iMac Image Retention and Dust Fun - Service Experiences?

[Brookzy]

TL;DR: Has anyone had success with getting screen replacements for retention and dust on 5K iMacs?

It's the issue that just won't go away... display imperfections.

Please don't judge me: I'm not the sort to exchange a product 15 times because of a supposed non-issue!

I've had my 2015 5K iMac since they came out and it has always suffered a degree of image retention, ever so slightly worse than my 2014 iMac 5K, but not enough to really kick up a fuss about, especially with Apple considering a degree of retention - or persistence as they prefer to call it - normal.

But over the summer months it's been getting worse. A lot worse. It seems to be temperature related somehow. Indeed, the retention is most vivid in the lower centre of the screen, which being where the exhaust fan is on the rear, I suppose could be the hottest point. And as the ambient temperature rises, I frequently wake my Mac to witness an imprint of Finder and other windows on my lock screen. And the screen is set to sleep after 15 minutes of inactivity!

On top of that I now have a wonderful spot of dirt in the middle of the screen. Very small - again probably so small that a Genius will fob me off. I've never noticed it before, and it's the sort of thing I would definitely notice. But I cannot fathom how dust has appeared under the glass when the display is fused to the glass.

So these two issues, which in isolation I probably would have ignored, are now something that when combined I think I should pursue, especially considering resale value. I dropped well over £2500 on this machine, after all, and for all we know, the 7th will bring new iMacs, and I'll be popping this baby on eBay.

I've got an appointment at the Genius Bar on Friday. It's a fair drive and a pain to haul the iMac through the precinct. Am I a fool for pursuing this; does Apple just say this stuff is within tolerance?

 

[roadkill401]

After a few trips out to the apple store, I got my screen replaced. Before you head out there. Unplug the mac and leave it for a good 2-3 hours. You have said that it is a fair drive out to the Apple store. I found with my iMac that pulling the power plug for several hours made the issues just go away. Now they came back in a day or two after you plugged the mac back in.

I also found that I could speed up the retention on my screen by getting the unit to heat up. So when I went into the mac store, I got myself plugged in and let it start working and heating up to the point I could get it to have screen issues, then called over the Apple employee and said I am ready now for my Genius person, BTW bring him/her here as I am not moving my iMac. Even then it took 3 different opinions before they agreed that the screen had a problem and it was replaced. This new one seems to be working fine now, but I will have to see how long it lasts for before it starts showing issues (if it does).

 

[Brookzy]

snipped

What a palaver. I guess I'll stick with the dust complaint then, maybe not even mention the retention.

Three opinions, how pathetic.

 

[Rmonster]

Hello Brookzy

£2.5K is a lot of money, whatever you've spent it on, and Apple are meant to provide a premium product. You have two issues and, in my opinion, you should calmly, honestly but, at the same time, firmly, describe both when making your visit.

As you've said, dragging it over there will be hassle, so you might as well get it all of your chest while you are there. The dust shouldn't be there in a premium sealed unit and, whether they call it image persistence or retention, it's not a desirable "feature" for the consumer, so although making a complaint as an individual might not give you confidence that it will make a difference, there might be another 1,000, 10,000 or 100,000 making the same complaint and maybe it might make a difference in the long run - how naive do I sound - in summary, you've got to make the journey, so just go along and give them the whole honest story.

You know that you've spent a lot of money on a computer with certain design compromises in terms of absolute performance, but that money should mean that the stunning display, which we make those compromises for, should be nigh on perfect.

Good luck!
Rich

 

[Brookzy]

@Rmonster - very eloquently put. Particularly your last point:

You've spent a lot of money on a computer with certain design compromises in terms of absolute performance, but that money should mean that the stunning display which we make those compromises for should be nigh on perfect.

Which is a perspective I overlooked - you're right, an iMac buyer exchanges raw performance for a stunning display, among other things, so it is reasonable to expect a high standard.

 

[redheeler]

I've had success getting my display replaced because of image retention. It helps to bring in a photo which clearly shows the problem.

 

[Brookzy]

Just to clarify, this is the extent of the retention after displaying a checkerboard for 4 minutes (the test Apple uses, apparently). As I mentioned the issue is worst at the middle of the display. Is this a particularly bad case?

 

[redheeler]

It's hard to tell just how bad it is from the photos, and the test always exaggerates it more than you see during normal usage, but chances are it will get a little worse over time. You can take it in now or wait, the choice is up to you.

 

[Brookzy]

It's hard to tell just how bad it is from the photos, and the test always exaggerates it more than you see during normal usage, but chances are it will get a little worse over time. You can take it in now or wait, the choice is up to you.

True. The retention alone I would ignore but combined with the dust means I'll take it in. Will report back after my appointment on Friday!

 

[accentaudio]

The sad issue that just won't go away. The fact that it seems to be temperature related, and gets worse over time is just downright scary. That seems to indicate that at some point or another everyone who has an iMac with a Retina display will have this problem. Not right... Why hasn't Apple devoted any time to solving this once and for all?

 

[Brookzy]

Update: Apple are replacing the screen. It was for the dust issue rather than the retention, however. The level of retention was deemed just about acceptable. I would have argued had the screen not been replaced anyway.

I was paranoid that they might fit a 2014 5K panel, however the screen replacement is being ordered in - it wasn't in stock; 3-5 day delivery time - and the replacement has part number 661-03255. After a bit of Googling it appears that definitely is the 2015 panel.

Happy camper here! Hopefully the new panel is good.

 

[macmee]

Update: Apple are replacing the screen. It was for the dust issue rather than the retention, however. The level of retention was deemed just about acceptable. I would have argued had the screen not been replaced anyway.

I was paranoid that they might fit a 2014 5K panel, however the screen replacement is being ordered in - it wasn't in stock; 3-5 day delivery time - and the replacement has part number 661-03255. After a bit of Googling it appears that definitely is the 2015 panel.

Happy camper here! Hopefully the new panel is good.

Are you saying the 2014 panel is worse?

my 2014 rimac has TERRIBLE image retention. It's most noticeable going from a light to dark screen. If I open up sublime text after using chrome then I not only see the outline of chrome which was previously there, but I can even see the colours from the theme and everything. It's the worst image retention I've ever experienced with any flat screen monitor actually!

I called apple and they want me to ship it to them and have them exchange it. Problem is I use the imac for work so I want them to do a full unit exchange but they refuse. Don't know what I'll do now...

 

[Brookzy]

Are you saying the 2014 panel is worse?

my 2014 rimac has TERRIBLE image retention. It's most noticeable going from a light to dark screen. If I open up sublime text after using chrome then I not only see the outline of chrome which was previously there, but I can even see the colours from the theme and everything. It's the worst image retention I've ever experienced with any flat screen monitor actually!

I called apple and they want me to ship it to them and have them exchange it. Problem is I use the imac for work so I want them to do a full unit exchange but they refuse. Don't know what I'll do now...

I'm not saying the 2014 panel is worse for retention. In fact my 2014 5K iMac had no retention.

I was referring to the fact that the 2015 5K iMac uses a display with a different backlight giving an improved colour gamut than the 2014 display. Apple calls it a P3 display.

The panels themselves are interchangeable and look the same. I was concerned that an Apple employee not well-versed in the matter might have ordered/fitted a 2014 panel, but they haven't.

 

[Srb001]

the dust behind the glass...here in EU East is a common issue

 

[macmee]

I'm not saying the 2014 panel is worse for retention. In fact my 2014 5K iMac had no retention.

I was referring to the fact that the 2015 5K iMac uses a display with a different backlight giving an improved colour gamut than the 2014 display. Apple calls it a P3 display.

The panels themselves are interchangeable and look the same. I was concerned that an Apple employee not well-versed in the matter might have ordered/fitted a 2014 panel, but they haven't.

maybe I should try and get them to give me a 2015 panel in my 2014 then haha

 

[roadkill401]

I'm not saying the 2014 panel is worse for retention. In fact my 2014 5K iMac had no retention.

I was referring to the fact that the 2015 5K iMac uses a display with a different backlight giving an improved colour gamut than the 2014 display. Apple calls it a P3 display.

Total nonesence. the 2014 have the same P3 display gama and colour. they just didn't have the drivers to support it in 10.10. so all the 2014 screens have the same high colour and gamit as the 2015 when running 10.11 El Cap. or so Apple told me when they replaced my screen

 

[Brookzy]

Total nonesence. the 2014 have the same P3 display gama and colour. they just didn't have the drivers to support it in 10.10. so all the 2014 screens have the same high colour and gamit as the 2015 when running 10.11 El Cap. or so Apple told me when they replaced my screen

Please do your research before spreading false information so forcefully. The 2014 and 2015 5K displays absolutely are different hardware-wise. The difference is the backlight, as I stated. The 2015 panel has GB-r LED backlighting which enhances the greens and reds. The 2014 display uses the more standard white LED backlight. The information you were given is incorrect.

 

[MistrSynistr]

It might not even be dirt, it might be a bug/fly/ant that got up in your screen, I had that issue on a 2013 iMac I had.

 

[Brookzy]

Update: iMac back, complete with new screen. It is absolutely perfect. And I have never considered any screen 'perfect' up to now. No bleed, no yellow tint, no grey banding, and zero retention after a five minute checkerboard test. Very happy.

Something interesting (for nerds anyway)...

The display profile was reset as part of the repair. In ColorSync I can see the profile was created at 15:36 today, i.e. when the screen swap will have been carried out.

But I didn't give Apple my log in password!

So it appears Apple's diagnostic tools are able to change display profiles without administrative access. Hmmmm...

 

[macmee]

Update: iMac back, complete with new screen. It is absolutely perfect. And I have never considered any screen 'perfect' up to now. No bleed, no yellow tint, no grey banding, and zero retention after a five minute checkerboard test. Very happy.

Something interesting (for nerds anyway)...

The display profile was reset as part of the repair. In ColorSync I can see the profile was created at 15:36 today, i.e. when the screen swap will have been carried out.

But I didn't give Apple my log in password!

So it appears Apple's diagnostic tools are able to change display profiles without administrative access. Hmmmm...

I don't trust them and before I send mine away I'm going to clone my internal SSD to another HD and reinstall OSX

 

[redheeler]

So it appears Apple's diagnostic tools are able to change display profiles without administrative access. Hmmmm...

More likely it detected the new display and created a new default profile for it when the iMac was test booted up to the login screen.

 

[Brookzy]

More likely it detected the new display and created a new default profile for it when the iMac was test booted up to the login screen.

But I used to have two profiles named "iMac" because I duplicated it and after the replacement there's now just one.

 

[redheeler]

But I used to have two profiles named "iMac" because I duplicated it and after the replacement there's now just one.

Interesting. That never happened to me after a display replacement and I have a bunch of duplicate profiles (after unchecking "Show profiles for this display only").

 

[Rmonster]

Update: iMac back, complete with new screen. It is absolutely perfect. And I have never considered any screen 'perfect' up to now. No bleed, no yellow tint, no grey banding, and zero retention after a five minute checkerboard test. Very happy.

Something interesting (for nerds anyway)...

The display profile was reset as part of the repair. In ColorSync I can see the profile was created at 15:36 today, i.e. when the screen swap will have been carried out.

But I didn't give Apple my log in password!

So it appears Apple's diagnostic tools are able to change display profiles without administrative access. Hmmmm...

Chuffed for your positive outcome display-wise. Not nerdy enough to understand the rest ;-)

 

[aliensporebomb]

I've found not so much "display imperfections" but if I'm typing on a forum sometimes a rectangular section of the screen flickers and dims so long as I'm typing and then quits once I'm done typing. And it seems to be inconsistent. Otherwise screen is perfect. Anyone run into this?