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iPad mini How many iPad rMinis have you returned?

D

DelMac

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 15, 2012
112
3
Hey guys, to those affected with screen problems, I just wanted to get a count of how serious and widespread the rMini screen problems have been for Apple. I have to start off by saying that I have been satisfied with every Apple product I have ever bought which is way too many too mention. So returning an Apple product was a first for me but I too had issues with my rMini. In all fairness, my 1st 32 GB rMini Apple online store bought rMini had a perfect white screen but I decided I needed 64GB (I feel bad about returning it since so many folks would have been happy with it.) It was the 2nd 64GB Best Buy one that had a horrible yellow screen. Returned it the day after I bought it. Now I'm on my 3rd rMini bought from my local Apple store and it's as good as it's gonna get screen wise, nice and white maybe a tiny bit of yellow at the bottom but I'm almost positive it's my mind playing tricks on me. At this point I'm done returning rMinis because I don't want to end up with a worse one. So my count is at 1 returned due to yellow screen. Oh and in case anyone is wondering, my final white screen rMini is serial DLXLM. The Apple store at NorthPark Center in Dallas received this shipment on Friday.
 
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I ordered a 32 gig Verizon unit from the apple store the night they became available. But then I decided to buy locally a 64 gig Verizon unit at a store half an hour away from where I live. When the 32 gig arrived, I did not open it and returned it to an Apple store that is on my way to work. I am keeping the 64 gig and I do not care about the gamut or the image retention issues. These are issues for those who want to find faults with the rMini.
 
Everyone knows the Dallas DLXLM shipments have the best screens in Texas, at least as of Friday.

Rumor has it there will be a special batch of iPads, coded OU812. They will have perfect screens and come pre loaded with Van Halen's greatest hits.

I returned my first rMini (don't know the serial, don't care, doesn't matter) as it was a wifi only, which I'd ordered because it was available right away. I figured if they turned out to be as scarce as Apple claimed, I could flip it for a few bucks' profit.

When my *real* rMini landed, a 32GB LTE, much more quickly than anticipated, a cursory glance at the state of the rMini secondary market revealed saturation. So I returned it. So much for a massive shortage.

The screen of the first was considerably warmer than the 2nd, but not a deal breaker. The 2nd does show a slight warm to cool shift, bottom to top (like an iPad Air screen rotated 90 degrees counter clock). But because the Mini screen is so much smaller, the eye travels less across it, giving less chance to catch the shift. The shift also goes upwards, not left to right in the direction of natural reading. This goes a long way toward hiding it.

The 2nd also shows considerably less washed out appearance. Better contrast. Deeper colors. Not Air levels of contrast/saturation, but plenty good enough for me.

I compared it to a few rMinis on display in various stores and found it equal to or better than others. There are two noticeable patches of bleed on the bottom left and right corners in portrait, but they rarely show themselves in regular use. Not worth risking a worse screen in return.

Total rMini returns: 1. Not QC related. The Air is a different story...

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chabig said:
Nobody can observe a gamut issue.
Click to expand...

Nobody can observe fact in your comment.
 
I've returned 3, and none for gamut, yellowing, wiggly home buttons, etc.

I bought a 32GB Wifi Space Gray at 12:01am online that was going to be shipped, then found out later that day they were available in person at the Apple Store. I bought my 2nd one online with store pickup. Loved it, but quickly realized that I needed 64GB to match what I had on my iPad 3. The Apple Store didn't have any 64GB in Space Gray, so I bought my 3rd one from Best Buy. That one had enough storage, but within a few days decided that I was tired of tethering to my iPhone with unlimited data and I decided to get an LTE 64GB. Best Buy didn't have any, so it was back to a nearby Apple Store. I returned the Best Buy 64GB, and after receiving the shipped one I recently returned both of the 32GBs back to the Apple Store.
 
mcdj said:
Rumor has it there will be a special batch of iPads, coded OU812. They will have perfect screens and come pre loaded with Van Halen's greatest hits.
Click to expand...
Van Halen. lol, nice throwback, way before our time for many of us.
 
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I had to swap out about five different rMinis as they all had dead pixels and dust particles under the screen. I opened them in the store to make sure that they didnt have any defects but they all did have defects. The dead pixels were highly visible in a white or a black screen so the geniuses swapped the devices out, admitting that they were indeed defective. This was all during the first two days after the release of the product so it may not have been a good idea to swap them out with the first batch of products, but as it was a gift to me, i really wanted to show that i was putting the ipad into good use ASAP.

In the end, i received one that didnt have any dead pixels or dust particles. However, while using it to view PDF files (i am a student so i mainly use my iPad to view PDF files), i realized that the screen had yellow tinting in the bottom. I put much thought into whether i would like to keep this one, as i had gone through too many and was well aware that i might end up with a worse screen. But what is once seen cannot be unseen, especially yellowing towards the bottom which is extremely viewable when reading pdf files.

I returned my rMini and bought an Air and am loving the screen so far. No dead pixels, no screen issues, maybe a little screen bleeding which is quite unnoticeable, so i am very satisfied with the screen.

In terms of the gamut that everyone is making a big fuss about, i personally didnt feel that the gamut issue was enough for me to call it "defective". Quite frankly, until i came on to the forum, i was unable to notice that it had a reduced gamut/washed out screen. I think what is a bigger issue with rMinis and Airs in general, are the uneven tinting and the yellow screens.

People should not have to go through a lottery to get a good screen, and even more importantly, should not have to be put into a situation where they would feel guilty for returning, exchanging a defective unit.
 
Returning and buying a new one isn't going to fix the issue. It's a hardware limitation. Either deal with it or spend your money elsewhere.
 
I'll be returning one shortly. No issues except I rather have the Air with the larger screen for $100 more.
 
Nothing

There's nothing wrong with mine don't know why everyone else has a lot of screen issues
 
I returned one due to a very clear yellow tint. I did not take a new one. I am not willing to act as Apple's quality control department. It is their job to take bad ones out from the product line, not their customers.
 
Returned one due to yellow tinting at the bottom of the screen. 2nd one I received was perfect.
 
Returned two unopened ones that shipped after I found two in stock locally. The two I opened are very nice.
 
Launch day 16GB wifi was/is great - very nice screen.

Launch day 32GB wifi - not so great - yellow tint in bottom 1/3 - returned.

Keeping the the 16GB - using iTunes Match to eliminate need for music storage.
 
i had one and returned it not because of a weird screen or anything, but because it was a duplicate order and the other one i couldn't get at.

So....when i started using the new one a week later i noticed the screen was much better than the one i returned. The one i returned was really yellow

now, i haven't a clue if any of this is even accurate, as it is so subjective. I had another iPad i thought was extremely yellow but after a while i didn't.

So my understanding is this: it could be my eyes changing (possible), my brain changing (very likely).
Or some funky technology (probably less likely, but still a good contender).

YMMV
 
I still don't have my retina mini after ordering it before the crack of dawn on launch day, and already there's a thread on how many times people have returned their's. :rolleyes:
 
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