Apple Notifies iMac Owners of Expanded Seagate Hard Drive Recall

[Willis]

Originally Posted by mattg3

My drive is a 500 G St 3500418AS with an AP25 revision yet in checking on mac page with my serial number they said my drive is fine.Does this sound right?I cant tell from my drive number if its a Seagate model.Is it only the 1TB drives that are affected?

Yes, although yours is the same revision number, it is not the correct drive that is covered under the Quality Program. Sleep easy at night! Don't worry. Although naturally, any drive can fail within reason, so just keep a backup. (or 3 as those can fail too)

[aliensporebomb]

Originally Posted by Willis

Actually, the checker is very intelligent in regards to the type of drive installed. The model number is the same for all Seagate 1TB drives, however, there are many revisions. Affected revisions are AP24 and AP25. If you do not have this, your drive does not need to be replaced.

And mine is AP24 and does show up as fitting the bill for a replacement.

I guess I'll start backing stuff up.

[codefuns]

My iMac bought at July 2011, it has a seagate 1T harddrive, but I got this message when check online:
Our records show that this iMac has a Seagate hard drive, but it's not affected. No further action on your part is needed at this time.

I can hear tick tick sound all the time when it is on, and very big zizigaga~~~ sound when it wake up from sleep. It gives me a bad experience. And even more, the bad design (maybe apple call it good) makes changing harddrive very hard or expensive, it makes me feel worse.

I don't know how many iMacs bought from October 2009 to July 2011 got a chance to change the harddrive, but I want to know how do apple decide if a harddrive should be changed or not, and what is the problem of those harddrives. And more importantly, is the tick tick sound normal? again, if it a desktop pc, I will not so worry, but it is iMac, changing harddrive is not a simple and cheap things for me.

[fruitpunch.ben]

Originally Posted by Sir Cecil

Some of us had terrible trouble with those Seagate drives and reported so here at the time. I returned several of those iMacs with the Seagate drives and ended up getting a Macbook Pro instead. The belly-rumbling noise from those drives was terrible and MANY posters reported it at the time. It seems crazy that it's taken so long for Apple to do something about it. It was obvious to anyone with ears that the drives had a problem. As I recall, the noise would start between a couple of days and a week of first being used. I recall many frustrated buyers reporting the same, and eventually going for the 2TB option to avoid the 1TB Seagate problems.

Yep, I bought a 2009 27" iMac almost as soon as they were released. The 21" models were released a couple of weeks earlier, and as soon as they got the machines, people with Seagate 1TB HDDs were complaining about the odd loud noises from the drives. Some smart people checked, and found that Seagate drives were only 1TB, if you opted for the 2TB drive you got either a Hitachi or WD. So I changed my order to the 2TB drive. Got a Hitachi, and have had no problems since. I've even replaced my ODD with a SSD and now use the original drive as my home folder only for music movies and photos etc. Still no problems.

Originally Posted by pnoyblazed

so what if you check your iMac serial number, and it is deemed necessary to replace the HD, but you personally haven't experienced any problems with it? Do you still need to get it replaced?

For those people that are eligible for the swap but have no problems with their drives: My advice, especially if you are busy right now, is to keep using your current drive, but put a reminder on your calendar for the latest possible date your are eligible for the free repair (i.e. April 12 2013 or 3 years after you bought your computer, whichever is later). Then swap it out then. That way you're ensuring that your new drive will last as long as possible. I would replace it before the deadline though, because the chances of this drive failing are higher than the new drive would be, and it'd be a waste to have to pay for it a few weeks/months after the deadline from your own pocket

[Neurot]

I added an SSD drive to my system. It was a pain in the ass, and I really don't want to go in there and remove it, have them replace the drive (which I'm hardly using), then put it back in afterward.

Any thoughts on maybe taking to a non-apple store (but authorized service provider), who might not care? I have AppleCare, so it's covered for 3 years. Or is there a track record one way or another for Apple and the warranty after adding an SSD into an iMac? There's not exactly a seal that says "warranty void if removed".

[Romf]

Originally Posted by Willis

Actually, the checker is very intelligent in regards to the type of drive installed. The model number is the same for all Seagate 1TB drives, however, there are many revisions. Affected revisions are AP24 and AP25. If you do not have this, your drive does not need to be replaced.

Where did you get this info?
I have this drive:
Model: ST31000528ASQ
Revision: AP24

But the website says am not eligible.
The drive has been shown a "SMART status failing" for a while so i thought i would be eligible as for now i'm basically waiting for it to crash (and yes am saving everything somewhere else...) to change it.

[the8thark]

Originally Posted by charlituna

You might not have a Seagate drive. Or perhaps yours was from a later batch.

I have a seagate serial number. And others with the same model number has theirs replaced. But it could be from a good batch. it's like 90 mins on the train to get to an Apple store for me. And I don't want to drag a 21.5 iMac on the train.

I'll still call Apple tomorrow to see what my options are and to complain about the disgusting service Apple gave me on their official forums. Sure different people but I'll complain still.

I might just keep very regular TM backups and just wait it out for the time being. Too long to take the iMac in if the drive seems to be working now.

[dwd3885]

Originally Posted by Romf

Where did you get this info?
I have this drive:
Model: ST31000528ASQ
Revision: AP24

But the website says am not eligible.
The drive has been shown a "SMART status failing" for a while so i thought i would be eligible as for now i'm basically waiting for it to crash (and yes am saving everything somewhere else...) to change it.

I got an email from Apple but my serial number says not eligible. However, I'm looking at what to do.

[britboyj]

Had this done the other day. Here's the thing:

Apple Geniuses don't understand their own backups.

I'm on 10.8, but my computer came with 10.6. They installed 10.6 (which, granted, is fine since that's the OS it came with and is standard practice) and didn't tell me. When I restored to my backup, lo and behold I was locked out of ALL of my accounts.

Since both Lion and Mountain Lion don't have a hard disc I can insert and upgrade with, I had to boot in single-user mode and delete the file that makes OS X know it's been set up before, create a new admin account, upgrade with that, THEN log in to my actual account.

Were I not an expert user (and former Genius myself) I wouldn't have known to do this, wouldn't have known where to start. If this had been my mother instead of me, she'd be swearing off Apple for the rest of her life.

Not good Apple, not good. Change the practice to match your current selling strategy please.

[oftheheavens]

I wish I would have at least got credit for being the first to post this in a thread lol. But mine had this problem and had to get it replaced and now have all sorts of problems getting problems getting my iTunes back together.

[codefuns]

And do they told you what the problem is?

Originally Posted by Fifteen20s

I have a 2011 iMac with a Seagate HD and I did not receive an email.

I called Apple and it was explained to me there is a production date range of effected iMacs. My iMac was was purchased July 2011 and was produced after the problem was corrected.

[Mydrivec]

I have a late 2007 24 inch Imac. Purchased in January 2008.
It had a 750 gb HDD

First hard drive failure was August of 2008 and Apple sent a guy to replace it with the same drive. Great customer service since they sent him to me to do it.

Second hard drive failure June of 2011 (applecare expired). I replaced that drive myself with a Western Digital 1TB. No issues since.

LOVE TIME MACHINE ...even a usb backup takes just a few hours and you are back like nothing ever happened.

Not sure why Apple still uses Seagate though. They clearly don't meet the standards!

[LimeiBook86]

Originally Posted by britboyj

Had this done the other day. Here's the thing:

Apple Geniuses don't understand their own backups.

I'm on 10.8, but my computer came with 10.6. They installed 10.6

That's terrible! Last time I had my old 2006 Black MacBook looked at (similar replacement, Seagate hard drive). They specifically asked me, did you upgrade to 10.6? Did you buy / have iLife '09? etc...

So when I got my machine back, it has the same OS version and iLife pre-installed. It's sloppy of them to put the minimum OS on the system by default. They should ask you what OS you have and match that. So then you don't go in with 10.6 and get a free upgrade to 10.8 (maybe you have software that won't run etc), or go in with 10.8 and end up with 10.6

I'd call up and let them know, maybe they'll be more careful in the future.

[aliensporebomb]

When I was there there were two other iMacs on their bench in addition to mine as well as "our back room is filled with them" said the Genius staffer I spoke to. Getting my wonky SuperDrive looked at too.

[cz9h3d]

Originally Posted by Mystic386

Also got a new 27 LCD screen and fan. I'll need to have discussions with them about the new screen colouring being inconsistent across the screen.

Sorry, but this made me groan and laugh. I've elected to just ignore the yellowish bottom portion of my 27" for over 2 1/2 years, based on the huge thread on here and the fact that getting it fixed was a total crapshoot. Unbelievable that it continues.

Got my email the other day too - right after I visited the Apple Store with my 14 month old MacBook Pro and learned what pressure spots were! I like Apple products, but am tired of paying a large premium for defects none of my crappy Window machines have.....

[ctsoundguy]

Just had the HD in my 2009 21.5 replaced in September for $281 at the Apple store. It had been making the clicking and purring sounds since day one. And it was replaced with another Seagate drive with a serial number which looks like the bad batch !
Called Apple today to see about getting a refund for the replacement, and now I'm worried another bad drive was installed. Really don't want to go thru another replacement event....

[Kayel]

Never heard of this problem perviously and suddenly the new iMac's come out and BAM email notification.

Have I been living under a rock or is this a new issue?

Maybe the time machine sales are down so they came up with this...



Anyway, I wont be going in for the free repair any time soon.

[AlexJackson]

After mine crashed regularly and overheated, I arranged two calls with their paid telephone department £30 service calls to resolve the issue. After that didn't work I took it into the store which is in a different city. They said after a clean install of the operating system it should work. It didn't so I went back to the store.

I noticed that they tried to recreate the same conditions which was usually file transfers from external hardrives however they used usb with only small amounts of data transfer. When I said they should use a bigger drive the iMac became too hot to touch and crashed. They said I would need a new drive putting in at cost. I said I was in UK Warranty.

The Head Genius said that Apple only offer a year warranty. I showed in the sales of goods act which permits up to five and the EU law which clearly states two. He adamantly refused. That day I saw lots of customers in store paying for clear manufacturing faults despite their products still being in warranty.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/25585...anty_fine.html

I initiated a small claims. The store manager called me and said I was wrong that they had a right to charge. I continued the legal action at a cost of £94 for court application.

17 threatening calls from apple and they then offered a "goodwill replacement". I refused as its not goodwill its a legal requirement for them to repair and as they have refused on 3 occasions I wanted a refund additionally this goodwill would not renew the warranty or cover the legal expense.

Later after they had called another 10+ times they offered a replacement again under the term goodwill.

They had their defence struck, but applied for it to be reinstated. Their defence is they don't have to repair and offered a goodwill gesture (yet no offer to cover court fees). Today I get a default apple letter saying the drives are faulty and offer to replace so their defence of were not under a warranty to repair is humorous.

So they wait as long for customers to pay for their faults, allow hazardous computers to leave the store and fraudulently misinform or refuse customers their legal rights.

Can't wait to see how they defend their actions now. Will keep everyone informed. I only wish big corporations were aggressively fined for defrauding customers and wasting court and customer time.

AJ

[anthonyp01]

Just got my email today. Sucks as my Hard drive is rammed of thousands of photos and all my work. :/

[Southshore]

I called the closest Apple store to me ( Hingham, MA) they quoted 5 to 7 days. After calling a few others near by, I found one that told me 1 to 2 days, but usually, same day completion. I have an appointment for Monday the 29th, and will let you know the outcome. All of the stores responded that the drives would be destroyed, and that there should be no concern for data leaks.

[dgr401]

Originally Posted by Southshore

I called the closest Apple store to me ( Hingham, MA) they quoted 5 to 7 days. After calling a few others near by, I found one that told me 1 to 2 days, but usually, same day completion. I have an appointment for Monday the 29th, and will let you know the outcome. All of the stores responded that the drives would be destroyed, and that there should be no concern for data leaks.

My replacement took 24 hours. But when I finished dropping mine off this past Monday there were 5 other iMac owners doing the same. When I picked it up the tech said they were starting to back up and turnaround was going to be about 48 hours, hopefully less. I was also told the drives were to be destroyed but I erased mine anyway.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Got the email earlier this week. We have 4 confirmed "eligible" but 2 others that weren't although I suspect they should be. All are late 2009 27" iMacs, exact same configurations. First non-eligible is a refurb with the exact same drive and model as those eligible. The second non-eligible was bought at the exact same time as one eligible, exact same configuration and drive. Had both a genius (in-person) and AppleCare specialist (on phone) check and both said not eligible according to their records and info provided by Seagate. Even gave them detailed system reports showing drive model, version and serials. Both said to have them checked-out just in case...wtf?

Since turn-around at the Apple Store is too long for business needs, I'm having an on-site certified Apple service tech come in to replace them. Parts and labor covered, but will have to pay for the "trip fee" which is under $100.

Doing it this way allows us to clone each drive instead of doing a Time Machine recovery (which I'm not fully confident with). The tech said they have to send the bad drives back to Apple, but will let us keep them for a few days to complete the transfers/cloning.

[aliensporebomb]

Got mine back tonight - they replaced my SuperDrive too so my iMac is back to 100% but it will take 7 hours to copy my data back.

[acorntoy]

Took mine in last week and got it replaced no problem, new hard drive is MUCH quieter ( I suspect the other one was failing )

Only hassle was copying all the data back which took 8 hours

[redrunner]

I have an iMac that had the defective Seagate drive. I had the drive replaced at my own expense at an Apple Store earlier this year. After receiving the recall notice, I contacted Apple Support, and they promised to refund the repair cost.

Recently I received a subsequent e-mail (apparently from Apple), that is asking me to e-mail my bank account/ routing numbers back to Apple so they can deposit the refund directly in my bank account.

I'm very uncomfortable about e-mailing this information to anyone. I don't know why Apple couldn't just mail a check, or put the refund back on my credit card. This sounds a lot like a "Nigerian scam", and seems very un-Apple like. I even wonder if someone inside Apple is running a scam.

Has anyone else received this notice?