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

Even if everybody here is thinking my efforts to get a direct contact to Apple-Techs is simply wasted time, I try to make with this post a clear and last request to Apple:

We're all here on

Jan 13 2010 ...
5:00 PM ... GMT
(= 11:00 AM ... US Central Time)

Please give us some answers. Consider us part of your company. We don't want to loose our admiration for these fantastic computers. I know my request is a little bit crazy, but I think it could be a big chance for you to show us, that we're very important for you.

Thank you and thanks to all these people here, trying hard to find a solution.

Just took my iMac in to be repaired (screen flickering) last week, got it back this morning and it still flickers. They told me that they had the machine on all night keeping an eye on it and that it was fixed. Almost 10 min after i plugged it in it was already flickering again, screen shutting off etc.

This pretty much tells me that they just wanted to get it off their bench and be done with it. It also tells me that Apple is not totally aware of what the issue is. If I get a new Mac, will it do the same thing this whole ordeal has really put me in a hard place. I guess I have to lug this some 45 pounds of fail back to the store.

It makes me think that Apple is using less the premium hardware now days.

Note: I have installed the firmware.

Do you know what they did if anything? My 27 iMacs screen flickering was cured by a new screen & cable.

Did you ask them what they did in order to fix it? Next time, have them test it in the store in front of you before you take it home. Am I the only one seeing a pattern here?

... the problem is not widespread ... please ... nobody should say it again.

I took my 27" screen to the Apple store in Glendale Galleria CA - I was told by the phone support lady to take it for support since I purchased my system through Macmall. After spending an hour finding parking and finally walking from the parking to the store (10 minute walk) they told me they haven't experienced anyone having a flickering issue. I told them this is their biggest discussion on Apple and they had no clue what I was talking about. She told me they wouldn't even know what to fix specifically and after searching for the case on her computer she told me quietly... instead of wasting your time on us trying to fix it just go ahead and return it.... I told her that my return period has ended with MacMall and i use this computer for work so I really need it fixed, she basically sent me back home saying that they wouldn't know how to fix it and if I leave my computer there they might get replacement parts within a week and can try to fix it but they would be really guessing.... Could you believe these guys? After paying $3000US (16GB memory) for a computer you still i would expect to have things working properly at least for a little while. This *****.

I hope I can say that after I ship my first iMac 21.5 Yellow Flicker to be exchanged. Believe me, I want to hear positive things. I'm just not hearing too many on this Thread. But this is where people complain, not talk about how great their iMac is working. I want everyone to get flawless replacements every time an exchange is made. And I want that to be me as well. I have to get off this site for a while. It's become an addiction. I'll keep quiet & think only positive thoughts.

You know what would really help make this whole scenario more valid would be to have some form of validation upon registration. I own a recording studio and use Steinberg Nuendo software, its a very pricey and professional package. In order to create a user account on their forum they require you to enter your serial number. This eliminates the trolls and makes for a very professional discussion. I know its a bit late for that right now, but it would certainly shred some doubts on the posts.

As for Apple showing up on the 13th, what do we do for feedback to them if they really respond; just post and say I'm here??

Hi edenorchestra,

there is feedback enough here ... and you can be sure, we're normal people, not trolls.

... but I understand what you would like to do. It would be cool, if you could manage this.

Of course they are using "Less than premiun hardware"; they are using LG panels for goodness sake.

For anyone that thinks that LG are a premiun manufacturer, I invite you to learn a little bit more about the company.

LG stands for "Lucky GoldStar". Yep, that's right, the same GoldStar brand that you used to make fun of people for buying back in the 80's.

They are responsible for pushing the likes of Fujitsu, Pioneer, Hitachi and Panasonic out of the market with their less than stellar product at a bargain basement price, purely so every one can have a huge (but not neccessarily all that good) TV for a lot less $$$ than a truly premium product.

The average Joe doesn't know a good picture form a bad one, but he does know what impresses his friends when they come around to watch the game. If he could by a 50" Fujitsu for about $5000 or a 55" LG for $2500, which do you think he's gonna go for?

I install High-End consumer electronics for a living, and when I say High-End, I mean brands such as Meridian, Lexicon, The Gryphon, Electrocompaniet, Genelec, Runco, Sim2, AMX, RTI etc... ..so believe me when I say, that there is NO WAY IN ****, that LG are a premium hardware manufacturer.

I had my iMac (first ever Apple computer) for a total of 5 days before it turned into a flickerbox. Took it back and got a refund because I discovered that Apple are just the same as all the others in that they use the consumer to field test their products. Do I want one again, **** YEAH I do! As soon as this issue is sorted, I'll be down there to grab one.

All I'm trying to say is that I deal with this sort of crap everyday. Apple are now just another on the list for me, of companys that behave in this way.

Wake up folks. The kool-aid is starting to sour.

Ive been sitting on and off hold for an hour now with these ********... all I want to do is replace my second replacement for a new computer but the lady put me on the phone with one of those doucherockets who are supposed to convince you that you should lug the 50 pound computer 40 miles and thru a crowded *** mall just to get the parts replaced... I do not want a ******* repair my computer I want one that works... ive seen tons of people get the replacement parts and the **** still flicker and **** up... I spent $3000+ on this computer and want one that works, Ive already put 3 payments on the **** thing.... Buying a brand new $3000 which you need to do your work on and it ******* up like this is like buying a new ******* car and then having to go and get the transmission replaced.. its not the same as just having a new car in the first place... I need the computer to do my work and bringing it to get repaired will lose me 3+ days of work... or if I want a new one I can **** myself like I did last time and have no work for a whole month waiting for another piece of **** broken computer... I even offered the ******** the opportunity to temporarily charge my account for a new computer and then send me a replacement (like Ive heard of many many people doing on this forum) and he just argued with me until I was manipulated into thinking that it wasnt going to work that way... now I have an appointment to bring it to the mac store like a ******* sucker and I have nobody to pay my ******* phonebill after having to sit on the phone with these cocksuckers for over an hour... **** MACS dont even bother sending that **** back if youve already got one you might as well return that ****...

I actually think that if you took it to Smll Claims Court (what we call it here in Australia) you would do fine.

The retailer almost NEVER wins.

But I can't believe what some of you are having to go through.

KevinBart wrote:
After spending an hour finding parking and finally walking from the parking to the store (10 minute walk) they told me they haven't experienced anyone having a flickering issue. I told them this is their biggest discussion on Apple and they had no clue what I was talking about. She told me they wouldn't even know what to fix...

Hello Kevin,

While this piece of advice may be too late for you personally, I would like to make a suggestion for those of you who -- like myself -- are still waiting for your iMac to arrive, or who haven't even decided to order one yet.

Those of you who have been reading this thread for a while will already know that since this thread began, we have read quite a few accounts which sound very similar to the one above; that is, clueless Apple support personnel, or clueless local Apple Store personnel, who claim to know absolutely nothing about these issues, and who also claim that you are the first person to walk into their store with this problem.

While some of these personnel may be truthful, I think it is fair to say that quite a few of us here have come to believe that -- on orders from above -- some of these employees are purposely feigning ignorance.

After realizing how some of you have been treated, and made to look like the idiots, I determined that I was not going to allow this to happen to me, once my iMac finally arrives.

So, since I first became aware of these problems, I have been in regular contact with my local AAR -- Authorized Apple Reseller.

1. I have given them the URL's for several of these threads.
2. I have given them the URL for the squeaked site.
3. I have given them the URL's to a number of the Apple news sites
4. I have given them the URL for the yellow tinge test

By taking these steps, I have made certain that my AAR is fully aware of these issues, so that I won't be confronted with a "we-didn't-know" situation as some of you have.

I encourage all of you here to do the same. Don't give them a chance to feign ignorance. If, as Apple Store employees or AAR's, they aren't concerned enough to do the necessary research themselves, then do it for them. It just might save you some frustration and headaches later.

It's just a personal piece of advice, but I think that it is a good one.

And BTW, don't just give them this information over the phone. Get an email address and email it to them, so that there is a physical record of your communications with them.

Yes they replaced the video card and RAM. The point was they told me it was fixed.

Hello HiFiRobbie,

I have to agree with you, and I've made similar comments earlier in this thread.

As happy as many of us have been with Apple products over the years, we all need to make certain that we don't have our heads in the clouds, and that we don't become enveloped by the so-called "Steve Jobs aura".

As some of us have been saying, in some ways, Apple is no different than a lot of other companies when it comes to issues like profit margins. They will cut corners, use cheaper parts, move their main plant to a communist country like China which hates America's guts, where employees are paid a mere pittance of what U.S. workers would earn, if it means increasing Apple's profits.

Those are the facts of life, and we all need to realize it.

Sadly, we end users are the ones who are paying the price for Apple's folly.

"Made in America" may sound patriotic, but at least we would know that we are getting a quality product which has received close oversight during its construction phase.

Shame on Apple for doing things on the cheap!