Uneven illumination

Nice one - finally, a happy camper.

Suggest all others cover their PB with the AppleCare just in case.................

Hmmm. Arguable for UK residents. Just wait til Chris sees that - I'm sure he'll have other ideas.

Spot on Eddie. It is good to see a happy ending, and I am hopeful that mine is too. DXP(authorised Apple repairer) seem to have done a good job on it and there are no signs of problems. Eddie's point is worthy of note for UK residents indeed. Without repeating sentiments already expressed, UK owners of any retail product of this kind of value can expect it to be fault-free or free repair replacement for up to SIX YEARS. There's more to it than that of course but don't go spending money unnecessarily on what is known in the UK as an "Extended Warranty Purchase" Which? magazine (www.which.net) deemed it 'redundant' and a waste of money. I rest my case, your Honour. Isn't the PowerBook an absolute beauty though? I just love playing with it. Whenever I take it out in front of clients (the PB of course) they just wow at it. It's a love affair. Warts an' all.
(Yep, I've lost my marbles - but I'm happy)
Cheers
Chris

The Houston repair center replaced my December 2003 15" AlBook inverter board (614-0310 ASSY,INVERTER,PIEZO,TOKIN,PB15") -- but not the LCD -- on the machine's fourth trip there. The first three (no-repair) visits were arranged through 1-800-APL-CARE and the fourth was arranged through the Santa Clara (California) Apple Store.

So far the screen appears better (although not perfectly uniform) at low brightnesses. The especially dark blotch that used to live along the bottom of the screen just to the right of center no longer stands out relative to the general light unevenness one sees on a white desktop with the brightness low. There is occasionally a noticeably darker region concentrated in the rightmost 1" of the screen, especially at the lower right corner, but this is an area I don't use much. So unless other parts of the screen go bad again I'll consider this case closed.

Take-home message: (1) changing just the inverter board and not the LCD does appear to mitigate the problem; and (2) you may have better luck sending your unit in through an Apple Store than through 1-800-APL-CARE.

hey chris ---

quick question re; the six year 'legal' u.k. warranty thing you mentioned --- as my year warranty will be over @ the end of march, and as the applecare costs a bit, are there some u.k. consumer rights involved that would apply to our PBs?

couldnt find the info on the which.net site

thanks for any info,

J.

I'm sure Chris might have other nuggets of info, but here's something from the DTI:

http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/saleandsupply.htm

John,
There ya go, Eddie beat me to it! Thanks Eddie. Our advice would be to pursue via Apple in the first instance as that would be the best thing to do for starters - and despite these threads might indicate, they sometimes do a pretty good job. If that fails or you feel you are not getting what you think you deserve, go the DTI route and let them know that is your course of action. So, give Apple a chance first then if no go, bring on the Shoulder Mounted Thermo-Nuclear Device - ie UK's Sale Of Goods Act. Tally Ho!

Hello,

Sorry to hear about your display problems.. i noticed some of you guys are here mention the consumer law in the UK.

Just to share my recent problem when i bought a 15" 1.5ghz combo from a reseller (I actually posted this somewhere else but may be useful here):

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I bought a powerbook g4 15" combo last week from a reseller here in the UK and when i started it up it had a stuck pixel an inch from the top and about an inch off centre... i was livid with this.

after spending £1400 on a machine i expect it to be in decent condition.

I realise the issue with dead pixels on lcd screens and also apple lame policy about replacement unless you have like 5 or so dead pixels.

anyway, i don't care what apple's policy is, as a consumer i (we) are protected by the Sales of Goods act - which clearly states that it is the seller's responsibility - NOT the manufacturer to ensure that the customer gets a full working product - AND that the customer has EVERY RIGHT to reject the product with "minor fault" and demand a replacement or refund.

so needless to say, the reseller is going to replace the unit for me and better still i am going to start up the machine in the shop before accepting it and taking it away.

i'm surprised so many people just put up with dead pixels, especially when its there on purchase.. know your rights and you'll get a replacement 🙂

lastly, i have to give credit to the reseller - they have been very good about this but i wasn't gonna give up.. i was within my rights 🙂
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Basically in short, f**k apple's dead pixel policy - do they mention this in the packaging like "This Powerbook may come with a dead pixel(s) if so, tough s**t!" ? - no.. so anyone buying a faulty powerbook in the UK should demand a replacement - I realise I was lucky enough that the reseller didn't make it any more difficult otherwise I would have had to take legal advice and take it further.

So UK buyers, know your rights!

hey chris & eddie ---

thanks loads for the info. havent checked the pdf files on that site yet, but it sounds pretty positive.

so, in laymans terms, if any of our machines die through 'normal' usage or, after time, the screens get the white spots/uneven illumin. pox - apple u.k. are obliged to do something about it. applecare or not.

thats very cool!

and it sounds too simple. hmmm.

[my 11 month old machine has been playing up a bit recently (crashing) and is showing signs of spots... not sure if it could get worse after the year warranty expires... may drop them a line.]

cheers,

J.

and it sounds too simple. hmmm.

Nothing is ever simple these days. My guess is most manufacturers will try to bluff/talk their way out of having to do anything much - but the law is supposed to be there to help us. They're here to make money off us after all. Perhaps I'm a cynic, but that's my impression. That said, my experience with Apple after-sales has been fairly positive.

Although it's a different product category, I have read about a Porsche owner getting very expensive work (I think it was engine related) done through the consumer laws, even though the dealership tried to fob off the customer with a lame 'it's not covered under warranty' excuse. The owner 'reminded' them of the current legislation in the UK (and the EU) - eventually the dealership relented, probably after consulting their own legal advisers.

Obviously there are limits as to what protection we get but, under the right circumstances, we should be able to come to some kind of 'agreement' with a manufacturer. Otherwise it's down to the Small Claims Court.

[my 11 month old machine has been playing up a bit recently (crashing) and is showing signs of spots... not sure if it could get worse after the year warranty expires... may drop them a line.]

The 'spots' issue is a recognised problem and you should report it. There's even a repair program for specific AlBooks. However, even if you don't think it's a major issue now I think you should call them (they may charge you for the call if it turns out not to be a hardware issue) and report it. Alternatively take it to the Apple Store on Regent Street or an Apple Authorised Service Provider and get them to take a look at it. Better to check it out before the warranty runs out. Always less hassle than going through the usual argumentative process of 'out-of-warranty' debates.

thanks for that eddie -- wise words.

will head down to the apple store quickish....

cheers,

J.

I have mixed experiences here:
1. Display Oct 2003 new PB15"
-> white spots after 3 month
-> display replaced after 11 month
2. Display
-> uneven illumination
Apple Care agreed to have it exchange though the pb was not covered by guarantee or Apple Care any more
3. Display
looked fine, but the dealer scratched the housing and the sleep mode did not work any more (there is a small magnet behind the display which activates a magnetic switch below the touch pad).
Dealer fixed the scratches and the magnet, but keep the same TFT panel
-> small white spot at the magnets position
-> slightly uneven darker on the left side, but not so strong as before
-> seems darker as before

What bluffs me, is that this stuff now appears even with exact the same display. May be sometimes I will remember my old times as Apple Service Tech (14 years ago) and take it apart.
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now lets see how it developes, but Apple seems to habe pushed the slimness of the display housing to faar, seems to me like some mechanical problems.

I have a G4 rev. B 15 inch. Powerbook. On my first machine I had 2 replacements and by the third screen problem I got a replacement. I was really happy with my new machine until a few days ago. I have noticed a little difference in the illumination between the left and the right site of my screen. I was thinking, just imagination, because I’m so fixed on this issue. But now I can clearly see a difference. Sometimes it goes away after a warming up.

I was wondering how long it takes in average until the problem with the screen is developed?

When you did recognize the problem with your screen?

Thanks in advanced!

I

Sorry for the bad English, I never learned at school.

I have the same problem with my 15" with the lower corners being darker than the rest of the screen. I've told everyone and thought I was going crazy as they didn't pick up the problem. It seems to go away after warming up, although I ended up with a bigger problem with my monitor ending up being very distorted and pixelated (looking like an old video game). Although I don't think theres much of a link.

So many months have passed since my AlBook's second screen replacement that I've almost forgotten it ever happened.

However, all that looks like it might be about to change. Waking the AlBook from sleep not long ago I was greeted by uneven illumination in the form of a small, but definitely noticeable, darker area in the usual bottom right corner of the screen. Major disappointment.

After the AlBook warmed the problem disappeared. I'll be checking it carefully over the next few days and just hope it's not going to come back.

This unreliable AlBook is really determined to test my patience - just as well that I've got a potential buyer coming to view it next week.

I've been 'burning off' the uneven illumination since it returned in January 2005 to this Third LCD display replacement.

It has increased slightly since then, but it hasn't yet reached the same degree as previous displays.

I have since taken out the Applecare so it's covered for a further two years.

I do expect it will be back with Apple again when it deteriorates further, and after the previous hassles this is not something I look forward to but am prepared to pursue the problem to the end of the next two years.