27" iMac Screen stain/discoloration

This seems to be an issue which is starting to appear for iMac users who have had the system for a while - there has definitely been an increase in threads / posts in the last month or so. In an increasing number of cases Apple seem to unfortunately be claiming "environmental issues" with respect to the location of the computer and claiming it's not covered by their guarantee - what are we meant to be do, keep the iMac in an airtight bubble? Personally I believe it's a case of an under engineered chaisis - combination of heat dissipation and dust being sucked up by the fans which enter the LCD array from the rear - possibly if they had fully isolated the screen component from the computer / fans it may have prevented this issue. Unfortunately Apple's pursuit of the slimmest all-in-one seems to have consequences.

Check these links out:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=11530153

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/861355/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1082976/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1056817/

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2300580&tstart=15

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2704482&tstart=90

http://discussionsapple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2585426&tstart=45

Mine does the same. I called the Apple store to be told "keep it dry, dust free and it will be fine". Very arrogant response. Ive just spent £1700 on an imac and im supposed to just make do. No thanks. Ill take it back, spend half on a PC and spend money with a company that actually gives a damn about its customers. Apple have changed for the worse. They no longer act the way they used to. Due to the popularity of the iphone/ipad etc they think they can just do what they want.


Apple have always in the past got away with charging a high price in the UK as they have always added excellent customer services as value. Now with that faltering, the price is just way too high to be told "just make do". £1700 in any way shape or form is alot of money to buy something that is technologically slower than the equivalent in PC terms and also not working correctly.


Matt

Like I said on another thread, of the 5 iMac 27 i5's I returned three of them had this issue from the outset, also light leakage has been an issue on all of them.

Needless to say went for a refund and waiting what a refresh brings on the iMac but I am also looking at the mac mini once that gets a refresh with the 27 inch display as I have not heard about any issues relating to the display.

After reading alot about this my impression is that this has been affecting some imacs the last few years. I think like many others it's because of heat from the machine (esp. the GPU) or direct sunlight. I think the higher performance and bigger screens have shown the iMac design to have a flaw. Using smcfancontrol to keep the temps ok should prevent this from happening if it's just a heat issue.

I'm really interested in knowing how the environment temps are, and how exposed the screen is to direct sunlight, which according to many articles is very bad for the iMac.

ahhhh not this again

Andylar said:

spoke to applecare and they are already trying to pawn this off on enviromental factors, has this happened to anyone else and if so what did you do ?

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Yep, that's what they said to me. Stand your ground as this position Apple is taking is not acceptable.

Andylar said:

spoke to applecare and they are already trying to pawn this off on enviromental factors, has this happened to anyone else and if so what did you do ?

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See my thread here:-

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1082976/

As there does not seem to be any issues of this sort with the 27 display I will be looking at the mac mini option with the display after it's been refreshed now.

it's not just the iMac with this problem, Samsung flat screen TV's are having the same kind of problem

hey OP,

I had the exact same issue with my iMac maybe about half a year ago. I brought it into a Mac reseller in my area as there is no apple store around me. The guy looked at it and replaced the entire LCD within couple business days.

If your apple store won't replace it for you, perhaps talk to a reseller?

BTW the new LCD I got has a bit of a yellow tint at the bottom, but it's been so long now I barely even notice it. Hope that helps.

My iMac, 27" 2.66 i5, has a small bit of yellow discoloration at the very top right of the screen. It is so slight that it is barely noticeable, unless you know it;'s there and look for it. The more common problem seems to be the light leakage from the backlight that bleeds through the corners of the screen.

I was frustrated at first with the problems of the screen, but have basically overlooked them since I bought the computer. Overall the screen is still very high-quality, and that the slight screen imperfections don't detract from the overall enjoyment of using the iMac.

I just purchased an i3 27" iMac and I'm noticing some differences in temperature vs. my 21.5" 3.06 C2D iMac.

Most notably is the difference in idle GPU temperature. I mean, we're talking a 10C difference with the 27" being cooler.

27" 3.2 i3 w/ ATI 5670 = 45C idle
21" 3.06 C2D w/ ATI 4670 = 55C idle

If I understand correctly, the GPU is what generates all that heat in the upper left hand corner of the iMac, the same location where most people experience screen discoloration. (FYI, I've had the screen replaced once for discoloration and it's starting to show again)

I went to my local apple reseller today, who almost only sell apple products. None of the displayed models had any issues with the screen, I checked for everything. I also spoke with a guy in the service department about it. He said the yellow tint thing was fixed in august after a major wave of problems. He wasn't too busy fixing iMacs nowadays. The models before that has some kind of film in the screen, turning parts of it yellow if the machine is handled rough (shipping for instance).

He had seen some cases of black dots like described many times on this forum, but according to him it is very unusual - especially if purchased recently. He also said that if such a thing would happen to your screen they will change it no questions asked. In Norway they do this for 5 years after purchase.

Of course you could question his honesty on the matter, but why would he lie about it when I'd already pointed out that my iMac was purchased elsewhere?

My point is that the the issues described here isn't a dealbraker if you consider getting an iMac today. Another thing is that they can't pin the dots on the customers environment - you are all entitled for help if you're within apples 1 year warranty, or if the warranty is extended by law in your country.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

screen is replaced

Hi, they {apple reseller} very kindly replaced the screen of my imac today, I can now get a 2 year extension of my warranty or just hope that the problem doesnt repeat itself, what do you guys think...

screen replaced and extra warranty! Good for you

I wonder what they would do if you had Apple Care...

sweet160 said:

Hi, they {apple reseller} very kindly replaced the screen of my imac today, I can now get a 2 year extension of my warranty or just hope that the problem doesnt repeat itself, what do you guys think...

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I'm assuming you mean you're at the end of you 1 year warranty and contemplating paying for the additional 2 years of Applecare. Personally I would pay for the Applecare - I never purchase any kind of extended warranties but given the all-in-one nature of the iMac which is hard for users to work with, and costly for "qualified engineers" to work on, coupled with the possibility of a recurring screen issue it's probably worth it.

This is the reason...

This is a very bad design flaw in the panel: the panel's edges are not sealed, and dirt creeps between the polarizer (I think) and the lcd panel. Apple started recently to replace those screen (sometimes, when they can't blame it on the user) with a new panel with sealed edges, but all owners of an affected iMac without a warranty are left out in the cold.

see https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2300580

This doesn't seem right to me, since this is a VERY widespread issue, I started a petition to get Apple to recall the affected machines.

Please sign and spread the word.
http://chn.ge*/vM0BwA

Hi, I have the same issue. Screen looks like crap now. Any news of Apple owning up to this problem yet?

Dennisjorgensen said:

Hi, I have the same issue. Screen looks like crap now. Any news of Apple owning up to this problem yet?

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That's terrible.