When you spend top dollar on a new computer, the last thing anyone would want to get is a second rate product. But Apple is putting me at risk of that. With their current policies on dead pixels and faulty LCD displays, I could spend over $2000 for a new computer and be told that I should just “suck it up” and accept a defective monitor for the life of my computer. (CNET has a great article on this.)
In a nutshell, the liquid crystal displays can occasionally have manufacturing defects which cause certain pixels/dots on the screen to stay black or some other color. This has to do with the quality of materials and/or some flaw in the process. And when the flaw comes on a TV or computer screen you intend to use quite often, it can be downright disappointing.
I had a lengthy conversation with an Apple dealer about this before deciding to take the risk and accept delivery of the iMac. (Since he had my deposit already, I am already committed.) Here is a sampling of the discussion that took place:
Me: The gentleman at the Apple store here in London said that some of the iMacs are factory shipped with dead pixels (manufacturing defect), and that Apple will only repair/replace systems with a minimum number of dead pixels. It is possible for you to check that my iMac does not have any dead pixels before I receive it?
Him: I have not checked the display but my experience has been that the displays on the iMac G5 systems are usually flawless. Apple’s policy is not to replace a computer or repair/replace the screen unless a certain number of pixels are either dead or always on. Accordingly, in the unlikely event that your iMac has a number of dead pixels greater than Apple’s minimum threshold for dead pixels, we can replace the LCD as per Apple’s warranty policy. I do not, however, anticipate that you will have any problems and that, indeed, you will be highly pleased with your iMac.
Me: I realize that you do not anticipate us having any problems with our iMac’s LCD display. However, we believe that Apple’s cutoff for warranty repair/replacement is high. Considering the amount of money that we are spending, we will not take delivery of this iMac until we have your personal assurance that the LCD display is flawless. I simply will not spend CDN $2500 and accept a computer display with bad pixels.
Him: The problem with us testing the display on your iMac beforehand is that, in order to do this thoroughly, we must set up the computer with your user information so as to be able to install a pixel checking utility on it that will cycle through all the various colours to ensure that all the pixels on the screen are working (this is because each pixel is so small that if one of them happens to be stuck on a particular colour that is used in the desktop pattern when the computer is first turned on, it may be impossible to detect). The problem with us doing this is that, once we have set the computer up for you, it is no longer, strictly speaking, a new computer and, in the unlikely event that a single pixel is or a number of pixels smaller than Apple’s minimum threshold are dead, Apple will neither replace nor repair the computer for us and we will be stuck with a unit we can no longer sell as a new unit and which, I presume, you will not take. I understand your concern and I appreciate that this must be frustrating for you. I wish I could do more but this is our strict policy, as we are constrained by Apple’s warranty terms. I have contacted Apple about getting an exception to their policy made in this instance but I have not yet received a response. If you wish to speak with someone about Apple’s warranty and return policy, please call 1-800-263-3394. It it’s worth anything to you, I just checked with our service manager and he tells me we have never had to replace a screen on an iMac G5, so I imagine there will be no problem with yours.
Me: In the long run, we hoped to outfit our full office– at least two iMacs and one Powerbook. This iMac is our first Apple computer purchase. Considering the amount of money we are spending, it is inconceivable for Steve Jobs to expect that we will accept anything less than a flawless system. However, please know that it is our full intention to NOT accept the iMac if it has any defects on the LCD display. If that means we will have to return it a few days after receipt and suck up the restocking fee, then so be it. (But if that happens, we will likely abandon our switch to Macs completely.)
Him: As for Apple’s response to my inquiry, this is what they had to say:
“Apple follows the industry standard for pixel anomalies. Unless the unit fails or has a [certain] number of dead pixels out of the box Customer Relations would not replace the unit, we could look at replacing the display but that does not guarantee the replacement screen would be free of dead pixels.” Accordingly, all I can offer you is that you can purchase the computer and, if it happens to have a single dead pixel, or a number of pixels below Apple’s threshold, we can attempt to have the screen replaced under warranty. If this is not possible, or if the replacement display also has dead pixels, you could return the computer to us, but we would have to charge you our 15% restocking charge ($340). I am sorry I cannot give you better news but, should your iMac prove to have a flawless screen, then I am sure you will be thrilled with your iMac and this issue will no longer be a concern.
So what did I do? I am accepting delivery of the iMac. If my system is flawless (which is the greatest likelihood, although I swear I have bad luck sometimes with these things), it will be a moot point. If there are any problems, I will probably return it and suck up the restocking fee. If I did not take it at all, I risked losing my deposit that I placed for the Apple dealer to order the system.
What I have here is the lesser of two evils, so to speak. I really do want the iMac. I look forward to getting it. But I am baffled at how a company that tries to shine in so many ways can screw over their consumers due to a manufacturing defect. Apple discusses the issue here, but never actually states their criteria for repair/replacement.
0 responses so far ↓
Ben Petro // Jan 11, 2007 at 10:41 pm
This is an old topic but I just found it.
I have just bought a new iMac. I had it for 8 hrs after which time a pixel went dead. I am not happy. In fact, there aren’t enough swear words in the English language to properly describe how unhappy I am. After getting the run around from Apple, I’m waiting to hear back from the store I bought it from.
If they have bad news for me, I will make it my life’s work to get as much bad press for Apple as I possibly can. I will not sleep until enough people have been fired. I run a very large and popular website, so I’m sure I’ll be able to create quite a stir.
A dead pixel after owning a $2700 computer for 8 hrs is absolutely not acceptable.
Alexander Barbara // Jan 14, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Hi Ben,
I am terribly sorry to hear that you have fallen victim to what was my biggest fear when buying a new Mac - that the computer would have dead pixels on arrival or shortly thereafter.
I was told that if you were to experience a dead pixel it would likely be when you first got the computer, but as you can see from the e-mails I quoted that in itself is not good enough for Apple to own up to the problem and repair or replace the faulty LCD display.
Please keep me up to date on what is going on with you and this issue. I would really like to know.
Again, I am sorry to hear that you had this problem. It is something I was very worried about and we are lucky in that we haven’t had any problems with our LCD displays.
I wish you the best of luck in getting this issue resolved.
Keith Thompson // Apr 10, 2007 at 10:54 am
I’ve had my IMAC 24″ intel for just over 14 days. Should have bought the instore warranty from bestbuy as I’ve just received my first dead pixel. On a huge display its not that noticeable, I just hope I get a few more so I can get a new IMAC from apple.
Matt (Australia) // Jun 25, 2007 at 9:59 am
I have owned my mac book Pro for 2 months
Noticed a dead pixel last week. Contacted Apple
will not repair. Dissapointing.
You pay top dollar for a premum product and you get this.
After the experience with Apple, it will make it very difficult for me to purchase another product.
Damien (Australia) // Aug 5, 2007 at 7:50 am
I have an iBook G4, and have lusted after the new MBP’s for quite some time, however recent events have caused me to rethink where I get my next laptop from. A friend of mine bought a MBP off the Apple website, and it had a dead pixel on arrival. He has tried numerous avenues to get it replaced, but no luck.
I’m not playing russian roulette with my money. I will NEVER buy another Apple product until they improve this policy. Even if they had a $100 increase as a BTO option for a “zero dead pixel guarantee” (or perhaps included Zero Dead Pixel guarantee as part of Apple Care).
Damien (Australia) // Aug 5, 2007 at 7:52 am
Sorry that last comment wasn’t finished. What I meant was:
Even if they had a $100 increase as a BTO option for a “zero dead pixel guarantee” (or perhaps included Zero Dead Pixel guarantee as part of Apple Care), that would be much better. I would pay extra money for a guarantee of perfection.
ian // Oct 19, 2007 at 12:33 pm
£1500 ($3000) MacBook Pro straight out of the box today. One dead pixel smack in the middle of the display=one seriously unhappy camper.
I’ll typing this on my old powerbook 12″, Way better machine (so good infact it’s resulted in a major switch over at work, as everyone who saw it fell in love with it). I’ll miss the speed, camera and remote, but I’m not going to live with a broken screen - the 15″ McBook is going back Monday.
david // Oct 29, 2007 at 6:32 am
I got a imac 24in screen, one dead pixel straight out the box, rang up and got it replaced next day, dont forget you get a 7 day return poloicy in the uk so check your screen over when you buy it.
Rob // Nov 1, 2007 at 9:22 am
OK,
So I recieved my new 20″ iMac, and it has a dead pixel, so I rang up Apple and they agreed to replace the machine during the next week, later that day I received an email confirming this with details saying a courier would contact me to arrange a swap. Couldn’t have been easier, Apple were really helpful, I am surprised about all this “minimum number of erroneous pixels for replacement”, as they agreed to replace my iMac right away, no quibbles and I only have 1 dead pixel.
To be honest though, we should expect perfect products, why should someone pay £900 and another person pay £900 but one gets a product with a flaw, and the other doesnt? Its not fair, so all products should be perfect.
So maybe the no hassle replacement is just a UK thing because we have strict laws on problems with electrical goods.
iLM // Jun 22, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Bought a New MacBook Pro 17″ 1year later i discover more than 23 Dead Pixel (black dots)
Ok, i go to a apple store and they change the Screen. 3 week later i discover 17+ dead pixel so i return again and they Change again the screen.
Now… with the new Screen only 1 Week !!! 1 week and i found 1 dead pixel in the upper left right corner…
i spend soooo much money on this Notebook and i only get dead pixel’s…
i Have a Dell Laptop (for more than 4 Years) and i cant find any Dead pixel…
… Apple is good… displays?? HORRIBLE like my english XD!
Gemma // Jun 25, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I also brought home a new 20″ iMac on Saturday only to find a dead pixel right in the middle of the screen. I didn’t even attempt to contact apple about it, as I had purchased from a store with a no-questions-asked 14 day return policy.
Took a new machine home the next day only to find a worse pixel problem. I took it back to the store again - extremely unsatisfied with apple quality after being a very happy customer for many years. I was able to ask the store employees to open up and start up the next computer in order to check the screen (it’s untrue about having to set up the computer before you can do a good check of the screen, as that’s what I did with the second one - just turned it on and went through the steps before entering any personal info).
This third machine in the store ALSO had a dead pixel, and it was the fourth machine before my husband and I were satisfied with what we saw. Thank you Future Shop! I just hope any further problems arise while still within the 14 day policy at the store!
Not happy with apple though - especially after reading they would not have helped me with this problem the way the retail store did!
Mitch Ralph (Aus) // Jul 24, 2008 at 5:44 am
I have had my 20 inch imac for about 6 months now
i love it
its not often 6 months after a purchase of anything let alone a computer purchase that you are just happier with a product and still excited about it as the day it came out of its box
but then i found a dead pixel
i have called apple and have to take it to a service dealer
heres hoping ?
Martin // Jul 30, 2008 at 5:12 am
We bought a 20″ iMac in March, no problems until yesterday. A diagonal line of maybe 6-8 dead pixels, all next to each other.
I called our supplier/service centre, they said that Apple’s official replacement policy (after 7 days I guess) is 8 dead pixels. Interestingly they also said that all the dead pixels together may indicate a problem with the graphics card - they’ve seen quite a few bad ones recently.
Anyway, they’re having it back for repair so hopefully will be sorted.
Aj // Aug 1, 2008 at 3:24 am
I bought MAC BOOK PRO for 1999 $(no tax) in Portland, US. After 1 week, I have found one dead pixel on the screen. Then I went to the shop in Seattle for replace it. They said I could replace the product, but I have to pay 170 $ more for sales tax….
Do I need to pay more for replace the same product?
zak // Aug 31, 2008 at 3:01 pm
hey guys wats up im zak um ya i had a i mac lepord desktop and then one day i went on it and bam!! 2 lines of dead pizels on the screen what should i do ? email me at zacharyfurgal@hotmail.com
Confused // Sep 6, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Can’t help but post this, but I’ve just had 5 imacs IN A ROW with dead pixels. Apple have exchanged each one with no problems, and I’m off to get my 6th tomorrow. I won’t stop until I get a perfect iMac.
£1400 is a lot of money; I want perfection.
Marc // Nov 14, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I’ve got a new iMac too, with a single pixel always on green. A single dead pixel is definitely an annoyance, but if you can stop obsessing about it for a day or two you won’t even notice it anymore. A lot of monitors come from the manufacturer with a few dead pixels, it’s no big deal. More than a few is an issue, but one or two…
chris // Apr 8, 2009 at 10:49 pm
ON MY SECOND G5 IMAC 24″ AND THYE HAVE BOTH HEAD DEAD PIXELS IN THE CENTER OF THE SCREEN BEFORE FINISHING THE SET UP FTIRST DAY, IM LOSING FAITH FAST, THOUGHT MACS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER THAN THE REST OF GARBAGE PCS……….
Peter // Apr 25, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I got a 20″ Imac which annoyingly has one stuck pixel just above where the dock is. However I’m not too sure what to do, I got given this mac from a company the brought it a week before i got it (Strange that I didn’t qualify for the 90 day phone calls seeing as it was only atleast 10 days old) and they say I have to go through Apple to get repairs.
Darren // May 25, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I’ve just discovered two dead pixels on a 24 inch iMac I’ve had for about 5 weeks. One is quite faint, the other more visible if the background is white (like this web site). Now I’ve noticed it it’s really irritating me, but is it enough to go thru the pain of getting a replacement? Will they transfer all of my data and applications?
Mike // Jun 24, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I’ve recently purchased a 24 inch iMac also, upgraded a few things like the video card. It came i was pumped. Then I turned it on and noticed 4 dead pixels. It’s a shame that Apple lets this go. I use this computer for video editing and yes a pixel can make a difference in this situation.
adam // Oct 31, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Just bought a 21 inch imac 1 week ago. 1 Dead Pixel. Took it back to Mac Sydney. Instant replacement, no discussion. They’re the best!
fdsfsdfsd // Mar 22, 2010 at 8:29 am
“I have owned my mac book Pro for 2 months
Noticed a dead pixel last week”
If it took you two months to notice it then why are you surprised they wont replace it.
A dead pixel isn’t the end of the world and they’re inevitable with high resolution displays. Can’t believe you little bitches are making such a fuss about it
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