27", 21.5" iMac Owners, test your screen for yellow tint issue here

[Sir Cecil]

Yes, is there, but very subtle. Keep it.

You are telling us that you can judge from that grotty photo if there is a fault with that screen?

This thread has descended to a new level of farce.

Next we'll see a picture of the night sky taken with the same camera and someone here will claim they can make out a black hole in the lower left.

 

[gospel9]

Surely this is a joke????
Look at the individual bands of gray on that image. All of them have different shades within the same panel. The one on top right is twice as dark on its right side than it is on its left, yet it's meant to be a comparison for the bottom panel?
If this is a level of "testing" people are using before taking machines back, it would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.
Extraordinary too that people can't believe the evidence of their own eyes and have to ask others to tell them what they see, via an inaccurate photo. No wonder Apple doesn't take this stuff seriously.

Dude. Look closely at the picture. It's so bloody obvious. I can see a spill of yellow in the whites way above the greys even. It looks really really bad for me (and I don't do photography and can notice this).

I returned my i5 iMac for this reason — it is annoyingly noticeable and I can't live with a ugly bottom screen. Before this thread I am sure a lot of people would be unaware of the problem. I had returned my computer way before this test even existed. I am extremely thankful of this thread, ultimately it has gotten Apple's attention in one way or another.

FYI, every single one of the new 27" and 21.5" iMacs in our local Apple Store had the issue. Luckily we have a Genius whose also a graphic artist, and he can certainly see it too. In fact, 4 of them could see it after it was pointed out. The store did not hesitate at all to provide a full refund. Apple's customer service was phenomenal, but something's really messed up with these displays.

edit: Let me rephrase that. The genius walked along with me around the store, and checked about 16 iMacs. We also checked the 2 cinema displays at the store. He confirmed that all the iMacs had the issue, disappointingly. And no, the cinema displays did not have the yellowing. There was no test needed. He just looked at the screen and could see it instantly (pulling up Safari and apple.com).

 

[iDocism]

Surely this is a joke????
Look at the individual bands of gray on that image. All of them have different shades within the same panel. The one on top right is twice as dark on its right side than it is on its left, yet it's meant to be a comparison for the bottom panel?
If this is a level of "testing" people are using before taking machines back, it would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.
Extraordinary too that people can't believe the evidence of their own eyes and have to ask others to tell them what they see, via an inaccurate photo. No wonder Apple doesn't take this stuff seriously.

Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?

 

[Sir Cecil]

There was no test needed. He just looked at the screen and could see it instantly (pulling up Safari and apple.com).

That's exactly the point. No test needed. Thank you for agreeing.

 

[Sir Cecil]

There is NO yellow tint running along the bottom of the screen.
Here's a real test.
Look at the top of a Safari web page, positioned in its natural position at the top of the screen – the gray parts surrounding the controls/address bar etc.
Now take the page down so the top of that page is resting just an inch or two from the bottom of the screen.
Does that gray look a little warmer now? Yes? Look closely. Still yes? Slightly warmer? Fine.
Then leave it exactly where it is and lower your head to any position physically BELOW the position of the webpage. In other words, look UP at the offending "yellow" gray part from any LOWER position.
Magic. The gray looks exactly the same at the bottom as it did at the top of the screen. No different. Cool gray. No yellow. No additional warmth.
Come tell me otherwise.
You can't.
What do you deduce from that?
Think about it.
If you look UP at the so-called "yellow tinge", rather than down upon it, it disappears.
Tell me why exchanging the computer will make it better.

 

[Sir Cecil]

Now do the same with the silly test that started this hysteria thread.

See your "yellow tinge"? Set everything up so what bothers you is visible.

Now, leaving everything as it is, scoot down so your eye level is at any position LOWER than the base of the screen. Look up at the offending "yellow tinge" and it is GONE.

Some will deny it. So look again.

This suggests that the "yellow tinge" some see is due to the size and reflective qualities of the glass and the ambient lighting, not the panel itself. And reflections, viewing distance and lighting are controllable.

 

[iDocism]

And all those dead pixels aren't really dead... they're just sleeping.

 

[Sir Cecil]

And all those dead pixels aren't really dead... they're just sleeping.

Possibly. Do you know the difference between a dead pixel and a stuck pixel?

 

[tapplox]

Now do the same with the silly test that started this hysteria thread.

See your "yellow tinge"? Set everything up so what bothers you is visible.

Now, leaving everything as it is, scoot down so your eye level is at any position LOWER than the base of the screen. Look up at the offending "yellow tinge" and it is GONE.

Some will deny it. So look again.

This suggests that the "yellow tinge" some see is due to the size and reflective qualities of the glass and the ambient lighting, not the panel itself. And both reflections and lighting are controllable.

As far as I could remember, the yellowing is far more severe and apparent in dark room conditions (with no lights on) suggesting that this isn't related to ambient lighting at all.

I will update the test to let people know this.

We don't exactly know what the problem is, but it is certainly not the glass. Someone on this thread has said that he had his display panel replaced, keeping the same glass, gives yellowing (in different areas of screen).

By the way, I too see the yellow in the photo. Anyway like I have said before, if you are not happy about the test (and I still don't think there's anything wrong with it) by all means help improve it. This is a very serious issue for many of us, myself included. We are just waiting for Apple to fix this problem.

With over 30+ iMacs I have tested in 3 different Apple Stores, all the non week 41 iMacs have this problem. This is what's making me uncomfortable and I think people have the right to find out for themselves. And that Apple would need to do something about it.

 

[powerbook911]

What we'd pay for a week 41 iMac huh? Those weren't quads though I guess.

 

[spoonerist]

There is NO yellow tint running along the bottom of the screen.
Here's a real test.
Look at the top of a Safari web page, positioned in its natural position at the top of the screen – the gray parts surrounding the controls/address bar etc.
Now take the page down so the top of that page is resting just an inch or two from the bottom of the screen.
Does that gray look a little warmer now? Yes? Look closely. Still yes? Slightly warmer? Fine.
Then leave it exactly where it is and lower your head to any position physically BELOW the position of the webpage. In other words, look UP at the offending "yellow" gray part from any LOWER position.
Magic. The gray looks exactly the same at the bottom as it did at the top of the screen. No different. Cool gray. No yellow. No additional warmth.
Come tell me otherwise.
You can't.
What do you deduce from that?
Think about it.
If you look UP at the so-called "yellow tinge", rather than down upon it, it disappears.
Tell me why exchanging the computer will make it better.

I did exactly this with my first i5 (week 50) a couple of days ago. I could still see the yellowing, but to a lesser degree. I had two other people do this exact same thing and they agreed with me. I had them sit in my desk chair while I tilted the screen up and down, and I also made them lower their viewing position downwards and upwards. I tried all the permutations of sitting and screen positions and all three of us agreed that we could see a yellow tinge.

Additionally, I tested this with the different colour profiles in System Preferences > Display > Color.

My second i5, also week 50, has a yellow tinge that isn't noticeable unless you do the test. Will be keeping this one if I can resolve the other issues it has.

 

[Sir Cecil]

My second i5, also week 50, has a yellow tinge that isn't noticeable unless you do the test. Will be keeping this one if I can resolve the other issues it has.

That's good news. Too many people seem to be basing returns on the test and not on the evidence of their own eyes. If people see a nasty yellow tinge, of course they should do something about it. But many apparently see no problem and are perfectly happy until the fear of god is put into them by this test business, which deviously suggests things might get worse.

This is little different to the hysteria of the last iMac's so-called light bleed in the corners. They all looked the same. They still do. But it's not the flavor-of-the-month subject any more. But people were reporting exchanging 7 or 8 computers in their quest to find a better one.

 

[iDocism]

Possibly. Do you know the difference between a dead pixel and a stuck pixel?

A stuck pixel will generally be fixed at red, green, blue, or any combination of those three colors; if a pixel is dead, it shows up as black.
Lifehacker

And apparently they can both be easily fixed (sometimes).

BTW, I couldn't really tell much from "the test" but when I changed background colors I could definitely see a problem.

The Java Cycle test on this site is a pretty good test.

 

[tapplox]

That's good news. Too many people seem to be basing returns on the test and not on the evidence of their own eyes. If people see a nasty yellow tinge, of course they should do something about it. But many apparently see no problem and are perfectly happy until the fear of god is put into them by this test business, which deviously suggests things might get worse.

This is little different to the hysteria of the last iMac's so-called light bleed in the corners. They all looked the same. They still do. But it's not the flavor-of-the-month subject any more. But people were reporting exchanging 7 or 8 computers in their quest to find a better one.

Part of me really wants to agree with you on this. But the other part of me really wants Apple to start doing something serious about this so they don't just go and fix this in silence.

There's another puzzle to this problem though. And that is the yellow tinge can develop overtime (and worsen). While some of those reports might have something to do with different lighting conditions or screen brightness changes, there have been some pretty obvious developments (such as the honeycomb pattern and vertical yellow bands) — of which were not visible on first sight.

Of course at the end of the day, we should not be blaming Apple but instead, LG, for the faulty panels (and I do believe that there are a lot of affected ones). It is to my best of interest to see this resolved soon. Most of us love everything else about their iMacs.

 

[spcdust]

Here's food for thought....

I was at work on Friday using my Apple Pro which is connected to a 2.5 year old 28" Acer monitor (non glossy) when I put up the yellow tinge test screen. I called a colleague over and asked wether they could spot any colour difference to which they replied "no". I then asked them to look closer and if they could see any yellowing on the bottom and after a pause they commented they possibly could. To be honest I also thought I could see a yellow tinge on the bottom but not sure how true this is or just my mind looking for it?

I did the same at home, asked my wife to look at my new 27" iMac and got the same response, no in the first instance and after I suggested the yellow I got a possible.

I don't claim that the above proves anything, however the question is - is this a fault of the 27" iMac, a common issue across this size screen, a case of the power of suggestion, an environmental consideration, a viewing angle issue or, the most likely, a combination of all / some of these factors?

Sir Cecil does have a point - maybe some screens do have this issue but how many people are whipping themselves up into a frenzy when they have perfectly good screens?

 

[magicdudu]

Bought an iMac 27 (i5) on Apple Store in November, got it on December 9th, 2009 (Manufactured on Week 48), yellow tinge issue too ...

I called Apple Support (Swiss or France one) on Friday who told me that they were not aware of that problem; looks like being the first one reporting this issue. They also advised me for a straightforward return and exchange rather than waiting for 1 or 2 months (as recommended by some of you). Indeed, in such case they can not guarantee that Apple will agree on an exchange for this kind of display issue (although I have a 3 years AppleCare ProtectionPlan) ...

In any case, I will call Apple Sales on Monday, and see what they may propose; I don't want to get a new one which is not guaranteed as zero defect.

Does anybody know if iMac manufactured in January will have this yellow tinge fixed, or not?

Have a nice afternoon

 

[robotkiller]

Here's food for thought....

I was at work on Friday using my Apple Pro which is connected to a 2.5 year old 28" Acer monitor (non glossy) when I put up the yellow tinge test screen. I called a colleague over and asked wether they could spot any colour difference to which they replied "no". I then asked them to look closer and if they could see any yellowing on the bottom and after a pause they commented they possibly could. To be honest I also thought I could see a yellow tinge on the bottom but not sure how true this is or just my mind looking for it?

I did the same at home, asked my wife to look at my new 27" iMac and got the same response, no in the first instance and after I suggested the yellow I got a possible.

I don't claim that the above proves anything, however the question is - is this a fault of the 27" iMac, a common issue across this size screen, a case of the power of suggestion, an environmental consideration, a viewing angle issue or, the most likely, a combination of all / some of these factors?

Sir Cecil does have a point - maybe some screens do have this issue but how many people are whipping themselves up into a frenzy when they have perfectly good screens?

There is a little truth to this.

I had a 24" iMac prior to this one that I used happily for 2 years without an issue. Only later, after reading these yellow tinge threads did I test it and then realize that it had a terrible yellow tinge in the upper R hand corner. Far more significant than my 27". And in two years I never noticed it.


Doesn't change that fact that I want a perfect display and expect one - especially from Apple.

 

[boombashi]

Doesn't change that fact that I want a perfect display and expect one - especially from Apple.

Exactly, I totally agree. It doesn't matter how you justify it. Someone can choose to ignore and tolerate it if you are happy with the machine otherwise, that is a personal decision. Someone can say it isn't that bad. Someone can say you only see it if you use "the test". But the facts remain is this is an imperfection, and it NOT correct or within spec. People pay a premium for Apple products for their quality, precision, and low tolerance for errors, and people have the right to be unsatisfied with their purchase for any reason. I don't care if the only problem with the machine is one dead pixel, it is unacceptable in my opinion. You pay for premium, you expect premium.

 

[spcdust]

...I don't care if the only problem with the machine is one dead pixel, it is unacceptable in my opinion. You pay for premium, you expect premium.

Don't wish to shatter your bubble but £1500 for a computer PLUS 27" display is not really a premium price. Our Grade 1 Full Broadcast HD monitors at work are more in the region of £12000 - £18000 - that's a premium price for a monitor guaranteed of no dead pixels or any colour shift - obviously you probably don't need to spend quite this much. 1 dead pixel on an iMac is well within acceptable tolerances (I think Apple, along with many other manufacturers think 6 dead pixels crosses into unacceptable) - maybe if it was very central you'd have a point and by all means return it under the 14 day rule.

By the way, I'm not denying that some may have the yellow tinge issue, I'm just questioning how many others are convincing themselves they are suffering from this when in fact they are not?

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

Bottom line is there is a problem, many of these monitors can not display a complete white page period. No spin,no smoke and mirrors this is a defect. Mine went back but I thought is a little odd that they wanted mine in Cupertino. One of the very first machine's made week 40 and the box had a number of 876 on it. It was very clear it could display white on the top half of the monitor but the bottom half couldnt display white even tilting the screen etc made no difference, did pram reset,color calibration etc made no difference, My 2 yr old 20" iMac does not have this issue. You spend over $1500 the unit should be perfect. Consumer is King!

 

[Iwan M]

Don't wish to shatter your bubble but £1500 for a computer PLUS 27" display is not really a premium price. Our Grade 1 Full Broadcast HD monitors at work are more in the region of £12000 - £18000 - that's a premium price for a monitor guaranteed of no dead pixels or any colour shift - obviously you probably don't need to spend quite this much. 1 dead pixel on an iMac is well within acceptable tolerances (I think Apple, along with many other manufacturers think 6 dead pixels crosses into unacceptable) - maybe if it was very central you'd have a point and by all means return it under the 14 day rule.

By the way, I'm not denying that some may have the yellow tinge issue, I'm just questioning how many others are convincing themselves they are suffering from this when in fact they are not?

Amen to that - let's keep things in perspective guys ! I also enjoyed reading Sir Cecil's post. People should start enjoying their machine!

 

[teerexx52]

Amen to that - let's keep things in perspective guys ! I also enjoyed reading Sir Cecil's post. People should start enjoying their machine!

I have followed this thread since day 1. I bought a 21.5" iMac from local Apple Store. I brought it home and was a happy camper. Then I read this thread and went looking. Sure enough it had the yellowish tinge. My wife could not see it but I did. Then I found dust under the screen so took it back for a replacement. Kept the replacement for over 2 weeks. The wife again saw no yellow tinge and I didn't dare mention it again. Finally I told her I believed I could see the yellowish tinge in the newer one as well. She was not happy but I told her I'd like to return it for a refund. When we got to the store for our genius appointment we stood around looking at all the imacs. We spent over 30 minutes trying to decide which ones if any had the yellowish tinge. We even had a few employees involved. Some said they could see it in some machines and some did not see it. We all couldn't agree on which ones we did see it in.

So we took the 21.5 up to the Genius counter. He fires it up and no way could we see any yellowish tinge in the store. I believe the lighting has much to do with it. They did not argue in the least and asked if I wanted another replacement or a refund. My wife then shocks me and says can we trade up for a 27"? Now I almost pass out on that one. he says sure. So we open a new 27" and fire it up at the counter. Everyone within listening distance looks it over. Absolutely no one could see any yellow tinge. We left it run for about 20 minutes.

So home we come with a new 27". As far as the yellow tinge goes I don't see it in this one or it is very slight. I have refrained from running the test on it as I am happy with it and don't want to convince myself again I see something wrong with it.

So, as some people are saying. Enjoy your new iMac because I surely am.

 

[archipellago]

There is NO yellow tint running along the bottom of the screen.
Here's a real test.
Look at the top of a Safari web page, positioned in its natural position at the top of the screen – the gray parts surrounding the controls/address bar etc.
Now take the page down so the top of that page is resting just an inch or two from the bottom of the screen.
Does that gray look a little warmer now? Yes? Look closely. Still yes? Slightly warmer? Fine.
Then leave it exactly where it is and lower your head to any position physically BELOW the position of the webpage. In other words, look UP at the offending "yellow" gray part from any LOWER position.
Magic. The gray looks exactly the same at the bottom as it did at the top of the screen. No different. Cool gray. No yellow. No additional warmth.
Come tell me otherwise.
You can't.
What do you deduce from that?
Think about it.
If you look UP at the so-called "yellow tinge", rather than down upon it, it disappears.
Tell me why exchanging the computer will make it better.

ah, so what you are saying is thats is an inherent design flaw with all iMacs....?

I can only use it if the display is a foot above my head...?

thanks for prompting a recall.....

 

[Iwan M]

My wife then shocks me and says can we trade up for a 27"? Now I almost pass out on that one. he says sure. So we open a new 27" and fire it up at the counter. Everyone within listening distance looks it over. Absolutely no one could see any yellow tinge. We left it run for about 20 minutes.

So, as some people are saying. Enjoy your new iMac because I surely am.

Great story Enjoy your Mac !

 

[teerexx52]

Great story Enjoy your Mac !

Thanks. I am doing that right now