My 3 month old Retina iMac appears to have a wonky mounting stand. To the eye it looks fine until placed near a parallel object like a shelf where it is obviously lower on the left side than the right (2mm difference). It annoys me that this managed to get past quality control and I want it fixed. I do have AppleCare but I am curious if this is something that can be fixed by an Apple service agent (there are no Apple stores in New Zealand) or does it require sending back to Apple. It is a BTO machine that has never been moved or suffered any knocks so the wonky mount is not by my doing.
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Retina iMac not square on mount
- Thread starter TheMantis96
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This is actually not all that uncommon. My 2012 27" iMac was slightly off, and my 2014 5K iMac is very slightly off, too. I don't know what else to tell you except maybe shim the stand. Mine doesn't bother me since it's in a Twelvesouth HiRise, so I can modify things slightly when my OCD gets the better of me.
I'd wager most people simply don't notice that their iMac isn't 100% level.
For those that think their iMac is 100% level, take a tape measure and measure from the bottom left of the iMac to your table, and the same on the bottom right. You might well be surprised.
Nothing is perfect in this world. So it goes.
Thanks for the reply. This is my fourth iMac and the first that hasn't been dead straight. Taken in isolation the wonkiness isn't noticeable, however it makes it very difficult to align a second monitor and have the two screens line up squarely.
The iMac is the problem because any shelf, desk, floor, etc. is always level and they are always completely flawless...
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Before you start pointing at things do some measuring first and check if your shelfs, desk, etc. are actually level. You wouldn't be the first person with shelfs and desk that are not level and thus anything that is on the desk and compared to those shelfs doesn't look level.
Oh, and DON'T use a tape measure but use something that is actually meant for measuring if something is level: a spirit level or a bubble level.
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Before you start pointing at things do some measuring first and check if your shelfs, desk, etc. are actually level. You wouldn't be the first person with shelfs and desk that are not level and thus anything that is on the desk and compared to those shelfs doesn't look level.
Oh, and DON'T use a tape measure but use something that is actually meant for measuring if something is level: a spirit level or a bubble level.
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Your input's appreciated however I have already eliminated the outside factors in the issue. The tape measure doesn't lie. 
Just to clarify: The mount/stand on the iMac is not straight. I have measured it and confirmed that the top is not parallel to the desk it is sitting on. This is the same desk that three other iMacs have been used on (and all were parallel with the desk and shelf) and is fixed to the wall. I am well versed in the use of a level and tape measure. I am seeking advice as to how and where the issue can be resolved.
I'm certainly not going to argue that your iMac isn't straight.
I still say your best bet is to shim the bottom of the stand with... a piece of paper or three.. or something. Quite honestly even if you were going to get Apple to "repair" it (which they will likely not anyway), it involves literally stripping the entire inside of the iMac out since it connects from the inside. THEN you have to hope that when it gets put back it corrects the issue. Heck, it might be straight before all the components go in, and then it might sag from the hard drive weight, for example..
I'd say it's probably best not to let it bother you, and if it does, shim it.
The problem isn't the tape measure, the problem is the user. You are using the wrong measuring device and drawing the wrong conclusions due to a misinterpretation of the measurement. A tap measure is used to measure length, not if something is level. Plus the way you are measuring will induce measuring errors.Your input's appreciated however I have already eliminated the outside factors in the issue. The tape measure doesn't lie.
The problem is that floors are usually not level and thus desks are not level. Some desks have legs that you can lengthen or shorten. If you make a mistake in that the desk won't be level. So it is key to measure if the floor, desk and iMac are level before you can actually say if the iMac itself is level or not. For that you need either a spirit level or a bubble level. If you are certain the iMac isn't level where everything else is than you can, if you want, use a tape measure to see where the problem is and home much deviation there is. That way you also know if a small piece of paper under the foot will do.
However, like with everything opening a topic on a forum like this won't fix any problem. Going back to the store does. Get it resolved. It is very worrying that people nowadays need a forum for something like that... What will these people do in case of a fire? Open a thread to ask wether they should call the emergency services?
Can you please highlight where I said the issue was with the iMac not being level. As previously stated: The mount is not straight. An item being square/straight is somewhat different from being level. I am perfectly capable of using a tape measure and a level and I don't need you riding in on your high horse assuming otherwise. Perhaps you also missed where I said that there are no Apple stores where I live hence the attempt to determine the best way forward.
I reasonably thought that posting on a Mac forum would provide some helpful advice. It looks like I was wrong. For those that offered actual advice rather than attempting to belittle the fault and/or my measuring skills I thank you.
Then you clearly missed my answer to that but I'll repeat it: use your head and think. What do you want? A quick fix, a new iMac?
I thought people still have the ability to use their brains but apparently I was wrong and that makes me sad
I have just recently purchased a 2012 27inch Mac and as I was cleaning the screen, I noticed that, when the screen was tilted forward (when viewed from above) The bottom of the screen and the front edge of the stand weren't perfectly parallel. It was barely noticeable and does not make the screen appear squint in any way in normal use but I was just curious that for such a beautifully engineered product, I would have expected precision tolerances and zero errors. Of course, it is a 7 1/2 year old machine and given the number of screws inside to hold the hinge, all it would take would be for the screws to be tightened differently. It could also be that the two retaining springs have slightly different tensions and that could cause the error. Completely un-noticeable in use, slightly annoying that I now know about it, but if its a factory accepted tolerance then that's ok.