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

I finally got my iMac back today, they told me that an improved part had been installed, although I did not talk to the person who worked on it, he did assure me that Apple was aware of this problem, and the new "Mechanism" works differently, more tightly.

I take it that this means that the new part should last for the life of the machine. I'm very happy about that!

This is an update from my previous post:

Following a brief chat with an Apple representative who had called me back using the Support option on the Apple website, I was advised to contact the Apple Store in Southampton. I explained that I would need help to bring the iMac to the Apple Store. My details were passed to the store and details of my conversation and case number and the store's telephone number was sent me my email. I contacted the Apple Store in Southampton and booked an appointment, although not exactly local to me it's less than 30 minutes drive. In the store it was inspected and the repair agreed. Five days later, as promised, the iMac was returned with NO CHARGE as although it wasn't in warranty (14 months old) I had purchased it online from Apple and it was covered by the European quality standards of goods sold. The store was extremely busy on both visits but someone from the store helped carry the iMac from my car to the Apple Store which was parked several hundred yards away parked and back to the car after the repair. They were also happy to fit some additional RAM which I had brought with me, purchased online from a third party supplier, checked the computer start up was good before repacking it in its box. Excellent service. This is why I was happy to recommend to some friends of mine who'd been having trouble with the laptop that they owned, (running Windows), that they should visit the Apple store to check out what was available.

I dropped of my iMac with  a week ago for service. I was told that there would be a charge for parts and labor. I didn't agree that I should pay for it and I politely referred them to this forum topic and let them know that many people are having this problem. The computer was only a few months out of my original 1 year warranty but, I felt that these hinges shouldn't break shortly after a year. I was politely told that, unfortunately, I was out of warranty. The cost was not much, under $80, so it wasn't too upsetting. I swallowed the charge, which is due once repairs are complete.

I waited while and 5-7 days later (7 for me since I dropped it off on a weekend) I went to go pick up my iMac. It was nice and clean, freshly polished, and the hinge seemed smoother than ever. Presumably, there was a note in my work order about this forum topic and they decided that they could include the repair at no cost.

So, please. Take your computer to  and get the repair done. It appears they know about this issue and are willing to correct our problems. You should never have to wedge something to a mac for it to have functionality.

Update..

Apple collected...fixed and delivered in exactly 7 days ( would have been 4 if not for Bank holiday )

Even though it was 17 days out of guarantee...there was no charge.

Staff were very courteous and friendly

Even though it may/not be a design fault..

Thank you apple

Ray

Interesting hvdwoerd and sorry to hear that the hinge on your iMac failed. Been there, done that and it is a bit of a pain for sure. As noted throughout this thread, Apple is repairing the problem at no charge in or out of warranty (mine included).

My experience with dozens of Apple products for more than a decade has been just the opposite. Their computers, laptops, phones, tablets and customer service have been nothing less than stellar. (Still have a G3 and a G4 that fire up!) I was upset when the hinge on my iMac failed too, but of course it didn't affect the machine's actual performance.

I used to build and service PC's for a living myself. However at this point I can't imagine a scenario in my wildest dreams that would lead me to consider switching back to a PC; one or ten flaky hinges. 😉

Hi joanna.l. Take heart my friend. As mentioned numerous times in this thread Apple continues to repair failed hinges on out of warranty iMacs at no cost to the owners. Give them another call and politely explain the situation...point them to this thread if needed and you should be able to get this resolved satisfactorily.

Not sure who your nearest service provider is but if they are not an actual Apple store, make sure that they are an authorized Apple Service Provider and they should be able to take care of you.

With respect to repair time it shouldn't take very long at all. My local store ordered the part and it came in about three days later. I dropped my iMac off on a Friday night and it was ready first thing Monday morning. The store is one of Apple's busiest.

The newer iMacs are a little less maintenance-friendly, but having taken my earlier model apart to install an SSD, and then having taken it apart again (to install a larger SSD), I can tell you that they're not that complicated to work on once the screen has been removed.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!

I just got back from the local Apple store. Told them about the first repair under warranty and that it's happened again. They will repair my wife's out of warranty iMac for a $40 labor charge. I would have preferred free, but I'll take what I can get in this case.

My stand failed on me last week. Took it to Apple Store in Leicester, UK and was pleasantly surprised that even though the unit is out of warranty and I don't have Applecare that the repair will be FOC (no parts or labour charge). Warranty Status on the Work Authorisation is Consumer Law Coverage(CL).

Downside, I have to wait 3-5 days for the turnaround.

Thankfully have an Apple store nearby. Repair scheduled without any hassle; seems they see about one a month. Which left me a little surprised that they didn't have a part in stock.

Also after the repair any future breaks will be repaired for nothing even after AppleCare runs out.

Yeah, I was just in the Apple Store yesterday to get my laptop repaired, and asked about this, and they said it was a recognized issue and a free repair, (and even if it wasn't it would be relatively inexpensive).

As above. When I had mine repaired a few weeks back (it was under warranty), the Apple store told me it would have been free regardless, AND if it fails again for the same reason, no matter how many times, it will be repaired for nothing.

petermac87 wrote:

It appears that only about 0.0001% of iMacs seem to have been affected.

I heard anecdotally that 97.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.

None of us (outside of Apple) really has any idea how frequent it is. We don't even know the order of magnitude. It also really doesn't matter, since Apple apparently recognizes the problem and is fixing it for free. Presumably whatever the actual number of these is, it is common enough that an Apple store clerk knew immediately it was a free repair, whereas she had to check to see if my laptop screen was (it wasn't).

My (out of warranty) 27" iMac was graciously covered by Apple. They warned me up front at the store that if the problem was the back housing, the repair would be in the hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, it was the typical problem with the mechanism and the $40 part and $40 labour were both waived. The service appears to be excellent and the iMac is none the worse for the wear of being completely disassembled. Thank you to the posters in this thread who were actually friendly and supportive.

Well the local agents for Apple in South Africa said courier the machine to us (550kilometres away) and we will assess it and give you a quote since you don't have Applecare. No, I said. There's nothing you can assess since the offending part (the hinge for the stand) isn't accessible unless you completely dismantle the machine and "go in from the front" as it were. Just quote me (non binding) on the assumption that it is the hinge for the stand). Of course they would not budge. So called the South Africa apple tech support no. from the Apple website. Get connected to a call centre agent in Athens Greece who listens, understands and then went out of her way to assist. Called my back after initial call to say it will be fixed at no cost to me and give me a case number on the global apple system. Just take it to nearest iStore (155km away) and book it in. Which I will try but I have zero confidence that the sole agent in South Africa will even acknowledge the decision in Athens or wherever it was taken, leave alone actually manage to repair the machine without causing some there damage if only to the screen edge or case. But I hope to be proven wrong.

Does anyone know if they can retro fit the VESA mount as they offer with the new retina iMacs? Seems to me that is the way to go since the repaired hinge will no doubt fail again in due course.

Dropped my late 2013 iMac 27" off on Tuesday and received it back, fully repaired on Friday. It is out of warranty and they repaired it for free, under what the Genius called a "Quality Program" so if you have this problem and can live without your Mac for 3-4 days, I'd take it in regardless of your warranty status. The Genius was well aware of the problem. This is in Austin, Texas, so results may vary worldwide.