Q: New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

Some units have already surfaced on the Refurbished site, I've seen everything up to the 27" 3.06ghz. http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB952LL/A?mco=MTU2MzE1ODI I've been watching the refurb store close and we should see the i5/i7's make their way soon, but you will have to be quick to act. Apple has even posted the links to the i5/i7's http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0GF0LL/A. Only $1849 US for an i7. This may be many user's best bet, at least these machines have been on the bench and hopefully given a clean bill of health.

Message was edited by: Thrice06

And the best thing is that these machines probably get tested after they have been fixed meaning that the refurbished machines could work better than the new ones that we have been ordering.

Sometimes it ***** being an Apple customer I still remember the first machines that I owned (Performa 5200 and 5400). They were rock solid and never had any issues. With the first iMac I had my first problem (which got fixed easily) with my MacBook Pro I have a big issue (being the logic board which got replaced by another bad logic board). At the time Apple also kept quiet for months about the issues until they finally acknowledged them.

I am starting to think of canceling my order or at least ask my dealer if they have heard about any of these issues.

I just ordered an i7 yesterday, and the expected ship date is the 21st. Maybe they will get the issue sorted out by then? Unlikely.

I ordered one 10 days ago and it is arriving this morning... I have already talked to apple's customer care and have been emailed a return RMA. So I can return it now or take a chance and see if it's a keeper! Decisions, decisions, what to do.... I am a gambler so I will open the box and fix a computer that's........???? I will report back in a few hours.....

dbater wrote:
I ordered one 10 days ago and it is arriving this morning... I have already talked to apple's customer care and have been emailed a return RMA. So I can return it now or take a chance and see if it's a keeper! Decisions, decisions, what to do.... I am a gambler so I will open the box and fix a computer that's........???? I will report back in a few hours.....

Which model did you order?

+"I ordered one 10 days ago and it is arriving this morning... I have already talked to apple's customer care and have been emailed a return RMA."+

You ordered one, it hasn't quite arrived, and you already have an RMA number?

Wow.

Hmm. I ordered a i7 a few hours ago. Expected to be shipped 22nd Dec arriving before 4th January 2010. Have spent most of the day trying to decide if I should cancel and wait until next year. Its the obvious thing to do, but I have Applecare and maybe it will be OK...

My head says cancel, my heart says don't, my wife says shut up and make a decision!

My heart and head say, +"Wait until apple acknowledges the problems and issues fixes that work."+ I sold my perfect 24" iMac 3.06Ghz in anticipation of ordering a new I7, but I don't need the aggravation of receiving and returning a faulty unit.

I have seen no indication *backed up by fact* anywhere that tells me apple has successfully addressed the issues. Soothing comments from apple store employees or applecare personnel don't do it for me.

The strange thing is I know several people with them and all is well. It would be interesting to know what percentage of iMac i7 system are screwed up? You have to remember this forum is where the squeeky wheels come to, not many that have iMacs that are fine!

We have another macrumors member saying he got the same email from the reseller saying Apple is currently fixing it.

"Just a follow up update on the iMac order. Apple has identified a production issue with the graphics cards in the machines with quad core processors. This has resulted in machines with flickering screens or video problems. Many users that have received machines already are having these issues. Apple has re-worked the video card to resolve the issue, but this has created a delay on the orders. Machines with 2.66 GHZ processors should start shipping next week, those with 2.8GHZ processors should start shipping the week after.

Any machines that are currently available at stores will be the older models and will likely suffer from the flickering video issue. This would be resolved as a warranty repair on the machine.

We will keep you updated with any information regarding shipment of your order."

If this is true or just bluebermuda making a new account to post the same message again I don't know.

+"Apple has re-worked the video card to resolve the issue, but this has created a delay on the orders."+

Apple has reworked the video card? I thought Apple was outsourcing the video cards. Seems unlikely Apple would be "reworking" a video card made by someone else, no?

Martin Bolsinger wrote:
On Apple's communication: this is a tricky thing. If you admit having a problem, the news will hit big and make a huge deal out of it. If you don't, you frustrate your clients. They probably decided for the latter hoping that replacing the iMacs silently will keep it low profile. And, we do not know what percentage of those new iMacs are affected. I would probably not report in this forum if my new iMac had no issue.

Hello Martin,

Thanks for your comments. I fully understand the dilemma that Apple -- and any company for that matter -- faces when problems like these arise. Yet, at the same time, it is my view that Apple's continued silence is beginning to make them look rather foolish. The foolishness derives from the fact that -- based on comments that have been posted in these forums -- some Apple Store employees and technicians are feigning total ignorance, and/or denying that these problems even exist.

The subtle strategy seems to be to try to throw the problem back on the end user, as if to say "You must have done something wrong, because this is the first time that we have heard of this, and you are the first person to bring back your iMac."

Martin, I am not jut making this up. Go back and read through some of the many messages that have been posted in a number of these threads, and you will see that some Mac users have indeed been confronted with this very attitude when they have returned their defective iMacs.

This behavior and attitude on the part of Apple employees and technicians is not only foolish, but personally, I find it quite offensive behavior as well, because the people who adopt this approach apparently think that Macintosh users are simply gullible idiots who can easily be taken for a ride.

Enough is enough. It is time to hear the truth, and it is time to see some real solutions to these ongoing problems.

spurv2 wrote:
But then you'd be an early adopter again, with the same type of problems.
The trick seems to be to pull the trigger mid-cycle.

Which was precisely my point, spurv2. For the majority of Macintosh users who live on tight budgets, it is really a no-win situation to try to constantly live on the technological edge.

Normally, I would have waited a bit longer to purchase my new iMac, but I have been in a situation where I've been working on an old G4 mini-tower with a faulty graphics card. It was so bad that it gave me headaches and sore eyes just to use the darn thing. I finally pulled an even older graphics card from an almost ten year old G4 that I recently retired, and stuck it in the 733 MHz machine that I am now using. This will suffice until my new iMac arrives, but viewing video on it is pretty much a no-go.

hkrause wrote:
I have seen no indication *backed up by fact* anywhere that tells me apple has successfully addressed the issues. Soothing comments from apple store employees or applecare personnel don't do it for me.

Sadly, I would have to agree. As they say, "the proof is in the pudding", and the "pudding" in this case is week 48 models and forward. Thus far, according to comments in these forums, some of them are STILL defective.

I honestly don't understand why Apple continues to ship out defective units. One would think that after these problems began to surface weeks ago, they would go to extra lengths to verify that all recently-shipped machines were in fact defect-free. Yes, taking these extra steps would slow down arrival dates, make Apple look bad and infuriate some Mac users, but is this any worse than receiving a defective machine, not once, but twice or even three times?

I don't know who is in charge of Apple's damage control, but they are doing a lousy job of it in my view. Surprisingly, sometimes honesty is still the best policy. The Mac crowd can be a very understanding, forgiving crowd. If Apple would just come out and spill the beans, as I've said before, I think it would go a long way towards restoring consumer admiration and confidence in Apple, and in Apple products.

Failure to speak up is only going to give Apple a black eye in the Windows PC world, in my view.

All we need is one sentence from Apple: "We have accurately identified the problems; we are earnestly working on fixing all of them; and defect-free units will begin to be shipped shortly."

Oh, and they could add: "We apologize for the inconveniences that these problems have caused for many of you. We appreciate your patronage and dedication to Apple products."

Is that really so hard?

Heck, you can't even reach anyone at apple to discuss the problems and determine what is going on to resolve them. It's a complete stonewall.