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Dead Pixel Chances?

G

getti

macrumors member
Original poster
May 12, 2006
34
0
I have a iMac and love it. Want to get a MacBook but am a little worried.

I can order a White one online and get the extra HD for £939.00 which as you know is £100 cheaper than the Black model.

The problem i have is what if!. What if when it comes it has a dead pixel on the screen.

I recently purchased a TV in store (Comet) and got it home to find 2 dead pixels right in the middle of the screen that i noticed everytime. Managed to exchange it fine.

However if i order a MacBook online and it has the same it will take ages to exchange it.

I am going London in a few weeks and could pick up a black model (I need a 80GB hard drive) but it costs more and there is no garantee there is stock. These things are flying out the doors!.

What are the chances do you think that if i order online there will be a problem with dead pixels? have any of you on here got a MacBook with them or have they been fine?

Any info greatly appreciated
 
I say the chances of getting either a stuck (Red, Green, Blue) or dead (grey/black) are relatively high.

Put it this way... in 4 PowerBooks, two of which had the screen replaced once, another twice, making a total of 8 LCD screens, ALL of them exhibited a pixel flaw of some kind or another, though stuck pixels were more common than dead pixels.

Hopefully, when OLED screens become common, the curse of the dead and stuck pixel problem will become a thing of the past. ;)
 
As you are quoting prices in £ I will assume you are in the UK. You are protected by distance selling laws. Whenever you buy something over the phone or internet you are legally entitled to return it with 7 days of you receiving it for any reason at all. It must be returned in the same condition you received it (so if you drop it they don't have to take it back).

You cannot do this if you buy in store as it is assumed in that case you were able to assess the products suitability for your needs, wheras you cannot do this remotly.

Some info from the DTI
 
I always assumed that the "same condition" meant unopened as this law is really there so you can change your mind about your purchase.

Either way a certain number of dead/stuck pixels does sadly not constitute a "faulty" LCD screen. This goes for EVERY manufacturer, not just Apple.

Having said that some people have had luck in replacing them others haven't. YMMV
 
robbieduncan said:
As you are quoting prices in £ I will assume you are in the UK. You are protected by distance selling laws. Whenever you buy something over the phone or internet you are legally entitled to return it with 7 days of you receiving it for any reason at all. It must be returned in the same condition you received it (so if you drop it they don't have to take it back).

You cannot do this if you buy in store as it is assumed in that case you were able to assess the products suitability for your needs, wheras you cannot do this remotly.

Some info from the DTI
Click to expand...

Indeed distance selling regulations are very useful. I do believe that even if you open it you can still return it for no reason. At least I know this is the case with mobile phones (even if they are not contract).
 
my macbook has a dead pixel just slightly off the center of the screen. I cannot tell if it is black or realllllly dark blue but if you look close there seems to be a slight illumination so it could just be stuck.

I have tried to flash it with a high flicker multi colour video clip and i have tried to massage it but it will not come back to life.

Apples official stance on dead/stuck pixels is that pixel anomlies can occur and are not actually defects unless an unusual number are visible.

Basically they say that one pixel dead is still operational and not a defect. However, Apple retail stores do have the power to return or exchange upon a dead pixel if the customer is dissatisfied.

I called the Apple store already and they said when some more macbooks get shipped in I can go and exchange.

It's up to you, but i consider a dead pixel a rarity because i have not seen to many complaints about them on the internet.

It's up to you. I think the odds are in your favour even despite the fact i got one, so if you can buy online, in the worst case you can send it in to apple because it will be under warranty. It will still probably take as long as your wait before u go to london and the chances are your macbook will be just fine.
 
My macbook had zero dead pixels. And BTW, none of the other issues. No mooing, whining, buzzing or falling apart. And i got 5 hours and 20 minutes battery life with dimmed screen and using word!!! Get a MB!:cool:
 
shuurajou said:
Indeed distance selling regulations are very useful. I do believe that even if you open it you can still return it for no reason. At least I know this is the case with mobile phones (even if they are not contract).
Click to expand...

just wondering if anyone has actually sent back an item back to apple when they have opened/checked it? did they encounter any problems?

cheers soul
 
PatrickF said:
I always assumed that the "same condition" meant unopened as this law is really there so you can change your mind about your purchase.

Either way a certain number of dead/stuck pixels does sadly not constitute a "faulty" LCD screen. This goes for EVERY manufacturer, not just Apple.

Having said that some people have had luck in replacing them others haven't. YMMV
Click to expand...

Not true with Samsung. Any dead pixels constitutes a defect.
 
drake said:
Not true with Samsung. Any dead pixels constitutes a defect.
Click to expand...
There is a standard that states how many pixels are acceptable in a display. This has 3 levels, one guarantees that there are no dead pixels, and the other two specify different numbers of dead pixels. I can't remember exactly what this standard is called.

There are some companies that guarantee that there are no defects in their displays, but these really are quite rare. If they don't actively state that they guarantee that their displays won't have any dead/stuck pixels then you generally have to accept that a few are ok.
 
PatrickF said:
There is a standard that states how many pixels are acceptable in a display. This has 3 levels, one guarantees that there are no dead pixels, and the other two specify different numbers of dead pixels. I can't remember exactly what this standard is called.

There are some companies that guarantee that there are no defects in their displays, but these really are quite rare. If they don't actively state that they guarantee that their displays won't have any dead/stuck pixels then you generally have to accept that a few are ok.
Click to expand...

But not with Samsung. You get any dead or stuck pixels, you get a new display. At least that's the deal here in Canada.
 
Bought a 17 inch iMac a few years ago and a 12 inch PB last year. iMac had two stuck pixels about an inch apart in the lower left quadrant. My PB is perfect, no dead or stuck pixels so far. That's 50/50 for me. Your results may vary.
 
I've had experience of 5 LCD screens.

1) 12" G3 ibook - perfect screen
2) 15" Powerbook - two dead pixels. Fortunately it completely died two hours after getting it so I returned it DOA.
3) 15" Powerbook - perfect screen
4) 17" Studio Display - perfect
5) 24" Dell FPW2405 - perfect. I bought this from a guy on ebay with a zero pixel guarantee.

So 1 crap screen out of five.
 
drake said:
But not with Samsung. You get any dead or stuck pixels, you get a new display. At least that's the deal here in Canada.
Click to expand...

Same with nintendo for its DS. Granted, those aren't really monitors, but the idea that no one guarantees their LCD screens isn't right, many companies do guarantee their screens for a single dead pixel.
 
gco212 said:
Same with nintendo for its DS. Granted, those aren't really monitors, but the idea that no one guarantees their LCD screens isn't right, many companies do guarantee their screens for a single dead pixel.
Click to expand...
Really? My DS (one of the really early ones) has two stuck pixels near the edge of the upper screen, one red and one blue, but I never even thought to bother exchanging it. Still don't know if I would have had I known Nintendo had this policy, since they're not annoying to me, but it's nice to know.

As for the MB/MPB, I've set up a lot of Apple laptops for people over the years, and based on my statistical sample, I'd say your chances of getting any flaws are low. Non-zero, of course, and Apple doesn't have a really good dead pixel policy as discussed here, but for the most part their screens have very good quality control. My 17" MBP right here has zero pixel problems, same with my 20" Apple desktop display.
 
drake said:
But not with Samsung. You get any dead or stuck pixels, you get a new display. At least that's the deal here in Canada.
Click to expand...
I vaguely recall a brand in the UK guaranteeing pixel perfect TFT displays here too a few years back. The message really is that while some do guarantee their displays, most won't replace a display unless there are several dead pixels.

I consider myself pretty lucky. In 3 Apple laptops I've never had a single dead or stuck pixel. (Touches wood)
 
has anyone used the distance selling act (DTI)-in the uk- which was described below to return their computer once they had opened it back to apple to get a refund without quoting a reason for their return?

cheers
Soul
 
A while back an Apple internal document was leaked describing thedead pixel policy for 17" displays. It has been removed per request by Apple legal, but there is still a description here

http://www.macmerc.com/news/hax0r/1016

It takes 7 dead pixels or 5 bright (always on) to be replaced.

People in the store have returned them for 1 bad pixel.
 
I've had 3 MBP's with a variety of build quality probs....first 2 were pixel perfect....the 3rd had a sub pixel stuck on green.
 
I'm in the same boat as you, i've got a MacBook on order and am praying there are no pixel issues. If there are, i'm heading right to the store for an exchange. If the refuse the exchange, i'll just damage the screen and take it to the OTHER mac store for an exchange :)

For the record, I have a 24in dell display (samsung) and it has 0 pixel problems. On the other hand, I had to exchange my PSP 4 times before I got a mint unit. My first one had like 50 dead pixels. Sony is the worst for their stance on dead pixels, and the build quality on the PSP is in the negatives.
 
Funny. Getting a dead/stuck pixel (Even one) is my biggest fear these days when buying something with an LCD screen.

Out of all the LCD toting electronics I've bought in the past few years only my Nintendo DS had them. (Two, lower screen, top left.) Not even my PSP and thankfully not my 20" ACD or original 15" G4 iMac. (Or GameBoy SP or GameBoy micro...)

So I'm hoping when I get my Intel iMac 20" in a few months that it will be free of dead/stuck pixels. I couldn't live with them. Not in a $2000 machine. I was shocked when my DS had them. I didn't expect it. (Hopefully my DS Lite won't.)

So thankfully while it's my biggest fear, I've had good luck with not getting them. Hopefully my luck will stay for the good.
 
navigator said:
I'm in the same boat as you, i've got a MacBook on order and am praying there are no pixel issues. If there are, i'm heading right to the store for an exchange. If the refuse the exchange, i'll just damage the screen and take it to the OTHER mac store for an exchange :)

For the record, I have a 24in dell display (samsung) and it has 0 pixel problems. On the other hand, I had to exchange my PSP 4 times before I got a mint unit. My first one had like 50 dead pixels. Sony is the worst for their stance on dead pixels, and the build quality on the PSP is in the negatives.
Click to expand...

yeah thats my only problem... I was thinking of buying my Macbook from John Lewis as they are very lenient on their return policy due to their great customer service policies. I don't really think I can rely on the Apple store to provide this same service..? im scared they might push me back out..
I know people say that you can bearly even notice a single dead pixel or two, but I used to have a dead pixel on my old 17 '' NEC monitor and I noticed it all the time! it drove me right up the wall... and on a 13' I think it would be really annoying!
 
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