Help! Imac screen steaming up behind glass!

If you are still in Warranty or have had the forethought to buy Apple Care, take it back to the store ... but bear in mind that if there has been a spillage or exposure to damp Apple would not be responsible for that.

If you have the self confidence, you can take the glass off yourself (there is a You Tube video somewhere) but I would not recommend it. If you have done it before and the mist keeps appearing, it could be you are not handling the glass properly.

Get the job done by the experts and ask them for an assessment at the same time.

Are you sure it is steam? That would suggest the iMac is in an area of high humidity or condensation. Have you tried moving it to a different location?

I would not recommend taking off the glass as it is difficult to keep it clean and re-seat it correctly.

Hello Adam

Thank you for the star. You didn't say if you had bought AppleCare or it was still in Warranty. With both facilities Apple should remove and clean the glass for you; it is covered providing the marks are inside ... though that may not be the case if you have previously removed it yourself and not put it back correctly. It is worth checking, all the same. I had a similar problem and Apple did the job with no charge. There are several other threads in More like this (to your right) >>> one of which is absolutely enormous with 940 replies. Incidentally, do you smoke?

Maybe things are different in the good old US of A 😀 In my post above, I mentioned that my Apple store did the job perfectly, free of charge and very quickly. Though I must say some of the Geniuses over here need training.

I don't think I can add to my previous suggestions. That it is now out of warranty is unfortunate though if it is just a couple of days, you may get a sympathetic hearing from a local Apple store that knows you.

Otherwise (not recommended) you can only buy the glass and fit it yourself ... or

Take it in and let Apple clean / replace it. I have no idea of the potential cost.

Removing the glass and giving everything a good clean is easy, just be careful. I'm not particularly good at taking things apart and putting them back together, but in my view it would be difficult to mess up. I've done it several times on various Macs and haven't smashed a single screen 🙂.

I've used a suction cap from a satnav to pull the glass gently from the top - be aware that the magnets that hold the screen on are quite strong so once it pulls forward it'll want to snap back if you don't pull it away smoothly and gently. I slip a finger behind to stop the glass snapping back.

Once it's off it surprisingly lightweight. Lay it on a soft surface and give it a good clean. You might want to give the actual screen a clean as well while you're in there.

As has been said above, it can be difficult to ensure that there are no dust specks left behind but a soft lint-free cloth will be your friend here.

When you put the glass back there are guide pins that make positioning easy, just remember that as you close the screen back it'll want to snap back with the pull of the magnets so be careful to ease it back with a fingertip at the top to help you position it gently.

N.B. I always do this with the Mac off and unplugged 😉.

seventy one wrote:

Get the job done by the experts and ask them for an assessment at the same time.

And who would those Experts be? Certainly not the people at most of the Genius Bars. You think?