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Unacceptable Issues with 4000euro Imac 5k

Hello Folks,


I think i Need some advice here. I love apple and all but i find my self in a Situation which i cant accept.


I ordered my iMac 5k (4ghz i7, m295x, 32gb Apple ram, 3TB Fusion drive) for about 4000euros in Oktober, i got the confirmation it was send in November and i recieved my device in late December. The entire process was a huge pain and i delt with very inkompetent and hostile People on the phone (German Apple Support), the entire Thing escelated and i ended up talking with a "teamleader" of sorts which was passive agressiv and cynical in an ugly way..

It was Horrible.


I expririenced that it allways took Abit Long to shut down my imac but i didnt think anything of it. I somehow convinced my self that this would be a Software issue so i whaited till El Capitan would be released. Now... Since i installed 10.11 whenever i turn my iMac off or restart the White prohibited sign Shows up and i can only fix that by using Internet recovery. I tried to recover to Yosemite but sicne a newer OS is installed it doesnt let me.


Also if i use Safari with any darker Background behind it and i then Close Safari, i can see a White shadow of the Safari window which then disapears, That happens with any brigther Windows and also visible when comming out of the sleep mode. Also my Magic mouse has constant disconnects (green light goes off and i have to shake it to get it on again).


Im starting to Freak here since i payed Crapload of Money for this and i only have about 46 days of Warranty. I called up Apple and they refered me to a Close retailer and repair Partner. I called them and they said there is a 3TB fusiondrive recall Programm and they prolly have to replace my Screen, but Software isnt cover so they might charge me to install Yosemite and i also have to carry the thight over the Swiss border to Germany to bring i t there since i dont have AppleCare and they wont pick it up.


I also dont trust them, i know they are licenced but after i orderd my imac, a collegue of mine orderd his imac there and they messed it up by giving his iMac to someone else after months of whaiting. Also i hate the idea that someone is tinkering on my imac replacing the dispay, harddrive.

In a way im glad this happend within my warranty but im shaken by this. I JUST WANT MY DEVICE TO WORK, is this too mark to ask for when paying 4000euros(4500USD)?


Also my wife is a developer and we work on Projects on this device, now i have to backup all the stuff, delete the harddrive, carry it over to the shop, whait WEEKS without my imac and then get an iMac that someone has tinkerd on and might break again. I dont know if i can handle this and im really thinking about getting a lawyer to help me trough this. The german Apple Support is Subpar, the guy on the phone left me on my own and ended the conversation with: Contact the licenced retailer.


I just want a fully working iMac, without reinstalling OSX everytime i reboot, without the white patches (Ghoting)! Without a faulty mouse. I cant whait WEEKS and im scared ******** to deal with the same People that messed up my order when i bought it.


Am i a bad customer for buying a 4000euro iMac?

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11), null

Posted on Oct 9, 2015 8:45 AM

Reply
12 replies

Oct 9, 2015 8:57 AM in response to VKaufmann

Hi VKaufmann,


You still can get AppleCare which will extend the warranty to 3 years, I STRONGLY suggest that you do that. In the USA it is $159USD, in the US you can find it discounted by going to B&H Photo or Amazon, in your country I don't know.


What I would also recommend that you do is to please reduce your post to simply ask some questions. We are here for technical assistance, so if you have a technical question we are happy to try and help you. Also, we are simply end users like yourself volunteering their time.

Oct 9, 2015 10:31 AM in response to VKaufmann

Have you run Apple's hardware test on the machine

(OS X El Capitan: Use Apple Diagnostics or Apple Hardware Test)?

See what info you get from that.


Do you have a bootable backup for your machine? If not, you should get a drive and

create one (something you should do anyway, especially using your computer for business).

USB3 drive would be good, Thunderbolt better (but more expensive).


You can install whatever OS X on it you want. Since you have already downloaded El Capitan,

you might as well install that. Once doing that, use Migration Assistant to import your user

stuff to it. Start using as your boot system and see if problems continue. If they don't, then it is

very likely the hard drive is dead. If they do continue, then there could be a logic board issue.


Also, if Apple support in Germany is as bad as you say, you probably should report it

to Apple Corporate Headquarters.

Oct 9, 2015 11:35 AM in response to woodmeister50

I got a 1TB USB 3.0 HDD on which i save my files. The Internet recovery Option is amazing and works without any boot Image. I allready have reinstalled 10.11 3-4 times using the Internet recovery Option but the issue persists.


When starting with CMD and R i only got the option to Internet Recover a fresh Version of El Capitan, when using CMD+Alt and R and then reinstalling OSX via the online recover it gave me the Option of installing Yosemite, up to the Point where it told me that a newer os is allready insatlled and i wasnt able to click on forward. So if i want to reinstall Yosemite i either have to fake my OSX Version via changing files and then dl it via appstore and install it or i hav to backup my stuff, delete my drive and install Yosemite via USB drive. I regred beliving in the Fusion drive, i should have gone for SSD all the way.

I also regred being a first adopter since the Panels dont seem to Keep a full year. I dont have time for this. I dont want to be botherd with this. i want a working device. Thats it.


I dont want to Sound redicilous but i considerd my self a premium customer paying a premium Price, i cant belive they wont even pick it up.


You know what, im taking a day off work and i take my imac on the Train to Zürich to bring it to a real Applestore. I want a replacement not a Frankenstein, reglued hackjob by some local "Certified Partner". Seriously upsetting this whole saga.

Oct 9, 2015 7:46 PM in response to VKaufmann

As you are located in the EU, I would suggest reading up on your consumer laws (which are more consumer friendly) before taking your machine to an Apple store. This is the hardware warranty for Germany (however, the second link allows you to pick your country):


http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/germany-universal-warranty.html


http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/


(Note the references to your gesetzlichen Mängelrechten).

Oct 10, 2015 6:18 AM in response to Linc Davis

Of course do i want to solve it. How do i fix the Burning in? (which is worrying me the most) and that prohibitory sign after each boot/reset and my faulty mouse.


@babowa

I live in switzerland but the closest Retailer is 15mins away over the border in Germany.


For me the only question i have now is, do i have the right to get a replacement device or do i have to accept a device that someone hs been tinkering on.

Since i got shipped a faulty product (pannel having ghosting after 10 Months ), since aparently there is some issue with my harddrive, my mouse turns off all the time, i would like to think that im entitled to a new device.


Im off to the Apple Shop in Zürich as soon as i can take a day off. Lets see how meny weeks/months it will take to get me sorted.

Oct 10, 2015 8:03 AM in response to VKaufmann

You indicate that it only boots to internet recovery. This means that the recovery partition is missing which happens when a fusion drive is deleted.

Likely the drives have separated. If you have a backup from which to migrate your data and settings, You could try erasing, fix fusion drive, reinstalling Yosemite, and migrating your data. Here is an outline for doing that.

  • I booted from recovery mode (Hold 'Command' and 'R' while starting up)
  • From the menu screen ... On the top bar I selected 'Utilities > Terminal'.
  • This opened a terminal window.
  • Then I typed: diskutil CoreStorage list
  • And hit 'Return' ...
  • This showed the main storage drive details.
  • From there I found the UUID string ...
  • Which is basically the long number displayed under the storage drive name.
  • I selected and copied this ...
  • Then I typed: diskutil CoreStorage delete
  • Followed by the UUID string number ... And hit 'Return'.
  • The system then erased the main drive (it left the recovery dive intact though).
  • I then quit Terminal ... And went back into 'Disc Utilities'.
  • Only to find all of the drives displayed individually and in red ...
  • The 'Solid State Drive' and the 'Hard Disc Drive' were no longer displayed as one 'Fusion' unit.
  • However ... Upon clicking on one of the drives ...
  • The system recognised they were not unified ... And prompted me to fix this.
  • I asked the Disk Utilities to 'Fix' ... And the system returned to its normal state.
  • With the drives displayed as:

• Internal Drive • Macintosh HD

  • I was then able to install the OS X on the 'Macintosh HD' partition.
  • Note: This works with internet recovery for Yosemite but not for El Capitan.
  • Note: While in terminal, use command c to copy and command v to paste.

Oct 10, 2015 8:54 AM in response to EVISCERATOR

if i reboot, it Shows that prohibitory sign. Then the only way to use my iMac, is to reinstall OSX via Internet recovery, whait till it dl and installs osx,and then use it once its on the Desktop. If i then reboot my iMac, i end up at square 1 again. Where it Shows me the prohibitory sign.

So once i have it Internet recovered and installed im fine as Long as i dont reboot/restart.


I would try to fix it with your describtion there but i have to get the "Ghosting" fixed. White Windows, After my iMac times out and goes into the sleep mode and then askes me to login again, a White inprint of the window i had open, dock and bar are visible on my Screen, and are slowly disapearing.

Similar is Happening when working in Ps or any dark space. Or when watching a movie, if i open Safari, or any Kind of White window like the Video Players menu, that whit window would then leave a purple/Grey imprint which would disapear slowly as well. And i have notice it to get worse. Expecially after hours of work.


As far as i can tell, they cant force me to accept a repair in switzerland and they have to replace it when faulty. I will ask a lawyer trough my insurance.

Oct 10, 2015 10:33 AM in response to VKaufmann

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Unacceptable Issues with 4000euro Imac 5k

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