Macbook Screen - White Shadow on display (and growing)

[trixare4kids]

I apologize if this issue has been addressed before, I did search a little bit and didn't find anything that was similar. I am a brand new Mac user so I'm a little worried I did something to it myself. I purchased this macbook brand new from the Apple Store in April, 2008.

A few weeks ago I noticed a small white shadow in the lower left corner of my macbook and it has since grown. I do use the screensaver, which I have set to activate after 10 minutes of inactivity so I don't think it's image burn or anything like that.

I'm so happy I bought the Apple Care when I got the computer and I have an appointment to take it in on Tuesday. But in the meantime, I'm a little worried they might blame me for the problem. Hopefully I didn't do something stupid. Has anyone seen this problem before? Is it something they could be caused by the user? Is there something I can do to fix it myself?

I tried taking a screen shot with with the cmd/option/4 but interestingly enough the problem didn't show up when I did that. I ended up taking some digital photos instead and used a solid black desktop background so it's easy to see the problem. I've attached a picture here and there are more here: http://s325.photobucket.com/albums/k392/trixare4kids2/

Thank you in advance for any thoughts/suggestions.

[The Laughing Man]

I have something similar but they are only 2 dots very small white and if you look at it correctly they seem 3D.

[dolby71]

I don't think they can blame you for this. looks like a screen defect.

[Mikee99]

I tried taking a screen shot with with the cmd/option/4 but interestingly enough the problem didn't show up when I did that. I ended up taking some digital photos instead and used a solid black desktop background so it's easy to see the problem. I've attached a picture here and there are more here: http://s325.photobucket.com/albums/k392/trixare4kids2/

Physical screen defects will not appear in a screenshot, as that only captures software defects. Unfortunately, you will have to get that repaired.

It's odd, b/c I could have sworn that I've seen a MacBook Pro do that also.

[Phalesafe]

It's either your backlight or inverter getting ready to go. A small amount of backlight "bleed" is normal but that is just bad.

[trixare4kids]

I've gotten a few emails with people who are having the same issue and wondering how it turned out so I thought I'd post a follow up.

I had a bit of time getting Apple to make the repair, but I finally did it.

I take the MacBook into Apple and they immediately say "Oh, this is caused from either dropping or water damage and it won't be covered." I insist that it has NOT been dropped because 99% of the time it stays on my desk, I don't take it anywhere.. the first time it had even been out of the house was when I took it to the Apple Store for repair! And besides, I would just KNOW if it had been dropped. I'm also an honest person and would fess up if it had been my fault. As for liquid - no on that either. I don't eat or drink around my laptop - I learned that lesson the hard way a few years ago.

The Apple employee said, "Well, let me see the MacBook we can often tell just by the scuffs or tiny cracks in the case." Well. he took a VERY GOOD look all around and there wasn't a single scratch. It's still very much in "like new condition."

So I insisted that they take a look at it and show me PROOF that there was damage from falling or damage from liquid, otherwise I wanted it fixed as per Apple Care.

I got a call a few days later and the voice mail essentially said, "Well, we are going to repair the laptop, but this is a ONE TIME exception because this is usually cased by dropping or water damage.". If any thing else were to happen to your display, it would not be covered."

Uh.. I don't think so. "Usually" doesn't apply in this case and they try to act like they are doing ME a favor. If they had found proof that it had been dropped or had liquid damage, there is NO WAY that Apple would do a $650 repair as an exception for me. B.S.

So.. if you are reading this and are having the same issue, make them PROVE to you it's been dropped or has liquid damage. They should be able to show you evidence of such.

Good luck!

[Guest jgrodri]

wow... such a bad attitude from them. I would have made a huuuuge deal if they talked to me like that. are you in europe or the US? i ask because i have dealt with apple executive relations - europe regarding bad experiences, I know someone who would be interested in hearing about this.

I suggest you find a new place to take your computer to from now on, these guys clearly don't value their customers.

[Brian M. Veteran]

Dropping a laptop doesn't cause two seperate areas of severe backlight leakage like that without causing physical damage to the screen, so it's fairly obvious it's not that.

And as for water damage, again, I very much doubt that unless you removed the back casing and backlight and aimed a very precise high pressure stream at those spots on the lcd itself, it wouldn't cause that damage.

In fact, those marks are quite common faults on LCD displays, and from past experience, most manufacturers (and usually Apple) usually treat them in the same way as dead/stuck pixels (i.e. if it covers a large enough area, it's covered, but if you have one or two unusually bright pixels, it wont be covered).