Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

MacinTommy · Feb 19, 2008, 09:55 PM

What would you do? Its very small.. but I know its there and it bothers me! I'm somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to electronics. Especially Apple products! It's a 20 inch iMac that I bought brand new online about 3 weeks ago.

slpdLoad · Feb 19, 2008, 10:18 PM

Unless you get a particularly mean service rep who says it's within tolerance, just call and get them to replace it. What could it hurt to try besides 20 minutes on hold?

MacinTommy · Feb 19, 2008, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by slpdLoad

Unless you get a particularly mean service rep who says it's within tolerance, just call and get them to replace it. What could it hurt to try besides 20 minutes on hold?

You're right. I think I would use the line, "Would Steve tolerate this?"

slpdLoad · Feb 19, 2008, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by MacinTommy

You're right. I think I would use the line, "Would Steve tolerate this?"

Hey, that might just work. Of course by tolerance I mean they might actually have a policy like "we only replace screens that have a failure percentage of x%, and 1 pixel doesn't cut it."

I think it's very reasonable to request a new screen though considering it's a brand new machine.

MacinTommy · Feb 20, 2008, 03:31 PM

Ok I just got off the phone with an apple tech and he claims that you can't mail in desktops for repair. Is this true? He said I have to take it to the nearest Apple store which happens to be an hour and a half away in Atlanta.

MacosNerd · Feb 20, 2008, 04:27 PM

First question did you go the BTO route, that is customize the order, or did you opt for the standard configuration. That effects what options you have available.

Stock options allow you to easily swap machines, as long as the store manager isn't a jerk.
BTO or as some people call it CTO, means you have send the computer in for repair and not exchange. There's no guarantee you'd get a better display panel if you do that. The dead pixel appears to be in an ubobtrusive location. See what the manager/or genius has to say first but living with it, shouldn't be a problem given its size and location

MacinTommy · Feb 20, 2008, 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by MacosNerd

First question did you go the BTO route, that is customize the order, or did you opt for the standard configuration. That effects what options you have available.

Stock options allow you to easily swap machines, as long as the store manager isn't a jerk.
BTO or as some people call it CTO, means you have send the computer in for repair and not exchange. There's no guarantee you'd get a better display panel if you do that. The dead pixel appears to be in an ubobtrusive location. See what the manager/or genius has to say first but living with it, shouldn't be a problem given its size and location

I did standard config. I think I'm just going to live with it. Widescreen movies aren't affected and neither are full screen. The only time I see it is if I have a very light background or if the window is right there. I just I worry about resale value in the future.

ixus_123 · Feb 20, 2008, 08:54 PM

Try giving it a gentle massage - as silly as it sounds, that sometimes fixes stuck / dead pixels

MacinTommy · Feb 20, 2008, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by ixus_123

Try giving it a gentle massage - as silly as it sounds, that sometimes fixes stuck / dead pixels

Well. I tried that method but there is a huge piece of glass covering the screen so it didn't work out too well.

BoingoBongo · Feb 20, 2008, 09:08 PM

I exchanged an iMac because of a dead pixel. It was a BTO and they said I just had to return it, get a refund and reorder it. It was a hassle, but it worked. When you spend that much money on something, you shouldn't have "live with" anything.

Veltliner · Feb 23, 2008, 03:09 AM

Upper left corner? ONE dead pixel?

Don't stress yourself.

I'd say dust is more a problem than one dead pixel.

Eriamjh · Feb 23, 2008, 09:18 AM

It's in the corner and not in the main field of view. Apple will not take it back unless you get lucky.

Good luck with that.

bencurtis · Feb 23, 2008, 12:51 PM

I have absolutely *no* idea if this works or not, but I came across the site the other day. Figure it's got to be worth a try....

Fix dead pixel - Killdeadpixel.com

If it does work, let us know!

MacinTommy · Feb 23, 2008, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

Upper left corner? ONE dead pixel?

Don't stress yourself.

I'd say dust is more a problem than one dead pixel.

I've come to my senses and I'm going to keep it.

MacinTommy · Feb 23, 2008, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by bencurtis

I have absolutely *no* idea if this works or not, but I came across the site the other day. Figure it's got to be worth a try....

Fix dead pixel - Killdeadpixel.com

If it does work, let us know!

I feel like this is more or less for stuck pixels. I've tried stuff like this for hours at a time and they didn't work. I appreciate the help though and its worth trying but I doubt it will work.

moonmonkey · Feb 23, 2008, 09:04 PM

Try drawing a dark horizontal line at that specific point on your desktop picture, as you cant drag windows behind the menubar it should be close to invisible.

MacinTommy · Feb 24, 2008, 03:43 AM

Originally Posted by moonmonkey

Try drawing a dark horizontal line at that specific point on your desktop picture, as you cant drag windows behind the menubar it should be close to invisible.

moonmonkey · Feb 25, 2008, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by MacinTommy

MacinTommy · Feb 25, 2008, 01:44 PM

What do you mean "draw a line"?

0157988944 · Feb 25, 2008, 09:43 PM

he means in an image editor, draw a line on your desktop pic so that you cant see the dead pixel anymore. It might work... but then it could also look like a row of dead pixels.

anselm · Feb 28, 2008, 03:29 PM

I wouldn`t accept it, either. But I know that manufacturers expect customers to live with it.
I have to buy a TFT display and I won`t pay until I saw the display I`m going to buy.