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Model A1989, EMC 3358. A refresh of the existing design, with updated processor options and a change to the keyboard materials. Available in Silver and Space Gray. Released in May 2019.

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Strange ballooning/halo effect around windows (not "blooming")?

I've had a Macbook pro brought to me with a display issue I've never seen before. Windows pop up with a strange "bubble" or "halo" around them. If you drag a window over another, this bubble moves with the top window. If you have multiple windows at a time, each has it's own bubble over the other.

Additionally, there are vertical lines that seem to permeate the entire screen except the top bar. These lines also change/move with moving windows, but aren't as rigidly attached to windows or elements in them as the bubbles are.

Photos attached.

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Has anyone ever seen this before? Attempting to search this issue only results in "blooming", which this is certainly not. Would this be fixed by replacing the display, or is it caused by a faulty graphics chip or something?

Thanks for any help and advice!

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Hi @erelectronics

Have you tried connecting an external monitor and see if it occurs on it?

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@jayeff Yes I tried connecting external before making this post and this does not happen on any external monitor. Sorry, I forgot to include that in the original post.

I am thinking it is a previously unknown variation of the dreaded "Apple made the ribbon cables slightly too short so they wear out" issue, but just in case this was some kind of connecting problem or etc. I wanted to check if anyone else had any ideas.

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After replacing the display assembly, the effect is no longer present.

I think this is officially another in the long list of "random issues caused by Apple's terrible ribbon cables". While this effect is new to me, the fact that Apple uses ribbon cables that are too short on some of their models, leading to stresses that cause unpredictable problems is not. Rather sad for a "premium" product, but it is what it is.

Replacing the display assembly was the solution. And examining the ribbon cables under my microscope did show what looked like small stresses on the ribbon cable at the point it attaches to the screen. Documenting this here for posterity so if someone else in the future encounters this strange phenomena, they'll be able to find an answer and solution.

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If it's not happening on an external monitor then you can be pretty confident the issue is due to some fault with the display assembly. These displays are difficult to repair directly, so unless you have the skills to do that the solution would be to replace the display assembly. Good luck!

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Justin Castle crwdns2934231:0crwdne2934231:0
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