Screen Failure on iMac 24". at only 2 years old.

Actually none of the users, except those who are still in Warranty or Apple Care, are getting any free repairs from Apple.

It's only a limited of M1 24" iMac model that is experiencing this problem.

The following topics illustrate the Silicon M1 iMac Display problem:

Screen Failure on 24-inch-iMac, M1, 2021 - Apple Community

Persistent horizontal lines appear on iMac Screen - Apple Community

Horizontal Lines on Screen of iMac, 24", 2021

Horizontal black lines covering bottom 3rd of 2021 M1 iMac screen

Grey horizontal patches on my M1 iMac 2021 model

Horizontal lines at the bottom of iMac(M1,2021) screen

Horizontal Lines on 2001 M1 iMac Display

M1 iMac Display vertex heating to scorching 55°C  — Seeking Advice on Escalation

Horizontal Lines on iMAC with M1 chip

Currently there is no Service Program for that issue but keep checking this website in case Apple instigates one: Apple Service Programs - Apple Support.  

Some users have considered getting an inexpensive monitor to use with their iMac.

If you're considering a new Mac I recommend the Mac Mini M4 with a 3rd party 4K monitor. I got one with 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD storage along with a 32" 4K monitor w/speakers for about $650 less than a similarly configured 24" M4 would cost. I've extremely satisfied with the resulting setup.

Just some food for thought.

Years ago I was able to get warranty coverage for certain Macs that were about 2 weeks past their warranties (once in a while maybe a month...though rare). In more recent years, Apple rarely covers anything even one day past the warranty period. Some people may get lucky depending on who they speak with at Apple, or the Apple Store and whether the stars are aligned for optimal luck.

As for the UK Consumer Rights Act, you would need to speak with a lawyer to see whether you have a case and how likely you are to win in court. If the lawyer says you will win, then see if they will back it up by putting their payment on the line by only getting paid if you do actually win. You can bet that Apple will fight hard in court & they have the resources you & your lawyer likely do not have.

As for your old retired iMac. You may want to investigate Linux Mint. Linux is a non-Apple OS that is a great way to extend the useful life of older computers, but it does require you to learn a new OS.....Linux, however, is not for everyone, but it does give you a current & up to date non-Apple OS. Many popular web browsers are available for Linux (Firefox, Vivaldi, Brave, and even Google Chrome). Plus the Linux Mint has LibreOffice which is a free open source office suite similar to Microsoft Office. Linux Mint also has lots of other free open source software available in the Linux Mint software repositories. Unfortunately Linux does not have access to very many proprietary name brand apps, but there is usually some sort of option available that may work.

You should be able to watch general YouTube videos, but I don't know about any paid YouTube TV subscriptions. Unfortunately it is not possible to use most paid streaming services such as Disney+, Netflix, etc. since there are no Linux apps and access their content in a web browser is limited to 720p due to their paranoia & greed.

You can easily check out Linux Mint by booting the Linux Mint installer & choosing "Live" mode. This will allow you to see what Linux Mint looks like although running it from the USB installer will be extremely slow. Once installed to the internal drive the performance will be very good.

Just make sure you first make a bootable macOS USB installer for your iMac using the instructions in the following Apple article.....and make sure to confirm the macOS USB installer actually boots the iMac before installing Linux Mint so you can reinstall macOS if you decide Linux is not for you.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Also, make sure you have a good backup of your data. If you want Linux to access any of your old files, then also make sure to store them on external media that is using the exFAT file system since Linux cannot access any Time Machine backups. Linux Mint can also read MacOS Extended (Journaled) file systems as well (aka HFS+), but likely requires installation of the HFS+ driver & utilities from the Linux Mint software repository. I don't recall if Linux can safely write to an HFS+ volume.

There is a reasonably small percentage of 24" iMacs that are having screen issues. This has been reported on these forums however at this writing Apple does not have a repair program for it. One option some people are taking is to move forward with the repair, then if Apple begins a repair program they will reimburse those that paid out-of-pocket.

Another option is to connect an external display and see if you can use the computer. This is easy to do and inexpensive at <$100 for an external display. Connect a display to your Mac - Apple Support

You are not addressing Apple on these forums, they are our hosts however they do not read or participate in user to user forums. If you have feedback for Apple, please let them know at www.apple.com/feedback. They read that information however they do not reply to it.

Also, it is ALWAYS wise to purchase AppleCare on your Apple purchases for just this reason. The cost of AppleCare is far below the average repair cost so it simply makes sense. While Apple's products are very high quality, things do happen on occasion. The same can be said of Rolls Royce, Mercedes, etc.....

I had an iMac several years ago where the screen image became distorted. When I went to the first Apple store they told me they could only repair if I paid since it was over a year old. I went to another store and talked to the manger and he agreed this was atypical and reluctantly repaired it at no cost. Sometimes you need to be forceful and/or talk to a different tech. It is worth a try.

erlin198 wrote:

I was hoping for something a little more constructive, but thanks anyway.

What are you expecting from us, your fellow users? We can't guarantee your next purchase. Commenting on your theories about bias seems to be a rabbit hole best not explored.

Most people don't have this problem.

erlin198 wrote:

Yes, I did. They offered me £0 trade in . But i reckon, even “broke” that it has a value. It would run a separate display fine, and Apple Remote diagnostic found all systems working fine. In dark mode, with brightness low, the flashing and bleeding is nearly bearable.

That's almost unbelievable!

Please try asking Apple again and then post a copy of what you are told (a screenshot will suffice).

Thank you.

This is a user-to-user forum. No one here could tell you why Apple does or does not do something.

You're always welcome to get AppleCare+ on your next device.

Silly question really .......... did you ask Apple if they would take your M1 iMac in part-exchange for a new computer?

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/trade-in?

DavosCat wrote:

That's almost unbelievable!

Not really. A pristine 2023 M3 iMac is worth approx $460 in trade. A broken M1 iMac is worth $0.