iMac 2010 smudges

[tomtom2234]

Hello there, I have a mid 2010 iMac that is starting to get gray smudges on the edges/ around the edge of the display. I have searched around and found different people saying different things and was just wondering if anyone can provide some solid info on this problem. So far I've read that it may somehow be caused by heat from the iMac itself or that it may be dirty/smudge on the inside of the glass.

I've also read that taking the front glass off and cleaning it can reduce / make the problem go away completely but would love to get some feedback as to what it actually is before I go taking my computer apart.

(No longer under warranty... /cry.)

 

[mixel]

I'd like to know about this too, my 2008 imac has the dark bits in a pronounced way.. If I can get rid of them it'd make it easier to sell on!

Some of my smears are around the middle of the screen. If its a dirt build up I don't really understand how it gets there!

 

[mcpix]

I don't know if it is from the heat or dust under the screen. However, as someone who has removed their front glass entirely, I am very surprised at how much heat comes off the 27" display. On a standard iMac, this heat would be trapped by the glass screen.

 

[ravinder08]

Hello there, I have a mid 2010 iMac that is starting to get gray smudges on the edges/ around the edge of the display. I have searched around and found different people saying different things and was just wondering if anyone can provide some solid info on this problem. So far I've read that it may somehow be caused by heat from the iMac itself or that it may be dirty/smudge on the inside of the glass.

I've also read that taking the front glass off and cleaning it can reduce / make the problem go away completely but would love to get some feedback as to what it actually is before I go taking my computer apart.

(No longer under warranty... /cry.)

I had same problem earlier this year it's a well known problem to apple, check official apple forum. It's dust getting sucked in by the fans I was told by the apple genius, he's seen quite a few like this.
Luckily I have apple care and they replaced the screen.
without apple care screen is £366.00
I'd suggest you ask the to replace FOC as goodwill due to it being a common fault.


read this

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1101370/

 

[iSayuSay]

Hello there, I have a mid 2010 iMac that is starting to get gray smudges on the edges/ around the edge of the display. I have searched around and found different people saying different things and was just wondering if anyone can provide some solid info on this problem. So far I've read that it may somehow be caused by heat from the iMac itself or that it may be dirty/smudge on the inside of the glass.

I've also read that taking the front glass off and cleaning it can reduce / make the problem go away completely but would love to get some feedback as to what it actually is before I go taking my computer apart.

(No longer under warranty... /cry.)

It's quite a common problem for iMac, let alone 2010 one, I have 2011 iMac and it has smudges within 4 - 5 months of ownership. Obviously I was under warranty and it got replaced for free. Knowing that problem will come back and haunt you again, I immediately bought AppleCare. At least I would have 3 years of coverage, be it smudged display or any other hardware defects.

So, my suggestion is you try to contact Apple Store, some people got lucky and had their display replaced once for free out of warranty. Don't know if they're going to get it again or not considering it comes back pretty often. Sell it right away after you get screen replacement. It comes back, believe me.

My thought was it's a burning mark coming from heat behind the screen. You know heatsink is located right under the display, and it's amazingly hot when you do heavy loads to the GPU or CPU. But some people claim it to be a dust trapped inside LCD matrix, get heated and being hardened over time. I doubt it though, but I could be wrong.

Lesson learned, next time you buy a Mac computer, remember to always get an AppleCare. It's a must, definitely. Moreover, AppleCare for iMac has been well-known to be the cheapest among all Macintosh line. $160 AppleCare for any iMac model ranging from $1200 - $2800 BTO .. you can't beat that. So .. get it.

Anyway, question for OP .. How long since you realized your screen has been smudged? I got it within the first year .... TWICE

 

[tomtom2234]

Thanks for all the reply guys, I'm going to take the front glass off in a couple of days and try to clean it. Will get back to you guys with the results.

Anyway, question for OP .. How long since you realized your screen has been smudged? I got it within the first year .... TWICE

I didn't notice them until I moved back in with my parents... I'm thinking it may be due to all this damn smoking they do in the house! My lungs sure have taken a beating.

 

[mixel]

So there are two types of murky screen blobs? the dust behind the glass panel and dust between the TFT and backlight?

I dont mind trying to fix the first of those two but the other one seems a lot scarier! Is there any way to judge which it is without having to take off the glass? (wishful thinking)

 

[tomtom2234]

So, the smudges are gone, but have fun getting the glass screen back on without it somehow attracting every piece of dog hair / lint within your house hold... .

 

[mixel]

So, the smudges are gone, but have fun getting the glass screen back on without it somehow attracting every piece of dog hair / lint within your house hold... .

I'm worried about that too.. I have 4 cats! I have no idea how I'd set up a dust free workspace. :/ good luck getting it out if you open it up again.

 

[Gloops]

I had same problem earlier this year it's a well known problem to apple, check official apple forum. It's dust getting sucked in by the fans I was told by the apple genius, he's seen quite a few like this.
Luckily I have apple care and they replaced the screen.
without apple care screen is £366.00
I'd suggest you ask the to replace FOC as goodwill due to it being a common fault.


read this

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1101370/

I was quoted around £500 to replace my 24" screen. So I thought: "screw that, I'll get a Dell Ultrasharp for a couple of hundred!"

In some instances it may be dust, but in my case I think it's heat damage. The display is noticeably yellower on the left side too.

It's really an iMac design flaw. I've had two now and they've both gone the same way - although the previous model without the glass didn't get as badly damaged as this one.

 

[iSayuSay]

I was quoted around £500 to replace my 24" screen. So I thought: "screw that, I'll get a Dell Ultrasharp for a couple of hundred!"

In some instances it may be dust, but in my case I think it's heat damage. The display is noticeably yellower on the left side too.

It's really an iMac design flaw. I've had two now and they've both gone the same way - although the previous model without the glass didn't get as badly damaged as this one.

Strange considering iMac is basically a giant iPad, LCD placed and crammed on top of computer guts. I mean iPad could be hot too at times, but I never heard they encounter same problem as iMac would have. No smudge, no dust or whatsoever. While my iMac already has this problem twice within first year.

Yeah I have AppleCare, but it's a burden to keep worrying about the same problem, keep bringing back my iMac every 4 5 months just to have regular LCD replacement. Loss of time, effort and peace of mind I guess

 

[HelplessMoose]

Strange considering iMac is basically a giant iPad, LCD placed and crammed on top of computer guts. I mean iPad could be hot too at times, but I never heard they encounter same problem as iMac would have. No smudge, no dust or whatsoever. While my iMac already has this problem twice within first year.

I'm no expert, but the iMac has fans that suck in air from the bottom vents and carry it through the entire backside of the machine to exhaust from the top... iPad has no fans (I don't think?) and in fact I think the iPad has little or no moving parts at all. I assume this is why the iMac is the only machine plagued by this "screen smudge" problem; no other Apple machine has an exhaust system that pulls in air/dust right around the LCD. That's assuming dust is the issue, which from what I've seen on dozens and dozens of posts there is no consensus (some people say heat damage, others say burst pixels which I guess is kinda the same as heat damage, others say environmental dust, etc).

But anyway, I think most people would agree it's the fact that the iMac gets much much hotter than an iPad, and the iMac has a fan/exhaust system that could be responsible for contaminating the screen while the iPad has neither of these problems (though the iPad3 does get much warmer than its previous models!).