27" iMac (late 2015) screen black after dropping

[hzxu]

I was re-arranging my study room and put my iMac on a chair, it wasn't stable and dropped to the timber floor, there's no mark on the iMac itself but some scratches on the timber, which made me think the iMac is tough enough, but then the iMac screen doesn't light up, I could hear the sound when pressing the power button, I could also hear the hard drive (Fusion drive), but the screen is just black, no light at all.

I searched and found a few instructions, like resetting the SMC ram, unplug the RAM and power up, etc, no luck.

Now I'm thinking of getting a set of tools to open the screen and check if some cable's loose, but just want to check here if there's anyone having similar experience and what could possibly be the issue? Is it worth getting the tool and DIY? How much does it cost to get someone to repair it (it's out of warranty)?

Thanks!

 

[wilberforce]

Have you tried connecting an external monitor? Or even a TV (given the correct cable)?

 

[profcutter]

Try shining a bright light on the screen when it’s running. If you can see the machine running, it could just be the backlight died, or the cable was damaged, when it was dropped. That would give you a head start on finding the problem before you open the case.

 

[hzxu]

Thanks @profcutter and @wilberforce !
I tried both and it works fine with external monitor, however, there's no indication of light even with a bright light on the screen, it dead black. From the sound of it, is it something I can easily fix by myself if I get the tool and open the screen? Thanks!

 

[wilberforce]

Thanks @profcutter and @wilberforce !
I tried both and it works fine with external monitor, however, there's no indication of light even with a bright light on the screen, it dead black. From the sound of it, is it something I can easily fix by myself if I get the tool and open the screen? Thanks!

I don't have experience with this.
Someone like @Nguyen Duc Hieu could probably help

 

[profcutter]

Too hard to say. The lack of any image at all is not a great sign. Could be a damaged cable, connector, probably not the screen itself, I wouldn’t imagine, since normally that would just crack and show a distorted image, like a cracked iPhone. The fact that you’re getting an image on an external display is good, so yeah it may be time to open the machine and look for damaged or unseated cables. Remember you’ll need new adhesive to put it back together, and careful cutting the adhesive, there’s at least one cable you can damage if you’re sloppy with the cutter.

 

[hzxu]

Too hard to say. The lack of any image at all is not a great sign. Could be a damaged cable, connector, probably not the screen itself, I wouldn’t imagine, since normally that would just crack and show a distorted image, like a cracked iPhone. The fact that you’re getting an image on an external display is good, so yeah it may be time to open the machine and look for damaged or unseated cables. Remember you’ll need new adhesive to put it back together, and careful cutting the adhesive, there’s at least one cable you can damage if you’re sloppy with the cutter.

Thanks, I guess I'll call a 3rd party repair service and see how much they quote, I guess opening the screen alone would incur some charge :-(. I'm in Melbourne and there's a 5 km travel limit, let's see. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks, I guess I'll call a 3rd party repair service and see how much they quote, I guess opening the screen alone would incur some charge :-(. I'm in Melbourne and there's a 5 km travel limit, let's see. Thanks again for the advice!

They would charge at least AUD50 for opening the iMac and examine the problem. I guess.
But be prepared for the worst case scenario: the LCD is broken (internally). LCDs panel are fairly fragile.
The 27" 5K LCDs panel would cost you at least US$350 + 80$ shipping from China to your place.

 

[hzxu]

They would charge at least AUD50 for opening the iMac and examine the problem. I guess.
But be prepared for the worst case scenario: the LCD is broken (internally). LCDs panel are fairly fragile.
The 27" 5K LCDs panel would cost you at least US$350 + 80$ shipping from China to your place.

Thanks, AUD 50 for checking the problem is acceptable - the toolkit itself plus shipping is not much less than that. Yes I agree if the LCD needs replacing that would be something to consider, I really like this iMac although it's not very up to date, a gift from father which has weight in my heart.

 

[wilberforce]

Thanks, AUD 50 for checking the problem is acceptable - the toolkit itself plus shipping is not much less than that. Yes I agree if the LCD needs replacing that would be something to consider, I really like this iMac although it's not very up to date, a gift from father which has weight in my heart.

The 2015 iMac is a good machine. (I had a late 2014.) The issues with the 2015 27" iMac are:

Fusion drive (if you have one) - slow and prone to failure. This however can be upgraded to SSD, even just with an external SSD.

2015 5k iMac display is notorious for developing "pink edges" and/or image persistence (not burn-in) around edges. I don't know if you noticed this. This is kind of cosmetic, as it does not affect the functionality.

 

[profcutter]

The 2015 iMac is a good machine. (I had a late 2014.) The issues with the 2015 27" iMac are:
Fusion drive (if you have one) - slow and prone to failure. This however can be upgraded to SSD, even just with an external SSD.
2015 5k iMac display is notorious for developing "pink edges" and/or image persistence (not burn-in) around edges. I don't know if you noticed this. This is kind of cosmetic, as it does not affect the functionality.

I suspect the pink edges thing can be fixed when the display is open, and off the machine. Also a great time to upgrade the ssd!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I suspect the pink edges thing can be fixed when the display is open, and off the machine. Also a great time to upgrade the ssd!

1. It's not a job for an amateur.
2. Labour cost is high enough to replace it with a new spare part.

 

[profcutter]

1. It's not a job for an amateur.
2. Labour cost is high enough to replace it with a new spare part.

True, but they’re not doing it themselves, rather taking it to a pro.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

True, but they’re not doing it themselves, rather taking it to a pro.

It'd take at least several hours to dissassemble the LCD panel, remove the old (pinkish) glue and applying new glue. A pro-shop would not take that business. If they did, it'd be entirely for research purpose, or charging a high enough price so that replaceing new LCD panel seems more attractive.

 

[profcutter]

Ah, I see what you mean. So if the pink has appeared, it’s more than just a job of vacuuming it out. At this point, I suspect the OP just wants to see if the display can be functional, pink or not.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

It won't be $50 let me assure you hzxu as Apple and Resellers charge well over $120 per hour then plus GST here in Sydney and I would see no difference in Melbourne. Suggest you think in the terms of +$500 so it does not come as too much of a shock to you.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

It won't be $50 let me assure you hzxu as Apple and Resellers charge well over $120 per hour then plus GST here in Sydney and I would see no difference in Melbourne. Suggest you think in the terms of +$500 so it does not come as too much of a shock to you.

Never bring your broken iMac to a Apple Authorized Service shop.
The cost of repair would be equal to buying a new machine.
50~100$ is a fair price for a common PC repair shops to open the machine and check it for you.
Northridge Fix charges 150$ for a common fix(not including replacement parts), 0$ if he can't fix.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Alas shipping to LA from Melbourne Australia would not be cheap.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Alas shipping to LA from Melbourne Australia would not be cheap.

I mean those are a fair price for a local electronic repair shop to offer for similar service.

 

[hzxu]

Update:
There's a local repair shop near me, it's Apple authorized, I bought the iMac in, paid 100 AUD for examination. Received a message after a week for pickup, they found there's some cable that's disconnected and I was told that I'm very lucky, if it's a broken screen, it would cost 1000 AUD just for the screen itself.

Only regret is to not attempting to upgrade the 2TB Fusion drive to SSD at the same time, it should save the effort of opening the screen.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Update:
There's a local repair shop near me, it's Apple authorized, I bought the iMac in, paid 100 AUD for examination. Received a message after a week for pickup, they found there's some cable that's disconnected and I was told that I'm very lucky, if it's a broken screen, it would cost 1000 AUD just for the screen itself.

Only regret is to not attempting to upgrade the 2TB Fusion drive to SSD at the same time, it should save the effort of opening the screen.

A thunderbolt box is about 100$, you can add a nVME blade at will. Not much of a regret, though.
A cheaper option is USB 3.0 box. a little slower, but very usable.

 

[hzxu]

A thunderbolt box is about 100$, you can add a nVME blade at will. Not much of a regret, though.
A cheaper option is USB 3.0 box. a little slower, but very usable.

Thanks, let me do the research!

 

[profcutter]

Update:
There's a local repair shop near me, it's Apple authorized, I bought the iMac in, paid 100 AUD for examination. Received a message after a week for pickup, they found there's some cable that's disconnected and I was told that I'm very lucky, if it's a broken screen, it would cost 1000 AUD just for the screen itself.

Only regret is to not attempting to upgrade the 2TB Fusion drive to SSD at the same time, it should save the effort of opening the screen.

I think that’s great news. Sorry you didn’t get to put the ssd in at the same time, but yes, you can just do an external drive. I had a feeling it was just a loose cable!