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

I had my friend who has a flickering week 49 iMac i5 reset the PRAM as mentioned earlier here worked temporarily. It worked for him for an hour and a half until it began to flicker. Wouldn't the resetting the PRAM having success to combat this problem( being it is just a band aid), wouldn't this suggest it being a firmware/software issue then a hardware issue? As if it was a hardware issue, it wouldn't work at all right?

Well my first Mac didn't have this issue, but on day 2 it did have a pixel die in the middle of the screen. I returned it to Future Shop where I bought it. They happily replaced it with a new one, now 2 days in I too am having this screen flickering issue. My unit is a week 45 build.

So far, my first Mac experience has not been all that great, 2 units in 4 days. I must admit their Customer Service is pretty much the best out there, and all that is likely preventing me from returning my unit and never looking back.

I was told they are aware, and actively looking for a fix. I have my case ID and a video of the issue if needed. For now I will hold on to my Mac and see what they come up with for a fix. I've invested countless hours in research, and money I don't have in abundance ,to get me this Mac as it was the best solution out there for my needs.

I have read that this has been a avenue pursued in the past by Apple customers. I understand that this is a new line, cutting edge and all that. But companies should not ship defective products regardless to the innovative features. A few defects here and there are understandable. But large quantities of similar defects and repeated problems after two or three returns is ridiculous.

< Edited by Host >

5+ hours and no issues yet. I'll start installing and configuring stuff tonight in the hope it's a keeper!!

My thoughts on the whole deal; Whilst I do feel a bit ripped by Apple that they would sell me something potentially dodgy, I can also see how they wouldn't want to announce it to the world that they have dodgy units otherwise they'd never sell any. Consumer confidence would also fall if they announced it to the world they they're withdrawing a product temporarily, sales across their entire product range would drop.

I can also imagine they wouldn't want to email everyone who brought one as they'll get an even larger rush of returned units. To the average joe blow an odd flicker here and there is probably acceptable and they wouldn't think any different, especially if they weren't aware of the widespread problem in the first place - not every Mac user is an avid forumer... To tell them that they can return it, especially if a cause isn't found yet really is pointless. I think you'll find, once they have confidently found a fix and know how to correct the problem then phone techs won't be so coy about it and we may even get an email notifying us that there in fact is a problem (da!) and if we are affected by it that we can bring our iMac's in or send them off for a warranty fix.
My 2c on the issue.

Here is my story: I bought an iMac 27" Core 2 Duo.

Of course, it had the notorious screen flickering problem. I wanted it to be swapped but the Apple Store said that they want to see the reproduced problem first before they exchange it for me and told me to leave the iMac for diagnosis. Then, I called Apple Online store that I want it to be swapped as soon as possible. I ended up talking to a supervisor of the advisor I was talking with, and he made it possible for me to get a new one from a different apple store.
Willingly, I went back to my first Apple Store and then went to a new Apple Store, driving 40minutes (80mins in total).

After waiting for a while, they gave me a new iMac 27"

Wow, this new iMac had dusts underneath the glass and a dead pixel. Since it was a cluster of dusts, I had a valid reason for it to be swapped and again, drove 40minutes to the Apple Store.

There, the genius told me that without saying sorry for any inconvinience I may had, "Apple will not exchange any further iMac for minor screen problem like this" I was shocked. In the first place, the best reason why I wanted iMac 27" is the screen, so without this, why the **** would I spend money on this?

Anyhow, I got a new one. YET, the 3rd one had physically broken LCD glass and at that point, I was like *** and called Apple supervisor who I talked with. (he gave me his number + ext)

After listening to the story I went through, he from the very first said SORRY FOR EVERYTHING, and as a compensation, he decided to give me an iMac 27" i7 from China factory with careful inspection before direct shipping to my house.

Now I cannot complain about this issue anymore but, if this new iMac Quad Core also has problem, I don't know what I might do... and seriously, the way Apple Retail Stores handle the problem sometimes **** me off so badly.

HAHA wow that's a terible story man and I would personaly do the same thing if I had to.

But how that Apple store guys said:
"Apple will not exchange any further iMac for minor screen problem like this"

WOW "Minor" I thought when reading that, for christ sake a big dust plum behinde the glass isn't really what i call for a minor problem on a new computer.

And then you got a cracked one, well i bet you are an unlucky guy haha.

But finally you becomed the lucky guy in the end I think, by ordering an iMac with the low end Core 2 duo, but Apple ended up giving an i7 for FREE HAHA!
That's a really nice deal, (even if you have driven over 1 hour to and from the Apple store) don't you think?

Anyway I really really hope that the new one works other wise I would get a refund and wait until Apple tell us this was wrong but it's now fixed.

Nice story thanks for sharing!

PS, I also ordered an iMac 27" with the C2D but I ended up canceling before it arrived, since I wanted to wait until this problems get's fixed for sure!
J~G

Message was edited by: J~G

Update... today marks the 14th day with my i7. No flickering nor blackouts. Hopefully this length of time means I can stop worrying and just enjoy it.

+"Beware the Ides of March."+

Message was edited by: hkrause

I am on day 12 of my i7 with no serious issues. I do hear an odd sound which lasts 2 or 3 seconds but cannot track it down. I suspect it might be the hard drive but only guessing. The sound occurs from time to time even when the i7 is idling. Other than that mild concern, very impressed.

No issues on day 12 I7 build week 46 , so far so good, . Not wanting to be picky but the Phrase no serious issues kind of bugs me since I would expect no issues except possibly rule of 24 stuff ( the problem is 24 inches away from the screen ) At least make a report to Apple care so that it will be logged with a case number,.. that way you have some proof if anything happens.

Anyone with anything wrong with an Apple product might want to check out this weeks Cringely blog... I think it has particular relevance to the current iMac display issue.

http://www.cringely.com/2009/12/ask-and-ye-shall-receive/

Rest assured that I have flagged up my minor concerns through official channels. I also have AppleCare. Apart from the intermittent noise, this i7 is very reluctant to sleep. It takes roughly 30 seconds. My own suspicion is that it is something caused by Migration but for now, it does not bother me. Overall, this is my best Mac ever by a long way and I have owned quite a few. There are three here in use most days.

don't be so sure, My i7 showed no problems at all for 2 weeks, then one day out of nowhere the screen was flickering a couple times per minute and going black occasionally. Currently I have not experienced much flickering, maybe 3 flickers per day.

loofah wrote:
don't be so sure, My i7 showed no problems at all for 2 weeks, then one day out of nowhere the screen was flickering a couple times per minute and going black occasionally. Currently I have not experienced much flickering, maybe 3 flickers per day.

You still have your flicker box?? If I see one flicker, I'll be attempting to replace it.

The sleep issue I believe is normal. Although I am not sure how the desktops work with sleep.

For Apple's notebooks though, it does take about 30 seconds for it to completely go to sleep because it is dumping the RAM contents to the HD in case of power failure during sleep.

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070302210328928