New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

I don't think you should read too much into this ... other than it being crazy. Maybe it just goes to show how difficult it is for Steve to control every aspect of such a large company. With so many employees all around the world, at some point in time, you're just bound to be misinformed.
Seemed like the young woman I was talking to, didn't have a clue. I asked her if they knew, whether the flicker/blackout syndrome was hardware or software related, and she couldn't give me an answer. She didn't know.

Reordered a new i7 yesterday based on the apparent solution.

I had ordered back in November but cancelled a week later based on troubles.

Really looking forward to the new machine!

So it appears to be safe to buy one now…right? I live in Chicago so I am within driving distance to a few Apple stores. Should I buy it from the store or order it online? I was just thinking that the online order would most likely assure me of a newer week iMac, however if I go into the store I could probably test it for the yellow screen there. Any suggestions?

Following the Tuesday installation of the latest update, my "Week 43" no longer exhibits any symptoms of the flicker/tear/blackout problem that it had out of the box. Cautiously optimistic. Thanks, Apple! I hope this fixes the trouble for everyone here.

Hi TuffGong,

as long as we have the yellow tinge issue I'll wait with my order. Flicker seems to be solved. 🙂

No one here can tell you if it's Safe to buy. Yes, it looks like things are getting better. If you Order from Apple Online, your 27" won't ship at least, until Feb 18th. But that's good, since I'm thinking these will have New Screens. If you buy from an Apple Store your more likely to get old Stock, thus a machine that may have a defect. This is just how I look at it all.

I feel the combination of the 2 Updates cured a lot of the iMacs flickering issues. Although I don't think we can say all. A few still are having issues. But Good Luck. It appears to have worked for you.

Thanks Dino1956 and citrus101! I think I'll wait just a little bit longer and order online.

That seems like the smart thing to do.

Warren, good idea. Thanks.

robgb wrote:
Warren, good idea. Thanks.

You're welcome. 🙂

Just some food for thought. I ordered my imac i7 on on jan 26th and they told me it would be shipped on the 18th and arriving on the 22nd of feb. Well while checking my email today I noticed that my imac was sent out TODAY and will be arriving on the 10th. This is only a few days after the firmware update. This leads me to believe that the 3 week then 2 week delay was not for getting backlogged but was while they were addressing the issue. Ill let you guys know on wednesday how the system is.

My replacement is due to be Shipped from Apple on Feb 18th, but mine stayed at that date. No email No Change. Just Checked!

An employee at an authorized reseller says that there is a utility that they can use to check if the two-firmware updates have "fixed" your specific iMac or not. I imagine it's something like the battery checking app, that only apple and authorized resellers/techs are given. So, one thing for some people that aren't sure, for what it's worth, you can go take your new 27" down to a store and have them run this utility supposedly. If it comes up as not fixed, send it back immediately, otherwise, you're probably playing with fire? I mean? You have 1 year to decide whether or not you want applecare... so, maybe just wait... I dunno I think we're going to give it another month or so before we order, sadly...

I also received an email that my replacement i7 was shipped this morning and would arrive on the 10th of Feb. Shipped from the facility in Shanghi FWIW. Does it matter at this point where it was manufactured? I must say that despite the rare flicker, slightly yellow hue, and 4 dead pixels, AppleCare and the senior advisor that walked me through the replacement process were outstanding. No complaints whatsoever. Now just hoping for a perfect machine. I'll post when it arrives.