Dead Pixels

Neil is correct WRT Apple's "official policy", however there have been several
reports of Apple stores exchanging iMacs because of a single dead pixel...

...you have nothin' to lose by asking -- they might say YES,

Looby

Great question. I ordered a refurbished 24" 2.4 GHz iMac and just received it 6 days ago. Imagine my dismay to find out that there are not one but several dead pixels on my "certified" iMac. I have purchased Apple Care and was under the impression that a certified refurb is held to the same standards as a new iMac.

One of the dead pixels is almost dead center on screen and very annoying - it is noticable when the screen is a dark color or black, in which case the pixel is bright red. VERY noticable when watching a dark movie.

The other anomaly is near the lower left where there is a cluster of 3 or 4 dead pixels that are always black as well as an additional single black pixel nearby. While there are more in this area, they are less annoying because most of my attention is paid to the center of the screen.

Does this seem like enough pixels to warrant a fix and/or replacement? I'm also wondering if refurbs are held to a different standard although Apple seems to suggest that they are not. If they do replace my unit will they transfer everything over? I've done a LOT of tweaking.

Another worry of mine is that the unit I ordered was supposed to have the stock 24" feature set with 2.4 GHz, 320 GB hard drive, and 1 GB RAM. I was surprised to find that I had a 500 GB hard drive instead. Went back and double-checked the invoice and sure enough it was supposed to be a 320. I'm sure they won't take this into account for a replacement...which makes me think hard about what's more important: a flawless screen or 180 extra gigs of storage?

I can attest to that as the Apple store allowed me to exchange my iMac not once but twice. First time for a single stuck pixel second time for 2 stuck pixels. Both within the 14 day return period though.

Ben- Yes a refurbished unit does carry the same warranty that a new unit carries. They should not have to mess with the hard drive but you never know for sure. This is why you should always backup your files before taking it into service.

Having a good quality display free from imperfection is far more important than the hard drive size because even though it may be difficult to change the hard drive, it can be upgraded. Where as the display cannot be upgraded.

George

I was wondering, I just upgraded to os 10.5.2 on my imac (white one with 20" screen).
Every once and a while there will be black boxes in the finder screen (the star or nebula screen) and when I change the desktop image it goes away.
Do you know what can be causing this.

Thanks for the imput

George,

Thanks for your input. I called Apple Care and they ran me through resetting my PRAM which did absolutely nothing to fix the stuck/dead pixels!

Once I described to the agent how many bad pixels I have (definitely more than one but less than ten) he suggested I make an appointment at an Apple Store to have someone look at it. He said that if my description is accurate they will most likely mail it in for repair or replacement.

I'm hoping for the best and frantically backing up everything I can...

yes, yes... this really is an unfortunate event for us mac owners. I have had this iMac for a couple months now (this is month #3) and for one month i have had a dead pixel in dock area of the screen. The problem is it's only ONE pixel, so far as I'm aware. And it's in a fairly inconspicuous area of the screen, but i paid three-grand for the thing, so I expect it to work FLAWLESSLY. At the same time, I feel like I'm making a trivial argument to apple trying to convince them to get us a new computer...

It's true you paid a lot of money and it should be flawless but trust me finding a perfect display is not such an easy task. If your display is all good except for the one stuck pixel, then personally I would keep it rather than possibly ending up with another display that may or may not have as good a picture quality.

George

If you have an external drive large enough to copy your whole system to, there is free software that you can clone your system with. This makes a perfect copy of your system and makes it easy to restore in case something does happen to your hard drive. http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

George

Had my appointment today at the Apple Store. I was essentially lectured by the genius about the LCD manufacturing process and that, considering my 24" screen has millions of pixels, 5 out of a few million ain't bad. I see the point but I also don't want to have to look at a noticable (albeit small) patch of deadness. Given that the 5 pixels is "way" (his word) under the threshold of being an immediate replacement situation, he would be able to do one thing for me: order a replacement LCD panel which will be installed in-store. The good: I get rid of the LCD panel with 5 dead pixels. The bad: there is no guarantee that the new LCD panel will be error free. In fact, the genius warned that it might have MORE dead pixels but still be under the threshold for immediate replacement! And, to top it off, I can only switch out a panel that is below threshold ONCE so if the new one is worse, I'm stuck.

So, now I am at a crossroads. Do I take a chance on a new free panel that may or may not be better or do I live with 5 dead pixels out of a few million?

Decisions, decisions.

So you ordered online and it's still within the 14 day return period? In another post a guy had a single stuck pixel and I recommended that he keep it but in your case I would not accept NO for an answer. I would give Apple care a call and see if they will exchange the whole unit for you or tell them you want to return it. It's true most manufactures you must have 8 bad pixels or more to exchange but Apple won't even specify a specific number they just leave it open to their Genius's discretion. Dell has an awesome single dead pixel return policy on all of their displays. I don't guess there are any other Apple stores you could go to?

George

I had an awful tapping sound coming from my 10 week old iMac 24". I took it to the Apple Store and they replaced the hard drive. When I got it back, same tapping sound and they installed Tiger instead of Leopard on the new drive. Took it back second time and they replaced the CPU and HD fans and installed the correct OS. Got it back yesterday and there is a 1" scratch on the top, a dent in the aluminum on the front where it looks like they took a screwdriver to pry open the glass, and right beside that there is a dead pixels. Called the Apple Store and they said they would replace the case and that is all. Since the dead pixel wasn't there before, is there any chance I can get it replaced? Would love to here how I should handle this.

Re refurbished models with dead pixels...

I received a refurbished 24" iMac today and on booting it up, discovered 2 dead pixels. I was on the phone to Applecare immediately and told them what was up - I mentioned I do graphic design and this really wasn't on - especially as the refurbs are supposed to have such good testing. The guy sounded quite surprised that it was a refurb with dead pixels. They gave me an RMA and put me through to sales to get another one no questions asked (apparently, you can't replace a refurb, only get a refund and re-order).

Having read stories on here, I was prepared for a fight, but I guess I was lucky. I'm UK based so not sure if that makes a difference.

Does anyone think this is luck, or does Applecare service change depending on where your based?

Instead of going to the Apple store try calling Apple Support directly and explain the situation to them. The way I see it you have already taken your computer in for service for the same problem twice and due to damage during the previous repair it needs to be services a third time. Under the general lemon law the third time should warrant not just another repair but a replacement machine.

George

olisones wrote:
Having read stories on here, I was prepared for a fight, but I guess I was lucky.
I'm UK based so not sure if that makes a difference.

Does anyone think this is luck, or does Applecare service change depending on
where your based?

Yes and no. It should not change based on your location however convenience wise it may change. Obviously if you are not within proximity of an Apple servicing center you will have to send you machine to Apple for repairs. However protocol should be the same. The problem sometimes lies in the judgment of either the support technician or the store manager you speak with. The store managers have the ability to make a judgment call on what they want to do about your problem. For example I've gone into one Apple store and been told tough luck then turn around walk in another store and been taken care of properly so it all depends. I would suggest this though if you do not receive the level of service you think you deserve you can always try talking to someone else. I prefer calling Apple support directly.

George

Kern, the manager at the Apple Store here in Memphis, has been exceptional. He was able to contact Apple Care and they are sending me a new machine. He has already followed up twice with phone calls making sure everything is going as planned. Thank You Apple.