Thousands of MacBook Pro owners are reporting staining issues with their laptop screens, and Apple may have a class-action suit to answer over the problem. The affected users have put together a website to draw attention to “Staingate,” while lawyers at Whitfield Bryson & Mason are collecting data from those with affected machines.
“We are a group of Apple customers that paid more than $2,000 for a MacBook that is showing horrific stains in the screen,” explains the Staingate.org website. “The stains can start as early as seven months after the purchase. There is no clear pattern as to how it starts: Some experience it in small spots around the edge, on other screens it appears in the middle as large patches.”
Staingate victims say Apple has responded by saying the stains are “cosmetic damage … not covered by the warranty.” Apple has told the BBC that the issue isn’t a widespread one and that anyone affected should get in touch with their local Apple support center.
“My last screen replacement had its anti-reflective coating start peeling off within a month,” software engineer Phi Chong, who has been through three screens in two years, told the BBC. “I’m worried it will start peeling again after my AppleCare has expired.”
Where repairs have been offered by Apple, the costs are around $800, with no guarantee that the problem won’t occur again in the future. A Facebook Page organizing a response to the issue has attracted close to 2,000 members — while that’s not a huge figure in the grand scheme of MacBook sales, some of the images in the associated gallery do look pretty terrible.
If you’ve noticed strange stains appearing on your own MacBook Pro display, you can submit your details online. If the campaign gains enough momentum, then Apple won’t be able to ignore it much longer — though it wouldn’t be the first time the Cupertino company has faced a lawsuit from a group of disgruntled users.
