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

Was worried there for a while after reading all these horror stories. I received my week 47 i5 just a few hours ago. No broken glass, no dead pixels, no yellow tint, no hard drive noise, or any other anomalies.

Put it through some paces transferring some 120+ GB of documents. Still need to load apps, et al but ... Just one great machine, up to the normal Apple standards.

(crossing fingers that it stays this way and there are no delayed gremlins ... )

Big white screen looks even and blueish for me. It's a gorgeous screen. And, really, my flickering problems have been minimal, but like I said, for two grand, I'd like it to be perfect.

just got my imac i7 and after 3 hours started flickering and blacking out
gonna ask for a refund, then buy it next year when this problem has solve.

After 2 weeks with my replacement I have had no problems at all. I am running the same software and had used time machine to rebuild the new one so I'm guessing it must be hardware or I would have had the same problem by now surely?
Unless there is a definitive answer from Apple that the problem is software I suggest the ONLY option is return on the assumption it's hardware or risk waiting too long!

I received my i7 on Nov 16, flickered like crazy etc. (i posted early in this thread) and sent it back to apple for replacement on Nov 17. I received my new i7 today Nov 27 (10 days later, not bad) and so far it is perfect after 3 hours of intensive use that would have made my old iMac flicker. That doesn't mean much I know, and certainly I will post back in a week with my results but I hope, with crossed fingers, that this one works.

*IF YOUR IMAC FLICKERS, RETURN IT!* Don't hope a software fix is coming but because you may end up in a saga of motherboard swaps and worse, just get one that works from Day 1, or get a refund.

canyonblue, glad to hear that you already got your replacement. I sent my flickering i7 back to Apple on 11/17 yet Apple's still telling me that the replacement won't ship until 12/2.

When you initiated your first return, what shipment date was shown on the Apple.com order status page? Did your replacement ship earlier than originally projected? I'm just trying to gauge whether I can expect my replacement to possibly ship before 12/2.

my apple order showed a ship date of dec 2 and a delivery of dec 5 i believe but it shipped nov 24 instead with no warning and arrived nov 27. i have a i7 with 8 GB ram as the only BTO option. still running, no issues several hours in. i didn't write down or look at my serial # with the first i7 but this new one is a week 47 imac.

ps: i was also told that the "dec 2" date was a placeholder for folks with scheduled their return in a certain timeframe of days (i assume back in mid nov when we all did) and it simply reflected a "worst-case" scenario and that my imac would likely ship sooner since replacements were "prioritized." for once it seems that was certainly the case for me and not a bunch of smoke.

I was also told by sales AND by technical support back when my first return was approved that my replacement would also be prioritized. However, on the several occasions that I've called Apple since, I've told that this isn't in fact true; when I called on Wednesday I was told that my computer is yet to be built, it'd ship on Dec 2, and that was that.

One of the most frustrating things about this experience is that you get a different story order status-wise every time you call as if the folks you're talking to are just making stuff up as they go. At this point my order won't ship until Monday at the earliest, at which it'll have been two solid weeks since my RMA was initiated. That's certainly not prioritization if you ask me -- in fact, I literally would've been better off returning my initial computer for refund and ordering another from scratch.

Message was edited by: Schwa72

Took mine back to the Apple store this evening and they couldn't replicate the problem but nonetheless took it as a return on the spot. Apparently you can return a CTO to the store now if you're willing to accept a gift card. (The latter struck me as odd - refund for a gift card but not cash, but ok, whatever, it's not like I'm not going to replace it with something, so I guess Apple can hold on to my money for a few days.)

Of course, now I'm afraid to order another one - since no one seems to have a firm grasp on what the problem even is, some folks have gotten more than one with the problem, and it appears to be widespread, I don't think I can risk getting another one right now. Maybe I'll get a Pro. {Sigh}

I really wish that Apple would publicly address the various issues that dedicated Macintosh users have been experiencing over the past few weeks with their new iMacs: the black screens, the flickering, the cracked glass, the failure to fully boot, etc.

I didn't even become aware of these problems until a few days ago, and like many of you, upon discovering this negative news that is now spread all across the Internet, it has made me extremely nervous about my order -- 27" 2.8 GHz Quad Core i7 with 2 TB HD and 8 GB of RAM -- and I am now questioning whether I jumped the gun, and should have waited a few more months until all of the technical kinks were worked out of the Rev A's. Sadly, it is now too late for that, as my order is not only a BTO like many of you, but I also had to make a 50% deposit before our AAR would even place the order.

Apple obviously realizes how damaging these developments are to its image and reputation, particularly because these incidents of broken or malfunctioning iMacs are apparently happening all over the place, and are not just a few isolated incidents.

If I were Steve Jobs, I would be out there front and center, real quick, offering a clear explanation of what went wrong with these machines, and humbly offering a sincere apology to dedicated Mac users worldwide. Doing this might not fix the broken machines, but it would go a long way towards restoring the shattered confidence of many disheartened, disappointed, frustrated, angry Mac users.

The silence and news blackout from Apple regarding these various issues is only making the situation a lot worse, and is further eroding confidence in Apple products.

Mr. Jobs, are you listening? If you would take this bold, honest step, we would admire your leadership abilities all the more.

I haven't read the entire thread, but I thought I'd add another one to the list... I haven't noticed any major screen black-outs, tearing, etc., but the screen does flicker on occasion.

Warren Beasley wrote:

I am now questioning whether I jumped the gun, and should have waited a few more months until all of the technical kinks were worked out of the Rev A's. Sadly, it is now too late for that, as my order is not only a BTO like many of you, but I also had to make a 50% deposit before our AAR would even place the order.

Placing an order for a BTO doesn't automatically exclude you from Apple's 14 day cooling off period, although your AAR may have their own ideas on this. However, it doesn't matter how much deposit you paid in order to place the order, if your new Mac exhibits any fault-indicating symptoms, return it for a full refund.

What is this 14-day cooling off period? I am not familiar with it. This is the first time that we are purchasing new Macs since over nine years ago. Until recently, our G4's were rock solid. Is this a worldwide policy?

Regarding our AAR, they told me that since the 27" i7 with 2 TB HD, 8 GB of RAM and 2.8 GHZ Quad Core processors is custom built, there are no exchanges or refunds. I asked them what happens if the unit arrives damaged, and they have yet to respond. I've dealt with them on and off for almost ten years now, so I am assuming that their statement regarding exchanges and refunds excludes damaged items...at least I hope so.

After reading and co-commenting this forum, i must conclude that all the macs (exept for 1 guy) of week 47 (serial W8947) are good. Does it mean they've corrected the machines?

Strange thing is... when i complained about my second bad imac, they told me that the next one will be completely flawless. Well...this one is indeed very stable, fast and without problems.

So i guess.. it's hardware related.