Apple Comes Through, Resolving Overheating iMac Problem

After having such a bad experience with the Apple Store several months ago (see Apple Store Headaches over Fixing an Overheating iMac under Warranty), I was able to speak directly to Apple to solve the issues with quite a pleasant outcome.

Thank Goodness for Customer Relations

After dealing with the somewhat rude staff of the nearby Apple Store, I was ready to march straight to Steve Jobs' house to let him know about my odd experience. Instead, I marched to my phone and dialed 1-800-MY-APPLE. After being routed to the operator, I asked if I could be routed to the department that dealt with resolving complaints. The operator immediately sent me to the customer relations department.

After waiting for a time on hold, I was able to speak to a kind representative who patiently listened to my problems and apologized all over the place about my experience. I was then routed to a support representative who asked me a battery of safety-related questions about my experience (i.e. had my iMac burst into flames or emitted toxic fumes). After assuring him that my iMac was only running at high heat, I was given a new Case ID that would require the Apple Store to replace the logic board and several heat related parts.

With this in hand, I set off for a resolution.

Déjà Vu

I made another appointment with the Genius Bar to drop of my Mac. I gave the Genius my Case ID, and he proceeded to disappear into the back of the store for 20 minutes. Then he came back and checked my computer in for repair. I left the store fully assured that my Mac would be repaired.

During the time my iMac was gone, I once again switched back to my 700 MHz eMac for the duration. I even installed iWork '08 on it to work on an important presentation in Keynote. I found my eMac to be as able as before, and I believe that G4-based Macs will be around for a long time. In fact, my school's physics labs still uses G4 iBooks with an old UFO Airport Extreme to handle all of the experiments. Not only that, but my eMac had been doing service as a machine for building our yearbook using Herff-Jones' eDesign software until I was required to bring it home to do service as a backup machine.

I took the repaired machine home a week later, thinking all was well. Not long after positioning my computer back in its usual spot, I opened an HD video from TechRestore showing the conversion of a MacBook to an Axiotron Modbook. I minimized the video in mid-play to check something in Safari, and the display went crazy. Graphical glitches similar to - but more severe than - the previous ones erupted across the display. I was only able to alleviate them by shutting down the computer.

I went back to work, and about an hour later, the same thing happened. Checking the temperatures, I noticed that they were as high as before, though the lock ups and other odd behavior had ceased. As it was late at night, I waited until the next day to call Apple again.

The Dénouement

Once again, I found my fingers dialing Apple's number, fairly frustrated. I told the story to a new representative, also expressing my exasperation at the loss of productivity these issues had caused.

The representative put me on hold for about half-an-hour while she consulted with Technical Support about my situation. After she got back on the line, she informed me that Apple had decided to replace my iMac, because my case record showed that my product was most likely defective. I gave her my information and credit card number to secure an advance replacement and was told to wait until a replacement specialist called me. She even went so far as to give me her company contact info in case I had any trouble.

The next day, around the same time, a friendly specialist contacted me and walked me through the procedure of acquiring a new iMac. This was the twist just before the end: Not only was I getting a replacement, but I was receiving a new, never before used, Nvidia iMac with a new one year warranty.

I asked if this was a mistake. She assured me it wasn't, even though I had the previous generation 20" model. Apple was even kind enough to upgrade me to the full size keyboard and a new Apple Remote for free in order to avoid any loss of functionality.

Wonderful Experience

Before the week was over, I had received my replacement via FedEx overnight service (rather than ground shipping). After using Migration Assistant (a fantastic program that blows Windows' data relocation solution out of the water) to seamlessly move my data over, I boxed and shipped the defective unit back.

Despite the initial bumps, I ended up having an excellent support experience with Apple, and they proved once again their product superiority. Not only do they support their new products well, but they also build them to last, as shown by the plethora of personal experiences, data, and reader comments here at Low End Mac.