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2012 Thunderbolt Display - Dead

I recently purchased a 2012 Thunderbolt Display to work with older Macs since I enjoyed this type of display where I worked. The display worked fantastically until recently when it would not display images.


The display is on with a barely visible backlight but no image. All ports work fine. My 2012 MacBook Pro "sees" the display fine and adjusts its resolution when the display is either connected or disconnected with the built-in or separate thunderbolt cable.


This has happened before on this display and others that I used at work. Most of the time, those displays started working after the display was disconnected from all devices and unplugged from power for 30 minutes or more. Same with this one in the past but now it will not "wake up" and display images. Instead, the display flickers (just as it normally has done just prior to showing images) but does not display anything other than the slightest glow of the back light.


Because of the back light and the active and fully functional ports, this does not appear to be a power issue or a thunderbolt cable issue since both cables that were tried resulted in the same display state.


I've found other, older questions asked about similar issues but they don't seem exactly the same. One question was answered with the replacement of circuit board capacitor and one simply with the removal of a capacitor.


What is it that causes the display to snap out of this state by removing power for short durations and then reconnecting?


Has anyone come across this problem and found a solution?

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Aug 16, 2024 11:51 PM

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2 replies

Aug 30, 2024 6:59 AM in response to cyberzen11-dm

Update: After setting the Thunderbolt Display aside without power for 10 days, I hooked it back up to my 2012 MacBook Pro, applied power, and it mirrored my Mac immediately and then worked perfectly for 3 days ... and then stopped in exactly the same fashion with a slight backlight on the Thunderbolt Display, all ports working fine, and the display being recognized by my Mac when either a built-in or separate Thunderbolt cable was used to connect it to my Mac.


It appears that the display gets "stuck" in a state of not quite waking up and holds this state for some indeterminate amount of time and then eventually, with all power removed, releases that state and functions fine for a while again.

2012 Thunderbolt Display - Dead

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