iMac 27inch Display - Dark on left side :(

mine is a 2.8 quad core. Date, is about right. Anybody know if the model is covered by this repair?

The effected card is....

AMD Radeon HD 6970M video card

Fitted to 27-inch iMac computers with 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processors.

Mine is a 2.8 GHz intel core i5. But I have 50% left hand side, dark screen. Spoken to Apple, who deny there is a "known problem", but this is well documented on the net & very common.

Maybe clutching at straws, but if the card could be replaced, there is a possibility that it will rectify my problem or that Apple will see that its a big issue & replace my monitor.

Thanks guys (as ever!) Martin

I bought my new 27 in iMac last May and a month later I also had left side noticably darker that right side. Put in a support question and went through tech support help for about 3 weeks but it got worse. The new Apple store in my city wasn't opening up for a month and a half, so Apple gave me four options: 1. Take it to the closest store 100 miles away. 2. ship it back for repair. 3. Wait for the local new store to open. or 4. They would send a tech to my house. I had to really mull the options around, but I went with #4 ...DUH!!! LOL. Tech came out about 5 days later after he had parts sent to him. He was suprised that it was actually the LCD itself and not the other two "normal" problems.He said loose connector or power supply heating were common left screen issues.......

He replaced my whole LCD in about twenty minutes.I am REALLY glad that I purchased two additional year warranty after seeing all these posts!

I have bought an iMac 27" in july 2012, I was very happy with its performance, until last week, when the left part of the screen became dark. I am very disappointed with Apple, because since this is a global problem, Apple should admit it and offer a solution to everyone.

Another (hopefully final) update.

I took my iMac to a local (non-Apple) store. He tried to solder the screen connections but was not successful. Still, he shipped it to a specialist friend of his some 500 miles away. His friend was able to do the soldering job!

All in all, 250 euros instead of the 800 euros for a new screen. I'm really happy! The screen works great right now, and I hope it stays that way for a very very long time 😀

Hope this is helpful to someone out there. And, once again, I'm very disappointed in Apple's response on this...

Reye -- thank goodness you were able to get it fixed.

It is really incredible that .................. ALL OF THIS IS BECAUSE OF A LOOSE PLUG.

It is really the most ridiculous situation Apple has ever been in.

If Apple developed a solution for their repair centers, it would likely just be a new "clip in" plug with a part that would cost

LESS THAN A DOLLAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and take maybe 10 minutes to do. When you think about it ----- LITERALLY: the problem COULD NOT BE EASIER to fix. Usually screen problems are deep inside the display, the LEDs or whatever.

It's awkward to fix because it's small, but as your technician or KAOS proved anyone used to working simply on "small plugs" can fix it easily. it's a loose plug!! There is NO PROBLEM, WITH THESE BEAUTIFUL LG DISPLAYS --- JUST A LOOSE PLUG!!

This is A LOOSE PLUG !!!! It's almost like a joke. "Apple's entire reputation was destroyed by a ... loose 10 cent plug."

It's really an INCREDIBLE situation that Apple won't just fix it -- it is, really, almost a joke.

"Apple's reputation destroyed by a loose 10 cent power plug."

Again astoundingly it is ONLY THE POWER PLUG ... if it was one of the complicated data plugs, it would all make sense. I mean -- I literally can't think of a "simpler explanation" for the problem.

It is a loose, ten cent, power plug.

Really the whole situation is truly amazing. It's totally beyond belief Apple don't just fix it.

Thanks for your info, Reye.

Same problem here. 27 inch 2011 iMac. Could there be a way to replace the connector rather than soldering it? (Yes, Apple should fix this!).

I'm getting SO depressed looking at this monitor for 8 hours every day! Old age is already taking its toll on my eyesight, without this problem making it worse. Apple - I DISPAIR OF YOU!!!

I'm updating on my experice with the dim screen problem I noticed several months after buying my iMac.

Bought a 27" iMac Nov 2012 from Best Buy.

About 6 months later the left side of the screen appeared darker than the other. Restarting would sometimes bring back the light, but eventually this stopped working for me.

Thank goodness I bought the extra protection through Best Buy's Greek Squad, because when I took it in they told me Apple's warranty would not cover this problem, which I think is rediculous since it's an internal problem-not wear and tear.

Anyway the Geek Squad took over and sent out the iMac to their facilities and when they called me back the answer was very disappointing. The repair of this problem (about $1,700 dollars) would cost more than what the computer is now worth, so they did not want to fix it, and wanted to credit me the money I spent that so I could get a new computer. I paid $1,300 for the 27" at the end of 2012 because Best Buy did not have anymore computers in stock due to Apple's new iMac release already set for February of 2013. Best Buy offered to knock $400 off the price if I took the floor model. Since I believe Apple makes durable quality products I trusted my instincts and went for it, making sure to buy that extra protection-just in case.

The main purpose of buying this model insted of waiting for the new iMacs in 2013 is because I needed to install Final Cut Pro 7. I'd heard FCP7 & would not be compatible with the newer Macs, so I took that risk in buying the last floor model at my local Best Buy.

In conclusion, I had to get a new iMac. Because I only paid $1,300 I had to get the 21" or pay the difference in order to get the 27". I made a stink about not being able to get my FCP7 program backed up, so they gave me the hard drive at no additional cost--that's good, but I'm out the money I paid for the Final Cut Pro 7 program cause it does not work on my new iMac.

I'm trying to find a refurbished 2011 iMac model in eBay just for the sole purpose of being able to use my FCP7 editing software.

Is installing an LCD lamp that costly? or that big of a deal that these people could not do it? I wonder.

Disappointed Apple Customer

Thank goodness I bought the extra protection through Best Buy's Greek Squad, because when I took it in they told me Apple's warranty would not cover this problem, which I think is rediculous since it's an internal problem-not wear and tear.

That's unmitigated BS. The AppleCare Protection Plan covers anything that goes wrong hardwarewise w/th machine for a 3-yr period.

I'm trying to find a refurbished 2011 iMac model in eBay just for the sole purpose of being able to use my FCP7 editing software.

Better is to check the Apple Store for refurbs. I got the 27" Mid 2011 i7iMac 3.4 GHz Quad-Core (iMac12,2) in June and it happily runs SL and the newer OSs. If you go that route, you most likely won't be able to INSTALL SL, but you can clone your esisting SL installation on the ext HD to a partition on the int HD and run it from there. I run the three OSs and their clones on six separate partitions. My iinternal has fourteen of them. The machine came with a 2 TB HD. Check out http://store.apple.com/us/search/refurb-imac#! and keep an eye out for one that meets that criteria.

"About 6 months later the left side of the screen appeared darker than the other."

This is caused by a problem with the LG display panel. Specifically: there is a tiny plug that is loose.

When Apple do fix this problem, they simply replace the whole screen.

It is possible (although difficult) to simply fix the plug itself, as explained at length on this site by many people. There are now one or two workshops around the world that will fix the plug, it is such a common problem.

"they told me Apple's warranty would not cover this problem"

That is incrdeibly bizarre. If your computer was under 12 months old, all you had to do was walk in to any Apple shop with the machine, and Apple would have fixed it. (ie, they simply swap the screen.) They do this for many people, naturally - it's under warranty. You could probably still do this, if it's less than 12 months old!

Further, if you had Apple's extended three year warranty, again they would just replace the screen. Again this happens all the time since it's such a common problem.

The reason everyoneis hating on Apple over this issue - since it is an absolutely well-known problem affecting vast numbers of people, Apple should recall all the screens and fix them, ie, they should fix them even IF the warranty is expired.

(Of course, obviously, if still under warranty they fix it - they just swap the screen.)

"The repair of this problem (about $1,700 dollars)"

That is bizarre. It's not THAT expensive. If you take one of these in to Apple and ask them to simply replace the screen, it is about 1000 bucks (it varies by country etc).

I'm really sorry you goty ripped off so badly by BestBuy. It's weird because they sort of "ripped off themselves" - they could have easily simply swapped the screen at a parts cost of 700? or so bucks.

I would never, ever, ever buy those warranties which large retailers offer - they're always a ripoff. You could have bought the actual Apple extended warranty.

Also again absolutely bizarrely - if your machine was under 12 months, you could have just walked in to any Apple shop or phoned them and they would have swapped for a new screen in a couple days. Really sorry to hear your story.

Regarding refurb macs, yes simply click to apple.com and there is a huge selection.

for everybody to know about this.. ..yes apple protection comes only for the 1st year, and thats to change everything on mac.. including keyboard, mouse and rest of the things.. BUT all the piceses inside the imac comes with 2 years coverage. Its what they told me at my local retail and changed my display without a problem ,, and my imac was out of protection. thx god i camed to the shop, and didnt do any soldering stuff on it!

I have the same problem with mi iMac 27" mid 2011...

Not sure if anyone else saw this, but it looks like someone started a class action lawsuit against Apple regarding this issue:

http://m.cnet.com/news/apple-sued-over-alleged-imac-screen-dimming-issues/576098 97

Same problem with my iMac 27" mid 2011, darker on the left side. 15 month after buying. Thats an unbounded cheek!