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iPhone 5 Screen Quality

thadoggfather

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Oct 1, 2007
15,551
16,285
I wonder what this update does for people who do not have the issue.

I've never heard of iOS fixing horizontal lines in the past. Crazy they did something about the vertical lines! Must be more common and noticed by the general public than we think?
 
kockgunner

kockgunner

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2007
1,565
22
Vancouver, Canada
cababah said:
+1

I used to get slight flicker especially bad near the dock now it is rock solid after testing it after the update. Other people, check yours after installing the new update.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how the OS update fixed a hardware problem. Mine still has the scan line issues. I'm going to keep waiting and exchange it when QC gets better.
 
C

cababah

macrumors 68000
Jun 11, 2009
1,891
504
SF Bay Area, CA
kockgunner said:
I'm not sure how the OS update fixed a hardware problem. Mine still has the scan line issues. I'm going to keep waiting and exchange it when QC gets better.
Click to expand...

It was a false alarm. I was looking at the screen in different lighting but the issue is still there unfortunately. You're right, a software update cannot fix a hardware issue
 
kockgunner

kockgunner

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2007
1,565
22
Vancouver, Canada
I finally found the time to go to the Apple Store and this time the genius could actually see the problem. However after going to the back he said their "good units" have interlacing too and that they can't replace it because of this problem. He said that there have been issues with lines on the keyboard and video which were software problems and claimed my screen could be fixed with a software update that was "coming soon". I said that the units on display didn't have this issue and that I was pretty sure it is a hardware problem as the lines are one direction only and show themselves in any part of the screen. He didn't agree, but good thing my camera had a over 50 specs of dust inside and the screen had a speck of dust in it too. He said he would bring it to the back and that it was easy to fix. I knew they couldn't do this because the iPhone 5 opens screen-first and that the glass is glued onto the screen. After another long wait he finally came out and said they would replace the phone because of the dust. He made himself clear that they weren't replacing it because of the screen. He didn't seem to happy and Apple probably hate me by now (!), but really, I wouldn't have signed up for a 3 year contract if the screen was going to be worse than my iPhone 4.

The new phone is a week 38 (September) serial number starting with F2. If you look really closely there are still lines but it's 95% perfect and the lines are much less visible and don't really show themselves unless you are looking for it. I'm kind of bummed I didn't get a "perfect" one, but the physical condition is as good as they get if you are talking about an iPhone 5 so I'm going to keep this one.

UPDATE The lines have come back. They gradually got worse and now it's around the same as the one I replaced.
 
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T

Tophersky

macrumors member
Feb 4, 2005
37
0
Tampa, FL
first-world-problems-200x200.jpg
 
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Z

zybersniper

macrumors member
Jan 2, 2013
90
0
What all of you are experiencing is called pixel walk inversion. It's a common limitation in most LCD. Not just your iPhone, but your desktop monitor will experience it too. For more info: see the link

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/inversion.php

In a pixel on an LCD monitor, the amount of light that is transmitted from the backlight depends on the voltage applied to the pixel. For the amount of light, it doesn't matter whether that voltage is negative or positive. However, applying the same voltage for a long period would damage the pixel. Do you remember how electricity decomposes water into oxygen and hydrogen gas in chemistry class? Similar things could happen inside the liquid crystals that are in the pixels. In order to prevent damage, LCD displays quickly alternate the voltage between positive and negative for each pixel, which is called 'polarity inversion'. Ideally, the rapid polarity inversion wouldn't be noticeable because every pixel has the same brightness whether it a positive or a negative voltage is applied. However, in practice, there is a small difference, which means that every pixel flickers at about 30 hertz. In order to make this less noticeable, pixels with positive and negative voltages are interleaved, such that on average the screen as a whole keeps the same brightness – at least for normal images. The interleaving does not work for the inversion test images, at least for the one(s) where the pattern matches the interleaving pattern of the monitor. In such cases, the monitor will flicker if the positive and negative voltages are not tuned very well.....
Click to expand...


Not all LCDs are created equal. Some electronics like the Nintendo DS Lite actually had a pot screw on the motherboard that could change the flicker rate for different screens and it was common knowledge that it had to be adjusted if a LCD swap was made. I believe that Apple may have not calibrated the LCD properly on some phones and so some of you experience more flicker than on other phones. And it's true that not all eyes are created equal. Mostly people with very good eye sight would be more sensitive to the flickering.
 
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Oppressed

Oppressed

macrumors 65816
Aug 15, 2010
1,265
10
I tried the wallpaper test and my new replacement (white box) iPhone 5 shows the flickering. To be honest I didn't even see this issue anywhere else before this thread brought it to my attention. Also I pride myself in being OCD enough, and have sharp enough eyes, to have noticed it beforehand. The question is if it's worth it to roll the dice with a replacement. Yes I understand the whole "premium product" argument, but the fact of the matter is that it is still a risk. Besides this issue I am not aware of any other issues with this phone.

Would they even let me replace it several times before we come across one that doesn't have this issue, in addition to the other possible flaws such as scuffs, dead pixels, or yellow screen?
 
thadoggfather

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Oct 1, 2007
15,551
16,285
Out of my family's iPhone 5's:

-one does it and I can tell instantly (grey camera icon vertical lines)
-second one does it slightly less obvious though
-one almost doesn't do it, but it seems to though probably the most benign of affected ones i've seen
-mine doesn't at all.

I had at least two swaps that did, though.

I'd venture to say an awful lot of them do and people just don't notice.
 
T

theturtle

macrumors 6502a
Aug 3, 2009
579
35
Just wanted to contribute my thoughts.

The bottom line is I'm pretty irritated. Gone through four replacements and each one had a flaw. Two of them were badly damaged out the box while one had interlacing issues.

My most recent one. Which was replaced yesterday has these little "dots" that make the screen look grainer than it is. Unlike my interlaced one, this new one doesn't have visible vertical lines but the screen seems to be made up with visible teeny squares which make everything look semi grainy.

Noticeable on the twitter icon and quite a bit when you do the "windows open" screen on safari (the gray background).

I can't swap it because no one seems to be able to see it and the store already pegged me as "having too many returns."

It just sucks because the other four iPhone 5's in my household all have smooth textures while mine is all jagged and frizzy.

I also experienced two interlacing issues when I had my 4s so this isn't something new.

I can't bring myself to even watch YouTube videos on my phone now because the problem is noticeable.
 
John T

John T

macrumors 68020
Mar 18, 2006
2,114
6
UK.
theturtle said:
I can't swap it because no one seems to be able to see it and the store already pegged me as "having too many returns."

I also experienced two interlacing issues when I had my 4s so this isn't something new.

I can't bring myself to even watch YouTube videos on my phone now because the problem is noticeable.
Click to expand...

Are you sure there's nothing wrong with your eyesight? ;)
 
Cuechick

Cuechick

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2010
258
37
So Cal
I think a screen shot, taken with another camera (which is the only way we might see it) would be very helpful and I would go back find a smarter "genius" and get it exchanged. There is no reason to pay this much for a product that is defective.
 
Oppressed

Oppressed

macrumors 65816
Aug 15, 2010
1,265
10
Cuechick said:
I think a screen shot, taken with another camera (which is the only way we might see it) would be very helpful and I would go back find a smarter "genius" and get it exchanged. There is no reason to pay this much for a product that is defective.
Click to expand...

I posted some comparison shots taken with my phone and my wife's phone. It takes amazing vision to see it on the phone itself, but it is there none the less.

Today I took my F2 factory phone in with the line image as the background, and while waiting for my appointment I set the same image to another phone on display which didn't exhibit the issue. Once my appointment was up I showed him both and he was more than willing to exchange it. It was clear as day with the amount of flickering going on. Then I asked him if he could also humor me and look at the serial numbers on the white box replacements and pick one that started with D and avoid ones with F2. He came back with a DQ serial number and it is the best iPhone I've had yet. No scuff gate, no yellow screen, no interlacing lines, no dead pixels, and no loose buttons. I got home and the production week is 49 which is December. This is the latest phone I've had and hopefully is a sign that quality control has improved.
 
D

diggi33

macrumors newbie
Jan 21, 2013
2
0
waiting for my fourth iPhone 5. All three I had before had the same issue, interlacing lines. Today the next replacement arrives and hopefully the last. I am not really confident as it is a DN device built in the same week (49) as the previous models :( I hope this has an end soon.....
 
B

BuGjAE

macrumors newbie
Jun 20, 2011
6
0
diggi33 said:
waiting for my fourth iPhone 5. All three I had before had the same issue, interlacing lines. Today the next replacement arrives and hopefully the last. I am not really confident as it is a DN device built in the same week (49) as the previous models :( I hope this has an end soon.....
Click to expand...

Feel bad for one month ,first time i didn't realize the problem with interlacing until i compare my iphone with the other. Now i'm waiting for 1st device replacement with this issue, hopefully it will got a perfect screen as the other.
 
nburwell

nburwell

macrumors 603
May 6, 2008
5,451
2,365
DE
My iPhone 5 screen is leaps and bounds better than my 4S. To me, the colors appear more vibrant on the 5.
 
U

unagimiyagi

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2009
905
229
theturtle said:
Just wanted to contribute my thoughts.

The bottom line is I'm pretty irritated. Gone through four replacements and each one had a flaw. Two of them were badly damaged out the box while one had interlacing issues.

My most recent one. Which was replaced yesterday has these little "dots" that make the screen look grainer than it is. Unlike my interlaced one, this new one doesn't have visible vertical lines but the screen seems to be made up with visible teeny squares which make everything look semi grainy.

Noticeable on the twitter icon and quite a bit when you do the "windows open" screen on safari (the gray background).

I can't swap it because no one seems to be able to see it and the store already pegged me as "having too many returns."

It just sucks because the other four iPhone 5's in my household all have smooth textures while mine is all jagged and frizzy.

I also experienced two interlacing issues when I had my 4s so this isn't something new.

I can't bring myself to even watch YouTube videos on my phone now because the problem is noticeable.
Click to expand...

Hey bud, you're going to get called a cook and OCD. But wanted to voice my support that I've seen everything you have seen. Bottom line is that these are real issues b/c we have sensitive eyes. They're not phantom issues. And some screens do not have these problems. But Apple does not consider these defects, and since they are within spec, we have no cause for replacement after you exchange too many. So either it's time to buy a diff phone or go with luck of the draw.
 
Nikos

Nikos

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2008
1,641
291
New York
My launch day iPhone 5 was perfect, other than having a small piece of dust under the screen. I decided to have it replaced a couple of weeks ago and noticed this screen issue on the replacement. Luckily, there was also a piece of dust under that screen so I had it replaced immediately. My third iPhone 5 has this screen issue and it's incredibly annoying. My original iPhone 5 was fine and my girlfriend's is fine as well. I'm going to try to have this one replaced, bringing her phone in as an example just in case they give me any issues. Hopefully I can get an iPhone with a good screen again. It's been nearly impossible to get a perfect Apple product lately. :(
 
2

2IS

macrumors 68030
Jan 9, 2011
2,938
433
I can't see any lines on my 5 either and I find the colors ever so slightly better.
 
U

unagimiyagi

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2009
905
229
kockgunner said:
I finally found the time to go to the Apple Store and this time the genius could actually see the problem. However after going to the back he said their "good units" have interlacing too and that they can't replace it because of this problem. He said that there have been issues with lines on the keyboard and video which were software problems and claimed my screen could be fixed with a software update that was "coming soon". I said that the units on display didn't have this issue and that I was pretty sure it is a hardware problem as the lines are one direction only and show themselves in any part of the screen. He didn't agree, but good thing my camera had a over 50 specs of dust inside and the screen had a speck of dust in it too. He said he would bring it to the back and that it was easy to fix. I knew they couldn't do this because the iPhone 5 opens screen-first and that the glass is glued onto the screen. After another long wait he finally came out and said they would replace the phone because of the dust. He made himself clear that they weren't replacing it because of the screen. He didn't seem to happy and Apple probably hate me by now (!), but really, I wouldn't have signed up for a 3 year contract if the screen was going to be worse than my iPhone 4.

The new phone is a week 38 (September) serial number starting with F2. If you look really closely there are still lines but it's 95% perfect and the lines are much less visible and don't really show themselves unless you are looking for it. I'm kind of bummed I didn't get a "perfect" one, but the physical condition is as good as they get if you are talking about an iPhone 5 so I'm going to keep this one.

UPDATE The lines have come back. They gradually got worse and now it's around the same as the one I replaced.
Click to expand...

Just b/c you wear a shirt that says Genius doesn't make you one . The Apple employees are, compared to people on this board, less educated about their own products than we are. They are trained like a Best Buy employee, only a tiny bit better and coached to be friendly etc. But they do not know jack squat about their products b/c of their training. If they did, it's b/c they brought that knowledge to the job before they were hired. They are like any other hire-by-the-thousands worker at any large company. I'm sure that they're fine people, and they make a probably not so great wage ,but these are independent of their job title: genius. I take issue with that b/c I've gotten the sense that they actually think that they're geniuses when it's clear that what they're feeding me is patently wrong. Most people prefer an "I don't know" to trying to pretend to be something you're not. It would have been preferable in the OP's case for them to say "Yup, I see what you're saying about the interlacing. Honestly, it would not bother me personally if this were my phone b/c I don't really notice it. Truth is, we can not replace for this problem b/c Apple won't allow us to consider interlacing a defect, but rather it's just natural variation between screens. There is an element of luck of the draw here, so I'm sorry about that. Best we can do is just allow you to get a refund."
 
R

Radiating

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2011
1,018
7
Jessay said:
Surprisingly, my iPhone 4s has a better screen display than my 5. Is anyone else noticing this? It's almost like I can see tiny vertical lines. The apple genius didn't see it (of course). The display iPhones didn't have this problem, but my phone and the genius' phone did. It's just frustrating, that's all.
Click to expand...

You have a defective phone. The iPhone 5 display is much better
 
D

digglesworth

macrumors member
Feb 14, 2013
95
0
I swapped my i5 last saturday due to the screen not being as responsive as it should be. Also, I thought I saw scanlines on it but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be there or not in a game. Well, the replacement phone got replaced a week later due to the scanlines being everywhere. It was driving me nuts. So far the current phone is good. The serial begins with F2 and the screen is bright, no yellowing, and so far no scanline issues. I even tested with the picture.
 
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