iMac late 2012 rattling noise

edry.hilario · Dec 21, 2012

got a fan or harddrive faint ratteling sound heres a sample: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mtju7pdky3p0s64/Memo.m4a

its not a as loud but definitely noticeable I was wondering if this is normal ??? an easy way to tell is if you put your ear right against the back on the left side of your imac
my imac is a 27 inch 1tb fusion drive
3.4 i7

Please help me by checking yours and letting me know if yours makes the same noise.
Thanks in advance

GoCubsGo · Dec 21, 2012

You just got this right? Take it back and get another.

edry.hilario · Dec 21, 2012

jessica. said:
You just got this right? Take it back and get another.

yeah i wish it was that simple they dont have any of these on stock, i hope if i have to replace it it wont take like 2 months, the sound its annoying. Does yours sound similar ?

edry.hilario · Dec 21, 2012

anyone want to help a brotha out ?

jmcgeejr · Dec 21, 2012

edry.hilario said:
anyone want to help a brotha out ?

Yeah, here's your help, call apple, let them know, they will issue you a replacement, that will be shipped to you, you keep your existing one until then,

Spink10 · Dec 21, 2012

Call Apple speak with a senor advisor - see if they will ship to the store and you exchange when it comes in. Ask for this exception to be made because of the new product and needing a computer at home...etc...etc.

Jonnybeats · Dec 22, 2012

Hey guys,

I received my beautiful new iMac on wednesday and it was completely silent. It's a 3.4 i7 with GTX 680.

I noticed this morning that the fan started to make this rattling noise, exactly the same as the clip that was posted earlier. I ran a CPU load test to increase the fan speed and the sound went away. It seems to be a problem when the fan is running at around 1200 RPM, which annoyingly, is the machines idle speed!

I may have to give Apple a call during the week and speak to them about a replacement. As I use it for work, I can't afford to have any time without the machine. What's Apple's policy on replacing items? Can I have it delivered to an Apple store and to the trade there?

Cheers.

edry.hilario · Dec 22, 2012

Jonnybeats said:
Hey guys,

I received my beautiful new iMac on wednesday and it was completely silent. It's a 3.4 i7 with GTX 680.

I noticed this morning that the fan started to make this rattling noise, exactly the same as the clip that was posted earlier. I ran a CPU load test to increase the fan speed and the sound went away. It seems to be a problem when the fan is running at around 1200 RPM, which annoyingly, is the machines idle speed!

I may have to give Apple a call during the week and speak to them about a replacement. As I use it for work, I can't afford to have any time without the machine. What's Apple's policy on replacing items? Can I have it delivered to an Apple store and to the trade there?

Cheers.

called in they are sending me a replacement i have 7 days to return my current imac after the new comes in if i fail to do this they will charge my card. so when you call in ask to talk to a senior advisor, the lady that i talked to said since its a replacement they will speed up the process so hopefully we wont have to wait long, its a minimal issue but its definitely an annoying one

Jonnybeats · Dec 22, 2012

edry.hilario said:
called in they are sending me a replacement i have 7 days to return my current imac after the new comes in if i fail to do this they will charge my card. so when you call in ask to talk to a senior advisor, the lady that i talked to said since its a replacement they will speed up the process so hopefully we wont have to wait long, its a minimal issue but its definitely an annoying one

Awesome, good to hear that you're getting a replacement!

I'll give them a call in the morning. Thanks!

edry.hilario · Dec 22, 2012

Jonnybeats said:
Awesome, good to hear that you're getting a replacement! I'll give them a call in the morning. Thanks!

yeah it kinda sucks because now i dont want to install everything so im kinda of stuck in the middle of everything im also hoping that the replacement doesnt have any issues, that would really suck.
im just saying because i keep seeing a lot of issues with orders.. fuuuuuuuffuuuu

jkautosports · Dec 22, 2012

Can't you just install stuff and then transfer it to the replacement computer when it arrives?

xVeinx · Dec 22, 2012

I just had my machine (2011 iMac) serviced for the same thing. They had to replace the fan behind the cd rom drive. It does get annoying since it happens when the machine is idle, and it does get worse. Hope that they get you sorted out quickly.

edry.hilario · Dec 22, 2012

jkautosports said:
Can't you just install stuff and then transfer it to the replacement computer when it arrives?

yeah i know but i tent to have problems with some applications like re entering keys some plugins dont work and i have re install things so i rather just start fresh.

----------

xVeinx said:
I just had my machine (2011 iMac) serviced for the same thing. They had to replace the fan behind the cd rom drive. It does get annoying since it happens when the machine is idle, and it does get worse. Hope that they get you sorted out quickly.

Thanks!

jkautosports · Dec 22, 2012

These things must be hit or miss... Honestly after seeing all these threads about problems with the screen, noise, and imperfections I've been actually trying to find something wrong with mine... but everything is great so far (knock on wood)

Sorry to hear some of you aren't happy with what you received...

edry.hilario · Dec 22, 2012

jkautosports said:
These things must be hit or miss... Honestly after seeing all these threads about problems with the screen, noise, and imperfections I've been actually trying to find something wrong with mine... but everything is great so far (knock on wood)

Sorry to hear some of you aren't happy with what you received...

i know right... screen retention issues, uneven illumation, case inperfections and noises.... Come on apple.

Jonnybeats · Dec 22, 2012

jkautosports said:
Sorry to hear some of you aren't happy with what you received...

It's a shame really, I'm a big fan of Apple products as no-one else can seem to match the quality of the products and service.

Whether I've been particularly unlucky or something else, I've noticed many things slipping through quality control and design verification checks for products that I've purchased;

My iPad 3 had dust/smudges under the glass,
My iPhone 5 (and my brother's) had dead pixels,
My new iMac has a faulty fan,
My 2009 polycarbonate MacBook had small cracks by the hinges develop over time.

Luckily, Apple replaced (fixed, or should soon be replacing) the faulty products without any hastle!
I always take care of the equipment that I use so I'm pretty sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Haha.

Hopefully we'll see some improvement to this in the near future or it'll end up costing Apple a lot of money in the long run!

jkautosports · Dec 22, 2012

Jonnybeats said:
It's a shame really, I'm a big fan of Apple products as no-one else can seem to match the quality of the products and service.

Whether I've been particularly unlucky or something else, I've noticed many things slipping through quality control and design verification checks for products that I've purchased;

My iPad 3 had dust/smudges under the glass,
My iPhone 5 (and my brother's) had dead pixels,
My new iMac has a faulty fan,
My 2009 polycarbonate MacBook had small cracks by the hinges develop over time.

Luckily, Apple replaced (fixed, or should soon be replacing) the faulty products without any hastle!
I always take care of the equipment that I use so I'm pretty sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Haha.

Hopefully we'll see some improvement to this in the near future or it'll end up costing Apple a lot of money in the long run!

I def have to agree with you. Honestly, when I got my 4s on launch day, I opened it up and was stunned at how perfect it looked... It absolutely looked good enough to be photographed for ads lol... My dad got the 5 a few weeks ago and it had a chip on the antenna... right out of the box! I would have probably taken it back (due to already decreased resale value) but he didn't care much about it... I guess it all depends on the individual.

That being said, if my iMac develops strange noises, I will definitely give Apple a call. I'm loving how completely silent the machine is... It's kind of set its own standard.

edry.hilario · Dec 22, 2012

Jonnybeats said:
It's a shame really, I'm a big fan of Apple products as no-one else can seem to match the quality of the products and service.

Whether I've been particularly unlucky or something else, I've noticed many things slipping through quality control and design verification checks for products that I've purchased;

My iPad 3 had dust/smudges under the glass,
My iPhone 5 (and my brother's) had dead pixels,
My new iMac has a faulty fan,
My 2009 polycarbonate MacBook had small cracks by the hinges develop over time.

Luckily, Apple replaced (fixed, or should soon be replacing) the faulty products without any hastle!
I always take care of the equipment that I use so I'm pretty sure I'm not doing anything wrong! Haha.

Hopefully we'll see some improvement to this in the near future or it'll end up costing Apple a lot of money in the long run!

i also agree with you, i was pretty afraid when i first got i had a bad feeling about it, the first two days seemed fine the third day i start hearing this noise, i have been pretty unlucky with apple products too and every single one ive gotten the past couple of years i have had to be replaced... this time around no exceptions this sucks.

P303 · Dec 23, 2012

Do you mean the 4 loud knocks on your record or the background fan noise?

Jonnybeats · Dec 23, 2012

Just a quick update, I've been listening to my machine all day and there's no sign of the noise as of yet, even after more strenuous tasks which caused the fan to spin up and slow down.

I'm gonna put off calling Apple and see if the sound comes back. I've got AppleCare so if it does come back at a later date, I'll get it fixed. Hopefully, they'll have a revised fan part which doesn't suffer the same issue.

edry.hilario · Dec 24, 2012

P303 said:
Do you mean the 4 loud knocks on your record or the background fan noise?

no, the knocks are from me putting the mic close to the computer, im was talking about the other sound.. the sound its hard to explain but its sound like rrarrrarrrarararrraaaarrrarararaararaararararrarraar . lol idk the first 20 mins doesnt do it but after that it starts making that sound, and thats also why i know its not normal.

andypwill · Dec 24, 2012

had the same problem and it turned out to be the optical drive fan.
i returned my mac to the apple store and it was fixed within 3 days.

edry.hilario · Dec 24, 2012

andypwill said:
had the same problem and it turned out to be the optical drive fan.
i returned my mac to the apple store and it was fixed within 3 days.

i keep hearing this but theres no optical drives on the new imacs so i dont know what could be causing this.

mduser63 · Feb 12, 2013

I got my new 27" iMac about a week ago. It was silent until today, but now I hear a rattling noise exactly like the recording the OP posted. The fan's running at 1200 RPM (idle speed). I'm going to call Apple to see about a replacement.

Jonnybeats · Feb 12, 2013

My iMac has gone through periods of making the noise and then not making the noise. It's becoming quieter and less frequent so I've done nothing about it yet. I've got my 3 year AppleCare though so if there are any issues, I'll let them know.

Anyone else found this with theirs (who didn't take it back straight away)?

iMac late 2012 rattling noise

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