iPhone 3G S has yellowish tint

Sarge_in wrote:
Wonder how many people (like me) are still on the sidelines to see how this huge issue plays out before taking the plunge! Hope this resolves soon and best of luck to all having this issue!

I had been waiting, until I talked to all of the people I know who actually own 3Gs's. All were supremely happy with theirs and none had problems with yellow tint or battery life. I figured that the problem was less widespread than it appeared in this forum, and I bought my iPhone last week. I got a week 26 and I love it. I did notice a slight yellow tinge to the screen when I was in bright sunlight last week, but it wasn't abnormally or distortingly yellow, and I haven't noticed it since. Also, it's after 6pm where I am (took the phone off the charger at 8:30am), and my battery is at 91%. (admittedly with only 1 hour of usage, but still). Overall, battery life has matched the specs.

In sum, I agree with the previous posters who have said that the whole thing is pretty much a lottery. There are definitely bad units out there, but I think they are probably a relatively small percentage of the total inventory. It seems like a huge problem because internet forums like this tend to attract unsatisfied customers and magnify the issue.

Regardless, there are clearly some very, VERY poor units out there, and it is a poor reflection on Apple that user experiences are so wildly disparate.

Message was edited by: Lilyskip

My thoughts being
a. The phones 'coating' turns yellow

I think there's something to this. When I got my 3GS and started reading about this issue, I compared it to my 3G. I checked thoroughly, and my screen was uniform and just as white as my 3G.

Since then a bit of yellow has developed along the bottom (in the dock area). It's not enough that I'd return it, but it's now noticeable when you hold it landscape. It definitely wasn't like that before.

DJRobX wrote:

My thoughts being
a. The phones 'coating' turns yellow

I think there's something to this. When I got my 3GS and started reading about this issue, I compared it to my 3G. I checked thoroughly, and my screen was uniform and just as white as my 3G.

Since then a bit of yellow has developed along the bottom (in the dock area). It's not enough that I'd return it, but it's now noticeable when you hold it landscape. It definitely wasn't like that before.

YES! Me too.

It WOULD hellp explain a lot, no?

Just an update on my experience with this issue,

I am on my 2nd phone, but 5th screen in terms of 3gs's. My current screen which I am accepting -for a few months until this is sorted- has great brightness/color/contrast, but a yellow haze at the bottom of the screen.

The polarization was inconsistent between the screens I had replaced, as were the maximum brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, even the better screens I encountered either had yellow at the bottom or to some extent made whites look french vanilla most everywhere.

Honestly, I have 0 problem with discrepancies between contrast/brightess/color temp; as these issues would be due to the LCD part. However what I've seen leads me to believe that the polarization process or the coating is causing the glass.

My best advice is to examine each screen you see from an extreme viewing angle and in every orientation. this will let you see how white menus on the screen are affected by the issue. For those comparing to a 3g, please also notice how the 3gs supports wider viewing angles in general compared to older model.

btw, I would not advise multiple screen replacements, I had to get a white box whole phone replacement due to the GPS (not aGPS) not functioning after 2 swaps.

catalyst_6 wrote:
What do you mean by polarization of the screen?

As polarized screens are my #1 complaint (moreso than dim, poor contrast, urine yellow screens), I'll answer what it means to me.

A non-polarized 3G S screen is one that you can view well from extreme angles with minimal loss of clarity and brightness.

A polarized 3G S screen is one where the brightness and clarity is lost (by at LEAST 50%) as soon as you view the screen from an angle more than 20 degrees or so (not very much off center). In other words, any friend or family member trying to view what you're doing is going to have a heck of a hard time seeing the screen as it becomes so dim if they're not the one holding it and viewing it straight on.

Although some may find this a "desired feature" for privacy, I consider any 3G S with such a screen to be unusable. From my very limited experience, approximately 1/3 of the screens I've seen (including a few display models at ATT and Apple Stores) are polarized. That's a HUGE inconsistency and an issue I've not gotten anyone at Apple to talk about other than "we'll replace it for you if you want".

Also, the general trend I've seen is that polarized screens tend to be the most yellow and the most dim. Non-polarized screens tend to be brighter and less yellow but also have poor contrast and washed out colors. My wife happens to have gotten lucky with a perfect non-polarized, barely warm, bright screen with deep rich colors and high contrast (it's absolutely beautiful).

Just subscribed to this forum to answer this thread.
I believe the main issue here is that Apple is not providing any information about the various hardware elements that go in the iphones.

I think part of the success of the iphone v1 was the magnificent screen, with a contrast so much better than the competition.
Now you get a screen that's worse than the previous version (3G) and you're expected to deal with it. That's what I've been told my (french) Apple support.

In the end I returned the 3GS I ordered online, and I'll pick one manually in a store. Shame on Apple on this one. This lack of transparency about pretty much everything they do is really annoying.
It's clear that they have multiple screen providers, and that those screens differ in rendering, quality, etc. But, when you buy a 3GS, you don't know which one is on it. How is that supposed to be normal?

Great post AntonioMX5. I think a lot of us here feel exactly the same. As i've probably said before the biggest problem here isn't necessarily Apple lacking in Quality Control. It's 3GS customers who either don't know any better or who simply don't care that will probably mean Apple will likely not take this seriously. It seems they are THAT arrogant.

I notice that the HTC Hero also has an oleophobic screen and looks surprisingly good. HTC phones seem to have excellent screens and their camera sensors are amazingly good. I, for one, have had quite enough of Apple ignoring issue after issue (I understand very well their business concerns) and am dropping any investment i've made in the App store and iPhone for the foreseeable future. I'm seriously considering the Hero. Look it up on Google - you'll be surprised. Only possible downside MAY be the processor... It's a shame. Through their indifference, Apple are essentially refusing to sell me an iPhone. Well done Apple. Build a strong brand. Increase market share. Now you're taking those first steps towards throwing it all away. I actually feel angry about this because I had come to TRUST Apple. I don't trust them as much now as I'm not particularly keen on playing a "Lottery" with £440.

alsheron,

I could not agree with you more. Unfortunately, those 3GS customers that simply don't care are the very people Apple is now targeting. They don't appear to want or need customers like you and I any more. I remember when buying Apple meant paying a slight premium in exchange for a higher quality product. Those days are gone...

{quote:title=Sarge_in wrote:}Wonder how many people (like me) are still on the sidelines to see how this huge issue plays out before taking the plunge! Hope this resolves soon and best of luck to all having this issue!{quote}Count me in on both those - waiting, money in pocket, and hoping.

john

Hi everyone,

Most of the iphone 3GS owners in Hong Kong may not have experience on using the previous models, making them unaware of the problem of the screen yellow tinted. Only when I talked with the service centre staff they admitted the substandard screen.

I wish I am in US, at least people know iphone very well and can join the force to fight back a good quality screen like the first gen iphone.


Workhardbrother
(Your friend in Hong Kong)

Hi all,

I also found polarized screens have poor visibiliity when compare with the 3G version. When wearing my Oakley polarize glasses the screen on my 3GS is not clearly seen. Does it mean my 3GS is polarized screen or not.

Thanks everyone here please giv
e me some idea.



One of the victims in Hong Kong

Workhardbrother,

I too am in Hong Kong, and I successfully had the defective phone replaced. If your screen has a yellow cast, go to the 3 handset center, and demand a replacement. The yellow screens are unacceptable, and they know it.

Workhardbrother wrote:

When wearing my Oakley polarize glasses the screen on my 3GS is not clearly seen. Does it mean my 3GS is polarized screen or not.

WorkHardBrother,

You ask a good technical question and I honestly don't know the answer. There was one good technical gentleman who talked about detecting screen polarization using polarized sunglasses earlier in this thread. That method, like yours, I think is the technically correct definition of polarization, but it is not necessarily going to help you get what you want.

Add to this the suggestion made by some that these 3G S screens are supposed to have a new anti-polarization screen, meaning when some people use their 3G S outside, they may be wearing polarized sunglasses which may normally dim the screen. The anti-polarization feature is supposed to avoid this problem.

I do not have polarized sunglasses and our present two 3G S's do not have polarized screens. But this assessment is based upon my own specific personal defination of what polarization means to me (viewing the screen at an angle with the naked eye). And it is a fact that based upon my definition of polarization, these 3G S's come 2 different ways - some can be viewed well from an angle, with minimal dimming, others absolutely can not. Basically, the bottom line for you that I recommend is the following:

Do not worry about whether or not the screen is "technically" polarized or not. Simply view your screen using whatever glasses you normally wear. If the screen is bright and readable from an angle you MAY view it from under normal use, then the screen is fine as far as angled readability FOR YOU.

If the screen is not very usable for how YOU want to use it, either because it's dimming when viewed from an angle or because it's excessively (or partially yellow), then consider doing as smacman suggested and try returning/exchanging it. Just remember, the return/exchange/screen swap path does not guarantee happiness or positive results, although EVENTUALLY you SHOULD get lucky with a screen that you are satisfied with, or can live with.

That part is all about luck and playing the iPhone 3G S lottery. 😉

If you decide to try swapping it, please keep us updated on how things progress. Hopefully you'll be one of the lucky ones that gets a nice screen that you're happy with for your needs on the first replacement. It is possible!

I bought an iPhone that was a week 27 and was very yellow. I exchange it and received a new unit that is week 28 and it's much better. It not as good as my 3G but much more acceptable than the previous 3GS. I'm very disappointed that the quality control on these screens are substandard. The word will spread Apple, don't take this lightly. Do you want to start smearing a good reputation?

straightmac wrote:
I'm very disappointed that the quality control on these screens are substandard. The word will spread Apple, don't take this lightly. Do you want to start smearing a good reputation?

I agree.

I hope this doesn't come off as sounding self-important, but I've lost count of the number of people I've personally brought into the iPhone fold.

From simply demonstrating the iPhone to interested onlookers, to actively petitioning friends and relatives that their next phone has to be an iPhone, I've been a very loyal and outspoken evangelist. People like me have generated a lot of sales for Apple.

Which is why I feel really let down by this whole issue. It started as a minor inconvenience (for me to get my own problem unit replaced, the nearest Apple Store required a trip of 300 miles and I was without a usable 3GS until my next trip to that city, almost 2 weeks after I bought it) and then turned into a larger disappointment when I encountered first-hand the difficult in getting an acceptable replacement.

But also that the replacement, like many others here, hasn't filled me with the same sense of enjoyment when using the device as my previous 2007 first gen iPhone, and then 2008 3G model, largely because of the duller, less vibrant screen. It just doesn't pop like the previous iPhones did.

So I've been somewhat subdued in my recommendations of late... It could be I'm questioning my loyalty to a flawed product, even if it is a flaw that only those "in the know" and with good vision appreciate.