iMac 2012 High frequency noise

[iThomas159]

So,
Apple just called Me back.
They've said they will replace it.

As I looked around this forum i noticed, that there are many threads regarding the noise problem, so this looks like a bigger Problem.

 

[2bcool2]

So,
Apple just called Me back.
They've said they will replace it.

As I looked around this forum i noticed, that there are many threads regarding the noise problem, so this looks like a bigger Problem.

my new imac has a noise problem, to me it sounds like hd noise, its chattery when idol, and when i open a app it goes crazy, like a furby toy.

also when it boots up i hear a sonic beep when the apple appears ... sounds doa to me lol so on to the next one ...

i remember a high pitch problem with the old black MacBooks, i went through 3 then gave up

 

[cheekyb]

many thanks THOMAS - i too have that annoying noise - tried your fix and it WORKS

Thomas

I just want to take a moment to thank you for your terminal fix to fix that annoying high pitched cpu idling issue on the new 27" iMac - i tried to call applecare but the technical support guy was a bit ignorant - he told me to do a PR reset - i tried that and it brought back the noise - to kill the noise initially i entered your command and rebooted and OMG it worked - I have been getting a headache because of that sound - I must push for a replacement but im not sure if a replacement will solve this - what is Apple's official view on this from your chat with them i wonder?

Hi everyone,
today my new iMac 27" (i5, 3.2 GHz, GTX 680) arrived, but it makes a really loud and high frequency noise.

Has someone else noticed the same problems?


Thanks in advance!

 

[iThomas159]

Thomas

I just want to take a moment to thank you for your terminal fix to fix that annoying high pitched cpu idling issue on the new 27" iMac - i tried to call applecare but the technical support guy was a bit ignorant - he told me to do a PR reset - i tried that and it brought back the noise - to kill the noise initially i entered your command and rebooted and OMG it worked - I have been getting a headache because of that sound - I must push for a replacement but im not sure if a replacement will solve this - what is Apple's official view on this from your chat with them i wonder?

No problem

So, Apple said, I'll get it replaced. The only thing I had to do, was to record the noise, and send it to AppleCare with an email.
Today mine was picked up by DHL. When it arrives at Apple in Ireland they'll send me a new one.

I believe that I was one of the first that called Apple because of that problem.
They said their engineers will examine my iMac ^^

 

[cheekyb]

Ty for your response thomas

Thomas,

Many thanks for your guidance - I am sure you will get your replacement expedited. I remember 3 years ago when i got my 27" imac - it has this yellow scree greyish banding issue - and in that instance Apple too sent a replacement - the defective machine was sent to their engineering team in Ireland for them to investigate the issue. Sure with your terminal fix the issue is addressed the sound is totally killed off even after multiple reboots - however any PR reset beyond that will bring the sound back. I just hope its not a wide spread issue - I realise a lot of people don't hear this sound - it depends what else in the room makes noise and so forth but for me that sound is bad enough to cause migranes as it is too high pitched.

Cheers

No problem

So, Apple said, I'll get it replaced. The only thing I had to do, was to record the noise, and send it to AppleCare with an email.
Today mine was picked up by DHL. When it arrives at Apple in Ireland they'll send me a new one.

I believe that I was one of the first that called Apple because of that problem.
They said their engineers will examine my iMac ^^

 

[cheekyb]

Apple acknowledges issue - offers replacement

Many thanks to iThomas159 on the advice given for this issue - I talked to Applecare support today and the agent consulted the engineering department who say Apple is aware of this issue - they are investigating the cause of it - in the meantime a replacement will be sent to me.

Cheers

No problem

So, Apple said, I'll get it replaced. The only thing I had to do, was to record the noise, and send it to AppleCare with an email.
Today mine was picked up by DHL. When it arrives at Apple in Ireland they'll send me a new one.

I believe that I was one of the first that called Apple because of that problem.
They said their engineers will examine my iMac ^^

 

[edry.hilario]

hey guys im having some issues with my current imac so i called apple they issue me a replacement for my 27 inch bto imac, i thought it was gonna take really long, they put in the replacement last week, today changed to "preparing for shipment" so dont be discurage to exchange your machines they are turning the replacement around rather quickly. Good luck everyone!

 

[justperry]

I got a temporarily Fix

As the problem comes from the power saving of the CPU, the fix is just to prevent the cpu to go in the power saving mode!

To do so, just put this line into the Terminal and the noise is gone.

sudo nvram boot-args="idlehalt=0"

The Problem is, that this works just in OSX, if you use bootcamp the problem will still be there.

You can also do this permanently by creating a boot.plist file and activate it by putting it in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder and restart.

The name of the file should be com.apple.Boot.plist and the easiest way to create one is with Property List Editor but this is only available if you have Developer Tools installed.

Down below is a Screenshot for idlehalt=0 (Example) in the boot.plist, one is open in Property List Editor and the same file open in TextEdit.
Should work, don't have an iMac to test it.

This way it stays active even after resetting PRAM.

Edit: Incuded a boot.plist Zip file for idlehalt=0

 

[cheekyb]

thanks for the update eddy

hey guys im having some issues with my current imac so i called apple they issue me a replacement for my 27 inch bto imac, i thought it was gonna take really long, they put in the replacement last week, today changed to "preparing for shipment" so dont be discurage to exchange your machines they are turning the replacement around rather quickly. Good luck everyone!

Edry and others who are getting replacements - would you be kind enough to let us know if the replacements resolved the sound issue at all - has anyone been to an apple store to see if the ones on display have the same sound or is it just a select few - its good to see Apple sending out the replacements sooner - I just hope the replacements dont have this issue - its enough to cause a migraine for sure.

----------

You can also do this permanently by creating a boot.plist file and activate it by putting it in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder and restart.

The name of the file should be com.apple.Boot.plist and the easiest way to create one is with Property List Editor but this is only available if you have Developer Tools installed.

Down below is a Screenshot for verbose mode (Example) in the boot.plist, one is open in Property List Editor and the same file open in TextEdit.

This way it stays active even after resetting PRAM.

that is a possible solution - nice to see there is a fix that you can do that wont get wiped out by a PRAM reset !

 

[edry.hilario]

Ill definitely keep you guys posted. Im actually a bit worry that im going to get a defective unit again lets hope thats not the case. It should ship tomorrow or by tonight and so i should be getting it on Monday or so. I'll let you guys know.

 

[2bcool2]

mines going back on monday to apple
i stopped by pc world and saw the old fat imacs ... they didnt have the new ones, and i couldnt hear any hd chattering or furby sounds .. and i couldnt hear any fannoise with my head to the unit either ....

that unit looked really impressive too ( the bright ness was on full lol)

so im hoping my replacement is silent .. fingers crossed other wise i wont try a 3rd unit, ill get my cash and wait for the next one probably

but with a bit of luck, ill get a silent one ... will let you know

 

[larzy]

My noisy machine was collected by TNT today.

I have a question - how are you guys able to track your replacement order? The new one ordered for me is configured under the exact same order number - so I'm not able to see the status of it.

 

[nagareru]

My imac is making this noise too. It comes mostly from the lower left corner of the computer, from watching a picture of the insides it looks like it is coming from the PSU. The sound is like an electrical one, it is still there even when I turn my computer off. It is not loud but I can hear it, my wife says its normal, but the 2011 imac I use at work doest not emit a sound like this.

I am starting to fear that it is a problem related to my house electrical system as my lcd tv has starting to make the same sound even when off.

I just moved to a new house btw.

 

[jrg1970]

I have a question - how are you guys able to track your replacement order? The new one ordered for me is configured under the exact same order number - so I'm not able to see the status of it.

Yeah, I'd like to know the answer to that, too.

Like you I have a replacement in the works (for yellow tint).

 

[WilliamG]

My i7 2012 iMac is NOT making this sound, and believe you me I know exactly the sound you're talking about. As I mentioned in earlier posts, my 2009 iMac made this sound which distracted me only in a quiet environment, and my current Sony Vaio Z2 makes this sound constantly and drives me bonkers.

My i7 doesn't make a peep. Not one peep, under load or otherwise, at this time. I put my ear up to the screen in all corners, and hear nothing except the faint whir of the fan. I'm not sure if this is an i5 issue, but my i7 is faultless in terms of sound/electrical noise.

----------

My imac is making this noise too. It comes mostly from the lower left corner of the computer, from watching a picture of the insides it looks like it is coming from the PSU. The sound is like an electrical one, it is still there even when I turn my computer off. It is not loud but I can hear it, my wife says its normal, but the 2011 imac I use at work doest not emit a sound like this.

I am starting to fear that it is a problem related to my house electrical system as my lcd tv has starting to make the same sound even when off.

I just moved to a new house btw.

You may want to try a UPS/line conditioner if this issue persists.

 

[nagareru]

Ok so I just woke up this morning went into the computer room and the noise was gone. And this is the second time, there is no noise from the TV as well, so I am starting to believe that my computer is not faulty. BUt why it only happens at night? only at bloody night when I come from work,,, T-T...

And my ears are fine, i recorded the noise yesterday night.

HERE

What do you guys think? a UPS should do the trick or perhaps a transformer?
The room I am in has almost no noise at all..

 

[cosmicjoke]

this is a fairly common problem across computers, there's basically a bad synergy between vibrating capacitors on different components that creates an annoying whine... generally disabling c-states from bios is a work around (in the case of a mac adding idlehalt=0 kernel flag to the Boot.plist) anyways, the noise itself isn't indicative of a potential failure of your computer or anything, it's just annoying and you understandably want rid of it. hopefully a replacement will be better but i wouldn't bank on it...

 

[nagareru]

I tried doing the kernel thing but it doesnt work. Like I said it even sounds when the computer is off, not just sleeping, completely off. The sound only goes away when I unplug the computer from the outlet. But again this only happens at night, for some reason there is no noise during the day.

 

[iWaiting]

then its odd order harmonics on the mains, if its only during the night it may be the power company sending out pluses for switching and or meter reading

 

[edry.hilario]

hey guys my replacement just came in today, im really impress how fast the turn around was. Im unable to test the new machine at this moment since im at work but ill let you know what happens later on tonight, i have my fingers crossed, hopefully i wont get f'd up machine. Just a little update.

 

[nagareru]

Interestingly I found out that the sound on my computer (which it looks like its coming from the PSU) happens only when street lights go on. Exactly at 5:35pm and stop at dawn as soon as they turn them off. What can this be? I am looking to buy this line-interactive PSU. I know it supplies pure sine waves when on battery and that it has some AVR functions but I am a bit worried that it wont help while not in battery mode. Perhaps a line conditioner can help?

 

[SOLLERBOY]

My machine makes a kind of buzzing for exactly six minutes after turning it on or waking from sleep. After that it's quiet. I don't know what it is or what I should do about it.

 

[laetusviator]

My new 27" iMac seems to have this high freq noise.

hey guys my replacement just came in today, im really impress how fast the turn around was. Im unable to test the new machine at this moment since im at work but ill let you know what happens later on tonight, i have my fingers crossed, hopefully i wont get f'd up machine. Just a little update.

Any update? I'd love to know if the replacement has similar problems...

 

[WilliamG]

Anyone with an i7 having this issue, or is it all i5?

 

[blairs1]

I think this is an issue on more than the 2012 iMac's. I've got it too on a 2011 21.5" base model.

Mine is like this sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8MWUH9ZhL0

but constantly happens, does not go away with brightness changes.

Local shop said they can't hear it - I'll test it in their environment, but I'll go to Apple next.