facebook rss twitter

Staingate.org asks Apple - fix our 'stained' laptop screens for free

by Mark Tyson on 19 March 2015, 14:35

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacp4h

Add to My Vault: x

A website has sprung up help fight the corner of disgruntled Apple MacBook users who are suffering from unsightly stains on their laptop screens. The site, called Staingate.org for the obvious reasons, hopes to highlight the plight of hundreds of MacBook users who are suffering from what has been diagnosed as degradation of the screen anti-reflective coating.

MacRumours has narrowed down the bulk of affected MacBooks to Retina models produced from mid-2012 to the present day. On these models it seems like the anti-reflective coating is susceptible to rather easily being scratched or worn – even if you follow Apple's cleaning instructions to remove the inevitable streaks, smudges and dust.

Looking at the gallery of tragedies on Staingate.org a lot of the awful looking screen abrasion appears to have been caused by the middle keys of the keyboard – perhaps this part of the keyboard is ever so slightly higher. The other prime candidates for coating wear are around the edges of the screen and around the webcam area.

Staingate.org is pushing for free repair program – in or out of warranty - for what it calls a US$2000 "defective laptop" model. At the moment reports are mixed about whether Apple will fix the "horrific stains" or not, even if a machine is well under a year old. Some users have reportedly had their screens fixed/repaired or replaced while others have been offered a repair costing US$800 which comes with a paltry 3-month warranty.

Retinal abrasion?

In its pursuit of a clear policy statement from Apple, Staingate was told flatly that such anti-reflective coating wear is "cosmetic damage and it is not covered by the warranty". However some users reason that an anti-reflective coating on a screen is functional rather than cosmetic and if it deteriorates the laptop functionality is impaired.

At the present time nearly 600 people have logged their 'Staingate' affected MacBooks on the website's database of sufferers. There's also a Facebook page where those with stained screens can share and compare their scratches and stains.



HEXUS Forums :: 26 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Oh dear Apple…
This is why people pay Ā£2000 for a MBP……
I'm not sure it's necessarily down to the middle of the keyboard being slightly higher - that area is also more likely to flex/oscillate when the lid is slammed down as it's further from the support structures at the edge - the result being some keys clipping the middle of the screen and causing wear over time. I had a similar issue with an old Dell Studio 15, albeit with only very minor marks caused.

I think it's the result of going down the pointless 0.1mm thinner, 0.5g lighter etc etc marketing route, the safety margin between screen/keyboard is the easiest to cut to make it thinner and support structure preventing flex (along with other apparently optional features such as adequate cooling capacity) are the easiest places to save weight.

Almost certainly not only Apple with problems like this, but of course there's a lot of MBPs out there, it always makes more of a story if it is Apple and perhaps people (rightly) feel more grievance when the thing that breaks cost them 2 grand…
I've had my rMBP a little over a year now and mine has this issue. I tend to use mine with a KB & M so mine isn't as bad as some of the examples here but it is shocking.

Apparently its to do with the ‘acid residue’ on your fingers corroding the layer on the glass. As far as I'm concerned, they should take that into account when they design screens that touch the keys.
I had this issue with my series 9, it's just, the issue was easily resolved by wiping the dust away. Three years later, still fine, except for that bit that I dropped onto a corner of a table…. Still got a couple of pixels that don't work there.

But that's an ultra-light, ultra-thin laptop.

I think if you are using aluminium, without a lot of good design, or say magnesium, you will get bends, little warping that will occur over such a large distance as a laptop screen. So the coating on the screen must be designed to cope with real world use, nasty human sweat is included in my definition of that.

Par for the course with my experience of ‘Premium’ apple products anyway.