iPhone 3G S has yellowish tint

I chose not to be an early adopter but I need a new phone soon, and I want to try an iPhone after waiting for 2 years.

Does anyone have a realistic timeframe as to when these issues might be sorted out? An educated guess? Past experience? I'm thinking I'll wait till August.

I am week 26 production (4th and 5th digit in the serial)
16gb Black 3GS.
I went to the Apple Store with my dad bc he wanted to buy one for himself. He also got a week 26. Both of our screen are DULLER than the display models here in NJ.

I got back from the Apple store about 30 minutes ago. This was after I went to Best Buy and exchanged my phone for a new one. That puts my total at 4. I give up. At the Apple store, I had my phone and my brothers phone. I compared them to the displays. For some reason, everything matched. There were some "slight" differences, but it was like the yellow vanished in the store. I could still tell there was a "slight" difference between the top and bottom of the screens, however the "genius" could not see a difference and could not do anything for me. He stated the 3GS screens were "warmer". I was like ok. What about everyone online having the issue and how come there are many 3GS with crisp, white screens? He proceeds to tell me how interesting it is that everyone online only has problems. I just brushed that off and didn't even bother responding to that one.

My brother said he was having some issues with battery life. The "genius" tested that and said it was excellent. I was like ok. He then told me that I should turn off wifi and 3G when it's idle. I looked at him and said - you do realize this is a PHONE right? He said yes with a snide undertone. I was like ok. Thinking to myself I was like - yeah, I will definitely turn off 3G.

Anyways, he found no issues. The replacement phone I received from Best Buy seems to have a more UNIFORM screen. It's "warmer" but uniformly so. My brothers appears to be the same way as well. I have also noticed depending on how you hold the phone, the yellow on the bottom either gets more pronounced or vanishes. Very odd.

I have officially given up. I will await a firmware update from Apple and go from there.

Keep in mind that the lighting in the store can make a large difference. For the best comparison you should compare the screens in sunlight. Otherwise the genius really can't see it, because there isn't enough light, or there isn't the proper frequency of light.

+"I don't doubt what you are saying, but that picture is totally subjective to angle of the picture and locations of the phones in the picture. What if you had swapped them a round and took that picture from the exact angle."+

Both 3G S phones were lying flat on my night stand, equidistant and centered below my window (with blinds drawn), with camera equidistant from them, centered between them, so there's the EXACT SAME dim indirect lighting on each at the same angle. Need I take the pics again in a pitch black room to prove this?

The dim yellow screen on my phone shows itself to be the same dimmer & yellower defective model no matter which phone is on the right or left (in portrait), or above or below the other (in landscape), and no matter what angle or side you view them from when my small circular night stand is walked around.

So, since I didn't clarify it and only I have done this and can see this outside of the 2 pics I took (need I take pics of 30 different views and post them all to prove this?): ALL ANGLES & ORIENTATIONS demonstrate the EXACT same difference/defect between the 3G S phones. The only difference between them is that my wife's phone has a white Speck case and mine has an otherwise identical but black Speck case.

And for us as a family - my parents, my brothers, my wife, and my 3 year old daughter (not to mention my friends), ALL want to be able to view our phones together as a family - to see movies & pics we shot, movie trailers, play games, etc. It is NOT fair that my wife has a perfectly good warmer non-polarized screen that anyone can view perfectly clearly from the side, but my phone (and thus all my content) is not usable/viewable by anyone other than the person sticking the phone directly in front of their face.

This is NOT an issue of prefering a cooler screen like on the 3G (we ALL prefer the screen my brother has on his 3G compared to my wife's warmer 3G S), this is an issue of many 3G S owners being blind-sided like myself with a YELLOW/BROWN, DIM & POLARIZED non-spec screen which is clearly night-and day different and defective.

Preference issue vs. CLEARLY non-spec/defective: Easy to confuse and hard to understand unless you've got side by side 3G S phones (NOT 3G) with one per spec and the other clearly non-spec and defective, as I've tried to demonstrate with crude pictures above.

I sure hope some that appear to be in denial and "resisting" this legitimate issue are not trying to dismiss or minimize it as a result of a "fan base being offended" by a mistake that Apple has made that legitimate victims are bringing up.

Hi, I just posted this to the O2 Forums in the UK - for a quick context help for US folk, here in the UK we have one carrier - O2 supporting iPhone (like AT&T) and a retailer Carphone Warehouse who are the same as a Best Buy in the US. (actually Best Buy Mobile and Carphone Warehouse are in a joint venture - so more or less same company!)

Anyway - here's my post - any one from UK please feel free to add your tales of woe:

http://forum.o2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=132014#132014

I received my new iPhone 3GS today which i ordered through Carphone Warehouse.

I stuck O2 sim in, activated it and synced with iTunes (using the restore from my old 3G as suggested on apple site)

As soon as I got it up and running I was surprised at the DULL screen - colours washed out. I checked brightness and it was set to half way with auto on - yes it got brighter if I adjusted it - but the colours were still washed out.

I have compared it side by side with my iPhone 3g on some photos and videos (e.g. Toy Story) the older 3g looks much better - richer colours, better contrast etc.

I have checked the serial number - 4th and 5th digits tell you the production week - mine is week 23. It seems that yellow tint problems are more prevalent in week 21-23 though some people have also had problems with week 24/25.

Anyway - this has put a real downer on this upgrade which I have been looking forward to for ages.

I could cope with a slight colour temperature difference - i.e. slight more yellow, but I am not going to put up with the washed out colours and lack of contrast. Also, in reference to the 'warmer by design' comment - there are numerous reports of apple employees in US stores acknowledging the issue and swapping out devices for unhappy customers.

I will be calling Carphone Warehouse tomorrow AM to see what they suggest. Please can any other UK people respond to this thread with their findings?

Bill

+"I do recall the display models looking more "blueish" tint (like my old 3G), so I thought mine was defective. However, if the one on the right is what most people have, then maybe the display models are not good for comparisons."+

You bring up a very important point - thank you! From all that I've read, nearly all the display models in both the Apple Stores and AT&T show rooms have cooler screens, very similar (if not exactly the same) as the older 3G models.

What appears to have been missed by most is the comment that was made that display phones are PRE-PRODUCTION units (NOT the same as the retail production 3G S we all bought).

It APPEARS that these pre-release display-only 3G S models are using the older 3G screen which we all know is cooler. Thus, Apple has just shot it's own foot creating this problem of mass confusion, leading people with properly designed warmer screened 3G S units to think theirs is defective because it LOOKS DIFFERENT than the display models, when they're perfectly fine.

Add to this confusion the fact that many have encountered Genius reps that were surprised to see a retail phone someone had with a "yellow" screen be so different from the cooler display model and then "admit" this is a defect. Then add a lack of consistent information between on-the-phone reps and in-store "Genius" folks and watch out!

Of course my entire premise here is based upon assuming the statement someone made that display models are PRE-PRODUCTION and using the older 3G screen is correct - this may not be true!

_*THIS is WHY Apple NEEDS to respond*_ with a clarification to address this issue. Until then, many confused and unhappy customers, and many LOST customers...

I do not believe this to be true......as i checked the serial number on phones at the Michigan Ave APPLE STORE in Chicago and they had weeks 21 22 and 23.

I wonder if time could change things?

These phones are used 12 hours a day....i read as the iphone backlights get more and more use they can change color????

just a thought

I was about to walk out the door to an AT&T store to upgrade from my first gen to the 3gs unless I saw these comparison shots. The added speed would be nice, but I can't stand that yellow tint.

vintagehero wrote:
Whether or not your screen is very yellow or slightly yellow, why are the display models in the Apple Store not yellow?

The Apple Stores take great pride in the appearance of their Mac, iPod & iPhone demo machines, even to the extent of walking around to make sure each laptop is open at the optimum angle!

It is one of the things that makes going into an Apple Store such a good experience: everything looks perfect.

So I can imagine they would ensure the iPhone displays looked their absolute best too, which may involve selecting the sharpest, whitest screens.

Which kind of gives lie to the claims of some geniuses that there is nothing wrong with the yellow screens. If they're not good enough for display, why should they be good enough for a customer?

Not to mention a bit of false advertising: I want my screen to look like the one demonstrated to me.

I too went to the Michigan store...they eventually replaced my 3Gs. However, upon leaving the store I compared my new iphone with the display models (poor choice). It was still very clear that all (not some but ALL) of the display models had a cooler tint temperature and brighter/higher contrast screens. Did you notice this too? I honestly feel that the "genius's" are full aware of this problem. The guy I worked with said when he 1st got his and actually went though 5 to find one he liked (guess he used the others as replacements).

Its plain and simple. The display models is exactly that...a model which depicts what you are about to buy. This may be way out of line, but when choosing to buy a new car, I expect the new car to be the same (if not better) than the showroom model. ;( maybe a bad analogy, but you get the point

Yes they replaced mine also......its better but not as nice as the display phones....about 12 total....i hope a firmware update fixes all our phones!!!

APPLE ARE YOU THERE??????? DO YOU CARE????? HELP US PLEASE!!!!

1 8000 MY IPHONE says they know nothing about this hmnnnnnnnnn????

Folks,

for all considering getting a replacement from Apple Retail outlet,

they are now replacing iPhone 3Gs with brown box models (is way too soon in Australia for refurb models to exist unless sent from 19th June launch date countries).

Attempting to resolve the yellow tinge issue, after 1st replacement with same issue, brown box model appeared (initial replacement was sealed black box). Was advised that it was a new model, but hmm......

New models come in the black/white boxes sealed in plastic, so not quite sure what they were trying to push there.

By the way the yellow tinge issue is real, as compared one of the in store demo 3Gs phones with white whites, bright screen and no contrast issues (phone compared at all brightness levels).

The brown box replacement had same issue, they offered to go through just one more replacement, so assumed they would just bring out another brown box (hmm...), so decided to get a refund and either wait for the issue to be officially acknowledged (doubtful) or for the dodgey screen versions to quietly filter out of the system.

Sympathies for the people who are provider contract locked, with far more hoops to go through to get a non sepia toned phone.

So good luck digging through the brown box models, and hope that you don't end up with another brown/yellow display too, again, again, again and again ....

Apple really need to get there act together on this one!

+"I do not believe this {that display models are different, pre-production models} to be true......as i checked the serial number on phones at the Michigan Ave APPLE STORE in Chicago and they had weeks 21 22 and 23. I wonder if time could change things?"+

Ouch for Apple's integrity. I was hoping that what I read somewhere that the display models were different, pre-production models was true, but you just blew a hole in that belief. This is VERY bad for Apple, but truth is truth...

If the store display models are not different, pre-production models, but are in fact just rare, hand-picked gems that are the best 1 out of XX? from production stock, then there indeed is clearly a HUGE varying degree of quality with regard to the color and brightness and polarization of the 3G S screens.

Why??? Loose tolerances and shoddy quality control? Rushing the 3G S out for sale so fast to avoid losing market share to the Palm Pre, Google G2 and a host of other recent competitors that they accepted a HUGE variance in quality from non-spec screens, hoping few would notice or care enough to do anything about it?

Any other reasonable explanations?

As nitpicky as this crowd is (and heck, who can blame anyone for being picky for paying $700 for a phone for heaven's sakes), this issue is not going to go away if some have a cooler screen and others do not.

I THOUGHT there was an intended baseline of normal warmer screens (such as what my wife has) but now even that idea which I assumed was fact and argued for is in doubt. To think I was arguing that the differences between non-defective 3G S screens should be undetectable to the untrained eye - this is HOW it SHOULD be but it seems I assumed way too much here with regard to Apple quality.

Like most of you, I then also want to have nothing less than the same cool blue screen models I also saw on display. I'm going to return this defective, dim, yellow-brown, polarized screened phone back and keep taking them back until I get at LEAST the same lighter yellow screen my wife has, although I sure would prefer the cooler bluish screen I saw on the 3G S models on display.

Apple really has done itself in with this issue here, and I do not think this is a firmware issue that can be updated away, else it would have happened already (or at least been announced).

I am returning my phone tomorrow for a refund. I am going to go back to my 3G until Apple solves the issue. WHat made my decision is the fact that just about everyone in this forum is saying, what I to have witnessed, that all the in store display phones have a clearer cooler display. There is an issue and I will wait for Apple to sort it out.