imac 2021 buzzing noise

@Old Toad

May you talk about another iMac than the 2021 24"? Because the iMac which is discussed here, have no fan at its back. Fans are only on the bottom of the chassis.

I got mine some weeks ago and doesn't hear a noise (except the fans). But this may be because also I doesn't hear a sinus sound above 14,400 Hz (tested with Apps on iPhone and this iMac).

I just took my iMac to an Apple Store, and they could in fact replicate the sound when the display brightness was low, but stated it was "normal"... for this model at least. They hit me up with "Your product is ready for pickup", having done absolutely nothing to fix the issue.

Then I spent a couple of hours talking with apple support and the conclusion was: this is a known issue but we can't fix it... sorry.

The power adapter hypotheses seems interesting, but why should I be the one trying to find the solution to their defective product, that's the apple's technician's job!

"A part of me is worried that this will be viewed as expected behavior and won't be resolved with this generation of the iMac."

This is exactly was is happening now, I recently took my iMac M1 to an Apple store and they told me the sound is "normal" and they can't do anything to fix it.

Indeed! It is very frustrating, specially when you spend that much coin on a new machine. I’ll contact Apple support as soon as I can but since Melbourne is in Lockdown again, I guess I’ll have to wait for another week.

Hmm. Wonder if the problem occurs with the base iMac that doesn’t come with Ethernet. Anybody? Either way, a troubling start to an otherwise grand machine. Let’s hope the fix is something trivial. Good luck!

I just wanted to thank you guys for the insight regarding the screen brightness. It's exactly what's going on with my iMac as well. And I just went to the Genius Bar today, dude had no hack of a clue. I just can't live with this noise. I'll contact Apple again.

Some are more sensitive than others for sure. In your case yes I think you should just wait some months, or until they change something hardware wise.

Anyway I can hear "chirping" from the same spot and at 50-70cm distance also when performing some slightly intensive tasks, like when fast forwarding an HD video with the arrows, or when Lightroom previews different filters on the fly, in a quiet room.

I could live with that. I'll probably still return mine other reasons (speakers tuning mismatch) but that is another matter. It is unfortunate because you never know if the new one will have other problems (mine has a perfect screen for example). I really need this computer right now, my old ones is too slow for work and the new ones are around the corner so this is a very unfortunate timing for this to happen XD

I also have the same question with the power cable.

I already took my iMac to 2 different Apple Stores, and they couldn't reproduce the issue there, so they didn't do anything about it. But then I realized they had used their own power adapters, and not the one that came with the Mac. It might have nothing to do with it, but I just wanted to test it myself... Only problem is, where the heck am I supposed to get a new one, when Apple themselves don't sell it (yet)? 😓

Very interesting if it's caused by the power adapter. But I doubt it. Probably they were just in a too noisy environment

And please try opening this page https://context.reverso.net/traduzione/inglese-italiano/example on context.reverso, doesn't the iMac literally sing? So weird

you're welcome. i'm happy my advice had you reach out to apple and find a solution. :)

I have the same problem. Buzzing sound coming from the back side. You can hear it only if there’s complete silence. Wondering if it’s a malfunction or something acceptable on every new iMac 24…

yes Colin-g-davidson, i know you already contacted apple. :) this new response was for the new posters. :) thanks for trying to help me affirm this for them.

I’m not sure but I have noticed the noise (it’s like a subtle whistle” after updating to Big Sur 11.4: is it possible it may be caused by this update???

I know: it’s frustrating! I hope it’s not an issue affecting all the new iMac…

Having brightness above 75% is not a solution for me, it's killing my eyes!