Smokey Screen

[Tobster3]

Hi,

I have had my iMac for about 8 months now and had no problems with it. The screen was also perfect when I received it as I did numerous checks for Yellow Screen, Dead Pixels and light leakage to name a few.

Today when I switched my iMac on i noticed these smokey marks in the Top Right of the screen. Any ideas to what this is? See attached photo.

Neither my wife nor I smoke.

My iMac is obviously still under warranty so will call Apple Care soon to get it looked at, repaired or replaced.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments. Before someone says it, Yes I have wiped my screen clean and it is not on the outside.

Thanks

 

[David085]

If you try everything and notthing solve it, ya take it into apple for repair.

 

[oriol4]

.... you could try doing this..... you'll find different videos about it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnI3kpaWEIU&feature=related

 

[erure]

I had that exact same issue and got my screen replaced, but a month later it's doing it again, so I'm at a loss for what I should do...

 

[Mac.Lewis]

I had the same thing aswell on my 21.5", i took it into apple and they have sent it away for repair, got a phonecall from the technician earlier today and they said it was a problem with the LED screen so they are replacing it for me, just hope that it doesnt do it again, if it does I will demand they replace it with a new one.

 

[pubjoe]

My 24" imac looked similar. It was hardened condensation. I cleaned it up before I sold it by removing the glass with my fingernails, spitting on a lint-free cloth and wiping the back of the glass.

You may not have the same problem; it may be a backlight fault (which would require a replacement through apple); I can't tell from the photo. But for a minute or two with a cloth, it's worth a try.

 

[T-bag]

I'm interessted in buying a brand new iMac today. Shouldn't I? Seams like many people are suffering from this!

 

[Tobster3]

I am going to try and remove the glass and give the screen and glass a clean this weekend.

This video was helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHMHzq5E5I

I'll let you know if cleaning it resolved the problem or not.

 

[AlphaDogg]

I am going to try and remove the glass and give the screen and glass a clean this weekend.

This video was helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHMHzq5E5I

I'll let you know if cleaning it resolved the problem or not.

This is a terrible idea. If it is under warranty, let Apple take care of it.

 

[Tobster3]

I removed the glass and It was immediately clear that the smokey marks are actually on the screen and can not be removed.

I might add that removing the screen is so simple if you review the video in the link in my previous post. It took me less than 2 mins to remove, clean and replace.

I'll be calling Apple Care protection on Monday. Will keep you updated.

 

[erure]

Yeah I'll be packing mine up and taking it to the apple store... again...

 

[thepominlaw]

exact same issue 21.5" iMac (Mar 2010)

 

[cxc]

Oh no!
This disease has also befallen my 27 incher after about one year (;
Man, I am gutted. This is already a replacement for a device that has been plagued by yellow tinting.
Every single iMacI have owned has had issues. Either upon arrival or failures afterwards. The laptops have been great so has been my MacPro. I wish I had the money for a pro. This sucks.

 

[Tobster3]

I live in South Korea and fortunately or unfortunately (I am not sure which yet), the nearest Apple store does not have a Genius Bar. After calling Apple Care Protection Plan helpline, Apple will be sending an Engineer to my apartment tomorrow to take a look at the screen.

Will advise the outcome tomorrow.

 

[T-bag]

From all the posts at this forum about this matter, I get really anxious about keeping the 27" that just got sent from apple. Is this so normal that I can expect suffering from this in the future? Would love some statistics if possible.

 

[Grolsch30]

Well,

From the 5 new iMac 27 i5's I received 3 of them already had this smoke screen!

Plus background light leakage.

Sent them back and asked for a refund and either going to wait until an update in the hope that they will have cured this or get a MacBook Pro once refreshed.

Quite disappointed with

 

[T-bag]

Did you notice them instantly, or did it show up after a while? Really considering getting a 17" MBP instead now.

 

[Grolsch30]

Did you notice them instantly, or did it show up after a while? Really considering getting a 17" MBP instead now.

I noticed straight away, after unboxing switching on, doing any updates, I checked for the yellowing issue, the background light leakage issue and this smokey screen issue I just came across whilst doing the tests for the yellow tint issue.
On a White background you can see it straight away.

Am waiting for the iMac and macmini to be refreshed as my misses wants the large screen, and see what that brings.

If the mac mini gets a good upgrade then may opt for that as the separate 27 inch display does not seem to have any issues or not heard of any.

 

[T-bag]

It's really irritating when this kind of unpredictable things happen yourself. I've been reading a lot about this since yesterday, and it seems to be a heat issue, concentrated heat at specific locations on the screen. All cases I've seen has been with black smoke markings in the top corners, mostly on the 27" screen.

I've decided to unbox the machine when it arrives, thoroughly inspect the machine for screen issues, and hope for the best. If I see any signs indigating these problem I'll return it if within my the two week window.

Surely, this can't be happening to ALL iMacs? I would love to hear about someone having an imac for a couple of years without any screen issues. If there's no record of a "clean" iMac 27 experience I might reconsider and return it right away!

Also - I saw a few posts about this and sunlight. A guy saw the smoke fade after blocking direct sunlight (after a couple of minutes). Maybe it's the direct sunlight that affects the top because of the already heated area, and that it burns in if exposed over time? I find this to be extremely odd, but I live in Norway, and have checked all the norwegian forums for this issue, failing to find any. Point being Norway is a cold country with less "angeled" sunlight than many others. Maybe there's something to it?

People with problems: Direct sunlight? Hot/Cold rooms? Hot weather/cold weather outside?

 

[sam558]

smokey screen

Got my 21.5" mac in october 2010, already got smokey screen. Took to genius bar in store this morning. Tech told me it was what will happen and there is nothing you can do to stop it, they are ordering a new glass for it and will have it in for repair. wish i had known this before hand as i would not have brought the mac. Apple really need to sort this problem for future macs.

 

[T-bag]

Man this sucks. Did they mean that this will eventually happen to all iMac displays? The problems are traces all the way back to the 24" that I know about, which means we have no guarantee that it wont migrate into the next models too.

 

[Mac.Lewis]

just to give you all an update, i have just picked up my imac 21.5" bought in feb 2010 that had the same smokey screen problem, apple have replaced my screen and it is looking as good as new now which is a good thing, and the replacement screen comes with a 3 month warranty so im going to keep a close eye in this one to see how it goes, would of expected more from a £1,300 piece of machinery in an ideal world but hey, thats life...

 

[oriol4]

... as I've commented in other threads, my 24" iMac had those swirly, smoky traces in the upper corners from the first time I unboxed it.......... I just wiped them off removing the glass with a suction cup.......

.... seeing the curved, wavy patterns those smoky traces follow, makes me think that it might be due to the air circulating inside that carries specs of dust from the outside through the vent and eventually deposit on the glass..... but again, I might be wrong........

...... after cleaning them off, my screen and glass are spotless. I do this whenever they start to appear again (6/7 months).....

This is the only issue that my 3 years old iMac has ever gone through, otherwise, it´s a great machine........... I just think of it as a periodic (and very simple) maintenance task, just like wiping the outside......

 

[T-bag]

Wow. Glad I live in Norway. Here we have 5 years warranty by law on things like this. Apple verified stores say 1 year, but if one mention the norwegian policy on consumer products they really can't say anything. The key here is not to give up .

 

[Tobster3]

Apple Engineer visited yesterday and told me it was dirt under the Glass initially, which I knew it wasn't as I had already removed the glass and cleaned it.

The Engineer removed the glass, and then said OOO, seems like we have a hardware problem.

To cut a long story short, they have replaced my screen with a new screen. I did numerous tests on the new screen with the Engineer checking for Light Leakage, yellow tint, dead pixles and smokey screen. The new screen is perfect.

Happy that Apple resolved the problem so quickly, concerned in case this happens again after the Warranty or Apple Care protection expires.