iphone 5 camera spots

Yup same here. I went to the genius bar today, and the guy was surprised and said he hadn't seen it before. He said he could see a speck of something inside the camera glass, but that there's no way to just change the camera so he asked if it's ok to give me a new phone. I backed up with iCloud the night before, so the switch was painless. Success!

Just to chime in....I also notice a purple blotch on all my pictures......You can see it very plainly when using the camera. Made a genius bar appointment today, within 15 minutes I was out the door with a new phone. The genius bar guy had never seen it before.....he thought they might be able to fix it. Went in the back and the tech said not fixable, and swapped it out right away. Very easy experience.

It's too bad to see this happening but at least it's making them aware of the problem and hopefully they'll tighten up their QC or whatever. And also they're taking care of their customers.

Hey guys, I had the same problem. I dropped my phone on a tile floor and noticed only a small scratch on the corner. when I used the camera shortly after, I noticed a small black spot that wouldn't go away no matter how many times I cleaned the lens. I read this discussion and made an appointment at the Genius Bar. Within 15 minutes of arriving at the Apple store, I was already setting up my new phone with the Genius that assisted me. He seemed to have seen the problem before, so he knew right away that I needed a new phone. I am very happy with the customer support Apple has. I got to get a new phone and ditch the one with the scratch on it!

Hope this helps people!

Chase

I had this same issue. Grey dots were all over my camera screen, and I also had a red/pink speck in all of my pictures. So, I went online and made an appointment to see a "genius," and the next day I went in. She looked at my phone for about 30 seconds and then swiftly replaced it with a brand new one FREE of charge. No hassles, no run arounds, no money spent, no bs.

P.S. I got my phone in mid November and it was about 100 days later that they replaced it, so don't worry about any 30 day or 90 day stuff, you have a year. If youre phone has this issue, Apple will very likely help you out, just be curtious.

Yep, thats how mine looked too, pretty gross. It's likely the result of dust getting between the lens and the sensor of the camera. Some people have reported that the issue arised after they had dropped their phones, which could potentially disrupt the seal between the sensor and lens and allow dust to build up over time. Mine seemed to get worse all the time, more and more of those circles were showing up everyday. So I think a broken seal sounds like a reasonable explaination. I never had the problem with previous iPhones either, but there is a new hole near the camera on the iPhone 5, the one for the microphone. Maybe the dust is getting in through there? Maybe it's getting in through the lock/wake button? Who knows. But they will definitely replace it for you, just make sure to check out the new one before you leave.

P.S.

I checked my mom, stepdad and brothers iPhone 5s the otherday to see if they were having the issue, and both my brother and stepdads phones had the exact same problem. Pretty crazy stuff.

They replaced my iPhone without question. I printed the problem and brought in to Apple Store. They had never seen it before. They offered to fix it, or replace it. I took the replacement. It took 20 minutes. Thanks Apple!

The only thing these pictures of the sun are showing is lens flare. Lens flare will happen any time you attempt to take a picture of the sun. It may occur more often when taking a picture of the sun through a window. These pictures are a good example of it. Sometimes even the camera flash will cause lens flare. Also if you use the light when taking video and you pan by a shiny object you will see a white lens flare. If you want to take pictures of the sun, you shouldn't be using your phone. You should be using a camera that can be fitted with an appropriate light filter specifically for taking pictures of the sun. What I'm getting at here is using pictures of the sun to demonstrate your problem is a bad idea. Take normal everyday pictures with the sun behind you not behind the subject to exhibit your issue.

From what I can see in these pictures, the reason your issue hasn't been resolved is because there is nothing wrong with your camera that anyone can fix. Lens flare is normal on phone cameras.

Another update on my end... back in March, I had clear red spots in every shot taken by the rear-facing camera on my iPhone 5. I contacted Apple support via chat, uploaded example photos, established a case number and then went to an Apple Store and they replaced my phone with no questions asked. I did bring printed photos with me and requested that the genius take a photo of his own. Done, simple, easy.

Now, four months later, the replacement iPhone 5 started doing the exact same thing. Again, I did exactly the same thing. First chat, established a case, then made an appointment at an Apple Store. And just last night, I walked out with, now my 3rd, iPhone 5. It took about 45 minutes this time, the place was a mob scene as usualy but I waited patiently and they replaced it with no questions asked.

Interestingly, the guy told me that the camera is the one part of an iPhone 5 that can't be fixed or replaced. It must be replaced under warranty.

Also, he told me that the clear red spots are a result of the phone being dropped and small crystal fragments end up on the sensor. I personally don't buy that, but hey, everyone has their own theory. I have never dropped my iPhone on anything other than carpet. And it's in a rubberized case, which protects it quite well. So if these red spots are a result of dropping, well, then Apple certainly missed the boat on making these iPhone 5's as robust as previous models. I know people with iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S who have smashed their phone, replaced the glass, dropped them over and over, kids throwing them, etc., total abuse, and the camera's work just fine. I've never seen these red spots on anything but an iPhone 5.

And again, both of my iPhone 5 - 64GB phones have had this exact same issue. They've been perfect otherwise.

Curious, huh?

Well, I'm just glad they're as accommodating as they are. I give them credit for replacing my iPhone 5 twice now. It's annoying having to deal with it, but hey, I once again have a brand new iPhone 5 in my pocket. It'll help me resell it when I upgrade next.

I had the same problem. Slingle gray spot in my rear camera. I first noticed it a few months ago back in May, but it wasn't irritating me too much. But, since I had a launch day iPhone 5, my warranty is expriring in a little over a month, so I thought I'd take it into the Genius Bar. The guy looked at it for a few seconds and went and grabbed a white box refurb from behind the counter without a word. At least I'm assuming it was a refurb. It wasn't a standard iPhone box...just this thin white box. I was out the door in 12 minutes.

That is a classic symptom of dust particles on the camera lens inside the phone. It can also be caused by a scratched or nicked lens cover (crystal) on the outside. I suggest examining the lens cover with a magnifying glass. If you find scratches, nicks or other stuff that won't come off then that's your fault and it would be very nice of Apple to fix this free but they're not obliged to. If that lens cover appears perfectly clear, clean and scratch free then Apple can clear the dust out or replace the phone at the Genius Bar.

I had the exact same clear spots (same than in the very first post) on my iPhone 5 and it was newly replaced with a brand new iPhone 5. I took it to my operator who then sent it to an Apple repair shop and a week after I got informed that warranty covered the problem. It was quick and easy, nobody claimed that warranty would be void or anything, and now I'm a happy owner of a new working device.

This is how I got a FREE REPLACEMENT even thgouh I was technically OUT OF WARRANTY

I bought my iPhone 5 right when it came out in early October 2012 and I never saw this problem until three days ago. It was a rather large purple spot righ in the middle of the screen so it was very noticable. I realized the only solution to the problem is to get a replacement at Apple, but I was out of warranty by about 45 days.

So I started looking through my previous photos and bingo, I found a series of photos that were taken inside my apartment against the wall which showed a similar albiet smaller and less conspicuous purple spot closer to the edge of the screen.

I showed those older pictures to the genius at the Apple store and explained to him that the problem started while I was still in the warranty period. He went to the back of the store to talk to his manager and came back with approval to have it replaced free of charge!

Also, the Apple genius initially told me that they don't offer free replacements for phones that are more than 30 days out of warranty, so this suggests that they may still replace it free of cost if your warranty just ended.

If you are out of warranty and you want to find evidence that the problem preceeded the end of your warranty period, I suggest you start by pointing your camera to a white piece of paper. This should make it very easy to find all of those spots, including smaller ones that you may have not noticed before. Note the general location of those spots then go back through the photos you took before your warranty ended to find photos that show the problem, and good luck!

PS: FWIW, my genius bar story happened today in Toronto (Eaton Centre).

Just a follow up that I WAS able to get a free replacement after showing the genius that the dust started to appear in many older photos in my photostream, while I was STILL under warranty. The service was excellent, they just needed proof of when it started to occur. End of the day it is worth getting applecare I just didn't realize that they changed the timeline in which you could buy it when it evolved into Applecare+.

So I swapped my Galaxy Note II for a iPhone 5, and then later I found out that there are purple specks on the Camera 😟.

So I checked the serial number and it is out of warranty, thought I would try my luck at the Apple Store.

Made an appointment, saw a genius.

Me: "I am noticing these specks on my Camera"

Genius: "Oh wow, I see. Yeah I'm sorry, thats a part we don't repair. I will get you a replacement phone"

This iPhone is out of warranty they replaced it on the spot.

This is another reason why I am sticking with Apple

I've just been to a third party repair service to get my broken iPhone 5 power button fixed, and I mentioned them this purple dot issue (hoping that if I'm already here, they could fix this too). The expert cleaned it out in 2 minutes, like it was nothing, they didn't even charge me for that. It must've been some particle stuck under the protective glass. It's still a question what is causing this to many people, but if anything, I can tell you that a professional can get rid of it in no time. Thankfully we have these great third party repair services who can always help when Apple won't.