2013 iMac 27" potentially faulty?

[r0bt]

Hi everyone, I'm a very long time lurker here who, until now, has been able to resolve any issues using existing responses in the forum.

I come to you with a potential issue with my new 27" iMac. After a painful wait my new machine arrived yesterday but i have a feeling there may be something wrong.

In the Mavericks environment i have an issue in that some applications just refuse to install correctly. They get to the end of the install process, at which point an error message flashes saying the application could not be installed. In particular i have had the issue with uTorrent and with Smart Technologies Notebook. I have tried multiple versions of either application to no avail. The same versions install and run perfectly on my late 2011 15" MBP but not on the iMac. I have additionally tried installing under a different admin username also to no avail.

The second issue i have noticed is a flickering vertical 2 inch pixelated bar on the right hand side running the whole height of the screen. This is most prominent when i bootcamp into a Windows 7 environment and seems to occur after initial boot though i have noticed it while in OSX too. I am unable to provide a screenie as yet because it is so intermittent.

Finally i have noticed some concerning quirks during game play while in bootcamp. I play Guild Wars 2 and have it set to high settings however i am experiencing considerable loading times (comparable to my 2011 MBP) and frequent freezes that last approx 10 seconds during gameplay.

I'm a bit confused as to what may be the issue here? Could this be some kind of hardware defect?

My specs are:
3.5GHz i7
8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (waiting for aftermarket upgrade to arrive)
512GB SSD
GTX 780M 4GB DDR5
OSX Mavericks
Window 7 Ultimate in bootcamp

I thank you in advance for any help you might provide

 

[aznboi91]

Hi everyone, I'm a very long time lurker here who, until now, has been able to resolve any issues using existing responses in the forum.

I come to you with a potential issue with my new 27" iMac. After a painful wait my new machine arrived yesterday but i have a feeling there may be something wrong.

In the Mavericks environment i have an issue in that some applications just refuse to install correctly. They get to the end of the install process, at which point an error message flashes saying the application could not be installed. In particular i have had the issue with uTorrent and with Smart Technologies Notebook. I have tried multiple versions of either application to no avail. The same versions install and run perfectly on my late 2011 15" MBP but not on the iMac. I have additionally tried installing under a different admin username also to no avail.

The second issue i have noticed is a flickering vertical 2 inch pixelated bar on the right hand side running the whole height of the screen. This is most prominent when i bootcamp into a Windows 7 environment and seems to occur after initial boot though i have noticed it while in OSX too. I am unable to provide a screenie as yet because it is so intermittent.

Finally i have noticed some concerning quirks during game play while in bootcamp. I play Guild Wars 2 and have it set to high settings however i am experiencing considerable loading times (comparable to my 2011 MBP) and frequent freezes that last approx 10 seconds during gameplay.

I'm a bit confused as to what may be the issue here? Could this be some kind of hardware defect?

My specs are:
3.5GHz i7
8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (waiting for aftermarket upgrade to arrive)
512GB SSD
GTX 780M 4GB DDR5
OSX Mavericks
Window 7 Ultimate in bootcamp

I thank you in advance for any help you might provide

If the pixelated bar runs up and down the screen then I think its a hardware defect.

I would try to install mavericks again and see how that goes. Get all apps installed before you install Windows 7? Or just take it in to the apple store and have them check it out. You're still covered under the warranty.

 

[r0bt]

Okay, so it gets weirder...

The pixelating bar occurred again in OSX and this time I managed to take a screen shot. It flickers so i was sure to take a few but the image does not show the bar is this odd? Can this be explained?

I've just spent a day installing everything back onto both partitions and so am dreading a return


Thanks again

 

[WilliamG]

Okay, so it gets weirder...

The pixelating bar occurred again in OSX and this time I managed to take a screen shot. It flickers so i was sure to take a few but the image does not show the bar is this odd? Can this be explained?

I've just spent a day installing everything back onto both partitions and so am dreading a return


Thanks again

If you took a screenshot not using an actual camera, it won't show up. The issue is almost certainly a hardware issue with the LCD, not the graphics card. When you take a screenshot, it's capturing what the GPU is rendering, so if your LCD, for example, is smashed, you're not going to see that in a screenshot. Same thing with pixels issues related to a defective LCD panel.

 

[rkaufmann87]

Hi everyone, I'm a very long time lurker here who, until now, has been able to resolve any issues using existing responses in the forum.

I come to you with a potential issue with my new 27" iMac. After a painful wait my new machine arrived yesterday but i have a feeling there may be something wrong.

In the Mavericks environment i have an issue in that some applications just refuse to install correctly. They get to the end of the install process, at which point an error message flashes saying the application could not be installed. In particular i have had the issue with uTorrent and with Smart Technologies Notebook. I have tried multiple versions of either application to no avail. The same versions install and run perfectly on my late 2011 15" MBP but not on the iMac. I have additionally tried installing under a different admin username also to no avail.

The second issue i have noticed is a flickering vertical 2 inch pixelated bar on the right hand side running the whole height of the screen. This is most prominent when i bootcamp into a Windows 7 environment and seems to occur after initial boot though i have noticed it while in OSX too. I am unable to provide a screenie as yet because it is so intermittent.

Finally i have noticed some concerning quirks during game play while in bootcamp. I play Guild Wars 2 and have it set to high settings however i am experiencing considerable loading times (comparable to my 2011 MBP) and frequent freezes that last approx 10 seconds during gameplay.

I'm a bit confused as to what may be the issue here? Could this be some kind of hardware defect?

My specs are:
3.5GHz i7
8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (waiting for aftermarket upgrade to arrive)
512GB SSD
GTX 780M 4GB DDR5
OSX Mavericks
Window 7 Ultimate in bootcamp

I thank you in advance for any help you might provide

You have 14 days to return the machine if you bought it directly from Apple, you also have 90 days of free AppleCare, why in the world are you even asking for assistance on a rumors forum? Go directly to Apple.

 

[r0bt]

why in the world are you even asking for assistance on a rumors forum? Go directly to Apple.

Given your helpful reply i am asking myself the same question. I guess i mistook this forum to be a place where users often asked for the support of other users. I'll just be picking up my ever-so-portable 27" computer and running straight to the mac store before checking with other enthusiasts who may have experienced a similar issue.

Thank you to the posters above, i have three years of Apple care so I'm no massive hurry. I'll get on to the tech team as indeed this does appear to be a hardware fault.

 

[jordanm86]

Given your helpful reply i am asking myself the same question. I guess i mistook this forum to be a place where users often asked for the support of other users. I'll just be picking up my ever-so-portable 27" computer and running straight to the mac store before checking with other enthusiasts who may have experienced a similar issue.

Thank you to the posters above, i have three years of Apple care so I'm no massive hurry. I'll get on to the tech team as indeed this does appear to be a hardware fault.

Not everyone is as 'helpful' as the poster above

I would agree with WilliamG... most likely a screen defect or possibly the screen connection.

Yep, not very portable but I hope you kept your original box and the polystyrene inserts as it makes a pretty good carry case if you need to take it somewhere!

 

[propower]

Sounds like hardware issue to me as well

I also suggest a call to applecare. Maybe they can rush you a replacement and then let you ship this one back...

 

[andy9l]

Given your helpful reply i am asking myself the same question. I guess i mistook this forum to be a place where users often asked for the support of other users. I'll just be picking up my ever-so-portable 27" computer and running straight to the mac store before checking with other enthusiasts who may have experienced a similar issue.

Thank you to the posters above, i have three years of Apple care so I'm no massive hurry. I'll get on to the tech team as indeed this does appear to be a hardware fault.

Although the guy you're replying to was quite blunt, he was right. Return this machine immediately. Do not take it to Applecare for Apple to patch it up – a patched machine is more likely to be a problematic machine.

It sounds like you are already experiencing SSD and LCD problems after one day, let alone one year. Return your iMac, and buy another one separately. You could try Applecare now and ask for a replacement – which would be great – but ensure you're getting a replacement, and not just a hot-fix/refurb.

I know you don't want to give your new toy away again, but try to think long-term. When you get your next one, and it's perfect, you'll feel much better about it.

 

[r0bt]

Spoke to support chat today about the issue who suggested I take it to a store for repair. I explained that a repair is not acceptable - if I'd have wanted what would effectively be a refurb I'd have bought one. Local telephone support have arranged to call me tomorrow. I am holding out for them to send me a new machine so I can migrate from one machine to another after which I will return the defective unit. Replacement in store is not an option as this is an upgraded iMac. Waiting for them to send me a replacement is also not an option as my work relies on my use of the computer. I currently have a rMBP on order too so if it comes to it I may be able to use cancellation of this order as some bargaining weight.

I know that occasionally hardware faults do occur but this is a very poor show.

Will see how my call goes tomorrow

 

[andy9l]

Fact is, they shouldn't be shipping you a broken piece of hardware and offering to patch it up at your travel expense. Maybe for a $500 machine, but not for $2000+.

I still very strongly suggest you return the iMac – you're not obliged to give a reason if you're in your 14 day returns window. With your heavy reliance on the machine, I realise this might not be the most ideal option, but it's the best option.

The above can of course be ignored if they offer a full replacement.

Hope you get it sorted soon, by whatever means. It's a real downer when you get a bad piece of Apple kit – I suppose because it's relatively rare. My 2010 iMac has been nothing but trouble.

 

[2Turbo]

Return it immediately.

 

[kappaknight]

There are some things you can troubleshoot on here, but some things you really need to just go directly Apple to resolve; hardware issues are one of them.

The poster above wasn't wrong. Not everything needs to be reviewed by the community before you take action.

 

[oldhifi]

take it back and get a MacMini with a good display, and no problems

 

[r0bt]

After quite a pleasant chat Apple aftercare agreed to ship me a new unit to enable me to export directly from the faulty machine to the new one. After which i have 10 days to return the faulty unit. Even blagged a thunderbolt cable to make the process happen a wee bit faster.

Wrote a formal complaint letter to customer service too. Interesting how you can only contact complaints via snail mail...

Fingers crossed the new one will be fine...