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Dead Pixel on my new 17" iMac - options?
- Thread starter Apple!Freak
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QCassidy352 said:
I had 3 laptop in my life, at least 5 deskops that I can remember and some other monitors. None of them were Apple and none of them had dead pixel.....
wont work, i had the same problem with my ibook when i bought it, except i had white streaks and they would replace it and after their warranty replacement service messed up my computer 2 times in a row replacing the screen, i went to an apple store and asked to swap hd's (i had a 100gb bto) and they couldnt do it, just demand that they fix it citing that it is new, etc, but most likely they wont, you have to push them against the wall and be direct
good luck
good luck
Apple!Freak said:
Apple!Freak said:
Honestly 1 stuck pixel is not enough to get worked up about. It is pretty well known issue with LCDs. No company will exchange a display or computer with 1 stuck pixel. I think Apple should make this point clear before you purchase
Apple!Freak said:
Because it is difficult, e.g., very expensive, to produce 100% perfect screens. If every computer screen had to be perfect then the cost of the computers would be several times higher than what they are.
My screen (Pismo) has one stuck pixel. I do professional work. It is NOT a big deal. I know which pixel is stuck and ignore it. Get used to it.
Apple!Freak,
Hopefully, your replacement machine won't have MORE than the 1 dead/stuck pixel you're unhappy with now.
Hopefully, your replacement machine won't have MORE than the 1 dead/stuck pixel you're unhappy with now.
MacPassion said:
well then, you're lucky. But it's not like apple makes the LCD panels; stuck pixels are an industry wide problem, and as someone else noted, if companies guaranteed 100% perfect screens, the cost to all of us would go waaaay up.
QCassidy352 said:
The cost probably IS going up just a tiny amount every time someone returns their machine with a dead/stuck pixel. Apple probably doesn't eat it, they just include that tiny cost into not-reducing PowerBook prices or iMac prices. My 17" iMac G4 had 3 dead/stuck pixels...I ignored them and the pain went away
pubwvj said:
Apple computers ARE priced higher than average. You'd expect that if you pay more for apple, you get perfection. Many people consider them a luxury item. The funny thing is, I've owned 2 apple displays, and I've had to return both of them the first time because of stuck pixels. Luckily, the replacements were fine.
With that said, retail stores do not deal with BTO products so it was expected that you would have to ship it back. It sucks, but that is life. At least you know they will take it back.
radiantmark said:
They're priced higher than average, but high enough to expect "perfection?" I don't think so. 3 or more stuck pixels on a "luxury item" is a lot, but I just don't see one as unreasonable. It's not like buying a hand-built Bentley that costs $300k... now on that, I would expect perfection.
The three stages of dead pixels
Stage 1) Blame your bad luck - "I've been waiting for years to take the plunge and buy an Apple and THIS happens. I've seen hundreds of macs and none of them have dead pixels. Curse me and my bad luck."
Stage 2) Blame Apple - "I'm a valued and loyal customer and how dare they treat me this way! I demand a replacement and if they won't help me they can burn in hell"
Stage 3) Accept it and move on - "My monitor has millions and millions of pixels cramed into a ~17" area so it's pretty much a modern marvel that ONLY one or two pixels are bad. I'm just going to use and enjoy my mac and in a few short months time I won't even notice the bad pixels anymore... although i'll prolly need to stick to wallpapers that hide them really well."
Buddy i've been there and I know first hand how angry you are, but there really is nothing you can do. I know it sounds insane and impossible, but just let it go and let the healing process begin.
Stage 1) Blame your bad luck - "I've been waiting for years to take the plunge and buy an Apple and THIS happens. I've seen hundreds of macs and none of them have dead pixels. Curse me and my bad luck."
Stage 2) Blame Apple - "I'm a valued and loyal customer and how dare they treat me this way! I demand a replacement and if they won't help me they can burn in hell"
Stage 3) Accept it and move on - "My monitor has millions and millions of pixels cramed into a ~17" area so it's pretty much a modern marvel that ONLY one or two pixels are bad. I'm just going to use and enjoy my mac and in a few short months time I won't even notice the bad pixels anymore... although i'll prolly need to stick to wallpapers that hide them really well."
Buddy i've been there and I know first hand how angry you are, but there really is nothing you can do. I know it sounds insane and impossible, but just let it go and let the healing process begin.
QCassidy352 said:
I know stuck/dead pixels are a common thing and I don't expect apple to ship flawless displays 100% of the time. But I do expect a bit better quality control, and the customer's option to return a product that they are not satisfied with it. I spent 3 grand on my 30" display. That is a lot of money to put down. A flaw is a flaw. Displays with flaws should sell at a discounted price for those who don't really care and would rather save a few bucks.
Hmmmmm.......I wonder what the percentage of Mac displays have dead pixels? If 80% of the displays that come off of their assembly lines have bad pixels, than I may agree with the above poster and just accept it as a part of life. But...........................if, say "only" 50% of the displays that come off their line has bad pixels, than I would DEMAND to have one of the other 50% that don't have ANY bad pixels, for if I wanted a bargin base low end computer, I sure as hell wouldn't be buying a Mac.
My PB has two stuck pixels, and the only time I ever notice them, is when I play Medal of Honor. No other games, just MoH.pubwvj said:
Okay...
I called 1-800-My-Apple and after sitting on hold for 84 (freakin!) minutes I got a sales rep that wanted to transfer me to tech support, but I denied his request to transfer me and got a supervisor instead. The supervisor agreed that I could return the iMac and e-mailed me the necessary return labels.
So, I'm sending it back tomorrow and getting a full credit to my card (including the shipping I paid for). They offered to exchange it, but I didn't want to wait the seven days they said it would take. Not to mention the fact I'm willing to bet money that the defects to this iMac occurred while someone installed the bigger hard drive.
I just called three Apple Stores around me and neither of them have the new iMac in stock (I don't even care about the bigger HD at this point, and besides, I could use the money to buy that stick of 1GB DDR2 RAM I wanted for this iMac). So, I guess I'm screwed and Apple is losing my allegiance.
What do you guys suggest? Think I should wait a couple days until an Apple Store around me has one in stock, or, wait seven days and risk getting another defective iMac with no return policy (because it's BTO)?
Seems like 90GB of space has been causing me some serious problems.
I called 1-800-My-Apple and after sitting on hold for 84 (freakin!) minutes I got a sales rep that wanted to transfer me to tech support, but I denied his request to transfer me and got a supervisor instead. The supervisor agreed that I could return the iMac and e-mailed me the necessary return labels.
So, I'm sending it back tomorrow and getting a full credit to my card (including the shipping I paid for). They offered to exchange it, but I didn't want to wait the seven days they said it would take. Not to mention the fact I'm willing to bet money that the defects to this iMac occurred while someone installed the bigger hard drive.
I just called three Apple Stores around me and neither of them have the new iMac in stock (I don't even care about the bigger HD at this point, and besides, I could use the money to buy that stick of 1GB DDR2 RAM I wanted for this iMac). So, I guess I'm screwed and Apple is losing my allegiance.
What do you guys suggest? Think I should wait a couple days until an Apple Store around me has one in stock, or, wait seven days and risk getting another defective iMac with no return policy (because it's BTO)?
Seems like 90GB of space has been causing me some serious problems.
Apple!Freak said:
Did you try massaging the pixel to see if you could get it unstuck? I would save up some more ca$h and get the 20"... a much better screen.
First, I'd try to "massage" out the stuck pixel..
if that doesn't work, I'd return it and get the stock iMac and put more RAM in it. If you ever need more space, just get an external FW HD.
In all, ONE stuck pixel isn't horrible.
if your resolution is 1280*768, there are 983,040 total pixels.
Modern technology doesn't support 100% displays having all 983,040 perfect. Maybe in 40 years, when LCDs are horribly old school, and we all use holographs..
I highly doubt the pixel got stuck while installing a HD...
and lastly- dude. it's ONE pixel. You're making such a huge deal out of it that you'd think the whole screen was busted. IIRC, apple's return policy on dead/stuck pixels is 5 or more, and you're getting it returned for ONE. (one stuck pixel on a 1280*768 monitor is 1.01*10^-6%, btw)
if that doesn't work, I'd return it and get the stock iMac and put more RAM in it. If you ever need more space, just get an external FW HD.
In all, ONE stuck pixel isn't horrible.
if your resolution is 1280*768, there are 983,040 total pixels.
Modern technology doesn't support 100% displays having all 983,040 perfect. Maybe in 40 years, when LCDs are horribly old school, and we all use holographs..
I highly doubt the pixel got stuck while installing a HD...
and lastly- dude. it's ONE pixel. You're making such a huge deal out of it that you'd think the whole screen was busted. IIRC, apple's return policy on dead/stuck pixels is 5 or more, and you're getting it returned for ONE. (one stuck pixel on a 1280*768 monitor is 1.01*10^-6%, btw)
Your sig states you have 3 Macs, though I assume 2 now that you're shipping one back.Apple!Freak said:
Use Carbon Copy Cloner and clone the boot up partition on your new iMac to an unused partition on one of your other Macs. Then do it again when you get your replacement.
QCassidy352 said:
Even then, I'll bet if you looked hard you could find a paint blemish or something in the leather, or the wood. Or something else.
wako said:
I don't know what kind of manager you spoke to but at the Birmingham/Bullring Apple store the manager was evil! He refused to give me a refund on a £30 game which didn't work on my iBook, even though a guy that worked at the store said it would. It took me over an hour to convince him to, whilst building up a long queue behind me and several Apple store workers practically ganging up on me.
while i love apple products a lot and is prepared to pay a premium for that
i am sometimes a little disappointed by the after-sale support policy of Apple in the UK.
everything seems sweet and nice before i pay for it... but once they've shipped the product to u... their staffs seem to be one step above u and eveything is really at their mercy...
this is even more pronounced when u are trying to seek technical support for hardware faults after the 90-day period...
they refuse to discuss with me the hardware problems over the phone... unless i first agree to pay 35 pounds which will be refunded to me only if they deem the problem to be a genuine hardware problems
the experience of calling apple support can be exhausting (and sometimes frustrating) when u have to go thru all those basic troubleshooting steps which u already know and tried before...
also, to get to speak to a senior supervisor / customer service officer can be a little difficult at the apple helpline in the UK
i am sometimes a little disappointed by the after-sale support policy of Apple in the UK.
everything seems sweet and nice before i pay for it... but once they've shipped the product to u... their staffs seem to be one step above u and eveything is really at their mercy...
this is even more pronounced when u are trying to seek technical support for hardware faults after the 90-day period...
they refuse to discuss with me the hardware problems over the phone... unless i first agree to pay 35 pounds which will be refunded to me only if they deem the problem to be a genuine hardware problems
the experience of calling apple support can be exhausting (and sometimes frustrating) when u have to go thru all those basic troubleshooting steps which u already know and tried before...
also, to get to speak to a senior supervisor / customer service officer can be a little difficult at the apple helpline in the UK