Intel Imac with bad logic board.

jonhagy2000 wrote:

My question is why would I buy anymore Apple products if I can count on half of them failing within a less than three year period. I've got PCs that are 15 years old that work just fine. I guess that's what happens when you have all your parts made in China. Can you imagine the outrage if cars were having this kind of trouble?

You've got PCs that are 15 years old and running just fine!? Really!!? What are they running Windows 95? What software? DOS versions of Wordperfect? Are you serious? Even if the hardware is fine what can you really do with them? In technology terms the chipsets are as ancient as they come!!

My late 2006 iMac died, logic board. Very frustrating but that was last year, it was six/seven years old, averagely that's probably not a bad run for a complex machine with many components.

While it would be nice if Apple admitted they have a problem with bad hardware in certain models (or that the all in one design has an issue with heat affecting components), that's never going to happen for a multitude of reasons.

Everyone has the option to go back to the many PC vendors there are out there and go back to Windows, it's not a terrible option, but I'd be STAGGERED if you found a PC or laptop that would last 15 years from now.

Also, literally, everything is made in China. If you wanted a computer where every facet of it was manfactuered in the US and/or Europe, you would have to pay so much for it that you'd bulk at the price. While everyone is quick to slate China, everyone is also quick not to want to pay what would be double the price to support Western salaries.

Oh, and cars do have this kind of trouble. I have a Vauxhaul (General Motors), the screenwash pump has gone on it (200 pounds to repair), the air blower fan has broken although it still works at half speed (500 pounds to repair), the CIM unit is faulty which means sometimes the car won't start in one or two attemps (300 pounds to repait). It's six/seven years old, while explaining to me what was wrong the guy said "... well a vehicle of this age", LOL!!

Stuff goes wrong, Apple stuff goes wrong. The only problem is there are a group of people who have, for many years, underpinned a MYTH that Apple produce faultless hardware and software that 'just works' and never fails. Wrrooonnngggg ... they're just another technology company at the end of the day who have been VERY good at marketing over the past 15 years; well done to them, they suckered a lot of people in. They make good stuff, but it's susceptable to problems just like any other PC ever made.

Luke

Luke,

I have a PC that is a P4 Sony Viao that is still running! lol Apple might not admit they have a problem but there is class action lawsuits that come to mind and when a company gets big enough and makes mistakes they eventually end up paying out one way or another. Example: Sony TV/Samsung TVs, there were class action lawsuits citing tha manafuacture screwed up, I should know I eneded up getting a new Sony TV because of it, just Google XBR1 or

XBR2.

I agree with you most PC these days are going to last about the same amount of time as a Apple machine, I have had great luck so far with there devices as my Son is still usnig a iPad 1 that has been dropped several times and even with the dents on the corners it still functions, but thankfully it is now in a Otterbox.

Your China Comment is interesting, as US and European manafuactures keep on having things made there and our own ecomnomies are slowly suffering because of it, manaufacturing jobs, now service jobs etc.. soon enough not even the middle class will be able to afford the inexpensive stuff being made in China due to no jobs avalible, simple concept and slowly happening.

Apple has become a very large company making billions, and we all know when companies do this, they tend to loose focus! There might have been some Apple Fanboys saying that thier computers never fail, well thats before the days of "all in one" computers and Smartphones that are just becoming throw aways now. I don't think Apple Suckered anyone in here, they never claimed to have faultless hardware or software, at the time there were much less users, and yes with that came better customer support and more reliable products, but that seems to be going away because of they good old mass product machine churning away. Anyone buying a "all in one" computer should buy a extended Warr, no matter what, otherwise your just playing the odds and in many cases it doesn't pay off once you see a repair bill. To make a long story shorter, I do agree with your last comment, and your spot on!

Just wait Samsungs next as they are following in the footsteps of Sony, where they think they can produce anything. 😉 End of my rant!

I have a mid-2007 intel iMac. Have had three hard drives replaced. First two were under warrantee, the third they paid because I convinced them it was their faulty part. No other problems until last month. Fan failure. Now they tell me the logic board is failing. Although my machine is almost 7 years old, I'm disappointed. I expected more from Apple especially considering the hype around their product "quality" and the cost. But, what can you do. Except complain.

Add my iMac to the pile of relatively new computers with logic board failure to the tune of $545. My iMac was purchased at an Apple Store in January 2012 and died, dead, completely in January 2014. It was light use computer that sat on a desk, for two years. Plugged into a surge protector and used only for word processing, sending emails, downloading pictures. Basic computer stuff. Unreal. So disappointed in Apple. Will never buy again. Coindidenatally, the iMac replaced a perfectly good 10-year old PC thats only issue was it was outdated, technologically. It was working just fine.

I seem to be another victim in a long line of failed logic boards. One afternoon last weekend, my mid-2010 27" iMac decided just not to power on. Troubleshooted (troubleshot?) everything possible - and found a bunch of related issues online, this among them - but after many, many hours of brainaching I conceded and the next day I brought it to a Genius Bar hoping it was a power supply issue ($120) instead of something worse.

Four days later they called back quoting $800+ for a logic board replacement because it was "the next logical step." I asked them to have my HDD taken out and declined the service. I'm now looking for a local shop to actually diagnose the problem and repair the board instead of replacing it altogether for the price of a new computer.

The funny thing is, the old late 2007 20" iMac that my sister now has still runs fine.

I have also fallen victim to the faulty logic board problem. I have a late 2012 iMac purchased in April 2013. It would not turn on (totally dead) this past Monday morning. I took it to the Apple store and was told it was most likely a faulty power supply board and only about $100 to repair. 2 days later I get the call that it is now a faulty logic board and will be $750+ to repair. Very frustrated this has happened after only 14 months.

I have not purchased Apple Care in the past but will begin to now. I never had problems with my Apple products -- they just worked and had great longevity. Recently I have had several problems with warranty repairs and some shortly after the warranty has expired. Too bad... I used to brag about how well Apple products were made and lasted forever. That was a big selling point in paying a premium for Apple products. Now I will have to pay more via always buying Apple Care to ensure I can get 3 years out of my Apple products.

Fortunately I use my American Express card to buy my computers as they double the warranty. I have filed a claim for the logic board and hope they will cover the repair cost.

My Mid 2010 iMac has just broken. I believe it to be the logic board. Got an appointment at the Genius Bar tomorrow so they can tell me for sure.

Meanwhile I have been reading the Sales of Goods act in the UK and with a bit of a fight, should get the repair for free as I notice it seems to be a massive flaw with all their systems. Under that act, the iMac should work for at least six years... which is the minimum I would expect!

I've got a windows computer from 8 years ago working fine, and it cost a third of the bloody price! Ridiculous.

Anyway I'll update here most likely to how I get on.

Went to the Apple store, they said it may actually be a monitor problem which is around £300. They guy even said it was a common problem with iMacs, which really doesn't seem like something he should have said...

However, the Act I mentioned requires you to have proof this wasn't from wear and tear usage... so how in the world do I go about proving that? Monitors generally last forever in my experience! Urgh

Another one bites the dust!

Date of purchase = November 2010, price ~ $1,300

First logic board failure = March 2013, cost = $800

Second logic board failure = April 2014

I now have a $2,100 paper weight. Going to see if Apple will do anything to compensate me for this iLemon POS, but not optimistic based on this and related discussions. As a consumer I am ******. As a shareholder, I am concerned by this glaring lack of quality and obvious known flaw. I bought this product and paid a premium in part because of Apple's reputation for quality. I bought the stock in part for the same reason. I now have to question both decisions.

By the way, I purchased an Asus notebook computer around the same time with roughly the same technical specs for ~ $500 and haven't had one problem with it.

RE: "Oh, and cars do have this kind of trouble. I have a Vauxhaul (General Motors), the screenwash pump has gone on it (200 pounds to repair), the air blower fan has broken although it still works at half speed (500 pounds to repair), the CIM unit is faulty which means sometimes the car won't start in one or two attemps (300 pounds to repait)."

A logic board failure is catastrophic and causes a complete failure that renders the computer useless. While cars are certainly expensive to repair, their rate of catastrophic failures are MUCH, MUCH less than an iMac!

Update...I discussed the problem with an Apple Store Manager and she offered to meet me halfway and provide me a credit of $400 (roughly half the cost of my March 2013 repair) toward necessary repairs for my iMac or toward a purchase of another Apple computer. Since I have no confidence in the iMac product, I am looked at a Macbook Pro. But first...I am going to scour the discussion boards to see if there are any known problems with that product.

I have to admit, I think Apple's response to my request for compensation was a fair one.

Since you are getting $400 towards a new computer, you could get an iMac and use the $400 for Apple Care (and have $200+ left over). Use the extra $$ to buy a nice backup hard drive So your data is safe in case something goes wrong.

Buy the computer with an American Express card and they give you an extra year of warranty after the 3 years of Apple Care end. So you would have 4 years of worry free use.

When my logic board failed recently after only 14 months and Apple took care of me I bought Apple Care this time. Computer / electronics in general don't seem to last as long as they used to. I've recently begun to purchase extended warranties on computers -- I had not done so for 30 years.

Hope you you have good luck with your next computer whatever your decision is.

Thrifty One.

Thanks for the suggestions. Great points!

I'm definitely getting the extended warranty this time. Although, I don't think I should have to for a Mac.

I have no confidence in the iMac product line so I'm looking at the MacBook Pro with Retina. Solid state construction should translate into less potential for failure. The sad part is, it's not even for me...hope my college-age daughter appreciates it! And I hope no one steals it!

Rich - I understand the decrease in confidence in the iMac line. Our last few iMacs and iPhones have had things go wrong more frequently than any of my other Apple products over the past 30 years. I am not sure if it is a result of all this "miniaturization" and jamming so much into such small spaces or just an overall trend in the quality of products. My original Apple II computer and my 128k Macintosh back in the 1980's had lots of empty space inside. Compare that to the current iMacs that have almost no air space inside. These new machines run at some pretty high temperatures. While they are designed to run at these temps, the constant heating to 190 degrees and then cooling over and over again just may not provide the life expectancy of past designs. I have seen this in many things, not just Apple products... I've had appliances such as refrigerators and dehumidifiers last only a few years compared to prior models lasting 10 years +.

However, I also 100% prefer the user experience of using Apple computers and the Apple ecosystem. They make my life so much easier and I get more frustrated when I have to use a PC / Windows for certain things. So I do whatever I can to prolong the life of my Apple products... use high quality surge protectors, run the machines at cooler temperatures whenever possible, keep the air vents clear / free of dust build-up. Not sure what else I can do to prevent component part failures.

Now don't laugh, but my other way to deal with having to replace Apple products more frequently is to invest in Apple stock and options. Make some good Apple investments and you can replace your iMac every month!!! It actually helped me retire at age 45. With Apple about to roll out a strong fall product line-up, the stock should perform well the 2nd half of the year. Here is an investing tip for you.... want to make an almost 20% return between now and January and the stock does not even have to move (in fact it can even drop almost 15% from today's price of $94 and you still make almost 20%)? Sell the Apple January 2015 80 Put and buy the January 2015 75 Put. You collect $0.82 credit and are risking $4.18. As long as Apple is above $80 in January 2015 ($14 lower than it is today) you make almost 20%. Sure beats needing Apple to be up 20% from $94 to almost $113 to make the same return. Trading Apple is a great way to afford those Apple products!!! (Check my site on my profile if you want to learn more about how to do this.)

Best wishes to you and your daughter as well in college. On a side note... my son is heading off to college this fall. I think I would be more worried about a Mac Pro being stolen than an iMac... a lot harder to walk out with an iMac than the small Mac Pro.

bought Imac 27inch in may 2014 which failed the very first time with internal power supply failure with smoke and bang. Apple replaced me with the new one which also worked for 1 week and broke seemingly with the logic board failure. Subsequently 4 machines have been replaced with the new ones and all failed within 1 month. I was wondering may be it is my power circuit issue. I called an electrician to check my surge protector power board and power supply who confirmed that power supply is fine. All my equipment and my laptop are working fine since last 7 years.

I inferred that apple have placed a logic boards in their computers which will fail at some point in time due to faulty product supplied to them by the third party.

Please be careful when getting Imac computers.