New iMac - Stuck Pixels

[Textureboy]

I just received my new iMac and and after waiting two weeks and there's a ton of stuck pixels on my screen :'(

I boot up this monitor and while the screen was still black I noticed it has almost no light leak at all. It's perfect until I pulled my chair closer and got comfortable on my desk and noticed all the stuck pixels all over the screen.

I went through 3 rMBP's in 2012 and ended up keeping the last replacement with a stuck pixel on the top left corner. Fast forward this year a pixel got stuck right in the middle of my screen; I gave up exchanging it because it was such a hassle going back and forth. This 27" iMac is massive and I really hate to go through multiple systems again... just my luck.


Here are some pics I took on my iPhone. I could have easily pulled out my Macro lens on my DSLR but my iPhone could reveal the pixels.

This picture was taken on one side of the screen. (left)

This picture was taken on my right side of the screen.

The light leak looks bad in the photo but it actually doesn't look like that in real life. Its almost perfect to me.

 

[redheeler]

That looks terrible. I haven't noticed any stuck pixels on my (late 2014) 5K iMac's display.

 

[Textureboy]

That looks terrible. I haven't noticed any stuck pixels on my (late 2014) 5K iMac's display.

There's actually over 20 when I count them. I stopped counting after 20... I didn't think these many stuck pixels would be even possible.

Definitely going to return it and order a new one. I expect almost perfection after spending 5k.

 

[Naaaaak]

Second-worst nightmare. You have a strong cause for a return. The worst nightmare is if you have one or two.

 

[Textureboy]

Second-worst nightmare. You have a strong cause for a return. The worst nightmare is if you have one or two.

Seriously idk whats worse if I had ONE out of the million pixels or as many as I do now...

 

[dsc888]

Seriously idk whats worse if I had ONE out of the million pixels or as many as I do now...

Same here, man! I really can't believe this myself...until it happened to me also. I have 15+ all within a small 2 square inch section of the screen brought the iSight camera. I get a bad feeling that more folks will chime in as they inspect their units a little closer. Gorgeous screen but poor QC.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Well apples policy is a replacement with 4 or more dead pixels or bright ones, and they'll replace it no questions asked as a return within 14 days.

 

[Textureboy]

Well apples policy is a replacement with 4 or more dead pixels or bright ones, and they'll replace it no questions asked as a return within 14 days.

It's just a hassle for me to return and buy it again and wait another week or two. Especially when this package isn't small.

 

[Textureboy]

Same here, man! I really can't believe this myself...until it happened to me also. I have 15+ all within a small 2 square inch section of the screen brought the iSight camera. I get a bad feeling that more folks will chime in as they inspect their units a little closer. Gorgeous screen but poor QC.

I'm really afraid to ask people to check. I feel like they'll see problems that they didn't know exist.


It really bothers me that it was the first thing I saw when I turned it on. There was minimal to no light bleed and I was super happy for that.

 

[mattoligy]

If mine comes with a single dead pixel or any light bleed at all it will be going back!

 

[FrankySavvy]

I had the same problem with my late 2015 5k iMac, The Apple store re-ordered me a new one, let me keep my original unit until it arrived and made the swap. I throughly checked the display in the store to make sure its perfect! No stuck/dead pixels or light bleed/uniformity issues now

 

[Textureboy]

I had the same problem with my late 2015 5k iMac, The Apple store re-ordered me a new one, let me keep my original unit until it arrived and made the swap. I throughly checked the display in the store to make sure its perfect! No stuck/dead pixels or light bleed/uniformity issues now

That's awesome! I ended up ordering another one and requested a return for my current one. Let's hope this one comes in perfect.

 

[dsc888]

That's awesome! I ended up ordering another one and requested a return for my current one. Let's hope this one comes in perfect.

Ditto! Good luck and keep us all posted.

 

[Textureboy]

Just received my replacement iMac and the screen is perfect. Actually less light bleed as before which wasn't an issue and no stuck pixels. I didn't even have to try in my first iMac I received to find stuck pixels and you can see them all over the screen when its booting up.

This new iMac is actually assembled in USA. My last one was assembled in China. I'm going to assume China had poor quality control to let the screen actually get through the assembly line.

 

[dsc888]

Just received my replacement iMac and the screen is perfect. Actually less light bleed as before which wasn't an issue and no stuck pixels. I didn't even have to try in my first iMac I received to find stuck pixels and you can see them all over the screen when its booting up.

This new iMac is actually assembled in USA. My last one was assembled in China. I'm going to assume China had poor quality control to let the screen actually get through the assembly line.

Good to hear! Glad it worked the 2nd time around! I will get my replacement this week as well. My 1st unit was also built in China. I will report back once I pick it up at the Apple Store.

 

[kaunosario]

Good to hear! Glad it worked the 2nd time around! I will get my replacement this week as well. My 1st unit was also built in China. I will report back once I pick it up at the Apple Store.

How do you tell where an iMac is assembled?

 

[Bendamac]

I had one stuck pixel on my 23" Cinema Display that I used with my 1,1 Mac Pro. I didn't want to even think of going through trouble of returning the monitor even though it drove me nuts . That experience is the reason I won't stand to by an iMac.
I now have 2013 Mac Pro and used the same Cinema Display wit it. I recently plunked down lotsa spare change for NEC 32" UHD monitor. No stuck pixels. No light leak. However for whatever reason my d700 graphics card started to crap out. Took Mac Pro to Apple Store in Portland Oregon. They replaced BOTH d700s for grand total of $265. I was not under warranty and not in AppleCare plan. How cool is that? I think street price for the cards have to be several hundred each.

 

[VZGuy]

How do you tell where an iMac is assembled?

It says it on the box and the back of the computer if i'm not mistaken.

 

[G.McGilli]

And yes - on the back of the computer it's printed on with the serial #

 

[Textureboy]

That's awesome! I ended up ordering another one and requested a return for my current one. Let's hope this one comes in perfect.

Good luck!

I can finally settle in my new iMac and migrate my work over and use it as a permanent computer.

 

[dsc888]

Hey Folks,

I'm typing this post from my 1 hour old replacement RiMac and I'm super pleased to say that I won the panel lottery on my second try! Like Textureboy, who started this thread, I ordered a BTO which had about 15+ bright, stuck pixel all in a cluster near the iSight camera. I was pissed! So I boxed her up and returned to my local Apple Store and got a full refund.

I reordered my new machine on Nov. 1 and just picked it up tonight. The screen has zero dead pixels or stuck, bright pixels. I scrutinized my screen from about 6-8 inches using the imac.squeaked.com site's pixel test. All pixels were lit up as they should. Hurray!

And as an added bonus, I noted that this screen had ZERO light bleed. ZERO!!! I know what that looks like as I had an iPad 2, which was notorious for that and still have a 2010 27inch Apple Cinema Display which also has nasty bleed from the bottom corners so bad that it can be seen at all times. I was shocked to say the least.

And what also surprised me was that the screen had much more consistent backlighting across the screen. I had a bit of "dirty screen effect" on my returned unit where it looked like there were smudges on the display like someone had put their dirty hands on it. The screen was perfectly clean. It was noticeable when you scrolled a web page with lots of light colored background and it made the screen look like a dirty touch screen after my kids used it for a while.

So I know what you might be asking. Where was your RiMac made? And the answer is right here in the good old USA! It says so right on the box and on the bottom of the unit on the pedestal. It was shipped from Fremont, CA but I have no idea where it was actually made. I think this is just getting lucky with the Apple Panel Lottery. I had to return 5 iPad3s back in 2012 to get a good panel. My iPad Air2 took 2 trys. All either had uneven yellowing, book spine effect on one side or dead pixels right in the middle. So I know this issue well.

Good luck folks, don't keep your iMac if you have pixel issues that bother you. Once you know that you have dead or stuck pixels, you will always see it and that will ruin the experience. Do testing in the store if you can so you don't have to drag the 30 lb. computer back and forth to the store for return or exchange.

 

[Textureboy]

Hey Folks,

I'm typing this post from my 1 hour old replacement RiMac and I'm super pleased to say that I won the panel lottery on my second try! Like Textureboy, who started this thread, I ordered a BTO which had about 15+ bright, stuck pixel all in a cluster near the iSight camera. I was pissed! So I boxed her up and returned to my local Apple Store and got a full refund.

I reordered my new machine on Nov. 1 and just picked it up tonight. The screen has zero dead pixels or stuck, bright pixels. I scrutinized my screen from about 6-8 inches using the imac.squeaked.com site's pixel test. All pixels were lit up as they should. Hurray!

And as an added bonus, I noted that this screen had ZERO light bleed. ZERO!!! I know what that looks like as I had an iPad 2, which was notorious for that and still have a 2010 27inch Apple Cinema Display which also has nasty bleed from the bottom corners so bad that it can be seen at all times. I was shocked to say the least.

And what also surprised me was that the screen had much more consistent backlighting across the screen. I had a bit of "dirty screen effect" on my returned unit where it looked like there were smudges on the display like someone had put their dirty hands on it. The screen was perfectly clean. It was noticeable when you scrolled a web page with lots of light colored background and it made the screen look like a dirty touch screen after my kids used it for a while.

So I know what you might be asking. Where was your RiMac made? And the answer is right here in the good old USA! It says so right on the box and on the bottom of the unit on the pedestal. It was shipped from Fremont, CA but I have no idea where it was actually made. I think this is just getting lucky with the Apple Panel Lottery. I had to return 5 iPad3s back in 2012 to get a good panel. My iPad Air2 took 2 trys. All either had uneven yellowing, book spine effect on one side or dead pixels right in the middle. So I know this issue well.

Good luck folks, don't keep your iMac if you have pixel issues that bother you. Once you know that you have dead or stuck pixels, you will always see it and that will ruin the experience. Do testing in the store if you can so you don't have to drag the 30 lb. computer back and forth to the store for return or exchange.

That's amazing! Happy for you brother.


I've went through many exchanges and returns in the past with my Samsung phones, MacBooks and I can understand the frustration. It's so time consuming and I was really afraid I would find an issue with this iMac. Now I can finally settle down with it.


Like you dsc888 if there are any issues with screens return it. It's always going to ruin the experience, chances are it may get worse in the future as well. We paid for this guys!

 

[dsc888]

That's amazing! Happy for you brother.


I've went through many exchanges and returns in the past with my Samsung phones, MacBooks and I can understand the frustration. It's so time consuming and I was really afraid I would find an issue with this iMac. Now I can finally settle down with it.


Like you dsc888 if there are any issues with screens return it. It's always going to ruin the experience, chances are it may get worse in the future as well. We paid for this guys!

Yup. I'm plenty pleased with the replacement unit. Until the day Apple goes over to OLED, screens will always vary in quality from panel to panel due to the way the backlight diffusers are built in behind the LCDs. I have yet to see a "Perfect" panel.

I still see a very slight warmer tint on the right side of my screen vs. the left but every single RiMac I've seen at 4 Apple Stores all have it. So it's LG's QC that needs to be improved. But I have to admit that there is no other AIO out there that has such an amazing screen. It's just a shame you need to have a little luck on your side to get a decent screen.

And with MR's article here stating the the iPhone 7 won't have OLED, I'm inclined to believe that the iMacs won't have it either. So there will continue to be threads like this for years to come ;-)

 

[jptsr1]

I wish I never found this post!!!!! I had no clue that stuck pixels were even be an issue with I-Mac's. I went through this issue with my Sony PSP years ago and wound up taking 3 back until I got one I could live with. Anyway this thread made me take a close look at my screen and sure enough I have one. ONE FREGGIN PIXEL!!! Took me the better part of the weekend to get this thing set up how I like it and all my software installed. I just don't know if i'm willing to spin the wheel in hopes I'll get the perfect screen the next time. Plus I got it at Best Buy instead of the Apple store so I would likely have to pay a 15% restocking fee to try another one. I think i may just have to live with it. I only found this one by loading a black screen and turning off all the lights in the room. Now of course I know where it is so I can spot it with modest effort.

 

[Textureboy]

I wish I never found this post!!!!! I had no clue that stuck pixels were even be an issue with I-Mac's. I went through this issue with my Sony PSP years ago and wound up taking 3 back until I got one I could live with. Anyway this thread made me take a close look at my screen and sure enough I have one. ONE FREGGIN PIXEL!!! Took me the better part of the weekend to get this thing set up how I like it and all my software installed. I just don't know if i'm willing to spin the wheel in hopes I'll get the perfect screen the next time. Plus I got it at Best Buy instead of the Apple store so I would likely have to pay a 15% restocking fee to try another one. I think i may just have to live with it. I only found this one by loading a black screen and turning off all the lights in the room. Now of course I know where it is so I can spot it with modest effort.

They charge you 15% for exchanging it?


It took me one attempt to return it. In my experience having stuck/dead pixels on a screen is the worst thing to have. I've gone through many electronics with defects so its not the best thing to experience. My previous Android phones and MacBooks have been replaced multiple times and its such a pain to go through. If you can ignore it (which will be hard) then do so but if you want a perfect screen try another one because you paid for an expensive product and you deserve to get what your hard earned money paid for.