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

{quote:title=Thrice06 wrote:}Funny that you guys mentioned the resealed packaging, my second replacement also had double seals, one of which had clearly been previously opened. I had hoped this was due to the fact the machine had been given a once over once these issues became apparent. The machine did preform flawlessly, but was returned because of a scratched screen.{quote}

So you got a box that had already been opened and had a defect that would be obvious even with the machine turned off?

Do not forget this thread is getting long in the tooth,..56 pages so there are other threads to add, Simon mentioned his replacement direct from factory arrived with added packing,

Personnally wish they would mark them
This side up
Fragile
and put a shock sticker on them to ensure that what you get has not been kicked around.

Message was edited by: ellsmako

{quote:title=ellsmako wrote:}Do not forget this thread is getting long in the tooth,..56 pages so there are other threads to add, Simon mentioned his replacement direct from factory arrived with added packing,

Personnally wish they would mark them
This side up
Fragile
and put a shock sticker on them to ensure that what you get has not been kicked around.
{quote}
+1.

Mine arrived from FedEx with a dent/split in the box that carried through to the Apple box inside (i.e., it was hit hard enough that both the inner and outer boxes had split, dead center right where the screen is, though the screen was not apparently contacted or damaged).

ellsmako wrote:
Personnally wish they would mark them
This side up
Fragile
and put a shock sticker on them to ensure that what you get has not been kicked around.

I have been shocked and amazed to learn in this thread that this is apparently not the case. Have I understood everyone correctly when they state that the iMacs are arriving in plain, unmarked, brown boxes within which is the Apple box? Are you all stating that Apple makes no effort to put any kind of warning on the outside regarding the fragile nature of the contents of the box, or how the box should be treated?

I find this very hard to believe; but if it is true, then in reality, perhaps Apple deserves many of the damage problems that have been coming their way. To send any kind of delicate equipment in this fashion is sheer lunacy if you ask me. Is Apple's Chinese quality control team on vacation or what?

Warren Beasley wrote:

Have I understood everyone correctly when they state that the iMacs are arriving in plain, unmarked, brown boxes within which is the Apple box? Are you all stating that Apple makes no effort to put any kind of warning on the outside regarding the fragile nature of the contents of the box, or how the box should be treated?

I find this very hard to believe; but if it is true, then in reality, perhaps Apple deserves many of the damage problems that have been coming their way. To send any kind of delicate equipment in this fashion is sheer lunacy if you ask me. Is Apple's Chinese quality control team on vacation or what?

It's true Warren. They come in complete disguise.

While I understand that to make it clear on the outside that an expensive Apple lurks beneath may be seen as foolish in our world of temptation, not making it clear that the contents require careful handling is rather strange. But Apple have been sending computers out this way for many years - they must surely know what they're doing - right?

Is this problem on iMac 21,5 with Nvidia GeForce 9400M ?

I think to buy this new iMac and I`m not sure what to do, maybe I should buy PC

Its really bizarre that this issue has not been solved yet. So far the packing theory seems to be pretty good though. It seems too widespread (through serial numbers) to be a batch issue, too inconsistent to be a software issue, and the graphics card theory seems to have been shot down at the moment for various reasons (no issues with external displays etc).

My batch 46 i7 is still going strong with not so much as a flicker (I really hope it stays that way). I'm still curious as to why some people are experiencing this and others aren't....If it is discovered that this is a matter of mishandling Apple will seriously need to reconsider its shipping practices...its not like most of us have $2000 dollars to just throw around; a computer that costs that much shouldn't be thrown around either. You can't even really blame the shipping services– there is nothing on the box to indicate that it contains anything fragile and I was really quite amazed at the lack of padding. My MBP arrived in a box that seemed much more suited to protect its contents (granted thats a laptop but still.)

Has the use of a good power strip been ruled out as fixing the problem. I had a first generation G5 Dual 1.8ghz Macs which would freeze up intermittently when I was working on it. It was a problem experienced by several other users and it was a real hassle to get Apple to replace the machines. I discovered that if I unplugged the Mac from the wall outlet and put it on a "good" (aka expensive) power strip (I used one of Monster's AV strips, I never had the freezing problem again.

I was all set to order my iMac i7 when I came across this board. Now I'm waiting until I hear the all clear signal.

{quote:title=Dennis Henley wrote:}Has the use of a good power strip been ruled out as fixing the problem. I had a first generation G5 Dual 1.8ghz Macs which would freeze up intermittently when I was working on it. It was a problem experienced by several other users and it was a real hassle to get Apple to replace the machines. I discovered that if I unplugged the Mac from the wall outlet and put it on a "good" (aka expensive) power strip (I used one of Monster's AV strips, I never had the freezing problem again.

I was all set to order my iMac i7 when I came across this board. Now I'm waiting until I hear the all clear signal.{quote}
Yes - I was using a high quality power strip with indicators for brownouts, etc., though not a UPS.

I am writing from the faulty iMac flickering, shutoff issue and the new (at least for me) cross-display issue. See here in the video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjomnBLcpJU Look carefully at the beginning in the top of the display.

By the way, this issues comes and goes randomly with the shutoffs. Anyone experienced similar thing?

My DOA 27" came in a brown box with only the red plastic "Invoice Enclosed", on one of the big sides.
On one small side it had the tiny white sticker with mac id etc... and a small green sticker with my name and sold on it and the yellow Invoice enclosed sticker!

No shock or arrows or fragile or this way up as you would hope to expect with this sort of delivery

This is correct JiminSF. I am actually wondering if the machine was looked at in the factory and this is when the glass may have been scratched, then resealed and off to the Toronto Apple Store.

This thread is pretty eye opening and stunning. You can see a summary of the issues that people have reported on these forums here: iMac 2009 issues.

The 27" models seem to be the one with the most issues and the type of processor seems to make no difference. And since the problems still seem to be cropping up it's hard to say whether Apple has been able to fix things yet.

My goodness I just went to that site and out of 231 imacs only 17 were perfect!

Hi, i have stumbled on this thread searching the 'net to see if anyone had the same problem as me.... it seems there are loads and loads..
I bought my new i5 27" imac, batch number 46 last week from an Apple store....
I noticed my screen flickering and momentarily going black today... not a good sign considering the expense of it and my first time to Apple computers after coming to Apple from Microsoft because of the totally inept Vista.
Anyway, seeing as i'm well within the 14 days of purchase, do i just contact the Apple Store, and demand an exchange or refund???
I will need to return it to a different one though, as i bought this one on a Xmas shopping trip with the wife in Manchester, my local Apple store is Liverpool...can i return it to that one?

Cheers all.