iPhone 3G S has yellowish tint

i also have this problem. the screen is yellowy in lower brightness levels. there are also dark streaks/shadows in the back light? at first i thought my screen was dirty but now im sure its backlight issue. i also have the green dot on my box. im really ****** off i just applied best skins ever and i dun want to return this.

+"If you want to see which factory your iPhone is from enter the serial # here: http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html. I don't know how accurate the site is, however."+

Thank you for this info jng65! If that database is correct, then that means every one of the 5 phones we've tried (week 23's and week 26's) were all from Factory 86 in China as all had serial numbers beginning with 86. And each of them had the little green dot on the bottom of the box (including 2 from launch day).

This implies that my area in Southern California (North Orange County, East Los Angeles County) are getting their shipments from that Factory 86 and that factory is producing both perfect (my wife's) and defective non-spec screens (some yellow and dim, some brown and dim, some polarized, some not, some bright with poor contrast ratios and charcoal "blacks").

So again, if that database is correct and this variance is coming from one factory, then this implies that the factory is using screens from many different suppliers (perhaps from different manufacturing centers/sub-suppliers also in China). And that level of detail I don't think we're going to find from a serial number. Was a great idea and great site though, thank you.

So back to the guessing game of being completely unable to predict any good screen by simply looking at the serial number - green dot, factory made, country made, week build all show no correlation as yet that I can see. This really HAS become an iPhone lottery of random luck (and with VERY BAD odds leaning against us). 😟

AntonioMX5 wrote:
So again, if that database is correct and this variance is coming from one factory, then this implies that the factory is using screens from many different suppliers (perhaps from different manufacturing centers/sub-suppliers also in China). And that level of detail I don't think we're going to find from a serial number. Was a great idea and great site though, thank you.

So back to the guessing game of being completely unable to predict any good screen by simply looking at the serial number - green dot, factory made, country made, week build all show no correlation as yet that I can see. This really HAS become an iPhone lottery of random luck (and with VERY BAD odds leaning against us). 😟

Agreed. Mine's from Factory "86" also.

An iPhone Lottery—how very terrible. Apple MUST remedy this. ASAP.

AntonioMX5 said:
if that database is correct and this variance is coming from one factory

This may have no nexus to the issue discussed here, however I found this interesting as it does seem to parallel.

I was listening to an archived podcast from July 23, 2007 called Today in iPhone - Are You a 5 or a 7? The show made reference to a ZDNet Blog, from July 19, 2007, which made reference to an Apple Discussion thread from July 14, 2007.

In a nut shell, from what I read, some 1st gen. iPhones had sharper, brighter LCDs and others that were not as bright displayed a grid pattern or polka dots on the home screen. When conducting a field test, by entering a code on the phone key pad and selecting "Versions" you could check your LCD version code beginning with 5 or 7. That may have held the clue to which screens were brighter & sharper vs. the ones that were not as bright.

I don't know if there are any RISKS to the phone by performing the field test. I tried it (at my own risk) because I was curious and the option for version does not display on the 3GS. I'm a consumer / user not a techie...I'm NOT suggesting you try a field test.

There is a short thread on MacRumors from Sep. 27, 2007 indicating the 1.1.1 update resolved the grid pattern.

That's exactly what I'm talking about from my previous post. . I personally looked at many 5's and 7's and found both good ones and bad ones for each so I don't think the theory held true for the 1st gen. I'm telling you it's all luck. My brothers 3GS is a Wk 23 and looks great. My Wk 23 was unacceptable.

lookn4wifi wrote:

AntonioMX5 said:
if that database is correct and this variance is coming from one factory

This may have no nexus to the issue discussed here, however I found this interesting as it does seem to parallel.

I was listening to an archived podcast from July 23, 2007 called Today in iPhone - Are You a 5 or a 7? The show made reference to a ZDNet Blog, from July 19, 2007, which made reference to an Apple Discussion thread from July 14, 2007.

In a nut shell, from what I read, some 1st gen. iPhones had sharper, brighter LCDs and others that were not as bright displayed a grid pattern or polka dots on the home screen. When conducting a field test, by entering a code on the phone key pad and selecting "Versions" you could check your LCD version code beginning with 5 or 7. That may have held the clue to which screens were brighter & sharper vs. the ones that were not as bright.

I don't know if there are any RISKS to the phone by performing the field test. I tried it (at my own risk) because I was curious and the option for version does not display on the 3GS. I'm a consumer / user not a techie...I'm NOT suggesting you try a field test.

There is a short thread on MacRumors from Sep. 27, 2007 indicating the 1.1.1 update resolved the grid pattern.

mine is factory 84 and its yellowy from angles right and top. however its not so bad from front view. i see some back lighting issues such as shadows and streaks. im not going to replace it though ill either keep it or return it.

well reading this thread for almost a month now. I found something interesting a number of my friends have ipod touchs so i decided to compare my phone to their ipod touchs and low and behold the ipods have a yellow tint to them. So i decide to go to the 3 apple stores in nyc and it seems almost all the ipod touchs have a slight yellow tint some worse then others its more noticeable at the bottom of the screen. even some 3g iphone in these stores showed a little yellow if you look at them. My phone is week 27 and is almost perfect not as bright as some display models. but have richer colors then the display models at these stores. Ill keep it as i dont want to get something worse as i have seen worse ones in the apple store on display.

hi everyone. i also have been following this thread, pretty much everyday. i got my 3G S last friday, and while i still had my 3G, i compared the two, and yes, the 3G S was definitely on the yellowish side, and the 3G was more in the white/blueish side. of course being ****** off about it, i researched, and that's how i got to this thread. with my curiosity, i compared my 3G S with my friend's, and we exactly have the same shade of yellow (more visible in the Settings app). still not satisfied with my comparison, i went to the local AT&T store in Cerritos, and their iPhone display was slightly more white than mine. spoke with the workers, & like i expected, they acted like they never heard this issue before (or maybe they're not lying, i don't know). but the guy was telling me i couldn't exchange it, because i had it already, and they couldn't order it for me since i have it in my hands already, ***. my intention was not to exchange it, so i really didn't push and ignored his stupidity.

so i guess, my conclusion (finally!!), i'm happy with my 3G S right now. like some people mentioned in this thread, although i prefer the "white/blueish" color of the 3G, the 3G S seems sharper, and the color really pops out. other people noticed this also remembering my 3G, and now looking at my new 3G S. for those still keeping track, i have a "27", in which i read a couple people that had it in this thread, and were very happy with it, so there might be something there. it is 16 gig, and black. i guess what i'm saying is that i'm not exchanging it, in which i'm afraid of risking getting something worse. although i'm curious of the people that claims to have the very yellowish screen. if it's no trouble, can you some of you maybe post photographs here? maybe mine is really good, and i'm just being anal about it. thanks in advance.

although i know this is the wrong thread, but my REAL issue is it's battery life, which i also am researching right now. it seems my 3G lasted way longer than my current phone 😟. any help is appreciated. thanks for being patient. my first post ever ha ha!!

I'm from Singapore and have called up Apple Asia Support which is based in Australia to report my "yellowish" screen.

After hearing me out, he put me on hold for 10 mins and gave me this answer:

"If you are comparing a 3GS screen to a 3GS screen, they should have the same colour temperature. Please send your phone to a service centre to get it repaired."

By now, I've compared enough screens to conclude that there's actually a varied range of colour temperatures across different screens. From yellow-greenish, to yellow-brown, to warm white, to blue-white and very blue-white. Demo sets on sales floor tend to be towards the cooler side.

My replacement is warm, but not yellowish. It's what I would accept for a "warm" screen.
Both my 1st and replacement are week 27.

+"i guess what i'm saying is that i'm not exchanging it, in which i'm afraid of risking getting something worse."+

From all that I've personally experienced, and what I've read others experience, if your 3G S is simply "warmer" than a 3G, you've got what seems to be the 'intended calibration'. If the screen is also bright, with no polarization, has rich colors and good contrast between whites and blacks, then IMO, you've got one of the rare gems (like my wife luckily also got) and I'm happy for you, while at the same time jealous. And yes, you'd most likely end up with something worse if you tried to exchange it. Too many others, including myself, have had this problem. 😟

+"although i'm curious of the people that claims to have the very yellowish screen. if it's no trouble, can you some of you maybe post photographs here? maybe mine is really good, and i'm just being anal about it. thanks in advance."+

Scroll back through this thread to see the pics I posted and pics from at least one other person, possibly 1-2 more, showing two 3G S's side by side (a "proper" comparison IMO is a 3G S vs. 3G S, not a 3G S vs. a 3G).

As far as your battery issue, you'll by now have found the several other relevant threads. In a nutshell, I'd make sure to fully discharge your battery then do a full recharge. IMO, do this at least 2 times before concluding your battery is bad. Also, consider turning off wifi, bluetooth and location services if you don't use them, or until you need to use them.

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Message was edited by: ebip3gs

The green dot on the box means that it has the updated power plug. The older ones had the blades breaking off in the outlet when pulling out. You will also see the green dot on the plug itself.

Yesterday I was torn between returning my phone and getting a new one and risk getting an even worse dud or keep the one that I have now that is the best one yet. I decided to keep the one I have for the time being. Hoping that week 28 and later phones are better.

My main issue now as it seems the "warm" issue is not as bad. However, whites are not as bright and crisp. I am also noticing that the screen is "washed out", "hazy", "fuzzy", or whatever other adjective best describes the issue. I guess it would be the contrast? It's severely lacking. I am not sure why, but inside - the phone looks like crap sometimes. Washed out and the colors are dull. Blacks are also gray. Outside, blacks are black, the colors pop and the screen is crisp, clean and perfect. Again, not so inside.

The phone seems to be lacking that "POP" and "VIBRANCY" my 3G had. I am trying to wait it out and see if the new 3.1 update might fix it, but I don't know. Don't want to risk missing my exchange period.

This whole foul up really aggravates me.

Yes, the green dot on the packages means nothing more than the box contains the NEW usb wall plug. That's it.

I have no problems with a "warmer" screen however I would like it to be consistent throughout the screen.

Today I checked out my friend's 16g 3Gs (black) and her screen was consistent. Slightly warm but NO yellow tint at the bottom. Jealous...

I saw a genius yesterday about the colours on my new 3GS. Showed him the S
and my 3G and he said there is definitely a 'slight gamma issue'.

Compared to the 3G the colours are really washed out and there is
definitely a yellow tint that is more visible at the bottom of the
screen. He said this was the first time he had seen this problem and
will replace the phone. He said they wouldn't normally replace it over something like this and if the replacement has the same issue, they won't replace it again.

I had a look at some display models before the appointment and
every iPhone in the store that I managed to see had better looking
colours. Unfortunately they were all 16GB models, no 32GBs available to check out.

The Genius is arranging a replacement, but I will have to wait until they get some in stock. Hopefully it will be of a much later build than my week 23 (if that matters).

The yellow screen I was actually starting to deal with, I had spoken to the Apple Support line and they said that the screen should be warmer than a 3G. But the more I looked at it, the more I noticed it was more yellow at the bottom. Then when I compared to another 3GS the colours were noticeably different, it had whiter whites and proper vibrant colour.

Anyway, hopefully my replacement will be better, fingers crossed!