iMac 27inch Display - Dark on left side :(

Horrific story Pete -- I'm glad you took the time to explain it here; thanks for that.

I hope something works out .. what a bunch of idiots to treat you like that.

I suggest that you send this story to Cupertino, letting them know how dissatisfied you are with that's store's service and Apple's vaunted training.

Contact Customer Support at Apple, by telephone. Tell them the story and esclate as needed. I'd ask right away to speak to a higher level rep. At a high enough level, I wouldn't be surprised if they cancel all the charges because of all the inconvenience and incompetence you have suffered through. You might make that a "subtle" hint. It sounds deserved.

Hi , is possible repair your LCD , not need to pay for new LCD panel . Also , "real" repair solving the main issue with left side backlight , it never returns back . It is not easy repair , LCD have to be totally dissasembled , it`s easy to crack many things inside .... FYI cost in our labor is about 150-180 USD ... It is quality /manufacturing problem of Apple supplier - LG. Dust inside LCD layers can be cleaned too , it is ideal moment to split this two issues..

Add me to the list of iMacs with faulty LCDs. Complete 27" screen dark with no back light. Just informed it will cost us >$600 to repair a machine that is 1 year 8 months old. I thought Apple was quality product. Meanwhile I have a Samsung LCD TV and PC LCDs that are 5+ years old and zero issues. I guess I'll take that $600+ and go back to PC. Very disappointed. I'll try and call apple support but doubt that gets anywhere.

My late 2009 27" i5 iMac developed this problem a few weeks ago, and you can press on that side of the screen and it will get momentarily brighter, so it is definitely the loose led connection. I paid $2500 for a high end machine, and Apple should acknowledge and fix this manufacturing fault.

I am going in to an apple store to get my faulty iPhone 5 battery replaced and I will raise the problem with the genius

At the Apple store they said that the iMac was over 4 years old and the repair would not be covered.

I told them that under Australian consumer law a product show be free from defects and fit for purpose for a reasonable time,

and I argued that a high end $2,500 computer should do that for over 5 years.

The store told me to contact Applecare and ask about consumer law and warranty. I got a really good understanding rep (Dale) who told me that an agreement with the ACCC and Apple meant that products were covered for 2 years (I had purchased AppleCare which gave me 3 years anyway), but he said he would forward my email and photo of the problem to the engineering team. The next day he called back saying that engineering had agreed to cover the replacement of the screen in the iMac, and I picked it up yesterday, and now my iMac should function well for years to come 🙂

So don't give up, it seems that Apple have finally recognised this fault.

I also have the same problem. Mid 2011 iMac 27" that has the left side go dark randomly. Eventually I got tired of trying to find the sweet spot to press on my monitor to get it to brighten (it became less effective over time anyway) so I cracked open the machine to see if it was a loose connection as some have indicated.

I stripped back the tape to reveal the connector and pushed down on it with moderate force. I felt it move and I smugly put the machine back together thinking I had fixed the problem. Once the machine came on the left side was still dark and I later found out that I had pressed hard enough for the connecter on the LED strip to become dismounted. This is what you are dealing with. Yes, that is a penny in the background.

You will notice that I hosed up the connector trying to solder some tiny wires to this thing like Gerry Sweeney does in his video. Google Gerry Sweeney iMac 27 as I can't post a link here, look for the video which is quite interesting. While the video shows that it is possible, I think the chances of success are pretty slim unless you have some decent gear and some experience with soldering electronics. Had I taken this LED strip out before I started soldering my chances would have increased considerably.

Anyway, I screwed it up leaving me with few choices. A) Buy a new LCD panel $$$ B) Buy an external monitor or C) Live with the problem. After sleeping on it I came up with another option D) What if I moved the remaining LED strip from the right side into the middle of the screen.

Well I wasn't making a how to video but I thought some people might find it interesting. After taking the screen apart, cutting a new hole in the aluminum case for the cable and moving the LED strip to the middle , viola.

Actually this makes it looks worse than it actually is.

This is how my desktop looks, much less pronounced. Not as good as new, but a bit better than just one side working.

Makes me feel like I'm getting tunnel vision but it bought me some time to see if I can get a cheap replacement or parts.

Finally, this is the offending part. If I could get my hands on a new one I'd be back in business.

Final thoughts, clearly a manufacturing defect as the problem is so heavily weighted to the left side. Apple should do the right thing but they are a lot more pragmatic than they would like the public to believe. They are very aware of the issue and I'm sure they have crunched the numbers and decided the cost isn't worth it because this issue is under the publics radar and is not damaging their reputation.

Good luck fellow victims.

I took my mid-2011 Imac into to have the left panel repaired (very well-known issue) and was told it was out of warranty. Given this is the second manufacturing issue I have dealt with in the last month plus in or out of warranty, a 24 month-old screen should work - I am done with Apple. Lower your prices to reflect poor manufacturing. Do not buy in Ann Arbor!

Did you not read my reply about 2 posts back, Apple fixed my April 2010 iMac screen for free

I persisted through AppleCare and it was forwarded to the Engineering team, who agreed to fix it.

HI, I AM ABOUT TO PAY 500 BUCKS FOR THE SAME ISSUE, ANY IDEA WHERE CAN I CONTACT APPLE CARE? I TRIED IN BELGIUM BUT IN THAT COUNTRY CUSTOMER SERVICE DOES NOT EXIST, ANY EMAIL ADDRESS OR NUMBER IN US?

THANX!

Why pay $500 when you can buy a screen on ebay for $100-$150 and do it yourself? It's really easy to do.

I've had same problem with 27 inch late 2011 iMac. I finally called apple support who sent me to my local store. They fixed it at no cost under UK consumer law claim. Such a relief to be working on a fully functional screen again.

Check your country's consumer laws to see if that's a possible way to get a fix.

I have exactly same problem but my local apple store insists that I have to pay, even though apple care says it should be free.

What I did was to be very firm that this was a manufacturing fault and that a high end computer like this

should be expected to work for at least 5 years. My iMac was almost 4 years old at the time.

The guy I spoke to on Applecare referred my case to Apple Engineering and they authorised the fix for free.

I have since had problems with the graphics card, which we agreed to pay half/half for the fix,

which they eventually fixed for free as well.

My late 2010 iMac is now working as well as it did when it was new.