Apple Replacing Faulty 3TB Hard Drives In Some Older iMacs

Updated on

Apple has come up with a replacement program again, but this time it’s for the defective 3TB hard drives which were shipped with 27-inch iMac desktop computers. The iMac desktops in question here were sold between December 2012 and September 2013.

Don’t forget to have a backup

Apple is already in the process of contacting the affected iMac owners to inform them of the replacement program. Owners who believe they should also be covered under the program but have not been contacted can check if their system is covered or not by using their serial number.

“Apple has determined that a very small number of 3TB hard drives used in 27-inch iMac systems, may fail under certain conditions,” reads an official post.

The 3TB drive, which is covered under the replacement program, was sold as an add-on with the 27-inch iMac. The hard drive was not made available in entry-level Macs but was available for professionals and consumers who require more storage for video files, music, photos, etc.

Users with a defective drive can get replacements from Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP), while users who chose for an out-of-warranty replacement are expected to get a refund. Apple’s replacement program will run until December 19 or three years from the date of the original sale, whichever ensures longer coverage. Before you go for a replacement, Apple wants you to have a back-up of everything through Time Machine as you will need to reinstall everything once it’s done.

Similar replacement programs from Apple before

In mid-2011, Apple came up with a similar replacement program for few of the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs sold between May and July of that year. These systems shipped with Seagate’s 1TB hard drives were also expected to fail under certain conditions, says a report from MacRumors. Later, the same program was expanded by a year, and eventually the program ceased on July 23, 2013. Also in 2010, Apple offered a repair program for early MacBook models.

Even though Apple has provided no further details on the faulty drives, there are good chances that the current replacement program from Apple may also be related to faulty Seagate drives.

Leave a Comment