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just got my new g5 with a DEAD PIXEL-HELP

P

paulct

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 1, 2005
31
0
just spent 2k on a new imac and i took it out of the box and there is a dead pixel. I have apple care, my software hasnt even gotten here, and the person on the phone said there is nothing i can do about it. I spoke to a manager and he said apple care doesnt cover anything like that and all he could do is have me pay 180 for a restocking fee, pay for shipping, and return it. no exchange or anything.

anyone have any advice?

i could not do anything and have a dead pixel on my screen forever, or i can let apple take 200 dollars from me and get nothing in return.

this sucks- i thought apple customer service would be better...
 
complain to them and say that you do high end photography work and that you need a machine with no dead pixles. If you complain enough they will give you one.
 
paulct said:
just spent 2k on a new imac and i took it out of the box and there is a dead pixel. I have apple care, my software hasnt even gotten here, and the person on the phone said there is nothing i can do about it. I spoke to a manager and he said apple care doesnt cover anything like that and all he could do is have me pay 180 for a restocking fee, pay for shipping, and return it. no exchange or anything.

anyone have any advice?

i could not do anything and have a dead pixel on my screen forever, or i can let apple take 200 dollars from me and get nothing in return.

this sucks- i thought apple customer service would be better...
Click to expand...

No, tell them you want a return tag and a replacement machine.

Out of the box, that is BS. Call and stay on the line until you get what you need.
 
My daughter's Gameboy Advance has a dead pixel,, it's an LCD it happens, and it is not Apple's fault.

I believe it might go away in time. It's just one of those things.
 
iGary said:
No, tell them you want a return tag and a replacement machine.

Out of the box, that is BS. Call and stay on the line until you get what you need.
Click to expand...


plus no restocking fee?
im going to try again
 
paulct said:
plus no restocking fee?
im going to try again
Click to expand...

I mean if you seriously just received the thing today, and just opened it, yeah.

Just tell them you want another machine - and don't mention the high-end photography stuff or any other crap. Just tell them that it isn't acceptable.

The industry standard line is "6-8 dead pixels is normal." When they tell you that, ask them why all iMacs don't have dead pixels, and then in that case you'd like a defective one without dead pixels.

Seriously, be firm, but respectful, until they say yes.
 
Technically, it's not 'BS'. It sucks, but most LCDs are considered within spec if they have less than 5 dead pixels or something like that. Can't remember where I read that, but I did.
 
I would be pissed off too. Anyone know if you can hook up a cinema display in the store (CompUSA) before you purchase it???
 
Is it dead or sticky. There's a bunch of threads on here suggesting ways of waking up a sticky pixel. All I can suggest is give those a try.
 
how did you find the dead pixel? is it so easy to see or did you use on of those little apps to find the dead pixel?

my 24" dell screen has two dead pixels (only the red color is affected and i never notice them without setting the screen to red and looking for them.

to put it in a nutshell: if it's not absolutely obvious in plain sight i wouldn't care. enjoy your mac!
 
Danksi said:
Is it dead or sticky. There's a bunch of threads on here suggesting ways of waking up a sticky pixel. All I can suggest is give those a try.
Click to expand...


i tried rubbing around it with a soft cloth - no dice
 
decksnap said:
Technically, it's not 'BS'. It sucks, but most LCDs are considered within spec if they have less than 5 dead pixels or something like that. Can't remember where I read that, but I did.
Click to expand...

If that is normal, then why don't they all have them?

The majority do not.
 
wattage said:
I would be pissed off too. Anyone know if you can hook up a cinema display in the store (CompUSA) before you purchase it???
Click to expand...

no, and you cannot return any apple product with an LCD if it has been opened without paying the 10% restocking fee. From what i understand you usually get stuck pixels, not dead pixels - meaning that they are stuck a certain color. These are only really blatantly visible when they are surrounded by a color oppposite there own.

It also really depends on where no your screen the pixel is. If it's in the center it will be more noticeable and annoying (i speak from experience).

Anyway, it is and has always been the policy of all LCD display-makers to allow returns only if a certain # of pixels are dead. I think 3 pixels is the current rule at apple. It's not really a customer support issue that your having - it's more of an issue with the technology. THe subject of your thread should be, "LCD technology is not for me".
 
paulct said:
thanks for your help/....i tried it and didnt work.

the pixel only shows up on a black screen and it shows up only a blue color
Click to expand...

You can try massaging around the pixel, but be careful. The screen can crack much more easily than you might expect and then you're in for paying a lot more than $200 for a repair. I've never had success with this strategy and it seems like it could be a myth, but it doesn't hurt to try.

If you want to try to get apple to replace it then I think what you need to do is come up with a good story. You need a reason why in your situation, this particular stuck pixel in this particular place on the screen is extremely detrimental to the work you do. Much more so than for the average situation. Tell apple that they've really put you in a pickle. Tell them taht you love the system, you love apple tech, and that you understand the policy, but you feel like your situation is a special one.
 
iGary said:
If that is normal, then why don't they all have them?

The majority do not.
Click to expand...

This number is there to help define the product. If a single dead pixel were enough to declare an LCD as defective, then they would not sell LCDs, because they wouldn't be able to make any money.They would be throwing away millions of screens. With a screen containing millions of pixels, a screen with less than 5 dead pixels is considered a good screen. That's just the facts surrounding LCD production at this point in time.
 
maxterpiece said:
You can try massaging around the pixel, but be careful. The screen can crack much more easily than you might expect and then you're in for paying a lot more than $200 for a repair. I've never had success with this strategy and it seems like it could be a myth, but it doesn't hurt to try.
Click to expand...

Just did the massaging technique on my 17 inch PB. Fixed a pixel that was stuck (or dead?) on black.

It works. It's no myth. :)
 
MacAficionado said:
My daughter's Gameboy Advance has a dead pixel,, it's an LCD it happens, and it is not Apple's fault.

I believe it might go away in time. It's just one of those things.
Click to expand...
That's like saying that hard drives fail and it's not the manufacturer's fault. It doesn't matter whether or not they fail. It's not the customer's fault, especially right out of the box. I had a dead pixel on an iBook after almost a week. I brought it back to the store where I bought it and the manager replaced it for me right then and there, without any argument. They were more than helpful. They cited their policy, and must have been able to tell from the tone of my voice that it wasn't going to work, so they made it like they were doing me a favor by replacing it. Let them believe they were doing whatever...I got a new iBook.

If something that you sell fails, it is your responsibility. If you are going to hide behind these made up "policies" about the "acceptable number of dead pixels", the customer should have to sign a waiver when they buy anything with an LCD. If it's within a certain period of time, the screen should work. The whole screen. Every pixel.

In terms of dead pixles, I see a good deal of posts about this topic on message boards dealing with Apple products. I have used Dell and Compaq laptops for many years, and been through several either personally or through work, and none of them have every had a dead pixel. Yes, it happens, but how often? That's the real question to examine. If it happens all the time, Apple is not using good LCDs. (Please spare me the comparison between my iBook and the Dell and Compaq laptops that I mentioned. Yes, I know it's better in every other way.) Does this happen more with Apple's hardware as opposed to Dell's or Compaq's, or the other vendors? Does anyone have any data on this? I'm curious now.

I'm not bashing Apple at all here, because they helped me out and gave me a new iBook when a dead pixel made its first appearence. I can even understand the policy, but it should not apply to new (a few months, at least) hardware.

Stay on the phone with them. Call Apple's corporate office, if necessary. Leave messages in a few VPs' voice mailboxes. Stay on them, demand what is yours - a WORKING machine, in every sense of the word.

Good luck. You deserve to get a working machine.
 
dmetzcher said:
If something that you sell fails, it is your responsibility. If you are going to hide behind these made up "policies" about the "acceptable number of dead pixels", the customer should have to sign a waiver when they buy anything with an LCD. If it's within a certain period of time, the screen should work. The whole screen. Every pixel.
Click to expand...

No, those policies are there for a reason. Here's an excellent article on the subject:

http://news.com.com/Consumers+see+red+over+dead+pixels/2100-1041_3-5579493.html

And this pretty much sums it up:

It's possible to make devices whose every panel is perfect, as shown by standards for industries such as medical-imaging devices, where one bad pixel can mean "they're going to cut you open thinking that's where the tumor is," Jacobs said.

But applying such stringent quality standards dramatically raises the price of the finished device, as more than half the display glass the manufacturer buys has to be rejected because of flaws. Instead, device makers accept a certain number of defects and let the buyer beware.
Click to expand...

I'll gladly pay less and risk a dead pixel or two.
 
Unfortunately you have to live with it mate or fork out the fee for restocking of the computer. To make you feel better, my 20 inch cinema had 2 dead ones out of the box. My PSP also had one out of the box.


Unfortunately, LCD monitors = dead pixels, its only a matter of time.

Period.


aussie_geek
 
MacAficionado said:
My daughter's Gameboy Advance has a dead pixel,, it's an LCD it happens, and it is not Apple's fault.
Click to expand...

My Gameboy DS had a dead (stuck?) pixel when I first opened it, too. I called NOA and the sent me a new one, no questions asked. When I recieved the new one I boxed up my dead pixel one and sent it back. I wasn't even without a Gameboy. Why can't Apple be like that? Nintendo didn't even flinch. The tech said even one dead pixel is unacceptable.
 
pammyspyce said:
My Gameboy DS had a dead (stuck?) pixel when I first opened it, too. I called NOA and the sent me a new one, no questions asked. When I recieved the new one I boxed up my dead pixel one and sent it back. I wasn't even without a Gameboy. Why can't Apple be like that? Nintendo didn't even flinch. The tech said even one dead pixel is unacceptable.
Click to expand...

Probably because the LCDs Apple uses are more expensive and are larger, increasing the probability of imperfections. Replacing every screen that has a defect, even just one, would cost us all more in the end.
 
Don't give in, push until you get it fixed. I have had the problem numerous times with multiple vendors and I never give up until I get a replacement - just keep trying. If it's worth it to you, you'll get it replaced, somehow ;)
 
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