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Jun 4, 2014 8:33 PM in response to dale275by SaratogaPete,I'm adding myself to this list too.
I purchased the iMac just recently from a friend and found that the left half of the screen was darker than the right. I took it to the Garden State Plaza store for repair, I was happy to pay a fair price to get it to work properly since this was a pre-owned machine that I purchased from a friend for a good price.
When I got to the store I told the tech right away that this 27" iMac was part of the class of devices covered under the GPU repalcement program and that the most likely cause of the problem was the GPU and the logic board. I was told they would look at it and make the necessary repairs. After 4 days the store called and I went back in to pick it up. They had replaced the LCD. When I arrived at the store and the tech powered up the iMac in front of me I could see that the screen was now bright across the full width of the screen but now had a bright 1 inch stripe of washed out color all the way around the perimeter of the screen. I was a little confused because they said it was done, but obviously it was not. I assume the tech didn't bother to actually look at the screen before he/she marked it off as complete.
My wife and I had to wait 35 minutes for a 2nd tech to be brought to us to look at the screen, who looked at it and who then called on his manager to look at it as well. We had to wait another 15 minutes for the tech manager to look and he saw what everyone else did, a big bright stripe that shouldn't be there. We asked them what they had done and they claimed that they tested the Backlight and found it to be in order, so they then replaced the LCD. They indicated that they would have to keep the iMac for several more days until parts came in.
4 days later the store calls me back again telling me the iMac is ready, come pick it up. I arrive at the store and as soon as they power the iMac the light stripe is still there. The tech failed again to check on the screen before marking it as complete. I was furious at this point. I had wasted two 1.5 hour drives to get to the store only to discover that they had not done their job. I had paid the store $580 for a repair that they hadn't done properly.
Now the crazy part, the tech du jour tells me that they are going to replace the logic board and the GPU. If you recall, the first thing I told the first tech who received my iMac 2 weeks prior was that the logic board and GPU were most likely the issue. They asked me to leave the iMac again to that they can replace the GPU and logic board, and that it would be ready sometime soon. I actually had to ask the tech to put notes in their system to request they QA the monitor before calling me so that I don't waste another trip. I would have to drop another $200 to fix do this repair which would bring my bill up to $780. Again, going back to the beginning, I am happy to pay for the repair, I purchased this computer knowing it needed to be repaired, so it has not been a question of money. It has not become a question of time, I am losing far too much of it because of Genius Bar incompetence.
I have decided that at this point I am going to ask to speak with the store manager to tell him how dissastisfied I am with their Genius Bar staff and the overall experience I've had with this repair. It's not the cost or the work required, it's the fact that twice the store told me they had repaired something and failed to properly test and verify their work before calling me and having me drive 1.5 hours roundtrip just to leave the store empty handed.
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Jun 4, 2014 10:40 PM in response to SaratogaPeteby John-Paul May,Horrific story Pete -- I'm glad you took the time to explain it here; thanks for that.
I hope something works out .. what a bunch of idiots to treat you like that.
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Jun 5, 2014 12:54 PM in response to SaratogaPeteby WZZZ,Contact Customer Support at Apple, by telephone. Tell them the story and esclate as needed. I'd ask right away to speak to a higher level rep. At a high enough level, I wouldn't be surprised if they cancel all the charges because of all the inconvenience and incompetence you have suffered through. You might make that a "subtle" hint. It sounds deserved.
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Jun 11, 2014 2:47 PM in response to dale275by MacZone.CZ,Hi , is possible repair your LCD , not need to pay for new LCD panel . Also , "real" repair solving the main issue with left side backlight , it never returns back . It is not easy repair , LCD have to be totally dissasembled , it`s easy to crack many things inside .... FYI cost in our labor is about 150-180 USD ... It is quality /manufacturing problem of Apple supplier - LG. Dust inside LCD layers can be cleaned too , it is ideal moment to split this two issues..
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Aug 12, 2014 3:17 PM in response to MacZone.CZby Mhco95,Add me to the list of iMacs with faulty LCDs. Complete 27" screen dark with no back light. Just informed it will cost us >$600 to repair a machine that is 1 year 8 months old. I thought Apple was quality product. Meanwhile I have a Samsung LCD TV and PC LCDs that are 5+ years old and zero issues. I guess I'll take that $600+ and go back to PC. Very disappointed. I'll try and call apple support but doubt that gets anywhere.
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Sep 5, 2014 7:14 PM in response to John-Paul Mayby Kopthat,My late 2009 27" i5 iMac developed this problem a few weeks ago, and you can press on that side of the screen and it will get momentarily brighter, so it is definitely the loose led connection. I paid $2500 for a high end machine, and Apple should acknowledge and fix this manufacturing fault.
I am going in to an apple store to get my faulty iPhone 5 battery replaced and I will raise the problem with the genius
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Sep 25, 2014 4:17 PM in response to Kopthatby Kopthat,At the Apple store they said that the iMac was over 4 years old and the repair would not be covered.
I told them that under Australian consumer law a product show be free from defects and fit for purpose for a reasonable time,
and I argued that a high end $2,500 computer should do that for over 5 years.
The store told me to contact Applecare and ask about consumer law and warranty. I got a really good understanding rep (Dale) who told me that an agreement with the ACCC and Apple meant that products were covered for 2 years (I had purchased AppleCare which gave me 3 years anyway), but he said he would forward my email and photo of the problem to the engineering team. The next day he called back saying that engineering had agreed to cover the replacement of the screen in the iMac, and I picked it up yesterday, and now my iMac should function well for years to come
So don't give up, it seems that Apple have finally recognised this fault.
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Sep 25, 2014 5:00 PM in response to dale275by garyjmilne,I also have the same problem. Mid 2011 iMac 27" that has the left side go dark randomly. Eventually I got tired of trying to find the sweet spot to press on my monitor to get it to brighten (it became less effective over time anyway) so I cracked open the machine to see if it was a loose connection as some have indicated.
I stripped back the tape to reveal the connector and pushed down on it with moderate force. I felt it move and I smugly put the machine back together thinking I had fixed the problem. Once the machine came on the left side was still dark and I later found out that I had pressed hard enough for the connecter on the LED strip to become dismounted. This is what you are dealing with. Yes, that is a penny in the background.
You will notice that I hosed up the connector trying to solder some tiny wires to this thing like Gerry Sweeney does in his video. Google Gerry Sweeney iMac 27 as I can't post a link here, look for the video which is quite interesting. While the video shows that it is possible, I think the chances of success are pretty slim unless you have some decent gear and some experience with soldering electronics. Had I taken this LED strip out before I started soldering my chances would have increased considerably.
Anyway, I screwed it up leaving me with few choices. A) Buy a new LCD panel $$$ B) Buy an external monitor or C) Live with the problem. After sleeping on it I came up with another option D) What if I moved the remaining LED strip from the right side into the middle of the screen.
Well I wasn't making a how to video but I thought some people might find it interesting. After taking the screen apart, cutting a new hole in the aluminum case for the cable and moving the LED strip to the middle , viola.
Actually this makes it looks worse than it actually is.
This is how my desktop looks, much less pronounced. Not as good as new, but a bit better than just one side working.
Makes me feel like I'm getting tunnel vision but it bought me some time to see if I can get a cheap replacement or parts.
Finally, this is the offending part. If I could get my hands on a new one I'd be back in business.

Final thoughts, clearly a manufacturing defect as the problem is so heavily weighted to the left side. Apple should do the right thing but they are a lot more pragmatic than they would like the public to believe. They are very aware of the issue and I'm sure they have crunched the numbers and decided the cost isn't worth it because this issue is under the publics radar and is not damaging their reputation.
Good luck fellow victims.
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Oct 6, 2014 6:22 PM in response to dale275by rwspencer,I took my mid-2011 Imac into to have the left panel repaired (very well-known issue) and was told it was out of warranty. Given this is the second manufacturing issue I have dealt with in the last month plus in or out of warranty, a 24 month-old screen should work - I am done with Apple. Lower your prices to reflect poor manufacturing. Do not buy in Ann Arbor!
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Oct 7, 2014 2:14 PM in response to rwspencerby Kopthat,Did you not read my reply about 2 posts back, Apple fixed my April 2010 iMac screen for free
I persisted through AppleCare and it was forwarded to the Engineering team, who agreed to fix it.
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Oct 28, 2014 1:25 PM in response to Kopthatby SebRex,HI, I AM ABOUT TO PAY 500 BUCKS FOR THE SAME ISSUE, ANY IDEA WHERE CAN I CONTACT APPLE CARE? I TRIED IN BELGIUM BUT IN THAT COUNTRY CUSTOMER SERVICE DOES NOT EXIST, ANY EMAIL ADDRESS OR NUMBER IN US?
THANX!
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Oct 29, 2014 11:44 AM in response to SebRexby CharlesYamabe,Why pay $500 when you can buy a screen on ebay for $100-$150 and do it yourself? It's really easy to do.
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Jan 19, 2015 2:56 AM in response to Mhco95by haifisch68,I've had same problem with 27 inch late 2011 iMac. I finally called apple support who sent me to my local store. They fixed it at no cost under UK consumer law claim. Such a relief to be working on a fully functional screen again.
Check your country's consumer laws to see if that's a possible way to get a fix.
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Feb 20, 2015 3:01 PM in response to haifisch68by Clockingoff,I have exactly same problem but my local apple store insists that I have to pay, even though apple care says it should be free.


