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Slight Yellow Tint (iPhone 4S)

Has anyone noticed a yellow tint on their iPhone 4S? My wife and I both had our iPhones delivered today and both seem to have a tint compared to our previous iPhone 4. Is this the glue that has to dry? Any ideas?

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 5:01 PM

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70 replies

Oct 15, 2011 3:39 PM in response to pardthemonster

Just another "yup, got that problem" chiming in. I have a white model; i've always had the black before. at first I thought it was just apparent contrast. but nope. definately a bleached feel to it. Contrast is set too high, relateive to two iPHone 4 models kicking around the house (my old and wife's). Hope it just needs to, umm, break in. Haven't had this issue before in numberous phones in the family

Oct 16, 2011 3:00 PM in response to pardthemonster

Yeah, I'm wondering if it is in fact, the expoxy between the glass. When I got my 4s of Friday, it did have a slight yellow tint. Compared to my iPhone 4, it also seemed a little washed out. So, I did what someone else suggested and set my screen brightness to 100% for the last two days to see if it would help. Sure enough, today, three days later, I compared screens again. I moved the brightness back to the same level as was set on my iPhone 4...about 70% and compared them. The yellow tint on my 4s is pretty much gone...it's still "warmer" color wise but the yellowish is just about gone. As a matter of fact, my older iPhone 4 screen looks duller than my 4s at the same brightness level. So, I'm going to give it another couple of days and compare again.


Couple of things I've noticed comparing my 4s and 4 now...The 4s seems to have a slightly higher color temp, so colors are a little warmer. The 4 seems a little "colder", on the blue side. The brightness adjustment seems to have more steps in it on my 4s, compared to the 4. At the same settings though, the 4s is slightly brighter...

Oct 17, 2011 2:34 PM in response to pardthemonster

I have the same problem. I went to the Apple store to see if this was normal. All the 4S display phones had a nice crisp bluish cooler tint compared to mine with a dull yellow warmer tint. I showed the Genius the comparisons. They were reluctant to swap it saying that all the 4S's in the back had that same yellow tint. After insisting that they swap it, they did, and the frickin new one had the same yellow tint. Does anybody know if apple is using 2 different LCD makers to make the 4S? Perhaps this is the reason some are yellow and some are blue...

Oct 17, 2011 11:40 PM in response to pardthemonster

Perhaps this is related: Apple has changed the polarization of the glass on the front of the iPhones. I just discovered this (for myself anyhow; undoubtedly bloggers figured it out long ago). On my 3GS and 4, if wearing polarized glass-lensed Raybans or such sunglasses, you would see a mildly darkened screen when the phone was in the veritcal orientation, but a very darkened (unusably so) screen in the horizonal orientation. (Interestly, the iPads, both 1 and 2, are polarized in the opposite dirction, wokring w/ sunglasses in the horizontal mode.)


But w/ the iPhone 4S, I note something other than basic polarization at 90 degree increments. It seems to align (thus darken a bit, but actually more of a color distortion that mutes all contrasts?) in a diagonal aspect. Both horizontal and vertical are quite visiable at 90 degrees with sunglasses on (and without).


No, I'm not whining about seeing these in the sun. There are separate threads for that.


Anyhow, perhaps that polarization is what some of us are noting. Yes, I realize it isn't the case we are all complaining about the different shades of whites and contrasts when wearing sunglasses, but perhaps the new polarization (or polarization replacement) is the source of at least a subset of these effects that some of us are sesing? Just a thought.

Oct 18, 2011 4:31 PM in response to pardthemonster

I recieved my black iPhone 4S in the mail today and noticed immediately something looked off. On closer inspection, everything seemed washed out, the blacks were more grey and colors seemed much much less vibrant than on my iPhone 4. Then in the settings menu I noticed the absence of the cool blue that I used to have on my iPhone 4, and more of the yellowish tinge everyone here is mentioning. Definitely not acceptable, and hoping to either return the thing and go back to my iPhone 4 or get a different iPhone 4s.

Oct 18, 2011 6:23 PM in response to pardthemonster

Just to update everyone on my yellow tint status. Both my and my wife's white iPhone's (64GB and 32GB) still have the yellow tint. Note that this yellow tint is not patches, but the whole screen. We have tried the whole turning up the brightness thing, but it remains yellow. This past weekend I compared the color to my friend's 32GB Black iPhone 4S, both at full brightness. His color does not have the yellow tint and matches closely to the white screen temperature from my iPhone 4.


I contacted Apple Care yesterday regarding the matter. They first tried to explain that it is glue, but I explained how I experienced this with both my 3GS a couple years ago as well as my wife's old 3G. Both of these past experiences ended the same way, yellow tint remaining and iPhone's needing to be exchanged. My iPhone 4 never had this issue and since the glass had changed from iPhone 4 forward, I was hoping that maybe it is indeed the glue.


The tint has not changed at all since Friday and based on the resemblance to my past experiences with the tint color, I have concluded this color issue will only fix itself by me getting used to it.


The worst part is when trying to exchange it at the Apple Store. Others will agree that after putting out the money just days prior to purchasing, we look like the bad guy in the Apple Store when employees have to open box after box looking for a non-yellow tint screen. I have even read some forums on certain employees not even understanding why having an avoidable yellow tinted screen is a problem. In the past, my wife had gone through 8 boxes for her iPhone 3G and 3 for my 3GS until non-tinted phones were found in the Apple Store.


Fortunately, I have Apple mailing me a replacement, but only until I get it open will I know if I have a white screen or not. I will upload some comparison pictures between the two if the replacement phone arriving is non-tinted.


Regards.

Slight Yellow Tint (iPhone 4S)

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