Vertical line on display - Retina 5k iMac 2014

Question

Vertical line on display - Retina 5k iMac 2014

I got my Retina iMac about 2 months ago and have been enjoying it ever since. About 3 weeks ago I powered it on (I shut it off every night after use) and I noticed a thin red vertical line (about 1 pixel wide) on the left side of the screen. After about 30 seconds, and me nearly falling out of my chair, the line inexplicably vanished and there was no noticeable performance or display issues afterwards so I didn't worry too much about it...

...That is until last week. I powered on the machine and saw the same line in the same place but this time it was blue. The dastardly line came back! This time it only persisted during the black/white loading screen with the apple logo and it disappeared when it finished loading. The next day it was back again, but this time yellow, and it lasted about 30 seconds.

It didn't show up again for a few days until yesterday when I tried snapping a photo of it during my computer's launch. I just missed it and got a lovely overexposed image with just a hint of the line visible:

I know by now this probably sounds like one of those UFO sighting stories, but today I was ready. When I turned my computer on I snapped a quick photo and this is what I saw:

I just wanted to let everyone know that this CAN happen on a new Retina 5k iMac. I called apple support and they said I can replace it for free at my earliest convenience which won't be for about a month due to some projects that I am in the middle of working on.

Thanks,

Curtis

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Feb 3, 2015 11:08 AM

Reply

Answer 1

eloy0107

Level 1

4 points

Jun 3, 2017 2:35 AM in response to gcol

I have the same issue, have you solved it?
My iMac is 20 months old, I think the warranty is out. Have Apple to replace the screen?
Is the problem related to EMI's or EMC's?

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Answer 2

Jul 15, 2015 12:05 AM in response to TheButchCassidy

The vertical line is now permanent as of 07/08/15. Anyone else having this?

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Answer 3

Jul 15, 2015 4:26 AM in response to TheButchCassidy

Hey there - I got this line on my iMac 5K as well. It appeared this morning. Powered the machine off and on again, and it was still there.

Here are a couple of pictures.

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Answer 4

mariotan

Level 1

0 points

Jul 21, 2015 4:10 PM in response to TheButchCassidy

tonight I have the same problem.

After these busy days, I will go to the APPLE STORE to have a try to repair.

But I hope it can be repaired by itself tomorrow.

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Answer 5

gcol

Level 1

13 points

Sep 21, 2015 8:09 AM in response to TheButchCassidy

I picked up a 5k imac from their refurb store on Thursday last week. It managed to work until Sunday and I now have a nice red/purple line on permanently. They're replacing mine with another refurb unit. Fingers crossed I get a good one.

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Answer 6

Oct 21, 2015 10:37 AM in response to TheButchCassidy

Hi TheButchCassidy

I've bought a new 27" Retina today, added new ram in all 4 solts and also have this line. It was already on the screen from the first startup 😟 Very dispointing! Do you have any solutions to this? I'm also in a very remote place and don't belive that we have skilled people here to fix this issue!

Any advice would be apprecjhiated 🙂

Thanks

Manni

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Answer 7

gcol

Level 1

13 points

Oct 21, 2015 11:43 PM in response to Manniphoto

Call them and they'll talk you through doing a basic check to make sure it's not related to any hardware. If you still have the line after that they'll arrange for a replacement.

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Answer 8

Mar 25, 2016 12:15 AM in response to TheButchCassidy

Same problem here, just about 15 months after purchase. This needs to be a recall issue. Absolutely unacceptable for a machine that is supposed to be of the highest caliber (certainly with the price tag of one) to be malfunctioning like this so early on.

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Answer 9

Mar 25, 2016 1:49 AM in response to djsillykid

Good news is - Apple really does take these things seriously and their customer care is exceptional. Happy to announce this is getting fixed. Very very happy customer here ^__^

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Answer 10

May 19, 2016 5:22 AM in response to TheButchCassidy

Just received my brand new late 2015 iMac Retina yesterday and today it has the same line on it. I have a 4gb processor and M395X video card but I'm assuming it's a display issue. Have already arranged to send it back as it has a chip in the side of the case. Also it rebooted itself yesterday after about the first 30 minutes of use and a error message came up stating that a fatal error had a occurred.

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Answer 11

Aug 24, 2016 8:10 AM in response to djsillykid

How did you get them to fix it? I have exactly the same problem (thin green line down left side of display). Went to Apple Store. They did diagnostics and concluded I needed to replace the display panel; cost: $600. My iMac was purchased 16 months ago, so out of warranty also. Any tips appreciated.

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