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

I've been playing the Waiting Game this entire time, hoping for good news. I'm still on my 1st Yellow Tinge/Intermittent Flicker iMac. I've been waiting to see Week 01 2009's but all the defective ones from the end of last year are still around. I only have until Ja. 18th to do my very forst exchange. But I'm holding off as long as I can, hoping my odds in the Lottery will be better with a new batch. I think I'm fooling myself at this point, since the Improved iMac batch seems to not exist. I will do my exchange on the 18th but I fear I will be back here with the same or a worse problem than I have now.

The math has already been done.........several times.......

A link has been posted several times on this forum that leads to a compilation of posters on this, and other forums who have the flickering issue with the new models.

The last time I checked, it stood at about 500 posters, I would suspect it is a little higher now since I haven't checked it in a couple of weeks, but I doubt that it has risen substantially.

People who have a problem tend to be more vocal than those who don't, so you can expect them to post at a higher frequency than those without the problem. Very few who do not have a problem will ever even know that this forum exists.

Even a factor of ten, the numbers still do not reach the 1% level. Millions sold, a thousand or two bad.......do the math.

If there were truly 3-400,000 defective machines out there, every forum on the net would be swamped with it.

This forum is only 160 pages long, with most of it's content contributed by a dozen or so posters. Take away that dozen, and you are only left with twenty or so pages.

1% is probably a high number, and even at that, Apple is giving it serious attention, and working on a solution.

In the meantime, they are repairing, or replacing defective units with very little question.

Hi Dino!

What can you tell us about Onyx? Does it still stopping screen flickering for a while?

Nexus,

I am embarrassed. You are right, it is 144 Dollars, I calculated just the other way round.

all I can tell you, every time I run it, I get a good 2-3 days without one flicker. The flicker does come back after that time period. I check Off everything under Automation, when I run it. And then a Restart of course. Other people on here have tried it & it did not work for them. I tried it 4X already. It's no way a solution, but it could mean there may be a possible software solution to Screen Flicker. Try it & see. Onyx does not hurt anything. I downloaded the Snow Leopard version available on macupdate.com Again, it may just work in my case. Who knows? I'm confused just as much as every one else at this point. BTW, It does nothing for my Yellow Tinged Screen of course.

Yes, it will be. I postponed it as far as I could. Got no promises from Apple but I have a short link to the press department here being a journalist. This does not help me in everyday business, but I might be able to keep you informed a little bit...

Don't be embarrassed, you just got yourself another $74. that you did not know you had.

Did you never tried to install Leopard (10.5). Maybe the problem is Snow Leopard.
It would be cool to test it. Thank you Dino!

Dino:

I think you should of returned it a long time ago when you first experienced the problems and not let it ride hoping Apple would have a solution right away. Maybe, you weren't around when the first iMacs came out with the fan problem and bulging/exploded capacitors. I find it interesting that the very same solutions suggested now about what Apple should do to satisfy its loyal fan base was suggested then and Apple did none of it. I think the whole thing was corrected when the third version(iSight, iMac) came out. Even then,my iSight developed monitor problems, etc. about two months after the 3 year warranty expired. But the first iMac is still running, knock wood, but that was also fixed a few times. I agree, the Apple computers should be made to last longer than 3 years. I think this is a consistent weakness in their computers. When we pay Rolls Royce prices, then we consumers should get Rolls Royce quality. I have never owned a Rolls but I assume there is quality there for the money.

It may be too late to get your money back-but I would try and not wait till the last day to return the computer as you contemplate. Just a precaution.

Have heart, it will be fixed-eventually.

Yea it might be cool to test it but I have all my stuff set and...that would be a major hassle. I was however thinking before I ship it back, to do a clean Erase & Install of Snow Leopard with nothing connected to the iMac. Imagine if that fixed all my problems? But there is no software fix for this dreaded Yellow Tinge.

Ok.......I found the link to the site with the compilation of Mac users with the flickering new models.

It is now up to 588, .........584 27" models, and only 4 of the 21.5"ers. It's not clear whether all 4 of the 21.5ers have the ATI or the "NVIDA" chip.

http://imac.squeaked.com/index.php

Dino, I hope you will soon get a new and perfect working iMac, but why in heaven there is nobody from Apple coming out to inform us about all these problems???

Edward, Thanks for your concern. I did not buy my iMac from Apple but from B&H in NY. I've already talked to them & I can return it up until the 18th. The RMA needs to be approved by the 18th. I can ship it on the 18th, if I like. I will definitely get a replacement from B&H. But what defect will my new one have? So I'm not in a rush for yet another disappointment. Once I get the replacement & if I find out IT is also defective, I will call Apple back & ship it to them to be repaired. Letting them know first, the Screen & Cable seem to be the proper fix. He's my Question: Will Apple pay for Shipping for my iMac to be repaired? I would think so, but some companies I know do not. You make some valid points but I have to do this my own way, to keep my blood pressure from rising. If I got 3 rejects in a row, I'd be fuming! So I'm Waiting, until I cannot wait any longer. It's just my experience & preference. I can only hope the iMac Gods are looking down upon me. Or of course that I win this Lottery.
Dino

I never submitted my fault to that site nor do I think most people would. Are you honestly telling me that I had 1% chance of getting a 21.5" mac with a yellow tinge and indeed that just accidentally happened? Chances of 100-1? No way. It MUST be must higher. I seriously doubt the graphics card is the problem as there are three different cards across the imac ranges. I reckon it is something to do with the logic board and possibly the heat sink.

The yellow tinge is the most likely fault and in my opinion it exists on a large part on all imacs from the start of production to at least the week 53 ones, whether people notice it or not. It definitely is a production flaw rather than a once in a hundred or so mistake.

With the figures on line you have to look at them as a representation rather than being the exact figures. Just because 4 people out of 588 have reported problems on the 21.5 version doesn't mean that only 4 people have the problem. Perhaps the sales thus production figures of the 21.5" are much smaller than those of the 27" ones.

AndrewGD, I tend to agree with you. I am one of the 21.5 NVidia Yellow Tinge/Screen Flicker guys & there many more of them on another Thread on this forum entitled "Yellow Tinge". I'm on this post because I still have Screen Flicker. So I'm on both Posts. 2X the Problems. I don't know why, but people seem to think the 21.5 NVidia is free of problems. It's Not! That's why when Apple threw up that update just for the 27" ATI, it ****** me off. What about us little guys with the 21.5 NVidia? Are we not worthy of at least, an attempted fix? I know the firmware update did not work for most people anyway, but there was no attempt made for the 21.5 Nvidia. Unacceptable! But yea I don't care what anyone says. There are way too many defective iMacs being made. Period!