Greyish Smudge marks behind the glass screen.

Got a call back from the service centre and they have replaced the LCD. The mac is being returned tomorrow, they will provide a full rundown of the issue with my returned machine.

My sympathy to anyone who is being refused a repair on this, the service centre told me this was a common problem with the imac and that they had replaced many LCD's because of it.

To blame the user is very bad form on the part of apple when they appear to know that a design flaw has led to the problem.

Just to follow-up - got my mac back last night. Renewed my warranty with Best Buy. I am in the US and the "Geek" said they replaced the LCD screen AGAIN. I asked him do they know why and he said it didn't say. I said well this is the 3rd visit here with same problem since original purchase, so I will be seeing you again soon I am sure, and the next trip will be on you Best Buy bc under the warranty they will have to give me a new mac. The "Geek" just smiled. So sad to put so many people through this. You would think they would find a FIX, not a bandaid!!

Okay, so this is frustrating. My 27" iMac was returned today by the third-party service company doing the repair under Applecare. They replaced the LCD, so yes the smudging was gone, but there was a constant flicker and random pixels (hundreds of them) were flashing almost like stars twinkling. Every 30 secs or so the screen goes black, and then it all starts again. So now it has to go back to them again. Of course, they say it worked perfectly and passed all their tests before being sent back, but I've never seen anything like this... Weird.

Well what do you know, Another smudge person. 😠

All over the top of the 27" Imac screen, Seems my smoking has caused this and its all my fault!.

Its in for repair at the moment as Logic board / Graphics card also have been replaced!!!!!

So they want me to pay £500 for New LCD and Glass ( When this is clearly not the issue from what I have gleaned from this thread ).

Any ideas. Should I print every page of this thread off and compile a book, Print off the photos to add as well!

Stand my ground.

PS. This was a refurb machine is there anyway ( at the store ) that they would be able to check what the initial problem was with the Imac ( ie. bad display ).

Another smudge person here, although I also have another issue shown here when positioning an app over the left side of the screen for more than 30 mins. Screen burn on an lcd?

Now the outcome at the Apple store was 'used in a smokey environment' AND 'agreed to replace new glass and lcd panel however customer advised any future replacement will be chargeable'

Having got home and actually thought about this it's hit me that this is surely illegal for apple to offer this? they are essentially asking you to forfeit your warranty to rectify a fault which based on this thread and the thousands of others on the Internet is clearly a fault with design.

I did call back the apple store this afternoon and express my concern as I am seeking to take out applecare because of this issue, but IF i undertake this repair it would render the applecare useless anyway as this would be chargeable?

Going to contact Citizens advice tomorrow about this ...

Seems I cant edit the above post, not authorised

The question: is it legal to expect a customer to forfeit their manufacturer warranty and consumer rights under the uk sales of goods acts?

Message was edited by: db74

Good luck with that, I have my iMac back home now.....they flat out refused to replace display ( charge was going to be £500 ) due to me being a smoker ( hands up ), BUT I have a studio with 3 diff types of recent iMac's working fine there for over 5yrs!.

I enquired if they'd had any issues similar to mine?

Manager reply : ( I'm not a liberty to say = yes ).

So here is the kicker, I said there is A FIX FOR THIS.

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-1101370.html

Manager to me : ( If you do that it'll void your warranty on the display! )

Me to manger : ( You just said it wasn't under warranty anymore! )

Manager to me ( Errrr ).

Fix ( I've done it....its not that hard! and works!!!!! )

1) http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1101370&page=2

2) money shot : http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=287668&d=1306956612 ( zoom in )

good luck guys.

cheers

rob

Ok small update:

I have just got off the phone to consumerdirect.gov.uk and explained my situation, they said that should Apple forfeit a warranty or deny a warranty they STILL have obligation under uk consumer laws and IF they breach uk consumer law it is very much illegal.

Sales of Goods Act - upto 6 months the owness is with apple to prove the goods are of standard

- over 6 months the owness is on you to show the goods are NOT of standard

Supply of Goods and Services Act - you can rely on this one if the problem reoccurs within a few weeks/months (as the replacement/repair is not of satisfactory quality or to 'standard')

The guy on the phone was VERY knowledgable and helpful, its a FREE service so i'd advise people in the UK to call them they will also advise with the procedure for taking it to the small claims court if needed.

Just closing out my issue. The weird flickering screen issue upon replacement of the smudged LCD was apparently a bad logic board. So, that was replaced and now all seems fine (other than the new logic board messing up my iTunes authorizations, but that can be dealt with). Thanks, Applecare.

Hi.

Been on holiday since my original post on this, but I've been following the thread with interest. I was hoping that the mysterious smudges on my display had magically disappeared in my absence, but no.

I saw the photo-thread about taking the LCD/backlight apart and cleaning the dust off. I must admit I'm tempted to try this, but could really do with the author of that thread to perhaps put together a video which explains the steps, as I'm not fully confident in my abilities. But before I do that, I've decided to take my iMac to the Apple Liverpool Store tomorrow. I've reserved an appointment with a "Genius" (I hope he/she is one) to let them have a look at the problem. I'm ready for comments like "environmental factors" to be spouted!

I'll post back on how I get on and what the responses are from the "Genius".

Nozzer.

I have this problem with a late 2009 iMac 21" and a late 2009 27". Both experience smudges. 21" has been send to repair, needed it's display unit replaced!

If you ask me, there is a serious problem with the displays of these iMacs!

I do not smoke. I have this issue.

I'll be interest to hear how you get on with this - an iStore has opened in my town since I first posted here last year. I'll take my iMac there (I'm currently covered by 'Apple Care') and see what they make of it.

I need this machine for work, though, so its hard to find the time to have it out of action.

The dirt behind the screen has got much worse since I posted earlier, its getting hard to see correct colours. But I've had nothing from any Apple sources that constitute even an acknowledgement that there is an issue.

I did contact a Mac dealer who said the problem (he was aware of it) is NOT covered by warranty and I'd have to pay to have it fixed - this was while I was still under 90-day cover.

As I understand the law a product must be fit for the purpose it was sold for otherwise money back or replacement should be offered.

If any particles (smoke or otherwise) are getting into the screen its a design flaw, not a reason to be ignored or fobbed-off by the company that designed it.

I've always had problems with Apple screens/monitors though. I had a PPC 8600 and the 1710 monitor didn't work from day one. All I was ever able to get was a much older refurb - legally it should have been replaced by a new monitor. But it was impossible to get through to anyone about it. The dealer I bought it from stopped stocking Apple products as a result of 'fortress Apple' - they got no further than I did.

So I don't hold out any hope that I'll get this fixed, I'm well past the 90-day cover now, or that the problem will be resolved in a newer model. We'll see.

Great shame about Apple customer services and the company's attutude to problems like this.

IanSn

Hi.

Went to Apple Store Liverpool as planned yesterday and showed the Genius the issue. His first words were that I had every right to bring it in with this issue and sympathised with me. However, he could not offer me any other course of action than to replace the LCD at a cost of £300. I explained that I had only had the machine 18 months and to have this problem after such a short time with a machine I had spent nearly a month's wages on was extremely disappointing. Again, he sympathised, but there was nothing he could do. I said that I didn't just have £300 to throw at the problem, and even if I did I'd be scared of it simply happening again. I asked if he had seen the problem before and he said "yes, a couple of times, but on different iMacs and in different parts of the screen". He didn't admit to me (of course) that this could be a common issue with the iMac. I also explained the consensus of opinion on our discussion here that it is dust between the back-light and the LCD and he agreed - "good call on that" he said.

I said to him that I'd have to go away and consider my options. Also that this issue had seriously damaged my confidence in the current design of iMac and my future probability of upgrading in the same design stable.

Now I am left with either putting up with the issue (and hoping it doesn't get any worse) or replacing the LCD. Or taking it apart and seeing if it is indeed dust collecting in the intra-LCD-Backlight interface as has been suggested.

What I REALLY want to do is write a letter to Apple UK and air my views, but I can't seem to find an address. Do any of the UK users have a contact address I could use?

As a sign-off, can we as a group of users affected by this all write to our respective country head-offices with our complaint? Also, it would be great to have a video guide to disassembly of the iMac display and cleaning should I feel bugged enough to try.

Cheers.

Nozzer, UK.

I can tell you this. I just had my 27" iMac fixed a few months ago for this very problem with no hassle at all. Well, the smudges are back already! I bought this iMac in March 2010. I had initially put up with the smudges for months until it got so bad and I discovered this discussion (under a different user name). So I requested the fix hoping I wasn't going to get the "it's due to your environment" run around that a lot of folks mentioned. It all went down beautifully. It was like brand new. Now the same thing is happening already, again. So now I don't know what to do. I figured on holding onto this make for some 5 years. I love the 27" all in one format but I can't keep having it fixed all the time and I can't imagine Apple would do that anyway. And I don't want the hassle either. I want a different Mac. Like a laptop and separate 27" monitor (that doesn't have the same issue. So I'm going to call again soon and see what they say.

Well, I had my doubts about an 'all-in-one' box from the start. (I remember the 'Performa' which actually blew up in my flat (apartment, sorry PA) when the guy came to fix it - they heard the bang two floors above!)

But it was the finance issue - box and screen very expensive. So ended up with the iMac -- not exactly cheap itself.

I think we're stuck with it, but I still say keep hassling to get them fixed if you've got one. They'd love it if you just went away! But you're only ever going to get a refurb anyway, so...

Seems it depends where you go what response you get. But maybe it'll get through eventually that there's a real problem with these things and the message will come down to drop the 'environment' excuse.

Home computers are for the home. Home environment is never clinically spotless with filtered air. If this remains the argument from Apple it means the product is not fit for purpose = home use.

I forgot to mention, over the winter period I used those super-fine filters over the air-intakes (this machine doesn't actually get very hot) and after a few months there was not a bit of dust or stain on them. But the screen marks had got visibly worse. So I'm not convinced about external causes.

Wish I'd got the box and screen. I'd have finished paying for it by now...

Nozzer - A petition! Apple UK is in Ireland.

Hollyhill Industrial Estate, Hollyhill, Cork, Republic of Ireland. Don't know who yer man would be though.

I'll be back at some stage with news of what happened to me. Too busy with work at the mo...