Wednesday, February 1st 2017

LG UltraFine 5K Monitor Plagued by Rookie Design Flaw

There's "big" trouble for LG, which scored exclusivity on Apple Store for its UltraFine 5K monitor. A critical flaw in the monitor's design makes it intolerant to electromagnetic interference from devices as inconspicuous as home Wi-Fi routers. Apparently, the designers of the display forgot to give proper EM (electromagnetic) shielding for its electronics. When placed within 2 meters of a Wi-Fi router, the display begins to flicker, and when brought closer, the display even blanks out.

As an immediate workaround, LG advised customers to keep the display at least 2 meters away from a Wi-Fi router. Something like this could be tricky in a postmodern workspace such as a studio, where multiple MacPro workstations wired to such 5K displays are connected to the Internet over commercial Wi-Fi, with powerful >9 dBi antennae designed to spread signal to the far reaches of the office. LG maintains in a statement that this issue does not affect its other monitors.
Source: ArsTechnica
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32 Comments on LG UltraFine 5K Monitor Plagued by Rookie Design Flaw

#26
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
BrusfantometOne could argue that having this communication fail resulting in a complete computer failure is a design fault of the Mac. It could also be that since the electronics are having trouble to output the picture its not unthinkable that it also might do the communication to the mac out of spec causing the problem.
Oh, I definitely agree. I'm just saying it might not be the "dumb Mac people blaming the crappy Mac crashing on the monitor", but it might actually be the monitor crashing the computer.
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#27
racedaemon
Aren't those TUV, UL, FCC, CE markings present on all electronics supposed to mean this kind of stuff does not happen? I presume those certifications have a emphasis on testing for harm done by the product not to the product. But isn't a lack of shielding also a interference potential to other products?
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#28
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
racedaemonAren't those TUV, UL, FCC, CE markings present on all electronics supposed to mean this kind of stuff does not happen? I presume those certifications have a emphasis on testing for harm done by the product not to the product. But isn't a lack of shielding also a interference potential to other products?
Yes, FCC (and other agencies) only tests if the device is putting out more EM interference than regulation, not the other way around.
Posted on Reply
#29
revin
ok cue card 4,
" Just format it, and that will fix it."
Posted on Reply
#30
racedaemon
btarunrYes, FCC (and other agencies) only tests if the device is putting out more EM interference than regulation, not the other way around.
I remember seeing a documentary about UL or TUV and the testing was very thorough. They tested products to destruction, hitting them with all sorts of contraptions, burning them to a crisp and other kinds of physical testing. I presumed they would test other aspects of the product too. Anyway, this displays are surely not certified for mission critical work although it might be useful in such scenarios. Like medical imaging, video broadcast or video surveillance.
Posted on Reply
#31
Sir Alex Ice
Using wired network only would be a solution, but quite inconvenient.
Our wrapping the back of the monitor in tin foil, should also work.

Best solution though it would be to buy a Dell Ultrasharp, those are freakin' awesome.
Posted on Reply
#32
bug
Sir Alex IceUsing wired network only would be a solution, but quite inconvenient.
Our wrapping the back of the monitor in tin foil, should also work.

Best solution though it would be to buy a Dell Ultrasharp, those are freakin' awesome.
In all honesty, I don't see why anyone would use their desktop with a wireless connection. Those are always slower than wired. But even so, you still have a wireless router for your other devices.
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