iPhone 3G S has yellowish tint

I'll tell you my tale of woe.

After being a proud - and non-complaining - owner of an original iPhone and a 3G, I decided to "early adopt" and go for the 3GS.

The one I received directly from AT&T had a problem with the 3G receiver; it would display the Edge icon and no bars though my wife was standing right next to me with her 3G and she would have 3G service and full bars. I made an appointment at the local Genius Bar and luckily, the 3GS displayed this abberrant behavior while I was there so they swapped it for a new one.

Unfortunately, upon arriving home, I immediately noticed that the replacement phone had a yellowish tint that was more pronounced at the bottom. Sounds familiar, right? So I trek back to the Apple Store and was told that the screen was fine. I dragged the genius over to the display models and he finally had to admit that mine was noticeably yellow when compared with those. He agreed to swap it out. The replacement was less yellow but the tint was still apparent. On top of that, the screen was completely out of whack, jutting up above the bezel on the entire right side. He swapped it out one last time for one that had a level screen but still a distinctly yellowish hue that was, again, more pronounced at the bottom. I decided to cut my losses and settle.

On the way out, I chatted with one of the floor guys who saw that I was a bit unhappy. He listened to the whole sad story and suggested that I might have better luck at another Apple Store (I live in between two Apple Store locations). I mulled it overnight and the next morning, I decided that for $300.00, I was not going to settle for an inferior product. So, I trudged over to the second Apple Store and explained to a decidedly less-interested genius that I only wanted a phone like the two I had previously - or, at the very least, could I get one as nice as the display models.

To make a long story a bit shorter, I was never treated more rudely in my life in any kind of retail situation. I was told that they would swap out the phone one more time but that they would, under no circumstances, turn the phone on before the swap to check the screen tint, and they would only do it if I would sign my name on a document agreeing that this was the last swap. I was allowed to verify, however, that the screen was level with the bezel, etc. on the replacement but that was it. I reluctantly agreed, mostly because the "genius" was creating an embarrassment factor among the other people seated at the counter.

I got the new phone and...you guessed it...no change whatsoever. Slight yellow tint overall but more pronounced at the bottom. I've decided to keep this one - I need it for my business - but I still grouse about my experience with this product. I loved my first two phones and never had a single complaint about either. In fact, my wife has my old 3G and I am jealous of her nice white screen (that was once mine...!)

Again, to be treated like a crank when I've never even been to the Genius Bar before my 3GS purchase was very unsettling. Plus, they claim to not be aware of the problem or this thread (that now spans 50 pages!) None of this makes me warm and fuzzy about ever buying a Mac, I can tell you that. I'm just not sure what to do now except swallow hard and shut up...

@jsisti
i completely feel your pain. i loved my 3g phone and even convinced several friends and family memebers to make the switch. i too received a perfect display model from ATT and had a problem with the battery life, which was swapped from the apple store for....you guessed it, a yellow display. after several embarassing swaps later and SEVERAL unsympathetic geniuses i too tried to settle on what is my worst screen choice of (probably 5-6). my screen fades in color which i thought wouldnt be too bad but i do a lot of reading in landscape mode and it is glaringly obvious when reading across the page, and hurts my eyes. i have been in contact with the manager at one of my local stores ( i too live between two) and have been regularly visiting both in attempt to get good service. friday i have what will most likely be my last appointment with the "lead genius" of this particular store, hopefully with the backing of the store manager who will not be present.

if i could, as much as i loved my first phone and love the functionality of iphones in general, would gratefully switch to a windows mobile phone, and would ditch ATT along with it if i could....

My 3GS knock on wood does have a warmer tone than my 1st gen. But it is acceptable. Actually preferred over my 1st gen cool tone.

But I haven't seen anyone posting pics of the lower portion being yellow screen calamity. Can anyone post a pic of this? Just curious on the degree of severity.

Call Apple and tell them you want to register a complaint about treatment at an Apple Store. I have gone through rude and terrible treatment at the one and only store near me. It is unacceptable and you should not just swallow it. If no one reports, then they think it okay to treat people this way. Mine has gone all the way to the corporate level. They have called me to let me know what is happening. Please let them know, don't just swallow it. I got my money back and don't know that I will try again, as much as I would like one. Hope I have encouraged you to let them know.

re Markie Poo and the picture of a screen with yellow portion at the bottom. i think this would be hard to capture in a picture... mine clearly fades from a cool blue to a warm yellow at the bottom. but the average "consumer" doesnt really notice it when i tell them... they just dont care enough. i work in graphic design, video production, and am beginning playing with web design, and i could not use my phone to display a page to clients at all.... unacceptable. hopefully the "genius" has a decent eye...i will try to get a pic in the next couple days

when you purchase an item from apple stores, they email you a survey request. i filled this out and gave horrible remarks, that is how i got in touch with the manager, he actually called me the very next day. i recommend at the very least people fill these out. you must make an actual purchase i think, so either buy something and return or ask if they will send you a link...

Ditto. Just received my 3gs today, 29th week build if the "4th and 5th numbers of your serial number are the build week" people are correct.

Like you, mine definitely has a warmer tone, I guess you could describe it as "yellow" though it's not yellow so much as just... warmer. Compared side-by-side with my 1st gen iphone (purchased back when they were $600) there's a clear difference in tone, with the 1st gen being much cooler in tone, more like a florescent light where the 3gs is much warmer more like an incandescent light.

But the overall look of the 3gs screen is much sharper and easier to read, it's very crisp where the 1st gen iphone screen is a cooler tone but the actual graphics are fuzzier and not as well defined.

All things taken together I actually prefer the tone of the new 3gs. I think that most people here are complaining about something that was intentional, and that the preponderance of the warm screens vs. cool screens (4 or even 5 to 1 according to some) indicates to me that the COOL screens are the defective ones not the warm ones (flame suit on and zipped up).

In any case I 100% agree that a "Screen tone" or "Screen temp" slider in the Brightness preference menu would be a big plus, and maybe it would put an end to this thread? Maybe... then again this thread seems to be more popular than Jesus now, to quote a long irrelevant pop band. 🙂

Micah - I would agree with you that it was intentional if not for the different degrees in which this problem - if it is a problem - manifests. Just a casual read through this thread will uncover people who have completely yellow-hued screens but no gradience. Then there are those who have old-school (white) screens at the top but the bottom is yellow. Then there seems to be quite a number of people who have the yellow (warmer) tint overall with a litle more "warmth" near the bottom of the screen.

If this is intentional, why do the screens seem to have so many variances, some within the same build number. It's puzzling to say the least. However, I do agree with you that giving the user control over the color temperature would be a step in the right direction.

I can't believe that the "geniuses" (I've chuckled every time I've used this term in recent posts) aren't aware of this thread or this issue, yet my experience at the Apple Store really seemed like a deliberate stonewall. "Really? People are complaining about the screens?? Hmmm...it's nothing I've heard about and I read the Apple boards constantly..."

Riiiiiiiight...

Yeah, I see what you're saying for sure.

Personally I'd say that the ones with a gradient issue (cool at the top, warm at the bottom) are for sure defective and should be replaced, as are any that have SERIOUS yellowing. Not just "this screen is warm compared to..." but the kind of yellowing you can instantly see as "Hey, that's not right."

For instance, I've been using my 1st gen iphone for two years (hence the reason for the upgrade) and when I unboxed my 3gs and set it up I never noticed anything about the screen until I did some "3gs tips" kind of google searching and happened to notice a thread mentioning "3gs screens too yellow?" etc. Only after I read that did I put the 3gs and the 1st gen side-by-side and hey! The 3gs is noticeably warmer. But again, I wouldn't call it a "problem" just a change.

As far as geniuses go... I've never had a job that I left and went home and checked on line to follow what the customers are complaining about. I went home, caught a buzz and hung out. Work is work, I wouldn't expect the geniuses to have any idea what's going on here on the "everything is wrong!" forums 🙂

Call me paranoid, or whatever but I truly believe these "geniuses" are truly lying when they say they have never heard of the problem. I would not be surprised at an internal memo directing employees to disavow any problem with the screens and only replace if absolutely necessary, but to stonewall the customer if at all possible. As I've stated before this is an issue that 90% of users will not notice or care about... Come on apple, take care of your small customer base who actually expects a good quality product

I picked up my 3GS on monday this week, this one went back the following day for dust under the screen and cracks around the headphone jack and speaker/mic grills. The second unit (week 29 and unit 27 of this production week) is perfect from a build quality point of view.....so on that front i'm very pleased. The screen is very bright with strong colours (but still a warm yellow hue) the thing that bothers me is the lack of detail in dark areas or 'black crush'. When watching a film on the screen any dark ares are devoid of any detail......it's just black. My 2G and 3G were not like this at all. I have been to: www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ and selected 'small screen' to see if it was a fault.....sure enough the contrast section of the test show some real problems with screen. I then went to my local apple store and tested 4 other units and they were all the same. I think apple uses a number of suppliers for these screens and the quality of them is very hit and miss. I'm not gonna bother to return this unit as the physical build is spot on and that alone makes it a winner for me. If your interested in what your screens like quality wise take a look at: www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ Cheers

Hi Tom. I got my 3GS 32g black last thursday. I have compared it with 3 3gs phones, 2 3g phones and an iPod touch, and have found that they ALL have the warm tone and mine doesn't. Believe it or not, something tells me the warm tone is what its supposed to look like. I have noticed that on my phone I can see faint horizontal scan lines in the background, most visible in the "app store" app or if you look at the bars on top and the bottom of safari, while on the phones I compared it with, the lines were barely visible. Out of curiosity, have you noticed that these line in the background are more noticeable on you wife's phone, if it all?

Thanks Leon. I have been a photographer since 1972 and have also been in graphics. If you can get a pic of it I'll see it.

As I said, my 3GS has a warm tone screen, but it's even and I actually prefer it. A few weeks ago when I was in my local Apple store I brought up the subject and in a previous post I related how I was treated like an idiot. I have compared every iPhone and iPod I come across and each one seems to be unique in color temperature and contrast.

I have just been on www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ and in the contrast test which has the black squares all I can not tell the difference between any of them and the black background. In fact if it wasnt for the numbers I wouldnt see anything.

I can see the bottom 4 squares....just! I remember a lot of people including myself were having this problem on the 3G iPhone. All of the 3GS phones i've seen so far seem to display the same issue. My partner has a 3G and that has a screen that passes all the lagom tests and my 2G and 3G (now sold) were also fine. It would be interesting to find out wether it is a setting issue or a physical problem with the screens from one manufacturer? Guess we'll never know.