Significant light leakage, few light botc…

Apr 15, 2011 2:03 PM in response to Xaldafax

My 4th replacement.

https://picasaweb.google.com/talormanda/IPad2IssuesIPad4#

Cheers.

...more like FAIL.

Reply

Level 1

1 points

Apr 15, 2011 2:23 PM in response to NiqueXyZ

Well, I phoned up Applecare a couple of days ago, I mentioned the backlight bleed issue, and was advised to make a genius appointment to which I replied "Will they have any replacements in stock", and he said "they should have", then I mentioned how I am aware people have had a few replacements and have had the same problem. At this point, his tone of voice went a bit funny, and I asked if Apple was aware of the problem to which he hesitantly replied "Yes", I then proceeded to ask when the problem would be fixed so I could have it replaced then and I was told 4 months. So, I am sure they are aware of the problem, they just haven't make a public announcement, and I doubt they will because the only way they can fix this is to replace all affect iPad screens, and they will have EVERYONE going back to have their iPad replaced even thought these people may not have noticed the problem otherwise.

But they must know about the problem and doing something to sort it out. I was told on the phone that the problem should be fixed in the next batch, so it is clear that either many Apple employees are reluctant to tell the truth or are not themselves aware of exactly what is happening or have been informed to keep hush hush.

The iPad 2 is my first Apple product I have purchased, and I went for it due to their reputation for their amazing build quality and amazing customer support, but now I'm just like... :/

I was condiering android but went for Apple and paid the premium price for the listed reasons. I just really hope they get the problem sorted, but backlight issue or not, I love my iPad and I will rarely notice the backlight issue as I keep my brightness quite low anyway. But for the premium price I am paying, I expect close to perfect or perfect!

Reply

NiqueXyZ

Level 1

8 points

Apr 15, 2011 2:32 PM in response to Tal Ormanda

I see no problems there -- really this is a great device with an awesome screen. I mean come on, using a tablet device in low light conditions does not qualify as normal usage! The iPad2 is the best device ever made! I've heard no other reports of problems with the screen, I think you should really talk to applecare..
</sarcasm>
This is the line that was given to me by the person on the phone when I called to get a refund. Unreal.
This is such a crappy situation and I feel so let down by Apple...Oh well...need to call and set up a return for a refund. Hopefully I'll get someone nicer this time. I give up. This is my 5th replacement and there will not be a 6th.

To the above poster: It's been a month since launch. I was hoping it would have been fixed by now...it was the whole reason why I ordered online on March 18th and accepted that my ship date would be a month later...but nope...

In regards to everyone wanting to have their screen replaced -- IMHO all iPad 2 owners should be entitled to have a product that doesn't have a defective screen. They paid the money for a device it's not logical to accept one with a defect. Apple should do the right thing...they have billions of dollars, I seriously doubt replacing all the iPad 2's would affect their profits one bit.

Look at what happened to Intel with the SB chipset recall -- they survived...all those boards had to be recalled and it cost them almost a billion dollars to do it, but they did the right thing and notified the public. Nvidia had similar problems with the GeForce Go 7 and 8000 series...they had to be taken to court but eventually the case was settled and devices were repaired or replaced. Apple should do the right thing here if they actually care about their end users.

Reply

zerofury

Level 1

8 points

Apr 15, 2011 4:27 PM in response to Chriscic

Ok i got my ipad in the post today, light beed is bad. Not even gonna bother getting a replacement, its getting refunded.

I have questions though:

1. Can i take it to any apple store and get it refunded? (even though i ordered online)
2. Do i need to wipe all info off it etc? to be able to show them the bleed, how? If it gets exchanged/refunded i dont want them to have my personal data etc on so will they wipe it or do I?
3. Do i need to phone some number to make a genius appointment etc?

I actually have a friend that works at the genius bar in my town, may see if he can show me some that arnt defective!

Reply

Apr 15, 2011 6:19 PM in response to Chriscic

I'm suffering from the same issue. On my second one and this one has light leak as well. A bit worse than the first one I returned actually. I'm going to get a complete refund. I don't get how this can slip through quality control. My iPad 1 is perfect. No light leak at all. I'll skip this version and hopefully they'll add the lamination process from the iPhone 4 into the iPad 3 and we'll all be happy one day.

Reply

Apr 15, 2011 6:44 PM in response to Chriscic

For those wondering whether...

- To purchase an iPad 2 now or wait until the problem is dealt with
- To try returning their light-bleeding iPad 2 for a better device

Purchase one or don't bother returning your iPad 2 at this time! I just visited my local apple store (Canada) hoping to return my iPad 2 today (for the light-bleeding problem). I was allowed to try a maximum of 3 new iPad 2s, and all of them had the light leak problem to some degree. In the end, I left with my original iPad 2 since none of the new devices showed noticeable improvement.

The Genius was very accommodating and assured me that when the initial rush of iPad 2 retail purchases dies out, Apple should begin shipping service replacements to stores (iPad 2s without boxes/cords/etc). This would allow the store to find me a golden replacement more efficiently without ripping apart boxes and eating into retail supplies. He estimated that this could happen in a month or so. Considering that the light leak doesn't affect the performance of my iPad, I personally don't mind waiting with a light bleeding iPad 2 than without one (or with something like a Moto Xoom).

I wasn't aware of the context, but the Genius advised that the iPad 2's 1-year warranty will cover the complete replacement of my iPad 2 once service replacements arrive. As with other posts in this thread, the Genius confirmed the problem of light bleeding. Knowing that my iPad 2 will be replaced once the issue is dealt with, I felt much more reassured so I hope I can give some reassurance to any others out there.

Cheers!

Reply

Apr 15, 2011 6:53 PM in response to NiqueXyZ

"I see no problems there -- really this is a great device with an awesome screen. I mean come on, using a tablet device in low light conditions does not qualify as normal usage! The iPad2 is the best device ever made! I've heard no other reports of problems with the screen, I think you should really talk to applecare.."

see now you're just being silly. the iPad2 IS a great device. aside from the backlight bleed mine runs like a champ, it's fantastic. like i said before, bleed is common on any LCD and it seems especially so on IPS displays. i'm sure someone can explain the reasons why but it's a problem with the technology. i think alot of us are extremely picky (and with good reason). i would probably be ok with minimal bleed if it wasn't distracting.
on the other hand it's probably being blown out of proportion a little bit and you trashing the device as a whole is ridiculous. for 500 bucks + people should get screens with little to no bleed and it sounds like Apple has been pretty accommodating so far

Reply

NiqueXyZ

Level 1

8 points

Apr 16, 2011 5:42 PM in response to dxironman

I am getting so frustrated every time I see someone say "backlight bleeding is common with LCD technologies" -- for the 20 millionth god **** time -- this is NOT backlight bleeding -- this is a MANUFACTURING DEFECT! It's been explained many times that this is NOT the same thing as normal backlight bleeding that you would find on an LED backlit tv or LCD computer monitor...the issue is caused by the glass -- it is pressing too hard on the screen in certain areas due to the way the device is constructed. If you grab the ipad2 with both hands and "flex" the unit, you can see the yellow areas go away, shift in location, shrink or grow, etc; subsequently if you press harder on those areas with your thumb you can see them grow.

This is the same kind of thing you would see if you pressed and applied pressure to an LCD television screen with one of your fingers..except when you take your finger off, the screen goes back to normal -- the ipad 2 does not because the glass top is not aligned properly and has too much pressure (and too little pressure) on certain areas of the device...it's not a display issue, this is a manufacturing defect. The glass digitizer, bezel, and screen are not constructed properly. That's the bottom line.

For anyone contemplating a return \ swap -- make sure you make an APPOINTMENT with a genius first; and make sure you check the swapped ipad 2 in a darkly lit area...99% chance it's going to have the same problem; they all do. Some people don't care -- sure. I am not one of those people. You can order a 99$ android tablet from shenzen with stock android 2.0 on it and the screen does not have any sort of problems like the ipad 2 does. This is unacceptable.

For anyone trying to get a refund -- you have 14 days from the point you receieved the device...it's not a long time -- make sure you get it done. The apple phone people are very rude and offensive and will striaght up lie to you regarding this problem. "We've never heard of this before" -- BS! AppleCare is different, if you press them they will admit they have had numerous reports about the screen defect. The sales person will want you to talk to applecare. If you want a refund -- refuse. It's a waste of time. This is what I'm dealing with right now and it's so annoying.

Reply

Traipsed

Level 1

0 points

Apr 16, 2011 6:54 PM in response to NiqueXyZ

Thank goodness you're an expert on LCD technology. But if it really is a manufacturing defect, then why does my iPad 1 have the exact same backlight bleeding effect as you?

Oh, maybe because it's the backlight. Deal with it, princess. It in no way impedes the device.

Reply

jexpor

Level 1

0 points

Apr 17, 2011 7:05 AM in response to Chriscic

From Spain:

Here's my brand-new "iPad Backlight": http://img196.imageshack.us/f/fuga.png/

Sent on April 6th because a supervisor told me "you will get your replacement in less than a week". Of course, I naively relied on her. Arrived in Holland on April 7th... Still waiting for my iPad.

I phoned Apple Care on Friday. A "big" boss in Europe told me: "sorry, but I cannot tell you when your replacement will arrive, because there are no iPads". Here in Spain, and I suppose that in the rest of Europe too, they open a reservation hour at 9PM so that people can purchase their iPad to pick it up the next day at an Apple Store in Madrid and Barcelona.

HOW THEY DARE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE NO IPADS??? Do they think we're idiots or something? They keep selling a defective product, people keep spending their money, but I have already paid for something that I don't have and that I don't know when I will receive. In my opinion, 2 happy customers are better than 4 upset customers. LOTS of people who were looking forward to buy it are now expectatin

I had my iPad less than two weeks and I have been waiting for it to come back more than two weeks. This is not fair.

I have to call back on Tuesday "just in case" they can INFORM about when I will receive it. Disappointing. I only want to have a non-defective iPad, that's it. I have already paid for it. It is not that difficult.

Reply

NiqueXyZ

Level 1

8 points

Apr 17, 2011 7:22 AM in response to Traipsed

I already took a picture of my ipad 2 next to my ipad 1 and you can see there's NO issues with the screen on MY ipad 1.

And I really don't believe you when you say it's the exact same bleeding effect -- lets see a picture if you don't mind (highly doubt you're going to post one -- it's all talk with a lot of these people on here and no action)...Anyways, you can see in 99% of the people who have graciously posted pics of their ipad2's that the blotches are almost uniform in their location and they seem to have a pattern usually on the left hand side of the screen. So anyways like I said -- let's see a pic of your ipad 1 that you claim has (to quote your statement) "the exact same bleeding

I'm waiting....

And BTW -- I am an expert on LCD technology. I have quite a few professional level IPS displays -- but you don't need to be an expert at all -- look at the picture below!!

Reply

NeVeTaS

Level 1

0 points

Apr 17, 2011 9:52 AM in response to NiqueXyZ

Tried three different ones, in the end I gave up and got my money back. When watching films you can notice the leaks, and things like that bug me! If people can live with it, fair play to them, but I can't so I was no longer happy with the product and got a full refund. 🙂

Hope they crack it with ipad 3....

Reply

Apr 17, 2011 10:58 AM in response to NeVeTaS

i'm with you on this one,I received my first ipad and noticed the leaking, sent it back for a refund( i bought it through macmall). A few days later i got a heads up from a friend that a local best buy received 9 so i went in and got another ipad 2, opened it and BAM light bleed like whoa, walked back inside 5 min later and returned it, got another one..Bam even worst light Bleed. At that point i gave up and didn't bother trying the other 7 they had in stock.. i was just so ****** off that within a week i had my hands on 3 ipad 2's and they were all defective.Blah...i

Reply

NiqueXyZ

Level 1

8 points

Apr 17, 2011 3:10 PM in response to Goingpostal83

Welp I finally got a nice lady on phone sales support -- she's giving me a full refund for the 5th ipad 2 and the smart cover too even though the cover was outside of the return period -- but that's understandable since it was ordered almost a month ago...of course they shipped the cover right away (lol) -- but the lady said "what good is the cover for something you're going to return" -- I told her about the screen problems and asked her to please tell her manager that I am very dissatisfied with the quality of the product and that it was indeed my 5th return. That's it for me...until I hear a statement directly from Apple or someone who quotes a reliable source I will not be purchasing a 6th one. It's a piece of junk...VERY poorly manufactured, build quality is horrendus.

Want proof? Take the device in two hands (one on each side of the screen) and try to twist it -- a tablet should NOT creak and the screen should not become discolored. It's clear they skimped on materials and design. The ipad 1 is much better in that aspect. So really what's better about the ipad 2? The cameras? I have a sony cybershot from 2002 with a better quality image sensor. The ram? It's only got 512mb of ram...same as the iphone 4 (released last year). The CPU and new GPU are impressive but I have a feeling they're going to become standard in newer android and webos tablets released this year -- and the playbook as well.

Maybe ipad 3 will have a better outcome 😝 Lol. Maybe I should just get a xoom and be done with it...I checked my friends out, he has no such build quality or screen issues on his device.

But it seems apple is so caught up with their software that they forgot that you still need a good hardware design to have a great device.

Back to business here though -- can anyone get a return statistic for the ipad2? I google'd and I could not find any information. Usually gadget makers will boast a low return rate with a successful product but when there is a high return rate they usually will not say anything at all...Remember antennagate? They gave the iphone4 return rate stat to the media...I want to know the ipad2's return rate 😝

Reply

Apr 17, 2011 3:22 PM in response to NiqueXyZ

Apple is acknowledging that it isn't acceptable. you're slamming the device as whole again because of a screen defect that you can only see a small % of the time? like i said earlier, i'm picky too and i've already spoken to Apple and plan on replacing mine a month or 2 down the road. the iPad2 still blows away the other tablets out there. i'd take backlight leak over a friggin Xoom (with an X, how cool) any day.

Reply

Significant light leakage, few light botches on sides/corners - defective?