Greyish Smudge marks behind the glass screen.

Hi all
Ive been watching this thread for a while and thought I should register my own smudge status.
I bought my 27" whopper back in November 09 and noticed alien marks on the screen shortly afterwards.

I actually have two different types of stain/smudge whatever you want to call them. The first type appeared very early on and is largest in the top left corner about the size of both my hands. Top and bottom right corners also have these marks but bottom left doesn't. The pattern they make looks to me like very fine dust that has been pulled behind the glass by powerful fans. It is only visible when the machine has a black screen and the various grey marks stand out against the dark background. For this reason, I haven't been too upset about it as these marks don't effect the visual performance of the screen in any way. They do appear to be getting bigger/bolder which would support the dust hypothesis.

The other type of stain appeared later and is, to my mind, slightly more worrying, as it is visible against a white or light coloured screen and is more of a smudgy finger print/handling mark about the size of a..er..hand. This is most obvious at startup (white screen) and is only in the top right corner. Again, I haven't been too upset about this one, as it's only visible occasionally and doesn't impair the performance.

Like many others, I am weighing up the inconvenience of sending the machine back to apple for a fortnight for a clean that I might be able to do myself. I spoke to apple support who said I could send it back and I also spoke to someone at a genius bar 150 miles from where I live who quickly took a ''disclaimer'' approach, suggesting it was my fault and wouldn't be covered by the warranty.
I'm pretty sure apple would honour the warranty if I decide to take that option, so again not too worried yet.

Reading the various stories, I get the impression there are several types of mark out there and would like more people to put in a final ''closure'' post that tells us how their own particular problem was (or wasn't) concluded. Some of you have attempted a DIY clean, and this is very tempting and sounds relatively easy to do. It would be useful if the DIYers amongst you could post a long term report on how successful this was, i.e. do the marks come back; do you have other problems with dust after the glass is removed; have you modified your cleaning technique with experience etc etc.
Also, anyone who knows of any official response from apple on the subject would be of interest.

Thanks all and keep posting.
Huw

I have consulted a friend who basically is working at an authorised Apple Store. Interestingly, he rarely get this problem from other imac users. He added that warranty will be voided if i take out the screen by myself.

My smudge screen is still bearable but i noticed that it is getting worse slowly day by day. I think i will wait for couple more months before i get sick of it, and furthermore, i could complain about the stupid hard drive (seagate made) that is making so much noise when Read/Write.

I love my iMac so much, it's just too bad i got the good ones. 😟

Hello folks, just to contribute, I own a (roughly) two month old 27 inch i7 iMac. Just a month ago smudges that started appearing on both the upper left and right of my screen. Just this last month. Here is a shot of the defect

http://img683.imageshack.us/i/img0224uf.jpg/

I sent my iMac to an authorized service center (I live in the Philippines so we do not have any Apple store there) for cleaning or LCD replacement. I had a short chat with the technicians at the shop and he told me that they still need to have to ask Apple's decision on the replacement. He also told me some worrying news, there was a customer before me who also had the same problem with the same 27 inch iMac and the repair was flat out refused by Apple because of "it was caused by environmental factors such as smoking, humidity etc."

I hope they do not give me the same line as our office is fully air conditioned and clean as a sanitized hospital room. Besides a high end and expensive computer such as an iMac should be at least able to stand things such as a little dust or humidity without getting marks on the screen. I mean I know some poorly maintained and cleaned PC working flawlessly and screens never turning spotty in worst environments.

Alright, just a quick update for those who are interested. When I went back to check on my iMac from the Apple service center, the manager apologetically told me that after sending the repair request to the regional branch, the techs at Apple rejected the repair because this is caused by "environmental factors" which I depute because my unit lives in a clean, well ventilated and all day air conditioned office. On top of that in the very same office there are other older iMacs (including an Aluminum model) which never had any problems with its display.

So the folks at my local official Apple repair center suggested that I call AppleCare and plea for reconsideration regarding the repair. Which I did and was greeted by two really nice and helpful ladies. A agent handling the call and the other a higher up manager who promised me that they will look into my case carefully. We shall see if the stories I hear on the net about Apple going the extra mile for its customers is really true. I sure hope that this get resolved soon hopefully with the screen of my expensive iMac repaired!

Ryan,

I hope you will receive a very positive feedback from them later, so that i can use your posts (and others) as evidence when i'm ready to send mine too.

Thanks man!

F.

I am having the same problem, is there a solution?

The problem must be on the LCD itself not the class and it is not a cleaning issue.

It is very disappointing that apple is starting to produce computers with a lot of problems, must be the China syndrome !!

Hi all.
I have exactly the same problem wiht my new iMac 21'5"and I'd like to tell here because it is the second time for me in four months.

I bought my new iMac 21'5" on 6 january and about twenty days after I saw a grey smudge on the screen for the first time; it was a vertical band in the left upper corner (about 1cm large x 7cm long). I asked in the store where I bought it, they sent the computer to Apple and they changed the screen of my iMac. About 20 february my iMac was at home again.

And now, three months after, again new smudges appear.
At this time, these smudges are in the same left upper corner of the screen but are different: like two greyish clouds.
I think the problem is some kind of dirtiness because the glass is not sealed enough and the machine attracks dust on this worm zone of the screen; I believe it is not condensation but perhaps an effect of static electricity.

I am very angry now. And I am so tempted to do like Paul_31 (and like other people in other forums) because I am sure this will happen again, even if Apple would like to change again the screen of my iMac. And I am very busy and can't waste my time with my computer.

So, I am asking myself why Apple doesn't accept this issue. It would be easy if they accept it and accept the user could remove the glass, and explain the user how to clean it. We could prove it before carrying computers to the Apple services.

Otherwise, what kind of quality control is Apple doing on its products now? I am a Mac user from 1987, at home and at work, and this is not my first problem with last Apple models (from 2005).
Thank you for your posts.

Message was edited by: mator

Thanks for contributing everyone. So far it has been a few days now but no word yet from Apple Asia about my status. I find it strange that Apple Asia considers this "smudge case" not covered by warranty yet in other places like Europe and US, it is quickly fixed with no questions asked!

I have a question for everyone with this problem. Do you guys play games or use programs that really heat up your iMacs? I seem to recall my iMac started to develop these spots when my nephew started playing a video game called Dragon Age Origins on my iMac which made it heat up a lot.

I suggest everyone with this problem give some polite feedback to Apple here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/imac.html

Just a bit about how stuff works @ Apple over here in the Netherlands.

My iMac 24" 04/2009 also has a greyish smudge, after 15-30 minutes it's gone. Annoying.

I took it to the local auth. service provider and let them have a look at it.
Turns out, this is common issue - iMacs simply have really cheap LG displays.
(doesn't help if you've got the new 27", same cheap quality - a Cinema Display is a totally different breed of hardware)

The guys at the repair centre said something along the lines off:

"We can swap the display for a 'new' (=refurbished) display, but we can't guarantee you
that the 'new' display is without any issues". In other words, I get rid of my greyish smudge
but there's a fair chance of getting other issues in return: yellow tints, dead pixels, hairs behind the display,
the usual suspects.

The replacement display has stamp on it that says "Apple marks this display as acceptable".
If it has 6 dead pixels? Still acceptable, since only "8 dead pixels in row" are unacceptable.
Yellowish tint? Fine with Apple. In case Apple thinks the display is acceptable, it won't let the service provider replace the replacement again.

- iMac are consumer products. Compared to a Cinema Display, it's cheap hardware, especially the display.
They're not built to do 24/7 office work.

- Get AppleCare while you can. There are laws that protect you as a customer after the first year, but I'm not putting my money on some strange European law from Brussels. One display is more $ than an AppleCare bundle.

- Next time; buy a Mac desktop (mini, mac pro) with a Cinema Display 🙂

Cheers
H.B.

I disagree, this is not cheap hardware, what we got is defective hardware. Before my 27 iMac, I also had a 2.8 "extreme" C2D 24 inch iMac just like you and it worked without a hitch for two years. I never turned it off, used it for hours, played games with it, edited video with it and it never failed me, no screen burns or any issue - I actually regret selling it since it was so reliable. Same with my much older white 20 inch iMac which I got second hand. It worked flawlessly and its only defect was the failure of its hard disk (I had back up and it was replaced by Applecare). Both of my older intel Macs were stellar performers.

I believe that what we got were lemons.

Alright, some good news. The helpful AppleCare rep Joanna, just called me this morning and explained to me the situation. So three things came up:

1) First, she spoke to the engineering teams about the screen problem. They insist that the smudge problem is caused by small particles of dust getting sucked in the cooling system and depositing it into the screen itself causing the phenomenon.

2) Second, she told me that it will take around 600 USD to replace a new screen for my iMac. They insist this is not a manufacturing defect, so it is not covered by warranty

3) Finally and thankfully, for this time only, she is willing to weave the fee for a replacement screen. If the screen clouds up again then I will have to pay for the next screen replacement.


My thoughts:

I have seen computers both Mac and PCs used in dusty and dirty areas and never had any screen clouding similar to my more expensive 27 iMac. I agree with Joanna that this is not a manufacturing fault. However I personally think it seems like there is a DESIGN FLAW in the cooling system if it deposits dust and dirt towards the screen thus it must be covered by Apple. Perhaps it would have been better if Apple added some dust filters (it has none) inside the 27 iMac? As I see it, even if our office is clean as s whistle, the iMac will still accumulate dust overtime because the cooling systems attracts small particles of dust which one cannot avoid!

I appreciate the level of service I got from the Applecare reps like Joanna but I'm weary of the design flaws of this generation of iMacs. I mean I spent 2K USD plus for this BTO i7, Apple should at least make it resistant to the elements.

Message was edited by: Hey Ryan

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I had enough of the gray smudges, which got worse. I went to see a genius and he told me it's some sort of "burn in" or a "defective LCD". Everyone seems to get a different answer. They replaced the LCD and glass free of charge, though I have apple care. Turn around time for the repair was 3 days. I hope this issue doesn't rear it's ugly head again.

Hi all, i own a iMac '27 i7 from Februari 2010. My imac shows some greyish smudge on the right side as well. I removed the glass and tried to clean but with no results. I'm going to call apple as well.

Same problem here 27" iMac purchased March 2010. I never noticed it as I always had the aurora for a background. Upper right hand side had light brown smudge marks,it looked like fingerprints but it was not. Apple had it for about 5 days and replaced the screen. It seems ok for now? I did buy the apple care afterwards just in case.Do not mention opening it.

I recently purchased a 27" Imac, maybe two months ago and today a 5" tall 3" wide grey spot appeared on my screen as well, right in the center. any one know the cause. Is it fixable or should I take it back to Best Buy, and have it replaced