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Do not buy an imac - bad screens

C

customergeddon

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 24, 2012
1
0
THE PRESS NEED TO START REPORTING THIS:


I’d like to draw everybody’s attention to an issue that has arisen that APPLE seems complacent in rectifying. it is affecting many people worldwide.

It may be that this topic is covered in-depth within this forum or website, but I would like to offer a succinct (as possible) summation of the information I have researched.

Google “Smokey / grey blotches on imac” and see for yourself or read the 39 page (and growing) forum thread at apple.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2300580?start=0&tstart=0

If you buy a 27inch Imac it appears that within a matter of 24 months the units LED screen will develop Blotches that can only be fixed by APPLE. This (from the view of technically minded forum posts) appears to be caused by overheating of the unit and/or dust that is trapped within the LCD panel (not the glass), people much smarter than I have concluded it may be a design fault, thus unsolvable without a FULL RECALL of models made from 2009 onwards.

APPLES RESPONSE:
SHOCKER: They have kept it quiet; many people have had their screen replaced by apple (with refurbished screens no less) only for the problem to develop again within a matter of months. APPLE tells most people that they will only have one screen replaced. If you are not covered by APPLECARE or the warranty you are on your own. APPLE has not acknowledged the problem AT ALL and from my research seem to be blaming peoples ‘Environment’ or ‘overuse’.
There is a lengthy forum thread over at apple (currently at 39 pages), Apple have developed a worrying stance of deleting any conversations where people are discussing this in negative manner, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE AWARE.

MY EXPERIENCE:
I saved a long time to buy an apple Mac in April 2010. The machine until this point has been faultless. My machine developed gray blotches across the screen about 5 days ago; these are worsening by the day. You can see an example of the blotches on YOUTUBE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUam...xt=C340b000ADOEgsToPDskK6gGLYUuS6jsn-tP4AWauY
I am not covered by the warranty or by apple care, which means I am responsible for this myself. A replacement screen is around £1000.00 (I spent £1650.00 already on a machine that has lasted barely a year). Even if APPLE were ‘gracious’ enough to help me out of warranty, the problem seems to simply reappear with people replacing their screens 4/5 times within a matter of months. My machine has also developed a worrying trend of blowing its plugs 10 amp fuse every two days, something else that seems to be fairly commonplace. I have yet to call APPLE, as I don’t wish to have the screen replaced with an inferior screen. If and when I do, I shall record the conversation and put it up on YOUTUBE for all to hear.

WHAT DO WE DO?
If you’ve been affected or are simply disturbed by this information…spread the word…the press have been slow to pick up on this, let’s make them aware.

- Tweet it

- Facebook it
- E-mail it

- Tumbler it

- Comment below

- Write to apple

- E-mail apple


WHAT DO WE HOPE FOR?
A complete recall of machines dated 2009 onwards. We paid above and beyond for machines that simply DO NOT WORK!

DO NOT BUY a 27inch iMAC – You will waste your money!
 
B

btbrossard

macrumors 6502a
Oct 25, 2008
973
11
Chicagoland
customergeddon said:
I have yet to call APPLE, as I don’t wish to have the screen replaced with an inferior screen. If and when I do, I shall record the conversation and put it up on YOUTUBE for all to hear.
Click to expand...
Shouldn't you call Apple first and see what they will do for you before you go around all half bent?

And when you call - remain calm.
 
spcdust

spcdust

macrumors 65816
May 6, 2008
1,087
162
London, UK
I can confirm that this issue has been present at least since the late 2009 iMacs. My 2009 27" iMac suffered from it after about 6-8 months - at the time I was in contact with Apple Executive care who were forced to tow the company line "not our fault, it's your environment, however as a gesture of goodwill we'll replace the screen this one time only". However I got the impression that the person I dealt with were well aware of this issue and their personal sympathy was with my plight.

After I got the screen replaced I sold that iMac and now have the current generation 27" iMac and low and behold, issue is in the early stages of showing itself. The screen is obviously not sealed / isolated from the innards of the iMac and it's all getting a little toasty in such a confined space which is having a detrimental effect on the screen. Possibly dust being drawn in by the fans may be getting "burnt" by the heat and then is deposited in the rear of the LCD. It seems to often originate around where the GPU / GPU heat sink is, I even I ramp the fans up, using SMC fan controller, to keep temps down during GPU intensive tasks but on rare occasion (just a handful) have, it seems to my detriment, neglected to do this. Also a couple of iMac's at my work (so totally different environment) are experiencing this issue.

Love my iMac but this does seem to be a design flaw which, over three generations of iMacs, has not been addressed by Apple. The biggest issue I have is how Apple are putting the onus of blame on the customer and burying their head in the sand. Personally I resent the assertion that it's the environment the computer is in that's causing the issue. I'm anal as with my electronic equipment and my iMac is in a study which doesn't experience major humidity / temperature variations and is in a normal well looked after house with no excessive dust - short of plaicing it in a hermetically sealed bubble what do Apple expect?

PS. Stand by for the usual postings in the vein of "It hasn't happened to my iMac therefore this issue doesn't exist.
 
P

paulrbeers

macrumors 68040
Dec 17, 2009
3,963
123
I didn't have any problems with my 2009 iMac 27" and I had it for about a year and a half before I wanted to go more mobile. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, making a blanket statement that "they have bad screens", seems incorrect. Applecare on an iMac is super cheap compared to the overall cost of the machine (I believe it is $169 and you can probably find it cheaper). This would cover all defects for long after the 1 year warranty if you are so worried about the screens.
 
MacinDoc

MacinDoc

macrumors 68020
Mar 22, 2004
2,268
11
The Great White North
As a person who has purchased seven 27" iMacs (and sold five), I have never seen this problem in any retail store or in any of the iMacs I have purchased. IMO, this is a problem, but relative to the millions of iMacs sold, a fairly uncommon one.
 
Last edited:
C

craigsharp

macrumors regular
Aug 2, 2008
140
3
Oklahoma
customergeddon said:
THE PRESS NEED TO START REPORTING THIS:


I’d like to draw everybody’s attention to an issue that has arisen that APPLE seems complacent in rectifying. it is affecting many people worldwide.

It may be that this topic is covered in-depth within this forum or website, but I would like to offer a succinct (as possible) summation of the information I have researched.

Google “Smokey / grey blotches on imac” and see for yourself or read the 39 page (and growing) forum thread at apple.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2300580?start=0&tstart=0

If you buy a 27inch Imac it appears that within a matter of 24 months the units LED screen will develop Blotches that can only be fixed by APPLE. This (from the view of technically minded forum posts) appears to be caused by overheating of the unit and/or dust that is trapped within the LCD panel (not the glass), people much smarter than I have concluded it may be a design fault, thus unsolvable without a FULL RECALL of models made from 2009 onwards.

APPLES RESPONSE:
SHOCKER: They have kept it quiet; many people have had their screen replaced by apple (with refurbished screens no less) only for the problem to develop again within a matter of months. APPLE tells most people that they will only have one screen replaced. If you are not covered by APPLECARE or the warranty you are on your own. APPLE has not acknowledged the problem AT ALL and from my research seem to be blaming peoples ‘Environment’ or ‘overuse’.
There is a lengthy forum thread over at apple (currently at 39 pages), Apple have developed a worrying stance of deleting any conversations where people are discussing this in negative manner, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE AWARE.

MY EXPERIENCE:
I saved a long time to buy an apple Mac in April 2010. The machine until this point has been faultless. My machine developed gray blotches across the screen about 5 days ago; these are worsening by the day. You can see an example of the blotches on YOUTUBE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUam...xt=C340b000ADOEgsToPDskK6gGLYUuS6jsn-tP4AWauY
I am not covered by the warranty or by apple care, which means I am responsible for this myself. A replacement screen is around £1000.00 (I spent £1650.00 already on a machine that has lasted barely a year). Even if APPLE were ‘gracious’ enough to help me out of warranty, the problem seems to simply reappear with people replacing their screens 4/5 times within a matter of months. My machine has also developed a worrying trend of blowing its plugs 10 amp fuse every two days, something else that seems to be fairly commonplace. I have yet to call APPLE, as I don’t wish to have the screen replaced with an inferior screen. If and when I do, I shall record the conversation and put it up on YOUTUBE for all to hear.

WHAT DO WE DO?
If you’ve been affected or are simply disturbed by this information…spread the word…the press have been slow to pick up on this, let’s make them aware.

- Tweet it

- Facebook it
- E-mail it

- Tumbler it

- Comment below

- Write to apple

- E-mail apple


WHAT DO WE HOPE FOR?
A complete recall of machines dated 2009 onwards. We paid above and beyond for machines that simply DO NOT WORK!

DO NOT BUY a 27inch iMAC – You will waste your money!
Click to expand...


That last part sounds an awful lot like an occupy Apple statement. Free the people, stop the oppression! lol j/k... If you aren't even going to call Apple to see what they will do, don't bad mouth them yet. I've owned apple computers for nearly 10 years now and when my trackpad went out on my 12" PowerBook 4 years after I bought it guess what happened... I called Apple and they fixed it! Apple has had and continued to have excellent customer service who have gone out of their way for me...
 
spcdust

spcdust

macrumors 65816
May 6, 2008
1,087
162
London, UK
MacinDoc said:
As a person who has purchased seven 27" iMacs, I have never seen this problem in any retail store or in any of the iMacs I have purchased. IMO, this is a problem, but relative to the millions of iMacs sold, a fairly rare one.
Click to expand...

However I've had two different generations of iMac at home (2009 & 2011) and experienced this issue plus the two iMac's at work are also suffering problem - that would make me statistically extremely unlucky. One common denominator of all of these iMacs are they are used, to varying degrees, for GPU intensive tasks, wether that be FCP / After Effects / Gaming / Video transcoding etc. My guess is many users never utilise the power that the GPU and CPU have therefore the issue never manifests itself. If Apple offer Core i7 CPU's and 6970 GPU's they should also consider the consequences of the heat they generate and ensure they engineer a solution to effectively dissipate it.

On the flip side my general experience of Apple's after sales care (and we're talking 15+ years of experience) is that it's exemplary and whilst they will deny there is an issue they will likely, on an individual basis, sort the problem out. However, it's likely to reappear as it's an inherent design flaw. Regarding Applecare - definitely worth having however Apple's official line is this problem is not covered by Applecare.
 
Abazigal

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,564
22,025
Singapore
I have seen dell and hp screens burn out much more often than that, and you don't even hear a whisper of it on the news...

So a few apple screens have a bit of a fault and people start baying for their blood? By your logic, the CEOs of dell and hp should have been crucified ages ago...:p
 
mmomega

mmomega

macrumors demi-god
Dec 30, 2009
3,879
2,089
DFW, TX
Abazigal said:
I have seen dell and hp screens burn out much more often than that, and you don't even hear a whisper of it on the news...

So a few apple screens have a bit of a fault and people start baying for their blood? By your logic, the CEOs of dell and hp should have been crucified ages ago...:p
Click to expand...

^ This.
You're just not going to hear about other companies products until they become important to the media.
Also, no problem on this end. I have 3 27 iMacs currently and none have any blotches. I have an '09, a '10 and a '11 and my screen are just fine and I'd buy another one tomorrow if I needed it.
 
spcdust

spcdust

macrumors 65816
May 6, 2008
1,087
162
London, UK
Abazigal said:
I have seen dell and hp screens burn out much more often than that, and you don't even hear a whisper of it on the news...

So a few apple screens have a bit of a fault and people start baying for their blood? By your logic, the CEOs of dell and hp should have been crucified ages ago...:p
Click to expand...

Considering the premium price of Apple products and how much they big up the screen one would expect it not to suffer this unsightly issue.

I'm sure there are those who haven't experienced it but there is definitely enough people who have and who rightly regard it as an issue. Also, due to the way many users use their iMac they possibly won't ever notice it (those who have "busy" desktop pictures etc) which is fine but doesn't mean the issue isn't present. By making your Desktop one solid colour, such as white, it becomes very apparent. Now imagine, in a real world usage, trying to work with B&W imagery in Photoshop / After Effects and it's a very real problem.
 
iSayuSay

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,792
906
Say what you want about Apple. You may admire it, worship it. But I'm with OP here.

There's definitely something wrong with LCD on iMac. Could be misplaced, not sealed tightly enough, or exposed to heat way too much.
Dont get me wrong, the machine is just fine, blazing fast, and great for gaming (especially the hi end 27" series)

But the smudged display problem ruin everything! Knowing it's there in the screen corner is just bad, you dont apreciate it as much anymore.

Sure Apple replaced my screen under warranty, no question asked. But this problem is keep coming back again and again an again and again and again!!

Would you like to keep bringing this giant baby back every 4 5 months just to keep the lcd replaced? I know I wouldnt. So stop down voting because OP know exactly what the problem is. It's just not normal malfunction. It's by design, a bad one in this case.
 
S

StaticPaul

macrumors newbie
Jan 22, 2012
4
0
My finger has been a half an inch away from the "cancel order" button for a day now after reading all these issues...I'm anal and I know it. Nothing but a pristine 27inch image is going to cut it for me. Not on a $3k+ bto system.

Damn buyers remorse! I don't even have the freaking thing yet!
 
derbothaus

derbothaus

macrumors 601
Jul 17, 2010
4,093
30
It is not the panel. Some of the best panel's on the market, bar none. It is the implementation of said panel. Eizo, Dell Ultrasharp, NEC Professional line use same or similar from same LG technology. S-IPS, e-IPS, AS-IPS, H-IPS. All better than 95% of the rest out there. Quality adherence should be the only concern as no better screens are made in the world at the moment. Apples quality has been slipping lately. I've had a few Macbook's that shipped recently and had to be RMA'd for various reasons.
 
S

StaticPaul

macrumors newbie
Jan 22, 2012
4
0
StaticPaul said:
My finger has been a half an inch away from the "cancel order" button for a day now after reading all these issues...I'm anal and I know it. Nothing but a pristine 27inch image is going to cut it for me. Not on a $3k+ bto system.

Damn buyers remorse! I don't even have the freaking thing yet!
Click to expand...

Eff it, I'm out. Spec'd a similar equipped mini server with 2x ssd's and ACD for less than the iMac I ordered. Might not be as fast, but it's quad-core at least.


Seeing as I'm not a gamer, or photog, and really just wanted to learn osx, I think the mini will be just fine.

Can I run the dual ssd's in raid 0?
 
B

Badimac

macrumors newbie
Jan 24, 2012
1
0
Bad iMac screens

I bot three of these iMacs at three different locations at three different times within the last year and one half. Smokey decay of screens led to repair of all three screens. Now one of the repaired screens is decaying again .. Not covered by apple who says three senior managers have no knowledge of this being known issue.
 
aliensporebomb

aliensporebomb

macrumors 68000
Jun 19, 2005
1,907
332
Minneapolis, MN, USA, Urth
Shrug....

My Corei7 iMac I bought in the summer of 2010 has had as close to perfect a screen as I could ask for.

I keep reading these and it must be because they crank out a ton of product and there's the off chance one in 20 or so may have an issue.

Not all of them are problematic.
 
S

srxtr

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2010
611
0
aliensporebomb said:
My Corei7 iMac I bought in the summer of 2010 has had as close to perfect a screen as I could ask for.

I keep reading these and it must be because they crank out a ton of product and there's the off chance one in 20 or so may have an issue.

Not all of them are problematic.
Click to expand...

1 in 20?? Try 1 in 10,000. Apple would never sell these iMacs if 5% of them had screen problems.
 
S

srxtr

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2010
611
0
spcdust said:
Pointless even speculating on ratios / percentages / figures as it's just putting a finger in the air.
Click to expand...

True, I just pulled the "1 in 10,000" number out of nowhere, but my point is we know for sure it's not 1 in 5, or 1 in 10, or 1 in 20, etc.
 
spcdust

spcdust

macrumors 65816
May 6, 2008
1,087
162
London, UK
srxtr said:
True, I just pulled the "1 in 10,000" number out of nowhere, but my point is we know for sure it's not 1 in 5, or 1 in 10, or 1 in 20, etc.
Click to expand...

I honestly think it's related to how the iMac is used by the user which causes the smudging. As I mentioned my personal iMac and the iMac's I use at work the GPU's and CPU's are put through their paces but not anything outside of or even near the top end of these components capabilities - well within acceptable operational limits. Obviously the temperature increases inside the iMac enclosure and that's where I believe the problem stems from. Now many people purchase a nice powerful iMac and then use it to surf the net, listen to iTunes, watch a bit of catch up TV, import photos into iPhoto etc. and the processors never get taxed and heat stays down. Anyway, my point is I believe that Apple, in the pursuit of all-in-one slimness, have under engineered the dissipation of heat. Anyone who actually puts a demand on the components Apple fitted in the iMac (and why put a Core i7 processor and 6970 GPU if you don't use its potential) stands an increased chance of, over time, suffering from a smudged / smokey / blotchy screen
 
Last edited:
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