iPhone 12 OLED Screen Issue

The panels of the iPhone 12/mini and 12 pros are different, with different peak brightness’s. Due to the wide scale spread of this issue ranging in all iPhone 12/12 pro models I don’t think it’s a hardware issue, but I could be wrong. I didn’t have this issue in iOS 14.1 which shipped but only experienced it after updating to 14.2.

If it is a hardware, by the look of how wide scale ranging in all models and all regions meaning it’s not just a batch of screens but most likely the whole iPhone 12 screen supply chain, which is even though possible, is highly unlikely due to Apples Quality Control Standards.

As for the 14.3 beta not fixing the issue, most likely again it could be that Apple didn’t resolve the issue or it hadn’t emerged at the time of pushing out the first 14.3 beta. That’s why I think pushing a 14.2.1 update would be more likely. I am no expert when it comes to screens, but just how wide scale this issue is with all models of the 12 it’s hard to believe that it is a hardware issue

So i have the same problem. Everything below max brightness and i get a grayish black or the screen ist flickering (gray to black).

Today i installed the iOS Beta 14.3 and did some testing. I went to a complete black room and watched a black screen YouTube video. For comparison i watched the same video on my Pixel 3 XL (always perfectly black black).

iOS 14.3 didnt solve the problem. But it got a bit better (at least with minimum brightness i get a black screen now instead of a gray screen in iOS 14.2, but thats it).

I found out with auto brightness the problem ist much worse. So i think its software related?

Auto brightness off:

Grayish black/flickering screen at brightness level 10-60%

Auto brightness on:

Grayish black/flickering screen at brightness level 1-99% (everything which ist not minimum or maximum brightness)

With flickering screen i mean that on a complete black video, it shows gray then black and so forth. As if the Pixels dont know they can stay black.

Source:

https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/18/apple-investigating-iphone-12-display-issues/

They didn’t say they expect to fix that with software fix, they told macrumors not to service these iPhones but to tell people to keep iOS up to date instead, which suggests Apple hopes to fix this with software patch.

It’s less obvious with beta 14.3 but still there. I restored my phone and while on Apple screen the screen didn’t flicker green not even one time. The moment software was installed and phone rebooted, on the Apple logo screen you can see the flickering. That’s why I think it’s software related. Might be something really hard to fix since Apple it’s taking so long. My phone doesn’t have it that bad and it’s just noticeable in a complete dark room.

Personally I still think they all do it.

But if it is in fact only some, it is possible there could be different models of the display controller (a seperately part from the display panel itself) interacting with iOS. There could also be different versions of display controller firmware. But whatever it is, it clearly works properly when sent data from the cmos during startup, then only shows the glow/flicker after iOS takes over. So it has to be a software issue of some sort. If it was really a faulty display panel or display controller, it would always show the glow even during startup or during a restore.

Now whether the glitch is in iOS itself, or the firmware of the display controller somehow misinterpretating the signals coming from iOS. Who knows? But either is fixable. If you can't patch the display controller firmware, you can always figure out how to tweakthe OS to send "improper" signals which end up displaying properly after said miscommunication. That may be what's going on, considering its taking so long to fix.

But personally I still think this was done on purpose as way to mitigate smearing, and they just need to give people who view in the dark a setting to disable this "feature"

[Edited for Grammer/spelling]

I think I'd just return it for now, because most likely the replacement will have the same issue. Or return it and get another one just to check if there is a new batch with working screens now.

Obviously Apple advised not to replace these iPhones as there is no fix and it's just extra cost to them to deal with a refund when the new phone they give you will be broken too...

best way to see this issue of the grey flicker is by locking you up in a complete dark room and reboot the phone , and watch carefully when the apple logo appears after 10 sec this grey or green flicker should appear if your unit is faulty and stay just for 1 sec or less ( sometimes more ) and then switched to black

a good test to is saving a unicolor black wallpaper in the photos app and push brightness to 100% come back and see the picture in pitch black, you should not see any issue, but after lowering the brightness and looking at the black wallpaper you'll see the screen , like if it was a backlit LCD one for a while before it switches back to perfect black...

that's the best tests u can do to notice it. otherwise you do not notice it , in my case 99% of the time i do not notice it...

I'm afraid of it, yes! poor display quality, what is the point of protecting such a poorly designed screen more effectively! #ceramicshild

I believe that this partnership with samsung this year could not be concluded!

It is iteressant to have other opinions concerning these strange lines! Thank you

THIS MUST BE UPDATED! (It must be known)

I spent more than 2 hours with apple support today and their level 1 technicians say they do not know the problem or do not answer me outright (total silence, but do not hang up).

After heavy persistence I had a technician from lvl 2 and told me that I knew the problem, that it was very well known and that the next ios 14.3 update will correct the problem (the beta does not correct this problem yet).

I scheduled a return so that they send me a new one, I would be delivered on 01/04/2021!

and they call it fast!

and without telephone for 1 month!

if I want to recommend another hipotetically, same story I would be delivered on 01/04/2021.

I believe that a new production line has been launched to correct this problem!

it's a real abomination this year!

Hi!

I have the same issue. I bought iphone 12 pro 11.11.2020, display glow with a grey instead of black. I've tested it in a different ways:

- Cropped black background from iphone wallpapers settings.

- Using image #000000, rgb(0, 0, 0), rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)

- Different videos from youtube

So display glows, it's not completely black, with or without case.

I've tried to restore iphone using:

- DFU

- Recovery Mode

No result, glowing still there.

I even checked my friend iphone 12 pro, same issue, black colour also glows but with a green. Looks worst than mine.

I had a chat twice with apple support, and one of the reply was that apple know about this problem and working on it's fix, i need to wait for update. And the second time i've got a reply that support haven't got access to information about does apple know about bug and if they work on its fix and i should to go to service my iphone.

I'm confused.

I'm returning my iPhone 12 Pro Max tomorrow. The first was from production week 45, which had raised blacks issues, and the screen was yellowed and dim. My second, iPhone 12 Pro Max, was a little better. Almost no raised blacks and not as yellow as the first one, but still warmer or yellowish then any other device that I own. While the second is better than the previous one, it is still not acceptable for the amount of money paid. So, I will return it for a refund and wait until this issue subsides.

If you expect that Apple will fix the yellowish tint issue, well, there are many people with warmer or yellowish iPhones 11. At Costco, I saw an iPhone 12 Pro Max on display with a perfect screen, better than my iPhone X. But I'm not willing to play the screen lotto.

After extensive testing of 14.4 beta 1, here are my observations:

1. no flickering above 25 percent
2. above 25 percent there is a backlight which goes to true black after less than one second, even in true black videos
3. apple still needs to fix the elevated black levels below 25 percent brightness

I am beginning to feel it maybe possible to fix it with software but I will return mine anyway for a new unit before January 8th.

Apple Worldwide asked their technicians to no replace the phones cos they are apparently sure it will be fixed via software, so it depends on which person you run into ... if you are in France too , i would advise you to ask for a refund, you are eligible until the 8th of January . and buy a new one.

i was planning on waiting until the 8th of january but i will call them tomorrow and see if i get a replacement which can be tricky cos if i got it after the 8th of January i would be stuck with this device... so maybe i'll ask for a refund and wait a bit until the issue if fixed, i still got my beautiful iPhone X with a pleasing blue tint ( maybe too blue but way better than this horrible yellow tint and i do not have this issue on the X or my LG panels at home in pitch black when the screen is black u really cannot see it , it is impossible cos there is no light emitting from the display so this issue is really annoying , specially when u see how much iPhones costs in Europe, 1609 Euros for the 512 Gb pro max.. compared to 1309 USD in the USA... that's not cool. it would be cheaper to order it directly in the USA.. lol

ok sorry to hear this . i thought u had a pro max .

i would insist if i were you.

Give them the address of this webpage, and other sites who talks about this issue, tell them about the macrumors leak about the internal document ....

cos from my heavy experience with them , your treatment depends heavily on which person's you talk to , try to get a lv 2 technician..

I can giarantee 100% that the tint can be fixed with software or reduce to the degree so much that won't be noticed (I did it my self by increasing the brightness then reducing white point (it is like increasing and decreasing the brightness) and the tint was gone

as for the flicker it only happens after the system starts which further indicates it is kernel related and also should be at least minimised

Basically Apple needs to tweak the subpixel anti-aliasing algorithms via software on their iPhones to fix the issue or make it less noticeable to majority of people anyways.

Apple is using subpixel anti-aliasing to make the PenTile layout look as good as possible. Subpixel layouts are specifically designed to work with proprietary algorithms for subpixel rendering embedded in the display driver.

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/11/02/iphone-x-oled-pixel-layout/

IPS glow on IPS iphone actually more noticeable and annoying near black as you can see in pic I took of my IPS iphone on left compared to old LG OLED and new iPhone 12 phones!

https://postimg.cc/4Ys2CPBp