bought an iMac desktop in 2021, ONLY used for email and photos, but mostly just photos. Rarely used in 2024, and now completely dead. Apple says revive couldn’t fix it, have to replace logic board for minimum of $600 AND WILL LOSE ALL MY DATA ( unless it was in iCloud)
seriously? Barely used for 4 years and is not fixable?
anyone else have this???
iPhone 15, iOS 26
Logicboarddead wrote:
bought an iMac desktop in 2021, ONLY used for email and photos, but mostly just photos. Rarely used in 2024, and now completely dead. Apple says revive couldn’t fix it, have to replace logic board for minimum of $600 AND WILL LOSE ALL MY DATA ( unless it was in iCloud)
seriously? Barely used for 4 years and is not fixable?
Seems it is fixable because Apple quoted you a price to replace the defective Logic Board. If you agree to the repair, then you will have a working iMac again.
Of course your data is a different story since it is highly unlikely that even an expensive professional data recovery service will be able to recover any data from a hardware encrypted SSD on a defective Logic Board.
Unfortunately you are learning the hard way that there are a lot more new ways to permanently lose access to the data stored on the internal SSD of the recent Macs due to all of the hardware, software, and security changes. You are not alone in this regard.
People need to always have frequent & regular backups of their computer and all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data. Apple provides the Time Machine app with macOS, but there are also third party options as well.
FYI, cloud file syncing services such as iCloud are not a backup service/option for Apple computers (although iCloud backup is a very basic backup option for an iPhone/iPad and there do exist cloud based backup services for computers). Although in this case a cloud file syncing service would probably have minimized the loss of data here.
You can certainly check with a professional data recovery service to see if they can recover data from your iMac's defective Logic Board.
If you wish to have Apple later repair the iMac after data recovery has been attempted, then you will need to coordinate with Apple beforehand. I don't know how Apple handles these things today, but years ago Apple would send your defective storage device to a specific Apple approved professional data recovery service on your behalf (usually Drive Savers or OnTrack), then once they received the storage device back, Apple would perform the repair of the computer. I don't even know if Apple even allows for this anymore due to all of the security & privacy concerns as well as liability issues that surround users' personal data.
I can certainly understand and feel your frustration & pain here.
Logicboarddead wrote:
bought an iMac desktop in 2021, ONLY used for email and photos, but mostly just photos. Rarely used in 2024, and now completely dead. Apple says revive couldn’t fix it, have to replace logic board for minimum of $600 AND WILL LOSE ALL MY DATA ( unless it was in iCloud)
seriously? Barely used for 4 years and is not fixable?
Seems it is fixable because Apple quoted you a price to replace the defective Logic Board. If you agree to the repair, then you will have a working iMac again.
Of course your data is a different story since it is highly unlikely that even an expensive professional data recovery service will be able to recover any data from a hardware encrypted SSD on a defective Logic Board.
Unfortunately you are learning the hard way that there are a lot more new ways to permanently lose access to the data stored on the internal SSD of the recent Macs due to all of the hardware, software, and security changes. You are not alone in this regard.
People need to always have frequent & regular backups of their computer and all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data. Apple provides the Time Machine app with macOS, but there are also third party options as well.
FYI, cloud file syncing services such as iCloud are not a backup service/option for Apple computers (although iCloud backup is a very basic backup option for an iPhone/iPad and there do exist cloud based backup services for computers). Although in this case a cloud file syncing service would probably have minimized the loss of data here.
You can certainly check with a professional data recovery service to see if they can recover data from your iMac's defective Logic Board.
If you wish to have Apple later repair the iMac after data recovery has been attempted, then you will need to coordinate with Apple beforehand. I don't know how Apple handles these things today, but years ago Apple would send your defective storage device to a specific Apple approved professional data recovery service on your behalf (usually Drive Savers or OnTrack), then once they received the storage device back, Apple would perform the repair of the computer. I don't even know if Apple even allows for this anymore due to all of the security & privacy concerns as well as liability issues that surround users' personal data.
I can certainly understand and feel your frustration & pain here.
Even though the logic board may be toast the hard drive may still be able to be accessed via Target Disk Mode. I would check it out before writing off all your user data.
If you're considering replacing the iMac with a new Mac please consider the following: a 10 Core Mac Mini M4 with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD ($1719 US) with a 32" LG 4k monitor with speakers ($318 US from Amazon.com - this price is befor tarrifs and the Strait of Hormuz) is $1617 US which is $5480 less than a similarly configured new 24" iMac ($2199 US). Keep your keyboard and mouse from your current Mac for use with the Mini. You can save even more depending on the size and features on the monitor.
I got the above Mini with a 32" LG 4K monitor w/speakers for the same price as a 27" monitor (didn't know the Mini had a speaker). There are many monitors available in 27" size for about $100 US to $500 US depending on what features you want. e tax, tariffs and the Strait of Hormuz.
I had an 2017 i7 iMac with an SSD boot drive and the new Mini runs circles around it. So much faster.
You can use the keyboard and mouse from your current iMac. Don't recycle them with the iMac.
Just some food for thought.
Logicboarddead wrote:
bought an iMac desktop in 2021, ONLY used for email and photos, but mostly just photos. Rarely used in 2024, and now completely dead. Apple says revive couldn’t fix it, have to replace logic board for minimum of $600 AND WILL LOSE ALL MY DATA ( unless it was in iCloud)
This is why backups.
But only if you value your data.
seriously? Barely used for 4 years and is not fixable?
anyone else have this???
It happens.
The vast majority of the over 80 million Macs produced in the past four years are still going strong.
Sorry for your loss.
A tip for you moving forward, should you buy another Mac:
Get AppleCare coverage for your Apple device - Apple Support
OldToad wrote:
If you're considering replacing the iMac with a new Mac please consider the following: a 10 Core Mac Mini M4 with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD ($1719 US) …
FWIW, new Mac mini models with new features and prices: the current mini offers M5 Pro and M6, and M6 with 12 cores, 16 GB, and 1 TB SSD, is $1399.
Some recent data-recovery related info: Data recovery and warranty implications - Apple Support
MrHoffman wrote:
Some recent data-recovery related info: Data recovery and warranty implications - Apple Support
Thanks for finding that article.
I priced the basic M6 but left it at the M4. Much more bang for the buck with the M6.
OT
Logic board needs replacing after only 4 years of use??
