Im mac 27 inch 2017 light dust shadows on screen corners

[Nighttraine12]

I have had three iMacs over the years and have had dust shadows develop in the corners of the screens. It now is starting to happen lightly on my 2017 iMac 27 inch 5k. I clean the vents about every few months. I was thinking of buying a 2020 model before they are all gone and was hoping that the dust problem was solved on the newer 2020 version. Can anyone shed some light on this issue. Im betting the new iMac m1 24 inch won't have this problem because of the lack of vents. I just wish there was a 27 inch version but here is not. The shadows are very light on my iMac. If anyone has some insight let me know.

 

[barbu]

It happens if the air is dirty. If you smoke in front if the computer, for example, you’ll see this within a year or two.
You need to open the glass to clean it.

 

[Nighttraine12]

This is in my living room which the air is not dirty. No one smokes in my family and this problem is currently all over the internet. It took 5 years to happen in this iMac. However, It has happened to 3 mac I have owned and per Apple its one of the most common problem with iMacs ( just google images of this problem). Also opening the glass is not exactly easy since Apple wont even do it because it is very difficulty to do without causing damage. They will just replace the screen for $700. However, what I asked was if anyone here has experienced it with the 2020 version. Thank for your impute ???but I am aware of the information you posted, and I appreciate your response, but it is not what I asked. Again thanks for responding.

 

[barbu]

This is in my living room which the air is not dirty. No one smokes in my family and this problem is currently all over the internet. It took 5 years to happen in this mac. However, It has happened to 3 mac I have owned and per Apple its one of the most common problem with iMacs ( just google images of this problem). Also opening the glass is not exactly easy since Apple wont even do it because it is very difficulty to do without causing damage. They will just replace the screen for $700. However, what I asked was if anyone here as experienced it with the 2020 version. Thank for your impute ???but I am aware of the information you posted, and I appreciate your response, but it is not what I asked. Again thanks for responding.

I’m not actually sure what your question was. But I do have insight from repairing these before. Opening the glass is not the same as a screen replacement. It takes about $20 of supplies and some will/skill. The marks will wipe off easily once it’s open.

 

[Nighttraine12]

Again has anyone had this issue with the 2020 iMac 27 inch, and for clarity I did not ask how to repair the iMac ( I know how), and I did not ask what causes it. I know the answer to that as well ( it is a flaw in the iMac that lets micro dust in). I am not trying to be mean here. I know you are trying to help. It is simply not what I asked.

Thanks for your response!?

 

[barbu]

Again has anyone had this issue with the 2020 iMac 27 inch, and for clarity I did not ask how to repair the iMac ( I know how), and I did not ask what causes it. I know the answer to that as well ( it is a flaw in the iMac that lets micro dust in). I am not trying to be mean here. I know you are trying to help. It is simply not what I asked.

Thanks for your response!?

I don’t think we have any reason to believe the newer ones are a) immune to the problem or b) substantially different to repair.
A mitigating factor would be that the M class machines are less likely to have the fans running nearly as much as older iMacs. It’s possible the problem will be greatly reduced from the lack of constant negative pressure in the case.

 

[henry72]

I think you should expect the same with the 2020 model unfortunately.

I do wonder if the M1 24" will have the same issue in few years time, I don't think so due the new design and the M1 chip. Time will tell...

 

[Nighttraine12]

Even though this is not the exact topic of this thread, and If anyone wants to fix the micro dust under the screen issue, here is what I found in the past. It is a guide on how to fix the issue after you remove the screen.

If there is a rule against posting links let me know I will remove it.

 

[wilberforce]

I have had my 2020 iMac for about 18 months and don't see dust in the corners. But neither did I see it on my 2014 iMac which I had for 5 years, so don't think that proves anything. Maybe I am just not in an environment with the wrong type of dust.
The only answer that you will get that will definitively prove anything is an answer that says: "yes, I have dust marks in my 2020 iMac."
All the answers that say "no" don't prove the dust marks won't occur for you.

 

[Nighttraine12]

It took 5 years to show up on my 2017, but we will see I just bought a 2020, i7, 27 inch before they were all gone. I will trade my 2017 or sell it . Apple will give me $350 in trade which is crap. I think its worth $700 to $900 what do you think. It is a 2017 iMac 27 inch, intel 3.4 GHz i5 with 16 GB of RAM and 1tb fusion drive. It is in super good shape.

 

[henry72]

I guess keeping your desk clean would help. Also high indoor temperature and CPU intensive tasks will make the fan spin more therefore more dust can trap inside.

 

[EvilCo_E]

It took 5 years to show up on my 2017, but we will see I just bought a 2020, i7, 27 inch before they were all gone. I will trade my 2017 or sell it . Apple will give me $350 in trade which is crap. I think its worth $700 to $900 what do you think. It is a 2017 iMac 27 inch, intel 3.4 GHz i5 with 16 GB of RAM and 1tb fusion drive. It is in super good shape.

Minus the dust that display alone should make it worth quite a lot more than $350 so that's unfortunate. I think for someone who is a light user it would be a very good machine, the only "issue" using it today would be the slower fusion drive. I agree with you I think somewhere around $700 is what it could sell for, apple's trade In prices are very low. You mentioned the dust shadows are very light so I don't think it'll drop the value too much by itself if you sold it yourself.

As for trade in I don't know how picky the trade in people are but I think there's a chance they could lower it even more if they see the dust, but unless they're specifically told to look out for it thought I don't think they'd notice it

I had a 2020 iMac from august 2020 until December 2021, I hadn't gotten dust in the screen I do hope they fixed the issue but I'm not very confident they did

 

[Johnf1285]

I can see the 2020 model having this issue too. I have had this issue in more iMacs than I care to admit. I believe the first time I noticed it was on a 27" 2009 iMac. I ended up disassembling the various layers of the LCD screen and cleaning it myself. To my surprise I was able to button it up quite nicely. But, on the most recent 27" chassis/design, however, it has occurred for me in both the late 2013 27" iMac and in my current late 2015 27" iMac. With that in mind it's a design issue that hopefully has been rectified in the 2021 iMacs.

I claim it's a design issue as I keep an extremely clean home and an extremely clean area around my computers. I am a bit of a neat freak. No one smokes and the HVAC system in my home sees a 12 month filter replaced every 6 months.

Now, One thing I can say is that my iMac sees pretty heavy usage. Maybe ~10 hours 4-5 days out of the week. I'm sure this is a factor.

 

[Nighttraine12]

Im reconsidering my purchase. The guy at Apple said my Mac was worth up to $1200. However when I got home and check the serial number after transferring all the data from one iMac to another. I found out it’s trade-in value was only $350. I’m not sure I would have bought the new Mac if I had known that. Now the hassle of selling it on eBay has me reconsidering my purchase. There’s really nothing wrong with my old iMac. Using the new iMac I do see some difference. But in day-to-day use I don’t see that much. I’m wondering if it would be smarter to hold onto the 2017 and return the 2020. What a pain. It’s really just a pleasure machine that I used to read email, type letters and basic stuff. I don’t do any video editing or anything like that. I just figured if I was going to get $1200 for my iMac In credit why not.

 

[wilberforce]

$1200 trade-in is very unlikely for a 2017, and probably optimistic for a private sale, especially for an i5 with Fusion drive.
I traded in my 2014 i7 with 1TB SSD 18 months ago for $530. An older machine, but that was 18 months ago, and higher spec.
I would estimate that at best you could get $400 trade-in and $800 private sale.

I suggest if you trade it in do so at a store. If you mail it in, there is a chance they will reject it when they inspect it because of the dust, then you will be in a bind. (I suppose it depends on how noticeable the dust is, whether you think they might reject it.)

 

[Nighttraine12]

Decided to keep my current Imac and back went the new one . There is nothing wrong with my current iMac. I may take the screen out and clean it if the shadows get worse and also put in a new SSD drive, but for now the shadows are very hard to see and my iMac seems very quick even in comparison to the new one I had purchased ( it not as fast but in the real world I could not tell). I did like the true tone in the new monitor and the security chip but not for $2100 after a trade in. Plus, I did not want to mess with eBay and shipping for now. My current iMac is a 27 inch I5 34-3.8ghz with 16 gb of ram, a 1Tb Fusion hard drive, and a AMD Pro 570 4Gb video card.

 

[TwoH]

Again has anyone had this issue with the 2020 iMac 27 inch

Yeah. I just cleaned one out today in a 2020 iMac.

 

[Chancha]

On my iMac 5k 2017, the lower left corner developed dust "shadow" probably the 2nd year or so. It might have been earlier but at least it became noticeable around that time. No body smokes in the room but we have carpet.

It is frankly really hard to see unless the background is entirely white, and then with the brightness set half way. The edges of the display has other problems since day 1 out of the box anyway, like a slight magenta haze towards all edges. I do use the iMac for print / illustration related work, while color critical workflow I leave that on other machines with other displays, but with this iMac since the shadow only develops in a corner not reaching in more than 2 inches or so, I find it OK to just ignore it as nothing visually important is going to be there. I can imagine this being a huge issue for full screen proofing like video color grading though, which I don't do.

I actually had AC+ so when discovering this in 2nd year I actually had the chance to send in for Apple to fix or replace it. But I ended up deciding not to bother since the rest of the computer is perfectly fine, I didn't want the unnecessary down time and the potential risk of receiving a repaired or refurb unit with other issues.

 

[ccsicecoke]

Future iMac could come with air filters at the air intake, just like what car industries do to keep dusts out of engine.

Then Apple could start selling those air filters $100~200 each which are getting replaced every 6 months. Good business! Take the note Tim and you're welcome

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I have had three iMacs over the years and have had dust shadows develop in the corners of the screens."

My suggestion (you're not going to like it):
STOP BUYING iMacs, since ALL that you've owned seem prone to this problem in your particular environment. The 2020 release will probably do the same after time goes by.

Instead, buy something like the new Mac Studio, and get a THIRD PARTY external display to use with it.

Most third party displays are "sealed up" at the bottom, with no air intakes that will draw in the dust (or whatever it is in your environment) that is causing problems with the iMacs...