Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new program to address the issues with the anti-reflective coating on some Retina MacBook and MacBook Pro models.
Complaints have started to pile up in recent months, with thousands of MacBook and MacBook Pro owners reporting that the anti-reflective coating on their device's Retina display was either delaminating or wearing off. In some cases such issues affected only the sides or small portions of the screen, but in other cases the damage extends to most of the display.
Such issues with the anti-reflective coating were often deemed as "cosmetic damage" and not covered under AppleCare, leaving many MacBook owners with no choice but to shell out hundreds of dollars in repair costs.
The matter came to be known as Staingate and a petition on Change.org, requesting Apple to replace affected displays for free, gained nearly 5,000 supporters. The issue even led to a website called Staingate, which makes similar demands as the petition.
"A Free Repair Program for all the Macbooks that are having this problem, without taking into consideration if it is under warranty or Apple Care. Because we already paid a lot of our hard earned money to have a defective laptop," reads a message on the Staingate website.
The site further claims to have a database of 5,975 people affected by this issue and has quite an extensive photo gallery showing MacBook and MacBook Pro models with severely damaged anti-reflective coating on their Retina displays.
It now seems that these efforts did not go unnoticed, as Apple is reportedly planning to take action. MacRumors reports that Apple issued an internal memo regarding a new Quality Program to address the anti-reflective coating problems.
"Apple will replace affected Retina displays at no cost for MacBook or MacBook Pro models with Retina displays within three years from the date of original purchase, or one year from Oct. 16, 2015, whichever is longer," reveals the Apple-centric publication. "Affected customers that have already incurred out-of-warranty costs may be eligible for a refund through AppleCare support."
According to the report, MacBook owners who have Retina display models and have experienced issues with the anti-reflective coating can either visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider or make a Genius Bar appointment to check whether their device is eligible for the free service.
MacRumors further points out that Apple doesn't plan to make a public announcement to promote this new Quality Program, but will likely reach out to potentially affected MacBook users.
