know HOW you got the impression i was giving you some sort of solution. What i am interested to see is when thousands of gateways have motherboards that die 8 months after their purchase, it wont become news (on Engadget) until the class action is filed.

[EMT @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:45PM]

You know, based on some of the coverage here, you make me think I'm magic because I have a MacBook that's never had any problems. While that's fun and all, isn't it a bit more likely that the majority of owners are happy and trouble-free?

[willyboy @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:58PM]

Uhhh, what percentage of macbooks are excperiencing this problem???? Anyone have that statistic??? Never had this problem with my macbook. But, maybe I am one of the lucky few.....

[derek @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:04PM]

you guys are all dumb. dont you realize that all the problems are RELATED? They all have to do with OVERHEATING. And it has never been fixed, just the extent of it has.

[Puddles @ Dec 3rd 2006 1:53AM]

Actually, my MB's screen flicker seems to be unrelated to temperature. So far, it seems completely random. Luckily, it hasn't happened in the past 2 days.

[Nick @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:57PM]

my girlfriend has a massive screen flickering issue. It does it often, but randomly. Drives both of us nuts. I hope they fix it under her 3 year applecare plan.