About the iMac Problems
Some people ordering new Apple iMacs (late 2009) have been experiencing issues such as cracked glass, flickering displays, yellow tinged screens, noisy screens, CD/DVD drives scratching discs, drive failures, etc. This site is an attempt to record and see how widespread these problems are and if there are any similarities (such as build date, shipping, etc.).
The data presented here is based on information submitted by people on this web site or taken from comments posted in Apple's Discussion boards (this is an "unscientific" survey and as such should not be considered representative of all iMacs sold). The vast majority of computers received by customers are problem free and this site is only meant to collect and present some common problems that users are experiencing.
If you recently purchased a new iMac please add your info (good experiences and bad). You can also browse the data collected so far.
Update Feb. 1
Apple has released a second firmware update for 27-inch iMac systems to address issues that may cause intermittent display flickering (the first update must be installed as well).
Update Jan. 21
The shipment times for the 27-inch iMacs have been now increased to 3 weeks.
Update Jan. 16
Added a new page detailing the issue of CD/DVD drives scratching discs, a page that shows the relative build quality for each week of production, and FAQ page. Also, several people have reported receiving e-mails or phone calls from Apple stating that their projected delivery times are being delayed by 2 weeks.
Update Jan. 12
I received a new iMac today (my third so far) and it has a very yellow screen. Some photos and notes can be viewed on the yellow tinge page.
Update Jan. 8
The shipment times for the 27-inch iMacs have been reduced to 1 week at most of the online Apple stores (although the USA store still lists the Quad i5 and Quad i7 models at 2 weeks).
Update Dec. 21
Apple has released a firmware update for ATI Radeon HD 4670 and 4850 graphics cards to address issues that may cause image corruption or the display to flicker. (Some people are reporting that their computers are still flickering after the update though.)
Update Dec. 12
Computerworld has now posted an article regarding how the issues with the new iMacs are causing Apple to delay shipments to customers. If you have any further information you'd like to share feel free to contact us or Computerworld.
Update Dec. 9
We have received several reports from Apple resellers that all shipments of 27" iMacs have been delayed by 2 weeks as Apple is in the process of replacing the graphics card. The shipment time on the Apple Store has also been changed to say "Ships 2 weeks". Some people also are reporting that they are being advised their projected ship dates are being pushed back.
It is uncertain whether this hardware issue affects all 27" iMacs and a recall will be necessary.
Recent Comments
other,noisy-hd: dark shadows on screen
firmware,other: screen black, computer functions fine over screen sharing.
firmware,noisy-screen,noisy-hd: Seagate HDD
Other issue: Talked to several with exact same problem. Dark area lower left corner. Light a lamp turned off.
harddrive,perfect: I am on a windows pc at the moment as my imac has been taken away as the hard drive has packed in. I have found it very hard to find any thing out about imac problems but what I did find out like some other people, airport problems. I have a windows xp... Read More
DOA (won't boot): Barely used, suddenly screen went blank could still hear sound of movie playing.. Rebooted by holding button down, and nothing. Can hear it starting but no picture. They said logic board failure, $750CAN to fix. Owned 1 yr 4 months use maybe a couple... Read More
other,DOA: Black screen, I can hear cooling fan and hard drive, but no reboot
flickering,firmware,other: I'm noticing the left side of my 27" monitor is a bit duller almost as if the intensity of the LED's in this portion of the screen are "half on"
Flickering display: ATI 5750 1GB In middle bright display start to flickering.
other,pixels: Tore screen big tear on lower lefts side is getting bigger by the day,also Imac will never wake from sleep
Perfect (no issues): iMac 2011, 3,4 GHz i7, 2 TB HDD, 16 GB RAM, Radeon 6970 1 GB
Hard drive failure: This is the second time this year that this hard drive has a failure, first one was changed by apple. Nos this new one has 4 months of use and is already broken. hard drive total failure. not working at all.
other,pixels: Hard drive runs often and long for no apparent reason
Flickering display: apple replaced led board it fixed the problem
DOA (won't boot): Intermittant failure to wake from sleep, then DOA after approx 6 months of light use.