Well, got another one. Same problem. Yep, looks like the screen is just unevenly lit. So I wrote a nice long letter to the customer service guy I've been dealing with. I'm really sick of driving an hour each way and wasting time and gas on this. How hard can it be to get a good display. How disappointing.
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Worried about 24" monitor
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That didn't really get my hope up
I'd hate to wait another two weeks for a replacement.ndriver182,
I have written a 2 page letter ready to send to Apple here in the UK.
I had a problem with the 20" which was (in my opinion much worse) and now I'm on a 24" with the same problem you are describing.
Apple in their almighty wisdom has been censoring posts on the Apple Discussions website which I frankly find disgusting. It's almost as though they don't want people to know!
With that restriction of freedom of speech about Apples own products, anyone would think we were living in an Eastern Communist society!
Once I have finished crafting the letter, I intend to send it to Apple and a few magazines or forums, just to get the word around that Apple really are as bad as Microsoft - who would have thought it?!
I have written a 2 page letter ready to send to Apple here in the UK.
I had a problem with the 20" which was (in my opinion much worse) and now I'm on a 24" with the same problem you are describing.
Apple in their almighty wisdom has been censoring posts on the Apple Discussions website which I frankly find disgusting. It's almost as though they don't want people to know!
With that restriction of freedom of speech about Apples own products, anyone would think we were living in an Eastern Communist society!
Once I have finished crafting the letter, I intend to send it to Apple and a few magazines or forums, just to get the word around that Apple really are as bad as Microsoft - who would have thought it?!
ndriver182,
I have written a 2 page letter ready to send to Apple here in the UK.
I had a problem with the 20" which was (in my opinion much worse) and now I'm on a 24" with the same problem you are describing.
Apple in their almighty wisdom has been censoring posts on the Apple Discussions website which I frankly find disgusting. It's almost as though they don't want people to know!
With that restriction of freedom of speech about Apples own products, anyone would think we were living in an Eastern Communist society!
Once I have finished crafting the letter, I intend to send it to Apple and a few magazines or forums, just to get the word around that Apple really are as bad as Microsoft - who would have thought it?!
Which posts have been edited/censored by Apple? I believe you, but wow does that seem crazy. I think I'm going to call tech support about this issue again today before the holiday weekend. Not sure what good it will do though. I haven't heard back from the e-mail I sent to the product specialist I'd been dealing with.
It was in the 'new imac - not for professionals? colour/ calibration etc., ? info please' thread in the 'Your Intel-based iMac Display' section of the discussions forum.
I've been receiving the email alerts, so I will likely have a copy of the messages since I started watching the thread, but I can't believe that they removed the posts.
I found out when I clicked on one of the messages I received by email to go and view the thread and there was an error - then a guy named Capaho pointed out the thread had been censored.
I really don't have words to explain how annoyed at Apple I am.
I've been receiving the email alerts, so I will likely have a copy of the messages since I started watching the thread, but I can't believe that they removed the posts.
I found out when I clicked on one of the messages I received by email to go and view the thread and there was an error - then a guy named Capaho pointed out the thread had been censored.
I really don't have words to explain how annoyed at Apple I am.
Yeah, I think Apple censoring their boards is silly. I mean, if you are writing a bunch of non-sense or sending misinformation, then sure, to keep up the integrity of the board. Back in July I remember writing something about the iPhone and how the battery wouldn't completely charge on the Apple boards...within a few hours the whole thread was gone!
I do think this monitor issue is pretty common and until I hear from more people who don't have this issue I'm going to think that. So if you have a good iMac, lets us know!
I do think this monitor issue is pretty common and until I hear from more people who don't have this issue I'm going to think that. So if you have a good iMac, lets us know!
I talked to the Apple tech support people again yesterday and the guy I spoke with (different guy than the one I spoke with on Thursday) said this is not a normal issue and he's had one other customer bring it up to him directly, but he knows of other tech support agents who have had more people bringing it up. He said in my case that I'm probably better off just bringing it in to a local authorized Apple reseller/repair shop and have them take care of it instead of driving out of my way to go to an Apple store an hour away. He said there's a chance they may just swap it out, but more likely they'd send it to their techs for review and then would make the repairs themselves. He also mentioned that a lot of times when items are repaired and tested they go through a more thorough testing process before the customer gets it back than it would off the assembly line because they want to make sure the customer doesn't have ANY problems at all. It makes sense since the QC people overseas are having to get so many of these ready for shipment that inspection probably consists of making sure it powers up, screen comes on and there aren't any obvious physical defects. I hardly think they are going through these units with a fine-tooth comb. In any case, I guess I'm bringing mine in to the local authorized shop on Tuesday for repairs and I hope to get it back in a relatively speedy time frame.
That's more than likely my guess. However, I'm not about to take the glass off and risk damaging something. That's what warranties are for. I'll let the authorized technicians deal with that and let them worry about fixing things and/or replacing parts. If it's a backlight issue there wouldn't be anything I could do on my own anyway.
Well, after three days with my THIRD replacement 24" white iMac, hope has faded even more. Initially, I was encouraged because the uneven screen lighting was improved to the point of being something I would be able to live with, but the two other problems remained. The screen brightness could still not be lowered to a level that would allow proper calibration with a Greytag Macbeth i1 Colorimeter; and, the deal breaker was the amount of the yellow/brown tint in the middle of the screen. That tinting I just cannot accept! Back goes the THIRD 24" white iMac! I'll investigate alternatives with Apple, but I've given up on the 24" display.
After the second 24" iMac had the same problems (virtually identical to the photos posted - brighter and a magenta cast on the left side, yellow cast on the right, noticeable vignetting in the corners), I went and checked some out in the store, and they all had the same issue. It will be going back for good.
Dissapointed.
Dissapointed.
I'd really like to know if this is a problem with all 24" iMacs and just that some people don't notice it. If this is normal then I'd just be wasting my time replacing it.
I just got mine back from "repair" from a local authorized 3rd party apple store and they didn't do a damn thing to it. Apparently the techs said there was nothing wrong with it and "everybody" in the store looked at it and saw no issues. I call B.S. it's so obvious to me it's not even funny. I know I'm not crazy. My family has seen it, my roommate has seen it and my friends have seen. I'm really PO'd right now. I called tech support again and have yet another case number and have to speak to another product specialist tomorrow since they all left for the day. This is getting really old.
Yeah, everyone I've shown it to has seen it. My father was really surprised about it since to him the Apple brand stands for quality, and this is certainly not something you expect from a quality product.
At least it's good to know that I'm not alone in this and that I'm not crazy to be bothered by the issue.
Just wish that Apple would recognize this problem.
I thought I read in a thread somewhere (there are way too many threads I'm reading anymore) that the 24" display in the latest white imac is the same model as the new 24" aluminum ones (I think it was one letter off on the part number). I thought they started using a new 24" display in the white imacs this year.. where as one from late 2006 would be a different panel.
It could just be related to the panel quality itself.
It could just be related to the panel quality itself.
Oh, I have no doubt about that. Regardless, I think this thing is going back for good and if the give me crap about restocking fees they can just forget about it. I'll take it up with the credit card company. I think I'm going Mac Pro after this disaster.
I don't think it should completely end. People should be aware of this issue and so should Apple. If you rely on a screen that needs to have even color from one side to the other for your job or even if you're just a casual user, you should be able to get that for the price they charge. I mean, you are supposed to be paying for superior quality after all. You shouldn't have to say "well, it's an iMac so I have to settle for defects" or "well, I guess I'll have to buy a Mac Pro to make sure there aren't any problems with the screen."
I wanted to give this machine a chance so bad. I love the all-in-one idea and the machine looks great. But when you have to keep on Apple to exchange for a unit that functions the way it should, drive all over to make exchanges, spend hours on the phone with tech support and deal with "certified" apple techs who are supposed to fix the problem (but claim there is nothing wrong) really starts to wear on you after a while.
I for one am tired of it and could spend my time in more productive ways. So I'm going to return the iMac and go with a Mac Pro. It's really a shame. I hope this problem becomes less common for the other potential iMac owners.
Sounds like this guy solved his similiar sounding problem
If you know about gamma correction, try the above.
If not, google it and see if you can find out more...
If you know about gamma correction, try the above.
If not, google it and see if you can find out more...
Where are you getting the white 24" iMacs from? Refurbs or the last of the old white stock from a store? I didn't think there were that many white iMacs left to exchange for.
Have you tried refurbs?
Have you tried refurbs?
This does nothing for me... expect change the gamma and white point. Since the colors are inconsistent across the screen they will continue to be so no matter how you calibrate it.
Since I started this thread, I'll bring all readers up-to-date on my latest decision. I tried 3 different 24" white iMacs. None was acceptable because of display defects. I've just sent the last one back to Apple and I decided to try a refurbished 20" white iMac. It will arrive next week, but I believe that the white 20" iMac will not have the same display problems. Time will tell. Apple was very accommodating with the returns. I believe they would have continued to send me 24" after 24" iMacs, but I had lost confidence in getting what I wanted. At the moment I don't think Apple has what I want in a 24" display.
This will probably end my iMac posting for the most part, but I just went to an Apple store a little closer than the one I originally bought mine from and returned my second one (first one was an exchange) with the same problem. With a little coaxing they allowed me to return it for a refund of the full price with no restocking fee.
I think I'm actually going to bump up to a Mac Pro instead. I wanted the iMac to work so badly, but the screen issue was just going to make me nuts and I just don't have time to deal with return after return and spending hours on the phone with tech support anymore.
I really hope for the sake of everybody else who buys one of these (and my stocks
) that this issue is smaller than it appears to be. It's definitely a slick machine and it'd still be on my desk if it weren't for the screwed up screen.
document it with a few pictures then return it and pay the restocking fee if they insist.
call credit card company and dispute the charge, it was a defective product.
very simple
call credit card company and dispute the charge, it was a defective product.
very simple
I have returned my 24" imac three times! first one had a yellow tint 3/4 of the screen, the second one had white on the left and "dark" white on the right and the third had a blown out lcd bleed on the lower left hand side. All this in a week.. One store actually tried to replace my imac with a "returned" imac - the seal was broken and they said they only opened it to double check that the keyboard wasn't an european version - straight away i knew it was a returned and demanded a sealed imac - so this issue is deffo widespread.
This imac has two small lcd backlight bleed so i am gonna stick with this one for now. Until apple have finally come up with a "second" generation of this imac so i can actually take mine back and really get it fixed.
All of the apple guys at the shops are like "i don't see a problem" - only a few have actually noticed and agreed with me but their supervisor are actually telling them its normal.
I am extremely annoyed with apple - they really need to pull their socks!
This imac has two small lcd backlight bleed so i am gonna stick with this one for now. Until apple have finally come up with a "second" generation of this imac so i can actually take mine back and really get it fixed.
All of the apple guys at the shops are like "i don't see a problem" - only a few have actually noticed and agreed with me but their supervisor are actually telling them its normal.
I am extremely annoyed with apple - they really need to pull their socks!