Grey streaks / patches on 27" iMac display. What's causing dark streaking on screen?

Question

Level 1

27 points

Grey streaks / patches on 27" iMac display. What's causing dark streaking on screen?

I've done some searching for this problem already and this appears to be a fairly common gripe people are having with their iMacs in recent years. I've noticed a couple of dark streaks on my refurbished iMac 27-inch 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 which I purchased Aug 2012. My warranty is up and I don't have AppleCare. I also don't live near an Apple Store or an authorized technician.

I have some photos of the screen during boot-up (see below). While there is a streak in the bottom right edge, there is a far more noticeable wispy streak on the left side starting halfway down the screen that winds its way to the top left-hand corner. It's less noticeable on lighter backgrounds but very prominent on darker, neutral colours.

I've read posts from people who had issues with dust behind the LCD but solved them with complicated procedures for cleaning it. Some have said it's simply behind the glass, I could remove it and clean it. Most people seem to suggest returning it to Apple but I can't afford to pay $600 for a replacement, if needed.

Is anyone able to tell me if this problem is something I can fix? If not, is this likely to get worse or is this as bad as it tends to get? I can live with it if I have to but trying to do design and photo work with this "smoky" trail over top of things gets annoying.

My previous aluminum iMac had a similar screen issue that I was able to catch before the warranty was up. The screen was replaced and later on something even worse happened. Crazy screen issues that locked up my machine solid. Still trying to figure out that problem but needless to say I've been very displeased with the quality of iMac screens. I'm supposed to be paying for top-notch tech with Apple, am I not?

*grumble*

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 2.7 GHz Inter Core i5, 12 GB RAM

Posted on Oct 29, 2013 5:03 PM

Reply

Answer 1

John.A

Level 1

14 points

Nov 19, 2013 11:21 AM in response to dugost

You may wish to see this discussion

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3648456?tstart=0

Apparently the fix is to get a new display - not cheap. The lines on my machine are worse than yours or in the other discussion, and getting worse by the day. My machine is four years old, and out of Apple Care, so it's basically uneconomic to buy a new display. I'll just live with this as long as I can (it's terrible for image editing, which I do a lot) and eventually buy a new machine. I'm not excited to become part of this disposability culture, but such is the way things are stacked these days.

Reply

Answer 2

dugost Author

Level 1

27 points

Nov 20, 2013 11:32 PM in response to John.A

I hear ya. I'm not about to get a new one again any time soon. It seems like I just got this one! No way I can afford to be replacing the screen so soon on what's supposed to be a high-end computer. Any Mac I get in the future won't have a built in screen if I can help it. A third-party monitor will be the ticket. Have to say I'm pretty unimpressed with the screen quality with my last 2 iMacs.

Thanks for the discussion link.

Reply

Answer 3

ShaunMcI

Level 1

0 points

Dec 1, 2013 7:50 PM in response to dugost

I had the identical problem on my 27" Imac, and was able to get the first screen totally replaced under the end of the first year warranty. However, amazingly, the replacement screen is now doing the very same thing, which is hugely disappointing. It's in fact even worse than before. Always most noticeable on the startup screen, or if you change to a light colored background. So clearly a manufacture problem on these screens, and a definite Apple problem. It took about a month for the problem to occur after the initial replacement. I suspect its a combination of a faulty screen and the heat produced by these all in one IMacs.

In fact, I was recently helping a friend set up his 2013 27" Imac (The thinner ones), and the heat was noticeably reduced overall, it was only lukewarm to the touch, rather than toasty...

Not sure what to do now, it's rather tiresome chasing Apple on this, and I do not have Applecare. I'm probably just going to continue to use it in frustration...it's too bad, as I like this computer so much, this really distorts the experience though...

Reply

Answer 4

dugost Author

Level 1

27 points

Dec 1, 2013 9:50 PM in response to ShaunMcI

This screen issue we're experiencing is really a let down. Overall, since buying aluminum iMacs, the only major issues I've had have all been screen related which is essentially one of the worst possible issues to have with an all-in-one machine, as far as I can see. Never getting one again after this one bites the dust.

Reply