MacBook Color Profile changes after installing Mac OS X 10.4.8 Update

Issue or symptom

After installing the Mac OS X 10.4.8 update, some MacBook computers will have a new color profile that is more consistent with other MacBook and MacBook Pro computers but may appear to have a blue tint when compared to the previous profile.

Solution

You can determine which profile you're using by opening the folder /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays/. If you see a file named "Color LCD-4271780.icc" then you have the newer profile. If you don't see a file with this exact name, then the profile you have after installing Mac OS X 10.4.8 is the same one you had prior to installing the Mac OS X v10.4.8 update. (Not all MacBooks will have an updated color profile. If your computer doesn't have an updated profile, this article does not apply to your computer.)

If you don't like the updated profile, you have two choices. You can create a custom profile, or you can return to the previous default profile.

Previous profile

If you prefer to return to the color profile you had before updating, you can download it here. (The profile has been compressed into a .zip file - you may need to unzip the file in order to get the color profile with the .icc suffix.)

To install the profile:

  1. Copy the downloaded file, "Color LCD-4271780_1047.icc" into /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/
  2. Open the Displays pane of System Preferences and select the Color tab.
  3. Select the desired color profile. The profile you used to use, that you just downloaded, is named "Color LCD v10.4.7". The profile that was updated with Mac OS X 10.4.8 is "Color LCD".

If your MacBook did not require the newer profile, then you won't see the "Color LCD v10.4.7" profile in the list even if you add it to your profiles folder. Profiles that were not created on your computer are filtered from the list.

Custom profile

You can also create a custom profile by clicking the Calibrate button in the Color tab of the Displays preference pane. This will open the Display Calibrator Assistant. Using expert mode, you can choose the color temperature you prefer.

Published Date: Feb 20, 2012