Note: This thread has been updated to recap all of the events that have happened within the thread, so newcomers don't have to read the entire thread.
The Story
On the day the latest iMacs were announced (the early 2008 ones), I went ahead and bought one. A 3.06 GHz, 1TB HD, and 4GBs of RAM model. Fully loaded. I believe I spent $2600 on it.
A little less than two months later, it developed black horizontal lines near the top of the screen. These lines were probably 1-2 pixels wide. (I used to think they were 3-4 pixels wide, but they're actually not. Still enough to bother me and several other people.)
The computer was taken to the Apple Store at La Encantada (Tucson, Arizona), twice. The first time, the logic board was replaced, which did not work. The second time, the LCD was replaced, which actually fixed it. Except that it came back with the microphone broken, and since I use iChat screen sharing a lot, this really mattered to me. Not wanting to take my less-than-two-month-old machine in for a 3rd time, I called customer relations who replaced it for me.
So, they replaced it, and everything was fine. Note that I said was.
A little less than two months later, same issue.
The computer was taken to Simutek, a local AASP, because of their better turnaround. They replaced the logic board. I certainly can't blame Apple for that one - it wasn't their repair, although aren't Apple technicians trained by Apple? Not too sure if they are or not so I'm just going to say it was Simutek's fault (as they're the ones that did the repair). This logic board repair did not work.
At the advice of Daniel in executive relations (the people you get when you write to Steve Jobs, not the customer relations people I had previously talked to regarding this issue), I took it in to the same Apple Store. LCD was replaced, after the song and dance of not being able to find the issue with their stress testing software. They claimed it was LCD burn in, but I don't believe it is because:
1) It only happens when the computer is heated up.
2) The lines run across the entire screen. I multitask. I don't use any of my apps full screen. Typically I have one or two apps running along with iChat on the right side. If this were burn-in, then there should be a part where the line doesn't appear, but there isn't.
3) If you look at the lines, they're in the area that's white in my most-used applications.
The issue was fixed, and now a few weeks later, the computer shows the same symptoms. And I'd like a refund, as this is Apple's second attempt at providing a working computer, and it will be their 2nd attempt at repairing this same computer. (All in all, Apple has tried 4 times to repair both of these machines - the original one and the replaced one - and failed.) But Apple just wants to play the whole "take it in" game.
What should I do?
Other People's Story
Some time after I posted my story, G-Force came and posted his. Same issue, same lines, same iMac (with the same configuration).
Also, Teq was nice enough to point me to a thread in the Apple discussion forums that deals with the same issue. And while some there think it's burn-in-related, many also think it's heat related (which I also believe).
If You're Thinking of Buying a 24" iMac...
Don't! Not unless you want to deal with trouble, repairs that weren't done properly, and taking your computer in a lot.
I'm not going to recommend another brand of computer - in fact, I haven't made up my own mind as to which brand of computer I want; but I'm not too sure that it's going to be an Apple after the way they've treated me. Unless they decide to make it right...
The Story
On the day the latest iMacs were announced (the early 2008 ones), I went ahead and bought one. A 3.06 GHz, 1TB HD, and 4GBs of RAM model. Fully loaded. I believe I spent $2600 on it.
A little less than two months later, it developed black horizontal lines near the top of the screen. These lines were probably 1-2 pixels wide. (I used to think they were 3-4 pixels wide, but they're actually not. Still enough to bother me and several other people.)
The computer was taken to the Apple Store at La Encantada (Tucson, Arizona), twice. The first time, the logic board was replaced, which did not work. The second time, the LCD was replaced, which actually fixed it. Except that it came back with the microphone broken, and since I use iChat screen sharing a lot, this really mattered to me. Not wanting to take my less-than-two-month-old machine in for a 3rd time, I called customer relations who replaced it for me.
So, they replaced it, and everything was fine. Note that I said was.
A little less than two months later, same issue.The computer was taken to Simutek, a local AASP, because of their better turnaround. They replaced the logic board. I certainly can't blame Apple for that one - it wasn't their repair, although aren't Apple technicians trained by Apple? Not too sure if they are or not so I'm just going to say it was Simutek's fault (as they're the ones that did the repair). This logic board repair did not work.
At the advice of Daniel in executive relations (the people you get when you write to Steve Jobs, not the customer relations people I had previously talked to regarding this issue), I took it in to the same Apple Store. LCD was replaced, after the song and dance of not being able to find the issue with their stress testing software. They claimed it was LCD burn in, but I don't believe it is because:
1) It only happens when the computer is heated up.
2) The lines run across the entire screen. I multitask. I don't use any of my apps full screen. Typically I have one or two apps running along with iChat on the right side. If this were burn-in, then there should be a part where the line doesn't appear, but there isn't.
3) If you look at the lines, they're in the area that's white in my most-used applications.
The issue was fixed, and now a few weeks later, the computer shows the same symptoms. And I'd like a refund, as this is Apple's second attempt at providing a working computer, and it will be their 2nd attempt at repairing this same computer. (All in all, Apple has tried 4 times to repair both of these machines - the original one and the replaced one - and failed.) But Apple just wants to play the whole "take it in" game.
What should I do?
Other People's Story
Some time after I posted my story, G-Force came and posted his. Same issue, same lines, same iMac (with the same configuration).
Also, Teq was nice enough to point me to a thread in the Apple discussion forums that deals with the same issue. And while some there think it's burn-in-related, many also think it's heat related (which I also believe).
If You're Thinking of Buying a 24" iMac...
Don't! Not unless you want to deal with trouble, repairs that weren't done properly, and taking your computer in a lot.
I'm not going to recommend another brand of computer - in fact, I haven't made up my own mind as to which brand of computer I want; but I'm not too sure that it's going to be an Apple after the way they've treated me. Unless they decide to make it right...
