“Apple is facing a new class-action lawsuit claiming the company’s iMac displays start to show unwanted vertical lines, which Apple is refusing to fix under warranty,” Zach Spear reports for AppleInsider.
“Florida resident Aram Hovsepian filed the 13-page complaint in a Northern California court last week on behalf of himself and ‘thousands”‘ of other customers who purchased iMacs with the ‘latent defect,'” Spear reports.
“Attorneys for Hovsepian are seeking compensatory damages in the form of reimbursement plus interest for the faulty hardware, along with attorneys’ fees and expenses,” Spear reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Not necessarily in that order.
Full article, with videos, here.
The problem with my iMac display (24″) is that half of it is brighter than the other… no vertical lines tho.
Any decent and reputable company would man up, admit errors of design or flaws in their product(s), and make things right for their customers.
Mcmglnk: clearly you have no Mac hardware or software. Why post here with inane comments?
I am having unsimilar display problems with an iMac purchased in Dec 2006. I think I may have misunderstood the meaning of 12 month warranty. I’ll have to take it in and complain and demand to get it fixed for free.
Any lawyers there willing to do my bleating for me?
If I stand behind my iMac I can’t see the screen, do I have a case?
The lawsuit does not specify the iMac model(s) alleged to have the display defect, but implies that the issue plagues models sold in both 2006 and 2008.
Phew….I plan on buying mine in 2009.
Seriously, I heard it is only the 20″ models and not the 24″…is this true?
I have had a 24 inch iMac since August 2007 and am happy to say that I have had no problems with brightness, heat, or any other issue like that. I use it just about every day and have edited images and pictures on it and they look perfect. There are about 2 hours during the day when there is too much glare from outside for me to work but since I am usually in school at that time, it really doesn’t matter.
-M
I bought the 20″ iMac in June. No problem. A former colleague became a “switcher” back in April or May. He bought a 24″ iMac. Still no problem.
The article’s video clips show older, pre-aluminum iMacs.
yeah i’m actually really happy this article came out because previously i had found nothing on goggle about these problems. I bought my mac, 17 inch white one in april 2007, just before the new aluminium macs were introduced. about three months ago one white line showed up. i currently have 8 lines on my screen. im guessing from here on it only gets worse. the colors change too.
Really hoping apple is forced to fix these since im way out of warranty
” i had found nothing on goggle about these problems”
I think i see the source of your problem. Goggle is a notoriously bad search engine.
Simple FIX PEOPLE BUY A NEW MAC, give a child your old one
whats a 1000$ it’s chicken feed, and if you think it’s not then get educated about something and get a better fix of income for yourself.
Hell these MACS are a YEAR OLD ever clone a Mac to a new one??? Saves all of your setup time.
GET OFF YOUR ASS AND IMPROVE YOURSELF!!!
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@ macaholic
Have you tried the environmentally friendlier search engine Blakkle?
I have a Late 2006 17 inch 2Ghz iMac Core 2 Duo & I did purchase apple before the 12 months ended.
It’s 2009 & still no lines. But when my applecare runs out & my screen dies, I will just plug in the external DVI port & hide the iMac under the desk & brig up the use hub. In a location that makes it easy enough to access the Superdrive & Power Button. Thats it. The world doesn’t come to an end and all displays will eventually die. But it shouldn’t show since of dying prematurely…
I’m not gonna sell it on ebay for under $100. But really, I think I would buy a Mac Pro or the Mac Mini if it’s given killer power like rumors say. Thats if anything else other than the display fails.
As a small Mac reseller in the Caribbean I have to say that I have seen several iMacs with this problem (particularly, but not limited to, 17″ models). These have all been the white models before the aluminium models came out.
These are high numbers for a small market like we have here, so it must be pretty widespread worldwide.
Apple needs to deal with this issue.
I have almost 50 lines on my PB G4. There have been several websites devoted to lines on the PB G4, though many, including those on the Apple forums, have been taken down. Remaining are:
http://powerbook17lines.blogspot.com/ [The best of them.]
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1423301
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=188623593
A class action lawsuit was contemplated, but the lawyer never followed through.
It’s good to realize that while hundreds or thousands of people have reported the vertical line issue online, another pool of people with the defect have NOT reported it online, and/or are still under warranty and get their machines fixed free.
I made serious efforts to get Apple to admit to and take care of this manufacturing flaw, including writing to Apple headquarters. I got nowhere.
I have a late 2006 iMac with Apple care, I took her in for a problem that turned out to be 3rd party ram.
The authorized repair people called me (live in Mexico) and told me they noticed I had a few spots on the screen from high humidity, (I had never noticed) (and I live on the ocean).
They asked for permission to replace the screen
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Love Apple
Assuming these videos are legit and are not doctored in any way, shape, or form – then Apple needs to do the right thing and fix their displays free of charge for their customers. Especially since this problem does not appear to be an isolated event. Bad show Apple.
I don’t think I’ve ever said this before but if this case does go to court, I hope Apple loses. (And I’m a shareholder too.) Apple’s stance on this issue is a big disappointment for me.
Peace.
Geez! I just noticed! My seven year-old ACD has millions of little dots all over it!
Years ago I had a PB Ti G4 and line started to show in that screen also. Turns out a flex interconnect cable was the problem. I had Apple Care, this is why you buy it people and it is renewable. Suit denied!!!! Case closed. Apple has traditionally offered a longer warranty than most other computer manufacturers and although they choose high end components their machines are not immune from infant mortality just less likely to exhibit the phenomenon. This is the reason for Apple Care. Buy it it eventually pays for itself.
A manufacturing flaw shouldn’t require AppleCare. It should mean a recall or repair of defective products.
Help needed!!!
I have a 17″ Intel Imac with half the screen filled with vertical lines, what can I do?
I have half the screen, the other half is filled with different tones vertical lines.
I LMAOed at MDN’s take. Concise and true.
Obviously mclgmnlk has no Mac products (or any Apple) – why would he, when he and any non-fanatic informed buyers clearly knows Apple are ANYTHING BUT decent + reputable or eg why would a majority of 3G iPHONES STILL have serious design flaws WORLDWIDE after all the software “fixes” and no admission of guilt from the only party left culpable – Apple….
Anyway, whoever is stupid enough to buy a tool (computer) for blatantly NO other reason than looks ALONE deserves all they get – i mean why else would you buy a DESKTOP made from MOBILE hardware which is less powerful (since space + weight are considered premium) for the same price of corresponding Desktop hardware – EVEN more embarrassingly the current iMac (dated) design still ends up similar to your midrange modern Desktop at X4 heavier than a corresponding laptop….1-2-3……DDDUUUUUHHHH!!!! 😀
I think this concerns all of the 17″ Intel iMac models.
Got one pink line on my alu 24in. iMac when it was 6 months old. At the same time the hard drive became scary. Apple replace the screen and the hard drive without questioning. Six month later, everything still fine.
Note however that the aluminium iMacs are allergic to dust, smoke and any kind of vapor… While the 24 screen is really nice, the 20 one is a piece of crap !