Hi all,
@Sandbag1; Thanks for your added details on the turn-around. Pretty quick for sure.
I’m going to have my repair done under AppleCare here on-site. I've spoken with three Apple support reps so far, each escalating up so that now I'm waiting on a call-back from the third rep that is part of the on-site organization. He needed to make sure that the iMac’s stand part number was all that was needed in this repair and then it will get scheduled.
Although I have visited the ifixit.com web site and looked at the “tear down” guides for this iMac, I think it will be a big benefit for me to have this repair done on-site. This way I can watch how a trained Apple tech goes about cutting and separating the adhesive that binds the display to the aluminium case as well as the steps he takes to dig down to the point of exposing the stand’s top bracket and spring set. I always keep my Macs a very long time and knowing how to open this iMac up and go about repairs will be invaluable after the AppleCare protection has run its course.
Additional comments on “design anomaly” found throughout this thread:
When I first contacted Apple Support, I was told of a program that Apple was doing precisely for this stand failure. The tech at first gave me the option of getting my iMac repaired or having Apple “capture” my iMac so that they could tear it down and look at this design anomaly so that they can make changes to their manufacturing processes as well as their field repair processes. The tech indicated that Apple was very aware of this problem.
In the end however, I was told that Apple had “captured” enough of these iMacs so I could not go that route. I had wanted to go the “capture” route because I would have been given a new like-for-like iMac but would be allowed to deviate a bit and switch from a stand to a VESA mount and pay only the small difference in cost to cover the VESA mount. I originally was on the fence about buying a VESA mount iMac but convinced myself I could order the “VESA kit” from the Apple Store at a later time. But to my chagrin, the 2012 and late-2013 iMacs cannot be retrofitted with VESA; the iMac must be purchased configured for one or the other. I even tried to get the VESA mount put in when Apple would be doing the stand repair but again was told it was not possible because it is the iMac’s aluminum shell that is different between a “stand” model and a “VESA” model so a retrofit to a VESA and I suspect from a VESA to “stand” is also not possible.
Even though I was told of this “stand and VESA incompatibility” from an Apple escalated rep that had put me on hold so he could talk with his supervisor(s), I’m having a hard time convincing myself that Apple would paint themselves into a corner of non-modularity and then be okay with the ramifications. Since, if this is indeed true, it seems expensive and wasteful and smacks of late engineering design decisions or its equivalent (did someone say , “it broke through a plastic washer!”?). Admittedly, my conjecture on this episode is purely speculation but it resonates of a myopic corporate attitude that tolerates compressed schedules to focus solely on a launch window that is much more about quarter results and shareholders dividends, than about the end-users, and the stakeholders affected by upstream apathy. Short-term vs Long-term? Chinks in the armor? I love Apple products and am definitely a fan-boy and every successful company can have a not-so glorious moment. I have no complaints really, and Apple support has been nothing short of proactive and polite. I just want Apple to always be successful. Flame off!
