Annoying hand print on i5 iMac

[muliko]

Only noticed this problem recently when I was using the computer in bright daylight last weekend. My i5 27" iMac has an annoying hand print right in the centre of the INSIDE of the glass. Obviously this has come from the manufacturer handling the glass incorrectly during installation.

From day to day use I do not notice this because I use the computer at night with low-lighting, and the majority of the time my blinds/curtains are closed.

Regardless, this is my first Mac, I have saved up long and hard for this machine. I am disappointed that such an error could occur. I paid £1760 for this computer which is a lot of money for me, and at that price you expect near perfection.

I don't think I will ask for a new machine because I can't do without my Mac, is there an easy way to fix the screen problem, and if so, will it void my warranty?

Thanks

 

[Gabrao]

You can always take it back to your apple store, and they will clean it for you there.
Maybe if you get an appointment they could do it on the spot, otherwise i'd say it shouldn't take more than a day.

You could, if you trust yourself, remove the glass with a succion cup, but i would not advise that if you don't have the proper material, and i have no clue how that would affect your warranty...

In other words, take it to the apple store.

 

[muliko]

Thanks about the information on the Apple store, but the nearest one would cost me about £60 petrol to get there and back. Plus there is the inconvinience of wasting a Saturday to fix a computer that should not have had this error in the first place.

 

[chrono1081]

My parents mac had a similar problem. Its actually super easy to fix and works if you get dust behind the glass as well.

On youtube, do a search on "how to clean imac" and most likely you will find a video showing how.

Basically you take a suction cup, stick it to the glass and the glass pulls right off. You clean it and stick it back on. The glass is held by little pins but its nothing I would worry about breaking. It seriously took me like 3 min to do. The longest part was cleaning the glass.

 

[jamin100]

if your not willing to take it back then your only other option is to take the glass off yourself. Void your warrenty AND risk the chance of breaking something at the same time.

If it were me, £60 seems nothing compared to a breaking a machine worth over £1700...

 

[ttopp]

you dont have to take it to an apple store..

call apple and they will tell you the closest authorised repair center where you can take it. most cities have one.

 

[juliancs]

if your not willing to take it back then your only other option is to take the glass off yourself. Void your warrenty AND risk the chance of breaking something at the same time.

If it were me, £60 seems nothing compared to a breaking a machine worth over £1700...

You do not void your warranty by removing the glass

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Lots of great advice have been given here. You can clean the glass yourself (not hard to do, you just have to be careful). Or see if there is an authorized repair center near you (there usually is). Or have Apple send you a new computer in the mail and then when arrives you can transfer your files and then mail your old one back.

I agree that it shouldn't have happened in the first place, but all three of the options above are good quick fixes to your problem.

Bryan

 

[spencers]

Man up and clean it yourself.

 

[53x12]

Void your warrenty AND risk the chance of breaking something at the same time.

What is all this nonsense about voiding the warranty? Did you just make that up yourself? Do I void my warranty if I unplug my computer at night?

 

[muliko]

Man up and clean it yourself.

When I spend £1760 on a computer I don't expect to have to take off the delicate glass panel screen to clean it myself.

Save your bad advice for yourself.

 

[Aadhil]

When I spend £1760 on a computer I don't expect to have to take off the delicate glass panel screen to clean it myself.

Save your bad advice for yourself.

You shouldn't really buy something so expensive if you're unable to fix its simplest problems.

 

[53x12]

You shouldn't really buy something so expensive if you're unable to fix its simplest problems.

Huh?? Does that mean I shouldn't fly business class on a trans atlantic flight if I don't know how to fix a blown engine or know how to fly a plane? Come on now stop being ridiculous.

 

[Fiete5401]

When I spend £1760 on a computer I don't expect to have to take off the delicate glass panel screen to clean it myself.

Save your bad advice for yourself.

If you see how easy it is to remove the glass then you will probably understand him. In the meantime: Man up!

 

[flopticalcube]

When I spend £1760 on a computer I don't expect to have to take off the delicate glass panel screen to clean it myself.

Save your bad advice for yourself.

I'm not sure why you posted this thread? Do you want suggestions on how to solve the problem? Sympathy? An angry mob to rail with you against poor quality control? If you don't like some of the comments then maybe you shouldn't post in a public forum.

BTW, I agree with the poster. Its a shame you got a crappy screen. Its not an insurmountable problem. Man up and clean the screen if you won't take it to Apple. Alternatively you can call them and maybe they will pay for shipping to and from the Apple store (but I doubt it).

 

[tdgrn]

In all honesty, it is really, really, really easy to do, if you have a suction cup.
Otherwise, go to the Apple store. You come to a forum to ask what to do, you were given solutions. If you don't like them, deal with it. It sucks that you are in this situation, but we didn't do it, we are only simply trying to help.
I do this all day at work, and you can't tell that one has been taken off before as there is no sealant or anything, so it won't void your warranty. Good luck, and hope that the rest of your Mac experience is squeaky clean!

 

[MacHamster68]

i totally agree if you pay over £1700 then you can at least expect it to be clean inside and out
i mean you bought it new , you spend more then you would have spend on a similar pc so you can expect it to be of higher build quality ,
you bought a £1700 iMac , not a £500 pc , so get on the phone and complain , the right is on your side especially in the uk
eventually if you talk nice to them you can bring them to compensate you with some goodies for the petrol and time you spend to bring it back to get cleaned
maybe free iWorks if you dont have it or a free second magic mouse or some % of if you buy something , you know what i mean try to haggle like on a basar

ok like some said cleaning is easy , but then , you handle it wrong and you could put a pressure mark on the then unprotected actual screen
then you would have a problem, because i was you who did the damage and you wont be covered by any warranty then
(and for the cleaning enthusiasts here dont tell its impossible to put a pressure mark or scratch on the screen by removing the glass )
it should not be up to the customer to bring the build quality to a acceptable standard you bought a iMac , not a £500 pc , so get on the phone and complain ,

 

[Aadhil]

Huh?? Does that mean I shouldn't fly business class on a trans atlantic flight if I don't know how to fix a blown engine or know how to fly a plane? Come on now stop being ridiculous.

You're confusing a product with a service. Also comparing jets and computers are like comparing apples and oranges.

 

[MacHamster68]

so simple question why does apple not deliver the iMac with a suction cup if they would expect users to clean behind the glass ???
because they do not expect users to do that , because there is normally no way dust could get behind the glass if it was fitted proper in the factory
so its a simple question of who caused the problem ? the apple factory caused it , so apple should sort it out and not the customer

 

[53x12]

You're confusing a product with a service. Also comparing jets and computers are like comparing apples and oranges.

My point still stands that when you purchase something, you purchase with certain expectations. When I fly, I don't expect to have to help fly the plane to offset my cost/responsibility. When I buy a new car I don't buy it with the fuel tank missing or no tires on it and having to install those myself. Same with a new computer, you purchase it with a certain expectation that it should come ready to run with no issue that you should need to address except plug and play. Whether or not you want to accept this issue is up to you. The issue still stands, when you purchase something you buy it with certain basic assumptions in place.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

What's the big issue here? If the OP doesn't want to clean the glass, then send it back and get another one. Case closed.

 

[53x12]

What's the big issue here? If the OP doesn't want to clean the glass, then send it back and get another one. Case closed.

Yep exactly. There aren't many options:

1) Clean the glass yourself
2) Bring it back to Apple store for them to clean
3) Bring it to Apple Store to replace/call up AppleCare to replace over the phone (if still within 14 days)
4) Just leave it as is and worry about it later

 

[andothfc]

You're right that you shouldn't have to clean it yourself but you'd be wrong to do anything other than get a suction cup and clean it yourself, I've taken the glass off the front of the iMac, it's easy and you don't need to be very careful. Very little force is required.

I accept that it's annoying that they sent it with this mark on it but you could have cleaned it off in the time it took you to post this thread.

As has been said, there is no magic solution - you either buy a cheap suction cup and do it yourself in 30 seconds or you call Apple and go through the hassle of sending it back and having to wait for it to be returned/replaced.

Just go ahead and clean it and you'll feel stupid for making such a fuss about it.

 

[andothfc]

so simple question why does apple not deliver the iMac with a suction cup if they would expect users to clean behind the glass ???
because they do not expect users to do that , because there is normally no way dust could get behind the glass if it was fitted proper in the factory
so its a simple question of who caused the problem ? the apple factory caused it , so apple should sort it out and not the customer

Of course they don't EXPECT you to have to clean behind the glass, but that doesn't mean it's not the best solution in this case. And I'm sure Apple would sort it out but it's such an easy job to do yourself that any solution that involves Apple just means unnecessary work/effort/expense for you.

Not cleaning this yourself is just cutting your nose off to spite your face.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Not cleaning this yourself is just cutting your nose off to spite your face.

LOL!