My brand new iMac 2019 has died

[Sam Marks]

My new 2019 iMac (2 weeks old, i9, vega 48) started to restart randomly (without any reason and without showing any kernel panic info) and, after increasing the restart frequency to an endless restart loop, it has reached a point at which it does not even turn on. So this new machine is now dead.

I have contacted the Apple service and my reseller to ask for a solution. They are working to provide me this solution or repair.

I also have a 2010 i7 MBP that is working as the first day (not a single one problem during almost 9 years of daily use. I will use it during this iMac situation is solved.

I have a back-up of all my iMac, data but I could not erase the files in the SSD as the computer does not turn on.

 

[mikehalloran]

I have contacted the Apple service and my reseller to ask for a solution.

That's the correct action at this point. Tell us what they find.

Since you have given no info that could be used to diagnose the problem (and why should you? it's a brand new machine!), not much any of us can do other than make blind guesses.

I'll pass.

 

[Sam Marks]

That's the correct action at this point. Tell us what they find.

Since you have given no info that could be used to diagnose the problem (and why should you? it's a brand new machine!), not much any of us can do other than make blind guesses.

I'll pass.

Thank you for your message. I previously tried a lot of possible actions with no luck.

The problem of random restarts was mainly while watching youtube videos. Then, the computer entered in a restarting loop and finally died. At this point, unfortunately I think there is not much that I or any member can do/recommend with a situation like this. I just wanted to share this experience is it is useful for other users.

As a side note, the Apple technician asked me if I have the latest Mojave 10.4.5 installed. I said that I think that the machine had the 10.4.4 because I have not updated it manually.

I think that the mother board, the GPU or the power supply were defective from factory. But I can not diagnose the situation because the machine is under warranty.

 

[whosthis]

The only thing you can probably check is if the RAM modules are seated correctly (are they the original ones?).

 

[Sam Marks]

The only thing you can probably check is if the RAM modules are seated correctly (are they the original ones?).

Yes they are the original 8 GB that came from factory and I did not move them from their original place.

 

[mikehalloran]

The only thing you can probably check is if the RAM modules are seated correctly (are they the original ones?).

That gives a steady repeating 3 beeps where nothing happens, not kernel panics.

I think that the mother board, the GPU or the power supply were defective from factory. But I can not diagnose the situation because the machine is under warranty.

Think whatever you want. Someone needs to diagnose it properly.

It can be code from some old crapware you had installed that just won't behave or something you downloaded. The Mac OS is supposed to sandbox that stuff but it isn't always successful. That can normally be diagnosed by a tech doing a remote log it. Then it's a matter of locating and deleting the culprit.

Far more likely a connector fell off or a component failed. That might only be found on a bench — after they've sent you a replacement unit.

 

[drewaz]

why not return it and purchase a new one? I think Apple has a 14 day return window?

 

[Sam Marks]

I have asked for a return of the defective product to the reseller where I bougth the iMac. I requested my money back or a new iMac with the same specifications.

 

[aman88]

Apple has one year warranty assuming you didn’t get the extension to three years... they HAVE to fix it or give you a new one...

 

[Sam Marks]

Apple has one year warranty assuming you didn’t get the extension to three years... they HAVE to fix it or give you a new one...

In my country we have 2 years of warranty, by the EU law. As I purchased it online in the 2 week window I am trying to get a refund by returning the computer or at least a new one. I will keep you updated on my case with this computer.

 

[Ifti]

I have asked for a return of the defective product to the reseller where I bougth the iMac. I requested my money back or a new iMac with the same specifications.

I would have done the same.
While electronics do fail and it outside of anyone's control, it is unacceptable to spend that much on a computer to have someone open and 'repair' it within the first few weeks of purchase. I would want a brand new replacement, like for like.
If you are within the 14 days then that's easy - if you are just outside I would appeal to Apple since they are entitled to fix the machine rather then replace at this point...

Let us know how you get on!

 

[Sam Marks]

Yesterday was the day that my new iMac died (14 days since reception) and I informed by phone and by email, including an official return request form, to the authorised Apple reseller where I bought the machine. I hope that they will apply their policy and allow me the return of this faulty iMac. They are going to contact me to send me a carrier to pick-up the iMac and return it.

 

[LorenK]

All you have to do is take it back to the reseller. If the reseller doesn't honor the warranty, they won't be a reseller long because Apple is good at resolving customer issues.

Now to the implied question, what went wrong and is this a problem with Apple computers? Without a teardown, probably no one can tell you what is wrong if it doesn't start, but Apple has the tools to find out. But, guess what? That's not your problem, that's why there are warranties, all you have to do is take it back and you will get a new one.

So why did it happen? Well, this might be hard to believe, but not all electronics are created equal, there can be internal problems in a circuit board invisible to the naked eye that aren't revealed until the device is actually used for a couple weeks. My experience with electronics is that they are generally reliable, but if they are going to have a problem, it's usually in the first few weeks of use. That is for manufacturing defects.

Of course, sometimes they break down after months of use, like my Mac Mini did, but that actually was what I consider a design flaw, the cooling for Mini's can lead to problems if they are not properly placed, and I ended up burning out the motherboard after a few months. I learned and have mine vertical, but I had to learn.

So you weren't to blame, and it is likely nothing Apple could have done in its testing, and you get a new machine. Sounds like a good deal.

 

[Ifti]

That's not your problem, that's why there are warranties, all you have to do is take it back and you will get a new one.

Not necessarily. If the unit falls outside of the 14 day return period then Apple will honour the warranty and repair the item - legally they do not need to replace it with another brand new unit. A warranty covers the cost for parts and labour.

Either way the OP is covered and will receive a fully working computer, but hopefully in this case Apple will replace the computer with a new unit rather then attempt to fulfil the warranty and just repair parts.
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So why did it happen? Well, this might be hard to believe, but not all electronics are created equal, there can be internal problems in a circuit board invisible to the naked eye that aren't revealed until the device is actually used for a couple weeks. My experience with electronics is that they are generally reliable, but if they are going to have a problem, it's usually in the first few weeks of use. That is for manufacturing defects.

Definitely.

 

[Sam Marks]

The computer was received on the 1st of July, and it died on the 15th of July (14 days exactly). The same day that it died (last Monday) I contacted the authorised Apple reseller to inform about this fact and that I wanted a new iMac replacement or the return of the product with a full money refund.

I also contacted the Apple Support service to confirm (with a series of diagnostics and tests) that the computer was failing and it did not even turn on. It is dead. So I hope that the seller can send me a new machine or my money back (returning this defective iMac). I am waiting for the defective iMac return. The seller is going to send me a carrier to pick-up this dead iMac.

 

[Sam Marks]

Finally, the reseller agreed to give me my money back (full refund, as I requested, almost $4,000) for the defective iMac 27 i9 vega 48 that died short after start using it. It has been checked by the Apple service and it has a manufacturing defect. They did not specify what lethal (the computer is dead) defect but it could be a cooling problem or the logic board.

At last I will have the money back to think about what next computer I will buy. This experience has not been very for my confidence in the Apple brand. I do not know if I buy another iMac if I will get another lemon or it will die in the next few weeks due to my workload. It is for me very sad to say this, but I consider trying Windows 10 and the new AMD CPUs (after 10 years away from the PC realm), or a hack system (that I will manufacture my self with 0 defects, not like the last iMac).

Another option is a new Mac Book Pro, but as I travel a lot for business and the airlines are banning these computer onboard the planes it could be a big problem for me for mobilty.

Or, maybe I will wait for the new iMac Pro 2 2019 later this year

 

[Fishrrman]

Sam Marks --

A personal observation, take it for what you paid for it, but...

In my reading over many years about the problems others have with Macs, very often it seems that the Macs that have "the highest rates of failure" are those that are "all spec'd up" -- the ones that have been bought with the highest-speed CPUs, fancy GPUs, etc.

Lower-end and midrange Macs just seem to "last longer" with fewer problems.
The only exception is the Mac Mini -- they all seem about the same.

Again, my observation only.
Might be relevant as to considering your next purchase.

 

[Sam Marks]

Sam Marks --

A personal observation, take it for what you paid for it, but...

In my reading over many years about the problems others have with Macs, very often it seems that the Macs that have "the highest rates of failure" are those that are "all spec'd up" -- the ones that have been bought with the highest-speed CPUs, fancy GPUs, etc.

Lower-end and midrange Macs just seem to "last longer" with fewer problems.
The only exception is the Mac Mini -- they all seem about the same.

Again, my observation only.
Might be relevant as to considering your next purchase.

This is a very interesting observation that I will take into account in my next purchase, of course. Thank you for this advice. Maybe I should consider a less spec'd iMac with a much better cooling headroom to avoid the problems that I have experienced with this last relatively high-end 2019 iMac. Maybe the 580x or i5 would be better for me. And also they are cheaper. So much to think about.
Nevertheless, this is a good point!

My 2010 i7 MBP has been working for almost 10 years now without a minor issue, used everyday for work and other tasks. An excellent machine. Perfect and fast. I was expecting a similar experience with this dead iMac. Maybe it was only bad luck. But it is true that during the few days with the returned iMac I had temperatures close to 40ºC indoors (no A/C system in the room), while testing the limits of the i9 and the vega 48. I think that overheat in this case could have influenced the appearence this early manufactring defect. I even had to return the extra RAM I bought for it, in case I decide to by another machine.

 

[mikey8811]

It has been checked by the Apple service and it has a manufacturing defect. They did not specify what lethal (the computer is dead) defect but it could be a cooling problem or the logic board.

That's really shoddy of Apple's quality control, given the hefty premium they sell their products for.

 

[chabig]

That's really shoddy of Apple's quality control, given the hefty premium they sell their products for.

Price doesn’t matter. Manufacturing (in any industry) is never perfect.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Price doesn’t matter. Manufacturing (in any industry) is never perfect.

The Japanese would like a word

 

[mikehalloran]

That's really shoddy of Apple's quality control, given the hefty premium they sell their products for.

Nonsense. We don't know the defective component. A random part failure after 14 days would be detected only if every Mac underwent a 30 day burn. Who wants to pay for that? Not I.

Price doesn’t matter. Manufacturing (in any industry) is never perfect.

Yep. That's what warranties are for.

A personal observation, take it for what you paid for it, but...

The only facts are that you do a lot of reading of problems and that it's your personal opinion.

This is a very interesting observation that I will take into account in my next purchase, of course.

You can safely ignore it. He has never opened an iMac to look inside as he has often stated and seems to be proud of that.

There is no evidence to suggest that high end iMacs are more prone to problems than low end over the years. In fact, it's the HDD and fusion iMacs that are more prone to needing repairs sooner. In any case, that has nothing to do with what happened here.

I know that you can't buy from the USA Refurb Store but you can certainly look at it. If top end iMacs were having problems, then loaded i9s would show up often. That's where they go once repaired. Plenty of 2017s right now because that's where Apple sells NOS (New, Old Stock). There are two 2019s and both are i3s.
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac/imac

Component failures are most likely to occur within the first 30 days. In actual "mission critical" situations, hardware is always subject to a burn period before being deployed to the field. It's normally 30–180 days but can be a lot longer (NASA and certain military uses, for example). A battery of tests is run 24/7 to weed out the rare defect. Nowadays, the normal pass rate is 100% but every once in awhile... which is why they still do it.
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The Japanese would like a word

Apparently, you've never had warranty work or had a recall done on your Toyota. I've had both on every one I've ever purchased—yet I still buy them.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Apparently, you've never had warranty work or had a recall done on your Toyota. I've had both on every one I've ever purchased—yet I still buy them.

brah; I drive German cars. Those things *are* a warranty recall.

 

[Sam Marks]

I am an Apple fan. I like Apple computer and OSX is great. My MBP has been a perfect purchase, fast and very reliable for 9 years. I hope that this incident with the dead iMac would not affect my confidence regarding future Mac buys. If it is a question of bad luck I can accept it, it is logical that some units have manufacturing defect.

The problem is that sometimes I start thinking what if, given the scorching summer temperatures in my area and the fact that I do not use A/C (ambient temperature sensor in the iMac was always around 45ºC, even my brain has problems working at this ambient temperature, I prefer the -10ºC of the winter here), it could be that the cooling capabilities of the top iMac are not enough for my workloads and climate-change influenced increasing summer ambient temperatures. If I buy the same configuration and there is anohter failure due to the excessive room temperature next summer this would my main concern.

Maybe it had nothing to do with the high operating temperatures and it was only a faulty component. But this is the question that I do not know how to address.

By the way, is there any recent rumors about a possible new iMac Pro 2 for this last quarter of the year 2019, given that the old one is almost 2 years old now?

PS. My car is a Corean Hyundai Tucson and in my case and for the moment it is fine, very happy with it.

 

[Ethosik]

I am an Apple fan. I like Apple computer and OSX is great. My MBP has been a perfect purchase, fast and very reliable for 9 years. I hope that this incident with the dead iMac would not affect my confidence regarding future Mac buys. If it is a question of bad luck I can accept it, it is logical that some units have manufacturing defect.

The problem is that sometimes I start thinking what if, given the scorching summer temperatures in my area and the fact that I do not use A/C (ambient temperature sensor in the iMac was always around 45ºC, even my brain has problems working at this ambient temperature, I prefer the -10ºC of the winter here), it could be that the cooling capabilities of the top iMac are not enough for my workloads and climate-change influenced increasing summer ambient temperatures. If I buy the same configuration and there is anohter failure due to the excessive room temperature next summer this would my main concern.

Maybe it had nothing to do with the high operating temperatures and it was only a faulty component. But this is the question that I do not know how to address.

By the way, is there any recent rumors about a possible new iMac Pro 2 for this last quarter of the year 2019, given that the old one is almost 2 years old now?

PS. My car is a Corean Hyundai Tucson and in my case and for the moment it is fine, very happy with it.

I’m sure by now we would hear a lot more reports of i9 + Vega failures especially since it has been a while now. In fact, there are reports that this new system runs cooler than the older i7 one. Sometimes this stuff happens in IT. I just got my i9 today so we will see how it goes.