checkered pattern on screen

Apparently it is becoming quite common - mine is the same way.

Call this number from the phone:

3001#12345#

That will put it into "Field Mode" - theres an option to view the LCD screen information. If it starts with a 7xxxxxx number it is one of the 'defective' ones while the ones with a 5xxxxxx number are one of the 'non-defective' ones. Supposedly the "5" model doesnt have the grid pattern, is sharper and a bit brighter.

EDIT: I believe the pattern is due to the touchpad on the 7xxxxx version. Not too annoying but it is disappointing that some models don't feature this, are sharper and are brighter.

Most people returning it have ended up with the '7' model, which seems to be the most common now.

Here's an example posted on another forum showing the difference:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1595/maxbrightqb9.jpg

I believe the 7's on the left and 5's on the right.

I'm a bit disappointed in it, especially since (like you said) we paid the same price as everyone else and are getting what appears to be a lesser quality product.

I find it very noticeable while watching movies 😟

If you go into an apple store you can usually do a side-by-side with some of their models and see the difference - it seems the 5's were part of the launch units but they may have switched to all 7's now (possibly the 5's were from one specific factory or were the earlier units made and they might have switched to 7's after creating a number of these)

This doesnt seem to be the case, mine says 7xxx and looks like your picture on the right. Its very sharp and clear. If i turn the brightness up and go in a dark room and look really really hard i can see a faint grid in the black of the home screen. but when my brightness is 3/4 of the way you cant see that grid, and this also conserves the battery. My guess is that the grid is part of the touchscreen sensors and there is nothing wrong with it. i cant see it unless i make an effort.

this issue is really noticeable if you come from a 5 ** model.

it is assumed it is part of the touch sensor, but what puzzles us is why it doesn't show up at ALL on the 5 ** models.

in other words, even if you look at it from the front, having those dots will change any dark background image, making it less sharp and less defined.

makes sense, right?

even though they are small white dots, they are everywhere and they are white.

go here for more information on the issue:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=328862

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1201847


They CHANGE the contrast of a black/dark image, therefore it is not black anymore.

Again, see for yourself and , if you can, A/B your phone with a 5 ** screen, if you find one.

yup...i have been trying to stay as active as possible on those two forums, because i think the issue is there, and needs to be addressed somehow.


here are, again, links to the two threads:


http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=328862


http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1201847

i think the issue has nothing to do with autobrightness in this case, i am sorry.
if you A/B two screens with screens from 2 different manufacturers, you'll see a difference in sharpness, at the same brightness settings, and also you'll notice the white dot pattern only on one kind of screen.

i think the issue has nothing to do with
autobrightness in this case, i am sorry.
if you A/B two screens with screens from 2 different
manufacturers, you'll see a difference in sharpness,
at the same brightness settings, and also you'll
notice the white dot pattern only on one kind of
screen.

If the phones are reading the ambient light differently then they will adjust the brightness differently. Not saying there isn't a difference, but allowing for a variable like that really kills your ability to say with 100% certainty that the screens have different brightnesses. If you have seen it thats fine but that's the photo that should have been posted.

I compared mine to my GF's and its darker, but we both have the same artifacts (or lack of, I may be seeing something that isn't there) I'm consoling myself by believing that the darker screens will give superior battery life, might not be true but at least I feel better. It also helps that I never have it brighter than half.

Same here, I have the darker one and my family member has the brighter one. I am going to try to exchange it today, maybe I'll get lucky. You can tell by the Activation Screen, the white line through the clock is much much stronger on the brighter one.

The dots only show up if you look at a super white screen at a certain angle. The guy who posted the pictures actually is using my pictures that I took - I cannot notice any dots or checkered pattern except on my 7MP digital camera.

The dots only show up if you look at a super white
screen at a certain angle. The guy who posted the
pictures actually is using my pictures that I took -
I cannot notice any dots or checkered pattern except
on my 7MP digital camera.

Will you post comparison photos with auto-brightness turned off please.

Mine also has the pattern, but I'm just going to live with it. To me it isn't that noticable unless I really try and look for it.

Plus I don't want to exchange it for a model only to be faced with new issues.

Aside from this, the phone doesn't have any issues and gets good battery life.

On a side note, my fiance's 4gig doesn't have this issue, and we bought both of our iPhones on the same day.

thanks spikeymike.

apparently it is more of an issue to people who had the previous model before, understandably.

you see in my experience, having had both, i notced that while you don't see the grid if you look straight to the screen, the fact that there ARE white dots on the screen makes for the sharpness and definition of dark colors to be somewhat washed out, compared to the 5 * screens.

it's just my opinion and the one of many others, if you read these posts.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=328862

but i do understand it might not be a big deal to others.

cheers!



Macbook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.10)

I have a 7 series LCD as well. The white checkered pattern is visible at 50% brightness from ANY angle. Yes, that includes head-on. I am very disappointed by the shortcomings of the 7-series screens. They look terrible side-by-side with the 5-series LCDs in terms of brightness, contrast, and sharpness. I wish my $600 were as valuable as those who got 5-series screens.

For those of you just tuning in, dial 3001#12345# into your keypad and press call. This will bring you into Field Mode, where you should select "Versions" to find out what version of the LCD you have.

I hope this is fixed/recalled/addressed. My attempts to correct this problem at the Genius Bar only resulted in assurances that these problems were "normal." But that's only because there were 7-series screens on the floor. Knowing someone with a 5-series screen is almost depressing; they are categorically better.

-i