Thunderbolt display issues

I went to the Apple store yesterday with my Macbook Pro to test a Thunderbolt Display.
The store assistant attempted to demonstrate it to me (I say attempted!), but he couldn't get it working. Basically, when he connected my MBP to the display with the Thunderbolt cable, it worked to an extent, but it wouldn't....
- fill the full resolution of the Thunderbolt display (2560 by 1440 pixels) in Mirror mode - my graphics card is meant to support external displays up to 2560 by 1600 according to this - http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html
- it also wouldn't work when we closed the lid. The TBD just went blank.
We tried it on two different Thunderbolt Displays. My MBP has all the updates required as far as I'm aware.
Can anyone suggest what we might have been doing wrong? Does my Macbook Pro need to be connected to a power outlet to work with the Thunderbolt display correctly?
By the end of the hour in the shop the shop assistant suggested that it may be a problem with my graphics card? I can't decide whether he's right or he just didn't know what he was doing!
Also, since then, when I open iMovie on my MBP, the bar at the top of the screen (the one that says what program you have open) says that iMovie is open, but it does not display the actual workspace itself. When I click on Mission Control the iMovie workspace appears, but then minimises again when I click out of mission control.
Any help would be great. That's the last time I let an Apple store assistant muck around with my computer!

Same issue with this thred:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3340067?tstart=0
We are all waiting solution from Apple.

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MacBook Pro Retina with Thunderbolt Display Issues

I have issues when connecting my MacBook Pro to the Thunderbolt Display when I don't do a fresh boot of the MacBook Pro. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, the Thunderbolt Display usually turns on succesfully, but none of my USB devices (mouse, keyboard) respond and when I try to disconnect the Thunderbolt, the MacBook doesn't realize it's been disconnected and thus I'm just left with the background screen and have to shut it down by holding the power button for a few seconds.
With a fresh boot, everything works fine. Are you supposed to have to shut down and restart everytime you hook up this monitor? Has anyone had these issues?

I have the exact same issue. I hauled the TB Display into the Apple Store 3 times and finally they replaced it. Come to find out this new one has the same issue still. So It has to be rMBP related at this point. Unfortunately I don't think I have it under warranty still and the issue is hard to demonstrate. I recorded videos of it but every time I go into the store and plug it is the same as switching the speakers from internal to external and it takes 30-60 mins before it degrates to scratching sounds.
Please let me know if you ever foudn a solution. Im going to try to keep taking it in until I can get this resolved.

MacBook pro 15" Retina - connecting to Thunderbolt display issue

Hi
Is everyone else have trouble connecting the thunderbolt to the MacBook Pro with Retina? With my air it was plug and play (nomatter if the MBA were asleep or awake - it would just wake up when I uesed the wirless mouse or keyboard), but now I have to restart my Mac everytime I connect it to the thunderbolt display.
It simply will not "wake" when I connect the thunderbolt cable. I have to open the screen and the restart..
Also there is a lot of "flickering" . almost like it is "trying" to work.. but have to be reastartet everytime.

Mine is even worse...after connecting it the display flickers and turns black...the mainboard of the display was changed but the symptoms returned after some few hours of usage...

Early 2011 MBP w/ Thunderbolt Display issues

Since updating to Mountain Lion, the following works:
1. It connects and works as a display
2. It connects my external USB drive
What it no longer does:
1. Audio no longer automatically switches to display Audio, I have to open preferences and manually do it. Even then it often seems to ignore that preference.
2. When I close the MBP, it no longer automatically switches over to use the TB as the main/only display
3. Connecting an iPhone does not work through the TB but works directly through the MBP to sync, etc

The USB ports on my Mid 2009 15-inch MBP suffers from this also. If there is damage to the solder on the port, it is because the port is not made to spec. Any USB cable I plug in is able to wobble because the opening in the unibody and the canal in the port are too large. That wobbling does damage.
It's like when a wooden chair gets wobbly. If you tighten the screws or reglue the joints the chair will be fine. But, if you let it continue to wobble it will eventually break.

W540 with Apple 27" Thunderbolt display - how to control brightness?

Hi everyone-
I have a colleague's hand-me-down 27" Apple Thunderbolt display that I wanted to try to run on my W540, which runs Win7 x64 Enterprise.
I connect to the notebook port (do not see this port on my dock) and basic display appears.
I cannot control the brightness and the display is at a dim default level.
I tried two general online recipes to fix this situation - 1) installing Bootcamp services [1] and using the control panel and 2) installing a BrightnessController windows program [2] that is supposed to talk directly over the Thunderbolt device connection.
I could not get either one to work - Bootcamp services did not show a Brightness tab (it has that capability if the stars align) and the BrightnessController app said it could never detect the display device. I uninstalled the Bootcamp sevices to try to allow this app "exclusive" access to Thunderbolt devices, but it didn't make any difference.
The only other pieces of data I have are:
- in the Intel Graphics control panel app, it recognizes the display as a "Thunderbolt display". I can play around with some color balance settings, but these don't seem to be talking natively to the display (increasing brightness results in terrible washout of colors)
- in Windows Device Manager, my display appears as a "Generic PnP" monitor. I've never seen it described as something Apple-specific (maybe due to no specific Windows driver for it - even after Bootcamp services install)
I've read bits and pieces of Thunderbolt display issues on Lenovo forums, but nothing seemed to match my question for native hardware brightness control.
Does anyone have any useful inputs - success stories, ideas for things to try?
Thanks!
[1] http://duntuk.com/how-install-apple-thunderbolt-display-non-apple-thunderbolt-pc-brightness-control-...
[2] http://www.holstschumacher.dk/p/brightness-controller.html
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Also! Just tried installing the "Intel Thunderbolt Software" that was available from Lenovo System Update (did not see that before) - once installed, I could use the Brightness Controller app [1]
[1] http://www.holstschumacher.dk/p/brightness-controller.html

I have a 27" thunderbolt display NOT the iMac, and I'm trying to connect my xbox 360 to it via the Belkin AV360. I plug everything in and it does not work? I check all the power cables and and connections and still not he issue. Iv'e tried C-F2 also. Help

I have a 27" thunderbolt display NOT the iMac, and I'm trying to connect my xbox 360 to it via the Belkin AV360. I plug everything in and it does not work? I check all the power cables and and connections and still not he issue. Iv'e tried C-F2 also. has anyone used this devive (AV360) on there own 27" thunderbolt display (not the imac) and gotten it to work? If so I'd appreciate the help.

There are multiple reasons that lead to issue. You should read the troubleshooting guide to get the right solution to solve the issue: iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch not recognized in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support

Thunderbolt Display has issue with weird washed-out colors after waking from sleep (after upgrade to Mavericks)

I've got a Thunderbolt Display that I use with my Macbook Air (mid 2012) - usually in clamshell mode.
When I let the computer go to sleep, and then wake it up by clicking the mouse, the monitor turns back on but the colors are washed out and purple looking.
The display goes back to normal when I unplug and replug it to my laptop.
I first noticed this problem after upgrading to Mavericks.
I made a video demonstrating the issue here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19179-MVpWA&feature=youtu.be
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Will

Same thing for me too. Late 2012 13" MBP Retina. I have to unplug the Thunderbolt cable and plug it back in.
This has only started for me in the last two days. The first two weeks of Mavericks was ok.
Update: I just got back from a trip. I was using the laptop separate from the Thunderbolt display. I hadn't restarted since I returned and connected the monitor. I've just rebooted, and put the computer to sleep. After resuming from sleep, the display is ok. Maybe try rebooting? I'll update if it continues.

Major Issues with Thunderbolt Display in Yosemite

I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2013). I'm having issues with thunderbolt display connectivity despite recent Thunderbolt Firmware update. The sleep wake function is not working and display with shut off sporadically.
MacBookPro10,2 Processor Name: Intel Core i7 Processor Speed: 3 GHz Number of Processors: 1 Total Number of Cores: 2 L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB L3 Cache: 4 MB Memory: 8 GB

Same problem here. I was so excited to see a firmware update this morning for my mac pro, and sure enough as i sat here, the display went black again.

TS4080 apple thunderbolt display image on display intermittently goes dark, does not wake from sleep after clicking mouse or keyboard, but there is "bonk" sound after clicking mouse or pressing keys. Rebooting by pressing the power button resolves issue.

My apple thunderbolt display (which I purchased 1.5 years ago; OS 10.7.5 Mac Mini) intermittently goes dark, does not wake from sleep after clicking mouse or keyboard, but there is "bonk" sound after clicking mouse or pressing keys, so am thinking it is a hardware problem with the display. Rebooting by pressing the power button turns the screen back on, but the same phenomenon has occurred several times. Could this be a software issue, or do I need to have my display repaired? Your feedback would be appreciated.

Hi ED, tough to tell, but it does sound like it's waking with the bonk, just not displaying.
Long shot but...
I wonder if it's a variation of this, of which I've seen many different symptoms...
Resolution
Move the mouse or trackpad cursor over the center area of the login window so you can see the user icons. Click on the icon of the user that you would like to login as, type in the user's password, and press Return.
If the login window is configured to show only the name and password fields, type in the user's name and password into the fields, and press Return (even if you cannot see the rest of the login window).
Additional Information
This issue will not occur if the display is not sleeping when the account is logged out. Use the steps below to confirm that the account is not configured to log out automatically while the display is sleeping:
1. Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Click the padlock to unlock the preference pane and enter your admin password. Click the Advanced button at the bottom, then see if the option "Log out after N minutes of inactivity" (where N is the number of minutes) is enabled.
2. Open System Preferences > Energy Saver and configure Display Sleep to occur after the account is logged out, by dragging the slider to a number of minutes that is greater than N was set to in the previous step.
Important: If automatic log out is not needed, disable "Log out after Nminutes of inactivity" in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. This will also prevent the issue.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4135?viewlocale=en_US

Retina macbook pro with thunderbolt display causes speaker issues

I have a thunderbolt display and used the speakers fine on old macbook pro. I now plug in my new retina macbook pro 15" with mountain lion and the sound plays fine for a while then starts to crackle real bad and then stops all together. If I switch the the laptop speakers then switch back after 30 or so minutes the thunderbolt speakers will work again for a short amount of time then again crackle and stop.
This may be mountain lion related but I have tried another non-retina version macbook pro with mountain lion and did not notice the issue but it was only for an hour or so. So this leads me to belive its the computer.
Any suggestions? its really really anoying and wasting my time trying to fix it.

I have the exact same issue. I hauled the TB Display into the Apple Store 3 times and finally they replaced it. Come to find out this new one has the same issue still. So It has to be rMBP related at this point. Unfortunately I don't think I have it under warranty still and the issue is hard to demonstrate. I recorded videos of it but every time I go into the store and plug it is the same as switching the speakers from internal to external and it takes 30-60 mins before it degrates to scratching sounds.
Please let me know if you ever foudn a solution. Im going to try to keep taking it in until I can get this resolved.

Thunderbolt display bootcamp issue

Hello,
I'm having trouble with my MBPr 2012 and my thunderbolt display in bootcamp.
The display is recognized (usb, ethernet, sound and camera are working fine) but I have absolutely no video on the display.
It does not appear in the control panel, only the built-in display shows up.
Tried to download the nVidia driver again, not working
Bootcamp driver not working.
This was working fine yesterday, and today it just stopped.
No problem on Yosemite, everything is working.
I'm running Windows 7 ultimate.
Every update are done for the thunderbolt display
Thanks in advance.

Same thing for me too. Late 2012 13" MBP Retina. I have to unplug the Thunderbolt cable and plug it back in.
This has only started for me in the last two days. The first two weeks of Mavericks was ok.
Update: I just got back from a trip. I was using the laptop separate from the Thunderbolt display. I hadn't restarted since I returned and connected the monitor. I've just rebooted, and put the computer to sleep. After resuming from sleep, the display is ok. Maybe try rebooting? I'll update if it continues.

OS X 10.7.2.2 issues with Thunderbolt Display

Help! With Thunderbolt display, Mac-mini and OS X 10.7.2.2 I get a blank screen when mini reawakens from sleep. Moving the cursor around like a paint brush reveals a portion of the underlying log-in screen. Once I uncover my user icon and log-in, my desktop will appear and function normally!!!
IS this caused by (1) the Thunderbolt display, (2) the latest Lion update or a combination of both ? I experienced no problems with older display and Lion 10.7 !!
Any solutions/recommendations?

Hello Drew,
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.

Thunderbolt Display Configuration Issue

Hello! I am using a new 13 inch MacBook Pro (running Mavericks) connected to two 27" Thunderbolt displays (one tilted 90 degrees, the other in its regular position). Sometimes when I connect my computer to the displays the picture on the screen appears in an incorrect configuration. For example, the monitor that is supposed to be configured to show sideways (90 degrees) shows as a regularly configured monitor. I did not have any of these problems until I upgraded to Mavericks. Thanks in advance for your help.

Same thing for me too. Late 2012 13" MBP Retina. I have to unplug the Thunderbolt cable and plug it back in.
This has only started for me in the last two days. The first two weeks of Mavericks was ok.
Update: I just got back from a trip. I was using the laptop separate from the Thunderbolt display. I hadn't restarted since I returned and connected the monitor. I've just rebooted, and put the computer to sleep. After resuming from sleep, the display is ok. Maybe try rebooting? I'll update if it continues.

Thunderbolt Display waking up issues

Every time when Thunderbolt display and MacBook Pro goes to sleep, I have to manually disconnect and then reconnect the thunderbolt connection to my MacBook Pro in order for the Thunderbolt display to start working again. Anyone have an idea? Seems to be happening w/ Mavericks OS since it was installed.

Joe,
I've asked the Hosts to relocate your post to the Thunderbolt Display forum.
There are a lot of folks there who've had the same problem - and there are som solutions posted there.
Good luck,
Clinton

New Mac Pro display issues with Thunderbolt display

When connected to a 27inch Thunderbolt display after a while I get vertical blue lines on the display. If I plug my Macbook Air into the screen, after a while the blue lines clear. How do I find out if it's the Mac Pro or the Display?

Thanks Turbostar, that's exactly right, it takes about 30 minutes having the Air plugged in and the stripes disappear.

Thunderbolt display issues

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