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bwebb71 Author

Level 1

8 points

Vesa Mount Adapter HELP!

Just bought an Apple Vesa Mount Adapter so I can mount my 27" iMac on an articulating arm. I can release the latch so that the 8 screws on the top of the stand are visible, but it will not lock into place. If I release pressure, the stand clicks back to the original position (where the screws are not accessible).

On this video, once the screws are exposed, it stays that way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmm7jWU-g2s&feature=related

I can loosen the 8 screws if I keep pressure on the stand, but was warned not to do this because once the stand is removed, the flange will snap back and disappear into the display...and getting it back out doesn't seem like an easy task.

So what am I doing wrong? Why won't the stand lock into place with the screws exposed?

27" iMac 2.8GHz i5, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Apr 10, 2011 11:54 AM

Top-ranking reply

cdangeralex

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Aug 4, 2012 4:23 PM

First: take a deep breath. It's not that bad. I recently installed the VESA adapter for the first time and did not get the latch to properly lock in place. After removing the eight Torx screws from the stand, the flange buried itself back into the iMac. A credit card will not work to get it out. It requires some wire and a strong arm - an extra pair of hands are helpful. The steps are:

1) Patiently thread wire through each of the eight holes. Picture hanging wire is probably the best option if you have it. I did not have it, and did not have the patience to go buy some, so I sacrified an old ethernet cable. If you do the same, just remove the rubber/plastic casing from the ethernet cable and extract the eight wires inside.

Note: there are other posts online that suggest using fishing line, thread, or floss. I tried thread and floss multiple times with no success. Also, do not try to snag wire around the pin on the flange and pull it out - the thread or floss will most likely slide off of the pin.

2) Twist the wires together and around a handle of some type (a screwdriver works, but don't stab yourself or the iMac with it as you pull).

3) Pull straight out (hard) on the wires. When the flange reaches is "normal" limit, use a credit card to release the latch that allows the flange to come out of the iMac.

4) Pull straight and down on the wires until the flange locks in place.

5) Have a drink.

Also, let this post be my statement of dissatisfaction regarding the design. It is tricky getting the flange to lock in place and the flange takes a lot of force to pull out. There has to be some design changes that would make adding the VESA adapter less risky.

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19 replies

Jan 27, 2017 10:21 PM in response to cdangeralex

Hey Alex,

You posted this in 2012 and here it is in 2017 and the same thing happened to me including the initial panic. Thank you very much for the solution. I didn't have a spare ethernet cable so I used cable ties as another contributor did. Your instruction was clear and concise and I wouldn't have gotten through this without it.

After I got the flange back up and carried on with the installation, the bracket wouldn't go down far enough by a milli or nanometer or so. Instead of using the supplied allen key, I went and bought an allen key set with a screw driver handle. It's narrow enough not to bang into the back of the screen and you can get a good grip on it and get some decent torque to be able to get the side screws to bite. They seem to need a bit of force and finesse to bite and grip. I finished them off with the supplied allen key never over forcing anything.

You really have to take your time and be patient. This is a poorly constructed kit that is necessary for a Vesa stand. I did two 27" screens. The first one was no trouble at all. What's all the hoopla! The second one was a patience tester and required some out-of-the-box creative ideas to successfully complete.

Thanks again for the method.

Yes, I had a drink when I was finished.

Whew!

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,018 points

Aug 3, 2012 4:05 PM in response to CalShandero

use a credit card to try and fish it out.

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,018 points

Nov 22, 2012 3:21 PM in response to jdxxs

Apple does not read nor particpate in these threads, if you want to contact them and provide feedback visit www.apple.com/feedback

sophiamf

Level 1

0 points

Sep 24, 2014 5:13 AM in response to shrfu31

I shredded the card trying to reattach the base. But after reading a post that instructed pushing the base down further to expose the latch I found it in a snap.

Vesa Mount Adapter HELP!