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This afternoon I was at the mall so I talked to the Mac "genius" - he informed me that Samsung and LG both currently have the contracts to make the LCD and that its totally random which one you get - either in the store, online, or replacements from AppleCare. At this point I will probably just hang on to my 7***.
 
I just talked with AppleCare over the phone.

The guy (he was friendly and nice) didn't know about this issue. I told him about the LCD ID, showed him the comparison photos on this forum. He talked to his supervisor, and they agreed to send me a replacement.

He told me he specified to send me an unit with LCD ID 5**.

He also said that 29.99 fee will be refunded after I return the loaner phone.

I'm hoping to death it's going to work out...

Exact same situation here.
...as a side note is everyone from Cali that friendly and mellow. Love those Apple support folk.
 
I have a 5 series, got it on Saturday. I only see 1 or 2 absolutely tiny white dots when i turn the brightness up all the way, but i keep it low because i like how it looks. What's the deal, they really only made 100,000 5 series?
 
I have a 5 series, got it on Saturday. I only see 1 or 2 absolutely tiny white dots when i turn the brightness up all the way, but i keep it low because i like how it looks. What's the deal, they really only made 100,000 5 series?

What do you mean by "I only see 1 or 2 absolutely tiny white dots" ? I thought the white dots are part of the grid used for touch sensor, and it's evenly mapped on the screen. Are you sure the couple of dots you see are not dead/stuck pixels?
 
@The General:

Did you reference the LCD serial number and/or was your AppleCare representative aware of the white dot / brightness problem already?

Thanks,
-i

They didn't know about the white dots issue. I didn't give them the LCD number. I'll just stick a little post-it note on the my phone with arrows to the glass bubbles and a little thing saying that 7-series LCDs are affected, give me a 5-series. :p

Or maybe I could just call in and tell them to add that info to my ticket. :D
 
i think it is a software issue...

people with 7-series screens:

turn off auto brightness, turn brightness all the way up.. plug the iphone in and check out the green battery icon... the ugly bubble (that we had talked about before) that surrounds the icon looks like the white dots tightly compacted... it seems that the white dots are just the graphics chip trying to make contrast... the touch sensors wouldnt even be looking in that area for input because the phone is locked, you need to slide at the bottom of the screen before you could place input anywhere else on the screen....

that would also explain why the white dots increase around the icons on the main screen (that people talked about before)... we used to think the dots increased around icons because it was the touch interface being more precise, but it is just the phone trying to make contrast from the icon to the black background... its not the touch sensors, its just the contrast from one color to another...

it would also explain the increase and decrease of dots in the photo app... someone had said that when the icons go away and you just view the whole black picture, the dots go to about half, and we thought that was because the touch sensors decreased their sensitivity, but that wouldnt be true because you still can do the "pinch" and "slide" to next picture, so the sensors would still need to be extra sensitive... the dots go away because it doesnt need to make contrast from the grey menus to the black, the whole screen is just pure black...


also explains why there arent many dots on the top of the screen, there isnt much color up there, just small text displaying the time and signal strength, not multiple colors like in the weather app, icons on home screen, and battery icon...

i looked at the apple.com web page too with brightness all the way up.. the glow around the iphones on the main screen was washed out, with what looks like the white dots tightly compacted like every where else...

does this make sense to anyone, i realize it may be confusing...
 
I said long ago its graphic related but *maybe* the capacitive matrix is having an influence on the graphic output.

Yes, and the flux capacitor requires 1.21 giga watts of electricity to operate. So this is definitely a hardware issue.
 
i think it is a software issue...

people with 7-series screens:

turn off auto brightness, turn brightness all the way up.. plug the iphone in and check out the green battery icon... the ugly bubble (that we had talked about before) that surrounds the icon looks like the white dots tightly compacted... it seems that the white dots are just the graphics chip trying to make contrast... the touch sensors wouldnt even be looking in that area for input because the phone is locked, you need to slide at the bottom of the screen before you could place input anywhere else on the screen....

that would also explain why the white dots increase around the icons on the main screen (that people talked about before)... we used to think the dots increased around icons because it was the touch interface being more precise, but it is just the phone trying to make contrast from the icon to the black background... its not the touch sensors, its just the contrast from one color to another...

it would also explain the increase and decrease of dots in the photo app... someone had said that when the icons go away and you just view the whole black picture, the dots go to about half, and we thought that was because the touch sensors decreased their sensitivity, but that wouldnt be true because you still can do the "pinch" and "slide" to next picture, so the sensors would still need to be extra sensitive... the dots go away because it doesnt need to make contrast from the grey menus to the black, the whole screen is just pure black...


also explains why there arent many dots on the top of the screen, there isnt much color up there, just small text displaying the time and signal strength, not multiple colors like in the weather app, icons on home screen, and battery icon...

i looked at the apple.com web page too with brightness all the way up.. the glow around the iphones on the main screen was washed out, with what looks like the white dots tightly compacted like every where else...

does this make sense to anyone, i realize it may be confusing...

Totally wrong... :rolleyes:
 
Are you retarded? The iPhone uses a capacitive matrix grid to operate the touch screen. I was not making anything up.

hey McFly.. calm down bro! I guess you never saw Back to the Future... sheeesh.. some people take everything so serious
 
I have a 7 and it's fine...

Maybe it's just me, but I have a 7 series and it seems fine.

I can barely see the dot pattern in a dark room with the brightness all the way up - and it's taken me a day to even be able to faintly see that.

When I first started reading this - I thought I was going to exchange it for a 5 series - but the rest of my phone is pristine - the battery works, the display looks good to me - no dead pixels - I be afraid to exchange and get a series of bad ones.

I really don't think all the 7's are bad - some may be worse than others but I don't think I'll be rushing to turn mine in.
 
Maybe it's just me, but I have a 7 series and it seems fine.

I can barely see the dot pattern in a dark room with the brightness all the way up - and it's taken me a day to even be able to faintly see that.

When I first started reading this - I thought I was going to exchange it for a 5 series - but the rest of my phone is pristine - the battery works, the display looks good to me - no dead pixels - I be afraid to exchange and get a series of bad ones.

I really don't think all the 7's are bad - some may be worse than others but I don't think I'll be rushing to turn mine in.

Its been said many times that not all 7 have the issue. BUT, if one does have the issue, it will be a 7 series. If you cant see anything, great, and no need to exchange. But some the dots are there at any brightness and any angle.
 
Okay so I figured that before I ship my iPhone off to get repaired/replaced, I should take full photographic evidence of everything. The first thing I noticed was that when I dial *3001#12345#* to get the Field Test, there's a typo ... :) It says Firware, shouldn't it say Firmware? :p

I took a video of the dots and how they show up half way through boot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_4m04WE7n8

If you want the full quality video, download it here:
http://www.mydatabus.com/public/wolfet/MVI_0001.mp4

Here are the bubbles in the glass, and the dots. Click for bigger photos:
IMG_0027.jpg

IMG_0026.jpg

IMG_0024.jpg

IMG_0023.jpg

IMG_0020.jpg

IMG_0021.jpg

IMG_0021.jpg

IMG_0016.jpg

IMG_0015.jpg

IMG_0011.jpg

IMG_0010.jpg
 
Okay so I figured that before I ship my iPhone off to get repaired/replaced, I should take full photographic evidence of everything. The first thing I noticed was that when I dial *3001#12345#* to get the Field Test, there's a typo ... :) It says Firware, shouldn't it say Firmware? :p

I took a video of the dots and how they show up half way through boot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_4m04WE7n8

If you want the full quality video, download it here:
http://www.mydatabus.com/public/wolfet/MVI_0001.mp4

Here are the bubbles in the glass, and the dots. Click for bigger photos:

General.

only somebody with a username like yours could have delivered such perfect proof.

i thank you for that.

great job!

i am taking the liberty to repost in other forums...
 
I only have a limited number of downloads for that video. So if you plan on delivering the video to other forums, please mirror it elsewhere or just post the YouTube link. Rapidshare, etc. I just fine that site to be the most convenient, regardless of it's limitations. :)
 
Hello all,

i received my applecare loaner and guess what...another 7***!!!!

same dots everywhere.

i hope they'll send back a 5***


will keep you posted.

I received my loaner phone. It was 5 series!!

mmm. I can see the difference. It looks like 7** has darker gamma like PC and 5** has lighter gamma like Mac. I'd prefer to receive 5** as replacement, but I think I can live with either of them.

I'm now hoping the replacement unit won't have any other flaws like loose bottom piece or dead pixels...
 
i got my loaner phone,.......and its a 5* series!!!!

and yes, now i see all this talk about color/contrast......but still
i'd prefer the 5* series....the black is just clean and no artifacts of check dots and especially when watching movies w/ dark scenes..

ya.... now i just hope i dont get one w/ dead pixels and stuff like that.....
 
Anyone know if Apple's Fedex Priority Overnight is with Saturday delivery option? I might have to change the delivery address depends on the day..

BTW, I gotta say AppleCare repair/replacement process is great. My coworker was cracking up by seeing the paper clip with instruction illustration that Apple included.
 
Just Compared - I like my 7 Series...

Ok - all this talk of 5 being better - I have a 7 series and don't see the dots at all - so I went by the local apple store at the Galleria (Houston) to check it out.

They had one on the floor that was sure enough a 5 - yes it's brighter - I wouldn't say better, just different. I agree with the other poster about it seeming like a different gamma setting. My 7 does seem a bit warmer - more of a brown backlight.

I set them at the same brightness levels and I have to say I like mine - the color seems richer to me. The 5 looked a bit brighter, but it also seemed a bit more washed out.

I've watched movies on my 7 and the black is certainly black and I can't imagine it being any richer or crisper - it's fine. I'm keeping mine just the way it is - I be afraid of getting other problems with a swap - bad battery, pixels, etc.

As a side note, I spoke to one of the employees and he had no clue - I showed him the difference and he was sort of surprised - so I don't think there's a run of folks trapsing in to make a change. You really would never know there's even a difference unless you had them side by side and even then I can't say one is better.
 
Hey guys,
I'm glade to hear some of you got iPhones that you are happy with. I do have to say I am surprised to hear you got back a 5755136 LCD from applecare. My guess is that they just looked too find one without dots and just sent it along. A friend of mine has a 5755136 and i had the opportunity to inspect them side by side. Sorry i have no photos. I didn't feel that they would add anything to the discussion at this point. Nor would it have been convenient for me to setup my camera gear, standing in a dark parking lot.

The following is my final opinion on the topic of dots on the iPhone LCD. I've come to this conclusion through careful side be side inspection of both versions of iPhone LCD.

What are the dots? Is it the touch screen?
I strongly believe them to be pixels, slightly lighter then the other pixels displaying black. They are in the same position as pixels, that is, they don't fall between pixels, but instead take the place of the pixel being covered.
The dots also react to the pixels on the screen.
When the screen is displaying black you see this pattern in fig. a:
fig-a.jpg


The dots become more filled in when there is a graphic on the screen. Everything down and at a 45deg angle to the right of any displayed pixel on the screen. so if there is a active pixel (that is a pixel that is not black) in the middle (fig, b) the pattern below, and to it's lower right become more dense. If a active pixel is at the top right... the hole screen is filled with the tighter pattern of dots (fig. c). This is why the pattern changes at the top of the home screen (fig. d).
fig-b-c.jpg

fig-d.jpg


Lastly the dots are not only invisible, but simply not there when the pixel is displaying anything other then black.
It is for those reason i believe them to be pixels, and not a layer of the touch screen.

If it's not the touch screen why do they disappear at a top, or right angle
If you own an iPhone or any lcd you will notice that the screen contrast and brightness changes when you look from an angle. Look at an image on the iPhone screen that has darker pixels in it. Now tilt your screen down, or to the left, so that your looking at it from the top or from the right side. Notice how the darker pixels become harder to see or disappear. now Tilter it up or right, so that your looking at it from the left side or bottom. The color become washed out. and the darker pixels become easier to see. Thats why you see the dots from this angle more easily.

Why don't you see them on some iPhones and not others?
This was the part i couldn't figure. Till i saw other phones that supposedly do not have the dots. Prevues discovery by other members of this forum and some poll like research. We seem to have found that there are two versions of LCD. A 5755136 and a 7455232. The 5755136 was found generally not to have dots, wile the 7455232 generally does. I say generally because some people have reported not to have, or to have dots on the opposite screens. This i can't really explain explain to say that there seems to be some confession as to what the dots look like. Some people mey be seeing the crossing lines of the touch layer and thinking they are what we describe as dots. All i can say is that all 7455232 that i have looked at had them clearly visible, and all 5755136 i have looked at did not.
So if there pixels why are they not on all screens? Well, they are. There just really hard to see. In-fact i really couldn't see them on the 5755136 LCD's. What i did see was the change in texture when moving graphics around. As described earlier, the pattern changes.
So, why can you see them on 7455232's? well, if you look at them side by side the 7455232 had higher contrast and blacker black. As a result the pixels stand out more. The 5755136 has less contrast and so you don't see them, they blend in more. I Don't know for sure if this means the 7455232 is a superior LCD, but blacker black is usually a good thing. (see fig. e)
fig-e.jpg


Why are the dots there and what do they do?
I have no idea. But they are pre LCD, maybe software, maybe a video processor thing. I don't really know enough about this stuff to say.

I can see the dots because my 7455232 is so sharp and clear. And i feel that apple may be able to fix this with an update. If/when they do i'll be glade to have the 7455232 since i think it's a better looking screen (slightly). If apple doesn't fix the dots, i might try to exchange it down the road. But i'll give it a few months probably, maybe they will work out some of the other kinks by that time too.
Anyway, i think i've spent enough time on this topic. I'm gonna leave this in apples hands now. I still would like to know why the pixels are there?
In-spite of this dot thing, the iPhone is still an amazing device. Some of my favorite people are flawed too, but i don't hold it agents them. Luckily software can heal most wounds and apple defiantly knows software. :)

I wish you all luck with you iPhones.
Hope i explained my theories well enough, it's been fun.
 
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