Chosen Solution
I got this strange ‘dust problem’ on my Mac. In December 2009 my dream came true and I purchased new lovely Apple iMac 27”, 2.66, i5. One day I have noticed dark grey smudges on both sides of the screen (left and right). I actually didn’t notice any spots until I changed the background to pure white (or any other solid color really). At first, I thought it was fingerprint smudges or something. I cleaned the entire screen and it still remains. I contacted with Apple service and they said iMac is very sensitive to dust. They call it ‘interlaminar dust’in matrix. As time passes, dust accumulates inside the machine and irreversibly penetrates the LCD itself, causing the dark stains. They blamed environment in my room! My Mac is placed on a normal work desk with lots of space around it and not more dust then in a normal house. Not that I am surprised that iMac is very sensitive to dust but I am so woefully disappointed. Most people believe it was a factory defect on the LCDs. The only trouble they say is how to convince Apple Service to make a replacement of LCD under Apple repair program. They say if you pushy enough might get lucky and Apple might fix it for you. Does it sound reasonable? How likely is it that Apple will replace LCD at their expense?
Apple knows this is a factory defect. Keep going up the ladder. Ask for a supervisor then a manage. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Call every day, ask for a warranty exception. After all you bought this great machine because of Apples reputation for quality and their great service policy. Ask for the name of the head of customer satisfaction.
I had this issue with my iMac about a year and half ago. The machine wasn’t covered under Apple Care, but I figured I’d contact support to see if it was a factory defect. After a few calls back and forth with phone support, they asked me to bring it to one of the local service centers to have a technician inspect the display. Ultimately, I was told that the display does in fact suffer from a manufacturing defect. The casing of the display itself isn’t properly sealed. If moisture is able to get in, the minerals within the moisture become “stuck” between the multiple layers of the LCD. Apple decided to replace the display at no charge, despite the fact that the machine was not covered under Apple Care. I was told that the original defect had been resolved, and the new display would not suffer from the same issue. Unfortunately, a few months later, the dark spots started to appear again. Luckily, I moved soon after and the machine is kept in an area with significantly less ambient moisture. For now, everything seems to be stable, as the dark spots haven’t gotten any worse over the past year or so.
I Too Have 2 iMacs both Mid 2011 i5 27" and both have this issue - One is in my living room the other is in the office at work. I saw this and signed it http://imacscreenfault.solidwebhost.com/… it looks like apple is getting a lot of bad publicity of the iMac Grey Marks on screen issue. Good luck to everybody i hope you get it sorted
Did Apple ever issue a recall for “this obvious design flaw”? Just wondering if any of you above posters got any satisfaction.I am also wondering if Apple ever did the right thing, and issued a recall?
it means your lcd ’s led are bruns and its unable to repair . if this got u trouble more you have to change lcd screen from your monitor. Regards Ashwani shahi.
You can clean matrix inside. Cleaning screen
I’ve had this problem for several years. A friend with the same problem told me a few months ago that it was due to dust. I looked up several posts on the problems on how to fix it, and ordered some metallic tape to reseal the screen. I was not able to get to it right away. The funny thing is, after being present near the middle of my screen for several years, the spots/splotches have suddenly migrated almost completely off! Nothing had changed in the interim (no change in environment, cleanliness, never any smoke, etc.) They are now at the top right corner of my screen, but at least now they will not interfere with editing of photos. I was not looking forward to taking the screen apart, but I guess I will hold onto the tape for a while.
