Level 1

36 points

Design fault? 27" 2013 iMac stand just gave up!

Hi all,

I was just sitting watching TV when there was a loud crack and my iMac screen suddenly tilted down - now the screen will not stay where it is tilted / positioned. I was not using the mac at the time and it was not doing anything it just broke on its own. The mac was only bought in February and has not been moved or tilted once it was in place. This looks like a major design flaw to me as a 10 month mac just fails on its own! Has anyone else suffered this malfunction?

I have yet to contact apple as the store will be closed now but am interested to know if anyone else has suffered the same problem and what apples response was?

I will keep you guys posted once I have spoken to Apple

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), Stand failure

Posted on Dec 28, 2013 9:34 AM

Top-ranking reply

Mr Mo-Fo Author

Level 1

36 points

Posted on Jan 3, 2014 9:31 AM

Hi guys - as promised here is an update.

I have just got back from my genius appointment and they have taken my mac in for repair, I should have it back in about 5 days to a week. They said that they had not seen this before and had trouble locating parts or really just the spring assembly that does not seem to be a separate unit and because of this they have had to order me a complete replacement back unit (the whole rear assembly) and a new stand (foot) this little lot comes to about £600 so not a cheap repair. Lucky for me as the unit is not a year old so was covered by the original warranty but I also have 3 years apple care that will start when the warranty expires.

The apple guy did say that he had to run this passed his manager to ensure that there would not be any charges to be met by myself,I don't think that I can repeat here my answer to him which was interspersed with key items from consumer law lol.

Anyway I will give you an update when I get the mac back to let you know if they have repaired it to my satisfaction (yes I am one of those nightmare customers lol)

Many thanks for your help and suggestions guys :-)

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709 replies

baquerh

Level 1

0 points

Oct 2, 2014 2:07 PM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

Add me to the list of broken stand users... bought the iMac in January 2014, and it caved in yesterday. Apple arranged for it to be collected today by authorised support specialist. Hopefully I will get it back within a week's time. Very annoyed as I recently had the hard disk fail. Lucky I still have warranty.

As a family we have a few apple products, iPads, iPhones, and I have noticed, all have had to be returned / repaired multiple times within the first year. My assessment of their product is: Looks good, works well until it does, but does not last long.

Oct 11, 2014 4:08 PM in response to George Trifanoff

For those of you looking for something to prop up your monitor while you're waiting for an appointment to have your iMac fixed, I have found that a DVD or Bluray boxed set works great! I'm currently using the Indiana Jones and Star Wars boxed sets that I own and they're just the right size.

Unfortunately for me, the repair time is a little over two weeks at the moment and I can't afford to go that long without my iMac for school/work.

As for Apple, I only own their products because I'm a mobile app developer and therefore need them for building/testing purposes. However, I am not happy with Apple in the least. If you ask me Apple products are complete junk! Out of the several Apple devices I own, none have lasted one year without one or more repairs per device. Add to the fact that Apple products cost a lot more than the competition and you are required to carry Apple Care for the majority of repairs and you have the ingredients for over-priced junk for foolish spenders with too much money, IMHO. With Apple you are paying for the name and nothing more!

Please, someone tell me what Apple offers that you can't get from the competition at a lower price? Even most of the items for sale in the Apple ecosystem cost more than what you'd pay from Amazon or Google Play, etc.

I just don't get why so many people love Apple so much?!

I've been nothing but frustrated with the quality of their products.

Jan 11, 2015 6:27 PM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

Well, darn, this just happened to my December 2013 27" iMac. Was using it all day, stepped away for an hour or so, and came back to a droopy screen.

Hopefully the Apple folks have gotten good at this repair...

But yeah, this is a clear problem and I hope they extend the warranties/cover the repairs of anyone who suffers this failure in the future.

Feb 12, 2015 5:21 PM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

Mine just snapped as well, on Feb 4. Was just watching TV and heard the snap. What I want to know is whether Apple is repairing the iMacs with the same junk that broke or do they have a redesigned spring mechanism they are replacing the broken ones with. Otherwise, garbage in garbage out. Whoever said this is rare is sadly mistaken. I was at the Apple store speaking with an Apple rep and told him my issue. He chuckled and said, "yea, mine just broke too. Takes 3-5 days to repair".

Is there anyone in here that knows if they fixed the root cause with an upgraded design? Or are we just having the same substandard hardware put back in?

KRogLA

Level 1

0 points

Feb 26, 2015 12:31 AM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

Right now confirm the same issue on my iMac 27 Late 2012, sad but truth 😟 But I feel a bit lucky - my std warranty ends in 2 weeks, phew! And when I called to the service center man on the phone was not surprised. Tomorrow my iMac will go to the service center ...

saj0603

Level 1

0 points

Feb 28, 2015 8:47 PM in response to KRogLA

eating supper tonight and we heard a crack, screen wont hold position 😟 now I have an appointment monday after work to have it looked at. My warranty ended 2 days ago of course. No apple care, but i am hopeful after reading through all 14 pages that we shouldn't have to pay for this repair!

Mar 30, 2015 12:43 PM in response to richardfromlakewylie

add me to the club. iMac 27" just fell down, we were out and came back to see this. I yelled at all the kids thinking they did something, now I am relieved they didn't, but the **** happened.

I'm in Sweden, there are no Apple ships in Ulricehamn area, I received/bought it january 2014, and what the **** I do now?

(I moved from Croatia to Sweden couple of months ago...)

FFs. I thought one can rely on apple....

remixray

Level 1

12 points

Apr 16, 2015 10:01 AM in response to katkramer

After a long conversation with apple live chat, I decided to go the Mac Store in London.

Very helpful and friendly staff.

No appointments are available for this week ( not sure if thats good or bad ) but I may get help if I go into early enough

He admitted to me that they are aware of the issue

Don't want to leave my Mac there , as I need it...but need to

Will let you know how it goes

May 1, 2015 1:41 PM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

I bought mine last winter... January 2014, probably? It's a late 2013 model, and since its a couple months out of warranty it of course the mechanism just snapped, like all of the previous posters' and now I'm left trying to figure out if I can get this fixed without losing $80 and a bunch of time.

Really, you'd think a design defect like this would be fixed for free. Maybe I should switch to PC...

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,376 points

May 1, 2015 2:55 PM in response to faulty_imac

faulty_imac wrote:

I bought mine last winter... January 2014, probably? It's a late 2013 model, and since its a couple months out of warranty it of course the mechanism just snapped, like all of the previous posters' and now I'm left trying to figure out if I can get this fixed without losing $80 and a bunch of time.

Really, you'd think a design defect like this would be fixed for free. Maybe I should switch to PC...I

It will likely be covered even if you are out of warranty. And you didn't buy AppleCare....not a wise move.

May 14, 2015 11:19 AM in response to faulkan

I believe the part that fails is the spring itself due to (metal) fatigue. The metallurgical specification for the spring, tensile strength etc. will have been specified by Apple. I'm sure the failure will be investigated by Apple and if the supplier didn't comply I'm sure "heads will roll". They'll be thankful they weren't supplying Kim Jong-un!!

petermac87

Level 5

7,463 points

May 14, 2015 4:14 PM in response to David H-P

David H-P wrote:

I believe the part that fails is the spring itself due to (metal) fatigue. The metallurgical specification for the spring, tensile strength etc. will have been specified by Apple. I'm sure the failure will be investigated by Apple and if the supplier didn't comply I'm sure "heads will roll". They'll be thankful they weren't supplying Kim Jong-un!!

I have over 20 iMacs in the studio and never seen this issue, so it is rare. At the same time, I would have one straight back to Apple if it occurred, and not rant about it here to other users without taking action other than propping it up with everyday objects.

Also, what leads you to your beliefs other than guesswork?

Cheers

Pete

May 18, 2015 11:40 PM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

I just had the same thing happen to me, I guess it was time to join the club. From the other room, heard a loud crack, I though something had snapped in my office. Didn't notice until booting up my iMac that it's now titling forward, no ability to lean it back. So annoyed. Wasn't even using the computer at the time.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)

So disappointed.

May 26, 2015 3:20 PM in response to dzimking

SNAP! Was sitting here working on computer, and SNAP it went.. mine too.. 😟 Late 2012 model,, purchased in May 2013.. I have apple care, but what a hassle now to have to get it fixed.. Design flaw apparently.. Can this be done in home?

Jun 6, 2015 5:09 AM in response to Mr Mo-Fo

Apple can add mine to the list - just happened to me. December 2013 27" iMac stand just broke. Certainly a design flaw.

Just not strong enough for the weight of a 27" machine I suppose.

Cant do without my machine for 5 days, so will do one of the simpler fixes posted earlier.

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Design fault? 27" 2013 iMac stand just gave up!