2015 5K iMac failed "repair"

[AndrsnH]

Posted a few times regarding this iMac before.

Had a screen replacement/logic board replacement October 2017. Took the iMac in for repair again to the same Apple Store in the UK, March 2018 as it was losing power/turning off intermittently. Was told they had run stress tests for 4 hours and found no problems. They erased and re-installed the OS which seemed to have fixed the issue.

However 3 weeks later the iMac has started losing power/turning off again, but it is also displaying pink graphical glitching during startup/shut down.

I do have AppleCare however surely having to take it back after just 3 weeks is completely unacceptable?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Posted a few times regarding this iMac before.

Had a screen replacement/logic board replacement October 2017. Took the iMac in for repair again to the same Apple Store in the UK, March 2018 as it was losing power/turning off intermittently. Was told they had run stress tests for 4 hours and found no problems. They erased and re-installed the OS which seemed to have fixed the issue.

However 3 weeks later the iMac has started losing power/turning off again, but it is also displaying pink graphical glitching during startup/shut down.

I do have AppleCare however surely having to take it back after just 3 weeks is completely unacceptable?

Well they can only fix what they can identify. What did you want them to do guess?? If it has graphics issues that you can reproduce then they’ll take it in and fix it. If you can show power problems they will fix it. It’s a real issue with intermittent problems with computers and there is no good answer to the problem for everyone involved.

 

[chabig]

If you can, take video of the glitches. That way, you can show it to the tech people and they can see what it’s doing even if they can’t reproduce it.

 

[AndrsnH]

Well they can only fix what they can identify. What did you want them to do guess?? If it has graphics issues that you can reproduce then they’ll take it in and fix it. If you can show power problems they will fix it. It’s a real issue with intermittent problems with computers and there is no good answer to the problem for everyone involved.

It was bought new from Apple, it is covered with AppleCare. It needs to be fixed. I expect Apple to test the computer for more than 4 hours when I’ve told them it can take days for power failure to appear.
The store had told me they were going to replace the logic board and the power supply but they didn’t.
What is the point of AppleCare if they aren’t going to properly diagnose and fix? They cannot expect customers to take their machines in for repair every month.
[doublepost=1523967556][/doublepost]

If you can, take video of the glitches. That way, you can show it to the tech people and they can see what it’s doing even if they can’t reproduce it.

Thanks for the idea, will record it before I go in store!

 

[RyanXM]

It was bought new from Apple, it is covered with AppleCare. It needs to be fixed. I expect Apple to test the computer for more than 4 hours when I’ve told them it can take days for power failure to appear.
The store had told me they were going to replace the logic board and the power supply but they didn’t.
What is the point of AppleCare if they aren’t going to properly diagnose and fix? They cannot expect customers to take their machines in for repair every month.
[doublepost=1523967556][/doublepost]
Thanks for the idea, will record it before I go in store!

Welcome to the world of the new face of Apple Retail. They have really lost touch with how to probably diagnosis and repair any of the Macs. They are decent at iOS devices, but have completely lost it when it comes to the Mac side of things. Any of the local Apple Stores are my last resort when it comes to repair. Having worked at one of them previously (for 5 years) and as a Genius (near 100% feedback from customers, both from a customer service side and properly diagnosing and repair, they do not give me any crap when I tell them what the issue is and what they need to replace to resolve said issue.

Taking a video will certainly help. My other suggestion is to sit at the Genius Bar and use it for a few minutes before they take your appointment. See if you can get it to replicate in store, in front of them. The video is good, but having them actually see you reproduce it is even better. I would also ask to speak to the Lead Genius and deal with the Lead exclusively. I would also ask him to consult his longest running Family Room employee. Hopefully it is someone who have been there for over 4 years and has seen most everything.

Plain and simple: Apple Stores and the Genius Bar are not what they once were. Genius Training use to involve teaching useful terminal commands and now all the training is done in store and customer products are the test bed (take aparts, making mistakes, etc). I had a Mac mini IR connector, logic board side and cable side, ripped off by a new Genius who wasn't following a take apart guide. Had to wait an additional 3 days because of their mistake. The real kicker: they made me pay for their mistake! After an email with Angela, I was soon taken care of. In my 5 years, I only ever "broke" a customer system. The fragile backlight clamp on an 11" Air, shattered in the nail of my pinky finger. Haha!

 

[Average Pro]

Sorry to hear your story. As others mentioned above, try to capture as much information as possible to help identify the problem. What I find interesting is that the problem went away after a fresh OS installation. It may take some time, so I recommend patience.

The community is here to help, so tell us
(1) was it just the monitor or the entire computer that shut down?
(2) did the monitor come back by itself?
(3) did you have to restart the computer?
(4) what external components do you have connected?
(5) what programs were running at the time?

 

[AndrsnH]

Welcome to the world of the new face of Apple Retail. They have really lost touch with how to probably diagnosis and repair any of the Macs. They are decent at iOS devices, but have completely lost it when it comes to the Mac side of things. Any of the local Apple Stores are my last resort when it comes to repair. Having worked at one of them previously (for 5 years) and as a Genius (near 100% feedback from customers, both from a customer service side and properly diagnosing and repair, they do not give me any crap when I tell them what the issue is and what they need to replace to resolve said issue.

Taking a video will certainly help. My other suggestion is to sit at the Genius Bar and use it for a few minutes before they take your appointment. See if you can get it to replicate in store, in front of them. The video is good, but having them actually see you reproduce it is even better. I would also ask to speak to the Lead Genius and deal with the Lead exclusively. I would also ask him to consult his longest running Family Room employee. Hopefully it is someone who have been there for over 4 years and has seen most everything.

Plain and simple: Apple Stores and the Genius Bar are not what they once were. Genius Training use to involve teaching useful terminal commands and now all the training is done in store and customer products are the test bed (take aparts, making mistakes, etc). I had a Mac mini IR connector, logic board side and cable side, ripped off by a new Genius who wasn't following a take apart guide. Had to wait an additional 3 days because of their mistake. The real kicker: they made me pay for their mistake! After an email with Angela, I was soon taken care of. In my 5 years, I only ever "broke" a customer system. The fragile backlight clamp on an 11" Air, shattered in the nail of my pinky finger. Haha!

I appreciate the insight!
I tried to reproduce it in my previous appointment however it's a problem that is intermittent and of course when I took it in it worked perfectly. Will be the third time in 7 months that I'm taking it in for repair so I'm not best pleased!

 

[TC_GoldRush]

Posted a few times regarding this iMac before.

Had a screen replacement/logic board replacement October 2017. Took the iMac in for repair again to the same Apple Store in the UK, March 2018 as it was losing power/turning off intermittently. Was told they had run stress tests for 4 hours and found no problems. They erased and re-installed the OS which seemed to have fixed the issue.

However 3 weeks later the iMac has started losing power/turning off again, but it is also displaying pink graphical glitching during startup/shut down.

I do have AppleCare however surely having to take it back after just 3 weeks is completely unacceptable?

Had the same issues with my 2015 iMac! It would just randomly shut off, no error screen or anything! I returned it and got a replacement unit, it did the same thing after a week or so. They offered to replace it again, so just asked for a refund, utter ******** on Apple's side.

 

[AndrsnH]

Sorry to hear your story. As others mentioned above, try to capture as much information as possible to help identify the problem. What I find interesting is that the problem went away after a fresh OS installation. It may take some time, so I recommend patience.

The community is here to help, so tell us
(1) was it just the monitor or the entire computer that shut down?
(2) did the monitor come back by itself?
(3) did you have to restart the computer?
(4) what external components do you have connected?
(5) what programs were running at the time?

I find it strange that reinstalling the OS fixed the issue temporarily too, and stranger still that the issue has reoccured despite me not restoring anything from a backup.

Have been trying to record it as I did last time however it happens intermittently and with no warning so it's hard to capture!

Its as though the entire computer has lost power, the screen goes off, devices stop charging, the fan stops.
The only way to get it to turn back on is by unplugging the power cord/plugging it back in. I've ruled out the power outlet being a problem/have tried at a different house and the same issue happens.
Its happened with an AppleWatch connected via USB, with nothing connected at all, happens with and without wifi on, with and without ethernet, and obviously the keyboard/mouse connected via bluetooth.

Its happened even when the computer is sat at the login page, seems to happen regardless of what is running, and the system doesn't appear to be under any excessive load according to activity monitor.

 

[AndrsnH]

Had the same issues with my 2015 iMac! It would just randomly shut off, no error screen or anything! I returned it and got a replacement unit, it did the same thing after a week or so. They offered to replace it again, so just asked for a refund, utter ******** on Apple's side.

It's nice to know that it's not just me. I've read similar stories on the forums and elsewhere, I just wonder if there is some sort of design defect.
I'm in the UK so I've been trying to see where I stand with the Consumer Rights Act. Luckily I am covered with AppleCare however it's only covered until November this year and I don't want to have to keep taking it back every couple of weeks.

 

[rizzo41999]

Apple customer service down the tubes since Angela took over!

 

[fusionid]

There is a design defect and that defect is lack of proper thermal planning. If it is intermittent is probably the video card.

My advice to you is kill it for good. run it day in and day out without letting it sleep. That way it will get replaced.

 

[AndrsnH]

There is a design defect and that defect is lack of proper thermal planning. If it is intermittent is probably the video card.

My advice to you is kill it for good. run it day in and day out without letting it sleep. That way it will get replaced.

It wouldn't turn on at all earlier so fingers crossed its on its way to dying.
It's quite worrying considering I don't use it for any particularly intensive tasks.

The logic board was replaced in October last year, would that also mean they replaced the video card or is it a separate component?

 

[fusionid]

I stand corrected

 

[RyanXM]

PRAM, zing, zang it in all that mondo before you take it in. You don't want the apple genius starting the computer, reset PRAM/SMC and you have to come back again.

When my video card was dying, it was not uncommon for it to need a hard reset for it to work again.

You don't have an AMD video card? that would be separate from main board although it is attached to it. It needs to be special ordered so if they didn't say they changed it it did not happen.

The GPU on all models from 2012 and onward are soldered onto the MLB. They are not separate. Each combination of CPU & GPU have their own individual part numbers....see below for the Late 2015 27" Logic Board Selection.
661-03169
Logic Board, 3.2GHz, Quad Core, i5
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
661-03170
Logic Board, 3.2GHz, 2GB, Quad Core, i5
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
661-03171
Logic Board, 3.3GHz, 4GB, Quad Core, i5
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
661-03172
Logic Board, 4.0GHz, Quad Core, i7
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
661-03173
Logic Board, 4.0GHz, Quad Core, 4GB, i7
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
661-03174
Logic Board, 4.0GHz, Quad Core, 2GB, i7
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
661-03175
Logic Board, 3.3GHz, Quad Core, 2GB, i5
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)