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iMac Quality Control?

D

docprego

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 12, 2007
1,244
111
Henderson, NV
I am not kidding it took me 6 3G iPhones to get one with a perfect screen. Now I am on my 2nd' 24" iMac in 2 days both with screen issues. The first had some sort of defect in the glass and now this one has either the same thing or a dead pixel, I can't really tell. There is no way I will accept a screen flaw on a $300 phone, you can be sure I won't accept it on an $1800 computer.

I have bought MANY Macs before (including refurbs) and never had so many issues, actually very few. Am I having an extremely unlucky spell or has Apple's quality control gone down the toilet?
 
I returned two iMacs for screen issues and when the third arrived it had a similar issue. I thought it might be a dead or defective pixel and was about to give up but then I realised the glass front easily just slides out if you use a suction cup to pull it off (it's only held on by magnets). I then realised that the only problem was that the back of the glass was dirty. I cleaned it up and put it back on and it was perfect. In retrospect, the first two I returned probably also only had dirt on the back of the glass.

I agree they should arrive clean, but it's worth checking this out as I'm pretty sure I had two perfect iMacs that I returned because I didn't realise it was just dirt behind the glass that can be easily cleaned when you know how. That said, I have had at least 10 definitely defective laptops in the last 3 years (I work for a uni and have bought ~40 Apple laptops as part of my work in that time). This is a defect rate of about 25% in my experience on the laptops, shocking.
 
Wow I couldn't believe my eyes. I started noticing something didn't look right about my screen on bootup, like there was a smudge over a large portion. 2/3 of the screen on the right is noticeably duller and less bright than on the 1/3 of the left. My wife even said it was unacceptable. When I drag a finder window from the right to the left the alternating white and blue lines start off as gray on the right and become bright white on the left.

I am so fed up with Apple products. I love what they make and want to own their products but this is just ridiculous.
 
I suppose people have better luck than others. Fortunately, once you get a pristine product, you will definitely love it.
 
After about 10 minutes of research it is apparent to me that my screen is suffering from the gradient problem. I found countless threads documenting the exact same issue-the left 1/3 of the screen is FAR brighter than the right 2/3. It is astounding how bad it looks now that I noticed it.

I wonder what stops Apple from fixing this issue. Surely the R&D to correct it would cost less than the amazing amount of returns and exchanges that it causes.
 
typical apple.

im actually shocked that my FIRST 3G iPhone is pretty well perfect!
 
I returned 2 iMacs for pixel issues before getting a perfect one. I know Apple says 5 or so dead pixels is OK, but if I'm paying 2K plus for a computer it should be perfect.
 
docprego said:
I am so fed up with Apple products. I love what they make and want to own their products but this is just ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Apple is getting too popular. The more popular Apple gets, the more flaws in their products are revealed.
 
Then they better address these quality control isssues. People view Apple as a premium brand, what they are pushing out is subpar, not premium. We all know the products are stellar, they are certainly premium in that sense. But the quality of the manufacturing is laughable.

Let's see, iPhones are routinely coming with dead pixels, dust under the glass and light leaks. iMacs are arriving with dust and other imperfections behind the glass, severely uneven screens and condensation behind the glass.

Then you have to waste your time exchanging sometimes 3-4-5 times to possibly get a satisfactory unit. Half the time the geniuses think you are nuts when clearly you have a legitimate issue. The whole experience is a PITA.

Does that sound like a premium brand to you?
 
First iMac: BIG (unacceptable) gradient, defective dvd burner;
Second iMac: For me acceptable gradient, dust (and a fingerprint) behind glass;
Third iMac: Pretty big gradient, stuck pixel, glass was dirty.

Since I can't exchange anymore, they offered me a refund. Since I need an iMac I'm going to order a new one as soon as I get my money back.

Exactly the same happened when I bought a MacBook, returned it three times. Waited for my money and ordered a new one, which I'm working on right now. :)

My first Mac (iMac 17-inch Late 2006) was great from the start, so I didn't expect this from Apple.
 
The saga continues.....well actually it ends.

I went to the Apple store this morning to exchange my 24" for the 3d time. The genius took one look at it and said " wow that is noticeable". He was talking about the brightness issue. I immediately was offered another one and they brought it out. I set it up in store, I am tired of driving back and forth 25 minutes each time. At $4 a gallon my iMac is becoming a lot more expensive. Anyway the next one had a circular imperfection behind the glass, not a pixel or dust for sure but something else. I rejected it, the genius agreed. They brought out the next one, stuck pixel....moving on. The next looking good! I am so excited, then crash! Lower left and right corners are brown or yellowed, again genius agrees. They bring out another! Dead pixel lower left. At this point I am told no more. So I politely asked for a refund and was accommodated. Now some may say that they went above and beyond. I would beg to differ. I should not have been allowed out of that store without a Mac. Clearly all of them were imperfect, no way I am paying $1800 for that. Potentially I could abandon the brand altogether.

On the way home I stopped at Best Buy to get an accessory for my iPhone. I took a look at a new Sony laptop they just got in. $999 and WOW was that screen nice. No gradients, no dead pixels, no dust or other unidentified marks behind the glass, just a beautiful evenly lit display.

Now I ask you again, has Apple's quality control gone down the drain? Without question yes.

Still being an Apple fan I am currently weighing my options, another iMac at Best Buy? A Macbook from Amazon? I am having a hard time swallowing the thought of an iPhone hooked up to Windows Vista. And I really don't have anything against Vista, it just seems that an iPhone should be synced to a Mac.
 
I completely agree, but it will be hard to find an iMac with a screen as nice as the older white ones. :(
 
Thinking the whole situation over I realized that Apple must be putting a lot of machines out there with these issues. It's not like I am the unluckiest person to ever try to buy an iMac, I just notice it all! Imagine if everyone had the same level of standards that I do, Apple would have a huge problem on its hands. Luckily for them most people wouldn't notice even major things, let alone the small details that I do.

Still that doesn't make all the issues I experienced acceptable.
 
Just to give some balance, this is what the office and myself have bought over the last couple of years:

20" white iMac Core Duo - perfect
20" white iMac Core2 Duo - perfect
1.8Ghz Core Duo Mac Mini - perfect
20" aluminium iMac Radeon 2600 - perfect
13" 2.16Ghz Core2 Duo MacBook - perfect
1Gb iPod Shuffle - perfect
16Gb iPod Touch - perfect
 
I too want to give some balance to this post, here are my purchases for my personal and business use over the last 2 years.

2x 1st gen iphones - perfect
2x 3g iphones – perfect (I can personally account for 3 other ppl I know personally that got perfect ones also)
3x 2.4 17' Macbook Pro's - 2 were perfect, 1 had uneven lid that they happily changed for me without any questions.
1x 2.2 15' Macbook Pro - Perfect after a reformat
1 Current model 24' iMac - Absolute perfect.
Over 5 ipods (some as gifts, some personal over the last 3-4 years) - perfect
2x Base stations - perfect

I am just as picky as the OP. Next to taking a magnifying glass to the screen and counting pixels, you don't get find people as picky as I am. To make a long story short, when I had the uneven lid on my macbook pro, I was so mad that they would sell me a 3000 dollar laptop with any defects that I went into the apple store with the intent of being a jerk, but the ppl at the apple store were so nice I couldn’t get upset.

I don’t doubt the OP is having issues, but…. I do feel like they are probably pretty rare. This board is riddled with people that have had issues, but the few thousand (if even that) people that have had issues are a small percentage of the overall apple sales. Personally, I really want to see this gradient problem first hand. Every apple store, bestbuy, mac store I go to, I end up standing there staring at the screen because I want to know this gradient issue that people keep complaining about. I can kind of see it on the pictures people post, but pictures of lcd screens will never do justice to it.
 
For the OP that is terrible luck you have had.

My experience has been great with the iMac. My 24 inch has no visible issues with dead pixels or the back lighting.

A friend bought a 15 inch MBP at the same time and no issue with his screen either.
 
wow you've had really bad luck. your in-store experience is unheard of. I have to say its been completely the opposite for me, in the last 4 months i've bought a macbook, an iMac, iphone 3G, ipod nano, time capsule and a few other things from apple stores and everything has been absolutely flawless.
 
Thanks for the comments. I wonder how many of these "perfect" items I would find to be flawless. My guess is not many, I realize I am picky. Still all my issues were real and confirmed by a genius with each swap. Obviously if the issues were in my mind the genius would not have approved 4 consecutive swaps.

On the flip side my 3rd iPhone is admittedly as perfect as I could hope for.
 
Glad to hear that, as I said I am a huge Apple fan. Sitting here playing with my iPhone as we speak. I could be tempted to try again, maybe a Mac Mini this time, then I could avoid all the iMac screen issues all together. The cinema displays have no such problems.
 
give them another shot, maybe even go to another store. I dont' know if computers are produced in lots, but if they are, then you might get a differnet lot at another store.
 
hippo206 said:
give them another shot, maybe even go to another store. I dont' know if computers are produced in lots, but if they are, then you might get a differnet lot at another store.
Click to expand...

So I grabbed a 24" iMac at Best Buy tonight to see if I could get one from another lot, anything to get one with a satisfactory screen. And the verdict?

4 dead/stuck pixels.

Give me a break. I should bill Apple for all the $4/gallon gas I have wasted lugging their junk back and forth.
 
docprego said:
So I grabbed a 24" iMac at Best Buy tonight to see if I could get one from another lot, anything to get one with a satisfactory screen. And the verdict?

4 dead/stuck pixels.

Give me a break. I should bill Apple for all the $4/gallon gas I have wasted lugging their junk back and forth.
Click to expand...

Wow! I just realised how uneven the gas-prices are across US/UK we pay around £1.20 per litre for petrol and £1.30 for diesel. thats like £4.50 - £5 per US gallon. what's that like $9??
 
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