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iPhone 12 OLED Screen Issue

Hello. I bought two iPhone 12 and both has the same issue. In dark surrounding on any brightness lower than 90-100% screen has this ugly glowing! Black pixels are not turning off in dynamic scenes. In static scene black pixels turning off after few seconds.


My video shows it in video and in clock app.

https://youtu.be/BAWSIf2oVlE


And this is comparison by another one person who have this problem but with iPhone 12 Pro. iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone XS screen.


That’s not normal at all. I post it to support and they said I should wait more. That’s just great...

iPhone 12, iOS 14

Posted on Nov 4, 2020 2:16 PM

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Posted on Nov 5, 2020 11:23 PM

Lots of people in Korea have this problem too, I just hope that it can be solved by software update.

When I boot up my iphone 12pro, and when I watch dark video especially including black color, the OLED doesn't show me the complete black color. I really hope that it is just a software bug and can be fixed by software update.

1,490 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Nov 5, 2020 11:23 PM in response to m4x1k

Lots of people in Korea have this problem too, I just hope that it can be solved by software update.

When I boot up my iphone 12pro, and when I watch dark video especially including black color, the OLED doesn't show me the complete black color. I really hope that it is just a software bug and can be fixed by software update.

Feb 7, 2021 2:35 AM in response to m4x1k

Iphone 12 Pro Max also got the same issues. The screen gets green layer on the display under zero brightness and dark environment. I got pacific blue color Iphone PM and using it's default wallpaper (i.e also blue in color). You can easily notice the green tint on the entire screen. I also don't like the idea of repairing as I didn't paid for refurbished model and it devalues alot when I want to sell this in future.

1200 dollars phone and this is what you get... Probably Apple needs to fire their quality inspection team. IOS Version : 14.4

True Tone : OFF

Dark Mode: On

Outdoor Temperature : -2 Degree


Also reported another issue see below

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252361282

Nov 14, 2020 7:59 AM in response to David2762

I recieved my iphone 12 pro max yesterday. It has the same issue, once the brightness < 90% it can not show complete black at all. I asusme it a harware issue due to the new magnet at the back that cause the issue. When i put my phone on my macbook screen it also casue the screen to act abnormally. :/// I am considering returning the phone. It should not be occuring on a such premium phone tbh. Hope your max does not have the issue tho

Nov 5, 2020 10:22 AM in response to m4x1k

I can confirm!


And this is driving me nuts. This is not how an OLED should work.


I found countless similar threads in forums from the US and Europe. I think it’s a common problem. Probably every iPhone 12 is affected. At least it seems like.


Thing is, most people will never recognize this problem.


Hopefully this is software related and a fix will come some day.


And please excuse my English.

Nov 7, 2020 1:44 PM in response to m4x1k

I tried doing a DFU reset on my iPhone 12 Pro yesterday since 14.2 came out a couple days ago through iTunes. I did notice a change for the better. It seems like anything below 70% brightness seems to have that weird grey light effect during complete black scenes in a pitch black room but 70% or higher are showing true blacks as they should on an OLED. Before I did the DFU the only time I would get TRUE blacks with 0 weird backlighting issues is when it was at 100% brightness. Also, I’d like to mention that I’m aware that Apple didn’t release any info about fixing a brightness issue on the 14.2 bug notes. I figured I’d give it a try and it seemed to help a bit for me. Idk if you guys want to give it a shot but definitely make sure to have all your **** backed up into your iCloud first. It’s a pain in the *** doing a DFU reset but worth it IMO. I posted this in the macrumors forums as well. Hopes it helps some people as it did me

Jan 5, 2021 12:56 PM in response to cristianro

Agreed.

The battery life on the iPhone 11 is very good.


Even if I get £400.00 for it before iPhone 13 release I would be happy.


This is one of the highest viewed and replied to thread on this sub forum. I am 100 percent sure that Apple would have noticed this.


Maybe everyone on this forum with the ****OLED ISSUE*** can fill out the form below:


Link: Feedback - iPhone - Apple



Feedback - iPhone - Apple



Nov 18, 2020 10:43 PM in response to dcaillier78

See at first on me posts before.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251997533?answerId=253894381022#253894381022


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251997533?answerId=253895481022#253895481022


After few days with the max, I still have no issue with it. Absolutely no glowing on static pictures. Everthing was compared to the (old) 12 pro. The old one was be send back yesterday.


Hope Apple can fix the very slightly flickering, that still there.


I still believe on two issues.


Glowing seems to be an hardware problem, the evidence is given by my comparison between (new) 12 pro max and (old) 12 pro.


Flickering is better but still there, maybe this is an second issue and maybe could be fix with SW.


We will see. Now I have again still some days for a return, if necessary.

Jan 2, 2021 6:48 AM in response to m4x1k

I am also facing these issues related to the display on my iPhone 12 pro max starting with F2LD serial number:

  1. Grey (For me its more of grey than green or may be its just perception) tint when restarting my phone in completely dark room, initially it is perfect black but as soon as the OS is loaded it becomes grey for a second or two (just before the home screen is displayed).
  2. The screen flickers when I play this (Black screen for Backlight Bleeding - 1 hour 1080p) video in a completely dark room. Flickering does not happen at 100% brightness, but only at brightness lower than 100%. Although i don't watch videos in dark room but still when you are spending 1259 euros on a device, you would not want to see such behaviour.
  3. In dark room, when you open settings or notes app or a completely black image, black is not perfect black instead it is grey. I compared it with my X and X shows the true blacks. This also happens when the brightness is lower than 100%. Also, top of the screen is more greyer than the bottom 1/3 of the screen (which has a slight tint of red).
  4. When i try to close the notes in dark room, the first 3 lines shows this weird behaviour:


Apart from this, I have also noticed a gap on the top and left side of the display, I can easily insert a piece of paper in this gap. The depth to which the paper goes inside is exact 2mm on top and left side of the screen. I can not replicate the same on the bottom and right side of the screen which is very weird. Also, I can not replicate this on the rear panel of the phone. Dust can easily get accumulated in this space and I am afraid if the water can also go inside:


I can still return the phone by 8th of January, but I am confused.

For the display issue i dont know if this can be fixed with a software update. I have gone through this thread and there is lot of speculations over hardware or software issue. Sad thing is apple is not commenting on it.

For the gap on the sides, i dont know if this phone has been designed like this.

Dec 12, 2020 6:43 AM in response to m4x1k

Had similar issue with my 12 pro max.

but it is really wired one, and after latest update (14.2.1) I have the next situation:

  • if you put brightness to 100% black works like a charm (just shutting down the black pixels).
  • if you put it in between 30% -99% you can see the glowing for the first few seconds, but then something happens, and black pixels shut down, after that it looks just like when you have brightness to 100%
  • if you put the brightness below 30% you can see the glowing, your black looks like a gray, or just black with a lit background light. Though, if you open some video with black background, you will notice some change in the brightness after 2-3 sec, but it will not go fully black (will not shut down pixels).

Tested it with the “black mirror” intro from Netflix.

not sure why do they have that problem, but it really looks like a software thing. Also it does raise a question, why it works perfectly with 100% brightness 🤔

Dec 14, 2020 1:23 AM in response to Atxyde

Can you please tell me how I can check the production date of mine?


Anyway, you are absolutely right! We can’t turn a blind eye on a device which costs a fortune. I’m one of the pickiest guys who return their phone for the slightest issue that nobody can even notice.

I returned my 11 Pro three times last year and my brand new 12 once.

The guys at the Apple store know me by heart and smile at me when they see I need their help! 🤣


With that being said, I think we are just wasting time as the replacement units still have this issue. I think the entire lineup is affected to some extent.

When I got mine back from warranty, the first thing I did was check if it still had the flickering issue. Got my replacement unit, left the Apple store and got straight in the car (it was really dark). Long press on the right side button, the Apple logo appears, a couple of seconds and.... BAM! There we go again! Less visibile and annoying than the green tint I had on my first model but the glow was still there, although much more subtle and light grey instead of green. My brother got his back for the exact same reason, he was sitting in the car next to me. Exact same problem, his one was slightly worse than mine but sill “acceptable”.


So I thought: why the **** would I bother to ask for a replacement for the third time in a row if the risk is to get an even worse panel?

Given that I’m really cross with Apple and beyond disappointed, the options here are:


  • Ask for a refund and try to get it in a couple of months when the problem subsides (fingers crossed)
  • Stay positive and prey for a sw fix.


Btw, I’m from Italy so, as you can all tell, it’s a sort of pandemic and these faulty units are scattered all around the world.

Dec 17, 2020 4:28 AM in response to m4x1k

So apparently there are three problems with the iPhone 12 series screens.

  1. green tint issue
  2. hdr glow issue (where it lights up like an LCD, also called as iPhone screen glowing issue)
  3. yellow screen issue

I had green tint issue on my first phone. Replaced it, i had again the first two issues green tint and glow on the second one, and now on the third one, i have just the hdr issue. Apparently 14.4 beta fixes the hdr glow issue. I am installing it at the moment. i will check back here to report if there are these issues still.


iPhone 12 OLED Screen Issue

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