Resolved Should I bother repairing my 24" LED Cinema Display?

[davidg4781]

I purchased a 24" LED Cinema Display on CL for what I thought was a really good deal. I'm starting to see why it was discounted so much.

Here are the issues it has:
1 or 2 dead pixels in the middle of the screen
Hinge mechanism is a little loose and I have to tilt the screen back every hour or so, depending on how much I shake the desk
2 outer USB ports on the back do not work, middle one does (one powers but no data, other is dead)

Would it be worth it for me to take it to Apple and have them repair it? How much would it cost? I've looked at ordering the parts (logic board and mechanism, not worrying about dead pixels) and the repair work looks a bit difficult. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[MCAsan]

I suggest that spending money on a Cinema or Thunderbolt display is way to late in their life cycle to be a good investment. Move on to a 4K monitor that will accept your current Mac's max resolution and still be usable when you get a Mac that can do 4K or 5K.

 

[jterp7]

david, at the least take it to apple to see what they can do. They will be at least be able to tell you how much. Unfortunately for me, when I brought my TB there it worked fine and proceeded to have issues only after I brought it home again.

 

[davidg4781]

Ok, so I called Apple and an Apple store, let them know what I had, and asked for a rough estimate, just to see what I was looking at. I spent about $130 for this display, which I thought is a really good deal, especially if it worked great. I figured if I can get it repaired for about another $100 I'd still be in a good shape.

They both said to take it into an Apple store. After I drug it in and drove an hour to get there, i was told it's too old for them to work on since they only go back so many years. I got the same response from one of those authorized apple repair centers.

The good thing is, the panel looks great (it's not 4K but my mini can't drive that anyway, I think?), the speakers work, and one USB port does, if I ever need it. Right now I'm using it with an old keyboard but I ultimately want to upgrade to a wireless one.

 

[h9826790]

I own quite a few 24" Cinema display before. I only buy one, but due to quality issue, it's been replaced for 7 times. Dead pixels, uneven yellow screen, etc. The worse one I have is the panel (the actual panel under the glass) is not flat. So, after 7 exchanges within 18 months (luckily, I have on site support, they just keep taking new monitor to my place for replacement), they offer me the 27" Cinema display. Which is good for about 4 years, and now the corner shows yellow again.

May be it's too humid in south Asia, which cause the problem. But TBH, from my experience, I don't think invest money on fixing the 24" Cinema is a good idea.

 

[pastrychef]

Personally, I would rather spend the money on a new monitor.

 

[Jozone]

Might be worth looking into fixing the hinge yourself. I would hold off on any aftermarket LCD/Board replacement as they will end up costing as much as a very nice (non-apple display) --- even with these described issues, you got yourself a good deal.

 

[davidg4781]

I'm going to stick with what I have for now. I'll wait to see what Apple has. I ultimately want a MBP and an updated display, but I'm willing to wait until all the "must-haves" are here (USB-C, 5k external display, etc.).

The only thing is unloading this display when I finally decide to. I've since moved and live in an area with very little Apple items on Craigslist. It's mainly just iPhones and I don't want to deal with shipping on eBay.