Lights Shining Through Sides of iPhone?

Sounds to me like the replacement iPhone may have had its housing dismantled and subsequently replaced.

Unfortunately it also appears that whoever was designated to ensure that the 'refurbished' iPhone worked and looked like a new iPhone did not perform to a level that Apple may have set as the standard.

I would take the iPhone back to an Apple Store, tell them what happened and request an exchange or replacement.

Are you buying new iPhones or are you buying refurbs? Sounds like the latter.

I assume that if you are reselling, then you are not selling at list price of a new iPhone or why would anyone want to buy from you when they can buy from Apple or AT&T?

chrispl wrote:
i just got my third iphone, after two that had problems with them,...

thanks for the reply. actually, this isnt a replacement iphone. i sold the other two that i had, so this is brand new. i dont understand why there are so many QC problems. so... no one else has this??

Let me get this straight. You "sold the other two", "that had problems with them"?

What kind of scam are you running? As someone else mentioned, are you buying and selling refurbs?

Why are there so many QC problems? In my eyes, and my experience, there aren't. We have three iPhones in my immediate family, two bought on day one, and all three have never missed a beat. The experience has been the same for members of my extended family and numerous friends. No synch issues, no hardware issues, no software issues, not a scratch even though two are used by teens and without cases.

Not pointing the finger at anyone, but I wonder how much of the complaining and commiserating on this board comes from people who are just plain poor at understanding and using complex consumer electronics, people who are are buying and selling iPhones of questionable origin, or folks who contrive stories just so they can complain about Apple.

ITpro4Mac wrote:
Let me get this straight. You "sold the other two", "that had problems with them"?

Why are there so many QC problems? In my eyes, and my experience, there aren't. We have three iPhones in my immediate family, two bought on day one, and all three have never missed a beat. The experience has been the same for members of my extended family and numerous friends. No synch issues, no hardware issues, no software issues, not a scratch even though two are used by teens and without cases.

This makes you posting hard to believe. Are you saying that because you have no sync issues, no hardware issues, no scratches, or other such problems that the remainder of the people posting to this thread are experiencing "fictitious" failures. Come on, just because you are not experiencing what appears to be QC problems does not mean they are not there or they are not having issues.

I too do not experience many of the problems that other are experiencing but I do acknowledge that others are having problems regardless of what they may be. My concerns are with functionality.

Not pointing the finger at anyone, but I wonder how much of the complaining and commiserating on this board comes from people who are just plain poor at understanding and using complex consumer electronics, people who are are buying and selling iPhones of questionable origin, or folks who contrive stories just so they can complain about Apple.

Not saying that you are pointing any fingers but lets face it, the consumer is a lot smarter than you give them credit for.

Additionally, there are a lot of posters on this entire forum that may in fact have a lot of experience - in some case more than you may have. Let's keep this to the facts and not use that tactic to void the 'consumers' concerns.

kmosh100 wrote:

Not saying that you are pointing any fingers but lets face it, the consumer is a lot smarter than you give them credit for.

Additionally, there are a lot of posters on this entire forum that may in fact have a lot of experience - in some case more than you may have. Let's keep this to the facts and not use that tactic to void the 'consumers' concerns.

I wholeheartedly disagree, the average consumer is not a whole lot smarter than I give them credit for. I've had several careers, first in consumer electronics, then law enforcement, and now information technology. I have been exposed to just how little understanding most consumers have as to how their consumer electronics items work (or don't). Most don't even to bother to read manuals, follow proper procedures, or attempt to resolve an issue using relatively easy to find resources, before screaming for help or whining that their item is defective. I often wonder how much of the populace manages stumbling through life. The dumbing down of society astounds me every day.

Yes, there are some in all of the Apple Discussion forums with more experience, or relevant education, than me but they are few and far between. Fewer still in the iPhone discussions. There are also some valid consumer concerns here, but there are also many who complain of issues, but who do not offer the "whole story" as to how they came to find themselves with an inoperative or damaged device. As one who has made a living discerning the truth from distortion or fiction, and who still does to a certain extent (IT Security), I often tend to read between the lines (or access logs to see what really occurred). Sometimes I may be wrong, but more often than not I think I accurately discern the the truth.

I appreciate your comments and your experience but again, there are just too many similar experiences for these anomalies to be mere happenstance.

I too have been in the IT business for many years, worked for some of the world's largest manufacturers in the IT industry and what is described here is not unusual for less than good product quality and now that we are manufacturing so much overseas in countries that there are known issues with quality, vs. cost to build, I am not at all surprised.

By the way, in my 'retirement' mode I also am involved in IT security with some of the largest entities in the Intelligence Community in a consultation role. So I do understand that issue as well.

I still believe in people and their capabilities to comprehend what is happening.

ITpro4Mac wrote:

kmosh100 wrote:

There are also some valid consumer concerns here, but there are also many who complain of issues, but who do not offer the "whole story" as to how they came to find themselves with an inoperative or damaged device.

I agree, I agree, I agree.

It's called "Obsessive-compulsive disorder" or OCD, and you should seek treatment for it... 😉

Actually, the "points of light" you refer to, sound simply like the injection points of the backlight. These can be located on every iPhone I've seen. And they're more pronounced in certain screen functions and configurations, esp reboot (reset) or startup.

+ And, hmmm... This would seem to support ITpro4Mac's commentary. How strange... 🙂 +

Message was edited by: Chas Hulme

My original purchased iPhone had pronounced backlight bleeding, but my replacement does not. So I would guess some have it more than others. It was never a big deal to me because as the OP says, you only notice it on certain functions.

chrispl wrote:
im actually buying brand new ones, but *selling them because i know too much about the known issues with the iphone*. plus, maybe im looking much too hard for the perfect iphone, but i dont believe thats a bad thing right? the first iphone had the battery issue, where it never showed a full charge. the second one came out of the box with a few odd marks on it, plus the battery issue. so, this is my third one. i sell them cheaper than the apple price, so its a loss taken on by myself to hopefully reach the perfect iphone eventually. i dont find the geniuses to be too helpful, sadly.

This bothers me. Based on your own words, if the iPhone "appears" defective to you, you pawn it off to someone else? Probably someone unsuspecting of "known issues."

So while you are looking for the "Perfect iPhone" you have no probably scamming someone in the process??

I had one of these on my last refurb. Not 4, just 1, but still. It looked cheap.