iMac 21.5 & 27 repairs

2009–2011 Models A1311, A1312

Front glass, drives and SSD upgrades on the 2009–2011 iMac – the last generation where the glass lifts off on its own.

iMac 21.5 & 27 repair at Fixfactor, London
Walk-in · Wimbledon Mail-in · UK wide Up to 12-month warranty Tested, proven parts

Repairs

Something is broken or worn out.

Software & Data

It powers on, but it will not behave.

Know the fault, but don’t see it listed? Describe it and we’ll price it from your description – free, no device needed. Not sure what’s wrong? That’s what the Diagnostics Service above is for.

Which iMac 21.5 & 27 is yours?

The repair depends on which generation you have, and they look identical from the outside. Click the Apple menu › About This Mac – the model number is on the same line as the year. If it will not switch on, it is printed in small type on the underside.

A1311 21.5-inch · Late 2009 – Late 2011
A1312 27-inch · Late 2009 – Mid 2011

Not sure? Send us a photo of the underside and we will read it for you – it takes us a minute and saves you ordering the wrong part.

The one thing these do that later iMacs do not

The front glass on a 2009–2011 iMac is held on by magnets, not adhesive, and it sits in front of the LCD rather than being bonded to it. Crack the glass and you can replace the glass alone – a fraction of the cost of a display assembly on any later model. We check the panel underneath first, because a hard enough knock can take both, and tell you which one you actually need before you pay for anything.

Worth fixing, or not?

It depends entirely on the fault, and we would rather say so than take the work. Glass, hard drives, SSD upgrades, optical drives and power supplies are all cheap enough on these to be worth doing. Graphics failures on the 27-inch – lines, artefacts, no picture with fans running – usually are not, because the part costs more than the machine is worth. We will tell you which side of that line yours falls on.

Before you spend money on one

These machines stopped receiving macOS updates several years ago, which means current versions of some browsers and applications will no longer install. That is fine for plenty of jobs and a dead end for others. If the iMac is doing a specific task well – a studio, a workshop, a spare desk machine – an SSD and a clean install is money well spent. If you need current software on it, hardware repair will not get you there, and we will say that before taking the work rather than after.

Good to Know

The questions we are asked most about iMac 21.5 & 27 repairs.

Not answered here? Ask us – we reply the same working day.

Only the glass is cracked. Can you replace just that?

On these models, yes – the glass is a separate magnetic panel. That is the cheap fix and it is genuine on a 2009–2011 iMac. We check the LCD behind it first, because if that is damaged too the glass alone will not help.

Is a machine this old still worth repairing?

For drives, glass, power supplies and SSD upgrades, usually yes. For a failed graphics card on the 27-inch, usually not – and we will tell you that rather than quote for it.

Will an SSD make a real difference?

More than anything else you could do to it. These shipped with slow spinning drives, and swapping to an SSD makes the whole machine feel like a different computer. We move your data across as part of the job.

Can it run the latest macOS?

No – Apple stopped supporting these some years ago, and no repair changes that. The hardware works fine; the software ceiling is fixed. Tell us what you need it to do and we will tell you honestly whether it can.

It is heavy. Do I have to carry it in?

The 27-inch is around 14 kg, so bring a hand if you can. If getting it to Wimbledon is the problem, talk to us before you set off and we will sort out a sensible way to get it here.

Get a QuoteAsk a Question

We have to price this service individually due to different factors.

We fix plenty that is not on the list above. Tell us what the device is and what you need doing.

Ask us anything: parts, timing, your data, whatever matters to you.

We usually reply within the day. If you need an answer sooner, call us on 020 8543 7088.

Thanks - we have your request. We’ll come back to you with a price, usually the same working day.