Greyish Smudge marks behind the glass screen.

skeltonmedia wrote:

The news of the fix came from the “genious” I talked to at the Apple store. He said all replacement screens now have a heat shield between the video card and the LCD that will stop future smudging. Obviously this isn't something coming directly from an Apple engineer but rather from someone who is experienced in diagnosing products.

I know people in the past on this forum have had multiple issues after multiple repairs so maybe this heat shield is a new addition. I'm not holding my breath or putting money on this being an end all solution but I thought I'd pass that information on.

As I mentioned before, make sure and buy Apple care for any iMac or Macbook. I've always bought Apple care and it's saved my wallet more than once. Putting so many components in such a tight space is clearly not always the best way to avoid heat related failure especially if you edit video editing or work with heavy graphics applications such as I do.

This is a fantastic development.

As noted before, I was going to build a PC so I can "retire" my iMac to light duty after getting the screen replaced for the last time. Now I don't think I'll wait. I'll make sure to talk to a genius who knows about this new heat shield before bringing it in again.

I posted much, much earlier in this thread. I mentioned that my 2009 iMac's screen was replaced twice and then Apple replaced the entire system with a 2011 model.

Well, three weeks ago the problem reappeared. I have smears on 1/3rd of my screens. Unless this heat shield was implemented after August of 2011 it did nothing.

I'm about to submit my fourth repair claim to Apple regarding this issue. I'm waiting until I finish a critical project because every time I give them my iMac it takes about 1 week to get it back.

I can't begin to explain how angry this situation has made me. I switched from PC to Mac because of Steve Job's rhetoric regarding insanely great products. The iMac is not an insanely great product. And Apple doesn't care about us as customers.

One more note. If we really want to get Apple to take this problem seriously then we need to complain to the underwriter of their protection plan!

The #1 reason Apple doesn't take this seriously is because it costs them nothing to repair our systems. If you don't have Applecare you pay for the repair. If you have Applecare an insurance company pays for the repair. At no time does Apple experience financial loss. In fact, they make a profit off each repair because they charge a fee to the insurance company for the repair!

However, the underwriter can choose to nullify Apple's insurance policy and charge them for all previous iMac repairs if they suspect it was a systemic problem or design defect. Imagine the insurance provider suddenly calling Tim Cook and saying "You know the 100,000 iMac's with LCD problems that we've repaired in the last few years at about 500 bucks a pop? Well, turns out it was your fault. We need you to pay us 5 million dollars please."

Tim Cook would get this problem permanently fixed in a week if he was facing a massive bill from his insurance underwriter.

I do not have apple care (yet) because my warranty is still running. I am planning to bring my iMac to the Apple store to get it repaired. Will they fix it with the or do u really need to but Apple care?

If your warranty is still valid, you do not need AppleCare. The recommendation for AppleCare is to cover possible repairs after the warranty expires. If you are contemplating AppleCare, go ahead and get it, it isn't cheaper if you wait and you can take advantage of the phone support included with the AppleCare.

@J.K. ROFLing

My problem developed before the warranty expired but I was told I was not covered for this issue and I'd have to pay for a repair. This was confirmed by the reseller I was put in touch with.

Different people have had different experiences, but this was mine.

I think the point of a lot of the discussion here is that we don't seem to have a coherent answer about what Apple's policy is. It appears to vary.

This still strikes me as odd because, in this country, products are supposed to be 'fit for purpose' when they are sold or you are entitled to a replacement or refund. What happened to that?.....

Anyway....

Just now I have 2 iMac 21.5" in technical center for change the lcd panel.

Also my brothers has the iMac 21.5" in the same technical center for the same problem.

I bought these computer at the middle of 2010 and both have the problem on lcd panel (haloe, greyish smudge and pixel dead).

Impossible to edit the photos with these problems, very annoying.

The technical center inform me that the problem probably not be definitively solved and the first panel arrived for repair has again a pixel problem.

Fantastic, I spent a lot of money and this is the result.

Just noticed that I have this problem too. Except mine is a massive horizontal gray swath in the middle of the screen. It covers about one third of the screen. Definitely not dust - the area has defined, rounded edges. Bought this 27 inch iMac in July, 2009. The screen is yellowed too - evident when using a light gray or white desktop background. Will be seeking replacement asap!

You can try a screen replacement, but I've seen people go through that process about three to five times, and the problems have stayed the same or gotten worse. Either the yellow tinge was even more pronounced or there was even more grey smudging. The only way to fix this is a hardware re-design.

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I can't even express how disappointed I am to have just noticed this on my iMac and within seconds found FOURTY FOUR pages of comments from users with the same problem. I switched to Apple products for the hassle free experience, I got the biggest, badest one they had - and now this. UGH!

Experiencing the same problems here. I think Apple really needs to take this problem more seriously since it seems pretty many people are experiencing this. My iMac is just a week out of warranty so I am really into doubt what to do. Since not all repairs seem to have good results in the long run.

I have 4 27" Apple Displays and each of them was bought within the last 6 months. Unfortunately all of them have the clouding issue. I have all four connected to a single machine as I am CEO of a software company and our software is webcasting so I use the monitors to communicate with my desperate company.

While they are under warranty and I also have Apple Care this from a logistics and time stand point is very frustrating and apparently according to this thread replacements will only fall victim to the same poor design.

I really like Apple products but this needs to be addressed.

Since recollecting my iMac after it's first screen replacement on June 18, 2011, it appears my current display suffers from an extreme and worsening yellow tinge creeping up from the bottom left corner of the screen. I'm still covered under Apple Care until April 2013, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about having to lug this thing back to the store for repairs (again). I'm holding out hope for a recall.

I am afraid that you can reach reverse effect. Look at my smudges.

As you can see the most annoying is in the SE corner (N and NW is also disaster area) and looks precisely like a burn (walnut type curves). If it was dust it will definitely have another pattern (waves, circles or some type of a more consistent shape). And if it is caused by heat - your filters will actually reduce the speed of airflow. Although probably applied to a new machine filter can help reducing future blockage of airways. Never heard of extra fan for iMac. But on the other hand it is ridiculous - Jobs wanted them out to make macs quiet. Fans strike back. Can't comment more as Apple censored me. Actually they read posts. But they say they wouldn't answer us (users). And we (users) only can discuss tech part of our sorrows between ourselves. No other comments. Loosers anonymous. In the meantime looking for advice about a solution to find out temperature inside my iMac, pretty soon I can't see anything on upper third of my screen. I like dark backgrounds now a lot.

Ahh,

always thought it was just affecting me. Glad to know that it can be cured for some time.

I shall sell this machine and tell the buyer that the cloudy pattern is part of the iCloud. Problem solved. I guess. My iPhone contract will be terminted soon as well. An iPad i do not have. Time to think oabout alternatives. Last but not least my paid Apple develover contract is about to end.

Yes, time to make decisions.