I recently sent my 14" G4 933 Mhz iBook for repair because bright
spots on the LCD has appeared over time. Initially it was one spot,
and then gradually increased in size and numbers over 5 months or
so. I had purchased AppleCare for the iBook and so did not send the
unit in until the spots finally became annoying enough. Today, I
receive from the Apple repair depot, with a message that the
technician has determined that the spots were a result of accidental
damage, and a replacement of the LCD would cost $759?! Needless to
say, I was more than a little shocked at this conclusion, because 1)
the spots appeared over time, and if it were due to damage, it would
not take 5 months to appear, and 2) if I had babied my unit any
more, I'd be singing it to sleep -- the unit is in ABSOLUTELY
prestine condition, no scuff marks, no scratches, not even oily
stain marks at the wrist rests.
After the shocking news, I was then transferred to escalated
customer support, where I tried to explained to the support rep
points 1 & 2. I also brought up that this was a replacement unit to
another that I had purchased on Amazon.com, but had returned because
the spots were more serious than this unit. Finally, I mentioned
that does not appear to be an isolated insident, as a quick search
on Google for "Bright spot LCD ibook g4" yields 4 hits on the first
page regarding users reporting such this issue on the 14" iBook.
The customer rep. retorted by saying 1) there are no
reported/official instances of such issues on this unit (she put me
on hold twice, once to speak to engineering, and once to speak to
production), and 2) the technician did not find warped hinges, or
external signs that the LCD might be poorly mounted. She then
proposed that the best option for me would be to live with the
bright spots since the repair is so costly. She also suggested that
I could write to Corporate headquarters but it is unlikely to change
the outcome of the diagnosis.
Out of frustration, I went down to the local Apple to store to the
genius bar, where the genius mentioned he has heard of a similar
issue from another ibook.
Now comes the magic questions. 1) How I can I get Apple to do this
repair? I'm 100% certain that the bright spots are not due to any sort
of accidental damage. 2) Does anyone have a similar experience? 3) For
the Apple techs out there, have you heard of such an issue appearing on
an iBook?
Responses are appreciated, and thanks for reading.
PS. FYI, the iBook went to Tennesse for repair, and the customer rep I
was speaking with was in Austin, Texas.
spots on the LCD has appeared over time. Initially it was one spot,
and then gradually increased in size and numbers over 5 months or
so. I had purchased AppleCare for the iBook and so did not send the
unit in until the spots finally became annoying enough. Today, I
receive from the Apple repair depot, with a message that the
technician has determined that the spots were a result of accidental
damage, and a replacement of the LCD would cost $759?! Needless to
say, I was more than a little shocked at this conclusion, because 1)
the spots appeared over time, and if it were due to damage, it would
not take 5 months to appear, and 2) if I had babied my unit any
more, I'd be singing it to sleep -- the unit is in ABSOLUTELY
prestine condition, no scuff marks, no scratches, not even oily
stain marks at the wrist rests.
After the shocking news, I was then transferred to escalated
customer support, where I tried to explained to the support rep
points 1 & 2. I also brought up that this was a replacement unit to
another that I had purchased on Amazon.com, but had returned because
the spots were more serious than this unit. Finally, I mentioned
that does not appear to be an isolated insident, as a quick search
on Google for "Bright spot LCD ibook g4" yields 4 hits on the first
page regarding users reporting such this issue on the 14" iBook.
The customer rep. retorted by saying 1) there are no
reported/official instances of such issues on this unit (she put me
on hold twice, once to speak to engineering, and once to speak to
production), and 2) the technician did not find warped hinges, or
external signs that the LCD might be poorly mounted. She then
proposed that the best option for me would be to live with the
bright spots since the repair is so costly. She also suggested that
I could write to Corporate headquarters but it is unlikely to change
the outcome of the diagnosis.
Out of frustration, I went down to the local Apple to store to the
genius bar, where the genius mentioned he has heard of a similar
issue from another ibook.
Now comes the magic questions. 1) How I can I get Apple to do this
repair? I'm 100% certain that the bright spots are not due to any sort
of accidental damage. 2) Does anyone have a similar experience? 3) For
the Apple techs out there, have you heard of such an issue appearing on
an iBook?
Responses are appreciated, and thanks for reading.
PS. FYI, the iBook went to Tennesse for repair, and the customer rep I
was speaking with was in Austin, Texas.