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Apple recommended that I get my Imac repaired vs a new one

Look at a gray matte (or any color for that matter) surrounding any photo in a large frame. When viewed as a whole, the top will never look exactly the same tone as the bottom, even though they are identical.

Similarly, cut two strips of gray card from the same paper or board, and place them one above the other on a wall, a couple of feet apart. Stand back and look at them. Do they still look EXACTLY the same? No.
 
Well, I would suggest that you check your iMac (21.5" or 27") for two possible problems:

1. Yellow tinge
2. Screen brightness noise

My replacement has been delayed, and should ship from the 21st to the 28th. The problem with mine (week 49) was a yellow tinge at the bottom half of the screen, so I shipped back for a replacement. However, I was not aware of a second possible problem, which is noise coming from the screen below 70% brightness, so I didn't test it for that.
 
Sir Cecil said:
Look at a gray matte (or any color for that matter) surrounding any photo in a large frame. When viewed as a whole, the top will never look exactly the same tone as the bottom, even though they are identical.

Similarly, cut two strips of gray card from the same paper or board, and place them one above the other on a wall, a couple of feet apart. Stand back and look at them. Do they still look EXACTLY the same? No.
Click to expand...

On my new iMac? Nope. On my Macbook? Yup. A piece of grey card in an even lighting scenario? Yep. The SAME. I know a color temperature difference when I see one - I'm a colorist.
 
Personally I'd take the Mac back for a refund. Maybe wait a few months for the dust to settle. Once the nice panels are out buy again.

You said you have an old iMac - is it that bad to go back to?



Sir Cecil, stop being an Apple apologist - they made something which a high percentage appear to be faulty. Just cos Apple said don't trust a website doesn't mean it's not a valid test. Camera shops tell people to avoid 3rd party camera batteries, apparently they explode and destroy cameras - i'm still waiting to see evidence.
 
Anyone complaining of issues with the 27" iMac is obviously a paid MSFT operative and it's all a big conspiracy to tarnish Apple's perfect reputation. ;)
 
JimKirk said:
They said that when a fix is discovered, it takes a while to roll into production.
Click to expand...

Yes. There are four stages to problem resolution. First, acknowledgment - Apple has to agree (internally, not necessarily publicly) that there is a problem in the first place... hopefully this has happened for the flicker and yellowing problem. Second, diagnosis of the problem - they must pin down what is responsible for causing the problem (video card, displays, drivers etc.). Third, a solution to the problem must be worked out - this is not trivial at all, because it must be a solution that can be implemented realistically and not simply a one-time fix, but something that's economical and practical to do in consultation with the manufacturers or part suppliers. Fourth, it must be implemented in the manufacturing process - that takes time, you may have to change procedures or source different parts etc. How long all this takes depends on many factors, but some problems simply fail to be resolved because a key stage is not cleared (they never find a practical/economical solution, or can't properly diagnose etc.). How long it'll take in the case of the flicker and the yellowing is anyone's guess.

JimKirk said:
I have a genius appointment on Monday and will keep you guys updated. They recommended doing the repair before the holiday (My guess is that they expect a high return rate).

That is normal with most products after Christmas due to the sheer volume of shipments during christmas.

They said a 4-10 day window for the repair.
Click to expand...

I'm betting that the genius guys really don't know what's going on. At what stage are they? At least it looks like Apple has acknowledged the problem, but have the diagnosed it, and have they found a solution? How do we know this? I suspect the geniuses are going on faith and hope here, unless they had communication from the Apple engineering teams, which I doubt. Regardless, all they need to do is get through to stage 3 for individual repairs. How long after that to stage four - implementation of a solution for mass production - who knows, and won't matter, if they really can at least fix this issue for individual customers.

Anyhow, this will be very interesting - I'm waiting anxiously for what you find out.
 
Kebabselector said:
Sir Cecil, stop being an Apple apologist - they made something which a high percentage appear to be faulty.
Click to expand...


No-one is knocking those with genuine problems. I've encountered many myself with Apple gear. I'm on my third Quad iMac because of terrible hard drive noise. But this is a mass-hysteria site.
Last time the flavor-of-the-month iMac problem was light bleed. Most people forgot about it after their two-week return period was up, or after their iMac was exchanged for the fourth time and was no different to the original. Those with genuine problems caused such a noise here, almost everyone seeing some normal light reflections ended up claiming they had light bleed and sent in worthless ill-lit photos to prove it.
Same now. Hundreds of perfectly-good iMacs are probably being returned, by people who were perfectly happy with their screens, until they stumbled on the Yellow Peril test here. I'm convinced that many of the returns could be sent back to the same people as new with a different serial number, and we'd have them on here telling us what an improvement Week XX has made.
 
I hate to be a realist here but if your not demanding your money back, you're morons. I'm still waiting on someone to start a class action against apple. Sorry but 2 grand is not chump change. That is allot of money. You didn't see this kind of problem when the 1st 24 inch imac came out. Mine still works flawlessly. And for the fanboys who say its around 5% of these with problems, your nose is way to far up apple's rear end. This is definately a black eye on apple and probably deserve it with the cheap labor out of china. Pee poor oversight and quality control. Pure and simple. If you want to get apples attention, DEMAND your money back, everyone with these issues, then wait for the fix. No reason to buy a flawed computer. Ever.
 
bearcatrp said:
I hate to be a realist here but if your not demanding your money back, your morons. I'm still waiting on someone to start a class action against apple. Sorry but 2 grand is not chump change. That is allot of money. You didn't see this kind of problem when the 1st 24 inch imac came out. Mine still works flawlessly. And for the fanboys who say its around 5% of these with problems, your nose is way to far up apple's rear end. This is definately a black eye on apple and probably deserve it with the cheap labor out of china. Pee poor oversight and quality control. Pure and simple. If you want to get apples attention, DEMAND your money back, everyone with these issues, then wait for the fix. No reason to buy a flawed computer. Ever.
Click to expand...

Nice. Very constructive. For future reference, the contraction for "you are" is "you're".
 
boombashi said:
Your profile says you have a 2TB. Are you having noise problems with your 2TB? I have only heard of the noisy hard drives with the 1TB Seagate Drives.
Click to expand...

The first two were Seagate 1T drives in the i5. Very noisy groaning/rumbling (though the second one didn't start its noise until after three or four days).
The current one is the 2T Hitachi in the i7. No problem with the Hitachi so far.

I've experienced no screen problems with any of the three. Best screens I've ever seen, even better than the Apple 24" LED Display I had, which I was pleased with.
 
I have some experience here...

Regarding the original post, I've been down this road and here's what I know:

1) Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem. This much is clear from talking to tech support. They are still collecting samples and testing them for the issue.

2) The "Geniuses" don't really have a clue about it unless the read these forums. Either that or they do a REALLY good job about playing dumb. They aren't bad guys; they have a job to do and rules to play by. Even if the rules suck, this isn't a good economy to wander off the reservation in.

3) There are still bad parts in parts supply chain. How do I know this: I took mine in to be repaired. I had the same conversation with the Apple tech on the phone. Logically, it made sense that getting a fixed computer would alleviate the risk of getting a new bad one. The result was an epic fail; the "fixed" panel was considerably worse than the old one. Yet, the techs at the local Apple store swore up and down that they all looked at it after the repair and that it was "perfect". I tried to show them the page here on this forum that exposes the problem; they told me they couldn't look at it because it wasn't Apple sanctioned. Whatever. Understand that this repair was done at a local Apple store; sending it back to corporate might yield entirely different results. Just be aware that it isn't guaranteed that you will get a clean iMac back.

4) Based on the above, I'm starting to think that there is a chance that some people literally can't see the yellow tint problem. Maybe it has something to do with store lighting; maybe it has something to do with color perception.

5) I wouldn't say that there is NO reason to buy a faulty computer: it depends on the fault, and Windows is a pretty good reason to avoid the alternatives entirely:)

I posted that I was going to return mine a few days ago, and I did, but I caved and ended up getting a new one (my old one was a refurb) and this one is significantly better. It is NOT perfect, but it's better than the first two attempts and I can live with it until Apple figures it out. I still feel confident that Apple WILL figure this out.

Like I said, I totally caved, and I feel almost dirty about it, but after toying around with Windows 7 for a day, I just couldn't bring myself to go down THAT road for any period of time. It's one thing to stand on principle, but not if it is going to make me utterly miserable. If Windows 7 had just been a little bit better, I may have done it.

Moral of the story: the yellow tint issue has yet to be completely sorted, and there is a chance that your repaired machine could wind up worse than the original.

Good luck with your decision; I totally understand/respect those that walk away, and I totally understand/respect those that hang in there. It just depends on your situation.
 
Sir Cecil said:
No-one is knocking those with genuine problems. I've encountered many myself with Apple gear. I'm on my third Quad iMac because of terrible hard drive noise. But this is a mass-hysteria site.
Last time the flavor-of-the-month iMac problem was light bleed. Most people forgot about it after their two-week return period was up, or after their iMac was exchanged for the fourth time and was no different to the original. Those with genuine problems caused such a noise here, almost everyone seeing some normal light reflections ended up claiming they had light bleed and sent in worthless ill-lit photos to prove it.
Same now. Hundreds of perfectly-good iMacs are probably being returned, by people who were perfectly happy with their screens, until they stumbled on the Yellow Peril test here. I'm convinced that many of the returns could be sent back to the same people as new with a different serial number, and we'd have them on here telling us what an improvement Week XX has made.
Click to expand...

You are sounding sane here, but you're card board cut out analogy was idiotic.
 
I also have the yellow tinge problem. It seems to stand out the most when I am reading the Macrumors forums, and no, I am not joking.

It must be the grey theme used that causes it to stand out more.
 
ScottFitz said:
You are sounding sane here, but you're card board cut out analogy was idiotic.
Click to expand...

It was meant to be. I was attempting to draw an idiotic parallel with the idiotic test that everyone is already doing.
Apparently my sense of irony is wasted here.
 
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