iMac and dead/stuck pixels

I got a new 20" iMac a few weeks ago and it has been great so far. After the first week of owning it I noticed a "stuck" pixel, it is stuck on red. It is up in the top right section of the screen so it isn't that noticable. BUT it is still really bugging me, even though it doesn't affect everyday performance. I know that nearly every lcd manufacturer had a certain amount of allowable pixel anomylies to keep costs down. Thing is I want my mac to be perfect, and I guess you could call me a perfectionist so it is bugging me. I came from using a beautiful 19" Sony CRT (which in my opinion had a nicer sharpness to it than the iMac 20" lcd), so to me this is noticable. I havn't even bothered calling Apple, because I know that they'll just say no, plus I don't want to sacrifice my machine for a couple weeks even if they were to repair it.

BTW, I've tried the massage and the tapping technique to fix it and it won't work (and I don't want to damage the monitor trying even harder).

What bothers me even more is my original worry about getting a computer tied to the screen such as the iMac is. Maybe I was right. Now my great G5 iMac is tied to a not quite perfect screen.

I'm just getting this off my chest I suppose. Does anyone else have any pixel problems? BTW, the display models in Best Buy have perfect (albiet full of fingerprints) screens. I ordered my machine directly from Apple so I don't need any "you should have got them to plug it in before you bought it" cracks.

This is actually one of the first reports I have seen of new iMac's with dead pixels. Myself and one of the other mod's have iMacs (I have 17" he has 20") and haven't had any issues

flyingpostman said:

I got a new 20" iMac a few weeks ago and it has been great so far. After the first week of owning it I noticed a "stuck" pixel, it is stuck on red. It is up in the top right section of the screen so it isn't that noticable. BUT it is still really bugging me, even though it doesn't affect everyday performance.... I havn't even bothered calling Apple, because I know that they'll just say no, plus I don't want to sacrifice my machine for a couple weeks even if they were to repair it.

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Get it changed, I've changed monitors before because they have defective pixels (and yes even CRTs can suffer from them, usually due to a defective mask) so don't take no for an answer.

Contact Apple and ask them where your nearest authorised repair place is then when they have verified that the display is defective you should be able to get a direct swap organised through them so you won't be without a machine in the mean time (if you're really lucky they may agree to swap your drive into the new machine as well).

One of the reason we pay over the odds for Apple gear is because they ARE willing to satisfy their customers.

Amen-Moses

I just called Apple, and of course they don't quite give a difinitive answer on how many pixels warrant a replacement. They got me to contact my local Apple repair shop and they have to look at it, but this could take 3-4 days. Completly unacceptable for something they could check in 5 minutes. So its either give up my computer for 4 days for something I am not sure they will fix at all, or live with it. One thing they did tell me is that is could be more than one pixel (it probably is, they are pretty **** small), but it has to be checked. If I don't get it checked though this problem is gonna burn my *** for the next 4 years... you know it.

Here your problem, most manufacturers, state that you must have more than five bad pixels in the same area before they will replace it. I believe that is true of Apple also.

Its easy to say when you have a perfect display "don't take no for an answer". Well, you might have time to drive around to different repair shops/ spend forever on the phone with apple and make demands. I'm a busy working stiff without much free time during a working day. I called another repair place and they will look at it in an afternoon (better than 3-4 days!!) and then determine if it warrants a replacement. Apple has a policy. 5-6 Pixels grouped together. If mine doesn't qualify what am I supposed to do? Get mad at the repair shop? Its not their fault. Really I can live with it, I would have to point it out the pixels to you (unless the screen had an all white image), it almost just looks like speck of dust on the monitor. I will get it checked out and see what happens though. The el-cheapo Dell at work I'm typing this on has a perfect lcd screen

flyingpostman said:

Its easy to say when you have a perfect display "don't take no for an answer". Well, you might have time to drive around to different repair shops/ spend forever on the phone with apple and make demands. I'm a busy working stiff without much free time during a working day. I called another repair place and they will look at it in an afternoon (better than 3-4 days!!) and then determine if it warrants a replacement. Apple has a policy. 5-6 Pixels grouped together. If mine doesn't qualify what am I supposed to do? Get mad at the repair shop? Its not their fault. Really I can live with it, I would have to point it out the pixels to you (unless the screen had an all white image), it almost just looks like speck of dust on the monitor. I will get it checked out and see what happens though. The el-cheapo Dell at work I'm typing this on has a perfect lcd screen

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I've heard that some people have had luck with gently rubbing the area of the dead pixel with a damp cloth. Probably won't hurt to try.

-Chris

flyingpostman said:

Its easy to say when you have a perfect display "don't take no for an answer".

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Customers have rights you know, if you put up with it for months and then ask for a replacement then that would be a different matter but if you return it straight away and ask for either a replacement or your money back they cannot refuse (well under UK law they can't). I have bought 4 Macs now and have not seen anything in any of their advertising that says that "n pixels faulty is acceptable", what I do see are lot's of claims about wonderful the displays are so if I got a single faulty pixel I'd return it sharpish.

Amen-Moses

This: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=22194 explains it.

Do a simple google search and this isn't such a rare thing. I guess its just bad luck.

If this was just a monitor it would not be a big deal, I could hook up an old CRT to it and take it back (and tell them to shove it up the you know where), this is my computer with gigs of my stuff on it. Don't get me wrong, I love the iMac concept, i'm into the whole "the computer is an appliance" and "all in one" thing. But this is sure annoying. There are other people out there with this problem and I'm willing to bet a LOT less savvy computer users wouldn't even notice this stuck pixel or let it bother them. I'm different I suppose.

flyingpostman said:

Do a simple google search and this isn't such a rare thing. I guess its just bad luck.

If this was just a monitor it would not be a big deal, I could hook up an old CRT to it and take it back (and tell them to shove it up the you know where), this is my computer with gigs of my stuff on it. Don't get me wrong, I love the iMac concept, i'm into the whole "the computer is an appliance" and "all in one" thing. But this is sure annoying. There are other people out there with this problem and I'm willing to bet a LOT less savvy computer users wouldn't even notice this stuck pixel or let it bother them. I'm different I suppose.

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bad luck or crappy displays? through the past 4 weeks I've had 4 laptops from apple. Brand New. All with a bad pixel. Maybe it's a 12" thing....

But anyway. I bought an iBook a month ago. Couple days after owning it I decided to return it because of the screen bend problem. I had one pixel with a BLUE transistor out.

I exchanged and upgraded to a powerbook. Brought that home. Opened the box and it had a dead stuck pixel. I brought it back the next day and they were nice enough to swap it out at the apple store. (had to argue alot, ) I brought home the new one and it as well had a stuck pixel. (noticed a few days later)

Week later they release the new powerbook line. So i sell mine on ebay. And bought a new powerbook. Recieved it the other day. Finally... 4th times a charm. And guess what. The blue is out on one of the pixels.

Maybe i'm being a finatic. But 4 out of 4... I dunno. Dead pixels bother the heck out of me. I work in IT and all of our clients have 17" or 19" dell lcds. And I can't remember the last time we had a dead pixel. And were talking 100's. Granted i'm not looking at them like i stare down my laptop. but i look....

I'm going to live with this one. Not happily although. It irritates the HECK out of me.

josh

Here's a digital pic here:
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/[email protected]/detail?.dir=e4f8&.dnm=f881.jpg&.src=ph

I've changed my mind and decided not to take it in. Its definetly only one pixel and from what I have researched, Apple isn't going to fix it. Besides after reading the above post, I might just get another faulty display with a stuck/dead pixel in a worse place. I don't fancy dragging my computer down to work and then taking time out of work to go to the repair shop.

this is common i hear. some of the newer iMac G5s have at last one dead pixel, i don't get it but i hear this is very very common. even some of the apple store employees say they get a few complaints from people calling about a dead pixel.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, my brand new iMac G5? After all the crap i went through with CrapUSA? ONE stuck/dead pixel in green but thank god its in the upper right region, near the status bar. I just noticed it when i switched my wallpaper to a black background. ONE green pixel, i guess this is a VERY VERY common thing.

code777 said:

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, my brand new iMac G5? After all the crap i went through with CrapUSA? ONE stuck/dead pixel in green but thank god its in the upper right region, near the status bar. I just noticed it when i switched my wallpaper to a black background. ONE green pixel, i guess this is a VERY VERY common thing.

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I give you a hearty welcome to the stuck pixel club. Mine is red and sounds like its in the same area as mine. After awhile i'm sure I won't notice it anymore. But for now, I know it is there. I stare at it, and it stares back at me with its angry red pixel eye. I couldn't imagine if I dropped $3000+ CDN on the 30" Apple Cinema Display and have one of these faulty pixels. Wait a second, I dropped $3000+ plus for a 20" Widescreen display with a computer strapped to the back! Arggghhh!!! I can't just get a new monitor!

I do love my mac though, next time I'm getting a mini and buying a Samsung display, or a display from a company with a better pixel policy.

I went to apple at the mall and looked at their iMacs and PowerBooks. One of them has 3 stuck pixels. I went to this site online at the store where you can test the screen. Another display model had ONE and it was on the right hand side in green (like mine). And a 12" PowerBook had ONE and it was in the lower left hand corner in red. The cinema displays with the PowerMacs were all perfect. Finally the sales kid came up to me and said, "What are you doing?" they know me now since i'm in there all the time and I told him how i had one stuck pixel in green and that i noticed the other iMacs on display have at least one stuck pixel (none of them were white - red and green were the colors of the day) the guy told me to "hey its acceptable to have at least ONE stuck pixel on a LCD" uhhhhhhh wha????? then he left me and tendered to another customer.

So is it acceptable that iMacs have one "stuck" (he did not say dead) pixel???

Apple's view: About LCD display pixel anomalies

aw well, i'm not complaining but it is annoying. at least its ONE not THREE !

code777 said:

I went to apple at the mall and looked at their iMacs and PowerBooks. One of them has 3 stuck pixels. I went to this site online at the store where you can test the screen. Another display model had ONE and it was on the right hand side in green (like mine). And a 12" PowerBook had ONE and it was in the lower left hand corner in red. The cinema displays with the PowerMacs were all perfect. Finally the sales kid came up to me and said, "What are you doing?" they know me now since i'm in there all the time and I told him how i had one stuck pixel in green and that i noticed the other iMacs on display have at least one stuck pixel (none of them were white - red and green were the colors of the day) the guy told me to "hey its acceptable to have at least ONE stuck pixel on a LCD" uhhhhhhh wha????? then he left me and tendered to another customer.

So is it acceptable that iMacs have one "stuck" (he did not say dead) pixel???

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Dead pixels show no color
Stuck pixels have a color that they are stuck on

The apple store in my mall has no dead pixels on any of their floor models. I have not had a dead pixel on year old powerbook (Did have one stuck but I revived a few minutes after noticing it). My iMac has no pixel problems

i know people say there is a way to fix stuck pixels but they do not really work right? i already tried massaging the stuck pixel to no avail... oh well.

yeah at the store 2 of the display iMacs had stuck pixels. One powerbook had stuck pixels as well... strange.