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?
"Anyone had this done and been happy? "
Yes, I just did. Mine looked like the most recent photos above, but did not dissipate with heat. Doubt it was really condensate at all. At any rate, it's the work of 5 minutes to remove the outer glass and clean it and the LCD. (fresh water and premium cloth only!)
I found the (smoke?) on the inside of the outer screen, and it cleaned right off.
You need a couple of suction cups from the hardware store, an inch or more in diameter, then go to Utube and search <chat2ian>. He has a vid showing how to do it.
This should have been in the manual, but, then, there should have been a manual.
Redhawk
Last week I had 5 iMacs "24 next to eachother on the table - out of the box- and they all gave this problem. But after running for a few hours it faded away. It probably has something to do with shipping and the glass, but it doesn't seem that serious to me.
Bought my iMac 24-inch 3.06GHz yesterday. Within 1 hour of turning it on a small patch of condensation appeared on the inside of the glass at the bottom of the screen, just right of centre. However after another hour or so it disappeared. Who knows when/if it'll ever come back: it apparently depends on the weather, full moon, position of Mars relative to Jupiter, etc.
I'm disappointed with Apple because this kind of thing shouldn't happen. There should be some official line about what to do if it does happen. Maybe Apple could turn it into a feature, something which makes you more aware of climate change and green issues!
I see now that I am not alone in this problem. It just happened to me an hour ago. I have had my i-mac 24" for about 6 months now and I havent seen it before. It's quite severe all the way up the right hand side of the display. I thought it was smudged on the outside and tried cleaning it with the supplied cloth before realising it was inside. It was only when I shut the I-Mac down that I could see the full extent of the problem. It was running from bottom to top and approximately 7cms wide tapering off as it went up the screen.
I have seen some of the comments here about the condensation dissappearing of its own accord. However, the condensation will leave a stain on the inside of the glass which could significantly reduce image oerformance over time.
This is my first foray into the world of Mac having used PC's for my working life thus far. I am very dissappointed to see that having found this problem and then subsequently found that I am by no means alone there seems to be no input from the manufacturer as to the cause and the satisfactory solution to the problem.
My comiserations to all my fellow sufferers. I will of course be contacting the Apple Store in Bluewater where purchased to take it up with them.
I have suffered with this problem too. This is my second imac. My first one had the problem with the screen misting from the right hand side, but this increased to the centre of the screen, ending in a mountain like shape to the full height of the screen. When I took it back to apple it was replaced immediately, but it was as if I was the first person that had ever had this problem and that if it happened again, it was probably due to an environmental issue???!!
My bedroom as far as I'm concerned is a normal environment - neither too hot, nor too cold. Our climate is hardly what I would call humid, so how can this be? The problem is now happening with my second imac (not as serious as the first one) but to be honest with you it is making me nervous in using my computer.
I went again to the apple shop today and again I was greeted with amazement that this should be happening, with no mention of anyone else having any issues. Clearly this is not the case as it appears it is happening to lots of us.
I am disappointed with their response to this obvious widespread issue. As I write this email my screen is misting up in the right hand corner...
I thought it was a result of having my iMac shipped to damp Devon air but then taking it to Newbury before turning it on. Like others condensation appeared within 30 minutes in the bottom right hand corner and was quite severe. However it burnt itself off after a few hours of usage as far as I can see with no detrimental effect. Apple should acknowledge the issue by stating that this is something that might occur but not to worry about it it will clear itself. Otherwise there is nervousness about having moisture inside an electrical device. However that is nothing compared to my dog chewing through a networking cable taking me sometime to realise why an external disk was no longer connecting!
Hi also had this problem on my 5 month old iMac. Looking at a previous post gave me an idea about the fan speeds. Mine however is in the centre of the screen.
Try downloading smcFanControl
Turned all the fans to 3000 rpm for about 5 mins and then the condensation clears. What I've done is to save an active setting called condensation at 3000 rpm and kept the default setting, when you finish click back on default wait for the Fans to slow and turn off the program.
Unfortunately I had the same problem. My new iMAC 24" had the condensation on the bottom right corner of the screen four time. I brought my computer to the assistance and they made some cleaning and sealing work around screen and cover glass. As far as now Apple can not ensure that the problem will not occur again. When I claimed a replacement of my iMac they told me that the problem is not a technical problem but is a consequence of external factors. The best solution they suggested was "keep the computer powered on all time to prevent humidity”. Is this the best that Apple/iMAC can do? (great) As the problem is well known and is an old problem I am aspecting an engineering solution. Maybe they should admit that if the same model in different location gives the same problem, something should be changed in the system. Also if the humidity is caused by external factors, my question is why the computers got condensation only on that specific corner. I do not live in a swamp, but in a normal apartment with children. I do not shower with my system, and I do not even drink coffee near my system. I have great faith in Mac products and they are well worth the money, but find it unacceptable that the best "solution" is to leave my computer powered at all time. If the system is susceptible to this problem then the customer should be informed (before to buy) of conditions the computer must be kept to prevent this problem (Can a MAC REALLY function in a normal environment?).
Will the problem go away if the temps go up?? Because I have a major gradient issue all of a sudden on my 24" alu iMac. It has also been very cold during the last few weeks.
I had my iMac for over a month without having such issue. During Christmas holiday, I had not power-on the iMac for more than 2 weeks and the first time it was started, the condensation appears. Exactly at the lower right corner, a medium patch about 2"x3".
What I did immediately was to set my Air Conditioning to 'Dry/Dehumidify' mode at full fan and let it run for a couple hours while having the iMac turned on. The condensation disappear slowly and it went away within 2-3 hours.
It is clear that the lower-right corner of the screen has some engineering/design issues, that caused similar issues in many of new iMac owners. Before start opening your screen, try to to 'dry' the room and let the iMac runs for sometime. It may work if you have a small room i.e. study/bed room which you can easily condition the air. It won't probably work in large office area which quite difficult to control/influence climate with central air conditioning.
Had the same issue. I bought the imac in feb 2008. Condensation happened 7 times and I supplied Apple with 4 separate photographs of the issue. Spoke to Apple asked for a replacement, they subsequently refused and said I needed to send it to a repair centre. Did this and they could not reproduce the condensation. They suggested I call apple. Did this and Apple stated that it is an 'environmental issue'. I asked if they could please send me this explanation on a company letterhead paper in writing as opposed to just telling me over the phone. They said they are a call centre and cannot do this. I then asked if they have a phone number to contact a 'non call centre division' of Apple to get this explanation in writing. They said they do not have anywhere you can call other that the call centre. I give up now as I have spent hours on the phone with the technical support and customer reps. This is an absolute joke and this will be the last time I buy anything from Apple.
Hi indiekiduk2, maybe this is the same problem Ive had as the Apple sstore are telling me that I need to pay for a replacement LCD as the watermarks on my screen are in the LCD. How did you get on in the end?
