Picture of condensation on my 24" alu

[co mac noob]

The bottom line is that it is annoying that this occurs. But guess what? The problem isn't the device. The problem is the environment. It's not good to live in an environment that is that humid. It's not good for your electronics, and it's not good for you. Your iMac is telling you something needs to be fixed in your environment. http://www.helium.com/tm/357388/common-fungus-probably-common

Your iMac is trying to save your life, and you don't even realize it.

 

[Darkroom]

omg... i'm SICK of all you fanboys writing all this nonsense about how the environment there is too humid!!! do any of you actually own alu 24" iMacs? they are RAMPANT with screen problems!!! the thread starter has other screens and they don't do that...

APPLE'S TECHNICAL DESIGN FOR ALU IMACS IS NOT STRONG! got it?! good!!!

i myself am on my second iMac, and while the gradient issue on this one isn't as bad as the first one, i have worse screen bleeding... and interestingly, the screen bleeding seems to be getting worse!

 

[saltyzoo]

It's not a matter of being a fanboy. It's a matter of understanding physics. A bad design cannot "create" condensation. Perhaps a different design could reduce the problem, but the problem is the environment, not the screen.

 

[Darkroom]

It's not a matter of being a fanboy. It's a matter of understanding physics. A bad design cannot "create" condensation. Perhaps a different design could reduce the problem, but the problem is the environment, not the screen.

have you ever seen condensation on the iMacs happen on the top of the screen? in the middle? how about the left side of the screen? oh that's right - it's always on the bottom right corner... interesting how environments work...

also, my "environment" didn't cause my iMac screen to create gradient and mura effects all over it... so yeah, "Perhaps a different design could reduce the problem" is a bit of an understatement...

 

[saltyzoo]

I never claimed there are no defects in any iMac. I'm only stating that condensation CANNOT occur unless the environment has very high humidity. That is a fact of physics. No matter how well designed, there is a point where environment can prevent ANY design from working properly.

 

[moviespoof]

Design Flaw

Today's date is July 14, 2008. My imac 24 inch is 1 month old...

Obviously apple has not fixed this problem. Was just on the phone with Apple Support and they told me to go into the Apple Menu/Display Setting and make sure the display setting is set to normal.

I said are you joking? Apparently calls are sent overseas. Have 3 macs in the same room and only one is building up fog. Just called again and they said move that mac into another room and you should be fine...Now Apple will tell you it's not in a designated room.

Since when should my 24 inch need to be in a special room. I have 2 other machines in the same room. Now they say to go to apple retail.

Am on the phone again...Will keep you posted. It's a design flaw and humidity issue.

I took the machine out of the basement 5 times and when I brought it upstairs it was fine and when I took it back to the basement each time my screen fogged up... their should be a recall and class action it's only a matter of time before one pops up if apple doesn't do a recall.....

I feel sorry for the folks who live in the tropics cause the temp inside the home is the same outside so it's probably fogging all the time in the tropics.

In the mean time we can all move to the north pole. My mac is only one month old....

 

[saltyzoo]

I feel sorry for the folks who live in the tropics cause the temp inside the home is the same outside so it's probably fogging all the time in the tropics.

No, you got it completely wrong. Because the temp is the same condensation will not occur in that case.

I would look at what is different in the location of the mac with the problem. Is it near a window where it gets direct sunlight? Is it in the path of an AC or heat vent? Humidity + change in temperature and the humidity = condensation. You can't get it without both things present.

 

[idyll]

Eouwch! IMO this is Apple's problem and they should resolve it!

 

[moviespoof]

I wish to defect

There are 3 machines in the same room two 20 inch and 1 24 inch there are no windows in the basement.

I just went to the genius bar and they came to the conclusion that its a defect in the machine... if you have 3 machines in the same environment and one is building up condensation then the machine is flawed and it not your environment and to bring it in...So we'll see what happens next..

No, you got it completely wrong. Because the temp is the same condensation will not occur in that case.

I would look at what is different in the location of the mac with the problem. Is it near a window where it gets direct sunlight? Is it in the path of an AC or heat vent? Humidity + change in temperature and the humidity = condensation. You can't get it without both things present.

 

[suMMx]

not sure if this fixes the issues but simply using suction cups to lift the screen and cleaning it works just fine. I had dirt behind my glass and i cleaned it in less than 10 minutes.

 

[Hates]

not sure if this fixes the issues but simply using suction cups to lift the screen and cleaning it works just fine. I had dirt behind my glass and i cleaned it in less than 10 minutes.

So you just pulled the screen off the front?

 

[moviespoof]

The Looking Glass

It's really easy to pull it off, I tried it yesterday. It worked. I just used a little suction thingy that you can use to hold something up on the windshield of the car. Just be careful...

This vid shows you how easy it is...But I don't see the need to clean behind the glass since it never gets dirty behind it and the condensation evaporates because when I pulled off the glass it was dry behind it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9gVDH-7d34&feature=related

So you just pulled the screen off the front?

 

[kaiwai]

Dear god, just get a bloody dehumidifier be be done with it!

 

[wazgilbert]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it so far, but I would imagine the lack of clearance to this table-top will adversely affect the airflow.

I have seen other pics of condensation in the same location, but none of them were far enough away to see the way the imac was mounted, it is always assumed that the stand is supporting it, giving the 3-4" clearance from the desk.

HTH.

 

[moviespoof]

wow!

just like my machine when I had it in the other room.. I bought a fan n put it under the desk thinking it would help with air circulation but it only made it worse... Even if u get a new machine u will still have the same problem... I took a machine from the office home n still the same thing...but it does not happen with the smaller one.. Seems 24inch problem...this sucks..

 

[nyprospect]

Yes the condensation is scary and not something you want to see when you switch on your new imac. But it dose disappear. But what doesn't go, is the filth on the inside of the glass. (Milky Water Marks) looks like some cleaning process, thats still going horribly wrong in the china factory.
Im sure its only a problem for able sited members of society

What a shame on the company. Not even to fix these massive problems this late in the game. questions their ethos, and their use of plausible deniability.
Plus we cant all go out and buy mac pos. Which is obviously what the want us who care to do . Am I rambling ?

Personally I like the matt/ speckle effect of the older imacs. YOu cant obviously see the square pixels which always put me off the new imac.
Still i've recommended two people to buy them. Who would not even understand what we debating, kind of proves apples thinking, but hard on the core of apples loyal educated customer base.
(And too penny pinching for a company that has 19 Billion in the bank) Lol the should'nt cut their margin's too far, screens are the main components of any apple product. My borthers mac book screen is horrible (Another sale recomendation)!

You make very good points.Yes apple dropped the ball on the imacs.I had the white i mac with the sparkles not nearly as bad as the glass panel.I loved the white imac until i killed mine by accident.The imac will still appeal to many consumers.This specific issue can be taken care of by removing the glass panel that is held by a number magnets around the edge.Wipe it down.Good luck

 

[patrick80639]

Well, this just happened to my 24" iMac too this morning. I stumbled on this forum while googling for info about this problem. Thanks nyprospect for the tip, hopefully wiping down the glass will take care of it permanently. I feel much more comfortable taking the glass off knowing it's held by magnets.

BTW, I'm in Phoenix, humidity has hovered between 20-30% today, and the past few days.

 

[suMMx]

So you just pulled the screen off the front?

i should have been more clear, the suction cup will pull the glass off and you can clean the dirt/condensation then you can just put it down.

 

[likemyorbs]

omg... i'm SICK of all you fanboys writing all this nonsense about how the environment there is too humid!!! do any of you actually own alu 24" iMacs? they are RAMPANT with screen problems!!! the thread starter has other screens and they don't do that...

APPLE'S TECHNICAL DESIGN FOR ALU IMACS IS NOT STRONG! got it?! good!!!

i myself am on my second iMac, and while the gradient issue on this one isn't as bad as the first one, i have worse screen bleeding... and interestingly, the screen bleeding seems to be getting worse!

THANK YOU. im glad someone pointed this out. everyone needs to quit being so defensive of apple, what im seeing is ridiculous, people are pointing out that there isnt a lot of desk space on one side of the imac, the humidity is too high, blah blah blah. the point is, none of these things should be our problem, you can put any computer on any desk and it should work. PERIOD. So all the fanboys need to come to terms with the fact that apple makes mistakes (and lots of them), stop blaming the customer!!! it's not our job to fix their design flaws. so many people on here just cant come to terms with the fact that its a design flaw.

 

[kaiwai]

Well, this just happened to my 24" iMac too this morning. I stumbled on this forum while googling for info about this problem. Thanks nyprospect for the tip, hopefully wiping down the glass will take care of it permanently. I feel much more comfortable taking the glass off knowing it's held by magnets.

BTW, I'm in Phoenix, humidity has hovered between 20-30% today, and the past few days.

Then put a dehumidifier on! jesus christ they're only a few hundred dollars, and cost a few cents to run each day.

If a lowly student living in a flat can afford one, I'm sure you can too!

There is nothing wrong with the design, make sure your house isn't' so damn humid that you can virtually swim in the air.

 

[saltyzoo]

THANK YOU. im glad someone pointed this out. everyone needs to quit being so defensive of apple, what im seeing is ridiculous, people are pointing out that there isnt a lot of desk space on one side of the imac, the humidity is too high, blah blah blah. the point is, none of these things should be our problem, you can put any computer on any desk and it should work. PERIOD. So all the fanboys need to come to terms with the fact that apple makes mistakes (and lots of them), stop blaming the customer!!! it's not our job to fix their design flaws. so many people on here just cant come to terms with the fact that its a design flaw.

I'm not a fanboy of Apple, I'm a fanboy of physics.

 

[chrono1081]

This isnt just iMacs that do this!!!

I used to install plasma tvs and you would see this as well. It does indicate a humidity problem in a certain room (we saw this in basements most often) while keeping the machine on will make it go away (at least it did for the TVs), you really should think about a dehumidifier for the room as others have stated because even though your mac shows this, other electronics will not and it can ruin them.

 

[likemyorbs]

I'm not a fanboy of Apple, I'm a fanboy of physics.

somehow physics didn't get to the older all-in-one imacs.

 

[designeralice]

sleep mode instead of shut down solved it for me

I finally found that keeping it parked in sleep mode instead of shutting down solved the fogging for me, in my humid environment.

The scary thing tho is I think the reason it works is because that side of the screen, specifically at the disk drive, gets "fantastically" hot - to the point where disks are nearly uncomfortable to touch after only a minute in the drive.

But I guess that's yet another imac-troubles post I need to find.

 

[patrick80639]

Then put a dehumidifier on! jesus christ they're only a few hundred dollars, and cost a few cents to run each day.

If a lowly student living in a flat can afford one, I'm sure you can too!

There is nothing wrong with the design, make sure your house isn't' so damn humid that you can virtually swim in the air.

A dehumidifier? I made a point of saying where I live because it's in the middle of a desert!

After wiping down the glass, it hasn't come back. It seems like removing the glass pane and cleaning it is a more practical solution.