iMac keeps shutting down randomly

Hi,


I have a late 2015, 27" iMac Retina 5K, running OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.6.


Recently I've been experiencing random, unexpected shut downs. I'm not putting the machine through anything strenuous, just listening to music, web browsing and looking at photos. It shuts off completely with no warnings. The iMac doesn't feel hot.


This has been happening a lot in the last couple of weeks. Although I've noticed the machine has been restarting alot while asleep. When I go to wake it I'm greeted with a message telling me the iMac restarted unexpectedly. To be honest it didn't occur to me that something could be wrong and I ignored it (I thought it could have restarted after updates etc) but the recent complete shut downs have me concerned. When it goes off it won't allow me to turn it back on unless the power cord has been pulled out for a while.


I left it unplugged overnight and removed both external hard drives and USBs. I have been on it most of the day and it's been behaving as normal but just shut down again completely unexpectedly.


I've owned this machine since new and have not had any issues with it unlike my previous late 2009 iMac which gave me continuous grief for 6 years. I have Applecare and spoke to someone on Wednesday about the shutdown issue. She was nice enough on the phone but didn't really help and wouldn't acknowledge the issue even though I was aware this had been happening to other owners, after I did a quick Google search on the issue. I did all the usual resets but still it keeps happening.


She suggested if the problem persisted to upgrade to the latest OS but I'm wary about doing this as I have a lot of third party applications that I'm not sure will be compatible as yet. Also I can't see it being an OS issue as the machine is 2 years old and has been running El Capitan since day 1.


I've read numerous causes from power supply's to poor fan control and overheating but the machine isn't hot, is well ventilated and hasn't been overworked.


Hopefully someone can help. I still have another year of Applecare but I've seen from other owners that unless the shutdown occurs when they are looking/testing it, they won't acknowledge it as an issue. I'm hoping to avoid sending it off at this stage as my previous machine spent more time with Apple repair than it did on my desk.


If anyone knows of a fix I'd be grateful.


Thanks,


Phil

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015), iOS 10.1.1

Posted on Oct 14, 2017 10:11 AM

Reply
23 replies

Nov 6, 2017 2:03 PM in response to ScottSieg

Hey,


Apologies for the delay in replying.


Well, I've yet to try the uninstalling the programs that Mike recommended above as my machine has been behaving well (touch wood) for the past few days, with no unexpected shut downs. I am planning on completely uninstalling one of the programs he suggested as it's never used (its back-up software for one of my external drives which I use with Time Machine). The other program I'll uninstall and reinstall if necessary but I've been using this particular software for years on this Mac and my previous iMac without issue.


What I have done, after a lot of research, is invest in an APC UPS extension lead. I read that random shut downs could be the result of poor residential power quality. I live in quite an old block of flats and the electrics are dodgy to say the least. I've been using a cheap surge protected extension lead for the past couple of years but have noticed some black marks on the prongs of my iMac power cable. I figured that my iMac including my external drives is well over 2 grands worth of kit and all I'm using to protect against a power surge is a cheap, bog standard extension lead. This UPS looks like a sound investment. I've also bought a new power lead for the machine.


Now, I'm not assuming this is the cause of my random shut downs and I realise that black marks and sparks when plugging in the power cable plug could be normal but I'm willing to upgrade my kit to protect my machine. The shut downs could be down to software or (hopefully not) a hardware issue but at the moment I'm going to experiment with a new power lead and this new UPS.


I still have a year of Applecare should this or the advice from Mike not fix the issue but I'd like to avoid sending my machine off for repair for as long as possible.


You could may well have the same issue as me, I've read a few posts illustrating the problem.


Please see a couple of the links I posted above.


Cheers

Feb 11, 2018 3:22 AM in response to Sara2018

Hey,


I had the machine back from repair early December, after having the power supply replaced. I’ve not experienced any random shutdowns since but I have had a few unexpected restarts while the iMac has been asleep. I’ve used the console to see the cause of these restarts and it doesn’t appear to be the same as before so could have just been software updates.


Hopefully (touch wood) I won’t have any more issues but my AppleCare runs out this October and if I get anymore grief after I’m done with Apple. For something so expensive they’re not very reliable. My previous iMac was the same,

constant problems, yet my old PC, which is about 15 years old now, never let me down and still works as it did the day I bought it.


Hope you get sorted.

Feb 21, 2018 12:39 AM in response to dellphillius

Hello all - just wanted to document that I've had the same problem that all of you seem to have had. Mine was a 27" Retina 5K late-2014 iMac. My problem with random shutdowns started in March 2017. First Apple replaced the logic board (4.0 ghz, Quad Core, i7, 4 GB). The problem recurred almost immediately so, in April 2017, they replaced the wireless card and the power supply. This time the machine was fine until December 2017 when the same random shutdown problem suddenly recurred. In January 2018, Apple replaced the logic board again despite my vehement protest that replacing the logic board hadn't accomplished anything the first time around. At the Apple Store, I insisted on meeting with a tech because I didn't believe the logic board replacement was on point at all. She suggested I try a complete restore/wipe on the machine and then NOT restore from the backup in case the backup contained any of the faulty paths, etc. that might be causing the shutdown.


So I brought the machine home after doing the restore, and before I could even start to reinstall any software (not restoring anything from the backup), the iMac once again shut down with the error message. I expressed my extreme frustration to AppleCare over the phone (they were great) and then again at the Apple Store when AppleCare advised me I really did have to drag the 27" iMac into the Apple Store yet again. This time, at my insistence, they agreed to replace the machine completely and sent me a new 27" iMac built in 2017.


I plugged in the replacement iMac a few days ago and did a restore from the old backup, thinking it certainly couldn't have been anything contained on the backup since it happened in December on the previous iMac restored to factory defaults before I'd had the chance to reinstall anything. Now it's happening again. It didn't happen, however, until I reattached my LaCie external drive (I had to get an USB-C adapter first because the 2014 iMac used Thunderbolt 2) and I'm beginning to wonder if the interaction between the LaCie D2 drive and the iMac is the source of the problem.


I've seen some discussions about the known issue with external drives (including LaCies) shutting down and then causing the iMac to shut down. I've seen that problem on my old iMac and this is slightly different. There are no error messages related to failing to eject the disk properly, just the iMac "fizzling" off while I'm in the middle of working in an app or doing something on Chrome.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this could be the external drive? Apple claimed never to have been able to reproduce the problem at the store but took their actions replacing the logic boards and wireless card and power supply based on my report of the problem.


Thanks!

Jan 1, 2018 9:21 PM in response to dellphillius

I have a late 2015 iMac 27” retina and I have been experiencing the same thing. It started with apps crashing, adobe apps, even just while reading emails. I would crash for no reason, then while trying to force quit, it would freeze and then shut down in its own. I am running El Capitan 10.11.6 and it ran perfectly for two solid years, Mo problems ever. Then the stupid Fusion drive died, Apple replaced only the spinning drive. Still crashes and shut down problems persisted. Then Apple replaced both drives, the logic board and I replaced all the 3rd party software from scratch And IT STILL KEPT Shutting down. Briaight it back again and this time the replace the power supply. And turned out the new logic board was faulty. Finally they got it back to me and all seemed fine after migration of everything to basically a new computer except for the screen. Even the casing and all power ports and buttons were replaced.

Worked for a day and it finally died completely. Won’t wven chime on a boot up. Apple is giving me another computer. Enough is enough. It’s a lemon. I wish I didn’t have to have a fusion drive as I feel these are lame. Just put SSDs in all new iMacs. Who knows. Maybe it’s possessed. This machine had the devil in it.

Apr 2, 2018 3:38 PM in response to Rahsten

I have a 27" 2012 iMac that has had this problem since 2014 (it is now 2018). Apple has replaced the logic board twice, the power-supply once, the hard-drive, all of the RAM, and reimaged the OS 3x ..... and it has shutdown 10 more times in the last week. I have send console logs to the AppleCare techs (I have one on speed-dial, not that he is doing a whole lot)..... but all they have really done is thrown parts at is while screaming "Hail Mary!".... one one hand is hasn't cost me out of pocket. but it has cost me tons of frustration, and having to save my work every two minutes "just in case"..... hard to be productive when you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.


Apple has out-right refused to replace the machine, or to even give me a "discount" on a new one.

"Don't worry, we will get this fixed for you..." Yeah? its taken 4 years, and you have replace almost everything inside, and we are exactly how much closer to solving this? Right,

Feb 10, 2018 7:14 PM in response to dellphillius

Hey I had the same exact issue and took it in last month and they replaced the power supply. A few weeks later it started shutting off again (8 times this time) so I took it in again twice in a month and this time they said there was no issue with hardware so they recommended restoring to factory settings, I did and since then it has STILL shut down twice (within an hour) and I wasn’t doing anything strenuous, I just had a finder window opened. Did your issue get resolved?

Oct 15, 2017 8:04 AM in response to SeaPapp

Hi Mike,


Many thanks for your reply.


Would a Kernel Panic be the cause of a random shutdown? As I mentioned I was getting unexpected restarts for some time while the machine was idle but now I’m getting complete shutdowns at random intervals. There is nothing new installed or attached to the iMac.


I can’t turn the machine back on unless I’ve pulled the power lead out for a few minutes.


Thanks,


Phil

Oct 16, 2017 5:20 AM in response to SeaPapp

Hi Mike,


I've just ran EtreCheck and everything appears to be fine, although I'm no expert. Please see below;


EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated 2017-10-16 12:56:10

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 2:15

Performance: Excellent


Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.


Problem: Other problem

Description:

Computer is crashing unexpectedly.


Hardware Information:

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac17,1

1 4 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-6700K) CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

Empty

Handoff/Airdrop2: supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac


Video Information:

AMD Radeon R9 M395 - VRAM: 2048 MB

iMac 5120 x 2880


Disk Information:

APPLE HDD ST2000DM001 disk0: (2 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

(disk0s1) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

(disk0s2) <not mounted> [CoreStorage Container]: 2.00 TB

(disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB


APPLE SSD SM0128G disk1: (121.33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

(disk1s1) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

(disk1s2) <not mounted> [CoreStorage Container]: 120.99 GB

(disk1s3) <not mounted> [Boot]: 134 MB


USB Information:

USB30Bus 2 TB

LaCie Porsche Desktop for Mac 4 TB

Broadcom Corp. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

LaCie LaCie Storage 2 TB


Thunderbolt Information:

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus


Virtual disks:

Macintosh HD (disk2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 2.11 TB (1.42 TB free)

Physical disk: disk1s2 120.99 GB Online

Physical disk: disk0s2 2.00 TB Online

Lacie 1 TM (disk3s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Lacie 1 TM : 1.00 TB (15.36 GB free)

Physical disk: HDS723020BLA642 1.00 TB (15.36 GB free)

Lacie 2 (disk3s3 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Lacie 2 : 999.92 GB (153.59 GB free)

Physical disk: HDS723020BLA642 999.92 GB (153.59 GB free)

Lacie 3 (disk4s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Lacie 3 : 2.00 TB (2.00 TB free)

Physical disk: P9233 2.00 TB (2.00 TB free)

Lacie 4 TM (disk5 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Lacie 4 TM : 2.00 TB (1.22 TB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS (Unlocked)

Physical disk: disk4s3 2.00 TB Online


System Software:

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1611) - Time since boot: less than an hour


Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers


Kernel Extensions:

/Applications/Kies.app

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.4.32 - SDK 10.5) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Lookup]


/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver

[not loaded] com.citrix.kext.gusb (12.5.0 - SDK 10.9) [Lookup]


/Library/Extensions

[loaded] at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3.7.2 - SDK 10.11) [Lookup]


/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Huawei.driver.HuaweiDataCardDriver (2.6) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.LaCie.ScsiType00 (1.9.1 - SDK 10.5) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.jmicron.driver.jmPeripheralDevice (1.0.6) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.lacie.driver.LaCie_RemoteComms (1.0.1) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.novatelwireless.driver.3G (2.0.1) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.novatelwireless.driver.DisableAutoInstall (1.0.0) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.oxsemi.driver.OxsemiDeviceType00 (1.06.4) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.3.6-4 - SDK 10.8) [Lookup]


/System/Library/Extensions/NovatelWireless3G.kext/Contents/Plugins

[not loaded] com.novatelwireless.driver.3GControl (2.0.1) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.novatelwireless.driver.3GData (2.0.1) [Lookup]


Startup Items:

GT Network Tuning: Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/GT Network Tuning

NMPCCardDaemonVMC: Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/NMPCCardDaemonVMC

NMPPPMonitor: Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/NMPPPMonitor

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later


System Launch Agents:

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 162 Apple tasks

[running] 70 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons:

[not loaded] 45 Apple tasks

[loaded] 152 Apple tasks

[running] 94 Apple tasks


Launch Agents:

[running] at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist (Objective Development Software GmbH - installed 2017-01-13) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2016-07-27) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist (? 40cdc1ff dd391a6f - installed 2011-04-04) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist (? 1ce99fae d10bd3ad - installed 2017-04-20) [Lookup]

[running] com.citrix.ReceiverHelper.plist (? bbfad3f1 e901c5c2 - installed 2017-04-20) [Lookup]

[running] com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist (? 8e6543d 27768e09 - installed 2017-04-20) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-01-14) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.intego.backupassistant.agent.plist (INTEGO - installed 2016-01-02) [Lookup]

[running] com.lacie.LaCieDesktopManagerAgent.plist (Seagate Technologies LLC - installed 2017-10-16) [Lookup]

[running] com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (? ? ? - installed 2013-07-01) [Lookup]


Launch Daemons:

[running] at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist (Objective Development Software GmbH - installed 2017-01-13) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (? 68cad67 0 - installed 2014-05-25) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.acc.installer.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-10-14) [Lookup]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-09-28) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 ade3b5c7 - installed 2017-02-28) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.versioncueCS3.plist (? e716f322 9b3e398d - installed 2010-01-01) [Lookup]

[running] com.autodesk.backburner_manager.plist (? 1d85fe3b 3242b24d - installed 2010-03-03) [Lookup]

[running] com.autodesk.backburner_server.plist (Shell Script 686ee575 - installed 2010-03-03) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.autodesk.backburner_start.plist (Shell Script d833ca96 - installed 2010-03-03) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.citrix.ctxusbd.plist (? 44dc9c9f 27a51b37 - installed 2017-02-01) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-01-28) [Lookup]

[running] com.intego.BackupAssistant.daemon.plist (INTEGO - installed 2014-08-27) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.lacie.LaCieDesktopManagerDaemon.plist (Seagate Technologies LLC - installed 2016-01-02) [Lookup]


User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2016-07-27) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (? 5c76f5f6 2db55743 - installed 2014-06-20) [Lookup]

[running] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist (? 8538a6b0 f4f704a9 - installed 2017-09-25) [Lookup]

[running] com.amazon.music.plist (? b2b6dd6d de67f3c1 - installed 2015-06-14) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.cisco.videoguard7.plist (Shell Script c8b7826e - installed 2017-02-09)

[loaded] com.cisco.videoguard7.uninstall.plist (Shell Script e1d99d6f - installed 2017-04-09)

[running] com.cisco.videoguardmonitor.plist (Shell Script 2864b4de - installed 2017-04-09)

[running] com.eltima.Folx.Agent.plist (? 878159c6 7490b5b4 - installed 2011-05-11) [Lookup]


User Login Items:

iTunesHelper Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-09-13)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

FontExplorerXAutoload Application - Hidden

(~/Library/Application Support/Linotype/FontExplorer X/FontExplorerXAutoload.app)

KiesAgent Application - Hidden (? 0 - installed 2016-06-06)

(/Applications/Kies.app/Contents/MacOS/KiesAgent.app)

MediaCentral Launcher Application - Hidden

(/Applications/MediaCentral.app/Contents/Resources/MediaCentral Launcher.app)

fuspredownloader Application - Hidden

(~/Library/Application Support/.FUS/fuspredownloader.app)


Internet Plug-ins:

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2014-06-04) Check version

FlashPlayer-10.6: 25.0.0.127 (installed 2017-03-14) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-09-16)

Flash Player: 25.0.0.127 (installed 2017-03-14) Outdated! Update

AdobePDFViewer: 10.1.1 (installed 2014-05-25) [Lookup]

Default Browser: 601 (installed 2016-08-09)

CitrixICAClientPlugIn: 12.5.0 (installed 2017-04-20) [Lookup]

Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (installed 2013-10-07) [Lookup]

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: 12.3.6 (installed 2013-08-11) [Lookup]

Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 (installed 2016-02-29) [Lookup]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2010-04-01)


User internet Plug-ins:

RealPlayer Plugin: Unknown

fbplugin_1_0_3: Unknown (installed 2010-03-10) [Lookup]

FolxNetscapePlugIn: Unknown


3rd Party Preference Panes:

Adobe Version Cue CS3 (installed 2010-01-01) [Lookup]

Akamai NetSession Preferences (installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

Flash Player (installed 2017-02-28) [Lookup]

Growl (installed 2011-04-04) [Lookup]

HDD Fan Control (installed 2012-06-10) [Lookup]

MediaCentral (installed 2012-09-24) [Lookup]

WacomTablet (installed 2013-10-06) [Lookup]


Bad Fonts:

Caitlyn.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/Caitlyn.ttf

Confusebox.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/Confusebox.ttf

Dark garden.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/Dark garden.ttf

Chalkie.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/Chalkie.ttf

Star Signs.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/Star Signs.ttf

Chlorinar.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/Chlorinar.ttf


Time Machine:

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 2.11 TB Disk used: 691.57 GB

Destinations:

Lacie 4 TM [Local]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 96

Oldest backup: 03/01/2016, 01:44

Last backup: 16/10/2017, 12:52

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 2.00 TB < (Disk used 691.57 GB X 3)


Lacie 1 [Local]

Total size: 1.00 TB

Total number of backups: 124

Oldest backup: 01/02/2015, 00:41

Last backup: 15/10/2017, 01:16

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 1.00 TB < (Disk used 691.57 GB X 3)


Top Processes by CPU:

5% kernel_task

2% WindowServer

1% mds

1% Google Chrome Helper

1% backupd


Top Processes by Memory:

841 MB kernel_task

557 MB Google Chrome Helper

491 MB softwareupdated

383 MB Google Chrome Helper

334 MB Google Chrome Helper


Top Processes by Energy Use:

3.78 WindowServer

2.88 Google Chrome Helper

1.70 mds

1.66 backupd


Virtual Memory Information:

1.39 GB Available RAM

192 MB Free RAM

6.61 GB Used RAM

1.20 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used



Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events):

2017-10-16 12:47:00 Last shutdown cause: 0 - Power loss


I appreciate your assistance with this issue. Hopefully you can point me in the right direction.


Thanks,


Phil



Nov 3, 2017 7:24 AM in response to dellphillius

Hi Phil,


Were you able to figure anything out. I have had many of the same symptoms as you. I have the same late 2015 27" 5K iMac. My computer has been randomly restarting once put to sleep. I did not think anything of it.


All of a sudden, over the past couple of days, it has been shutting down randomly. Once shut down, I can't power back on unless I physically remove the plug and plug back in.


I am running High Sierra.


Were you able to come up with any fixes?

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iMac keeps shutting down randomly

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