LG's buggy UltraFine 5K displays can crash Macs and blackout when placed near Wi-Fi routers
LG UltraFine 5K display
Owners of LG's new UltraFine 5K display, which is the replacement for the Thunderbolt display that Apple discontinued last year, are complaining that the new display can crash Macs, and blackout and flicker if placed too close to a Wi-Fi router.
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Reviews left on Apple's website by frustrated owners describe how the display can crash Macs it is connected to multiple times a day, either when the system boots up, comes out from sleep, or randomly during use.
Other users complain of the display flickering and randomly going blank.
Another issue is that it seems the display becomes totally unusable when in close proximity to a Wi-Fi router, disconnecting from the Mac and even causing the Mac to crash.
Not the sort of thing you expect from a thousand dollar display.
9to5Mac's Zac Hall, who was affected by this issue, was told by LG support staff to place his router two meters away from the display to fix the issue.
It is likely that all these issues result from improper electromagnetic (EM) shielding for critical components inside the display, and this is not something that can be fixed by a software or firmware update.
Other complaints, which do not seem related to EM shielding, include a poorly designed stand, USB devices not being recognized when plugged into the on-board ports, poor audio control, and numerous reports of displays being dead on arrival.
Again, not things you expect from a top-dollar display.
Interestingly, Apple has "special pricing" for a "limited time" on this display on its website, which may suggest that it is trying to get rid of old stock to make way for an updated model.
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