iPhone 3G S has yellowish tint

i got my iphone replaced 2 days ago, literally just went into the shop and they straight swapped it, no fuss, no paperwork. All i had to do was text Wifi to 2121 to reset my MAC address to use BT openzone and the cloud wifi.

Did you actually cancel your contract so that you could wait for another phone?

Little update regarding my situation:

The first 3GS that I purchased last week had the "nicotine yellow" colour that many of you are now aware of. Impossible to accept if you have had experience with other other iPhones and iPod Touches, etc.

Returned, refund.

Decided to take a chance and purchase one from the same store (mistake!) yesterday and noticed that upon getting it home that the battery was dead and needed charging (normally you get a fair bit of battery time) .. Then set it up and after a general play of 20 minutes (setup mostly, few minutes of browsing) noticed that it was getting 'warm' to the touch on the back of the unit. Furthermore this unit also had the same "nicotine yellow" colouring issue as the previous one.

I will be returning this phone for a refund and wait a few weeks at the very least before dipping my toe into an iPhone 3GS again.

Both phones were sadly from the same production "week 22" and Model Number MC131B.

I would advise if you are concerned about the nicotine yellow colouring then to seek a replacement as I have had first hand experience with 'acceptable 3GS' phones that do not exhibit this issue to the degree certain batches of phones are.

Yes, I cancelled the contract just to wait for another phone. For a very important reason: Once you're IN the 18 month contract and also beyond the 30 day replacement policy, you're in a HUGELY vulnerable position in terms of bargaining with O2 or Apple in the event of handset problems.

You MIGHT be lucky replacing it a few times either with O2 or the Apple Store but then again in cases like this where there seems to be very widespread issues with the handset, leaving it too long and ending up getting "refurbished" handsets will be the death knell for your chances of getting a quality iPhone 3GS.

It's telling that quite a few here have simply accepted what they KNOW to be sub-standard iPhones - I presume because of the hassle involved in getting a decent quality one. Each to his own, but this attitude will only make things worse for everyone because Apple will "get away" with manufacturing iPhones to an erratic quality standard or, more charitably, will never know the extent of the problem.

First of all you have no real evidence nor could you possibly know if this is truly a widespread issue or not. It is possible that it is limited to 1% of the phones out there (which is still a lot). Also to suggest that some of us just decided to settle for a substandard phone is nonsense. Has it every dawn upon you that 99% of us actually got a good phone where the display is totally acceptable with no other issues? Mine is just slightly warmer, but totally even in color and vivid. I have no complaints. Though you won't see folks like me posting and starting threads at how tickled we are with our iPhones.

It is also possible that not everyone is expecting perfection as some of you (maybe not you particularly but many in this thread has suggested).

I've been considering upgrading my original phone to the new 3Gs but after reading about the problems, perhaps I should just upgrade to the 3G model. Any advice greatly appreciated.

I would get the 3GS and not allow this issue to steer your decision one way or the other. This thread is very misleading in that if you read it, you get the feeling everyone is having this issue. That is simply not true! There are many that have purchased these phones that have no such issue.

I have a question. My 3GS has a yellow tint. I had my displayed replaced but my replacement still has it. Can I still return it for a refund?

Message was edited by: samven582

Ok, I am on my 2nd 3Gs and this one is tinted yellow towards the bottom. To summarize:

1st 3Gs: completely yellow, washed out screen, short battery life.

2nd 3Gs: Bottom 30% of the screen tinted yellow. It's about 20% the strength of the yellow tint on the first phone (if that makes any sense).

There's clearly a problem with these phones. All posts about paranoia and perfectionism are complete BS. We paid for a product that should be perfect. The screen is also arguably the most important aspect of the phone. Imagine you got a TV that was half yellow and washed out. Would you live with it? It's a completely ridiculous statement to make.

I am not sure what I'll do next as I am convinced I will get another crappy phone if I ask for a replacement. I think I'll have them note that I complained about the issue and wait a couple of months. If anything I could swap the screen from my 3G into the 3Gs...if possible 🙂

Someone please post a picture of this mysterious 20 - 30% yellow tint issue!

I just got my first 3GS replaced with "refurb" unit in my local Apple store.

It took a lot of persuasion and talking to the manager to convince them to do anything - they said there were no known problems and therefore this was just a costmetic issue which would not warrant a replacement.

Sometime later after name dropping a couple of technology journalists they agreed to open up a regurb unit and if I liked it to do the swap. Note that they said they'd only do this one time.

So. Here I am with a new (well it looks that way) device - so how does it compare?

Well, it's still warmer than the old 3G but not as much as 1st 3GS.
Most obviously is the difference in polarization qualities and viewing angle - tilt the device and it stays bright way longer than old one.

This ones a keeper

Good luck to everyone with remaining problems on this thread

Bill

I'm not suggesting some forum members decided to settle for substandard phones, I'm saying so. One user in particular (who I'd bother to find out specifically if I cared enough) said that they are keeping their replacement although they can see the issues specified in this forum thread.

Also, lets be realistic - if the problem WEREN'T as widespread as I and some others think, how is it that there are quite a few here (myself included) who have had their handset replaced multiple times from different locations in my case and have noticed the exact same problem on ALL replacement models. In the end, even I came very close to "settling" for a phone with a noticeably uneven yellowness to the bottom third. This is my point. I'd guess that most people feel in a position of weakness when attempting to have a phone exchanged/returned for some subjective defect or other. Also, it's a pain in the *** to have to explain the issue over and over - especially when your handset is continuously replaced with further faulty handsets.

The chances of there NOT being a relatively widespread issue are low, when if there isn't an issue, the chances of having the EXACT same problem multiple times from multiple people on multiple CONTINENTS is also very low.

It shouldn't be some kind of "lottery" when you buy a handset, and I'll say again: if you care about the quality of your shiny new iPhone 3GS then hold off buying one until all the dross has been snapped up and KEPT by people who either don't care or don't care enough to be bothered by FAULTY hardware that doesn't prevent their day-to-day use of the phone.

Message was edited by: alsheron

rlsavage wrote:
Someone please post a picture of this mysterious 20 - 30% yellow tint issue!

No one will post pics because they are probably not near as bad as people on this thread are making them out to be, and the few pics that where posted are obviously altered to be mad to look worse.

I have been following this thread since it started, and it has turned into with out a doubt the most ridiculous thread I have ever followed on any forum I have ever been on.

People returning their phone 3, 4, 5, 6 times complaining about how they are being treated by Apple, and bla... bla... bla.

I can guarantee that these people are the type of people who complain about everything in their whole life and blame everyone else for it, and treat the Apple employee's like dirt and expect them to treat them nice in return.

This thread is pathetic and needs to be removed.

Just my 2 cents...:)

+"No one will post pics because they are probably not near as bad as people on this thread are making them out to be, and the few pics that where posted are obviously altered to be mad to look worse."+

Obviously altered to be made to look worse???? Well, congrats on making the #1 ranking for the most inconsiderate, ignorant Apple fanboy that suffers from psychological denial and projection in stubborn defense of a product and brand that is not infallible.

I posted pics that were NOT altered in any way, and were not "manipulated" with angle or tricks to try to present something that is not true. In fact, as explained, they do not do justice in demonstrating just how bad the dim, yellow-brown and polarized screen is on my defective 3G S, while in comparison, my wife's 3G S is the proper bright & "warmer" version that was "intended".

You are the 2nd fanboy that has jumped in to try to dismiss the valid concerns of not just another victim, but ALL of us in one foul swoop. Oh...what I'd give to see you forced to swap your 3G S with one of ours, then for each of us victims to be the Genius reps you come to for a replacement so that we can explain to you it's all your imagination and how you're just trying to tell lies and get attention. Then we'd give you a replacement that's worse and laugh in your face as we tell you it's all good, this one is per spec just like the perfectly good one you just exchanged had been...

Your attempt to, what, "defend" Apple?? in this manner only hurts Apple all the more. If any of the other unfortunate victims feel the same as I do, then you've certainly strengthened the resolve of many to just return their phones to get satisfaction.

I personally don't care what you are suggesting or saying. Anyone can make a blanket statement based on their individual experiences and that doesn't make it so for everyone else. There have been over a million of these phones sold and I just don't buy that this thread is representative of everyone.

Now we have people making threats to kick people in the nads and stuff. Honestly some of you need to take a step back. We are all adults here so making threats and getting all puffed up is what juveniles do.

I do think there are some legit issues out there, but I do think there are also some so nit picky that no matter what you won't be satisfied. Saying that folks are setting for substandard phones because you are so nit picky you won't settle for anything makes no sense to me. I appreciate your opinion, but I strongly disagree and until you can provide REAL proof, you are just whistling Dixie.

I hope those that do have legit issues get them resolved. Certainly by now Apple is aware and maybe we'll see an announcement or at least see them get 3.1 out sooner rather than later to address some of the other issues being reported with the battery etc.

I am not going to threaten anyone or call any one names, if folks can't converse without going there they need to exit this thread! I am not a mod though, that is just my opinion. Some of you don't want any opinions shared in this thread except those that agree with yours.

I just received my iPhone in the mail today and it has a yellowish tint. Made an appointment to go there Thursday to talk to their Genius bar. Hopefully they'll take care fo me.