You paid an arm, a leg and a spare kidney for your Retina display MacBook Pro.
Now it appears that the anti-reflective coating on it is susceptible to stains or wearing off entirely.
According to a growing number of complaints on the Apple Support Communities board, the anti-reflective coating seems to be staining or wearing off on a number of MacBook Pro notebooks and under a variety of circumstances, including the pressure of the keys and trackpad on the display when closed, and the use of third-party cleaning solutions and microfiber cloths. While the issue is typically isolated to small areas of the screen, some users have shared pictures showing the anti-reflective coating wearing off across virtually the entire display.
“I had the exact same problem, and I followed the cleaning instructions on the Apple website: a lint free cloth and a small amount of water,” wrote a user who identified as “wj2”. “Was trying to remove a mark in the corner of my screen and a shiny scratch appeared on the bezel. It grew in size and it looked like the coating on the bezel was coming off like everyone is saying. Started happening at the top of my display by the camera also. I looked it up and stumbled across this same forum and realized that it was a problem that I should take up with Apple.”
Affected users have received mixed responses from Apple. While some Retina MacBook Pro owners covered under a one-year limited warranty or AppleCare Protection Plan have been able to get their notebook replaced through the Genius Bar for no charge, others have been told that cosmetic damage is not covered under warranty and offered to have their notebooks repaired for a service charge costing hundreds of dollars.
While the anti-reflective coating issues are not new, with complaints dating back to at least August 2013, the problem has been gaining momentum in recent weeks. The issue has received over 90,000 views and close to 400 responses between the Apple Support Communities and MacRumors discussion forums, and dozens of users have submitted pictures of their damaged Retina MacBook Pros throughout March in a Facebook group set up to discuss the problem.
If you’ve seen this issue on your end, please let us know in the comments and we’ll have additional details as they become available
Via MacRumors and Apple Support Communities