Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

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

Is your display having the problem described?

  • iMac 21.5" both grey bars look identical in color

    Votes: 102 8.9%

  • iMac 21.5" the bottom bar looks more yellow

    Votes: 199 17.4%

  • iMac 27" both grey bars look identical in color

    Votes: 311 27.2%

  • iMac 27" the bottom bar looks more yellow

    Votes: 533 46.6%
  • Total voters
    1,145
Personally I reckon that we are still in the very early stages of Apple even regarding this as an issue and therefore the Tier 1 support are probably completely unaware of the "yellow tinge" syndrome. I honestly think that those who are calling up and being told that Apple are fully aware of the issue are being paid lip service by support staff. I also think we have a few more weeks of the "yellow tinge" effect as these things take time to get eradicated from the production process. One suspects that Apple may never publicly acknowledge the issue and just instigate a silent repair/replace policy.

For my money if you have the "yellow tinge" I'd call Applecare up within the 14 days Return for Replacement period and register your complaint and get issued a case number. I have done this but stated that I'll keep hold of the iMac for a few more weeks as I have no confidence that a replacement issued at this stage would not have the "yellow tinge". They seemed quite happy for me to do this (they did offer a replacement or repair) and stated I should be able to get a replacement further down the line (I guess within a reasonable time frame) once I was confident the issue had been addressed by Apple. Personally I may opt for a repair as I'm loving this iMac in every other respect.
 
spcdust said:
Personally I reckon that we are still in the very early stages of Apple even regarding this as an issue and therefore the Tier 1 support are probably completely unaware of the "yellow tinge" syndrome. I honestly think that those who are calling up and being told that Apple are fully aware of the issue are being paid lip service by support staff. I also think we have a few more weeks of the "yellow tinge" effect as these things take time to get eradicated from the production process. One suspects that Apple may never publicly acknowledge the issue and just instigate a silent repair/replace policy.

For my money if you have the "yellow tinge" I'd call Applecare up within the 14 days Return for Replacement period and register your complaint and get issued a case number. I have done this but stated that I'll keep hold of the iMac for a few more weeks as I have no confidence that a replacement issued at this stage would not have the "yellow tinge". They seemed quite happy for me to do this (they did offer a replacement or repair) and stated I should be able to get a replacement further down the line (I guess within a reasonable time frame) once I was confident the issue had been addressed by Apple. Personally I may opt for a repair as I'm loving this iMac in every other respect.
Click to expand...

I just did the same yesterday. Opting for repair because the machine is great except for the yellow on the right of my screen.
 
My 27" i5 quad-core week 46 had a really bad yellow tinge. I called Apple within 24 hours of receiving it. Last night I scheduled an appointment with Apple Genius bar and brought it in for repair. They decided to give me a new one instead and I left with a week 51 iMac. Within the first few seconds I knew it was much better than my first one (the white apple splash screen was even throughout) I checked with the test and it was perfect. At last!
So another week 51 success story.
 
I sent an email to Steve Jobs about my yellow tint 21.5 iMac issues (three exchanges, all affected, resulting in a refund). I got a call from Dena at Executive Care within 24 hours.

She said they are aware of the problem and do not know how widespread it is. According to Dena, the issue is not resolved and that ordering a new iMac will not result in a fixed display.

She said the engineers are working on it now and they are not sure if it's hardware (most likely) or software related. Further Apple stores cannot do repairs because they haven't determined what the issue is.

Her advice:

"Wait to buy one until the issue is resolved."
 
Just to add my side of the story. Been following these threads for weeks in the build up to the purchase of my new 27" i7 iMac... naively assuming it wouldn't happen to me.

Sure enough, despite being an otherwise perfect machine - I too am affected by the yellow issue. It's very slight along the bottom of the machine, however concentrated in the lower right hand corner. As a result, it's highly distracting when working with word documents side by side/internet/finder etc.

Called Apple Care today - 1st tier support staff hadn't heard of the problem and didn't understand the concept of colour temperature. Got moved onto a senior member of staff who was very helpful - knew exactly what I was talking about. Apparently Apple are aware there is a problem however didn't know how quickly it would be fixed. They were more than willing to give a replacement there and then on the spot, however it was suggested that I wait until the last possible day for returns before getting a replacement as the chances would be higher of getting a unit without this condition.

Will be ordering a replacement in a week or so... With the lead time of 2 weeks or so I'm holding out hope that by the time mine rolls around they *might* have fixed it by then.

*

In other news, while shopping the other day I spotted a Week 40 Serial Number machine in Comet. This computer was much worse than mine for this issue and had a much brighter yellow tinge that ran all the way along the bottom, peaking in the middle. Week 40's clearly are not flawless either....
 
My dad bought me a 21.5" on Sunday from the Apple store in Liverpool. It's for my birthday on Thursday. I havn't opened it up yet, but on the side of the box there's a sticker with a serial number which has 938 in it. I didn't know that Apple were even selling these things at week 38?! If anybody else has a week 38, how's it been? I hope mines a good one!
 
sparkie1984 said:
is there any chance that apple are warming up the displays to hide the yellowing????????


also anyway of checking batches on the panels as i asked above?
Click to expand...

If they wanted to hide the yellowing they would add blue to take away yellow. Warming up the display would make it more pronounced.
 
Maybe the poll should be modified to show how many people got successful/unsuccessful returns.

I would be curious to see what my odds are.
(My second arrives next week sometime)

-Ry
 
Maybe the poll should be modified to show how many people got successful/unsuccessful returns.

(My second arrives next week sometime)

-Ry
 
Pointbreakd said:
I sent an email to Steve Jobs about my yellow tint 21.5 iMac issues (three exchanges, all affected, resulting in a refund). I got a call from Dena at Executive Care within 24 hours.

She said they are aware of the problem and do not know how widespread it is. According to Dena, the issue is not resolved and that ordering a new iMac will not result in a fixed display.

She said the engineers are working on it now and they are not sure if it's hardware (most likely) or software related. Further Apple stores cannot do repairs because they haven't determined what the issue is.

Her advice:

"Wait to buy one until the issue is resolved."
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for this update.. I find this information from Apple frustrating and upsetting.. I updated this thread in mid-December stating that I spoke with a Senior Apple Advisor about this (as my screen is VERY yellow, three large yellow bands going down the whole screen) and he inferred that Apple knows about the problem, they don't need any more problem machines to capture, and that my new machine (due to be sent Jan 5th) will not have the problem.. At some point he stated that they even identified serial numbers of what machines were problematic..

What I find more FRUSTRATING is that Apple engineers are working on it and don't know what the problem is? I am in software development (not hardware) but we can usually get in and pinpoint even the most complex deep bugs within a few days.. The fact that engineers cannot tear apart a few machines and locate the problem right away is hard to believe..

I emailed the Apple Advisor this morning to see if he has an update, and I will most likely pursue a refund, and am now re-thinking possibly going the route of a Mac book pro..

I am so frustrated by this lack of quality control with Apple... (also my wife has a white Macbook that is under two years old, is literally cracking apart and has already had a failed hard drive.. so she is not a fan of Apple QC either!)
 
mdewberry said:
Wow, thanks for this update.. I find this information from Apple frustrating and upsetting.. I updated this thread in mid-December stating that I spoke with a Senior Apple Advisor about this (as my screen is VERY yellow, three large yellow bands going down the whole screen) and he inferred that Apple knows about the problem, they don't need any more problem machines to capture, and that my new machine (due to be sent Jan 5th) will not have the problem.. At some point he stated that they even identified serial numbers of what machines were problematic..

What I find more FRUSTRATING is that Apple engineers are working on it and don't know what the problem is? I am in software development (not hardware) but we can usually get in and pinpoint even the most complex deep bugs within a few days.. The fact that engineers cannot tear apart a few machines and locate the problem right away is hard to believe..

I emailed the Apple Advisor this morning to see if he has an update, and I will most likely pursue a refund, and am now re-thinking possibly going the route of a Mac book pro..

I am so frustrated by this lack of quality control with Apple... (also my wife has a white Macbook that is under two years old, is literally cracking apart and has already had a failed hard drive.. so she is not a fan of Apple QC either!)
Click to expand...


and yet you keep (or will keep) buying Apple...!!???! grrggghh!!

how many times do you need to run into a wall before you realise it hurts..??

with the greatest respect.... I think you deserve it....

sorry.
 
spcdust said:
My view on it at this stage is either:

A. Return for full refund and re-order at a later stage.
B. If your iMac displays the "yellow tinge", log it with Applecare as an issue and get a case number and then sit it out for a few more weeks. In that time Apple may have sorted out the manufacture and you could then opt for a replacement OR get your current iMac repaired (new screen) with a non faulty LG flat panel unit. The advantage of the repair option is one would hope that as it's a local repair the supplied LG units may be completely out of the supply chain of the LG units being fitted at the Shanghai factory, also the repair technician would be specifically looking to address the "yellow tinge" issue when completing the repair.

By the way, I would say that my particular iMac has a very subtle yellow tinge in the bottom right, however I would go along with the fact that the overall screen has a warmer colour hue - whites seem not as "cold" as some monitors may display them as - The comparison photos of the screens in Taplox post 654 demonstrate this.
Click to expand...


With no confirmation that the newer models are free of this problem, I'll be pursuing plan B and phoning Apple to log the issue and hopefully they'll do us right and make a fix available to all of us.

Shame, my i5Mac was working perfectly otherwise :( To be fair though, my discolouration is hardly noticeable.
 
archipellago said:
and yet you keep (or will keep) buying Apple...!!???! grrggghh!!

how many times do you need to run into a wall before you realise it hurts..??

with the greatest respect.... I think you deserve it....

sorry.
Click to expand...

Guilty as charged, but truthfully it is the OS I love and want to use.. If I could run Mac OS X Snow Leopard on another set of hardware, I would.. I use the integrated ILife apps too much to give up and go to another vendor.. I have 6 years of integrated movies, pictures and music and love using ILife to manage them.. Unfortunately Apple has the market on hardware in this scenario.. Not like a PC where I can go to HP, Dell, Sony, etc., and run Windows on any of those machines..

EDIT: Also, I must mention that outside of the problems, it is an amazing machine, and one that I have not seen an other vendor come close to in regards to design and appearance.. I hear what you are saying archipellago, but I really want this machine and want it to work well.. I have not seen any other computers out there that compare... With the greatest respect to you, I deserve a well running iMac, not the problems I am encountering.. Sorry...
 
I'm interested if this issue is not only related to week of production, but also location of production. It would be helpful for people picking up replacements if this information was known.

My iMac is a week 51 manufactured in Shanghai, China and the yellowing is pretty noticeable.

Does anyone have a week 51 with a serial number starting with W8 that does NOT have the yellow issue?

I'm still torn as to whether I'll return it now or wait. I bought it through an apple store and they never have my same model in stock, so if I return it I'll be computerless for a while.

I've also never had experience with the apple warranty. Do they generally give you a replacement right away for a known issue, or do they take it in for repair and you have to wait?
 
calon310 said:
I'm interested if this issue is not only related to week of production, but also location of production. It would be helpful for people picking up replacements if this information was known.

My iMac is a week 51 manufactured in Shanghai, China and the yellowing is pretty noticeable.

Does anyone have a week 51 with a serial number starting with W8 that does NOT have the yellow issue?

I'm still torn as to whether I'll return it now or wait. I bought it through an apple store and they never have my same model in stock, so if I return it I'll be computerless for a while.

I've also never had experience with the apple warranty. Do they generally give you a replacement right away for a known issue, or do they take it in for repair and you have to wait?
Click to expand...

1) I have an i5 iMac (Week 51) and to the best of my knowledge it does not have a yellow tinge. I haven't done any "formal" tests, but I haven't noticed anything in the 5 days that I've had it (it's been on 24/7 since I got it on Christmas Eve).

2) Apple's warranty and customer service is THE best so it will get taken care of, no doubt about it. If it bothers you enough to return it now, then by all means just return it and either try another one or get your money back. Within 14 days, you are pretty much guaranteed a no-questions-asked exchange.

That said, however, since it appears they have not totally resolved this issue on the production line, you may need to do multiple exchanges to get a "good" one at this point. After the 14 days, they will most likely insist on getting yours repaired rather than giving you a new one. If they can't fix it, they'll still have to give you a new one. As others have mentioned, it's a good idea to call them now anyway and document the issue with a case number.

I'd recommend the Applecare Warranty, which will totally cover you for 3 years. So when they DO eventually get this problem resolved, they'll either have to fix your unit or replace it even if you don't call right now. With an Applecare warranty, you even have the option of "in-home" repair, which might take longer but will relieve you of the inconvenience of taking the computer out yourself.

I bought a 24" iMac (early 2009) back in April of 2009 and it recently stopped working (the screen totally died and would not come back on). I had the Applecare Warranty. When I called to ask them about options, they did not mention the in-home service but I asked about it and they indeed said that it was an option for me (even says so in the warranty info). In the end, however, I opted to take it myself since there was an authorized repair shop just a mile down the road. Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) they were unable to repair it and I was offered an entirely new computer. Since they no longer sell the 24", I was able to get the 27" replacement at no additional charge. Of course, I went ahead and upgraded the RAM and processor and paid the difference... hehe.

Anyway, Apple's customer service is top notch and they will take care of you . But it's up to you whether you can live with the yellow tinge problem until they have fixed it on the production line. If you opt to exchange now, you're basically taking a risk since you may get another just like. On the other hand, you may get a good one...

Personally, I'd just call them now and get a case number and tell them you'll wait a while until they can assure you a new one will be free of this issue. Whether that means they just "fix" the one you have or give you a new one is something you won't know until later on, but at least you know you'll be covered one way or another.
 
This issue doesn't seem to be affecting the 21.5" imacs as much as the 27" imac. Correct?
 
While I was a BestBuy yesterday I went ahead and checked their Apple section. To my surprise, I was able to find Macbook Pros with the same issue (though because of the lighting conditions, it was harder to tell and the very bottom appears to be in an orange or brown tone (so it's a little different kind of discoloration). These two Macbook Pros, 15" week 25 and 17" week 23 are suffering from a similar problem... The 13" Macbook Pro, Macbook Air and white Macbook do not have this defect.

The iMacs, 21.5" and 27" both have a subtle yellow tinge. And, here's the thing. A 24" Cinema Display sitting in the other side are having the exact same discoloration seen on these iMacs... So what gives? LG? But I'll have to add that the discoloration on the iMacs are just a bit more obvious than the ACD.

I must also add that the Macbook Pros and ACDs in my Apple Store do not have this problem. 100% sure of it. I spent a very long time at the Apple Store the last time while waiting for my genius appointment.
 
yellow

I just got mine today and it's yellow city. Week 51.
It's a damn shame because it's perfect otherwise.
 
How bad is bad?

So I saw the gizmodo article, and promptly did the grey bar test on my week 50 27" i7. It revealed a shift to yellow on the right side of the screen that was particularly prominent towards the bottom.

So I called apple, jumped through their hoops and got an RMA. Now I have to send it back to them, so I put the 24" iMac back on my desk so I could do a TimeMachine restore. As soon as it came on I noticed it's REALLY yellow, like the gray apple screen looks beige in comparison to the 27", and the uniformity is even worse. Both the left and right edges of the screen have a dingy almost brown appearance with a distinct fall off in brightness. I'm not sure if this is how it's always been or if it's because it's going on 2 years old, but this got me to thinking whether the problem on the new 27" screens is really a problem or if it's just par for course?

Now I'm not sure if I want to go through with the return, especially if there's a possibility I may end up with a unit that looks worse than the one I have now (which at least doesn't have any dead pixels and functions properly).
Any thoughts?
 
ryanchristensen said:
Maybe the poll should be modified to show how many people got successful/unsuccessful returns.

I would be curious to see what my odds are.
(My second arrives next week sometime)

-Ry
Click to expand...

I'm hardly a fanboi -- I criticize Apple as appropriate.

But not today. The whole return process took less than 10 minutes.

The support guy didn't openly acknowledge that he knew about the yellow business (I didn't get a direct response when I said "I've got the dreaded yellow tint") but the fact that he didn't ask what I meant by that suggests they know all about it.

He asked me to do a restart and reset PRAM, and that was all he wanted me to do.

There was no hesitation in asking whether I wanted a replacement or a refund. I took the replacement, of course.

So we'll see what happens with the new one.
 
Has anyone who has had cause to remove the glass taken the opportunity to check for the presence/degree of yellowing when the glass is absent?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back