I've had mine a little less than a week. Runs quiet most of the time, can hear the fan when doing more intensive work and/or playing Starcraft for more than 10 minutes, but I don't think it's anything unnatural.
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iMac late 2012 rattling noise
- Thread starter edry.hilario
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That interesting to hear. As I said, I've only noticed it on mine this morning (i.e. for the last 2 hours). I haven't called Apple yet, and perhaps I'll wait to see if the problem changes. It's not horrible, but it's loud enough to be annoying in a quiet room.
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Yeah, this is not a normal fan noise. It's a rattling sound that actually gets better if the fan speeds up. In other words, I only hear it when the fan is near idle speed (1200 RPM).
Mine's in for repair (fan replacement) at the Apple Store now. At first they immediately suggested replacing with a new one, but when they found out that I didn't buy it from Apple directly, said that they couldn't do that. Anyway, here's hoping the new fan solves the problem.
Update: Apple called tonight to say that they can't hear the problem, and that my iMac is quieter than a previous generation iMac. I own a previous generation iMac, and I can easily hear this new one -- in another room! -- when I'm sitting right in front of the old one, so I know that's not true. They said they'll test it more overnight and let me know tomorrow if they were able to reproduce it. We'll see...
There are a lot of other people reporting the exact same noise heard in the OP's sound recording on Apple's Discussion Boards so it does seem to be a widespread problem.
Update: Apple called tonight to say that they can't hear the problem, and that my iMac is quieter than a previous generation iMac. I own a previous generation iMac, and I can easily hear this new one -- in another room! -- when I'm sitting right in front of the old one, so I know that's not true. They said they'll test it more overnight and let me know tomorrow if they were able to reproduce it. We'll see...
There are a lot of other people reporting the exact same noise heard in the OP's sound recording on Apple's Discussion Boards so it does seem to be a widespread problem.
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I got my iMac back from Apple yesterday. They told me that there is nothing wrong with it and that it tested quieter than the previous generation iMacs. A bit frustrating as I sit here with it still making the same obnoxious noise, which my mid-2010 27" iMac most certainly does not make...
"Normal" vibrations may be amplified by whatever surface the computer is resting on, such as a wooden desk.
I recommend using a sheet of neoprene rubber underneath computer equipment, including external drives, and it completely reduces any noise they might make.
I recommend using a sheet of neoprene rubber underneath computer equipment, including external drives, and it completely reduces any noise they might make.
That's a good idea, and something I think I'll try out. Worth noting that this iMac is sitting on the exact same desk in the exact same place as my previous 3 iMacs.
Mine sounds similar to the op. however mine is not as loud as the audio file. Does that sound normal.
Does anyone have a solution to this problem, is this a normal sound for the imac to make as long as its not to loud?
Also how far away from the computer are you when you can NOT hear sound. If I step away from computer across a quiet room. I can not hear sound either.
Does anyone have a solution to this problem, is this a normal sound for the imac to make as long as its not to loud?
Also how far away from the computer are you when you can NOT hear sound. If I step away from computer across a quiet room. I can not hear sound either.
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Your question is kind of subjective, because it depends on how good the person's hearing is, how quiet their room is, what kind of desk the iMac is on, etc. That said, my iMac, sitting on my normal Ikea, wood-top desk, is audible across the room as long as the furnace (which is in the same room) isn't running. My hearing is quite good, and the room is nearly silent (ticking clock on the wall is the loudest thing). I find the noise quite annoying but have already been told by Apple that it's normal and there's nothing they can/will do about it.
Exactly the same sound appeared on my month old late 2012 imac after using it for two weeks or so. I sent it in for Apple on-site repair after I found this thread, and they changed the fan and said it is clear that there was something wrong with it since it made the rattling noise. I sent them the exact same audio file that can be found from this thread, because the sound was almost equal. They fixed this in two days, and now it is working like a charm. Silently!
Any talk related to "vibrations caused by desk" etc. is just plain nonsense.
Any talk related to "vibrations caused by desk" etc. is just plain nonsense.
mine was the same way just return it go to your local apple store, i have the same specs and they had in stock.
Thanks for posting this. It's good to know that somebody else was able to get Apple to fix the problem. As mentioned in a previous post, they told me flat out that there was no problem and that my iMac was silent. As for on site repair, do you not have a nearby Apple store? When I called them they said I had to take it into the Genius Bar to get anything done.
I'm frustrated because I'm a very loyal Apple customer, and make my living as a Mac developer. I paid nearly $3000 for this machine, and it's the only Mac I've ever had that has had a problem, and it's a particularly annoying one to me (I use my Mac 10+ hours per day in a quiet room). It doesn't seem unreasonable that I would expect Apple to make it right...
I had a gurgle noise with my 09 27" they tested it and said nothing was wrong. 3 years I put up with the flicking thing, then I got the HD replaced in the recall programme and now it is silent. Put another 12 gb ram in it and it feels new lol.
Don't believe them I should of taken it further.
Just got my brand spanking new late 2013 iMac and it makes exactly the same noise. Sounds like an old movie projector (albeit nowhere near as loud). In my case it doesn't happen permanently but rather in irregular intervals of 25-55 seconds :-/ Tilting the iMac to the right very slightly seems to alleviate the issue. Sounds a bit like a cable is touching a moving part.
I guess I'll initiate an exchange then :-( The whole thing sucks a bit, considering that I have an otherwise perfect machine (no dead pixels, no ghosting, no image retention and what not).
I guess I'll initiate an exchange then :-( The whole thing sucks a bit, considering that I have an otherwise perfect machine (no dead pixels, no ghosting, no image retention and what not).
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Considering that the iMac 2013 has only one fan and I'm pretty sure that's not where the sound is coming from, I'm guessing it's the harddrive motor :-/
And a short follow-up: AppleCare agreed to exchange it, however I've decided to take it to the Apple Store for a repair. My iMac is perfect otherwise, so I don't want to exchange it for one that has bad pixels or a bad panel :-/
fan noise
hi
have been reading all the posts ,just got my 2013 update imac 27 ,regarding fan noise .....mine has a very low purring sound but you really have to get close to hear it ...no rattle just low purr its coming from the grille on the back and presume its the fan ,i dunno if this is just normal or if it should be completly silent ,
hi
have been reading all the posts ,just got my 2013 update imac 27 ,regarding fan noise .....mine has a very low purring sound but you really have to get close to hear it ...no rattle just low purr its coming from the grille on the back and presume its the fan ,i dunno if this is just normal or if it should be completly silent ,
I have the same noise. I don't know if it is normal but I always notice this purr and I don't like it. For me it is too loud in a quiet room. Perhaps I get used too it.
I'd say that's normal. Mine's generally fairly loud - it also has some vibration from the harddrive that is audible on my wooden desk. It's not annoying though, except for the rattling, which clearly isn't normal.
I had an appointment scheduled at the Apple Store today - but this morning the sound has disappeared :-/ I'm pretty sure it'll be back but for now there's no point brining it in. If they can't hear it, they can't fix it