Apple M1 iMac users report permanent display problem emerging after warranty ends

[midian182]

Facepalm: There is an increasing number of M1 iMac owners reporting the appearance of the same display issue, suggesting this is a hardware flaw on Apple's part. What's worse is that many of the affected machines, which first arrived in 2021, have seen their warranties expire, meaning users have to pay $600 to $700 for out-of-warranty repairs.

The first reports that some 24-inch M1 iMac models were experiencing dark horizontal lines on their screens first appeared over a year ago. It's unclear how many have been affected, though the complaints appear on multiple online forums, including Reddit and Apple's own support pages.

The dark lines remain on the screen even after the all-in-one is restarted. Users say that the problem does not appear on external displays connected to the iMac, pointing to a screen issue rather than something affecting the iGPU. Some people say the corner of the iMac becomes incredibly hot once the lines appear.

One affected owner said they contacted Apple's support team about the lines. A technician told them that the problem was related to a flex cable located at the top of the screen. The cable needs to sustain a voltage of around 50V when the display brightness is set to high or maximum. After a while, usually about 2 years, the cable starts to burn out and degrade at the connector, causing short circuits that result in horizontal black lines appearing. It means that even if you replace the screen, the lines will likely return in a couple of years.

The user suggests that the problem is a design flaw, a defect in components, or the use of components that don't meet Apple's standards.

There have been a handful of complaints about the same issue appearing in the M3-powered iMac, which was only released in October last year. It could be that Apple never changed the design and the problem is still present in the latest AiO.

One user did receive a free repair from Apple, though this seems like an exception as others say they had to pay. With the affected M1 iMacs now out of warranty, it could leave those without AppleCare+ coverage with a big bill to pay.

$5 - Talked to John Ternus - Head of Hardware Engineering at Apple, and it was interesting hearing straight from the top why the iPhone is harder to repair. Take a listen pic.twitter.com/O9QsQOx4SP

– Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) May 29, 2024

Back in May, John Ternus, Head of Hardware Engineering at Apple, told TechTuber Marques Brownlee that Cupertino focuses more on making a product that never fails rather than one that isn't super reliable but is super easy to repair.

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Apple M1 iMac users report permanent display problem emerging after warranty ends

 

[adisoftcafe]

There is no way! Apple is perfect!

PS Don't buy AIO computers! Because...this!

 

[Hai Karate]

"The user suggests that the problem is a design flaw, a defect in components, or the use of components that don't meet Apple's standards."

The use of components that don't meet Apple's standards??? What kind of BS is this supposed to be, because it sounds like someone doing Biles-class gymnastics to deflect blame for this from Apple itself on to some nebulous third party. I just so happen to be typing this comment from a 2021 24" M1 iMac. Going to be fun if the screen s--ts the bed some morning.

 

[Dimitriid]

Boy they're really getting precise in their planning of that obsolescence, I wouldn't be surprised if they start including arbitrary kill switches that just brick devices 1 day after warranty to ensure repeat purchases.

 

[alexnode]

If it's not a very small number there will be some class action and they will be forced to replace it for free. I hope at least. Terrible value ...

 

[verthias]

Planned obsolescence is Apple's business model, everything about making their products environmentally friendly is just corporate virtue signaling. This isn't the first, second, or third Apple computer in the last 10 years with display cable issues that destroy a $700 display panel, and Apple can make the display cable easy to replace, but won't. They're fully aware that once their products break, they make them so inaccessible and irreparable, that users will be forced to just buy a new one or pay ~60% of the cost of a new one for THEIR technicians to repair it. They make the components impossible to find, because their products breaking is another part of their profit model.

 

[toooooot]

Planned obsolescence is Apple's business model, everything about making their products environmentally friendly is just corporate virtue signaling. This isn't the first, second, or third Apple computer in the last 10 years with display cable issues that destroy a $700 display panel, and Apple can make the display cable easy to replace, but won't. They're fully aware that once their products break, they make them so inaccessible and irreparable, that users will be forced to just buy a new one or pay ~60% of the cost of a new one for THEIR technicians to repair it. They make the components impossible to find, because their products breaking is another part of their profit model.

I don't think this one is intentional. They most likely got those connectors from a supplier that did not care enough about quality.
This makes much sense. Apple vigorously tests sample displays before buying them from other companies.
The same attention cannot be given to every tiny part like a flexible cable.
I threw away a pci-e cable once that was about to burn my PC. That cble price to make must have been close to few cents.
It is only logical that the things that break the most often are the cheap ones.
It happens even more often since GPUs and CPUs become more power hungry.

 

[AlexIL]

Dell has similar issue some years back. Once sales dropped on their offers they stopped playing dumb duck. Let's see how Apple goes with that.

 

[wizardB]

Apple will tell you it's their new upgrade time reminder feature. Scummiest company ever.

 

[verthias]

I don't think this one is intentional. They most likely got those connectors from a supplier that did not care enough about quality.
This makes much sense. Apple vigorously tests sample displays before buying them from other companies.
The same attention cannot be given to every tiny part like a flexible cable.
I threw away a pci-e cable once that was about to burn my PC. That cble price to make must have been close to few cents.
It is only logical that the things that break the most often are the cheap ones.
It happens even more often since GPUs and CPUs become more power hungry.

The problem with this is that Apple knows about this issue, and they've known about this issue for years now(This isn't the first one of their products with a display cable issue), their display cable ribbons are a weak point in longevity, so instead of you know making a display with a removable and replaceable connector, they designed the display so that when the connector goes bad the display can't be salvaged.

 

[Underdog]

Only a few days ago I started wondering if I might be able to afford a Mac once my patience with Microsoft gets to breaking point. Stories like this are gently nudging me toward Linux and my next home built desktop.

 

[Tran Bronstein]

Eff Apple. I bought one of THE very first iPods ever available and just out of warranty, the battery quite literally fried the circuitry. With later Internet research, I discovered that several class action lawsuits had been launched in the US over the defective batteries which Apple knew about beforehand and so made sure their warranty was just under the life expectancy of the battery. You can easily Google all this up. I have refused to buy a single Apple product ever since. Based upon this article, same old same old when it comes to screwing over their customers.

 

[Q Wales]

My first iPad drastically slowed down very shortly after the 3 year warrantee was up, it left me feeling there was something fishy going on.