New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

Thank you to remind me to be more realistic. I completely agree with you in many points of your post.

Look, I understand you have had some bad experiences. So have a lot of other people in this thread including me. I have been on this post since the very early pages. We weren't always singing praise to Apple, if you read through. I'm smart enough to know that even though Apple gave me an upgrade, my problem may not be resolved. I may be right back in this thread saying I have Flicker after both firmware updates. I was just letting a couple of members who have been posting along side me from the beginning, know my current situation. We have all been keeping each other posted & trying to figure out the cause of the problem. No, we are not Engineers but at least we've been trying to help others by providing info. There has to be some positive to come out of a very negative situation. I was nearly providing an update. citrus101, pazuita & I have been racking our brains to try & help this post since the beginning. We have even invited Apple Techs to come to this post & give us an update. But of course no Tech ever showed up on here. So your one comment, which just comes out of nowhere, should not be negative towards those of us who have been here since the beginning. How many iMacs have you gone through? You give us no information about your situation or story. No specifics about your iMacs. We have all been there & back. After your long post, we still don't know what your problem or situation is, just that it is bad & that you are unhappy the way you have been treated by Apple.

My count is currently 3 27" IMac in the shop, and two others that have also started the flicker/blackout etc. I have installed the latest firmware update on the 27 systems still in my lab. The Apple Service Center has installed it on the three they have. Since the install, I have not received any more reports of flickering. The update was installed Wednesday or Thursday )two or three days ago). I will give it a week without any reported flicker on the 34 total systems in this before I call it fixed. I also have eight more systems to be installed that just arrived but they had all updates, including the firmware update, already installed. These were made in week 2 or 3 of 2010.

pyrdek, Just curious, do any of them have the Yellow Tinge or anything else wrong with them besides Flicker?

Dino,
sorry about the long post, let me rephrase, and please don't take it personally it wasn't targeted at anyone in particular.
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Hi, this will be my 10th(?) post in this thread. I hope some of the links I have provided previously have been of use to some people, even if those people have never posted in this thread. Dino, and a bunch of others, after many exchanges and complaints, and horrible time-wasting frustrations, now have gratefully found a solution (but for how long?), in the form of the latest firmware patch, to their issues related to flickering, it would seem, by and large. That's great! I'm feeling more confident about my family purchasing one of these machines than I have felt previously! Though, seeing as some people are still having issues, stated here, and on other forums, related to flickering, I am not quite ready to have us place an order just yet! I am asking that we PLEASE keep this thread open, and encourage people to post, though, I imagine from the terseness of theirs posts, they are just about ready to give up. I understand that all too well. As a mac user for some 20 years, in the recent past I have been more disappointed with apple than I ever have before! The image (which may be fake, however, having seen some official apple 'letterhead' type documents before, appears legit) found here makes sense in light of several of my recent experiences with Apple. That is, the motto: "unless the complain loud enough, tell them there isn't really a hardware fault!"
Wow, that's a big statement by apple... and boys and girls, I can sure tell you that has been my experience with applecare over the last 2-3 years, including an issue I'm working with applecare on right now (with a different non-iMac machine).
Having read many of posts in this thread, though not all, I am looking forward to see if week 06 iMacs are all being produced in a different place, or what their symptoms exhibit! Also, are any of these machines coming with the "Graphics" Firmware update installed? You check by following the instructions >> here. They don't say what the firmware numbers are for the second a.k.a. "Display" Firmware update. Did anybody take note of their numbers before they applied it? I'd be curios to know... that way maybe we can have a better idea of how similar these newer machines are to the ones already out there!
Thanks for all your work you guys (you know who you are, the ones who have increased your post count in this thread to great numbers!), and I'm glad you're machines are working! Here's to hoping that those fixed with the second update stay that way! (At least until 2012, or whenever the world comes to an end...)

And for anyone else, besides the 5 previously mentioned, still experiencing issues: PLEASE LET US KNOW, and with details too*

1984-I_Was1, No offense taken. We all understand your frustration. You are right. This Thread should remain open. My question is, even if the 2 consecutive Firmware Updates work, what are they doing to the Performance of the machine. Is this just putting a Band Aid on a much bigger problem, like you said, that 2 years Later, we could wind up with LCD's that are dead. I'm only a Mac User for 3 years. The only other products I can compare to Apple is HP, eMachines, Gateway & the Like. So you can see why Apple has been a good experience for me so far, as far as their Customer Service & their Products.

As for the Internal Apple Memo, I'm not sure if it's authentic or not, but if it is, it does not sound like what I have experienced on the phone. No one EVER told me I was imagining my Yellow Screen, they asked for Pictures & then confirmed, that Yes, I did have a legitimate Problem with my Screen. No one ever denied what was wrong with my iMac & I had a rep call me & tell me, "Honestly, We Don't Know What The Problem is & We Don't Have a Solution As Of Yet". We will call you back in 3 weeks, we should have an answer.

It seems even the newer Week 04 iMacs still have the Yellow Tinge issue. So I understand that if even 1% of the buyers get faulty iMacs over & over again, there is a definite problem. I hope this all gets straightened out very soon for our sake & for Apple's sake.

We also have to keep our eyes out for one thing. If someone posts here just once saying the Firmware Updates did not work for them, It does not mean it's the truth. & it does not mean it's a lie either. But there are a lot of Apple haters out there that would love to confuse this thread by spreading misinformation. All you need is an email address in order to join this Forum. I'm not accusing anyone. I'm ust stating the facts.

Nexus600 wrote:
Here in Montreal, French speaking province of Quebec, in Canada.
We can get service in French from Apple. It's usually not perfect French, but good enough for the job.

I used to answer those calls back in high school as a rep for Apple Canada's wing of customer tech support. I can vouch for my French being far from perfect. 🙂 It was definitely run from in-country at the time, though I have no idea who runs it today.

On my end: No flickers yet on my latest replacement i7 (really does seem like Apple's found a near-perfect solution to most of the flickering woes, future performance notwithstanding). But the yellowing hasn't disappeared. Someone from Apple proactively reached out to me earlier in the week and left a message (which I returned) but hasn't called back since.

Not a single one with any yellow tinge or blotch. I don't know it it matters but the first 34 systems came in loaded on pallets and were shipped via FedEx FREIGHT. That is not the same as routine Fed Ex. I mention that because of an earlier posting that raised the possibility of rough handling in shipping causing the backlight diffuser (or what ever it is called) to be shifted in transit.

The eight new systems are still being set up so I haven't had a chance to check for yellow screens.

pazuita wrote:
dawage and nzac10............ I think most of us here appreciate and understand your comments.

Apple warranties and service are the best. Part of what makes them so good to the "real Americans" that use them, is the fact that we still have one company that we can call, and actually get someone who understands English, and speaks it fluently. I hope all of our foreign user friends have the same type of experiences when they seek Apple Care services.

Pazuita -

Exactly my point in responding to dawaga and nzac10..."real Americans"?!? What do you mean by this term? At best it demonstrates ignorance, at worst it manifest prejudice and racism.

Too bad comments like this are made all to often in our great nation that is founded on the belief that "all men are created equal." I guess there will always be those who view some of us as "less than equal." Good thing we know better.

- A +Real American+ Who May Not Look or Sound Like You

I have posted once into this thread, it was about 8 weeks ago and at that time I said that I would hold off on any 27" purchase until ALL the problems had been fixed. It now seem that may have happened, but, as it has taken so long, I now wonder if I would be better to wait a bit longer until a Revision has been released.
The pros are that I may just gain some internal improvements such as speed, USB 3.0 and possibly even BlueRay the cons are that I would have to wait a bit longer to be the proud owner of a 27" as well as the possibility of a price hike due to the exchange rate (this may even go the opposite way and make the price of the revision even cheaper than the current model).
So what should I do??? Any constructive comments or suggestions would certainly be appreciated.

Hello Lamont,

You need to keep in mind that as a matter of business strategy, Apple needs to maintain certain barriers between its line of products, so that those who are paying more for higher end products will be made to feel like they are getting their money's worth.

That being the case, while I am by no means an Apple insider, I suspect that while Apple may possibly include USB 3.0 in its next line of iMacs -- whenever they are released -- I am more inclined to believe that -- for the time being -- it will reserve BluRay for the Mac Pros.

Again, just an uneducated guess on my part.

Very Interesting that none had the Yellow. Loaded on a Pallet all together is certainly going to have more protection than a single Cardboard Box. Thanks for the info.

Dino1956 wrote:
Very Interesting that none had the Yellow. Loaded on a Pallet all together is certainly going to have more protection than a single Cardboard Box. Thanks for the info.

Just to add some balance to your statement, I was informed by my AAR that they also have their computers shipped by the pallet. That may possibly be the reason why it took ten weeks for my iMac to arrive; that is, because they had to wait until they had enough orders to fill up a complete pallet.

But my point is, my unit arrived as part of a pallet of 20 machines, I believe, yet it still has the yellow tinge.

So, being shipped as part of a pallet is no guarantee. It also suggests that the yellow tinge may not necessarily be a result of mishandling by the shippers. The defect may very well occur in Apple's Chinese factories.

Well then, I guess any so called Shipping theory bites the dust! 🙂

that's a pretty harsh response to my comment, and while getting off topic, I'd like the opportunity to formulate a reply. Firstly, I have no problems with the idea of overseas support (excepting jobs going overseas), and the people I deal with in overseas support are generally very knowledgable -however the language barrier is often a problem - and this works both ways. I often don't understand them and they don't understand me. I have also had telephone replies to a number of my calls (non Apple) at 3.00 am, which is less than ideal. As a paying customer for a number of support services, i can complain when the service is less than I should expect, for any reason. Since most support services are now overseas, it is a welcome surprise to hear of support being within the country of calling (*+wherever that may be+*). I don't believe that's ignorant, insulting to anyone or invalidates any other posts I may have made.

Meantime, I have experienced no other flickers on my 27" iMac which is welcome news so far.

Keep well.