Persistent horizontal lines appear on iMac screen

The same thing happened to me. I have an IMac M1 purchased in January 2021 in Italy. It happened a little after the warranty ended. Exactly as others here have mentioned. It's unbelievable that the only solution is to buy a screen that has the value of a macMini. I will never buy an IMac again.

I don't think the problem is the software update. I purchased mine in june 2021. This same problem occured 2 days ago (9 Feb 2024) In these 2 years and 8 months I never updated the software because I just don't do it when everything is working fine.

So the issue started appearing 3 days ago on the iMac M1 I bought when it first came out, almost 3 years ago.

For reference, model number is Z14M000RWFN/A.

Maybe we should look into the models we got, if this is due to an heating issue, it could have to do with the fact that the base models iMac (similar to the one I got) only have a single fan, whereas the 4 TB4/USB-3 ports models have two of those.

I'm kinda disappointed with all the iMacs I've had tbh. My first 2009 iMac had the yellow screen issue, my 2014 iMac 5K had ghosting issues, and now this one. In retrospective, maybe it was not a bad move from Apple to discontinue the high-end iMac line, given they all have some kind of widespread screen issues.

This problem was posted 6 months ago and there is still no solution?

This happened to me yesterday and I thought leaving it a day would solve the issue. Now I am looking for solutions online and the amount of users experiencing this is shocking. I’ve been using my iMac for a little over 2 years as well. What’s happening? Apple, do something.

Got into a chat with Apple Customer Support. I guess it would help if all of us here will do a chat to Apple and provide this discussion link to them --> Persistent horizontal lines appear on iMa… - Apple Community

Letting Apple know will give traction on this issue. It is really absurd for Apple to charge us big amount of money to fix this hardware issue.

See the picture of my display with the chat and notice the horizontal lines below the screen.

I am having the same problem. I've had this iMac more than two years. The lines start to appear recently and never disppear. I suspect it is related to the mac os upgrade however as I couldn't revert the os back to its original.

Hopefully Apple staff could give us some clue why would this happen. In the last 15 years, I used so many Apple Macs and never ever had such issue before.

I have this issue, M1 iMac purchased in Tokyo, Japan in 2022. It seems to be a problem in Asian countries mostly. I was working on a simple Google Doc, rubbed my eyes, and when I looked again the black lines appeared. Right in the center third of the screen. It's extremely annoying. And of course I don't have Apple Care...

This has been a noted issue on the iFixit site:

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It does not actually seem to be that difficult to replace the screen. Has anyone tried to replace the screen themselves? There are a number of videos on YouTube for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjMr--idKo

But I'm wondering if I should just get an external monitor instead. It's very frustrating. I've been bragging to my friends about this M1 iMac for years now. "Buy a Mac," I say. "They're pricey but they'll last at least five years!" I am eating my words now. I have an M2 MacBook Pro that I also really like...am I going to have this problem with it in two years?

Apple, fix this. When people bring these 2021 M1 iMacs into the store, fix them for free. It's really lame to get just two years out of this computer, when it clearly can go for several more.

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I have the same error. After 2 years the device broke. This is supposed to be sustainable quality, I mean something different by that. I live in Germany.

I am having the same issue as you all. I was using my iMac today and suddenly this grey bar has appeared on the bottom part of the display (see picture). I've tried restarting, updating but it's still there. When connected to an external display there is no grey bar on that.

I bought my iMac in August 2021 so just over 2 years. This cannot be a coincidence that this is happening to all our iMacs that are over 2 years. This is either caused by a recent software update or this is a hardware failure. Either way this is unacceptable for an Apple product. These iMacs should last a minimum of 5 years before any problems.

I am going to contact Apple support and see what they say. I refuse to replace the display for > £600 when this issue can return again.

It’s from the U.K. unfortunately I don’t have AppleCare. I would have never expected the hardware to fail after 2.5 years.

I have the same problem with my iMac. I just noticed that many people are experiencing the same. Hope Apple can pronounce about this issue and give all of us a reasonable solution. If anyone has any update, please let us know.

Thanks,

I got an iMac (24”, M1, 2021) in July 2021 when it first came out, almost 3 years ago. It has been in daily use since; however, last week flickering black horizontal lines suddenly started appearing in the bottom half of the screen.

Even after restarting and updating, the annoying lines keep appearing on the screen, making it unusable. Turned the iMac off for a few days, but the problem persists. Apart from the screen, everything else is working as it should.

It’s very frustrating to use the iMac with these unnoticeable, irritating horizontal lines on the screen. It's such a disappointment to see this issue; without a cause, within such short time.

"They charged ne 30USD for inspection"

Who exactly is "they"? In the US, the Apple in-store diagnostic is certainly free; I've taken advantage of that twice in the last six months.

If there is a "consumer product protection" agency in your country. I suggest you file a complain. Please post the final results of that here if you choose to do so ... if you can file such a complaint of course.

Considering the millions of Apple Macs worldwide, the number of complains here is an exceedingly small percentage of the whole. Problems happen for sure, but just because it happens to you does not mean it happens to many. That's known as a "hasty generalization".

Took it to Apple Store today, I was offered screen replacement for $648 plus tax, which would be $690.93. I am thoroughly disgusted. I will look into filing a complaint with the state division of consumer affairs.