iMac 5k Screen burn-in (High Sierra)

[4004786]

I've had a 2016 5k iMac for about a year now, and have never had a screen burn-in problem. Today, I was reading a review of High Sierra, and left the computer to go continue reading it on my iPad. The brightness wasn't very bright, and the screen likely went to sleep shortly after I left (20mins is what the screen saver was set to).

When I got back, I noticed a dim image on the lock screen, and I wasn't sure if it was a semi-transparent display of what was behind the lock screen. I logged in, and noticed that, yes, I had a browser page open with the High Sierra review that was clearly the same as the burn-in. But if I open up a pure grey image in google image search, I still see the shapes of the page.

I never noticed this on my iMac before, and it only happened after installing High Sierra.

I guess I have a few questions:

1. does your iMac have screen burn-in, or have you had an iMac with burn-in? What did you do?
2. are there steps I could take to resolve this (i.e. should i take it to an apple store? I do have AppleCare)
3. is it possible that High Sierra could have caused this, or is it more likely that it was just coincidence that I noticed it?

The webpage had a grid of image snapshots showing features of High Sierra, which is why it was so noticeable.

Anyway, it's been about 10 minutes, and as I'm using it the image is slowly fading, but it's definitely still there. This computer was, you know, $3.5k or so, so I'm worried about the problem getting worse or something.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Mockletoy]

What you’re describing is called image retention or persistence. Unlike burn in it’s annoying but generally only temporary.

Here is an Apple support page about it.

 

[4004786]

Thanks for the help, Mockletoy. It’s a relief to know that this is generally just temporary.

 

[phpmaven]

Thanks for the help, Mockletoy. It’s a relief to know that this is generally just temporary.

While it may not be permanent burn in, the experience of myself and many others is that it will get worse and worse over time and eventually get to the point where it drives you nuts. At that point you can take it in and easily demonstrate the problem and have the screen replaced. That’s what myself and many others have done.

 

[4004786]

Well, that's a bummer. Good to know that they replace it, though. I have AppleCare, so I guess toward the end of the Apple Care timeframe I'll take it in to get a new screen

Thanks for the help, y'all!

 

[torana355]

Yep the LG LCD panels in the iMacs are rubbish, they suffer from serious Image retention. We have over 10 of them at work and they all have it, also have one at home which has it. Im sure there are people that have been lucky and not experienced it, hopefully you get a good replacement.

 

[planeBrad]

I ran into the exact same problem with my iMac. No problems for several years and immediately after High Sierra I got image retention problems. It may very well be a coincidence. I tried Apple's suggest fix which is to set a white background as a screen saver and let it run for a while, which did fix the issue. However, within 15 minutes it happened again. And the image retention is not a problem of leaving a static desktop up for a while, as it happened in a couple of minutes. I had the screen saver set to 2 minutes still, so it happened as I was actively using the machine. I really hope this is not something that's going to be an ongoing problem. My iMac is only 3 years old, but out of warranty.

 

[4004786]

Hey there, planeBrad. I’ve seen the issue crop up a few times since I posted this, but it has definitely continued to go away. For me, as long as it goes away I’m fine. I’d be pretty concerned about a permanent burn-in, though.

 

[alkar]

i have a late imac 2013 so non retina and i noticed it since this year, so out of warranty and it's getting worse and worse.
Sure it's not permanent, but it basically appears after 2min of safari, I can notice it instantly now.

Really suck... and it costs a lot to change the screen

 

[CWallace]

High Sierra should not be the issue unless it is automatically re-setting your Brightness to a high(er) level.

 

[BirtReynoldz]

I ran into the exact same problem with my iMac. No problems for several years and immediately after High Sierra I got image retention problems. It may very well be a coincidence.

I have had the same issue. 2013 iMac, and have never had image retention problems – until the day I installed High Sierra. I also thought it may have been a coincidence. I also have a connected cinema display (a much older 2006 cinema display) that has never had retention problems. But again, the day High Sierra was installed image retention after 10-15 minutes. It is never permanent, but the retained/ghost image takes another 10-15 minutes to fade.

I can't find anything on this. planeBrad, have you had any luck?

 

[labyrinth153]

It is absolutely temporary. I noticed burn in of desktop icons. I set my screensaver to start after 5 mins or so and it prevented the problem. It is almost like the screen is "on" while its blanked out, and burns in what is there. With screen saver on it doesn't seem to burn in.

 

[_Kiki_]

ask for repair or chargeback

same problem can also occurs on MacBooks with Retina screen

 

[alkar]

Repair of a 2013 imac is probably not worth it...

 

[GilbertdH]

I have had the same issue. 2013 iMac, and have never had image retention problems – until the day I installed High Sierra. I also thought it may have been a coincidence. I also have a connected cinema display (a much older 2006 cinema display) that has never had retention problems. But again, the day High Sierra was installed image retention after 10-15 minutes. It is never permanent, but the retained/ghost image takes another 10-15 minutes to fade.

I can't find anything on this. planeBrad, have you had any luck?

I can confirm that I have the exact same issue: problem started the day I upgraded to High Sierra. Same model 2013 iMac. Can't be a coincidence!

 

[FredT2]

I can confirm that I have the exact same issue: problem started the day I upgraded to High Sierra. Same model 2013 iMac. Can't be a coincidence!

I've never seen any image retention on my 2014 5K, but being curious about this High Sierra thing took a look at my lock screen. I was surprised to see a faint outline of dock icons and the menu bar. I then logged back in and turned off the dock and menu bar, and there was nothing. My background is a fairly dark blue with some patterns. I checked some other programs that eliminate the dock and menu bar but could not see anything. Leaving the dock and menu bar off for a while, a return to the lock screen and the image retention was gone. So I guess it really is there, but since I never see it, it's no problem for me.

 

[thefriendshipmachine]

I had my 2014 imac screen replaced 3 or 4 times because of image retention under apple care.

Basically you are screwed. The problem will get worse over time until retention occurs even after keeping a window up on the screen for 5 minutes.

Some people "claim" their 2014 and 2015 iMacs don't have image retention, but my theory is that they haven't owned or used the macs long or hard enough yet to develop or notice the issue.

Some people naively claim this is a non issue (because they havent experienced it) and they just link you to the apple page on image retention (which does not properly cover this problem). Those people have no idea what they're talking about.

If you have apple care I would strongly advise you to open a case and send them as much picture and video evidence as you can. The retention will most definitely become worse over time and you need to get a replacement screen ASAP and get it replaced under apple care once it develops retention too. Keep doing that until you run out of apple care and then either sell the imac (and hopefully disclose that it has this flaw) or try and get apple to send you a new one.

(FYI if you haven't heard of the image retention issue before, try going here https://marco.org/rmbp-irtest.html in full screen on your mac and leaving it for 5 minutes without looking at the pattern yourself, then full screen this grey color https://i.imgur.com/YFPLXuj.png and see if the boxes burnt in)

ONCE AGAIN: if you have never experienced image retention before then please don't try and tell the rest of us that it doesn't exist. You either got lucky, haven't owned/used the computer long enough to cause the issue yet, or you haven't noticed the problem (the retention is more noticable when you switch to a grey backdrop from a light interface).

and in closing: AVOID ALL LG DISPLAYS WHENEVER YOU CAN, THEY ARE ALL COMPLETELY GARBAGE.

good luck OP.

 

[FredT2]

(FYI if you haven't heard of the image retention issue before, try going here https://marco.org/rmbp-irtest.html in full screen on your mac and leaving it for 5 minutes without looking at the pattern yourself, then full screen this grey color https://i.imgur.com/YFPLXuj.png and see if the boxes burnt in)

I've had a 2014 iMac 5K for three years and have never seen a hint of image retention. I use the machine every day for a considerable amounts of time. I visited the sites that you linked to. I put Marco's checkerboard up for 10 minutes. Switching to the grey screen, I initially saw faint outlines of about a third of the white boxes only at the very bottom of the screen. They disappeared completely in less than five minutes. There was no hint of boxes when I switched to the second grey-screen page. As far as I'm concerned, if I don't see a problem under normal use and have to go looking for it, then it's not a problem.

 

[thefriendshipmachine]

As far as I'm concerned, if I don't see a problem under normal use and have to go looking for it, then it's not a problem.

For those of us who experience the problem we don't have to go looking for it. In the amount of time it takes me to read your post I can switch to a different window and your post is burnt into it.

As I have owned 4 different 2014 iMacs (or screens) that have all developed this problem, I am quite confident that in your case you either don't use the computer long (or hard) enough to develop the issue or you have just gotten lucky.

Case in point: here is a brand new 2014 27" screen, in an imac with a brand new logic board (new CPU and GPU), and the device in total has been used for exactly 8 hours, with a brand new install of high sierra. Exposure to the image was 3 minutes and 43 seconds:

http://cubeupload.com/im/vTuPC2.png
http://cubeupload.com/im/WiA8CP.png
http://cubeupload.com/im/naQf5q.png
http://cubeupload.com/im/6611Hj.png

as you can see the entire screen of this brand new mac shows signs of image retention. And by the way I just ran this test right now. I didn't do it before and have never tested this mac/screen for retention. But I was 100% confident it would have the issue and of course it does, because I believe all 2014/2015 iMacs do.

iMac screen / LG = pure crap and we've all been ripped off big time.

 

[mikeboss]

as I wrote in another thread already: the 2017 models have zero image retention. finally. this is why I sold my 2015 i7. the 2017 iMacs are equipped with newer retina LCDisplays (according to the ColorSync Utility the newer model is 0000AE13 whereas the older ones were 0000AE07 IIRC). check with the ColorSync Utility to see what screen your iMac is equipped with.

 

[thefriendshipmachine]

as I wrote in another thread already: the 2017 models have zero image retention. finally. this is why I sold my 2015 i7. the 2017 iMacs are equipped with newer retina LCDisplays (according to the ColorSync Utility the newer model is 0000AE13 whereas the older ones were 0000AE07 IIRC). check with the ColorSync Utility to see what screen your iMac is equipped with.

This sounds like excellent news to me although how can you be sure they have zero retention?

 

[Trebuin]

This will likely affect the pro iMacs, which is a shame given the pros could be heavily used by image editors. Screen image retention makes that job much more difficult. The bright side is adding a third party display.

 

[mikeboss]

This sounds like excellent news to me although how can you be sure they have zero retention?

because I'm super-picky about this issue and the display of my 2015 i7 drove me nuts. because I saw image retention on every iMac I own(ed) or have worked on immediately (dozens). because I'm checking mine all the time like a maniac. because I like my desktop with "Solid Gray Pro Dark".

 

[thefriendshipmachine]

because I'm super-picky about this issue and the display of my 2015 i7 drove me nuts. because I saw image retention on every iMac I own(ed) or have worked on immediately (dozens). because I'm checking mine all the time like a maniac. because I like my desktop with "Solid Gray Pro Dark".

I too have owned a bunch of iMacs too and they all had the issue, every single one. I'm definitely not calling you a liar its just that it sounds too good to be true that the 2017's dont have this problem. I want to believe, I really want to believe, but Apple has let me down me every time so far.

How many 2017 iMacs have you tested?

 

[AppleMythos]

I've had a 2016 5k iMac for about a year now, and have never had a screen burn-in problem. Today, I was reading a review of High Sierra, and left the computer to go continue reading it on my iPad. The brightness wasn't very bright, and the screen likely went to sleep shortly after I left (20mins is what the screen saver was set to).

Small correction: you likely have a 2015 5k iMac that you purchased last year. There was no 2016 refresh of the iMac lineup. To add to the anecdotal evidence someone above mentioned about the 2017 iMacs not having image retention / burn-in issues, I can safely say the same.