Apple Imac 27 horror story

wisty said:
I can't believe you got so many ****** machines. The only possibility I can think of - when you return the machine, they re-pack it and pass it on to another customer (hoping that they next one won't notice). Now it's gotten to the stage where all their stock has 10+ dead pixels, dents, dodgy chips, etc.

Someone, somewhere in the supply chain is doing this. It's not likely that Apple wants this kind of shenanigans (it hurts their reputation), but it seems that someone is making a buck out of "bouncing" broken machines to customers, hoping they don't notice the problems.

Edit: it's possible that you are just the one guy in 100*100*100 (1 in a million) who got a bottom 1% computer ever damn time. Or you are picky or there's QC issues, and you got the bottom 5% computers (which is more probable) ... it's hard to tell. But it could be that *somebody* is selling dud computers as new.
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I have to agree with you 100%

They ARE repackaging returns. Been saying it for a long while.
 
Man-Droid said:
I understand that many people are having problems with the 27" iMacs. I still plan on buying one. I do not however plan on going through this never ending exchange ordeal. I have put a one exchange limit on it. If I get a bad machine and then a bad replacement, I intend on calling it quits and just getting a refund. I'll then wait for a product refresh to try my luck again. No sense in going through all of that. Sorry you had so much bad luck.
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This is a smart plan. I'm going to upgrade to a 27incher soon, and I might just follow your lead.
 
Having worked at an Apple Store, Apple inventory control specialists NEVER repackage DOA machines. They are promptly sent back to Apple.

Now, maybe it happens at a higher level in the supply chain (doubtful).

My guess is that you have been getting the black ducks out of the crew.

Posted from my clean, problem free iMac 27.
 
Well friend, you might have a spot of bad karma.

But really, imagine what your experience would be like if you were dealing with Dell or HP. If this kind of thing happened to you dealing with a non-Apple company, it would probably make you suicidal.

Good luck though, I hope you get everything worked out.
 
Btom said:
That is why we should always be RETURNING bad computer and then BUY another one.

Tom B.
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EXACTLY!!!

I really dont understand people. If it were me, I'd return it outright and reorder a week later. Create an entirely NEW order ticket. Apple is playing musical iMacs with the return and replacement.
 
IndustrialSpace said:
EXACTLY!!!

I really dont understand people. If it were me, I'd return it outright and reorder a week later. Create an entirely NEW order ticket. Apple is playing musical iMacs with the return and replacement.
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I think Apple is hoping to sell the returned bad screens to ppl who won't notice or be bothered by the yellowishness and keep them.
 
i just cant believe this .i just recently( as in last week) purchased a 27"imac from the Jacksonville fl apple store.after getting home i very carefully scrutinized the display for a hour searching for defects and variations in color,after finding no notable variations in color tint or dead pixels i was satisfied with my purchase. but i got the c2d version so that might be a factor .
 
I've given up on the imac (for now).

Bought a 21" refurb...yellow tint...returned, bought a new 21" in-store...yellow tint, returned...had them pull the replacement out of the box in the store, and yet again, yellow tint.

I'm moving on to a macbook pro, even though it's costing me about $1000 more. :(
 
So disappointed

I suspect Apple is using a new factory in China or has a new production line. Sometimes there are many bugs to work out in these things. I purchased a IMac in 2008 and loved it. In 2011, I wanted to upgrade, as I'm a photographer and my files are getting larger. First I bought the most expensive Mac Pro laptop they sold, $3200. When I received it, the screen just blitzed. They declared it "dead on arrival and took it back, no problem. Then I went to the Apple store and bought an IMac again, as I had good luck with the one bought previously. Sad to say, it was no faster then the one bought in 2008. So I took it back and upscaled to a Mac Pro and 30" Cinema screen. On the advise of the store employees, I didn't upgrade with Apple ram, but purchased 16 gigs on-line. The computer had Major problems. Spinning wheels, slow performance etc. But I let the return date pass, so was stuck with it. Took it in for a fast drop, they kept it 3 days and after getting no call, I went to the store. Said they couldn't replicate the problem, but no explanation of why 3 days and no call. Felt they were blowing me off by this time. Did a diagnostics text myself, holding the D button down and it came up with a error message about the ram. The on-line company sent me new ram and the machine worked fine. But when I did another diagnostics, it just got stuck at 1 hour and 40 minutes. Called Apple care. Major Mistake! Admittedly I was upset, but their technique of handling upset customers is the pass them to other people and make the experience "UNPLEASANT" Each person I talked to "3" said they would explain the situation with the next so I wouldn't have to start from ground zero again. Next person would start with, "Heard you have a spinning wheel or something to demonstrate I would have to start over again. Thanks Apple Care, just what I need when in this kind of nightmare. Last "senior tech" said to call back in a while, but gave wrong call back number, "THANKS". When I did reach his extension, he had gone home for the day. THANKS APPLE CARE ! No one ever explained why it was stuck, just said let it run longer. Last A. Care person I talked to, seemed to take delight in pushing a phone button repeatedly, so I took that loud beep in my ear every 20 seconds or so. So finally I let it run 11.5 hours, and still stayed stuck. I e-mailed Apple, saying I would take a hit of $600 or so, if they would just take it back, but no response.
Again, this seems so unlike Apple, so I suspect a new production line or factory being used. As for Apple Care? The people are either poorly trained or simply don't care to use even the most basic decency expected from a business.
All statements based on my experience.
 
That is terrible. As posted by me, I had my 27" thrown at me by my, meanwhile ex retarded bitch because I ended the relationship. The Mac got thrown of the office desk twice and finally it flew through the living room where it got severely damaged but still it works perfectly... No dead pixels, nothing. Unfortunately it will cost time and money to get it fixed... I love the iMac! But Apple is the LOUSIEST company on the planet when it comes to hardware quality. I know sooo many people having had issues with broken mother boards, broken button on iPhone, broken graphics board, broken power supply, broken CPU blocks(PPC), dead pixels on the LCD of macBook Pro etc... ANd true, Apple almost always tries to find excuses to get awau with it without warranty! I have a white macbook which boots and after 15 seconds it shuts down. APple say: aha the moisture sensor turned red: no warranty! This has nothing to do with the problem so I am at the virge of suing them.... Terrible.
 
I think these problems arise from the fact that defective machines usually come in a batch and these batches then get delivered to the same store. For instance, if someone slept on the job and this resulted in 100 faulty iMacs, these iMacs will usually be delivered to the same store. So the replacement is a bad machine as well. Apple can really improve things here (for instance, by randomizing the machines in the storage, so that "bad"machines are more equally distributed).

My 27" iMac was perfect from the beginning, no issues whatsoever. I feel sorry for your bad luck.
 
I am glad that my 27 inch imac which I've had for al most 4 weeks is problem free (well except for a slight humming noise that I only notice when it is quiet in the room). I feel bad for those encountering problems because it could have easily been me.
 
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Thanks

Thanks for your support. I had no one offer any. As for the term "bad luck", that refers to gambling etc., not buying high end equipment from a reputable American company. Apple seems so confident that they rule the market place now, that they don't even practice basic business principals, as in
Business 101
NO ONE TIME PROFIT IT EVER WORTH DESTROYING MANY LONG TERM PROFITS BASED ON REPUTATION FOR FAIRNESS AND DECENCY.

EVERY CUSTOMER IS A WALKING, TALKING ADVERTISEMENT THAT MONEY COULD NOT BUY AND INFLUENCES AT LEAST 10 OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT DEALING WITH A COMPANY AND THEIR PRODUCTS.

In all fairness,I'll write Apple Corporate headquarters about this and include these posts. See what kind of response I get.
 
sadcamper said:
I've given up on the imac (for now).

Bought a 21" refurb...yellow tint...returned, bought a new 21" in-store...yellow tint, returned...had them pull the replacement out of the box in the store, and yet again, yellow tint.

I'm moving on to a macbook pro, even though it's costing me about $1000 more. :(
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Apple wins.

The 21 inch screens are all crap. We had 3 at one point (all sent back) and every one of them was yellower than the Yangtze river.
 
chrono1081 said:
I'm sorry that is the DUMBEST thing I've ever heard. This conspiracy theorist idea of customer service is just stupid.

Ok here is my experience with the "scummy company".

I bought a macbook pro. 1.5 months later I buy an ACD. I call to get applecare on my ACD (I already had it on my pro) and the rep actually just added the apple care for free to the monitor since I bought a macbook pro recently. These two items were not purchased on the same receipt and apple didn't even have to do this, I didn't even ask they just offered.

Now, that being said I ended up with a defective monitor. Oh well it happens I've worked in electronics long enough to know that its nothing abnormal. For reasons outside my and apples control my monitor got to where I am at 38 days after purchase, well beyond the return period.

Anyway, I called (it was a refurb monitor) and asked if I could return it and just purchase a new monitor instead since I didn't want to take a chance with another refurb. The rep on the phone not only took the old monitor back (well outside the return period) but also said for the inconvenience they would credit me $170 (so I only paid roughly $130 for the new monitor upgrade) but they also paid full shipping for my return monitor and my new one. And my applecare is still completely valid.

I'm sorry, Apples customer service is freaking amazing. I never even asked for these credits, free shippings, etc that they gave me. All I did was call and be polite because I used to work at the other end of that phone and I know exactly how it is.
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Good example.

I think one should stay courteous and let the customer service rep do his job without aggravating him.

I know it's an emotional thing when something you just bought doesn't work.

Let the emotions pass, and only then call.

It makes it so much easier for everybody to get things right.

The advice someone gave to return for refund if the exchange is bad, too, is probably a good one.
 
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Thumbs up for Apple staff

I've had to return two i5 27in iMacs, one a new 2010 model, the other a 2011 - I've exchanged both for BTO i7 upgrade and 2G VRAM.

Whilst I had to talk to customer relations and spend a fair amount of time at it, I've always been polite, explained my case clearly and stated I expect replacements and not a refund.

After a fair bit of verbal exchange, Apple Reps fully understood where I stand, agreed machines had issues and that replacement was a better option than repair on practically new machines - hence I cannot complain, but you have to be clear and concise and stay the course.

As such, I can usually attest I'm 95% always happy with customer care and any repairs to-date in 10 years have been excellent.

I'm sorry about your experience, but my own demonstrates if you keep a cool head and speak to the necessary supervisors most issues are cleared up - I'm a hard customer to satisfy, so not sure what went wrong - but expressing anger over the phone certainly does not help - quite the reverse.
 
Apple Imac horror story

What are the causes of dead pixels anyway? Does this mean the whole unit must be scrapped? Can their be fixed or can you switch out a component?

I don't hear these problems so much with 22 inch screen models (such as I have.)
 
Hi all,

I am so sorry to hear OP's story and the issues other people have with their Mac machines. I myself on my 5th return of 27" iMac. Each have issues like hard drive noise, yellow tint etc. I can't believe why apple is producing these very expensive problematic machines.

I tried buying these from three different apple stores, but without any luck. With my experience in buying and returning these i can tell they just repack returns and pass on to the next customer. I finally decided to by refurbished from Apple website, this way I don't need to take computer back to store everytime as these stores are about 1 hour drive from my place.

I am not sure how many returns I have to do in order to have a problem free machine. I am not a happy customer.

Oh by the way I have returned 2010 refurb i7, 2011 i5 and 2011 i7.
 
Mr Rogers said:
I've had to return two i5 27in iMacs, one a new 2010 model, the other a 2011 - I've exchanged both for BTO i7 upgrade and 2G VRAM.

Whilst I had to talk to customer relations and spend a fair amount of time at it, I've always been polite, explained my case clearly and stated I expect replacements and not a refund.

After a fair bit of verbal exchange, Apple Reps fully understood where I stand, agreed machines had issues and that replacement was a better option than repair on practically new machines - hence I cannot complain, but you have to be clear and concise and stay the course.

As such, I can usually attest I'm 95% always happy with customer care and any repairs to-date in 10 years have been excellent.

I'm sorry about your experience, but my own demonstrates if you keep a cool head and speak to the necessary supervisors most issues are cleared up - I'm a hard customer to satisfy, so not sure what went wrong - but expressing anger over the phone certainly does not help - quite the reverse.
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It's always a good thing to let the other party know what exactly you expect from them to be a satisfied customer.
 
Regardless of what it is there's always lemons. However IMAC 21" and 27" seem to be plagued by the LG displays that they're using. Theres too many reports of problems on these forums. And yes we all own Apple products but this problem has been going on before the refresh and its time Apple addressed it.
 
where is the problem ?
its a computer , it can be defective from new or will develop defects sooner or later , happens all the time at all manufacturers around the world oops i meant china as manufacturers are placed in china now in most cases ,and only the sellng company's are placed around the world

another important thing: no apple does not offer superior quality products , which is not possible as the internal parts are the same as the parts of other manufacturers ..intel, ati, lg..... which keeps the price low , and it's impossible if a manufacturer has millions of products coming of the production line to check every one of them for defects

all apple sells is a well designed product that looks good on your desk and with a starting price for a iMac 21.5 i5 2.5ghz of £999 and officially ends at the 27" i5 3.1ghz for £1649 it is cheap too , everything else on the website offered is BTO and cost more
but other manufactuers can keep up with that price/ price range and often are only cheaper at first glance take the lenovo idea centre A700 23" , it offers a i7 at the price of £999 , but only clocked at 1.7ghz so is not really more powerful then the 21.5 iMac 2.5 ghz i5 .
so why do people think they get for the price they pay better quality is beyond me ..same price ..same quality as neither lenovo or apple build the CPU, GPU, the HDD's , the ram , the display....
..both Apple and lenovo just assemble off the shelf parts and the only difference apple puts those parts in a aluminium case that makes it more difficult for the consumer to upgrade thats all

and if you want a 27" display then there is no other all in one option so far
the only thing that comes close is a dell 27" display (the same as the iMac but without the drawbacks ) and a dell/alienware aurora alx /area 51 alx desktop but that option is more expensive ,and might be a bit noisy as power needs cooling but to be fair offers a lot more power too and is easy to upgrade
 
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