Telephoto lens issue on refurbished iPhone 14 Pro

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Level 1

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Telephoto lens issue on refurbished iPhone 14 Pro

I just bought this iPhone 14 Pro off of BackMarket in "premium" condition, which is supposed to be "like new" (although all of their condition gradings are supposed to be 100% functional, and rather graded only on the aesthetic appearance of the phones). I'm returning the phone because I ordered a gold phone and the refurbisher (Supplytronics LLC) sent me a silver one (this is actually the second time this exact thing has happened, but that's a story for another day...), but as I was looking over the phone I noticed this strange crackling/bubbling in the telephoto lens?? Does anyone have any idea what this could be?? I used my DSLR to take these photos to try to get a better look at the lens, but I seriously have no idea what could be wrong with it. What's even weirder is that as far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to affect the function of the lens?? (I've had an iPhone X for 6 years so I'm not yet super confident in all the ins and outs of this new-fangled 3-camera system, but all of the test shots I've been taking seem fine??)

As I said, I'm going to be sending it back anyway (and obviously noting that the lens was like this when it arrived to me), but I am just so curious what the heck is happening here. Could it be water damage? I don't think it's actual cracks, but maybe?? Does anyone have any ideas??

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 14 Pro

Posted on Jan 16, 2025 8:08 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jeff Donald

Community+ 2026

Level 8

47,918 points

Jan 17, 2025 6:14 AM in response to GracieG614

Those are internal reflections and refractions occurring inside the lens. This is the result of askew, non-image forming light enters the lens. It’s perfectly normal and if the iPhone is held in a different position or the angle of the light changed the anomalies will disappear.

In other words those lenses are fine.

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Answer 2

Bob Timmons

Level 10

186,704 points

Jan 16, 2025 9:30 PM in response to GracieG614

The problem with buying a used or refurbished phone is that it is not easy to know whether the phone was reworked by Apple, a third party Apple approved company, or a third party company that has not been approved by Apple.

Some companies do not use genuine Apple parts when they rework the phone and instead install cheaper parts....which do not meet Apple's specifications.

If the company that you are working with allows you to return the product for a refund if you don't like it, you may be OK, but there will always be some "unknowns" when buying a used product, no matter what fancy name the seller might call it.

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Answer 3

TheLittles

Level 10

204,255 points

Jan 16, 2025 9:20 PM in response to GracieG614

"Telephoto lens issue on refurbished iPhone 14 Pro: as I was looking over the phone I noticed this strange crackling/bubbling in the telephoto lens?? Does anyone have any idea what this could be?? [...]As I said, I'm going to be sending it back anyway (and obviously noting that the lens was like this when it arrived to me), but I am just so curious what the heck is happening here. Could it be water damage? I don't think it's actual cracks, but maybe?? Does anyone have any ideas??"

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Soon Coming from Camera:

Seems there are vibration occurring due to overheating. Simple as that. So, keep with returning this. You'll be just fine.

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Telephoto lens issue on refurbished iPhone 14 Pro

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