Yellow tinge from bottom to top of the screen, 27" iMac

I am agonizing what to do...very dismaying.

Message was edited by: pug1334

So here it is:

- iMac number 1 (Week 46) delivered Nov 2009 - Faulty HDD and yellow screen.
- iMac number 2 (Week 50) delivered Dec 2009 - Yellow screen evident - reported within 14 days but held off seeking replacement until I felt the issue had been addressed.
- iMac number 3 (Week 10) delivered Mar 2010 - Yellow screen even more evident than iMac number 2 and this one was "pre-screened".

So now what to do as I find myself between a rock and a hard place? I need a desk top Mac but don't want a Mac Pro. Do I gamble again and seek yet another replacement - obviously this has it's own associated hassles and it's still a lottery so just seems futile. The other option is hold onto iMac number 2 and wait for a few more months before seeking a screen replacement - the current screen replacement programme seems a hit and miss affair. Again this option is not ideal and has it's own hassles and associated problems (have you seen the calibre of some of the Apple "Geniuses"). Also, having to seek a repair on a premium price product when the issue is an manufacturing one which was present from day one just seems kind of wrong.

It's frustrating as most other products I would have given up by now as competitor products would be a viable alternative (i.e. Problems with a panasonic TV you'd be able to switch to a similar class Sony).

All-in-all this has been a some what disappointing Apple purchasing experience - I can't fault the customer care I've received but the same cannot be said of the actual iMac product itself.

Dino - good choice. Save your time and breath. You have posted enough. People who care enough will read through the hundreds of pages of post (or just a few) and know what the issue is. Your response (to every single inquiry of yellow screen) has been a copy and paste of your (same) response to the gray bar and how your screen is acceptable to you coz' it looks just fine when Safari is maximized. Your intentions are good, but it is getting a bit old for someone like me who is following the thread hoping to see if the issue has been fixed.

There have been many theories bandied around as to the cause of the "yellow peril" - this particular thread makes for interesting reading and is worth perusing:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=872918

Dino,
Please don't listen to people like hamproof. Your posts here have been of great help since I started following this thread and the flicker one. Ignore these people. If they don't like your posts they can simple skip them. You have helped a great deal too those who have the yellow problem, and to those that may be holding off due to it. Thanks for all you help.

TuffGong wrote:
Dino,
Please don't listen to people like hamproof. Your posts here have been of great help since I started following this thread and the flicker one. Ignore these people. If they don't like your posts they can simple skip them. You have helped a great deal too those who have the yellow problem, and to those that may be holding off due to it. Thanks for all you help.

Oh I don't know, I think we should respect Dino's rather melodramatic final statement regarding his retirement from this thread;-) However I would agree with hamproof, one has to question wether repeatedly posting more or less the same information actually devalues the information contained within the thread - there's a lot of pages to work through for anyone interested in the issue but recently a lack of any real substance.

Of course I'm being some what mischievous here....I do consider Dino's original intent as being well meaning and if he wishes to continue posting then he should be free to as all opinions here are equal and subjective. Just because some have questioned the advice, methodology and current tone of the thread shouldn't be enough to deter contribution - it's the nature of a free flowing dialogue.

I am one of the newer posters but not one of the negative commentators regarding Dino. I would have to say that anyone who has posted more than 1500 probably should take a break. I too have benefited from the commentary and perspective. However, towards the end there was a more strident tone with demands from those claiming to have decent screens to prove it and how precisely to do so. And there was also name calling. None of this is productive to what we all should be focused on.

After 6 times of returned the yellow ting iMacs, I had call Apple to replace a new screen. I believe that they have had took a look the new problem free screen for me. It looks pure color and perfect finally.

Do not give up, Just ask the people to replace you a problem free screen.
"replace screen" is better than "refund", Cause they will take a look for the screen before replacement, "refund" will not promise you a perfect screen, They will ship you a another new machine and will not un-box the machine to check the screen.

I think Apple had already to fix the problem at the end of February.

bigmachead wrote:
After 6 times of returned the yellow ting iMacs, I had call Apple to replace a new screen. I believe that they have had took a look the new problem free screen for me. It looks pure color and perfect finally.
(...)
I think Apple had already to fix the problem at the end of February.

Today I've received my 4th iMac, assembled in Shanghai, week 11 (it's a 21.5", but that shouldn't make any difference as far as yellow tinge is concerned) and it's still yellow.

Maybe Apple is assembling old "bad" displays at production facilities and sending new "good" ones to their repair centers, but I still dream seeing a single picture of a screen exempt from the infamous yellow tinge.

IMO you got special attention from the repair center and they _carefully selected a good screen_ (which is exactly the opposite of having fixed the issue)

I called up the customer care China and spoken to them in Chinese, They fully understood the yellow ting problem. After a long talk, They gave me a repair number to replace a new screen. It took 5 days for them to finish this work in Taipei.

Just received my 3rd iMac i7 week 11 and it still has yellow tint. Plus I now have a "dirt" spot behind the glass. It's about the size of a .05 mechanical pencil lead tip.

So much for Apple taking it through testing.

I have been looking at some volume statistics for both Mac sales and yellow screens. Apple reports quarterly sales of all macs around 3m units. That is 1m a month and 250k a week. If 60% of those are laptops, let's guess 30% are iMacs. Maybe 75k units a week. Meanwhile, imac.squeaked is reporting between 15 and 40 problems per week since the flicker firmware fix. So problem reports at that one site approximate: 25 / 75,000 or 0.033% of estimated production. People might not report there because they don't know about it, or they just didn't notice the problem. If 1 out of 300 problem imacs get posted at imac.squeaked, then there might be about a 10% underlying problem rate.

There are also dozens of anecdotal reports of multiple yellow screen iterations. If there were a 10% problem rate, then the joint probability of getting 3 in a row would be about 0.1%. Out of 4 million imacs sold there should be about 4,000 triple-hits, 400 homeruns, and 40 lucky five-baggers out there.

Guesses, all of this. My hunch, based on what we've seen here is that the bad screen rate has probably gone from the 5% range down to the sub-1% range since the display panel part was changed and Apple announced they had "addressed" the problem. But I also suspect that Apple's definition of a bad screen has more to do with yellow blotches and discoloration stripes than it does with grey bar constancy from top to bottom.

What do other posters think about my math and guesstimates?

All I know is that tomorrow I will be receiving my 5th imac,
And I will make a virtual bet of "£100" that I will get a more than noticeable yellow panel, or some other unexceptable surprise!!

Well here I am again! In a few days I will be going to an apple store to return my iMac for another. It appears that I will be walking out with an iMac without display issues per the Apple senior advisor and the store manager. I am willing to be that they will offer me one exchange and if that doesn't suffice, a refund. At this point if a new MBP were to be released, I would go that route. Unfortunately Apple is focusing all efforts on the iPad.

Maybe, just maybe I am not meant to have an iMac. The screen replacement does resolve the issue of the yellowing, I am witness to this first hand. Although the bleeding and color variance is still there. What a shame! This screen is to apple as the braking issue is to Toyota, with the casualties.

BB

Andrak you definitely want to bet you would get a noticeable yellow ting, I bet you would thats a fact.