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Apple's Internal Policy on Bad Pixels Revealed

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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162401-apple_dead_pixels_500.jpg


BGR has received a screenshot of a purported internal Apple support document outlining the company's policies regarding bad pixels on the displays of its products.

According to the document, Apple allows for repair or replacement with as little as one light or dark pixel on the company's iPhone and iPod touch, moving up to as many 16 required as a minimum for repair or replacement on displays 22 inches and larger.

Notably, Apple's policies do allow for some leeway to permit its support staff to offer customers repair or replacement with fewer anomalies than that listed as required. The customer is to be made aware, however, that his or her replacement device could have more anomalies than the product they are returning, and if the new product does not meet the documented threshold for replacement, a second exchange will not be permitted.

Article Link: Apple's Internal Policy on Bad Pixels Revealed
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/03/apples-internal-policy-on-bad-pixels-revealed/
K

kolax

macrumors G3
Mar 20, 2007
9,181
115
I really think in 2010 that anything more than 1 is unacceptable. 1 dead pixel in the corner, or even 2 in the corner isn't a huge deal. But the position of them is important.

16 bad pixels on a 27" screen is pretty unacceptable..
 
L

Lancetx

macrumors 68000
Aug 11, 2003
1,991
619
I agree that the position of the dead/stuck pixels is important, but considering that a 27" display has almost 3.7 million pixels total, 3 or 4 dead pixels really isn't a big deal at all except to the ultra picky.
 
jozeppy26

jozeppy26

macrumors 6502a
Jul 8, 2008
533
77
St. Louis
0 or you can be damn sure I am taking my product back for an on-the-spot return. They tried to explain this crap to me before. My response was to either put a new product in my hand or the money I paid for it. I once replaced an iPhone 3G twice in one day for this reason. Nice to see now that the iPhone is not allowed/ expected to have any.
 
T

thesmileman

macrumors member
Jan 29, 2008
77
0
Lancetx said:
I agree that the position of the dead/stuck pixels is important, but considering that a 27" display has almost 3.7 million pixels total, 3 or 4 dead pixels really isn't a big deal at all except to the ultra picky.
Click to expand...

WTF. No it isn't. Apple charges a huge premium only to have such a piss poor quality standards. Even one is unacceptable.
 
Žalgiris

Žalgiris

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2010
934
0
Lithuania
Kilamite said:
I really think in 2010 that anything more than 1 is unacceptable. 1 dead pixel in the corner, or even 2 in the corner isn't a huge deal. But the position of them is important.

16 bad pixels on a 27" screen is pretty unacceptable..
Click to expand...

Say you have 15 bad pixel on a 30" screen and the 16th bad pixel never appears, so you are stuck with 15 bad pixel and no replacment or repair. Insane.
 
H

HarryKeogh

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2008
609
863
I could understand a policy like this. You have to curb those douchebags who go through 16 iMacs before they get a perfect one with zero dead pixels but they'll probably return that one too because the Apple sticker that came in the box wasn't crease-free.
 
Peter.Howard

Peter.Howard

macrumors regular
Oct 28, 2010
105
0
Australia.
Having a dead pixel anywhere near the middle of the screen is very frustrating, somewhere near the edge or down the bottom isn't so bad.

Hopefully this problem goes away when we see screens based on the technology in the new Iphone 4 Retina display as desktop monitors, where the pixels are so small you cannot see them.
 
M

Mr_Ed

macrumors 6502a
Mar 10, 2004
721
710
North and east of Mickeyland
thesmileman said:
WTF. No it isn't. Apple charges a huge premium only to have such a piss poor quality standards. Even one is unacceptable.
Click to expand...

I agree. I'm a big fan of Apple products and I'm happy to say I have not been disappointed so far. While I don't find there is much of a premium for certain Apple hardware (like Mac Pro) as compared to other brands (like Dell) I do pay a premium when buying certain items (like Apple monitors) so quality standards that are merely "on par" with the rest of the industry simply won't cut it.
 
Xavier

Xavier

macrumors demi-god
Mar 23, 2006
2,801
1,544
Columbus
HarryKeogh said:
I could understand a policy like this. You have to curb those douchebags who go through 16 iMacs before they get a perfect one with zero dead pixels but they'll probably return that one too because the Apple sticker that came in the box wasn't crease-free.
Click to expand...

As much as I hate dead pixels, I agree. There is a certain amount of acceptable dead pixels, at least from a business standpoint. Apple can't replace every screen because of 1 dead or stuck pixel. (but in a perfect world, they should)
 
0098386

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
I rang up Dell to complain about a 24" monitor that had a single stuck pixel.
7 days later they sent me a new display. Not even from the same range as mine, the one further up. Whatever their policy is on these things - I like it. It kept me as a customer, if this is Apple's policy then I guess I'll continue buying Dell displays.
 
4

4nNtt

macrumors 6502a
Apr 13, 2007
917
716
Chicago, IL
These are simply their suppliers specs. They can't guarantee something that their supply will not guarantee.

Has anyone actually seen a dead pixel in the last few years. I don't think this is an actual problem. The only thing I recall seeing is some issues with uneven backlight and "rainbow" colored black areas. Nothing is mentioned about these conditions.
 
Y

Yamcha

macrumors 68000
Mar 6, 2008
1,825
158
I think the dead pixel policy is pretty ridiculous.. Now dead pixels isnt always an issue but it depends where it is.. I think Apple could do much better.. Some computer stores that I know of give you a replacement if theres more then 4 dead pixels..
 
Last edited by a moderator:
cmaier

cmaier

Suspended
Jul 25, 2007
25,405
33,471
California
Dagless said:
I rang up Dell to complain about a 24" monitor that had a single stuck pixel.
7 days later they sent me a new display. Not even from the same range as mine, the one further up. Whatever their policy is on these things - I like it. It kept me as a customer, if this is Apple's policy then I guess I'll continue buying Dell displays.
Click to expand...

Apple seems to do the same thing, regardless of what their policy says. Has anyone heard of Apple refusing to replace a machine for bad pixels?
 
S

Saberon

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2008
982
1
e I don't find there is much of a premium for certain Apple hardware (like Mac Pro)
Click to expand...

Is that why the $1200 13" model has a core 2 duo model? That's outrageous
 
eastercat

eastercat

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,323
7
PDX
It's because of the douchebags that Apple had to formalize this policy.
Some people will never be happy and Apple knows it.
HarryKeogh said:
I could understand a policy like this. You have to curb those douchebags who go through 16 iMacs before they get a perfect one with zero dead pixels but they'll probably return that one too because the Apple sticker that came in the box wasn't crease-free.
Click to expand...
 
M

MacMan86

macrumors 6502
Jul 22, 2008
324
0
UK
Peter.Howard said:
Having a dead pixel anywhere near the middle of the screen is very frustrating, somewhere near the edge or down the bottom isn't so bad.

Hopefully this problem goes away when we see screens based on the technology in the new Iphone 4 Retina display as desktop monitors, where the pixels are so small you cannot see them.
Click to expand...

I have seen a dead pixel on an iPhone 4 and the dead pixel is still visible. This problem does not go away
 
P

pr5owner

macrumors 65816
Jun 10, 2007
1,016
0
Kilamite said:
I really think in 2010 that anything more than 1 is unacceptable. 1 dead pixel in the corner, or even 2 in the corner isn't a huge deal. But the position of them is important.

16 bad pixels on a 27" screen is pretty unacceptable..
Click to expand...

agreed, Apple's warranty is total crap from all angles, your already paying a PREMIUM for their products yet they dont even have a proper competative warranty

look at Asus's warranty,

2 YEARS Global Parts and labor!
1 Year accidental! (no extra cost)
0 Bright dot (no dead pixel warranty so your display is perfect)

http://promos.asus.com/US/ASUS_NB_Warranty/extend_warranty.html
 
Sixtafoua

Sixtafoua

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2009
374
1
Boston, MA
I have 3 on my refurbished cinema display, 1 on my iMac.
I would have brought it back, but my cinema display was refurbished, so I saved $300, so I'm okay with a few.
 
M

MacMan86

macrumors 6502
Jul 22, 2008
324
0
UK
As a former Genius who faced a number of dead/stuck pixel issues, I can say that article is rarely followed. Most Geniuses and managers replace/repair displays with far fewer pixels.

There are an awful lot of official policies where this one came from, and the vast majority are ignored for the sake of customer appeasement.
 
ThomasJL

ThomasJL

macrumors 68000
Oct 16, 2008
1,608
3,549
bdkennedy1 said:
As a graphic designer, even one pixel is unacceptable.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Don't listen to the Apple fanboys who tell you to "deal with it" and keep defective displays. Return defective displays even if they have one dead or stuck pixel. For the premium that Apple charges, you deserve a premium product.
 
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