Greyish Smudge marks behind the glass screen.

I too have an imac and have the same greyish smudge marks behind the screen.

It's depressing reading Apples' attitude to the problem, a problem that has been an issue for YEARS!!
The whole "environment" thing is a complete red herring and the way they have treated the Chinese over this issue is with just plain contempt.

I like Apple products but you can see this company turning into monster before our very eyes. Why would you keep selling something that has a known fault? Does Apple have just plain contempt for ALL customers? And then when people complain, Apple make the excuse that you live in a dusty country that is too dusty!

I live in Korea and will go the Apple repair centre tomorrow to see if i live in the right sort of country to get it fixed at their cost!

Steve
(I will let you know how i get on)

I also have this problem since about three months after purchase. I just spoke to Apple support and they said it was because of smoking near the computer (I am a smoker as it happens) or having unbottled tap water nearby! Either way, that suggests a clear design fault to me. Seems to me that the cloudy smudges coincide with the hottest parts of the back casing

Anyway, they gave me a case number and asked me to take it into a service centre for repair even though I'm 3 days out of warranty. Reading here, though, I'm not convinced that the issue will not reappear in a few months

Update on mine. I took my iMac to the Apple Store here in San Diego. First diagnosed for a video card but they did not have the part, which may be available in a week. Within the week, communication was constant that the part was still on order, etc. When the part did arrive, they realized it was not the video card, and may be the power supply. We agreed to add the cost of the power supply. Within a day, we received a call that it was still not working, and they need to replace the motherboard at the cost of only the quoted video card. It had been almost 2 weeks. I got a call today that the computer was ready. We picked it up and lo behold, zero cost at all. So my Nov 2008 iMac got a total makeover (new motherboard, videocard, powersupply and internal cleaning of the glass -YES, my husband smokes right next to me, hence the smudges) for no cost.

This is what customer service is all about.

I am once again, a happy peanut 🙂

update: belgian repair service took it. But I have to expect at least 8-10 days before they start working on it ....
let's see

I don't have this problem on my 2.93 Ghz i7 27", but I hate having to use this i7 for netbook-level duties due to fear of heating up the display and ruining it.

Sorry, but i don't speak english.

Tengo un iMac de 27" comprado en septiembre de 2010.

Empezaron a aparecer las manchas de la pantalla hace 4 semanas, eran de color gris y se aprecian con el fondo blanco, también tenía condensación en el cristal. Lo llevé al servicio técnico y en 4 días estaba listo para recoger (bien por Apple!!)

No tengo Applecare, pero lo compraré por si el problema se vuelve a repetir.

Well....just when you thought it could not get any better... I have a happier ending to my story.

I want to thank the North County Apple Store (San Diego California).

After we picked up the iMac on Friday night, there was NO problem overnight.. but by Saturday morning the yellow lines were back on the screen and I could not boot back up again. The machine was heated all over again.

My husband scheduled immediately with the Genius Bar and we were back at the store at 345pm on the same day

The Genius was such a NICE young lady (Apple should be very proud of her) named "Brittany" as well as the team here at North County - she was apologetic at the ongoing problem.

After about 5 minutes conferring behind the scenes with her lead, she came out to tell us that at this point they will go ahead and trade my 24-inch iMac with a brand new 27-inch iMac.

Granting not all stories will end like mine and I really do not know why my story would be different than most.... But since 2000, between me and my husband we had probably bought 2 laptops, desktops, minis, EVERY two years (one each for us and our son, and YES we have gadget ADD), 3 generations of iphones, 2 iPads etc... and this is the 1st time that we've come back to have anything fixed... My husband had been an Apple user SINCE the 90s.

All told, I am very very pleased at how Apple San Diego North County fixed my problem.

Corporate Apple, if somebody is reading... you should be proud. My husband thought he saw a PC in my future (jokingly) but it never dawned on me otherwise.

The way your Genius Bar handled this, I am a guaranteed lifer.

🙂

Message was edited by: ndesimone

Message was edited by: ndesimone

I too have this issue in my 21.5" iMac, purchased in early Jan 2010.

It is in the upper left hand corner of the screen, goes about half-way down the screen, and goes about 3 to 4 inches from the side. I noticed it a while back and didn't take any action. Now of course, I am not within the one year warranty and I do not have AppleCare. Yes I should have done something about it when I first noticed it.

But having said that, it seems that this is a widespread problem and a solution should come from Apple that does not involve a warranty or AppleCare. It is a faulty product. And as a reputable company Apple should fix it. Just my opinion.

It seems Apple is just trying every excuse they can to blame the problem on anything they can, i.e. it's an environmental issue. I wish there was a way to file a complaint with someone other than Apple, like the Consumer Protection Agency. Maybe Apple needs some more publicity about faulty products like they did with the iPhone 4.....

Is it worth it to call Apple and try to get a solution out of them?

Just out of curiousity, I realize this has been an issue across numerous iMac models (24", 21.5", and maybe especially 27") - is anyone noticing a pattern, though on what other common components might be effecting this? I have a 13" Macbook Unibody and am looking to get an iMac for my office. I may wait until the next generation and see if they've fixed the problem. But if I end up getting a refurb 21.5 or 27, I am wondering if there might be a configuration that seems less prone to this issue due to processor heat, or whatever. If anyone has any thoughts or theories I think it might be valuable to figure it out.

And it seems I will surely be purchasing extended Apple Care with whatever model I decide to go with. No point in taking that chance!

Lansylator1 wrote:

It seems Apple is just trying every excuse they can to blame the problem on anything they can, i.e. it's an environmental issue. I wish there was a way to file a complaint with someone other than Apple, like the Consumer Protection Agency. Maybe Apple needs some more publicity about faulty products like they did with the iPhone 4.....

Is it worth it to call Apple and try to get a solution out of them?

I quote your proposal. I understand in the US consumer protectino agencies are much more powerful than in other countries, I hope you can start an action there to get the attention

Update on my imac

I'm here in Korea and they will fix it at no extra cost. The guy was helpful and very matter of fact about the problem.

The problem, he explained, was dust being sucked in to cool the computer down. However if it was dust wouldn't they just need to clean the inside? Instead they are going to replace the screen at a far greater cost which would tell me its more of a heat problem than a dust problem.

One more thing, in the repair shop there were an alarming amount of imacs being repaired in the back room. I did ask if the "grey smudge of death" was a common problem, but the reply was no with a BIG smile. You can make your own minds up on what that means!

Peace

Steve

So I've finally figured out that this is a design flaw. Unless you are able to operate your beautiful iMac in a sterile environment, this problem will always be there. Any kind of moisture, pet hair, smoking or general dust is attracted into the machine (apparently it has no dust filter) and the result is the strange smudge marks that we are seeing. I don't think it's anything to do with overheating.
I've posted before that Apple replaced my screen with no fuss. I was very pleased with that (even though they wiped my hard drive while it was in for repair) but they can't replace the screen every month and I certainly can't be without a computer as it's a vital tool for my job. I'm going to return the iMac which I saved for a long time to be able afford, and buy a top spec PC. Just such a disappointment but my faith in Mac is zero. At least I know a PC is rubbish - but they don't claim to be anything else.

I'd definately recommend you take it in ASAP. I can't fault the service I've received from our Apple Store. If its the first time its happened to you then if its just out of warranty they might still be able to sort something out for you. Even though by the looks of it the problems will still keep occuring even if it is sorted once

It's dust. I had the same thing. It's because the machine vents at the top, so some of it is forced around the display from the back and sticks to the glass. Got a couple of suction cups from iFixit and took a lint-free cloth to the inside of the glass. The glass is only held on with magnets.

Hi. Well i purchased my iMac on April 2010, Greece.
After 4 months on the upper left corner a blurry spot appeared.
As days passed by this blur expanded in a larger area upper left and started on the upper right corner too.
This blur is obvious when i use a black backround or when the mac is powered off..it's like humidity.
Finally i had my monitor replaced for free as i had a warranty.
Now 2 months from the replacement i noticed that the blur spot on the up left corner has come back.
I'm sure that it is allready expanding and i will have to face the same situation. It's very ANNOYING to face such problems with Apple.
Anyway i don't know what to do now.
I even bought a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in reasonable percentages!
Here are 2 pictures of the problem, now in it's early stage of expand ...:
http://img824.imageshack.us/i/dsc00071xh.jpg/
http://img189.imageshack.us/i/dsc00072lsh.jpg/