iMac 27inch Display - Dark on left side :(

I have now got the store to agree to contact apple engineering, and have finally got some to talk to after 2 people said that would get back to me and never did.

I also wrote directly to apple uk and they have also chosen to ignore my letter for 10 days now.

I am now keeping my fingers crossed regarding the contact with engineering.

What does amaze me is the lengths one has to go to to escalate a problem, no one seems to care unless you are persistent .

This is a manufacturing defect pure and simple - Shame on Apple for not admitting to it. I have spoken to three authorised Apple repair centres and they have all said this is a widespread manufacturing defect - under UK law purchasers are covered for up to 6 years on this kind of issue. The screen doesn't need replacing - it's a relatively straightforward soldering job, but a lot of Apple centres won't do soldering work so you pay through the nose if out of warranty for a screen replacement you don't need. Luckily one of my local centres will do the solder repair - cost's about 25% of screen replacement price.

Covered by http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167, at least in the US, but only if you have the AMD Radeon 6970M Video Card.

See if your Mac qualifies for this recall: iMac (27-inch): AMD Radeon 6970M Video Card Replacement Program - Apple Support. If so make an appointment ASAP for your nearest Apple Genius Bar as the recall is good for only 4 years from the purchase date. In any case it will be a free diagnosis.

Your issue may or may not be associated with a bad graphic card.

My apologies if this has already been suggested but too many pages to go thru.

The 6970M replacement programme is not the same issue is the same as the dark shade on left side which is invariably caused by faulty soldering to a 6 point connector in the lower left corner of the screen and sometimes (according to my local Apple Service Centre) a faulty cable. Any decent electronic engineer can fix the soldering although it is in a very small space and requires a little cutting to get the connection holder out of the way - certainly does not require a full screen replacement.

The symptoms are quite different from 6970M replacement issue and typically starts with screen flickering on the entire left side of screen which, after a while, becomes a more or less permanent darkening of the left side.

The 6970- video card fault results in distortion, vertical lines lines or total black out.

Everyone with this problem should shout about it, be persistent and broadcast the issues on social media - there is even a Facebook page dedicated to it - and hope that Apple does the right thing and admit a manufacturing defect

An update to the saga after being fobbed off a couple of times by my local store I was given a higher level ? Contact in apple care who

said he would be dealing with it. I eventually got a response today saying that the answer I go from the store in January

was final , I was not entitled to a refund, even though the product was only a couple of months outside my initial 3 year warranty .

Called this morning for the same problem, the Advisor over the phone told me it's covered since it's a current issue with the iMac. Got into the store, talked to a Genius who refused to repair the computer free of charge since there is no warranty program for this problem. Called a manager who answered me the same answer than the Genius, telling me there is nothing he can't do for me. Asked the manager for the store phone, talked with a senior advisor and got a free repair code for my iMac. The manager was very stunned at first but finally got to repair my computer.

Don't give up guys and good luck !

whats the code? I'm having the same problem

It is not a generic code but a unique code... in order to get your problem resolved free of charge, you'll need to talk to a senior advisor over the phone.

Got my computer back from the Genius Bar today, they changed the whole LCD and now it's working great !

Hope it helps,

Raphaël

An update to my situation, after getting nowhere with applecare and being told the shop had said No. I wrote to apple in Ireland, and to apple in the usa to complain. But on the same day that I posted the letters I was contacted by applecare for more information and proof of purchase, as they thought I had not bought from the Apple store but a third party I sent the info and then a couple of days later the store contacted me to say they would refund the £434.

No explanation as to the reason.

What really annoys me is the fact that to date I have had NO communication from apple either in the US or Ireland, it would seem that they dont care about customers at all.

In addition I have also found out that all the "apple stores" are not part of apple but are a franchise.

In future I will be very careful before buying any apple products.

Which county do you live in?

Hello, I'm in South Africa, with exactly the same problem, but they only have premium resellers here, so there is no actual Apple. Does anyone know exactly what the problem is so that I can ask someone to try and fix it? The bottom left of the screen is difficult to see properly during the day.

Thanks, Mark.

Hello,

I just successfully did a DIY repair on this problem so I thought I would share. The problem is certainly NOT in the video card- that is another issue altogether. It is also not soldering exactly. The electrical connections at the corners of the display are poorly designed. The flat ribbon style wires terminate in plastic plugs that have 5 or 6 contact points that meet surface type (flush wires basically) contacts on the monitor chassis. The plugs are weak and there is not enough positive pressure designed into them to push the 2 sides together. Very poor engineering.

There is a Youtube video of a British gent ripping it all apart and manually soldering these connections. Such is beyond the skill of 99.99% of people. The wires are VERY fine- thinner than common string.

My solution was far easier to execute: I made tiny wedges to push the plastic plug into the surface contacts to encourage a proper connection. I used plastic construction shims that are normally employed installing doors an windows. Traditionally wood, these shims are now common and they have a very fine taper to them that was perfect to this fix. So I cut out ting little wedge blocks just larger (at the wide end) than the gap behind the plastic plugs. Took a couple tries and some sanding but not too difficult if you have a good magnifying glass and common tools. I pushed them into the gaps behind the plug (opposite side from gold contacts that are visible) with needlenose pliers and used a drop of superglue to secure in place. All of the above is under a layer of aluminum tape, clear tape and metal mesh tape that must be pulled and cut away to access the problem area (easy part).

Display is fine now and I'm pretty thrilled to not have to buy a separate monitor. I will note that I am fed-up with Apple failing ot deliver a premium product at thier premium prices. Especially now that RAM is no longer user-upgradable in most models, I have transitioned to using Adobe Photoshop Elements and Google Pics rather than Photos and iCloud. Next time anyone in my family needs an upgrade (we own 4 Macs), it will be a Windows box.

Thought I had the same problem, so took my mid 2010 27" apart and jiggled the white plug. Did not make any difference, so, happened to reset the SMC and the left hand LED backlights came back on again. They are not 100% bright, but close to it, quite bearable. Try that first before taking it apart.

Just checking in iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5 here with the same issue. I also have the AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1024 MB. Does anyone know if i bring it in to have the graphics card issue resolved that they will also look at the known screen issues?