LG UltraFine 5K disconnect saga seemingly over, third parties used to retrofit RF shieldin...

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Continued testing of the LG UltraFine 5K displays has discovered that while the new monitors are very slightly sensitive to high-powered RF emissions like from a very close cell tower or military radar like any monitor, the interference problems are rectified, with older monitors retrofitted by authorized third parties even less sensitive to the same emissions.




AppleInsider testers got a hold on the LG UltraFine 5K display with additional shielding prior to them being pulled from sale. The shielded unit had the widely publicized connection issues rectified, even when exposed to a stronger signal on the troublesome wavelengths.

However, the new units have a slightly different shielding plate than the first run of fixed units. While the vast majority of users won't see a problem, users within about 50 feet of an active cell tower, or a civil or military radar installation are experiencing the disconnect issues.

Most monitors are impacted around 35 feet away from a very powerful emitter. An original LG UltraFine 5K display with the retrofitted shielding is protected to 21 feet, better than average.

"The new plates look externally the same, but there are some material differences from the first ones that we saw," our testers said on Tuesday. "As a result, the LG UltraFine 5K is very slightly susceptible to very high-power RF, but 99.9 percent of users won't ever be put in a position that it will make a difference."

"Regardless of which plate you get, the fix is a good one," said our testers. "It's not great that it came to this, but the fix works."




During the course of AppleInsider's UltraFine 5K review, for example, the evaluation unit was tested in a suburban environment within three feet of two different operating 802.11ac routers, without any problems. Following a move to a large city, the monitor started exhibiting the wi-fi router interference problem.

A replacement monitor provided to AppleInsider does not exhibit the problem in the same location as the troublesome review unit.

LG has urged customers that are afflicted by the disconnect problem even after moving Wi-Fi gear 6.6 feet away from the original batch of displays to contact LG service for assistance. Since a previous report found confusion with LG support, the situation has improved dramatically with most users sending the displays to one of a variety of third parties for the shielding retrofit with a 7-10 day turnaround.

The LG UltraFine 5K Display offers a 5,120-by-2,880 resolution, a P3 wide color gamut, and the ability to charge a MacBook Pro using the same Thunderbolt 3 cable used for video and data transfer. The monitor is on sale from Apple directly for $974, a discount of 25 percent from the usual $1,299.95 price.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Since many folk were waiting for this mess to get sorted out, maybe they should extend the discount for another month. 
    dysamoria
  • Reply 2 of 18
    Is there an external mark or sign on the box or on the display itself that will tell you it is a fixed one?
    edited March 2017 dysamoria
  • Reply 3 of 18
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    brosenz said:
    Is there an external mark or sign on the box or on the display itself that will tell you it is a fixed one?
    Not that we can discern at the moment. We're working on it.
    dysamoria
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Our LG had the problem and we sent it back to them to be repaired and just came back the other day. After plugging it in, after about 10 minutes it started flickering again and wouldn't stop. We also had issues with a wired keyboard and mouse not being active after plugging in the TB3 cable to the MBP. You'd have to unplug and plug back in the USB cable.

    All in all been real dissapointed in this monitor, already working with Apple to get this returned even though it's well beyond the 14 day return policy.
    dysamoria
  • Reply 5 of 18
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    They may have fixed the shielding, but they certainly haven't fixed the ugliness 
    bdkennedy1002
  • Reply 6 of 18
    I have an LG 4K monitor with an edge to edge display I picked up for $400. It's beautiful. I don't understand where this $1000 5K POS comes from.
    edited March 2017
  • Reply 7 of 18
    tailpipetailpipe Posts: 345member
    It may be over in the USA, but LG in the United Kingdom has been far from helpful. Luckily, Apple's customer service continues to set a high bar. If only Apple made a cinema display. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 18
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    They may have fixed the shielding, but they certainly haven't fixed the ugliness 
    Can we give the design a rest already...my god! Not everyone buys a display for the design of the display. I'd much rather be more interested in the quality of the panel and some of the built-in features. 
    rotateleftbytedocno42watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 18
    Radar's can fry even well protected Electronic Kit.
    Many years ago (circa 1982) I installed a system underneath a Military Radar (on the Hill that overlooks Portsmouth, UK). All the kit was inside a Faraday cage.
    When the Radar was working we could not leave the cage.
    Nice to see that these displays have vastly improved protection.


     
  • Reply 10 of 18
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member
    They may have fixed the shielding, but they certainly haven't fixed the ugliness 
    I suspect you haven't seen this monitor in person. 
    StrangeDaysdocno42macxpress
  • Reply 11 of 18
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Apple should make a brand new display for brand new Mac Pro and Mac mini.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    appex said:
    Apple should make a brand new display for brand new Mac Pro and Mac mini.
    There we go...I knew you could post it yet again! Yes, Apple is going to make a display just so 50 people can buy it. NOT GONNA HAPPEN!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 18
    this whole situation is so unacceptable it's not even funny. This device may have been manufactured by LG, but it is integral to the MBP'16 and is sold exclusively by Apple's distribution channel. We should have received an email to return our devices to a Genius Bar or to click to receive a FedEX return-item pickup. And a gift card. Damn these aholes are worth half a trillion friggin' dollars. ENOUGH BS!
  • Reply 14 of 18
    this whole situation is so unacceptable it's not even funny. This device may have been manufactured by LG, but it is integral to the MBP'16 and is sold exclusively by Apple's distribution channel. We should have received an email to return our devices to a Genius Bar or to click to receive a FedEX return-item pickup. And a gift card. Damn these aholes are worth half a trillion friggin' dollars. ENOUGH BS!
    Nice try.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    Hi, I'm just wondering if you can describe verbally or ideally show pictures of the shielding components which you say were moved from a good display to a problematic one? Having already had my two displays replaced once, I want to ensure I have properly shielded displays this time. I'm an experienced electronics engineer and have had a peek inside my monitors and I don't see anything that looks like an obvious retrofit other than perhaps a large piece of metalised tape but that's not exactly uncommon either. Both of my displays are Feb 17 manufacturing dates so they should in theory be okay but one of them was playing up earlier today when I moved my Time Capsule router a bit closer. 

    Many thanks. 
  • Reply 16 of 18
    RukeRuke Posts: 1member
    There is speculation at MacRumors that retrofitted monitors have a black symbol on the outer box indicating that they have the new shielding:
    https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lgs-ultrafine-5k-display-shielding-fix-successfully-addresses-wi-fi-interference-issues.2037152/page-2#post-24397474
  • Reply 17 of 18
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    Ruke said:
    There is speculation at MacRumors that retrofitted monitors have a black symbol on the outer box indicating that they have the new shielding:
    https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lgs-ultrafine-5k-display-shielding-fix-successfully-addresses-wi-fi-interference-issues.2037152/page-2#post-24397474
    That's not it. Our original review unit pre-retrofit had the symbol.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    Ruke said:
    There is speculation at MacRumors that retrofitted monitors have a black symbol on the outer box indicating that they have the new shielding:
    https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lgs-ultrafine-5k-display-shielding-fix-successfully-addresses-wi-fi-interference-issues.2037152/page-2#post-24397474
    That's not it. Our original review unit pre-retrofit had the symbol.
    Hi Mike, sorry to repeat my previous post but are you able to confirm which components were retrofitted? Thanks
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