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

Good morning,

I found the same e-mail from Apple when I got up this morning. My replacement was also due to ship on Jan 19 but,

“Due to an unexpected delay, we now anticipate shipping the following item(s) as follows:
Z0GF, IMAC 27"/4850-512MB
Ships by 7 business days
Delivers by 2 Feb - 4 Feb”

A little vague on the shipping date . . . and interestingly, the following option was given to me,

“If you prefer, you may change or cancel your order anytime before it is shipped. If you choose to cancel your order, Apple will issue a prompt refund.”,

an option not openly stated when I initiated the return process. I’m tempted, but having experienced this machine for a couple of weeks, I really want to continue the experience, preferably though, with one that doesn’t flicker.

But I find it curious, obviously Apple doesn’t want to keep shipping flawed machines, doing so could have a devastating effect on their financial bottom line. Having the cancelation option so openly offered leaves me wondering if Apple is concerned that fixing the flaws may be more difficult than hoped.

" Having the cancelation option so openly offered leaves me wondering if Apple is concerned that fixing the flaws may be more difficult than hoped" .

Could well be the case. But if this is true, I sure hope Apple will show that to buyers who wait for a proper fix as well (even after those 2 weeks). Otherwise the' re still stuck with a group that will send their machines in for repair over and over again...for at least 3 years (as far as I' m concerned).

Cuenlain wrote:
But I find it curious, obviously Apple doesn’t want to keep shipping flawed machines, doing so could have a devastating effect on their financial bottom line. Having the cancelation option so openly offered leaves me wondering if Apple is concerned that fixing the flaws may be more difficult than hoped.

While I could be wrong, the impressions that I am getting from some of the more recent posts in this thread are that:

1. Apple STILL has not found a REAL permanent solution to the key problems which are still affecting the iMacs; that is, the flickering, the blackouts, the screen tearing and the yellow tinge.

2. Apple realizes that it is unable to fix the defective machines, because it hasn't yet understood what is causing the problems, so it is trying to do the next best thing by taking the defective machines out of circulation.

3. By encouraging users to refund or replace defective units, rather than attempt to repair them at Apple Stores or at Authorized Apple Service Centers, Apple is in essence implementing a subtle recall plan, but in a way that will hopefully not attract too much public attention.

What I don't understand is if the firmware update didn't work, why is Apple still shipping iMacs with the firmware update pre-installed?

Furthermore, why is Apple continuing to ship any iMacs at all when they know that they are playing a game of roulette with their users, which is only hurting their image and reputation even more?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: While it may be damaging, given the obvious wide scope of these problems -- and no, I don't accept the "small percentage" claims either -- Apple needs to bite the bullet, and humbly implement a general recall of its iMacs.

Warren, I couldn't agree more with your points and it's time for Apple to bite the bullet and do a recall for anyone affected.

I'm on the phone with an Apple Senior Engineer right now (on hold) and he's setting me up with a hardware repair--LCD and/or cable from logic board to LCD. He acknowledged that the issue is among earlier batches (mine is week 45). Fortunately, I have Apple Care onsite repair option. So, this tech seems to believe it is hardware. Bummer. I will let you know if it really gets fixed....

Warren, I agree with your post. The Firmware Update did work for some, so I guess they are hoping it will help the Flicker on some iMacs. They will try anything at this point. What I cannot understand is: Apple made all in one iMacs before. The model before this one did not have this many issues. I have a friend with a perfect 24" iMac. What are they doing so different in manufacturing these new iMacs? The only thing I can think of, is these Screens are defective. More people than not, have had their Screens replaced & it has worked been a good fix for them so far. So why are they playing around replacing Video Cards? The entire fiasco does not make sense. This is Apple. Their Engineers are some of the best. Why they can't get to the bottom of this after 3 months, is beyond me.

Warren, I don't believe Apple is the well-oiled machine they would like us to believe. That's why it seems their right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. For many of us that have been watching this fiasco from the beginning, Apple will never be looked upon the same.

Yesterday I've been in Innsbruck (Austria) in an Apple-Shop. I asked about an order for an iMac 27" and they said, that because of the high demand I have to wait for three or four weeks. I asked, if they know something about the flicker problem and they said, the problems are resolved now. The new machines will be o.k. and in the case, there should be a problem, they would immediately change the video card ... ups???
I said, that I prefer to wait a little bit with my order.

I hope so much that Apple will come out in February with better machines ... still dreaming

Dino1956 wrote:
Warren, I agree with your post. The Firmware Update did work for some, so I guess they are hoping it will help the Flicker on some iMacs. They will try anything at this point. What I cannot understand is: Apple made all in one iMacs before. The model before this one did not have this many issues. I have a friend with a perfect 24" iMac. What are they doing so different in manufacturing these new iMacs? The only thing I can think of, is these Screens are defective. More people than not, have had their Screens replaced & it has worked been a good fix for them so far. So why are they playing around replacing Video Cards? The entire fiasco does not make sense. This is Apple. Their Engineers are some of the best. Why they can't get to the bottom of this after 3 months, is beyond me.

Hello again Dino.

You know, I have seen several people -- such as yourself and Pazuita -- state that the firmware update worked for some, or for many, people. I am curious as to how some of you arrived at that conclusion. To even quantify "some" or "many", we would have to know how many units were defective to begin with, and quite frankly, none of us know that figure. Furthermore, I have not seen any figures anywhere stating exactly how many units were actually fixed by the firmware update; have you? In short, in my view, saying "some" or "many" is just a personal guess, and cannot be substantiated.

Over the past several weeks, like you, I have also been questioning what is so drastically different between the 24" iMacs and the current line of 21.5" and 27" iMacs, that would cause so many problems. We have a 24" iMac here that was purchased just a few months ago, and other than one dead pixel, and a sometimes sluggish SuperDrive, it has been working flawlessly, and is very quiet. Other than the fact that different graphics cards are being used in the new iMacs, I personally cannot answer this question regarding the differences between the units, because I am not an Apple employee or technician. Do the 24" iMacs also use the LG Tech. LCD's? I am assuming that they do.

Also, let's not forget that while the LCD screen and v-sync cable exchange seems -- and I do stress "seems" -- to be working for some people, a few posters here have clearly stated that it has not worked for them, so it is not a 100% fix for all iMacs. Again, we have no clear figures to even substantiate how many units have really been fully repaired by the LCD/v-snyc cable replacement.

As to why they are exchanging video cards, I can only offer a personal hunch. I suspect -- and it is only a guess -- that what we may have here is a cascading problem. In other words, one defective component may be causing other components to become defective and fail. In other words, if the video cards are becoming too hot as has been alleged by some here -- and thus the firmware update to ramp up the fans -- that heating problem may in turn be damaging the LCD screen and/or the v-sync cable, or possibly some other component. In short, one problem may be aggravating other problems.

I really don't want to get too much into theorizing here as many other posters have already done, because I am not an Apple tech; and for several months now, I have tried to refrain from doing so, but those are my personal inklings for what they are worth.

BTW, tomorrow will finally be my personal day of truth. My unit is being delivered after 2.5 months of waiting...and yes, I am very apprehensive about it.

TaxMgr wrote:
Warren, I don't believe Apple is the well-oiled machine they would like us to believe. That's why it seems their right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. For many of us that have been watching this fiasco from the beginning, Apple will never be looked upon the same.

Well, like you, I have been closely watching these developments since November; and what I have observed, heard and read leads me to believe this:

Either there are some very serious miscommunications between Apple Corporate and Apple Stores and AAR's, or else there is a total lack of communication between the same, or else there is some very intentional deception going on at all levels.

Take your pick. Given the diversity of answers and reactions that iMac users are receiving from all quarters, maybe it is a little bit of all three possibilities.

BTW, I've been a solid Mac user and Mac evangelist since 1990.

Warren Beasley wrote:
BTW, tomorrow will finally be my personal day of truth. My unit is being delivered after 2.5 months of waiting...and yes, I am very apprehensive about it.

Hi Warren
I for one really hope you get a perfect iMac! It would be a great shame if after all the waiting and all your valuable contributions to this thread you landed a duff one. Such a shame that it is even a possibility. Good luck.

Gerald Figal wrote:
I'm on the phone with an Apple Senior Engineer right now (on hold) and he's setting me up with a hardware repair--LCD and/or cable from logic board to LCD. He acknowledged that the issue is among earlier batches...

Hmmm...That seems like a very misleading statement to me. If we accept the posts in this thread as being truthful, it is NOT just "earlier batches". Even the very latest batches -- including week 03 and refurbs -- are still being affected by these problems...unless we believe that everyone here are liars, which I don't.

Me again -- my local authorized Apple Repair shop just contacted me after just being authorized by Apple to repair my flickering screen. The tech said it's a pretty straightforward repair of the video card/cable. It's unclear to me still if the actual LCD will have to be replaced; I think not. Apple has the parts in stock and are overnighting them here. I could have the repair done as soon as Friday. In the meantime I reset the PRAM/NVRAM again after flickers this morning and haven't noticed any flickering since. I suppose one could live with resetting the PRAM every week, but I'd rather have a permanent solution. Given the confidence the previous high-level Apple tech had about later batches not having the problem, it does seem as if there were bad video card/cables in the initial manufacturing runs. Stay tuned....

Warren, once again some very valid points. especially one component such as Video Card, causing another component such as the Screen to go bad. I never thought about that possibility. As far as firmware fix, your right, I'm only going by here say. I too am waiting for a replacement in a week or so & unfortunately I may be waiting for another nightmare. wish I could be more optimistic. Perhaps if I stayed off this thread for a day or two, I might be able to go back to being optimistic. Good Luck tomorrow! Hope you get a Winner!

My replacement 27" iMac should arrive today or tomorrow. I had posted previously that I also had the screen flicker. The software update had worked for a bit on mine, but my husband was concerned it would not last, after hearing of so many people that it didn't work for. I sure hope this new replacement isn't plagued by the same or even different issues! One interesting thing on my replacement: it was shipped from CA, not from China like my old one and like so many posters have mentioned. Once I get it up and running, I will post the week number and the status. Please say a little prayer to the Apple gods for me that this one is a keeper! ;o)

~n