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Apple Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Lack of Filters in MacBooks and iMacs Causing Trapped Dust
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And this is exactly why I am afraid to take my iMac in for repairs—even if they do resolve this screen problem...what new problem may be created or set off by technician handling? Not to mention not having my computer and having to wipe the hard drive to protect all of my data.
I live in a seriously dusty area in Tucson Az
I routinely blew out my 2009 MBP once or twice a year, just seems like common sense.
In 2014 I passed it along to a friend who is still using it and he is, well lets say he is clean & tidy challenged.
Still chugging along just fine although he sometimes has to blow out the CD player before it will work.
My 2014 MBP gets same blow out a couple times a year - too easy.
These are expensive tools, why not give them a little preventative maintenance?
Dust in the screen seems like it could be a design defect
I routinely blew out my 2009 MBP once or twice a year, just seems like common sense.
In 2014 I passed it along to a friend who is still using it and he is, well lets say he is clean & tidy challenged.
Still chugging along just fine although he sometimes has to blow out the CD player before it will work.
My 2014 MBP gets same blow out a couple times a year - too easy.
These are expensive tools, why not give them a little preventative maintenance?
Dust in the screen seems like it could be a design defect
How is this exactly? If they’re in warranty, there’s nothing to compensate. If they’re not in warranty... they’re... not under warranty.
I'm glad to hear that somebody is going to force Apple to address this. In the past several years, the prices have skyrocketed, and the quality and features have dwindled. I think Apple is riding on the coattails of their past. The new management is all about profit margins, and they no longer embrace quality the way they used to.
Clean your houses people... your air shouldn't be that dusty. If there is one thing I've learned as I get older and visit more and more people's houses is that people are messy and dirty, even though most people don't think they are.
Are there any computers that have a dust filter? I don't think so. Next, Apple adds a dust filter and then there is a lawsuit about overheating computers due to clogged dust filters and lack of airflow.
Are there any computers that have a dust filter? I don't think so. Next, Apple adds a dust filter and then there is a lawsuit about overheating computers due to clogged dust filters and lack of airflow.
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I'm pretty sure that no one is using an iMac on a rug or bed! LOL. Just saying...the problem arises not due to user actions but due to design flaw.
Same on my 2010 27’ iMac.. I do it every year along with blowing the case out using an air compressor and a regulated air gun.
I took my MacBook in for a new battery and they broke the FaceTime camera and trackpad. I spent two weeks dealing with Tim Cook’s office before finally getting a replacement. I’m terrified to bring anything in ever again.
My 2014 retina iMac has already had 2 screen replacements for these marks (didn’t know it was dust, or what caused it), and looks like it may need a 3rd. My work area isn’t particularly unusual as it’s a home office. Both previous replacements were noted as being carried out under “consumer law” despite me having AppleCare. I specifically asked for them to note on the repair that if the issue develops again when my AppleCare expires (which it has) then I expect another free replacement screen, or entire machine.
Meh. Airborne particulates are pretty much everywhere and build up over time if there's a way for them to get in. Gobs of people use laptops in sorts of less than ideal conditions, including dusty environments. If enough folks are having this problem to generate a class action suit, it's likely a problem.
Ignoring the patronising part where you think you know how messy other people's homes are.. Have you ever seen a monitor, other than the ones in an iMac that have issues even remotely like this? I've owned and used a lot of monitors. I have monitors from the 16 bit days that dont go this wrong. Apple aren't just making a computer, they're making a computer that is also a display - they advertise it on the quality of the display.. Then they knowingly failed to fix an issue that was affecting it for pushing a decade. That. Is. Ridiculous.
Seriously. It's a whole other level of "you're holding it wrong."
Here in the UK we have EU consumer protections that anything unfit for purpose within 6 years should get fixed or replace for free. * Some companies are bad at it and you have to kick up a fuss.. In my case Apple have been great at offering these repairs. (dread to think what'll happen with brexit, ugh.) - The repairs under this law seem like tacit admittance of a design flaw, no? At NO point in the Apple store did they ask about my living conditions, if I smoke etc, because they know damn well it's their own dumb design flaw.
.. Also the PC tower I'm sat by as I type on my iMac has a removable dust filter. It doesn't collect much dust, as my room isn't very dusty. They don't need to add a filter, they needed to seal around the screen mechanism better so dust can't get sucked inside it. Maybe they've fixed it now?
* it’s not anywhere near this simple, but in the context of my Apple store experiences this applies.
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I've got so much dust piled up in mine I can't even see the green frog screen saver anymore.
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I haven't ever seen a modern laptop opened to clean out dust, nor have I ever seen one with a noticeable slowdown due to dust. I have an old plastic iMac in the basement that has a no visible screen problems and my 2014 MacBook Pro runs as fast as ever.
When I replaced the hard drive on my last iMac, I was astounded at how much dust had accumulated in the 5 years I owned it. So when I got my current iMac, I taped a layer of filter foam across the air intakes on the bottom. Amazing how much dust I clean off that strip every month. Yeah, it looks ugly as hell. Wish someone would manufacture a filter that fits on the bottom of iMacs.
So are they going to sue every single laptop and desktop manufacture? If so I have a Dell desktop and laptop with dust inside of them...people are lame! Sue companies for real ****...like the laptop charger electrocuted me because I licked the tip while plugged in! Wahhhh there's dust! Waaahhh!
My lenovo does. 2 years old and its still spotless inside.
"You're dusting it wrong"
This is a serious issue, I can't imagine how I'd feel if I spent thousands of dollars on a device that lets dust in the screen. I have a $300 netbook that doesn't even do that...
This is a serious issue, I can't imagine how I'd feel if I spent thousands of dollars on a device that lets dust in the screen. I have a $300 netbook that doesn't even do that...
Except in the EU, where the law says they are still effectively in warranty, even if they are not under warranty.
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I guarantee that every computer in a datacenter has a dust filter. (Or are in some open-frame design, where they rely on the cabinet filters.) And all in cabinets, so you have dust filtered computers inside of dust-filtered rack cabinets.
Every PC I ever had had a dust filter.
Geez, this is just common-sense design that is industry standard.
BTW, pretty sure that OWC *does* sell dust filters for the Mini. But, heck, easy enough to make your own.
Going out and buying a Swiffer pack.
BTW, for the notebooks - are we supposed to send a Clean Team ahead to Starbucks? Do we sue Starbucks if this suit fails?
Heat problems over time are a more serious issue than the screen. The screen is cosmetic. (But more serious if you're a designer/artist/etc.) The heat problems will kill your CPU or other parts.
Heatsinks don't work so well when they are covered with dust. Same reason you vacuum your refrigerator coils and AC coils.
What?! You DO vacuum your refrigerator and AC coils, right?
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Maybe this is why the new OS has a “Dark Mode”
Seeing as their are quite a substantial number of BOTH iMacs and MBPs produced over several years that this suit covers, people would be well served to have the root cause in their pocket if the issue arises in their computers. Newsworthy to them.