iMac 27inch Display - Dark on left side :(

Then, get it repaired. If you have the AppleCare Protection Plan (IMO, a must have for desktop machines), the repair costs you nothing but the repair time.

Beware - had same problem on 27 inch iMac purchased in June 2011. Took into Apple Store under warranty in May 2012 and they replaced the screen and recalled 1TB hard drive. All seemed fine, dodged a bullet.

Fast forward to November 2013, screen is dimming on the left side again. Same problem as before. They did not fix the underlying problem the first time by replacing the screen, only the symptom. Now I am way out of warranty and from what I read way out of luck.

Earlier post says problem is caused by power supply behind left side of screen overheats left side of display. Sounds like a design failure and not a product failure, they should recall and fix all fading screens or offer a comparable replacement without the power supply over heating cause of screen failure.

wellery wrote:

Now I am way out of warranty and from what I read way out of luck.

You'll not know until you discuss it with Apple's Support, formerly Apple Express Lane.

I am having the same porblem (the left side of my iMac screen went dark) with my mid-2011 27" iMac. I was thinking of buying the thunderbolt display rather than getting the screen fixed as the problem can re occur as it is more of a design flaw with the lcd panel rather than an issue. Now I was wondering if the design issue is present in the Thunderbolt display also, does anyone have faced a similar issue in the Thunderbolt display? Thanks for the reply.

Yep, same exact problem here. It randomly flickers a bit, and then the left side goes dark. It's about 15 months old, and out of warranty - so who knows what it is going to cost me. UGH!!

At least I'm glad that I can point to this thread when trying to explain the problem.

Same with mine...purchased 3.2 Ghz I3 December 2011, had the screen replaced under warranty period for burnt out pixels, and about 4 months ago, bottom left corner of the screen is dark. Repair cost would almost buy me a new machine. Really disappointed with Apple on this one, especially as it seems to be a common problem.

May I suggest that someone sends this discussion forum to yourpics at bbc.co.uk and perhaps the bbc can shame Apple about this ridiculous scenario. I'm sure if enough of us do it, they will take note and publish a story.

Then when Apple say you should have told us before telling the press.... well that will be great as that will just be an admission they don't actually read the forums and look at all the people that are upset. They do not take their customer service as seriously as they should.

And even though we got one fixed under warranty, I support everyone else out there and think Apple should definitely sort this out. All known deficiencies, of which this is obviously one, should be fixed without question, or we should take hold of the power of twitter/press etc to get the message out there. It took me a long time to come round to Apple, and I actually advise hundreds of users now to get Apple, but mac laptop/desktop's that we get have a 3 year warranty, and now there is a local store in Oxford with onsite workshop that provide great Apple Service. You can't knock the latest mac hardware - it is amazing, but so should the customer service be. If you drop water on it or drop it from a height you wouldn't expect them to fix it. When it is sat on a desk and have a display, you would expect that to last 3 years with our without a warranty, like a washing machine or anything else. Personally these days I think you are better off with a ThunderBolt Display and MacBook Pro, as at least that way you are splitting the cost somewhat if one part has to be replaced.

Come on Apple, you are taking the Michael. It's high time you got off your high horse and sorted this problem out.

Also, in the UK the sale of goods act would help you out in the small claims court in this situation. I would definitely make a claim in the small claims court if I had to. You can download the form online, and it doesn't cost much to take action.

"

If you received the goods more than six months ago, you can ask for a replacement or a repair as long as it's reasonable for the goods to have lasted this long. But you will have to be able to show there was something wrong with the goods at the time of sale.

You can ask for a repair or replacement at any time up to six years after you bought the goods as long as it is reasonable for them to have lasted this long. If the goods go wrong after six years, you no longer have the right to ask for a repair or replacement."

And then I would use this forum to prove there was a deisgn flaw at the time of production - I'm sure it would be easy enough to do that in US as well.

Just to confirm this is a common problem and should be fixed out of warranty. I have a 27 inch iMac i5, bought May 2012 in Germany and i have the same defekt. First it only flickered sometimes, now the backlight on the left half of the screen is off permanently.

I'm having the exact same issue... It's not a coincidence that the same thing is happening to so many iMac's. My screen had gotten really dark and apparently I hadn't noticed how dark it was... But I just squeezed the left hand corner and tapped the side of the computer and it went bright again. Not sure how long it's going to last, but it's nice for now. I'm going to take this thing apart and see what I can find out.

How many of us are there? 2011 iMac 27" left screen DARK!? Apple where are you???

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167 might apply.

There are thousands and you can prove that by searching the apple support communities and other internet pages. I added some proof of that when i took my iMac to the shop. I'm happy that apple fixed it without charge after the one year warranty had epired for half a year. The shop where i bought it sent it in and they repaired it "without legal obligation". This might be related to the european sales laws.

In my case this didn't apply.