HotPixel on Refurbished Macbook

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I'm realizing that my posts may seem anti-mac, but let me premise, Without Apple and Mac computers, I would be homeless. I LOVE Apple - Just want to work out some issues with fellow users ;D

OK, I ordered a certified Apple refurbished Black MacBook - So great - especially at $1099. When it arrived It had 1 hotpixel that was in the right corner and would not go away. I ignored it for as long as I could, I figured its a refurb, so I got what I paid for. Then it just became the focal point of anyone looking at the screen. Doing a presentation on it, someone always would mention it. I respond "its a refurb" So, I figured I would call Apple and see what they say about it. I was a little more then shocked at the straight up animosity and derogatory comments the Apple representative had for me. Basically, he said, "1 hot pixel that won't go away is within shippable and acceptable quality control parameters" He even went on to try and tell me that not just refurbs have this issue and that even a brand new machine with this problem will not be covered by Apple in any way. I'm still annoyed that they talked to me that way, and that they sent me a machine with such an issue.

There was a great many number of fixes available online. The software fixes
did nothing, involved a flashing color box you placed on the hot pixel, it was supposed to "pop" the pixel back. Took a long time (days) and never fixed it.

Then I read a kids post that the liquid needs to be pressed into the pixel and to press REAL HARD until it goes away. It also called for a small amount of water on a rag. I reluctantly pressed the pixel and nothing, so i pressed harder, nothing, then I read the post again and he says you have to press so hard, almost on the verge of breaking it, but don't break it- OK, man, so I tried it again, pressing really hard, and it created this huge liquidy looking, lightened (burned looking) area all around the problem pixel. 10 times worse then the hotpixel ever was:Shouting: - Then right as I was about to shoot myself, I restarted the machine, it was still there, I felt a tear coming, then, the burned looking area started fading, and it disappeared all together and there was no hot pixel any more. WHOO HOO it worked. It really worked
 

chscag

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You got lucky man. Usually dead pixels stay dead, pressing them or not.

I don't care what the Apple rep said, if my new MacBook came with a dead pixel, it would have gone right back to the Apple store for a swap out. And there's no way I would pay the 10% re-stocking fee. :Angry-Tongue:

Regards.
 
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Thank You

You got lucky man. Usually dead pixels stay dead, pressing them or not.

I don't care what the Apple rep said, if my new MacBook came with a dead pixel, it would have gone right back to the Apple store for a swap out. And there's no way I would pay the 10% re-stocking fee. :Angry-Tongue:

Regards.
Tell me about it, how can they try and tell me thats within acceptable parameters? As much as I love Apple, I have had allot of bad luck with them as well.
 
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pixel fix worked?

I just read your post (loganP8000) about the hot pixel. I'm hoping that something along those lines would fix my hot or dead pixel. Just a couple quick questions- is a hot pixel the same as a dead one?

My problem pixel appears bright white on light colored backgrounds. It's in the bottom right portion of the screen. I, too, called Apple to have them tell me that a single pixel is not within their parameters for fixing (especially 2 weeks out of warranty). I've been reading up on the pixel thing and so far as I can tell, the looping videos that you place over the spot only work for "stuck" pixels- stuck on a single color.

I have to admit, I'm scared to possibly make the screen worse. I suppose one pixel is not THAT big of a deal. What did you use to press on the screen? I've heard that it works best to just press the immediate area...
 
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What exactly is a hot pixel?

Dead pixel = black pixel that stays black all the time.
stuck pixel = that's any other color than black. red, green, blue.
 

chscag

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I think the "hot pixel" referred to is in fact a stuck pixel. To elizathrush: You can try the method which loganp8000 used but you should be aware that you can cause damage to the screen if it doesn't work. Read his post carefully, he used a small amount of water on a rag to press the stuck pixel.

Regards.
 

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