Database Users

How many stuck pixels is deemed a fault?

There's a red one at the centre of my screen which is really annoying, it's visible when trying to look at video and always ends up being what I focus on.
Since I noticed it I had a look and found more. About ten, mostly bright blue/green in colour. They're dotted around the screen, most on the edges.
The problem is that they're SO small you only really notice them in low light situations, which is when I'd want to use the phone to play video clips (before I go to sleep). To be honest, most of them you'd be hard pressed to see ever unless looking at a totally black screen, but 2-3 of them are really distracting. I don't know how to go about getting Orange to verify this problem. They've already denied me a replacement phone on the basis that they don't think the gap/unsealed screen is an issue and I think they'll try and fob me off.
I asked to be released from the contract when they said that they wouldn't be providing me with a phone which is up to standard and was refused.
I just feel really f*cked off with the whole experience. I wish I'd never bothered getting the phone, much less signing up to an 18 month contract for it.

tatwamasi said:
There's a red one at the centre of my screen which is really annoying, it's visible when trying to look at video and always ends up being what I focus on.
Since I noticed it I had a look and found more. About ten, mostly bright blue/green in colour. They're dotted around the screen, most on the edges.
The problem is that they're SO small you only really notice them in low light situations, which is when I'd want to use the phone to play video clips (before I go to sleep). To be honest, most of them you'd be hard pressed to see ever unless looking at a totally black screen, but 2-3 of them are really distracting. I don't know how to go about getting Orange to verify this problem. They've already denied me a replacement phone on the basis that they don't think the gap/unsealed screen is an issue and I think they'll try and fob me off.
I asked to be released from the contract when they said that they wouldn't be providing me with a phone which is up to standard and was refused.
I just feel really f*cked off with the whole experience. I wish I'd never bothered getting the phone, much less signing up to an 18 month contract for it.
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Personally I'd contact HTC rather than Orange. Orange customer service = dog sh!t IMHO.
If HTC confirm that you can get this fixed / replaced, send that to Orange for confirmation that the manufacturer says it is faulty so they should then replace it.
If they fob you off, get a supervisor and take it further.

Thanks Nicelad,
I told Orange that I'd contacted HTC (about the screen gap issue) and they had me take my phone to an Orange store and compare what they had in stock there with my handset.
The guy in the store said that the gap on my phone was a little bit bigger and the guy on the phone refused the replacement, saying that the gap that it wouldn't impede the performance of the phone. I argued that it'll be annoying once the screen is full of dust but they said that the performance of the phone would be unaffected so it didn't matter.
Although I'd found the hot pixels by this point I couldn't find them myself in the store under the bright lights so didn't bother saying anything to the guy in the shop.
I think I'm going to have to end up sending the phone to be serviced by HTC themselves which in itself fills me with dread as a quick google suggests that they blame anything they can on user error and then charge £20 for having looked at it.
Has anyone dealt with HTC's servicing?

Hmm when did you get the phone and how? In store or by phone/internet? Try using distance selling to just send it back

kam187 said:
Hmm when did you get the phone and how? In store or by phone/internet? Try using distance selling to just send it back
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Unfortunately, I'm over the 7 days.
I'm also on my third phone, the first one had no reception, the second had the gap and weird backlight bleeding (I only complained about the gap) and this one has the gap and the pixels.
It was ordered online almost 3 weeks ago.

Hmm too bad. I guess they're looking at the history and thinking you're just picky.
Its a pitty it doesn't develop a misterious hard to reproduce reception fault Then I would be inclined to kick up a huge fuss saying since you got it you just havnt been able to use this phone properly and its just not fit for purpose. EU regulations means you can ask for a refund and avoid all the waranty nonsense - even after 30 days.
You just need a fault to develop now
PS seen this thread? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=545575
Looks like a common fault, that they really couldnt argue with you about since its not down to interpretation. If they tell you to go the waranty route, tell them you know you're rights and you're contract is with them. Either demand a new phone, or tell them you've had enough and want a total refund.

Just called Orange again...
They're sending me handset number 4! An unexpected turn of events.

Lol what did you say?

I just said "I've got stuck pixels, HTC say you should replace it" and the guy put it through.
I think it depends on who you get, as soon as the guy spoke I thought he sounded alright and I guess that's all it is. The woman who started the process of denying the significance of the gap sounded like a total jobsworth from the outset.
Basically, my advice is say nothing unless asked and hope for someone cool!

Lol cool! Lets hope no 4 is ok

I just put in for my 4th handset aswell. I feel guilty but then I think sod it, I paid 400 quid I want absolute quality.

If there's one thing this whole experience has taught me it's that I won't order something like this online again. There's too much to go wrong with it, much better to buy instore and reject immediately if necessary IMO.

I agree, if I get another dodge one I'll get my money back and try to get one on the high street so I can fully inspect it first.
I like the white one though- where can you get it that isn't mail order?

No Gap.
I've already seen some bad pixels though, hopefully they won't be too significant, I'll try to not let them bother me and if I can, I'll just get on with it...
EDIT: Just checked and while there are quite a few bad pixels, they're nowhere near as bad as the ones on my previous phone which had 3 really significant ones. This one has probably ten, but they're really small and seem to be only noticeable on a totally black background.
Not exactly the perfect result but I think this is the one I'll keep.

tatwamasi said:
No Gap.
I've already seen some bad pixels though, hopefully they won't be too significant, I'll try to not let them bother me and if I can, I'll just get on with it...
EDIT: Just checked and while there are quite a few bad pixels, they're nowhere near as bad as the ones on my previous phone which had 3 really significant ones. This one has probably ten, but they're really small and seem to be only noticeable on a totally black background.
Not exactly the perfect result but I think this is the one I'll keep.
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10! Still, thats bad!

nicelad_uk said:
10! Still, thats bad!
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Yeah, but you literally cannot see them unless really looking for them and only on a totally black background, they're tiny, I don't know if there are different degrees of stuck pixel but these would have to be the mildest.
I just watched a bit of a tv show with lots of dark scenes under a blanket (don't ask) so it was completely black. If I wanted to I could complain again but on my 4th handset, with no gap and everything else seeming fine I'll take what I've got. These are never going to be visible at anything approaching normal lighting. The one I sent back had pixels that could only be seen in a dim room anyway. Of the 4 I've had this is the one I'd pick. If I send it back and have to go through another 4 to get one this good then it'd be ridiculous. Not that I can imagine Orange allowing me 8 handsets.
Incidentally, the guy on the phone said "We're replacing the phone, battery, battery cover and charger" which led me to believe that I was getting a reconditioned phone but it was a new one that arrived.
When they collect a phone they take only the items listed above, This means I've got an extra 3 headsets and 3 USB leads now (I only gave them the plug part of the charger back). Which is handy since I had thought about hacking up the headset and putting some decent earphones on it and it means I can leave a USB lead in the charger, one in the computer, one in my 360 and one in my bag. Oh yeah, and 3 2gb cards (I broke one by running over it with my office chair wheels) Which is nice.

10 pixels? I would never accept that. Just keep nagging em till you get what you paid for!
Here is what you could do: Gather all the correspondence you had with the reseller, receipts, letters, e-mails anything. Write a letter explaining that you tried 4 different models that all had problems and that you want a working device without faults delivered to your house within the next 2 weeks and if not, you demand a refund (so you can buy the phone somewhere else)
Make copies/prints of all the letters and stuff you have, and put that in the envelope with the letter.
Send the letter to the reseller but go by the mail office (send it as a registered piece or something - dont know the correct translation for that ) and make sure the mailman has the reseller sign off on accepting your letter. (So you have some evidence he actually received the letter).
Now you wait out the 2 weeks, if you hear nothing from the reseller, you have every right to demand a refund anyway you want.

Dunno man, I'm not sure if my experience matches what other people's is of hot pixels. I bought my Mum a monitor for her computer a while ago which had a glaring green pixel about a third from the right of the screen, really in plain view but didn't say anything about it. She didn't notice it and was unaware of it when I mentioned it after the screen had to be replaced after 6 months (total panel failure). When I was a child I had a Sega Game Gear (remember those? I'm ageing myself here...) which had a dead pixel and I'd see it every single time I played a game. On my last phone there were at least 15 dead pixels (I stopped counting) and 3 were really significant, even though one was on the edge of the screen, as in the first row of pixels. The rest you didn't really see, except in low light and with a black background and a bit of a squint(I should note that I had the backlight turned up too).
Basically, I'm saying that I'm aware of them and have been annoyed by them in the past.
None of the pixels on this phone are as significant as the bad ones on my last phone. Also, in case people aren't sure, stuck pixels can be smaller than dead ones since they're only partly filled (I think). These are smaller than the bad ones on my last phone. Therefore I believe they're smaller than a pixel. When you're talking about 320 of them in lines, they're pretty small anyway.
The 3 signficant ones which were MUCH brighter than all the others and drew your eye on my last phone were really distracting. This phone has maybe one getting towards that that and it's right in the corner, but I still find it less signficant than the one on the very edge of the screen on my last phone.
Also, I watched something on my iPod last night which I have in a protective plastic case. The nicks, dents and scuffs between me and the screen haven't bothered me for ages now and I could easily remove the case to watch stuff if it bothered me.
If there was an HTC service centre nearby I'd maybe pop in there and try and get them to confirm / deny if my phone was within the scope of needing/being eligible for replacement.
It wouldn't surprise me if there are loads of people on this forum who have 10 stuck pixels like the ones on my phone but don't realise it.
Today, I don't think it's worth the hassle to me and I'm gonna try not to get worked up about it and I'm going to try not to pay attention when I do notice them. I'm not gonna go looking for fault either. I'd definitely take this screen over my previous 2, there are far worse ones out there.
If it gets really annoying maybe I will put it in for service a little while down the line.
Of course tomorrow I reserve the right to be filled with righteous rage and anger at the cheek of Orange and HTC in trying to get me to accept this shoddy joke of a piece of hardware.
EDIT: BTW, thanks for offering advice and trying to help, I do appreciate it.

tatwamasi said:
Dunno man, I'm not sure if my experience matches what other people's is of hot pixels. I bought my Mum a monitor for her computer a while ago which had a glaring green pixel about a third from the right of the screen, really in plain view but didn't say anything about it. She didn't notice it and was unaware of it when I mentioned it after the screen had to be replaced after 6 months (total panel failure). When I was a child I had a Sega Game Gear (remember those? I'm ageing myself here...) which had a dead pixel and I'd see it every single time I played a game. On my last phone there were at least 15 dead pixels (I stopped counting) and 3 were really significant, even though one was on the edge of the screen, as in the first row of pixels. The rest you didn't really see, except in low light and with a black background and a bit of a squint(I should note that I had the backlight turned up too).
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OMG! The statistics of you always getting dead pixels must be crazy... I really wonder if maybe the dead pixels are in your retina and not the devices
I buy alot of electronics and have only had to deal with dead pixels twice.

kam187 said:
OMG! The statistics of you always getting dead pixels must be crazy... I really wonder if maybe the dead pixels are in your retina and not the devices
I buy alot of electronics and have only had to deal with dead pixels twice.
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Well, to be fair, no monitor or tv or ipod or DS or other phone I've had has had this problem. I think HTC hate me!

[Q] Problems occurring in batches?

After reading all of the crappy review for the transformer, it looks as if 50% are happy 50% are not.
I am wondering if the problems are occurring in batches because I just ordered mine from American TV and it will probably be here tomorrow or the next day.
A lot of the problems I have found are from the batches that have already been purchased and I don't know what to think.
Two things:
When asus was first bringing these to market, it could the problems are coming from they just naturally skimped on manufacturing quality because they are so damn cheap. Or they had a bad batch to get them to market quickly.
Asus could also just had normal manufacturing quality before and NOW since there is a high demand, newer units may experience worse manufacturing quality. Or they could be better because they knew of the problems.
Hope its not too confusing, what do you guys think? Newer units = worse quality? Older Units = better than newer?

i think logically you could expect the first units to have the most problems, however, we dont know if asus had enough complaints, or realized that there are defects (if there are--aside from software side) to be able to retool and make changes during the assem process to produce better revised hardware.
I actually gave this exact topic a lot of thought a few days ago, i thought about everyones complaints and how it was hit/miss it seemed, and i wondered whether the people that are complaining were truly the "first" adopters and got REV 1 hardware. Obviously, since they are playing with the tab and most of us are anxiously awaiting its arrival i would assume it just may be the case. Heres to hoping that these little glitches were an easy fix at the factory level (but knowing how they operate i doubt its a simple/cheap/quick process, which makes me doubt that the tabs that me and you will receive this week will be any diff from the ones recieved by the people last week and the one prior. the time frame is just too small, but then again, anythings possible).

slowhatch said:
i think logically you could expect the first units to have the most problems, however, we dont know if asus had enough complaints, or realized that there are defects (if there are--aside from software side) to be able to retool and make changes during the assem process to produce better revised hardware.
I actually gave this exact topic a lot of thought a few days ago, i thought about everyones complaints and how it was hit/miss it seemed, and i wondered whether the people that are complaining were truly the "first" adopters and got REV 1 hardware. Obviously, since they are playing with the tab and most of us are anxiously awaiting its arrival i would assume it just may be the case. Heres to hoping that these little glitches were an easy fix at the factory level (but knowing how they operate i doubt its a simple/cheap/quick process, which makes me doubt that the tabs that me and you will receive this week will be any diff from the ones recieved by the people last week and the one prior. the time frame is just too small, but then again, anythings possible).
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Definitely have to agree. My guess they are the same and it is so difficult for Asus to actually respond to problems and transfer a fix to the manufacturing of the units. The only real thing I am worried about is the light bleed/dead pixels.
Moreover, the problem seems to be 50-50 and my estimate came from the assumption that there is manufacturing quality loss through increase production speed to meet the high demand. I tend to believe this because of the poor quality control. I am assuming (after reading the post about the guy receiving a 2.2 model) is that they do perform screen quality checks, to a certain extent. Some may have just slipped out.
Lets just hope we get a solid model.

I tend to side with the second poster...it's all about quality control....how many get out the door without their defects being noticed OR....being flagged as a defect.
I've worked around assembly lines all of my life...25+ years and I can understand some defects got through unnoticed....but the question is: when were they noticed and what steps were taken to prevent the same issue from occurring again?
And the second point is valid also....speed equals a mindset of "this one little corner-cutting decision won't make that big a deal in the long run...."
Unfortunately, rushing things to market to fill orders at a breakneck pace means that issues are more likely to get by...that's a fact of life.
When cash is on the line...decisions get made that might not otherwise gotten made.
I hope mine comes today without the glaring errors that I've seen here...crossing my fingers...

My only real complaint is the light bleed. I know it isn't the only device that's had this problem. I remember when I was reading the Evo 4G forums it had a similar problem when it first came out and recently the iPad2 had light bleed issues too.
The light bleed isn't a huge deal, but it is distracting while watching certain tv shows and movies imo.

I've had 3, first one was the very first batch in the UK, arrived mid April or thereabouts. The next one was around the end of April and the the latest one I received around the 6th of May.
1) Mid April
Some lightbleed on 3 of 4 edges. Perfect screen in terms of pixels. Imbalanced speakers. No sleep of death in 2 weeks or so. No gap in glass.
2) End April
Terrible lightbleed. 14+ stuck pixels (I gave up counting). I think the speakers were imbalanced too. No sleep of death, but only used it for a few minutes. No gap in glass was noticed.
3) Start of May
Some lightbleed, probably akin to 1. Around 8 or so stuck pixels, seen on black screen. Perfectly balanced speakers. Had 1 incident of the sleep of death within 5 days. Glass does not fit perfectly on left hand side (gap of 1-2mm allowing dust inside and glass to be lifted by nail)
Had I known what would happen I would now gladly stick with the first! So, from this small sample it seems that in my case the earlier devices were better in some ways but not in others. We'd have to have a huge sample to be able to answer definitively. I still love the tablet though.

I have a first US batch version and it's fine.

This is why I just ordered the Acer. I got mine and had some light bleed. It got worse. The creaking got worse. Now there is a small piece of dust under the screen. It is not very noticeable except on white background but it worries me that in 6 days of ownership it is getting worse. I now see a dust spec under the camera glass.
The edges of all the ports are razor sharp and can take off skin.
I love the weight the price and the ups screen but the build quality is very disappointing. If it was only the light bleed from day one I would keep but I can't handle how much more has happened in 1 week of ownership.
I got a 32 DB Livonia using coupons from staples for only 40 dollars more than a 16gb Asus cost me. The screen in store was quite good. The build quality seemed much better and despite the added weight it seemed more comfortable. To hold given the curved shape. If availability were better maybe I would exchange my Asus but no stock around.
in the end I might just opt for the new galaxy tab as it seems to be most like the load in size and weight.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Just received
I just got the TF in the mail today. It is nice.. but there are some drawbacks from the xoom that I miss.
Xoom felt nicer in my hand and had that led notification. But the screen on the TF is WAAY better.
I do have light bleed in small sections, not terribly noticeable. Speakers are fine. no dead pixels, yet. not really a creaky sound, just when I press harder than normal on the screen. No glass misaligned. I will seal up the beast with a vinyl cover. Screen is responsive, no probs yet.

A bit disappointed
I received my TF this Thursday and was so very happy. After unwrapping it I pressed the power button and I got nothing. I thought OMG it's not working. Then I thought, maybe they didn't have time to charge the battery. So I charged it. I checked on in within a hour and pressed the button and it came on. I began to play with it and realized that after the TF wasn't in use for more than 5 mins the power button whenever pressed didn't wake the TF up... SO i pressed and pressed.. nothing.. so I waited about 30 sec after a press of the button and it came on.. After going thur this over and over I figured it was a defect and I RMA'ed it. I'm hoping that they didn't just push out a product that will have a lot of issues...

Here's my two cents:
Got my TF from Fry's in LA on May 5th. 32GB don't know manf date.
For light bleed - minimal sround the left lower edge and upper right edge. Dark room, bright up full, about a 1mm bleed - very slight and almost unnoticible.
Running latest update with no issues, just updated again today with no issues.
Sometimes after a long sleep it won't power back up with the power button, so I press the vol down and pwr at the same time (shut down) and it shuts down and restarts fine...Seems a sw glitch.
Other than that it's an awesome machine!
Dock - arrived on the 12th. charged up fine, docked fine, no mouse, brick or other issues other than the backspace key is touchy (actually not touchy -takes some effort), but all other keys work well. I think I'll RMA it later depending on how many show in production (I can live with this for now).
Case - had to cut a small hole in bottom to allow charging while case is closed. Otherwise great.
I hope this helps.
BTW, I don't follow these threads too much, so if you need something please PM me.

I feel like I've said this before, but I'm honestly surprised to hear of all of these issues. Mine doesn't seem to have any of them. No gaps around the screen, the glass fits perfectly, the casing for the tablet seems sturdy and doesn't budge at all. There's very little noticeable light bleed, if any. I've never had anything like a "Sleep of Death". I couldn't be happier with the quality of this beast.
EDIT: I should mention I have a 32GB version that I purchased from TigerDirect on Wednesday, got it this past Thursday.

My tablet and dock were among the older units. I had only one instance of SOD and the green screen with the camera issue which has been fixed via firmware update.
The tablet itself appears to be of high build quality,the bezel is secure, no gaps around the screen seal, no dust,no dead pixels,very minimal light bleed that I had to actively look for.

no problems to speak of
eGoing on 2 weeks ownership using various each day.
The only thing a few times I've come back to an unresponsive unit. Then I just held power button down 10 seconds and then rebooted. I take that with a grain of salt.
But. I am not going to update software for another week or so. Until I read more positive reviews

Many problems with mine
I ordered mine from The Best Buy batch on May 22nd, and it came with a not-smooth not-particularly-responsive screen; it then got two light leak spots, the clock disappeared from the menu bar once, and it bricked when I ran the 3.1 update. I sent it back, but I wonder, are the screens really not as smooth or responsive as the Xoom or Acer A500?

It's going back :(....

After a month with two transformers and a docking station, I'm returning it all. The first one, which I still have, suffered from creaking, stuck pixel, dust, and back light bleed. The second one suffers from backlight bleed right dead where I can see it 24/7 on the status bar. Incredibly frustrating to shell out ~$530 and end up with these issues. Additionally there is still the issue (even with 3.1) with text input lag....my android and iphone devices don't even have this issue. I figure I could buy a E-350 based net/notebook and a G-Tablet for nearly the same cost as I have on this bundle. I admire the Transformer's aesthetics and it's ambition, I can certainly see the potential for the future....unfortunately, I just don't know how ready it is for prime time, QC issues aside.

RMA. My transformer has been perfect as has many other peoples'

sorry to hear that, you are probably just unlucky.
My TF has been working flawlessly without any issue though...

Transformer working great here using SwiftKey for the keyboard

im happy with mine although it is a bit creaky in the top left corner but I can live with that because its a transformer ands its awesome

Transformer working great, no input lag with thumb keyboard. Browser speed much improved with 3.1. No stuck pixels, some light bleed near the bottom left corner, no dust.

faksnima said:
After a month with two transformers and a docking station, I'm returning it all. The first one, which I still have, suffered from creaking, stuck pixel, dust, and back light bleed. The second one suffers from backlight bleed right dead where I can see it 24/7 on the status bar. Incredibly frustrating to shell out ~$530 and end up with these issues. Additionally there is still the issue (even with 3.1) with text input lag....my android and iphone devices don't even have this issue. I figure I could buy a E-350 based net/notebook and a G-Tablet for nearly the same cost as I have on this bundle. I admire the Transformer's aesthetics and it's ambition, I can certainly see the potential for the future....unfortunately, I just don't know how ready it is for prime time, QC issues aside.
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You won't post on here with more bull**** then will you

Not sure what you mean...I really like the device...not trying to post "bs". Those or you who RMAd, did you do it with Asus or the retailer?

faksnima said:
Not sure what you mean...I really like the device...not trying to post "bs". Those or you who RMAd, did you do it with Asus or the retailer?
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I just shipped mine to ASUS repair today (because newegg doesn't have stock to do an RMA replacement) due to defective HDMI port, dead left speaker and minor light bleed in bottom right (not really enough to bother anyone).
I'm not ready to give up on my TF yet but I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the 2 weeks or so it will take to get it back.

Received my Transformer yesterday. Peed my pants a little. Took 2 hours to put on a Skinomi Carbon fiber skin and screen. Turned on device and there was light leakage all around the screen. fml!!
Now I have to wait a very lonesome 2 weeks. 2 weeks is a long time in the tech world. Sorry for the rant but needed to vent. wahhhh.

Ya..I felt the same way, I basically had the devices for a month but didn't use them due to shipping etc...I just didn't want to keep doing the swaps, already lost a month on two by the time I sit down and enjoy one, Transformer 2 is going to be out . I think I may buy a lower end tab, like the G-Tab, and just wait for the next revision. I felt like the Transformer, especially w/ the dock was really close to revolutionizing my home, work, and school life onto one device. Due to some finicky QC and just lack of polish, I think I jumped in a half-generation too early. I am confident, however, that the XDA-dev team will find a way to make the Transformer relevant and competent even in the next generation of quad-core tablets. I'm just amazed at how they've kept the Nook and VS G-Tab relevant among a wave of flagships pushed out by big name players like Samsung, Motorola, etc...

Just got my TF last sat from Fry's. I have about 4 to 5 light bleed spots at the bottom edge of the screen that are pretty obvious in dark scenes. Couldn't exchange cuz they're out of stock already. Hopefully, they'll restock soon. I hate to have to send it to ASUS. So far haven't had any issues other than light bleed.

My Transformer has been perfect minus the very minor lightbleeding that is only visible when the screen is black and my surroundings are dark.
Other than that... no issues on the hardware side of things

So has anyone shipped theirs to Asus? Shipping policy? Charges? Waiting 2 weeks isn't that big a deal to me, but I don't want to be having to pay more $$$.
I'm having the same issues, light bleed all over the edges, several stuck pixels, creaking, typing lag.
I already returned one to the store I bought from due to seriously 25+ stuck pixels, became hard to keep track of which ones I already counted after that.

B4O RMA feedback

Forgive me if there are preexisting threads, I searched, etc. I wanted a thread where people could post their experiences attempting to get their transformer repaired (B4O) including the success of the repair and the service station they sent it to. This is intended for issues regarding the screen, but anyone can give feedback. This way we have a central place to see if it's worth RMA for this unit and if so, what service stations to avoid or to send to.

Good idea. I just RMA'd mine today. I'll post back with my experience.

I sent in my (B4) back on June 6th to Texas for a dead display. Asus received my TF on the 14th of June. It showed "waiting for parts status" for a good week and a half. I eventually called them up and spoke to two supervisors asking them why its taking so long for the part(s) to get there. The day after talking to 2nd supervisor I checked my status and it show it was repair.
During its time in Texas I called in asking if they could take a look at the backlight bleeding and unbalance speakers. I got my TF back and there was still backlight bleeding and the right speakers was still louder then the left. Even on the invoice that was in the box, it stated that customer had issues with backlight bleeding and unbalance speakers, but they didnt fix it. At least they fixed my dead display.... Try to avoid Texas if you could.

Got mine back too from the TX facility. The experience was pretty much like what Dazz said. They replaced the LCD and what was a huge band of gray inches high on the bottom and left is now replaced with a single spot of pure white.
.................
I'm not nitpicking over this either. Like I said, a few mm and I would be fine. A virtual Luxor Casino coming out of the bottom edge? No thanks.
In my opinion if you have a showstopping issue like a dead display or light bleed so bad it seriously impacts your enjoyment, you have no choice but to RMA. But if you have some kind of minor issue don't even consider it.
And let me warn you again, light bleed that "seriously impacts", consider your decision carefully. If you have 2mm of light bleed and think it warrants a return you're literally gambling and you might get back one with light bleed far worse.

Going to buy the N7 today- what to check?

gonna go and buy it today at the store with a bit of fear of ending up with a faulty unit as well. Although i know this is no guarantee for a good unit, I plan on opening it and see that everything is good.
What do i need to pay attention to?

This might help: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1856203

Have a look for screen lift, A small amount is acceptable IMO . I have been through 4 N7's and seen many others and all suffer some sort of screen lift or light bleed.
Best thing in my personal opinion is not to be so OCD about the flaws of the tablet. All the N7 I had suffered from some form of backlight bleed and in the end I'm beginning to accept it otherwise I would be trapped in the endless cycle of replacing it every time I spotted a small flaw which is sadly common in this device.
Sorry if I bored you

Check to see if you can buy a Damage warranty . And make sure you get details and proof of warranty purchase.. Often screen lift will not be noticeable until it runs something to make it start getting warm ..