There is Hope for iMac 27" Display - Black Spots/Smudges/Dust in the display fixed!

[worldbrain]

suspect SSD's

Success! I finally did this! Been thinking about it ever since this thread started.

(The smuginess seemed to stop progressing after a while and was mainly on the edges of the screen and I just got used to it.)

But the SSD I had put in there died. When I replaced that I decided to go for it. Getting the display panel out of the frame was a bit beyond my comfort zone but I made it through.

Thanks Oggy and others that made this possible for me!

My screen is now nice and clear, edge to edge. Woohoo!

...having dealt with a number of the ssd's with proplems, i suspect inadequate cooling, if not a manufacturing defect. Installing a mini heatsink, and/or a fan, theoretically should show a quantifiable difference in performance...(there has been a recall on a few releases initially)

 

[iSee]

...having dealt with a number of the ssd's with proplems, i suspect inadequate cooling, if not a manufacturing defect. Installing a mini heatsink, and/or a fan, theoretically should show a quantifiable difference in performance...(there has been a recall on a few releases initially)

I suspect you're right... I don't know if I mentioned this, but I had the SSD in there for ~ two years with no problems. But when this happened I had been putting my iMac under quite a heavy load for several weeks (especially the GPU).

I'll look into that. Thanks!

 

[Wreckie]

I just cleaned my iMac, had this same issue. It took me about 4 hours total, but now the screen is just like new. Thank you for motivation!

 

[mcrazza]

I'm seriously thinking about cleaning the LCD in my iMac too. It's a 24" screen (see sig) but exhibits the same splotchy shadows or smudges just like on the 27" models.

I watched a couple of imac lcd disassembly videos but they don't explain what kind of tape to use when re-sealing the screen. The stock tape appears to be aluminum tape.

Should I use electrical aluminum tape or something else?

Please be specific as to what/which tape to use because I really don't want to put the wrong tape in there and watch the screen overheat and blowup.

 

[Oggy]

Don't use any tape. Just assemble it as it is.

 

[mcrazza]

Don't use any tape. Just assemble it as it is.

Are you absolutely sure it's safe to do that? Wouldn't dust somehow find its way in there again too?


Sorry to ask, I'm just double checking before I go ahead and attempt this.

 

[twelveone]

This is awesome, looks like it will solve my problem!!

Thanks so much for this tutorial!!!

In the next week or so, Im going to try this as well. I just have a couple questions first to make sure I do everything correctly.

I've heard other people saying that they had problems with the fan constantly running after putting it back together. If anything, what can I do to make sure this doesn't happen?

I know the person above me just asked this, however should i re-tape it myself after cleaning? Maybe to make sure it's sealed better to prevent this from possibly happening again?

Also, Im a bit confused as to where to lift up the glass to clean the LCD panel. If Im sitting looking at the screen as I am now, would I lift it from the bottom or the top?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, everyone (3 people) I talked to from says they've never heard of this particular problem, which we all know is total horse ****, if I wanted smoke blown up my ass I would order a prostitute. So I send my sincere thanks to you for this great tutorial!!!

Regards,
Tony

 

[anne5louise]

I followed Oggy's instructions: tt took me well over two hours. My 2010 iMac had some brownish stains all over the top right corner of the screen.

After cleaning the display the stains were gone, but now I got 2 black spots, which are less annoying to me than the stains.

I'll try the procedure once again to see if I can get rid of the black spots.

Did any of you guys manage to get rid of all stains and black spots?

 

[twelveone]

I followed Oggy's instructions: tt took me well over two hours. My 2010 iMac had some brownish stains all over the top right corner of the screen.

After cleaning the display the stains were gone, but now I got 2 black spots, which are less annoying to me than the stains.

I'll try the procedure once again to see if I can get rid of the black spots.

Did any of you guys manage to get rid of all stains and black spots?

Hmmm, What do you mean black spots and where are they? Are they similar to the stains? Are you sure they weren't there before you followed the instructions?

 

[Captain.Slow]

I recently noticed this same problem develop on my Mid-2011 27" iMac, so I took it to the Apple store last week to get them to look at it (also got them to see if my iMac was eligible for the replacement graphics card as my serial number ended with the ones mentioned in the news article).

After pointing it out, the Genius pretty quickly started with the "do you use it in a dusty environment" questions, finishing off by suggesting that to fix the issue, the LCD would need to be replaced. He checked through my details and discovered that my AppleCare (which would have covered it) had expired 7 days prior, so to get the work done, it'd cost me just shy of £400.

I left the store without the work being done and called AppleCare, explaining my situation and what I had been told in store. The guy I spoke to put me on hold for a couple of minutes, then came back and said that he'd spoken to a senior agent, and that he was going to transfer me across to them. To cut this short, they basically said they'd cover the work to be done as a one time exception - that they'd put what's called an SC-Code(?) against my iMac's serial number to authorise the work.

Took it back to the Apple Store after the call (extra kudos to the store manager for fitting me in with a genius appointment), and a week later I have my iMac back with a nice new screen.

Kudos to Apple on this one, I have to say!

Some advice to those who are still covered, or have just had their AppleCare expire - be cheeky, but calm! There's no harm in trying, and it may just pay off!

That said, having had this work done, i'm not overly convinced it's going to resolve the issue completely, as I can see the same thing happening 3 years down the line again. If the iMac is still working by that point, thank's to Oggy's guide - I now have something to try if and when the problem returns!

 

[mcrazza]

Can anyone confirm what kind of aluminum tape is used on the rear of the LCDs? I'm looking to buy some.

I've read instructions in this thread and elsewhere and watched videos about how to open up an iMac LCD and clean up the dust that's trapped between the backlight if it exhibits smudging and black dots, like mine. But in order to do that you have to either cut or peel the aluminum tape that covers any screws and shields the display of exposed joins.

Here are some items I've found online:

Tape 1

Tape 2

Tape 3

Which of the above is appropriate for the job and which isn't?

If all else fails, can I simply use good ol' regular sticky tape to seal it back up again?

 

[keyboardsold]

late 2009 21,5"

Hi guys, I need a little help. My iMac is a late 2009 21.5" and it looks pretty different from the 27". I can't seem to find a guide which shows the details of how to remove the frame from the LCD(the one youtube video with greek instructions skips through that part).

http://imgur.com/4A5JU3r,sJ27X9L
I have removed a total of 4 screws from the left and right. There doesn't seem to be any screws on the top and bottom. It is flush with aluminium tape on it(no brackets like on the left and right sides) and there's some padding for the screen to rest on the chassis held in place with clear tape.

http://imgur.com/4A5JU3r,sJ27X9L#1

As you can see from this picture, there is some silver textured tape that is not aluminium. There's also clear tape on top of them. Am I supposed to peel all these off?

 

[major41501]

Thanks, Oggy!

Just completed my panel cleaning per your instructions and photos. I had been debating for a couple of weeks, but my OCD finally got the better of me and I decided to take the leap of faith.

I took my time and was incredibly gentle all the way through. Now my iMac is back to its original glory. I did not replace the aluminum tape after cleaning, so hopefully it will remain clean for at least a longer amount of time before needing this process again. My hope is that I just bought myself another year or so with this Mac before I make the switch to the newer 5K model when the price drops some.

Thanks again for your detailed guidance and for giving amateurs like me the guts we need to take care of this ourselves, save a lot of money, and get back to enjoying the pricey piece of equipment we all love.

 

[peakay]

confirmation - taking system into genius bar

Hi there,

i picked up a 2010 27" imac and it has grey streaks on the display - see image below. Wanted to feedback on:

1) is this the dust problem or something else?

2) Any strategies for apple to do a goodwill fix? I'm taking it in on a genius bar appt for tomorrow and don't have high hopes, but i figure it is worth a try.

3) I'm not the original owner - should I keep that a secret? Can't remember if they check ID or not. I told them my name and email, but my genius bar appt email has the original purchasers name on it.

Thanks. I'm prepared to do the cleaning outline in this thread and on youtube, but want to give apple a crack at repairing it first.

 

[Sazaj]

Hello everyone,
Also sorry for not creating a new topic but my problem is pretty much related to this topic.

I have a problem. My iMac 27" mid2011 screen is completly black - its not turning on.

So what have I done before my problem, was to clean the formed "dust" that was on that white panel and that see-through panel. Now everything is connected, but the screen wount turn on.. I can hear the chime sound and the fans working after I press the power button.

I would be glad if anyone could help me fix this.
Regards,
Sam.

Edit: Forgot to mention that I'm a complete newb with iMacs.

 

[Code-Red]

As a note for anyone fixing their 27" screen, its best to take off all the shielding tape when disassembling and reinstall it when you're done. I've done this myself after learning the hard way, if the shielding is compromised too much it'll cause high pitched noise to emanate from the speakers when the LCD is on.

I used 3/4 aluminum tape I found at Home Depot.

 

[djspoko]

Hi guys,
I have strange problem with my LCD panel (LM270wq1). When I turn on LCD everything is ok but after 1-2 minutes, bright stripes show in upper right corner.
Do you know how to repair it?

 

[rootko]

This thread is pretty much stale, but thanks to it I've got a courage to clean my iMac 27" 2011's display. Dust is gone, but I've got some slight backlight bleed now in bottom left corner. So I guess I'm going to dismantle it once more

 

[paukivbashne]

Hi guys,
I have strange problem with my LCD panel (LM270wq1). When I turn on LCD everything is ok but after 1-2 minutes, bright stripes show in upper right corner.
Do you know how to repair it?

i know exactly what to do..
turn off the display sleep compleatly (and computer sleep for that matter)
then change the background to white
turn the brightness all the way up
wait for as long as you can (i think it took 12 hrs to copmlealty go away)
it will go away eventually
i don't know exactly why is this happening but it usually occurs when you disassemble the lcd
I'm thinking its the static.

 

[andrea1984]

I've an iMac 27'' Late 2013, I opened for removing an insect and dust. When I used a glass spray to remove dust from the glass sheet (there are 3 sheets between the LCD and the front glass, this is the middle one, seems a fresnel lens) cames off a semitrasparent dust placed over, which was not removed using only a cloth. In addition other dust is present, and more visible because located behind the lens.

 

[yellowscreen]

I've an iMac 27'' Late 2013, I opened for removing an insect and dust. When I used a glass spray to remove dust from the glass sheet (there are 3 sheets between the LCD and the front glass, this is the middle one, seems a fresnel lens) cames off a semitrasparent dust placed over, which was not removed using only a cloth. In addition other dust is present, and more visible because located behind the lens.

i have a 2012 27'' imac with the dust problems. i've already bought new adhesive tapes from ifixit. would you characterize the procedure of opening it up and disassembling the lcd display itself as hard? also, what kind of screwdriver is needed for lcd display? thank you very much for the assistance.

 

[luco]

Do you guys think this is dust or condensation?

It seems that this smudges only appear when the display is warm. Is there a way to freeze it? I mean, by fans or etc.

Thanks

 

[ProTruckDriver]

I can't believe Apple hasn't come up with a solution to this Black Smudge problem on the 27 inch Macs. I bought a new Late 2015 27 inch last year and I am seeing the Black Smudge problem in the lower left corner. About 4 smudges in about a one inch square area. I'm still covered with the Applecare program until April 2019. I just hope Apple comes to my home to fix this and I don't have to lug it to the store. Being handicapped that maybe a challenge.

 

[paulwilky76]

Are there any further updates on this "black smudge" issue as I have just spotted these marks on both lower corners of my iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015). My photo is rubbish but it's definitely there depending on my viewing angle!

Is this "burn in", "dust", "persistence" or "condensation"??

I've probably had this for many months but accidentally spotted it. I'm considering paying for AppleCare as my iMac is out of warranty, or just living with it because it will probably come back again.

Does the "LCD Scrub" app do anything for this? http://toastycode.com/lcdscrub/

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Out of warranty no Apple Care. Must be activated within 12 months of the original selling date.