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Vertical red line on left side of screen

I bought an iMac on August 2017. After exactly 2 years, a thin red vertical line appeared on the left side of my screen. This is really unacceptable for such a supposedly quality product as highly advertised by Apple.


I was was told to send in the iMac for repair after just 2 years of infrequent use.


Did anyone encountered such a problem?

Posted on Aug 10, 2019 7:20 PM

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Posted on Aug 13, 2019 8:35 PM

Just to let anyone who may face this problem know what happened in the end as it may help them.


Brought my Imac to an authorized Apple Service center as suggested. On the spot diagnosis seemed to suggest hardware failure and was quoted $750 (local currency) for replacement and $168 for another detailed diagnosis.


Decided against sending it in as it is too costly and is going to just try ignoring the line. To my surprise when I waked up the next day to start up my Imac, it was gone.


The moral of the story is I will definitely buy Apple care in future and also you may want to unplug the IMac and just try waiting for a few days to see if it will right itself :)

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 13, 2019 8:35 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Just to let anyone who may face this problem know what happened in the end as it may help them.


Brought my Imac to an authorized Apple Service center as suggested. On the spot diagnosis seemed to suggest hardware failure and was quoted $750 (local currency) for replacement and $168 for another detailed diagnosis.


Decided against sending it in as it is too costly and is going to just try ignoring the line. To my surprise when I waked up the next day to start up my Imac, it was gone.


The moral of the story is I will definitely buy Apple care in future and also you may want to unplug the IMac and just try waiting for a few days to see if it will right itself :)

Aug 11, 2019 12:59 PM in response to jayeegoh

If you were wise and purchased AppleCare then this is covered. However if you did not then you chose to gamble and self insure and have lost. If you are in the US then you are out-of-luck and have to pay for the repair, if you are in a European country where there are consumer laws that protect against this (the UK for example) then you need to study, understand what your consumer rights are and then followup. It's that simple.


While I'm sorry this occurred, finding fault with Apple is not the solution.

Aug 11, 2019 6:49 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Not finding fault. Just losing respect and trust for Apple.


I have never bought additional insurance for any product as it should be able to last some respectable years of usage. One would think it strange that you have to get Apple Care for a product that is supposed to be carefully engineered and touted as the fore runner of the industry.


A brand new IPad I bought for only 3 months developed the exact same problem earlier this year but was under warranty so I was given a 1 to 1 exchange.


Is is it too much to ask for an IMac LCD panel to last for more years than 2?


Aug 12, 2019 5:59 AM in response to jayeegoh

Most experienced users purchase AppleCare to protect their investment. No it's not too much to ask for an LCD panel to last 2 years, but the warranty is only 1 year so you decided that is was. AppleCare is a very modest cost $169 (which it has been for many years) and it protects against this type of issue. If you buy any other type of computer, there is no guarantee the LCD will last any longer, chances are it will and most of Apple's do too but you just happened to get a bad one.

Aug 13, 2019 8:57 PM in response to jayeegoh

While it is good the line has disappeared, my guess is it will most likely be back. It is possible the car ride "fixed" the LCD due to the bumps & jolts. Hopefully I'm wrong and the line is gone for good (or at least a long time). I have also "fixed" multiple electronic devices by leaving them unplugged for extended periods.

Vertical red line on left side of screen

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