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Purchased two 2017 iMacs at the same time, one is insanely slow right out of the box.

shinseiromeo said:
Just an update so far:

Spoke with a senior advisor over the phone with Apple last Friday. He advised me not to go to a store and they want to take care of the issue over the phone since I don't have a store within any close proximity. They requested I clean install High Sierra on my partner's 21in iMac as I did with my own 27in iMac last week, before they would proceed further with any other options.

Tonight with both iMacs on my same desk, both plugged into the same APC UPS and hard wired to my router, I shot a video of both from a cold start. Just as I wrote here last week, 15 seconds to the login screen on my 27in iMac. Hers booted at 49 seconds to the login screen and another 13 seconds for the mouse to even appear on the screen. I just sent the video to Apple as well.


Edit:

Here's my desk at the moment...
Click to expand...

i have tested my imac base line.. 1minute 50 second .Boot.. If you insist need super speed go to SSD.. return and ask upgrade.. If normal usage the most advantages just copy file just that.. Are it worth to spend upgrade 300 dollar ..That's you choice.
 
Update as of this morning.

I did a clean install of High Sierra on the 21in iMac. Turned off auto updates and spotlight indexing and let it sit overnight in case any indexing needed to be done.

I ran another geekbench test and took a video side by side with both iMacs. This time the performance is even worse. After 40 seconds the apple logo and loading bar disappear to a black screen. After another 15 seconds the OS loads though the mouse doesn't appear. Another ten seconds and the mouse icon loads.

After a senior advisor reviewed the video I sent earlier they agreed there is absolutely something wrong with the entire iMac. They now asked me to return it to the apple store I bought it from and to work with the manager there on the issue.
 
shinseiromeo said:
Update as of this morning.

I did a clean install of High Sierra on the 21in iMac. Turned off auto updates and spotlight indexing and let it sit overnight in case any indexing needed to be done.

I ran another geekbench test and took a video side by side with both iMacs. This time the performance is even worse. After 40 seconds the apple logo and loading bar disappear to a black screen. After another 15 seconds the OS loads though the mouse doesn't appear. Another ten seconds and the mouse icon loads.

After a senior advisor reviewed the video I sent earlier they agreed there is absolutely something wrong with the entire iMac. They now asked me to return it to the apple store I bought it from and to work with the manager there on the issue.
Click to expand...
That's really not abnormal for a Mac with a 5400 RPM mechanical drive running High Sierra, which is why Apple seriously needs to standardize SSDs. It's like if you don't bother paying extra for an SSD or higher-end model, your experience doesn't matter. My SSD-upgraded iMac from 2010 will feel faster than those brand new iMacs.

If you exchange it for another iMac with the same specs, expect the same slowdown.
 
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redheeler said:
That's really not abnormal for a Mac with a 5400 RPM mechanical drive running High Sierra, which is why Apple seriously needs to standardize SSDs. It's like if you don't bother paying extra for an SSD or higher-end model, your experience doesn't matter. My SSD-upgraded iMac from 2010 will feel faster than those brand new iMacs.

If you exchange it for another iMac with the same specs, expect the same slowdown.
Click to expand...


The only thing I asked for is an exchange to what we were told we were buying, which is a 21in iMac with a 1tb fusion drive. I told them I was willing to pay any differences as that is what we asked for in the first place.
 
Update on the situation with the two new iMacs purchased a month ago. Hold on to your horses, this gets fun.

I've been working one on one with a senior specialist since last week on the issue with my partner's new iMac. After six hours of troubleshooting and a clean install of High Sierra, as well as photos and video documenting the issues, Apple care has confirmed the model is defective/DOA. As of yesterday they instructed me to return to the store I purchased it from, they have spoken to the store manager, and they want to work with me at the store level to fix this situation. Sounds great. Except not.

Last night I called the local store to make an appointment for this weekend while the store manager is there and discuss what the next step is. Since the store is over 100 miles away, I'm not going in blindly. After checking all of the case notes from the senior specialist, the local store stated to me they want to attempt to fix it, entirely ignoring all of the work we have already done with Apple care support. And now the cherry on top...

Since we bought her iMac during the Beats promo, if the store is forced to exchange the model, we have to return the Beats since 'that promotion is no longer available'.

I immediately contacted the senior specialist by phone, they were surprised I was told this, yet stated since they don't work at the store level they could not immediately confirm this and had to do more research. I'm now waiting for a call back again on what to do next.
 
Last edited:
shinseiromeo said:
Update on the situation with the two new iMacs purchased a month ago. Hold on to your horses, this gets fun.

I've been working one on one with a senior specialist since last week on the issue with my partner's new iMac. After six hours of troubleshooting and a clean install of High Sierra, as well as photos and video documenting the issues, Apple care has confirmed the model is defective/DOA. As of yesterday they instructed me to return to the store I purchased it from, they have spoken to the store manager, and they want to work with me at the store level to fix this situation. Sounds great. Except not.

Last night I called the local store to make an appointment for this weekend while the store manager is there and discuss what the next step is. Since the store is over 100 miles away, I'm not going in blindly. After checking all of the case notes from the senior specialist, the local store stated to me they want to attempt to fix it, entirely ignoring all of the work we have already done with Apple care support. And now the cherry on top...

Since we bought her iMac during the Beats promo, if the store is forced to exchange the model, we have to return the Beats since 'that promotion is no longer available'.

I immediately contacted the senior specialist by phone, they were surprised I was told this, yet stated since they don't work at the store level they could not immediately confirm this and had to do more research. I'm now waiting for a call back again on what to do next.
Click to expand...
I would have insisted to speak to a manager and state that what they said was completely contradictory to what you had already agreed...
 
Everyone always say Apple support is great, until they have a real issue.
It's disappointing that you've been dicked around for so long. Hopefully they bin that machine of yours soon.
 
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shinseiromeo said:
Update on the situation with the two new iMacs purchased a month ago. Hold on to your horses, this gets fun.

I've been working one on one with a senior specialist since last week on the issue with my partner's new iMac. After six hours of troubleshooting and a clean install of High Sierra, as well as photos and video documenting the issues, Apple care has confirmed the model is defective/DOA. As of yesterday they instructed me to return to the store I purchased it from, they have spoken to the store manager, and they want to work with me at the store level to fix this situation. Sounds great. Except not.

Last night I called the local store to make an appointment for this weekend while the store manager is there and discuss what the next step is. Since the store is over 100 miles away, I'm not going in blindly. After checking all of the case notes from the senior specialist, the local store stated to me they want to attempt to fix it, entirely ignoring all of the work we have already done with Apple care support. And now the cherry on top...

Since we bought her iMac during the Beats promo, if the store is forced to exchange the model, we have to return the Beats since 'that promotion is no longer available'.

I immediately contacted the senior specialist by phone, they were surprised I was told this, yet stated since they don't work at the store level they could not immediately confirm this and had to do more research. I'm now waiting for a call back again on what to do next.
Click to expand...

It sounds like a pair of headphones is the least of your concerns right now. A Senior Support rep has already instructed you to return the computer and this has been documented. Kindly inform the manger that fixing is not an option. You want the fusion drive model you thought you were being sold in the first place, not some crap 5400rpm drive, period. The only fix for a 5400rpm HDD in a 2017 iMac is for it not be there at all. Apple shouldn’t even have these models on the market.
 
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CE3 said:
It sounds like a pair of headphones is the least of your concerns right now. A Senior Support rep has already instructed you to return the computer and this has been documented. Kindly inform the manger that fixing is not an option. You want the fusion drive model you thought you were being sold in the first place, not some crap 5400rpm drive, period. The only fix for a 5400rpm HDD in a 2017 iMac is for it not be there at all. Apple shouldn’t even have these models on the market.
Click to expand...
What choice like me have before.. non.. If need customization then have to wait.. A little crap on loading but i always on sleep so not much an issue. I don't need high GPU because my work just more on typing and mostly i play online mobile games instead of normal computer windows or mac.

What i heard last Steve Era, everything very flexible including mac mini can upgrade ram .. But now, we force to revolutionary and it said "It work out of the box".So this starter thread thinking MAC is fast and good while the enviroment osx is so so..

To me,

1. Finder is the worst culprit.. Re - indexing whatever.

2. Spotlight.. Do please narrow the search

3. Faster Internet Speed. Might not related much.. This more on SIRI,other internet thing all crawling to get new data.

In my conclusion

1. Return to Apple and upgrade to 256 GB SSD and install High Sierra. No point argue 5400 rpm speed..

2. Always backup at external hardisk, i wouldn't suggest crap i cloud. My document is small but now exceed 5 GB ?
 
shinseiromeo said:
Update on the situation with the two new iMacs purchased a month ago. Hold on to your horses, this gets fun.

I've been working one on one with a senior specialist since last week on the issue with my partner's new iMac. After six hours of troubleshooting and a clean install of High Sierra, as well as photos and video documenting the issues, Apple care has confirmed the model is defective/DOA. As of yesterday they instructed me to return to the store I purchased it from, they have spoken to the store manager, and they want to work with me at the store level to fix this situation. Sounds great. Except not.

Last night I called the local store to make an appointment for this weekend while the store manager is there and discuss what the next step is. Since the store is over 100 miles away, I'm not going in blindly. After checking all of the case notes from the senior specialist, the local store stated to me they want to attempt to fix it, entirely ignoring all of the work we have already done with Apple care support. And now the cherry on top...

Since we bought her iMac during the Beats promo, if the store is forced to exchange the model, we have to return the Beats since 'that promotion is no longer available'.

I immediately contacted the senior specialist by phone, they were surprised I was told this, yet stated since they don't work at the store level they could not immediately confirm this and had to do more research. I'm now waiting for a call back again on what to do next.
Click to expand...

Seems very odd that Apple would insist you make a 100 mile trip to its store to return/replace your computer. Since they have determined it's DOA, they should send you a return box to pack the computer in and send you a replacement. Shouldn't be any more complicated than that. Don't go back to the store.

The next time you contact them carefully explain that:

The store is over 100 miles away
You do not own a private jet
The computer is determined to be DOA by Apple support
You are not interested in returning to a store that is over 100 miles away for an exchange
You will exchange for a new machine via courier pickup

If they do not agree, ask to speak to a senior manager.
 
I explained what's "wrong" with the 2nd (slow) iMac in post #15 above.

There is nothing that Apple can do that will "fix" that problem (slow speed).

You have to replace the iMac with either one that has a fusion drive (or SSD), or use an external USB3 SSD drive to be an external booter.
 
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Let's pick right up where I left off the other day...

The senior advisor did call me yesterday as promised. Unfortunately it did not start off well. I was informed "the update at this time is that there is no update yet". I froze for a moment, and I lost it. It takes quite a lot to get me there. I stated this needs to be addressed immediately. Not tomorrow, not next week. Now.

About ten minutes later I got a call back with a guarantee that the store manager personally will be there this weekend, I will ask for them by name, and the iMac will be replaced on the spot. I'm still told to bring the Beats back as the manager believes I will have no choice but to return them as well.

Honestly I am just utterly exhausted from this. As of today I have invested three hours on the phone between six phones calls since last week (9/27, 9/29, 10/2, 10/4), six hours working on the iMac troubleshooting it, four of which were doing the clean install when I knew this was a hardware issue, not software. And even now with the promise that this unit will be replaced, I am out many hours of wasted time, over a month of ownership with a product used one time then put back in the box. And this isn't even including the three hour round trip drive, gas, and tolls required just to get to this store this weekend. Oh, and apparently no more Beats.
 
Fishrrman said:
I explained what's "wrong" with the 2nd (slow) iMac in post #15 above.

There is nothing that Apple can do that will "fix" that problem (slow speed).

You have to replace the iMac with either one that has a fusion drive (or SSD), or use an external USB3 SSD drive to be an external booter.
Click to expand...

This.. I bought the 4K iMac (Radeon Pro 560 model) with the 1TB Fusion Drive, boot times of OS and Apps sucked because the 1TB Fusion Drive has only a very small margin of SSD.. I bought an external SSD USB3Gen2 and installed macOS on this, everything was fixed and the boot times (OS and Apps) are very fast now, I even installed bootcamp on the external SSD.

Your model isn't DOA, it's slow because of the HDD.
 
Spartan23R said:
This.. I bought the 4K iMac (Radeon Pro 560 model) with the 1TB Fusion Drive, boot times of OS and Apps sucked because the 1TB Fusion Drive has only a very small margin of SSD.. I bought an external SSD USB3Gen2 and installed macOS on this, everything was fixed and the boot times (OS and Apps) are very fast now, I even installed bootcamp on the external SSD.

Your model isn't DOA, it's slow because of the HDD.
Click to expand...
what brand ? i'm think like this also now..
 
Sorry to hear of your problems with the Mac. It does sound like Apple need to sort out their customer care where you are.
When I bought my last iMac in 2012 I had waited and waited for a new model to come out and eventually I ordered as it looked as if nothing was being released.
Literally a day after my new Mac turned up there was a big splash about the NEW iMac. I was stunned as the new machine had everything I wanted in a Mac.
So I phoned the store where I bought the machine and they had two of the new Macs in, so I explained the situation of just buying a Mac from them etc. and the store manager said that if I packed up the machine and brought it back to the store he would do a straight swap.
To say I was happy was an understatement but nonetheless, if I'd known the new model was being released just two days later I would have simply held off buying until then.
 
I bought a base model Mac mini with the regular hard drive which spins at 5400 rpm. Saying it was slow would be sugar coating it.... At first I figured maybe it was spotlight just indexing but it never got faster. At times it was unusable that’s how slow it was. I don’t understand why Apple decided to use slow hard drives that I used back in the early 2000’s. In the end I just bought a 240gb SSD and did the install myself, speed was night and day.
I just bought a iMac 21.5” 4K with kfusion drive so when it arrives I’ll see how it performs. I’m expecting it to be slower than my SSD mini but hopefully not by a large margin.
As for your partners Mac, I’d honestly see if you can get a quote from any Authorized Apple service shop, or someone you trust that is capable of doing the swap, and purchase a solid state drive. I’d expect someone might want a hundred bucks to install and a 256GB SSD will set you back a $100. But that’ll also last her a long time.

I fix PCs for a living and I’ll take apart a $2000 laptop to replace a mainboard, but ripping the LCD off a brand new $2000 iMac seems scary haha.

shinseiromeo said:
Just an update so far:

Spoke with a senior advisor over the phone with Apple last Friday. He advised me not to go to a store and they want to take care of the issue over the phone since I don't have a store within any close proximity. They requested I clean install High Sierra on my partner's 21in iMac as I did with my own 27in iMac last week, before they would proceed further with any other options.

Tonight with both iMacs on my same desk, both plugged into the same APC UPS and hard wired to my router, I shot a video of both from a cold start. Just as I wrote here last week, 15 seconds to the login screen on my 27in iMac. Hers booted at 49 seconds to the login screen and another 13 seconds for the mouse to even appear on the screen. I just sent the video to Apple as well.


Edit:

Here's my desk at the moment...
Click to expand...
 
At this point, you really should email tcook@apple.com or schiller@apple.com - your case is at a point where the time spent is far more than whatever value you should have gotten out of the iMac. I would honestly expect them to replace it with a free 5k 27” iMac w/1TB SSD at this point.

shinseiromeo said:
Honestly I am just utterly exhausted from this. As of today I have invested three hours on the phone between six phones calls since last week (9/27, 9/29, 10/2, 10/4), six hours working on the iMac troubleshooting it, four of which were doing the clean install when I knew this was a hardware issue, not software. And even now with the promise that this unit will be replaced, I am out many hours of wasted time, over a month of ownership with a product used one time then put back in the box. And this isn't even including the three hour round trip drive, gas, and tolls required just to get to this store this weekend. Oh, and apparently no more Beats.
Click to expand...
 
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