I hooked up my new 24" aluminum iMac and after about an hour of using it, a 1" x 3" strip of condensation gradually appeared in the lower right portion of the screen behind the glass. Anyone else see this?
Well I returned my iMac to the Apple Store, Bull Ring, Birmingham, UK. I arrived just after they opened so I got an appointment to see the guy who checks if you have a legitimate problem straight away. I told him about the condensation, freezes and graphical anomalies. I'd taken a movie with my digital camera of these problems. I took the camera with me and when he saw the movie he said get me a brand new replacement 🙂 I believe they are aware that some Alu iMacs have faults but they have to ask to make sure. They also told me that over the Christmas period the 14 day return period has been extended to 8th January 2008! That's nearly two months for me, more than enough time to check out if I've got a lemon. I'm very happy with the customer service I received they made it all as easy as possible. I went for a replacement brand new iMac (refund option was also offered) and this has no condensation and no other problems so far. Fingers crossed!
Hi just to let you guys know, I tried to use a hair dryer on medium heat range and just warmed up the bottom right corner(aluminium) portion and slowly moved into the glass area. Voila!! instant removal of the condensation. I guess when some of us bring it back to apple, they will probably do the same too. My take is that the machine does not warm up evenly and that there are gaps between the glass and the aluminium hence temperature differential will cause the condensation to appear.
Hello I have the same problem on the right higher corner of my iMac and it seems to begin on the opposite... I don't understand english as well to understand all the posts here but for me the problem is really visible when the screen is dark or black ( FrontRow specially) as a kind of triangular cloud of grey smoke which becomes disturbing when seing movies or for Coverflow.
My friend had the sameproblem with his. He opened the box and started up the computer and after about an hour the condensation appeared and went away again after about another 1/2 hour.
After reading through this and about 4 other forums, I opened the box took out mine and left it on a table for a day without the wrapping and every thing was fine.
Some "Brain" in Apple decided to put 2 INDUSTRIAL size sacks of Desiccant crystals in the bottom of the box making the inside of your new imac as dry as the Gobi desert.
If your region is in any way humid, you MUST let your imac acclimatise.
APPLE SHOULD PUT SOMETHING ABOUT THIS
"WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEM" ON THEIR WEBSITE
I purchased an IMAC 20" in September 07 and within a few weeks the same instance of condensation occurred , I though first it maybe a design flaw, anyway it didn't go away until I finally obtain an appointment with MacStation to see to that problem, fixed by January 08, but last week it happened again, the thing that ****** me off is they say ( mac Station)it was my FAULT.
After reading the commentaries here I realized they were at fault for not considering the fact that maybe the fan drive is too small to air out properly.
After a call at Customer service in Ontario, because I live in Vancouver, they kinda stated that if you have an air conditioner in your place it can cause condensation, so I live in a loft, now they say move the computer somewhere else in the unit I reside, but again my service provider outlet is located at one end of the loft, So I guess I am supposed to ensure the following procedure:
A: BUILT your LOFT around the COMPUTER
B: if You have air condition in your unit REMOVE it or REMOVE computer
C: if too hot then move computer in dry isolated area like CLOSET
DO they think I am a f8*&&(king MORON
the deceiving challenge from APPLE is they will never admit to having made an error in their design, I beg to DIFFER.
MacStation have been put on their toes for me having complained to Apple customer services.
Hopefully when the OFFICIAL APPLE store opens in Vancouver, I will gladly bring back my Imac to their store and have it service if it occurs again, because they created this anomaly not I
Guys watch this and do this to clean the inside of the glass with a piece of newspaper. It will get rid of the old condensation formed and keep glass clear of it too!!!
The same problem is still happening. Is Apple doing anything about recognising the issue. I a, aware of the self fixes but I understand this would void your warranty
Came into use my new 3Ghz iMac this morning and as I sat here the condensation built up in the lower right corner and is slowly going away as I sit here.
Its been colder and more humid here than it is today and this is the first time I have seen it happen.
Today's date is July 14, 2008. My imac 24 inch is 1 month old...
Obviously apple has not fixed this problem. Was just on the phone with Apple Support and they told me to go into the Apple Menu/Display Setting and make sure the display setting is set to normal. I said are you joking? Apparently calls are sent overseas. Have 3 macs in the same room and only one is building up fog. Just called again and they said move that mac into another room and you should be fine...Now Apple will tell you it's not in a designated room. Since when should my 24 inch need to be in a special room. I have 2 other machines in the same room. Now they say to go to apple retail.
I have the same "fog" problem with my iMac: It started very small at the right hand side, and in the first months it was no big issue (I guess because my Mac was "on" most off the time).
But then I went on a holiday for a week. Result: the condensation had grown to half my screen size! It took me half an hour of rubbing my screen with a tissue to get rid of it. 😟
So as long as your screen is heated up, the problem doesn't get worse. But I'm not sure that it's solved in any way; as long as there's any condensation it apparently can return.
I was also thinking about the memory slot at the bottom of the screen: I've upgraded my memory, so maybe it's only a problem for iMacs that have been opened?
It's a design flaw in the machine...It's not the RAM...I did not open my computer and bought it with max RAM..
It is a big disappointment. Apple must have hired a new designer but left out the engineer so the science that should have been applied to the machine was only applied to theory and that little sticker you seen on the box which reads: operate in room temp etc. was never simulated in the lab to see if it works.
Your condensation experience will all depend on weather conditions... This is where Al Gore comes in and explains it's all because of global warming.
It's the space between the glass that is not air tight not to mention there is a fan right there...
Here is one way to clean the condensation build up but does not solve the problem:
I have a 24 inch imac, 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM. I have had this computer since a few days after its release (about a year ago), and have never had a problem with condensation.
Then I went away for 2 weeks holiday, and when I came back I now have the same problem as everyone else! Starts at the bottom right of screen, in my computer it's taking up almost the whole bottom of the screen and slowly going upwards. I am going to try what everyone else said and leave it on all day in the hope it will dry out but this seems dangerous to me as wet+technology don't mix well!
I have never had the computer opened, I ordered it online and had Apple up the ram and hard drive size when it was being built, so I'm not sure why its happening now and it didn't when it first arrived...
Not happy Apple! (despite being a huge fan of everything apple builds)
I had condensation and now the LCD is permantly damaged because of the water. The Apple store said my 3 year warranty is void because of liquid damage so I don't know what to do. I will have to try to speak to Apple directly on the phone.
Glare. Reflections. Dirt. Condensation. Fog. Moisture Damage. Can someone explain to me just what purpose the glass panel over the screen is supposed to serve?
