Please do as I have about a week left on mine. Did you just call Apple Tech and they arranged for a new one? Mine originally came from the Apple Store but can I exchange through Apple like you did?
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27", 21.5" iMac Owners, test your screen for yellow tint issue here
- Thread starter tapplox
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Please do as I have about a week left on mine. Did you just call Apple Tech and they arranged for a new one? Mine originally came from the Apple Store but can I exchange through Apple like you did?
Hey!
Yeah, I just gave Tech Support a call and told them of my issue, they were really helpful!
Mine come from the Online store (UK) so am unsure what the deal is if you bought it from an actual Apple Store sorry.
Thanks
I was told that I must return the computer to the store where I bought it, but I wasn't really pleased with the customer relations specialist I was talking to. He didn't really have any solutions for me other than to go to the store.
I've just been into my local store, all the new iMacs there had a yellow tinge (some more pronounced than others, which could only be easily detected against grey backgrounds). I tested two 27 inch machines and 3 smaller ones - these were from batch 42, whilst my personal one with the issue is from week 48.
I'd really like to see one without the tinge, just so I know they exist... Until then I guess I will be getting a refund and waiting.
I'd really like to see one without the tinge, just so I know they exist... Until then I guess I will be getting a refund and waiting.
I emailed the company whose subwoofer I own (SVS) to find out about LCD screens and magnets and they said:
"Modern flat panel displays like LCD or plasma are largely immune to magnetic interference so it's not nearly the problem it was with CRT. I wouldn't worry about the monitor so much as the rest of the computer that's packed into the monitor with the iMac (hard drive, etc.). I might want a little more space just for that reason, although I don't know how sensitive that computer is to such interference."
So they didn't see a problem with a subwoofer being around a foot away from a LCD screen, but did raise a possible question about the rest of iMac. When I asked my question I was clear that the iMac has a LCD screen with LED-backlighting.
I have included some diagnostic information on the main (first) post,
Helpful Diagnostic Information:
1. Yellow Tinge is a color uniformity issue for both 21.5" and 27" iMacs
2. Not everyone have the issue, but it is extremely common.
3. There's a difference in severity of yellowing. However, the yellowing worsens over time.
4. It is not GPU specific. Reported issue seen on Nvidia 9400M, ATI HD4670, ATI HD4850.
5. It is not CPU specific. Seen on Core 2 Duo, Core i5, Core i7.
6. It does not affect External Displays, only present on the iMac 21.5/27 display.
7. Also occurs in Windows running in Bootcamp, so it is very likely a hardware defect.
8. PRAM reset does nothing. Reinstallation does nothing.
Keep us posted. It's nice to hear from someone who can see the difference clearly. This is a good sign or proof that shows that perfect displays do exist, not just false negatives on the poll.
tapplox,
This really is an excellent thread!
Quick question: I went by my local retailer this afternoon and ran your test on their 27" that was on display. I couldn't really see a yellow tint in the bottom of the screen, but the more I looked at it, the more I thought I saw something...but it was ever so slight.
Is the yellow tint problem very subtle, or is it more obvious than what I'm describing?
Thanks,
Bryan
This really is an excellent thread!
Quick question: I went by my local retailer this afternoon and ran your test on their 27" that was on display. I couldn't really see a yellow tint in the bottom of the screen, but the more I looked at it, the more I thought I saw something...but it was ever so slight.
Is the yellow tint problem very subtle, or is it more obvious than what I'm describing?
Thanks,
Bryan
Thanks for your input,
I can't really answer that question because the answer will be subjective. Also because there's varying degrees of severity of the issue, that display unit might just happen to be one of the better ones.
It is subtle overall (for me), but it is definitely noticeable (and very noticeable if you come from a display that does not suffer this problem). Try dragging a finder window around from top to bottom of the screen and see if you could see any yellowing. Another thing to remember is that the issue does worsen overtime. While there are units without this issue at all.
For comparison, you can also try the test on the other displays in that same store. All of the new Macbook and Macbook Pros that I have tested do not exhibit this issue, for example.
But chances are if you really don't notice any difference at all doing the test then my bets are that that's probably a perfect display
Still Not Sure
I posted earlier but instead of taking pictures of my screen I actually took a screen shot through OSX instead. Anyway, below is some pictures of my screen, but I don't see any yellow tinge at all, but yet I may not have the eye for it. I do plan on doing some photo editing in the future, and even though I don't see the yellowness to my screen now I prefer to have a machine with no defects. After spending over two grand for this machine I would like a machine free of defects. If anyone can give me some help and tell me if they see the yellowness through my pictures I would appreciate it. I may have also taken some bad pictures, but any thoughts?!?
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1987.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1989.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1990.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1991.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1995.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1996.jpg
Thanks for the input!!
I posted earlier but instead of taking pictures of my screen I actually took a screen shot through OSX instead. Anyway, below is some pictures of my screen, but I don't see any yellow tinge at all, but yet I may not have the eye for it. I do plan on doing some photo editing in the future, and even though I don't see the yellowness to my screen now I prefer to have a machine with no defects. After spending over two grand for this machine I would like a machine free of defects. If anyone can give me some help and tell me if they see the yellowness through my pictures I would appreciate it. I may have also taken some bad pictures, but any thoughts?!?
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1987.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1989.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1990.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1991.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1995.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k278/ayeplussjr/IMG_1996.jpg
Thanks for the input!!
I can see it in all of the pictures (minus the first, it's too overexposed) but it appears very slight. Mine is very slight too.
What you should do is crop the middle out of the pictures and have the two gray bars touching. It'll be more apparent to you then. But if you can't see it and it hasn't bothered you thus far then there is no reason to return it or replace it.
What you should do is crop the middle out of the pictures and have the two gray bars touching. It'll be more apparent to you then. But if you can't see it and it hasn't bothered you thus far then there is no reason to return it or replace it.
Well, the honeymoon's over with my Week 46 21.5" iMac. This morning as I finally got down to doing some serious work on the Mac, I noticed a real gradient from the top to the bottom of the screen. It went from brilliant white to dingy yellow. I called my wife over, to confirm it, and she saw it plain as day. I called Apple Support and the guy had me reset the PRAM. Well, that did improve booting speed on the iMac, but the yellow tinge remains, albeit to a lesser degree.
What's weird is that when I wake the computer out of sleep or switch on the display (after it has had some time off) I can't see the yellow tinge, but it sure creeps back after some time.
My worry is that it won't show up when I go to the Apple Store this afternoon (I have an appointment at the Genius bar(?)), and I will be returned with the yellowing unit. Is there any way I can conclusively prove it? I tried snapping pictures of it, but they are underexposed and don't show the yellow that well.
What's weird is that when I wake the computer out of sleep or switch on the display (after it has had some time off) I can't see the yellow tinge, but it sure creeps back after some time.
My worry is that it won't show up when I go to the Apple Store this afternoon (I have an appointment at the Genius bar(?)), and I will be returned with the yellowing unit. Is there any way I can conclusively prove it? I tried snapping pictures of it, but they are underexposed and don't show the yellow that well.
Thanks for the feedback tapplox. The display I looked at yesterday appeared to have gradient issues very similar to the pictures posted above by ayeplussjr...very subtle to my eye
I've been ready to buy an i7 from the get-go, but I always hold out on Rev A products. I'm also very aware that are tons of perfect iMacs out there, but I'm going to wait awhile longer to see how all of this pans out.
Bryan
I've been ready to buy an i7 from the get-go, but I always hold out on Rev A products. I'm also very aware that are tons of perfect iMacs out there, but I'm going to wait awhile longer to see how all of this pans out.
Bryan
I can see it in all of the pictures (minus the first, it's too overexposed) but it appears very slight. Mine is very slight too.
What you should do is crop the middle out of the pictures and have the two gray bars touching. It'll be more apparent to you then. But if you can't see it and it hasn't bothered you thus far then there is no reason to return it or replace it.
I'm wondering if the slightness is enough for me to lug this thing back to the Apple store. If this gets worse over time, how much will it get bad?
When I took my 27 to the Apple Store (it was also flickering, probably wouldn't have returned it just for the tinge), the Geniuses all claimed they couldn't see it even though it was totally obvious to both me and my wife no matter what we did.
If I'm within my 14 days, can I just go in and exchange my machine? Do I have to make a genius appointment?
I called the Apple Support, and even though I bought my machine online, I was told I should go to the Apple Store and get it checked or possibly get a replacement. The associate made the appointment for me at the Genius Bar for this evening. I will report back on what happened.
So utterly disappointing.
I am back from an interesting experience at the Mac store, and with a machine (week 47) that has a worse yellow tinge issue than my week 46. The "Genius" all but called me a liar for he couldn't see the Yellow Tinge at first. I showed him a picture and a video of the yellow tinge on my iPhone, and he accused me, of having possibly changed the shade of white in the picture etc. Only after about 15 minutes of sitting there, did my wife notice the screen turning yellow, and indeed, the yellow become pronounced, and was even visible in the bright store.
Seeing this, he hemmed and hawed, but finally agreed to give me a replacement. A week 47 machine. I politely requested again and again for a week 41 (as ALL the machines in the store, without a tinge were 41), but he flat out refused, and threatened to charge me a restocking fee if they brought out a replacement from the back and I didn't accept it. I politely stated that the week number is written on the box, and they wouldn't have to open it, but by that time, he just wasn't having any of it. I didn't want to make a scene, so I just took my replacement machine and came back home.
And here it is - Yellow Tinge is even more pronounced, and worse than ever. It is just so sad to be treated like this by Apple associates. I have decided against keeping this machine, and I'll be sending it back for a full refund. It is not representative of the company I know, but it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I am back from an interesting experience at the Mac store, and with a machine (week 47) that has a worse yellow tinge issue than my week 46. The "Genius" all but called me a liar for he couldn't see the Yellow Tinge at first. I showed him a picture and a video of the yellow tinge on my iPhone, and he accused me, of having possibly changed the shade of white in the picture etc. Only after about 15 minutes of sitting there, did my wife notice the screen turning yellow, and indeed, the yellow become pronounced, and was even visible in the bright store.
Seeing this, he hemmed and hawed, but finally agreed to give me a replacement. A week 47 machine. I politely requested again and again for a week 41 (as ALL the machines in the store, without a tinge were 41), but he flat out refused, and threatened to charge me a restocking fee if they brought out a replacement from the back and I didn't accept it. I politely stated that the week number is written on the box, and they wouldn't have to open it, but by that time, he just wasn't having any of it. I didn't want to make a scene, so I just took my replacement machine and came back home.
And here it is - Yellow Tinge is even more pronounced, and worse than ever. It is just so sad to be treated like this by Apple associates. I have decided against keeping this machine, and I'll be sending it back for a full refund. It is not representative of the company I know, but it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Boy, now I am REALLY biting my nails about my new i7.... timdafweak, I'm so bummed to read your story man. That's incredibly disheartening. I'm afraid I probably would have demanded to see the manager and explained the entire situation in detail (though perhaps angrigly) and made a giant fuss until I got what I wanted. I'm just hoping I don't have to deal with that, my time is valuable, which is why I'm buying a new mac rather than updating my hack. Best of luck man.
Hey Tim...Now you got me wondering if I should even take back my machine. I've been debating all day if I should keep my Genius appointment or not. I don't want to get a machine that's going to be even worse than I already have. Sorry about your experience, I hope you get everything worked out.
Yeah knewsom, thanks, and indeed I know where you're coming from. Yours, is the exact same reason I chose to go with the iMac. I too chose the iMac over updating my Hackintosh (which is running perfect BTW) - just to future proof myself against Apple updates ruining my system *inspite of all the advancements in this area* etc. And besides, I have a Mac Mini and a SR MacBook Pro, with which I am so satisfied and happy, that I figured the new iMac would not disappoint.
Perhaps I am in the small percentile of people who have been afflicted with this problem, but the fact is, no matter how much one spends, one does deserve to get satisfaction, and not be treated like a liar. What would my motivation be anyway... It's not as if I get my yah-yah's by going to the Genius Bar asking to get my 4 day old Macs replaced. Oh well, time to get the bad taste out of my mouth. I just got the authorization to ship the iMac back.
Good luck knewsom, I hope you have better luck. Seems that Week 48 and later 27" machines are faring better than their predecessors.
Well ayeplussjr, it is a hard call to make. The question is, can you live with it. I decided I couldn't. There's always a chance you might get a machine with some other defect, but why should one settle for that? I would say, if you are not satisfied, you should take it back, and keep doing that till they give you a working machine or a refund.
I had a yellow tinge that was noticeable, but not very apparent. It just made my job as a Web Designer a bit cumbersome. But this machine, the bottom right part of the screen is just horrible. I've arranged to send this one back for a full refund, I can't take the stress of opening machine after machine and find the same fault/or something else each time. Some may not agree. To each their own, I say.
Those of you that are testing for the yellowing tint across the bottom I would suggest tilting your screen all the way back with the bottom coming out towards you and check your screen at different angles instead of just straight on because those gray bars can be a bit misleading in showing a slight difference between the top one and the bottom one based on viewing angles and the position you're sitting.
You know what's interesting? Geniuses in different stores denying what to buyers appear to be very obvious screen defects.