Owners of flickering 27-inch iMacs claim 15% refund from Apple

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Some users who have been plagued by screen flickering issues with the new 27-inch iMac have reportedly been given a 15 percent refund on their purchase price.



Citing reports from customers in the U.S. and the U.K., Gizmodo reported Thursday that Apple is paying out cash to some who have been frustrated by a defective big-screen iMac. For a $2,000 machine, the refund would amount to $300.



"From the handful of reader anecdotes we've received thus far, it sounds like you need to be a repeat iMac returner who's dealt with multiple 27-inch iMacs that have been busted in some way (but they may accommodate first time buyers as well, we don't know)," the report said. "One reader had multiple yellow screens, then received another new model with broken Bluetooth. He took the 15% and just returned it."



On Monday evening, the Mac maker released a second potential software fix for the flickering issues that have affected some owners of the newly redesigned late 2009 model iMac. The update, entitled "27-inch iMac Display Firmware Update 1.0," was preceded by first intended fix in December, entitled "27-inch iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0."



Before the second update was released, a rumor surfaced that Apple had temporarily suspended production of its 27-inch iMac desktop machines. But Apple later officially denied those claims, stating that machines were still being produced and sold.



Starting in late January, new iMac purchases were hit with a three-week wait time. This week, however, the shipment times improved to two weeks.







Supply of the new, big-screen iMac has been constrained for months, and Apple even apologized for delays in December. However, the company has chalked the supply constraints up to the new desktop being a "huge hit," rather than any hardware or production issues.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 91
    I assume Apple will resolve this problem - hopefully sooner than later - the compensation for those hit repeatedly is nice but still doesn't make me want to jump up and get one. Glad to see Apple is taking care of those with problems. Once they get this issue resolved I wil be looking at getting one.



    BTW: Is this possibly the reason AAPL is taking a beating so far today?
  • Reply 2 of 91
    tekstudtekstud Posts: 351member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Damn_Its_Hot View Post


    I assume Apple will resolve this problem - hopefully sooner than later - the compensation for those hit repeatedly is nice but still doesn't make me want to jump up and get one. Glad to see Apple is taking care of those with problems. Once they get this issue resolved I wil be looking at getting one.



    BTW: Is this possibly the reason AAPL is taking a beating so far today?



    I believe it's trended down ever since the release of the Pad.
  • Reply 3 of 91
    mytdavemytdave Posts: 447member
    Okay, so that story is less than clear. Are customers of problematic 27"ers getting $300 and keeping their machines, are they getting their $2000 back plus $300 when they return the machine, or are they returning the machine and only getting $300 back? One would hope it's purchase price plus 15%, but whatever the case is, it is certainly not made clear in this write up.



    As for Apple's little (big) problem here... That's what happens when you let QA slip. Apple, do you have an engineering problem, or do you have an assembly problem? Either way, it appears you do little or no testing of product coming off the line or you would have found and fixed this issue before the units ever left the factory. Maybe this is what you get for building machines in China.



    Apple, get your act together. This is not limited to the 27" iMac. I've been noticing a huge drop in quality of all the devices I've purchased, and now I'm seriously starting to look around for alternatives to your stuff. I have no love for Windoze, that's for sure, but other hardware makers are coming out with some pretty cool kit, and Linux is pretty darn good now - good enough to replace you and M$. (On a side note Apple, anti-aliasing in Linux looks tons better than in MacOS X.)
  • Reply 4 of 91
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mytdave View Post


    Apple, get your act together. This is not limited to the 27" iMac. I've been noticing a huge drop in quality of all the devices I've purchased, and now I'm seriously starting to look around for alternatives to your stuff. I have no love for Windoze, that's for sure, but other hardware makers are coming out with some pretty cool kit, and Linux is pretty darn good now - good enough to replace you and M$. (On a side note Apple, anti-aliasing in Linux looks tons better than in MacOS X.)



    Right? Go ahead switch to Linux.
  • Reply 5 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mytdave View Post


    Okay, so that story is less than clear. Are customers of problematic 27"ers getting $300 and keeping their machines, are they getting their $2000 back plus $300 when they return the machine, or are they returning the machine and only getting $300 back? One would hope it's purchase price plus 15%, but whatever the case is, it is certainly not made clear in this write up.



    As for Apple's little (big) problem here... That's what happens when you let QA slip. Apple, do you have an engineering problem, or do you have an assembly problem? Either way, it appears you do little or no testing of product coming off the line or you would have found and fixed this issue before the units ever left the factory. Maybe this is what you get for building machines in China.



    Apple, get your act together. This is not limited to the 27" iMac. I've been noticing a huge drop in quality of all the devices I've purchased, and now I'm seriously starting to look around for alternatives to your stuff. I have no love for Windoze, that's for sure, but other hardware makers are coming out with some pretty cool kit, and Linux is pretty darn good now - good enough to replace you and M$. (On a side note Apple, anti-aliasing in Linux looks tons better than in MacOS X.)



    You have some major reading comprehension issues. Further you really shouldn't comment on products you don't own. I'm sure customers are given new machines if they insist. My understanding of the problem is that it is software related. So I don't think handing it over to Apple will fix anything. Sure you can get a 100% refund. Nobody is quicker to do that than Apple. Have you ever tried returning a computer to Best buy, or directly to HP or Dell. Good luck with a Linux "warranty".



    This sounds like a courtesy to me. "Sorry for the trouble". The 15% refund has nothing to do with returning the machine. In fact if you already got a 100% refund, I doubt you'll get the 15% on top of that. Like I said the problem is related to ATI's firmware. AKA not hardware or QC related.



    Go buy a Dell or an HP and experience how well their products and QC stack up if you're so confident that Apple makes crap. Can you tell me what other products you are referring to?



    I wonder if you'll get 15% back from HP? Doubt it. Besides why criticize Apple for making their machines in china? Name one company that doesn't. You're a troll.
  • Reply 6 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by spliff monkey View Post


    You have some major reading comprehension issues. Further you really shouldn't comment on products you don't own. I'm sure customers are given new machines if they insist. My understanding of the problem is that it is software related. So I don't think handing it over to Apple will fix anything. Sure you can get a 100% refund. Nobody is quicker to do that than Apple. Have you ever tried returning a computer to Best buy, or directly to HP or Dell. Good luck with a Linux "warranty".



    This sounds like a courtesy to me. "Sorry for the trouble". The 15% refund has nothing to do with returning the machine. In fact if you already got a 100% refund, I doubt you'll get the 15% on top of that. Like I said the problem is related to ATI's firmware. AKA not hardware or QC related.



    Go buy a Dell or an HP and experience how well their products and QC stack up if you're so confident that Apple makes crap. Can you tell me what other products you are referring to?



    I wonder if you'll get 15% back from HP? Doubt it. Besides why criticize Apple for making their machines in china? Name one company that doesn't. You're a troll.



    this is probably the most wrong post I've ever seen....
  • Reply 7 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by spliff monkey View Post


    You have some major reading comprehension issues. Further you really shouldn't comment on products you don't own. I'm sure customers are given new machines if they insist. My understanding of the problem is that it is software related. So I don't think handing it over to Apple will fix anything. Sure you can get a 100% refund. Nobody is quicker to do that than Apple. Have you ever tried returning a computer to Best buy, or directly to HP or Dell. Good luck with a Linux "warranty".



    This sounds like a courtesy to me. "Sorry for the trouble". The 15% refund has nothing to do with returning the machine. In fact if you already got a 100% refund, I doubt you'll get the 15% on top of that. Like I said the problem is related to ATI's firmware. AKA not hardware or QC related.



    Go buy a Dell or an HP and experience how well their products and QC stack up if you're so confident that Apple makes crap. Can you tell me what other products you are referring to?



    I wonder if you'll get 15% back from HP? Doubt it. Besides why criticize Apple for making their machines in china? Name one company that doesn't. You're a troll.



    According to this (under What Could Be Wrong), it looks like it could be a manufacturing defect.
  • Reply 8 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Right? Go ahead switch to Linux.



    You laugh. I love my linux system. It replaced my Mac system. Not looking back either!
  • Reply 9 of 91
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    And Apple still will not acknowledge that this is a widespread problem.
  • Reply 10 of 91
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    You laugh. I love my linux system. It replaced my Mac system. Not looking back either!





    I have many Linux machines and have used nearly every flavor of Unix since the early 90s and not one could come close to replacing a Mac for serious publishing/design/video/audio etc, etc, etc. So if you replaced your Mac with Linux you must not have ever needed a Mac in the first place.



    Linux is a fine OS for servers but it makes a pretty lousy desktop environment in my opinion.
  • Reply 11 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tipoo View Post


    And Apple still will not acknowledge that this is a widespread problem.



    Apple sell an image. A fundamental part of which is 'it just works'



    Admitting this destroys that in one foul swoop.





    style over substance...?



    you bet..
  • Reply 12 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I have many Linux machines and have used nearly every flavor of Unix since the early 90s and not one could come close to replacing a Mac for serious publishing/design/video/audio etc, etc, etc. So if you replaced your Mac with Linux you must not have ever needed a Mac in the first place.



    Linux is a fine OS for servers but it makes a pretty lousy desktop environment in my opinion.



    You're right you have to replace a Mac with a Windows system to truly become productive.........
  • Reply 13 of 91
    b747b747 Posts: 27member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tipoo View Post


    And Apple still will not acknowledge that this is a widespread problem.



    Please. As if any company comes out and declares "we've fucked up" to the mass public.



    Nothing better to kill the image of your product.
  • Reply 14 of 91
    rhyderhyde Posts: 294member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by B747 View Post


    Please. As if any company comes out and declares "we've fucked up" to the mass public.



    Nothing better to kill the image of your product.



    Yeah, tell that to Toyota. Oh, wait...
  • Reply 15 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Archipellago View Post


    Apple sell an image. A fundamental part of which is 'it just works'



    Admitting this destroys that in one foul swoop.





    style over substance...?



    you bet..



    It would be fell swoop, actually. But I agree with what you're saying.
  • Reply 16 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post


    You're right you have to replace a Mac with a Windows system to truly become productive.........



    true..



    http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/ar...too/1253136981
  • Reply 17 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by confeos View Post


    It would be fell swoop, actually. But I agree with what you're saying.



    its a country thing...
  • Reply 18 of 91
    Right now my 27" iMac is going strong, I just worry that it will develop these issues and I will be out of luck.
  • Reply 19 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hellacool View Post


    Right now my 27" iMac is going strong, I just worry that it will develop these issues and I will be out of luck.



    Once some time passes I would be interested to hear if the Firmware update fixed the problem. That was the issue with the first gen ALU iMac. The yellow screen issue seems to be something that some iMac users always complain about since switching to the new model. The 21.5 inch model is a big improvement over the old 20", that panel was just outright awful.
  • Reply 20 of 91
    isaidsoisaidso Posts: 750member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Archipellago View Post


    Apple sell an image. A fundamental part of which is 'it just works'



    Admitting this destroys that in one foul swoop.





    style over substance...?



    you bet..



    Brainless troll over reality...?



    Absolutely.
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