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

I've just checked on Amazon uk for the 27" i5 imac which previously showed a 1 to 3 month delivery estimate.
It now says "Currently unavailable. We do not know when or if this item will be in stock" I brought all three imac's from Amazon due to there returns policy being the best. I reckon they have had so many returns that they won't stock it until it works proper!
Anyone who thinks only a small amount of imac's are faulty hasn't just brought three of em and returned all three!!
On a side note, I was talking to the manager of an apple premium reseller who
honestly said there's about a 70% chance of me getting an imac that will have a problem. Thats not me saying that, That's a guy selling me an imac! And I'm inclined to agree with him. Sorry to sound so down beat but I think it's the truth.. And while Apple continues to say nothing, things will only get more negative!!

Hi Nexus600
Pleased to report that everything is still working perfectly since having the v-sync cable and screen replaced on 11th January, although I didn't get it back until 13th as the repair centre wanted to run various tests to ensure everything was all good. I'm beginning to think that I can start to relax and believe it's actually fixed!

In a nut shell I just bought my 27in iMac and am having the same problem. Its tricky though as for hours it will work then all of a sudden the problem starts up again?? I hope to either get a new computer that works or get this fixed. It does not sound like it can be fixed from what I have read.

Mark

Mark1
See my post just above this - it can be fixed. I'm not alone, there are others who've had it fixed.

Paul_31 wrote:
Hi Nexus600
Pleased to report that everything is still working perfectly since having the v-sync cable and screen replaced on 11th January, although I didn't get it back until 13th as the repair centre wanted to run various tests to ensure everything was all good. I'm beginning to think that I can start to relax and believe it's actually fixed!

Thanks for the update Paul_31.
So that's 16 days with out problems.
It's starting to look good!

Mark1,

Can you tell us what week it was made please?
First 4 numbers in the SN.

As someone who always usually shots down his Mac at night. with this iMac, I decided to use the Default Energy Settings. And let it just go to sleep. I usually choose for Mac to Never Sleep, just the Screen Sleeps. No Flickers yet. 3 Days! We shall see! Crossing my Fingers. Flicker is something I can't live with.

Fewwwww......

I will be taking it in tomorrow, hopefully it will flicker for them. Next time it does I'll take a video of it with my iphone.

Thanks
Mark

Excellent news, Paul. We are hoping for the best for those of you who have had your machines undergo this repair. It looks very promising.

Please refresh my memory -- I'm too lazy to search backwards in this thread -- did your iMac also suffer from the yellow tinge, or just the flickering and blackouts?

Thanks!

Thanks Dino1956.

So far so good!

Paul, I think you can rest easy. That's 19 Days. I think your going to be Perfect!

Hopefully the issues are resolved. I had ordered a i7 on Jan 4th to be shipped Jan 20th. On the 20th it was rescheduled for Feb 11th due to a 3 week apple imposed delay. I noticed this morning the unit shipped last night and is on a plane with Fed-ex.

Cool

Dino1956 wrote:
As someone who always usually shots down his Mac at night. with this iMac, I decided to use the Default Energy Settings. And let it just go to sleep. I usually choose for Mac to Never Sleep, just the Screen Sleeps. No Flickers yet. 3 Days! We shall see! Crossing my Fingers. Flicker is something I can't live with.

Hello again Dino,

As a matter of record, in addition to shutting down my machine for the night, I have had BOTH Energy Saver settings at their default values -- about 12 minutes duration, the 4th notch -- since my first day of use.

Also, I have the first four of the five options that are available underneath the two sliders checkmarked.

Whether or not the above settings are helping to prevent the unit from flickering or experiencing the screen blackouts problem, I honestly do not know, but I figured from day one that Apple knows what are the best settings for this machine, and which will help to extend its life as long as possible.

WOW...

I just got a very interesting phone call just a few minutes ago. My caller ID said "Apple Computers". On the line was someone from Apple Customer Support. He addressed me by name and stated his call was regarding the issue that I was having with my iMac. He wanted to know if I would be willing to be participate in a trial run of software that was developed to solve the flickering issue. I told him that I would love to have participated in the trial however my iMac as replaced. I told him that I was hopeful but not holding my breath that my problem was solved by the replacement. The flickering had not affected the replacement. I did tell him that I would very much be willing to participate if the problem occurred in the new one though and he gave me his contact information, thanked me for my time and wished me the best with my replacement.

How about that for a phone call! I don't know what to think now. Software? This is the first that I've heard with this issue that someone was actually asked to participate in a "trial fix" of some kind, besides being asked to download updated drivers and such. What does everyone think?

- Rocket

Hi Warren
Before the repair I had occasional 0.5-1 second blackouts, no screen tearing and just a very slight yellow tinge in the bottom right area of the screen. I can't honestly say I had noticed the tinge until I put it through the screen tests on iSqueaked. No tinge on this screen - I think I've finally got the Mac I should have received in October.
As an aside, and nothing to do with this thread but I've just bought a May 2009 24" iMac on eBay for my wife which I pick up on Sunday. Be interesting to see how the two iMacs compare.
Anyway, from tomorrow I'll be disappearing from this thread for a couple of weeks while I'm away so it'll be interesting to see where we're at in a fortnight.