iPhone 3G S has yellowish tint

ieonjunas wrote:
What is the best way to test the color/contrast? And overall screen quality. Or is it all subjective?

Without any published standard of color temperature and luminosity from Apple for these screens that I know of, I'd say it's all subjective. Many here have quoted Apple Genius and AppleCare reps going so far as claiming that the screens are supposed to be yellow and that it's normal to have variety between screens, etc.

For all we know, the "within specifications" argument Apple often uses might simply mean that if the LCD successfully turns on and you can see icons on the screen, then it's "within spec" - great way to argue against customers and avoid accepting any real responsibility for the wide quality variances so many have reported.

Again, compare your 3G S with the displays in store. Perhaps for your eyes & reading requirements your screen might be better. Perhaps the displays are more suitable for your needs. Only you can decide this. There's SO MUCH variety between the screens that surely there's a "type" that will suit pretty much anyone...

The fact that both managers at the store I spoke with said they never heard of any screen problems on the 3g or 3gs leads me to believe they are liars... In my last correspondence with the manager of my local store I posted a link to this thread and stated " I'm not sure if you truly have not heard about this issue or if by denying it you think you can get customers to go away"

Have you guys noticed that of all the posts here, nobody's wife has had a problem with her iPhone? Maybe this is a gender thing? 🙂

My non-yellow, non-polarized screen is from factory 87, week 26. I'm not married, but I am female.

I love it... Or perhaps us "Guys" are a little too obsessive about our toys. That's what the concierge told me when I did my first replacement...uh second, which was actually only a screen swap(marginally better). Upon inspection of my phone after the swap they had scratched the apple and put a black screw(or one that looked like it had been kicked around the floor) back in the bottom of my phone. I calmly stated to her that if they wouldn't find a satisfactory screen for me that they should at least put a decent looking screw back in the bottom. Now I realize this is a minor thing, but it's what I wanted. I've been able to keep the newest iPhone in my hands by selling the previous years model(at a profit) and therefore need to keep my phone in pristine condition. She told me that I was spending far too much energy on this and that there had to be more important things in life....

On second thought, the yellow tint on my replacement phone is getting annoying. Not only does it have yellow tint but the colors seem to be washed out. I think I'll be visiting the genius bar again in a month or so, hopefully by then they will have better replacement screens in stock.

just replaced yet another phone...all the display phones at this apple store have the brighter bluish screen and all have good color display. i did notice my black levels where slightly better(deeper black) but my screen was no where near as bright as theirs, also their phones rendered web pages faster...odd. when i asked a tech about that he said that all their phones are restored daily to give them that fast experience, funny cause i had just restored mine last night. all the phone settings were exactlyl the same...wifi, bluetooth, safari settings, etc...
so they replaced my screen twice with other yellow screens and finally decided to open a new box so i could play the lottery (again). new phone is just as yellow as my last phone, which btw i was getting used to and would have kept, however this one appears to be more yellow at the bottom of the screen. i will keep for a week and go back next week. i would AT LEAST like a consistent screen. perhaps i will ask for the screen from a display model to really test their customer service... this phone does load web pages faster though...i compared it to the same phones on the way out... was hoping to be done with this for good, am tired of resroring my phone and applying my settings(agian)

Just as a note.. it seems phones from weeks 27, 28 and 29 are good phones. They are "warmer" but not yellow like the picture above. The colors are bright and the screen is crisp.

My brother has a week 27. Looks good. Warm, but much better than the previous phone. I have a week 28. Much better than any of my previous 4 phones. Again, screen is crisp, colors are bright and it is warm but uniform. Both phones have uniform screens. No yellow at the bottom.

I am noticing 2 things with these phones..

1 - Depending on the light or brightness of the lcd - the screen seems to change "color" every so often. One minute it might seem crisp white, the next it might seem a little more muted/warmer.

2 - The "warmness" seems to be going away the more it's used.

The difference can only be seen if both phones are side-by-side and the backgrounds are white.

I consider my "warmer" phone totally acceptable. It is sharp and bright with only the slightest of yellow tints.

I having a "warm" screen too. Very slight yellow tint, but even. Photos are looking good. The "Settings" icon is detailed with the dots clearly seen.

It's my 1st replacement after the oneoriginally bought which was "p *" yellow.

There are actually cooler and "bluer" screens out there, but at least I can live with mine now.
It's what I'd accept for a "warm" screen, though if I have a choice from the start, I'd take the cooler one.

SUCCESS!!! Thank the maker - FINALLY. God what a HASSLE and headache all this swapping was but it was worth it. This is my 4th phone (have had 5 total screens) and it is nearly perfect!

I got the courage to ask the retail rep guy if he could PLEASE humor me and see if among all the 32GB Blacks he had in back, if he could PLEASE, PLEASE take a couple extra minutes to PLEASE see if he could PLEASE find a week 29 or a Factory 83 or 87 phone. Did I mentioned that I said PLEASE over and over? (I basically begged the guy without getting on my knees and I considered actually doing that).

Okay so long story made short, Kyle (thanks again man, you're the MAN!) with his good luck found me a Week 29 from Factory 87. OMG the anticpiation of waiting to see him activate and see that phone, I was hardly breathing and worried it was going to end up just being worse than the one I had just returned. Result?:

Bright white screen (only slightly warm, just like my wife's), high contrast, vivid colors, crystal clear and just ever so slightly polarized (HATING polarization I notice it, but it's really slight). Given it's otherwise PERFECT, I'm gonna accept the slight polarization as it has that magic "POP" like my wife's.

I shook the poor guys hand so long and hard as I was SO happy his arm nearly fell off hehe. I went straight to the Invisi-Shield kiosk outside the Apple Store right after to get it all worked up like my wife had done. I'm FINALLY HAPPY. God help me if this one breaks down or gets dropped or stolen I swear I'll die!

So moral of the story: Do NOT give up until you're satisifed! EVENTUALLY the hassle will pay off with a decent phone. I seriously suggest using all your charms and sweet talking to beg the reps to try to find you a Week 29 or Factory 83 or Factory 87 (I still have heard of no bad phones from these 3 critiera) - from all I've seen here on these forums, you're increasing your chances of sampling from a pool that so far, has been a winning combo.

Good luck to you all - keep trying - things appear to be getting better with some factories and week runs being better as aforementioned.

My first iPhone 3G S had a greenish tint to half of the screen. I bought it from the AT&T store, and they wouldn't do an exchange, they would only send me to Apple, so I returned it for a refund.
Second 3G S was from the Apple store, it was built by factory 88 in week 27, and was extremely yellow. I took it back to the store and showed them the color problem by comparing it to five floor models (all which looked quite good). They agreed to exchange it, and I made sure to ask them to look for one with a different build code.
The third one I have now is from factory 87, week 26, and is still a bit on the warm side, but not by much. It's definitely a great improvement over the second 3G S, so I'll stick with it.
My friends say I'm too picky, I guess I'm just unusually sensitive to differences in color temperature.

chicagotech wrote:
LOL LOL!!! OMG its just a phone!

Right! After all the trouble though, OMG hehe. But seriously, there is an actual debate regarding people dying over these iPhones. I think it's even called "iPhone Suicide": http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/43340/95/

@ExplodingLemur: You're not nitpicky, you're just a discerning individual that understands what a $699 phone should look like - something more like the display models in the Apple Store. Congrats on a getting a nice phone.

Congrats Antonio!! Have been following your elaborate and helpful posts for a while! Am happy for you that you finally got "The One" (he he...couldn't resist)! And thanks for the tips on week & factory numbers too!

My iphone is badly yellow and its week 28. Factory 83. I am waiting for a replacement.

My other 3gs which is perfect is week 28, factory 84

Message was edited by: Steveps3

Message was edited by: Steveps3

I have left the lottery after my replacement iPhone was also yellow and had low contrast. I sold the d * 3GS on ebay and was lucky enough to keep my old 3G. The 3G is just perfect.

After all I can’t believe that Apple accepts this bad quality from their suppliers in China.