Source: Staingate.org
Posted on 07/10/2015 11:10:09 PM PDT by Swordmaker
A small cadre of Retina MacBook Pro owners are calling for Apple to replace or repair their laptops after discovering what appears to be irreparable damage to an antireflective screen coating layer, a problem the group has dubbed "staingate."
Source: Staingate.org
Staingate problems manifest in splotches, streaks and other surface anomalies attributed to faults in the antireflective coating applied to a Retina MacBook's display surface. The origin of this "staining" is unknown, though some have speculated a combination of high humidity and over cleaning might be contributing factors.
Judging from pictures posted to Staingate.org and a related Facebook community, both set up to track and compile data from affected users' machines, marring seems to present itself when a screen comes into contact with foreign objects like keyboard keys or a user's fingers. In many instances the "stains" crop up in the periphery, especially in corners and areas one might expect to be frequently touched.
For example, multiple affected MacBooks exhibit streaking near the FaceTime camera, an area often touched — and consequently cleaned — when opening the laptop. More severe cases, like the example pictured above, show damage across the screen's entire viewable area.
It is not yet clear how many MacBooks are suffer from "staingate" issues, but it seems to be limited to recent-generation MacBook Pro with Retina display models, especially those built in 2013.
In an anecdotal report provided to the BBC, one affected user claims Apple put a cap on screen-related AppleCare repairs after replacing his panel two times in as many years. A previous screen replacement lasted only one month before exhibiting the same problems, the person said.
Apple has yet to recognize the problem officially, but reportedly told members of Staingate.org that it is "cosmetic damage and it is not covered by the warranty." Out-of-warranty repairs can come in at a hefty $800 depending on screen size, Staingate.org said.
A Change.org petition was started five months ago in hopes of rallying support to force Apple into action and is currently about 580 participants shy of a 2,500-signature goal. In addition, law firm Whitfield Bryson & Mason reached out to the Staingate Facebook Community to explore the group's legal options.
Apple faced similar pressure from its customers in 2013 over a rash of early-2011 MacBook Pro failures linked to malfunctioning discrete GPUs. After ignoring multiple calls to fix the growing problem, Apple was hit with a class-action lawsuit before initiating a repair extension program in February.
These look to me like screens that were kept in an extremely moist environment too long. . . like in a bathroom with a shower, or hot steam. Millions of these have been sold, so why just a few? Strange.
Apple has replaced some even out of warranty. . . and its even more strange that it is for the same people with the same problem. That would tend to validate an environmental issue.
Have any of you experienced this?
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
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Yep. . . and I've seen it in heavy humidity conditions. . . combined with heat. I think these people have damaged their computers in some way by misuse and are trying to get Apple to fix them for free. I saw that image and I immediately thought of someone doing shower selfies on their computer. . . BLUSH.
Not just high humidity but cleaning with some of those eye glass wipes that are notorious for destroying AR coatings. Even when hardened AR coatings are on the fragile side
One commenter on the original site says that using acetone cleaner can do it too. . .
My office discovered the expensive way that you do NOT clean your Apple keyboards with Windex.
A new hire at our janitorial service did. . . and when we came in the next morning not a single keyboard worked completely. Some were completely dead and some only had one or two sectors working. I tried the tried and true dishwasher approach, but no dice. Only one got a sector back. There's some component in Windex that destroys the conductive rubber contacts and ruins them. We had to replace every single one of the VERY clean keyboards with new ones. . . or at least the janitorial company's insurance company did, in the long run.
This is damage caused by acids coming from the user’s fingers. Some people naturally produce more acid and some people just don’t wash their hands that much. This is the same appearance as with damage to the optical coatings on lenses that are touched and not cleaned.
All eyes on NH₃.
Somebody should tell these users that MacBook Pros are not iPads. . .
Yes. Ammonia is not good! One should never clean anything containing aluminum with a product that has ammonia.
Whenever there are issues with Apple products, it is always the same reaction from the same group and the same mum reaction from Apple. I harken back to the “1984” commercial from Apple. Although it’s hard to make out, Big Brother’s on screen speech is as follows....
“Today we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives.
We have created for the first time in all history a garden of pure ideology, where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests of any contradictory true thoughts.
Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth.
We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause.
Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion.
We shall prevail”
Was this really a call to revolution, or was it Apple’s business strategy all along to create an army of unquestioning drones to buy their products and defend everything they do? I have owned at least 10 laptops over the years, including 3 MacBooks, and abused the crap out of all of them. I have never seen any of my screens look anything like the photos on that site. A cosmetic issue would be if the case became stained or discolored in some way, or if this was limited to the edges of the bezel area. But the screen coating flaking off right in the main area where you look to see the information you are interacting with can hardly be considered cosmetic except in a world “secure from the pests of any contradictory true thoughts.”
I’ll continue to buy and use Apple products, but not on launch day. I usually wait for a while to make sure it is safe, because if there is an issue, you have a good chance to be stuck with it like these poor folks. While Apple has great warranty service and will usually fix individual issues, they do not have a good track record on the bigger widespread issues. They will deny the issue and the armies of Apple Thought Purification Police will drag you through the mud if you dare to bring it up.
I understand from Mac Rumors that the new Iphone will use a thicker metal frame. Could this be possibly a fix for the bend-gate issue that does not exist? I really dodged a bullet on that one and am still packing my Galaxy Note 2 that I carry in my back pocket and sit on...sometimes all day.. I am due for a new phone and I’ll probably get the new one .... once I know it is safe.
sent from my iPad..
Bend gate was a FUD campaign, BRK. after all was said and done, Apple replaced NINE iPhone 6plus that were bent. Nine. Apple sold over 200 million of them so far and they haven't had any bending. Consumers Reports found that your Galaxy Notes bend at 90 pounds and snap at 120 lbs of pressure compared to the iPhone 6plus 120 and 140 pounds of pressure . . . Other large format phones fared equally or worse to the Galaxy and none equaled the iPhone's strength. The iPhone's were DELIBERATELY bent in a campaign to discredit them. It's called FUD.
You sent that from you iPad. . . Think about it. The new iPad is both larger and just as thin as the iPhone 6Plus. . . And they did not have bending problems yet they had far more leverage on them. I pointed this out at the time. . . I also pointed out that if you looked inside the plus, there is a STEEL stiffener right where they were bending it. You had to really work hard to do it.
I have one of the first generation ones but haven’t seen any problem like that. But I don’t use it much. It’s usually in its carry bag and I take it out periodically to recharge.
Windex is electrically conductive so will make electronics short out such as the keyboard
Glass-Plus, without ammonia, makes a good screen cleaner, but even using that one should spray a *little* on a soft cotton cloth and not directly on the screen.
what should you use to clean the screen if not the “eye glass” cloth?
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