LG UltraFine 5K Display shipments slip to 5 to 6 weeks as company updates hardware shielding

Shipping estimates for LG's UltraFine 5K Display, sold exclusively through Apple's retail network, have slipped to over a month as the Korean company issues updated hardware with better RF shielding.

Spotted by AppleInsider reader Matthew, Apple's online storefront is now listing LG UltraFine 5K Display availability at 5 to 6 weeks, with the monitor currently unavailable for pickup from many brick-and-mortar locations.

Though Apple has not made an official statement regarding the latest delay, UltraFine shipment times have been slipping since LG began retrofitting its hardware with better shielding earlier this week. The new hold up is believed to be related to those upgrades.

In late January, less than one month after LG's UltraFine 5K shipped out to early buyers, customers began to report frequent disconnections when using the monitor near certain Wi-Fi routers. After evaluating affected units, LG earlier this month narrowed the issue down to radio frequency interference and promised to include enhanced shielding in all models manufactured after February 2017.

Subsequent testing performed by AppleInsider sources revealed the shielding fix is indeed effective, as evaluators were unable to reproduce the reported disconnect problems.

Updated versions of the display with shielding pre-installed started to arrive at Apple stores this week, but supplies were initially constrained.

As for UltraFine 5K models already in circulation, customers experiencing issues will have to contact LG directly for a retrofit or replacement. Servicing is being handled on a case-by-case basis.

Introduced at Apple's MacBook Pro event last year, LG's UltraFine 5K Display is considered a replacement for the discontinued Thunderbolt Display. With a 5,120-by-2,880 resolution, P3 wide color gamut support and the ability to charge a MacBook Pro using the same Thunderbolt 3 cable used for video and data transfer, the display is the perfect accompaniment to Apple's laptop series.

The display went up for sale at an original price of $1,299.95, but is now being sold for $974 after Apple instituted a 25 percent "limited time" discount in November.

Latest Exclusives

Latest comparisons

8 Comments

adrayven 460 comments · 12 Years

About 7 years ago

I honestly think if Apple did a display again, it would need to be UltraWide 34" display, curved. After using one, there is just NO going back. I love more than the 4k I had .. and I'm fairly certain after playing with the 5k, that my opinion wouldn't be any different..

shapetables 201 comments · 10 Years

Screw that petition, sue in class action if they don't setup a proper repair or exchange program for every single unit they sold (for upwards of $1200 with tax) after holding our order hostage for an indeterminate period of time while we sat with laptops that couldn't effectively output 60Hz above 1080p due to lack of adapters and competitive devices.

jkichline 1369 comments · 14 Years

shapetables said:

Screw that petition, sue in class action if they don't setup a proper repair or exchange program for every single unit they sold (for upwards of $1200 with tax) after holding our order hostage for an indeterminate period of time while we sat with laptops that couldn't effectively output 60Hz above 1080p due to lack of adapters and competitive devices.

Really? Really. I'm running a 34" LG UltraWide off of a Thunderbolt 2 adapter through an old Thunderbolt 2 hub and driving it at full speed. I'm not sure what adapters you're using, but this works great. I don't think it's a problem with the 2016 MBP there.

Holding your order hostage? You ordered a product that was in high demand. Chill out. If you don't want to get hurt, don't ride the cutting edge of technology. Pretty simple.

randominternetperson 3095 comments · 8 Years

shapetables said:

Screw that petition, sue in class action if they don't setup a proper repair or exchange program for every single unit they sold (for upwards of $1200 with tax) after holding our order hostage for an indeterminate period of time while we sat with laptops that couldn't effectively output 60Hz above 1080p due to lack of adapters and competitive devices.

A class action of people with working-fine displays who want a replacement because other people got lemons would never fly. Likewise, if you order something and never try to cancel the order, your order isn't "held hostage."

jkichline said:

shapetables said:

Screw that petition, sue in class action if they don't setup a proper repair or exchange program for every single unit they sold (for upwards of $1200 with tax) after holding our order hostage for an indeterminate period of time while we sat with laptops that couldn't effectively output 60Hz above 1080p due to lack of adapters and competitive devices.

Really? Really. I'm running a 34" LG UltraWide off of a Thunderbolt 2 adapter through an old Thunderbolt 2 hub and driving it at full speed.

Fail. "full speed" on those devices is only 48-60 Hz and while it's true they go higher than 1080p, it's only by an extra 360 horizontal lines (not "effective" --and probably not stable in that cable-chain either, lol); plus they're made by LG and it seems pretty obvious that Apple/LG didn't want (read: doesn't support) us to use those old models because they don't even sell a USB-C to DP adapter that runs in those frequency ranges. If you got it to work, the Apple Geniuses will congratulate you and smile, but the prescribed path was to buy one or more UltraFine monitors or be stuck with sub-60Hz performance (above 1080p) as per the adapters Apple does certify, sell and support. Good night.
If you don't want to get hurt, don't ride the cutting edge of technology. Pretty simple.

So we should bet on "an old Thunderbolt 2 hub"?