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

I experienced flickering in my first 2 i5s, but I've had my current (third) iMac for 20 days without any flicker in sight. I installed the firmware update two days ago... and then... this morning... flicker!!

I called AppleCare, they had my zap the PRAM and run a hardware test which came out fine. So now I'm waiting to see if it flickers again. I'm sooo unhappy! To add insult to injury, the last time I exchanged my my at the Apple Store (San Francisco, Stockton St.) I was informed I COULD NOT exchange it a third time, I could only return it. The reasoning being that theres no way I could possibly get 3 duds in a row.

Honestly, I dont know what to do at this point. I guess I'll just wait and see if it happens again. I talked to the assistant manager at the store, and he said I could exchange it after all. He also offered a free data transfer. I don't know ho confident I feel about that, seeing how a friend of my lost nearly all her pictures and music during a similar process at the same store.

Im really so upset. This ruined my Christmas.

Thanks for the warning. I've had no problems at all with my replacement unit for the last three weeks, and have been trying to decide whether or not to do the update.

Now I know that I shouldn't do it. Sorry to hear about your troubles. Is there anyway for you to rollback the update to your original drivers? Maybe reinstall the operating system?

No, it is graphics card firmware update, not drivers or OS related.

that settles it then! if i dont have a problem im not doing the update!!

apple are really letting people down about this! you dont expect problems like this from them!


merry christmas everybody

People without the flickering, you should update anyway. All future updates will include + revolve around this update as well and you will have to end up being stuck at 10.6.2. If there is a problem, I know you may not want to see it out, but you must so that you know there are no issues with your computer. The longer you leave it the less chance you will have of returning it for a new one.

My flickering stopped after I unplugged every cables in the back of the IMac for 15 minutes and plug it back.
Since I applied the new update. *THE FLICKERING CAME BACK*.
_WHAT THE HECK DID THEY DO OUT THERE_.

Apple was a company on witch one we can rely to have good quality of computer.
Are they getting to big and they acting like Microsoft with their costumers????????????

Hope they will correct that fast.

i dont have the firmware update out of the box! and im not doing it either!

unless i get flickering then of course ill do the update as ill have nothing to lose!!

I got this flicker crapola only after I did the firmware update. Call apple no way of reversing. Had a great system for 3 weeks, then updated, now it is the "Flicker Monster".

Mike

I've had my i7 for two days with no problems, but today the screen is flickering. Had the update already installed. Flickering seems to be getting more frequent. Week 50 build. Needless to say I'm pretty disappointed.

There is a new Parallels 5 update out today: 5.0.9308. So far I have not had any flickerings with Windows 7.

Odd that my build week is 45 but I do not experience the normal flickerings everyone else is getting.

I got one of the very first available i5 and i have had no problems (knock on wood)

I have Build 10C2234 on the flicker monster....

Mike

wheres the build number then??

ive only got the serial number!

what week is yours?

So, update:
After resetting my PRAM, and running the hardware test, I have yet to experience another flicker. Here's hoping it fixed it! I'd recommend to everyone who did the firmware update to do the same, and see if it really makes a difference!

For the record, my SN is a week 49 one.

Hope this helps some of you.

Amanda: "Im really so upset. This ruined my Christmas."

Understandable that you are upset after having problems with three iMacs but I hope you did have a good Christmas in spite of these setbacks. I went through disappointment yesterday when Apple told me to send my iMac back for a replacement. I told them I preferred to keep it after all the work I spent manually building up the apps etc moving from a PowerPC to Intel for the first time. But they insisted it had to come back to them. New machine apparently will be delivered mid-January so I'll be without this otherwise beautiful machine for about three weeks. Going back to the Powerbook is not a fate worse than death of course, but I've been spoiled for a couple of weeks and no Mac is the same after you've enjoyed one of these iMacs... I say that because it's not all bad news in reality. Must be very frustrating for Apple's engineers to nail down the real problems causing all our symptoms.

So Merry Christmas, Amanda!