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

Let's be very clear, though: most of us do a fair amount of online research before pulling the trigger on a new computer. I was stoked to buy a 27" i7 but was stopped dead in my tracks the moment I came across these issues. A friend of mine is in the same boat. Neither of us will buy one until the problem is solved definitively. They may very well be missing out on tens of thousands of sales as prudent folks sit on the sidelines waiting for this to be resolved. My sincere hope is that Apple at least acknowledges the issue in the short term and lets us all know a fix is on the way.

nick

Amen

kateeba wrote:
You think that there is a possibility that even though Apple knows about these problems and is working on it behind the scenes, that we will "NEVER" get an official message about it being fixed? I am one of the ones who is waiting patiently before I buy my 27" i7. If I never hear about a "true" fix from Apple, I may not buy till the next ones come out.

Lou

Message was edited by: kateeba

It is common practice for Apple to do this. If it is hardware related, Apple will release a program like they did for the iMac G5 power supply issue, iBook G3 logic board issue, and the huge battery recall.

If it is a software problem, expect 10.6.? to fix it or a separate firmware/software release and nothing more.

Until then, Apple remains silent.

Message was edited by: quagmire2

I am new to MAC and purchased a 27" Intel Core Duo. I have seen the screen flicker and also distort. The distortion appears to be along the lines where the doc "appears" to flip to the top with a dark band underneath. This distortion has happened twice in 30 days. The screen has flickered just two minutes ago after 5 days of no flicker.

I purchased it at Best Buy. They want to send it back to there depot and determine if I have a real problem.

I called up Apple Support and logged a call and they said I need to go through the Retailer for a return.

Right now I don't have any confidence that a new machine would be given to me as this is so intermittent.

Flicker total 6 times in last 5 minutes.

{quote:title=TGFTGF wrote:}I am new to MAC and purchased a 27" Intel Core Duo. I have seen the screen flicker and also distort. The distortion appears to be along the lines where the doc "appears" to flip to the top with a dark band underneath. This distortion has happened twice in 30 days. The screen has flickered just two minutes ago after 5 days of no flicker.

I purchased it at Best Buy. They want to send it back to there depot and determine if I have a real problem.

I called up Apple Support and logged a call and they said I need to go through the Retailer for a return.

Right now I don't have any confidence that a new machine would be given to me as this is so intermittent.

Flicker total 6 times in last 5 minutes.{quote}
I've seen some interesting observations here from people who have purchased through retailers. Basically, it seems you'd be foolish to purchase Apple hardware through a retailer absent an older and stable product line, and (ii) an excellent deal. They seem to fairly regularly have serious hardware problems in the last few years (defective batteries, bad screens, bad GPUs, etc.), and if your problem is intermittent, you are at the mercy of not always helpful retailers in trying to get support. If you're going to buy Apple products, esp. new releases, seems the Apple Store is the only way to go...

mossback_, I agree with your sentiment entirely. I've returned two 27" iMacs, and got a refund rather than a replacement after the second one. I will only purchase another if/when I am certain the two main problems (flicker and yellow tinge) have been eradicated. If I hear nothing official, I will not buy one.

I have to say that I cringe every time I read that someone bought an Apple product at BestBuy.

I mean no offense to you personally, but from my experience (and other's that I have read about), I would never buy anything from BB and certainly not an iMac. I have read in these forums that they have even charged a re-stocking fee to return one of the problematic iMac's. That is not right.

From what you have said, I do not believe that BB will give you an updated iMac. but I could be wrong. If they want to check to see if you have a 'real problem', then I think that your situation will only go from bad to worse.

My unsolicited advice to you is to return your iMac to BB and ask for a refund. If they want to charge you a re-stocking fee, I'd argue vehemently until they gave in. Unless they can guarantee you 100% that they will (1) give you a NEW computer and (2) one that will work correctly, then I might go with that.

But, you must write you current computer's Serial Number down so you will know whether or not they are going to uphold their end of the deal. To locate your serial number, go to the Apple icon at top left / About This Mac / More Info ... / Hardware, then second from the bottom on the Hardware Overview list on the right you will see Serial Number (system0: ###...... )

I would still argue for a refund if you feel comfortable doing that. Then when you are confident that the new iMac's are back on track, order your iMac from Apple. I have never had any issue with Apple not honoring their warranty commitment to me. Ever.

I also feel bad that you are purchasing you first Apple computer only to have things go badly for you. This is not the norm.

Best of luck to you.

Good advice, especially for a person purchasing their first iMac.

skypeable wrote:
<Wild Speculation>
Note: I am simply being a prepared pessimist. I have no reason to think this actually is a software issue or that Apple will reduce performance to recover stability.

I find it interesting that you should say that, as there are probably many here -- myself included -- who wonder if Apple might choose to reduce the capabilities and performance of these new iMacs, in order to resolve these issues.

My biggest concern has been the graphics card itself. The price of these units is based in part on the specific hardware components in each one of them. What if Apple chooses to swap out the ATI HD Radeon 4850 card for something slower and less powerful? Will the price of the units be lowered? How will that affect people who have already placed their orders, particularly those who have had to make deposits, or even pay in full ahead of time?

Let me clarify -- lest rumors get started -- that I have absolutely no proof whatsoever that Apple has any intentions of doing this. However, being the skeptic that I am, I have been checking the Apple Store page for the 27" iMacs, just to make sure that nothing is quietly and subtly changed in the description.

Of course, if Apple did update the page with a different graphics card, there wouldn't be anything quiet or subtle about it. Most folks here would surely realize it.

Having said that, I hope that Apple resolves these issues soon; and no, I am not convinced yet that the issues have been fixed. Faulty week 50's seem to verify this point.

I just want to receive my new iMac safe and sound and in good working order. It's been 35 days since I placed my order...and counting. I think that these issues are starting to wear on a lot of us here, no? We want it over and done with.

I agree 100% with Mossback.

I have the money burning a hole in my pocket and really want a 27" imac but will wait until Apple sorts this out which I'm sure they will eventually.

Got my i7 this morning. So far no flickering,no stuck/dead pixels... Some backlight leakage but not enough to be an issue... MAYBE a little bit of yellow tint in the lower right quadrant, but not an issue... There a VERY slight "dimness" about an inch above the bottom of the screen that is about a half inch wide that runs across the whole width... but it is so slight that I have to really look for it to notice... If the flickering does not start,
it's a keeper!

-Karen

I don't know if this will help, but since I have installed my Belkin USB hub on my 27" iMac, the flickering has stopped. Not to say that a hub will fix the issue, but that not touching the back ports might have something to do with it!

my 2 cents.

Oh boy.

I've had my new 27" i5 for 4 days - and i've had it on since I got it - running a photo slide show non-stop.

So far, I have seen zero problems.

But, I'm getting paranoid reading these messages. I have to leave the computer behind for a month soon - and I will be gone when my 30 days - and my chance to return it expire.

What are the chances that I actually got a machine that works - and that will keep working?

Is anything known, yet, about what build dates have a problem - and if it is now fixed??

If I return and it crashes, I do have Apple Care.

Warren B.....What if Apple chooses to swap out the ATI HD Radeon 4850 card for something slower and less powerful?"

That is not the way Apple operates, at least, not in my experience as a Mac user for more than a couple of decades.

When my last iMac went up in flames, a 24" dual 3.06 which was purchased as a refurbished unit, Apple chose to replace it with a new, not refurbished, but brand spanking new 27" dual 3.06 at no additional cost to me. A more than fair trade, I think, since I got the larger screen, larger HD, ddr3 in place of ddr2 memory. The only downgrade was to the video card itself, since I had the much superior nvida card in the older 24". They also allowed me to upgrade to the i7 by just paying the difference between the 27" dual 3.06 and the i7.

If Apple does replace the graphics cards, I have no doubt that they will be replaced with an improved version of the same card, or even a superior card, which, no doubt will come with the next revision anyway, hopefully to the newest nvida cards.

That is, if the problem is even in the graphics cards. I'm still betting on the monitors, or drivers, or possibly connectors between the card, and monitor.

Richard..........no need to worry.

If you read my last post about my failed 24" dual 3.06, I should have added that the failure came after 12 1/2 months of very heavy use. I purchased Applecare only a matter of days before the 1 year warranty expired.

On top of that, I got a call several weeks after I had received the new i7, and Apple was checking to make sure I was satisfied with the deal, and asked if I wanted to continue the existing Applecare coverage on the new machine, or receive a refund for the remaining 11 1/2 months of coverage.

I opted for the refund, and will purchase Applecare new before the new warranty runs out.

On top of all of this, since the nearest certified repair center is about three hours away from me, Apple sent repair techs to my residence on two different occasions to attempt to make repairs, all at no cost to me.

I hate to keep repeating myself, but Apple does have the best warranties, and customer service in the industry, hands down.