iPhone 4 Yellow screen

mufadal84 · Aug 23, 2010

Hi, I have been a frequent user [reader I would say] for a while now but had never registered, incase you guys would assume I only made an account to ask for help. [I have seen and witnessed the amount of bullying to new members].

Anyways,

Me and my gf both got iPhone 4 about 2 weeks ago.

Right on the first day while comparing the 2 phones, i noticed my screen was slightly yellow and hers was somewhat normal [normal comparing to pictures of the screen on web/apples website].

I had read of the yellow spots on others phones and that they would go away after time, but this is my entire screen, so I'm not so sure.

I also don't have a camera so I'm sorry i don't have anything to show.

I set the brightness on both phones to max with auto adjust disabled and mine is clearly more yellower and dull.

I set an appointment at the apple store tomorrow and was wondering what was I should expect?

Thanks for any feedback.

kre62 · Aug 23, 2010

mufadal84 said:
Hi, I have been a frequent user [reader I would say] for a while now but had never registered, incase you guys would assume I only made an account to ask for help. [I have seen and witnessed the amount of bullying to new members].

Anyways,

Me and my gf both got iPhone 4 about 2 weeks ago.

Right on the first day while comparing the 2 phones, i noticed my screen was slightly yellow and hers was somewhat normal [normal comparing to pictures of the screen on web/apples website].

I had read of the yellow spots on others phones and that they would go away after time, but this is my entire screen, so I'm not so sure.

I also don't have a camera so I'm sorry i don't have anything to show.

I set the brightness on both phones to max with auto adjust disabled and mine is clearly more yellower and dull.

I set an appointment at the apple store tomorrow and was wondering what was I should expect?

Thanks for any feedback.

This has been an issue with iPhones on every of the last 3 launches. I've personally dealt with a bunch of yellow screens.

First off your phone is defective and you 100% need a new phone. Don't let them tell you it's within specs.

The reaction you will get is the genius will look at you with a puzzled look and then act or claim as if they have never even remotely heard of the issue. It never fails and it's sofa king stupid. Be nice at first but in the long run demand a new phone. Put it next to their personal phone or display models if needed

Good luck

mufadal84 · Aug 23, 2010

Thanks for the feedback kre62,

Infact I plan to take mine and my gfs phone incase they deny to see what I am talking about. The difference is very clear.

dark55 · Aug 23, 2010

Just out of curiosity, do you notice any horizontal bands (interlacing-like effect) on the yellowed screen when there's images moving on the screen, or when you shift your focus to another part of the screen?

Another user on this forum mentioned they had a yellow tint to their screen and they noticed that interlacing effect. I have that problem on my phone, but I don't notice a yellow tint to the screen. I haven't had the chance to compare it to any other iPhone 4s though since I've been busy. I'm wondering if there's any correlation between the yellow tinted screen and that issue.

Hope all goes well at the store for you

mufadal84 · Aug 23, 2010

No vertical or horizontal lines, its just the overall brightness of the screen. And no i havent noticed anything different on moving or animated pictures/video.

Luckily I had another Iphone4 to compare with otherwise I'd have never known.

mufadal84 · Aug 24, 2010

Update

So heres how it went down at the store.

my phone had 17% battery. The guy with iPad who signs you in for the appointment asked for my phone to check it out behind the desk and I asked him to plug it in incase the battery dies out.

My appointment started about 10 mins late and I asked the genius to bring my phone back from the counter.

Surprisingly my battery had died and refused to even start up.

So I went on and told him of the yellow screen and now that battery issue that I just noticed.

He was like we want you to be happy and we will happily swap it for you.

I then asked him if I could compare the replacement phone with my gf's phone and other display models to compare the brightness and the yellowness.

The new replacement iphone ALSO had yellow screen. At first he denied it, but he took out his own phone and he realized it I was right. He then said its within specs and something about the production variance which I didnt understand so I said well I dont see a difference with this phone and the one I already had.

So I asked him to open another one from the drawer that was filled with Black boxes. I asked him if it was a refurb and he said they were all brand new.

He said he cant keep opening up service phones and said hes gonna go talk to his manager and asked to take my gfs phone inside for comparison.

He came out with another guy and both went on to open new boxes.

3rd and 4th phone both had yellow screens. I didnt know what to do or say. i just took the 4th one.

He kept saying about a production variance and it being within specs and something about my gfs phone from a different production batch.

Oh well. Im not happy that I couldnt resolve this, but he went through 4 phones and I guess thats how the rest would have been anyways.

Thanks for reading/listening.

studio¹³¹ · Aug 24, 2010

when they had it in the back, they shoulda secretly swapped out your girlfriends phone for one of the yellow ones and you wouldnt have noticed at all!

dark55 · Aug 24, 2010

I got another replacement at the Apple Store today. My 2nd iPhone 4 had the "interlacing effect" problem as I mentioned, and when I compared it to the demo phones at the store, the screen had a yellowish tint. I could only notice the yellowish tint with a mostly white background. I didn't notice the tint unless I compared it to another iPhone.

So I got it replaced, and the new phone has the same yellowish tint. It doesn't have the other "interlacing" problem though. I'm fine with the yellowish tint since I'm not going to notice it unless I compare it with another iPhone with a flawless screen.

I'm willing to wager that there are A LOT of iPhone 4s out there with yellow tinted screens with users that will never notice.

Mufadal84, sorry to hear that they couldn't find you a replacement with a good screen. I'm beginning to think that the replacement phones the Apple Store keeps are B stock that didn't quite meet the quality standards for a new phone. Haha.

protox · Aug 24, 2010

I got 4 iPhone 4's in my house and 3 of them are a lot brighter and clearer and one of them had a yellowish tint to it and was dull. Got the yellowish tint exchanged and it's like all the other iPhones I got.

Petronas · Aug 24, 2010

I was affraid my screen was a bit yellow at first as well so I scoped out 2 apple stores and compared my phone to the ones on display.

What I found was that my phones somewhere in the middle when regarding yellowness of the screen. Some had a blue tint and some had a red tint but the important thing here is no two screens were the same.

mufadal84 · Aug 24, 2010

dark55 said:
I got another replacement at the Apple Store today. My 2nd iPhone 4 had the "interlacing effect" problem as I mentioned, and when I compared it to the demo phones at the store, the screen had a yellowish tint. I could only notice the yellowish tint with a mostly white background. I didn't notice the tint unless I compared it to another iPhone.

So I got it replaced, and the new phone has the same yellowish tint. It doesn't have the other "interlacing" problem though. I'm fine with the yellowish tint since I'm not going to notice it unless I compare it with another iPhone with a flawless screen.

I'm willing to wager that there are A LOT of iPhone 4s out there with yellow tinted screens with users that will never notice.

Mufadal84, sorry to hear that they couldn't find you a replacement with a good screen. I'm beginning to think that the replacement phones the Apple Store keeps are B stock that didn't quite meet the quality standards for a new phone. Haha.

About the B Stock, I had that in my mind all along while he was activating it so I did ask him if it was a refurb or if anything is wrong with them now or during production cuz if there was he would should expect to see me again soon, and he assured me that they were all brand new phones, and the only difference was the retail packaging.

Im going to take his word since my own first phone had a yellow screen and so did the service screens.

I plan to go to another apple store and see if they are able to produce a new phone without a yellow screen.

dark55 · Aug 24, 2010

mufadal84 said:
I plan to go to another apple store and see if they are able to produce a new phone without a yellow screen.

Sounds like a good idea at this point

hehe. You could return your phone, and then buy a new one, but that's a pain in the rear.

Both of my replacements are new phones based on the serial numbers, but they both had/have the yellow tinted screens. I'm not sure if it's as noticeable as yours though.

raydsr · Aug 25, 2010

I have the same problem.

My new 32 GB iPhone 4 has a haze of yellow over the entire screen.

Compared to my wife's 16 GB iPhone 4 there is a HUGE difference in brightness and whiteness.

The photos minimize the differences. In person it is VERY noticeable.

dark55 · Aug 25, 2010

Let us know how it goes if you decide to get a replacement

. Good luck!

raydsr · Aug 26, 2010

dark55 said:
Let us know how it goes if you decide to get a replacement . Good luck!

I definitely want a replacement. This yellow screen is not acceptable to me.

kre62 · Aug 26, 2010

mufadal84 said:
About the B Stock, I had that in my mind all along while he was activating it so I did ask him if it was a refurb or if anything is wrong with them now or during production cuz if there was he would should expect to see me again soon, and he assured me that they were all brand new phones, and the only difference was the retail packaging.

Im going to take his word since my own first phone had a yellow screen and so did the service screens.

I plan to go to another apple store and see if they are able to produce a new phone without a yellow screen.

They always try that production/within specs BS. SO maddening.

I've found that some Apple stores seem to just have stock of yellow screen phones. Apple store 3rd st Promenade Santa Monica is a yellow screen repository it seems. My suggestion would be to go to a different apple store, or even wait a few weeks for a new batch to come in. DO NOT accept a yellow screen.

I can't believe we still have to deal with this crap. Why cant Apple just make clear screen phones?

kre62 · Aug 26, 2010

raydsr said:
I have the same problem.

My new 32 GB iPhone 4 has a haze of yellow over the entire screen.

Compared to my wife's 16 GB iPhone 4 there is a HUGE difference in brightness and whiteness.

The photos minimize the differences. In person it is VERY noticeable.

Trust me I know what it looks like. Dull washed out 0 contrast crap.

Just to refresh everyones memory, check out this early review of the 3GS. The first run also had yellow screens. I went through like 4 yellow 3GS phones before finally getting a nice clear screen version. Everyone tried to claim it was just "warmer" and that maybe Apple would fix it with a color calibration update. B.S.

http://gizmodo.com/5293388/iphone-3gs-review

kim2272 · Aug 26, 2010

I bought an iPad 64gb Wifi at launch and the screen was absolutely beautiful. I then decided to get an iPad 32gb 3G this month and noticed that the screen was noticeable duller and yellower. I went to the Apple Store and since I had just bought it, they replaced my iPad with a brand new 64gb 3G (they didn't have any 32gb)

So they charged me another $100 because they did not have my model and I figured, fine, as long as the screen is fixed. I came back home, opened the box and the screen was still yellow! I kept this one because it wasn't that bad and it was actually easier on my eyes. But I was very disappointed with apple. My iMac 27" also has a noticeable yellow tint on the bottom right hand corner. My iPhone seems to be fine but I have yet to compare it to other iPhone 4's. It really upsets me that Apple can never seem to get the screens on their products right.

ant69 · Aug 26, 2010

i had a couple of yellow marks on my first iphone 4, one went away after a couple of day, the other didn't... i noticed - it was more visible when the phone got warmer - so i got the phone nice and warm in the apple store (15 mins of using apples wifi for facetime does the trick) and the yellow mark was clearly visible against a white/grey background..... the genius bar guy saw it straight away and simply replaced it..... its a known issue.

Ant

dark55 · Aug 26, 2010

This is a different issue from the yellow blotches. The entire screen has a yellow tint.

mufadal84 · Aug 26, 2010

You will not notice the yellow screen unless you compare it with a normal screened IP4. My gf and I both ordered our phones together and hers is normal.

I have kept my IP4 with the slight yellow screen after going through 3 brand new service phones.

I plan to go to a different apple store next week and see if i can get a normal screen out of this.

raydsr · Aug 26, 2010

I'm a very frustrated customer right now.

I spoke with AppleCare and they were GREAT. They said, "Apple wants you to be happy. Just go to your nearest Apple Store and ask them to replace your phone."

I said, "What if they have to open multiple iPhones that all have the yellow screen?"

AppleCare said, "Do NOT leave the store until you are satisfied with the iPhone. It doesn't matter if they have to open 20 phones. They have to find one that has a white screen."

AppleCare person then told me that the yellowish screen is a known problem that certain batches went out with. She said, "Some people don't mind it, but others do, that's why Apple decided to sell them. They agreed that anyone who spoke up would have the right to get a different phone." With that info I was psyched.

I set-up a genius bar appointment at my nearest Apple Store. The first thing the Genius Bar guy said was, "Hmm...well, this one doesn't seem all that yellow to me." So after a few minutes of listening to him make excuses about how his phone looked the same (which it did), I asked to talk to the manager.

Genius Bar guy took me to the manager and explained the situation. The manager said, "You can return the phone and get your money back if you're unhappy with it, but I'm not going to open more than one phone to see if they have yellow screens."

I told the manager what AppleCare said about not leaving the store with a phone I am unhappy with and he said, "AppleCare have no power to say that. I'm the manager of this store and I say what goes on here. If you want your money back I can do that because Steve Jobs promised that, but I can't open iPhones until you find one that has a whiter screen."

Then the manager backed down a bit and offered to open a few of the ones they keep in black boxes behind the counter. BUT then quickly realized that to get to a screen that's white the phone has to be activated so it would be impossible to tell if the phone had the problem until I committed to it. He said, "Well, I guess you're in a tough situation". Unbelievable.

I ended up taking a brand new iPhone as a swap. Turns out it has an even duller and yellower screen. Now my only option is to keep going to different Apple Stores until I find a Phone I'm happy with?

Just ridiculous customer service.

kre62 · Aug 26, 2010

raydsr said:
I'm a very frustrated customer right now.

I spoke with AppleCare and they were GREAT. They said, "Apple wants you to be happy. Just go to your nearest Apple Store and ask them to replace your phone."

I said, "What if they have to open multiple iPhones that all have the yellow screen?"

AppleCare said, "Do NOT leave the store until you are satisfied with the iPhone. It doesn't matter if they have to open 20 phones. They have to find one that has a white screen."

AppleCare person then told me that the yellowish screen is a known problem that certain batches went out with. She said, "Some people don't mind it, but others do, that's why Apple decided to sell them. They agreed that anyone who spoke up would have the right to get a different phone." With that info I was psyched.

I set-up a genius bar appointment at my nearest Apple Store. The first thing the Genius Bar guy said was, "Hmm...well, this one doesn't seem all that yellow to me." So after a few minutes of listening to him make excuses about how his phone looked the same (which it did), I asked to talk to the manager.

Genius Bar guy took me to the manager and explained the situation. The manager said, "You can return the phone and get your money back if you're unhappy with it, but I'm not going to open more than one phone to see if they have yellow screens."

I told the manager what AppleCare said about not leaving the store with a phone I am unhappy with and he said, "AppleCare have no power to say that. I'm the manager of this store and I say what goes on here. If you want your money back I can do that because Steve Jobs promised that, but I can't open iPhones until you find one that has a whiter screen."

Then the manager backed down a bit and offered to open a few of the ones they keep in black boxes behind the counter. BUT then quickly realized that to get to a screen that's white the phone has to be activated so it would be impossible to tell if the phone had the problem until I committed to it. He said, "Well, I guess you're in a tough situation". Unbelievable.

I ended up taking a brand new iPhone as a swap. Turns out it has an even duller and yellower screen. Now my only option is to keep going to different Apple Stores until I find a Phone I'm happy with?

Just ridiculous customer service.

Unreal. This same thing happened to me with the 3GS. I kept getting even duller screens. So maddening. I definitely feel your pain. I cant believe Apple cant consistently manufacture a clear screen. I think one factory may be the culprit. I thought there would be no way, with the new high res display, that this problem would persist, but it has.

raydsr · Aug 26, 2010

I'm very frustrated because I had a 16GB iPhone 4 with a bright, beautiful display for a number of weeks. I loved it so much I wanted to get the 32GB, so I returned the beautiful 16 and got this lousy, yellow 32.

Has anyone had this problem on a 16 GB version?

dark55 · Aug 26, 2010

kre62 said:
Unreal. This same thing happened to me with the 3GS. I kept getting even duller screens. So maddening. I definitely feel your pain. I cant believe Apple cant consistently manufacture a clear screen. I think one factory may be the culprit. I thought there would be no way, with the new high res display, that this problem would persist, but it has.

My two replacements with yellow screens were from two different factories: 80 and 7T according to the serial numbers. My first one from 86 had a flawless screen. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it might not be a particular factory since LG is manufacturing all of the LCDs for the iPhone 4.

raydsr said:
I'm very frustrated because I had a 16GB iPhone 4 with a bright, beautiful display for a number of weeks. I loved it so much I wanted to get the 32GB, so I returned the beautiful 16 and got this lousy, yellow 32.

Has anyone had this problem on a 16 GB version?

I have. My first 16GB iPhone 4 had a clear screen, but both of my replacements have had yellowed screens. I've also been able to see scan lines (interlacing-like effect) on my phones with the yellow screen. This is much less prevalent on my second replacement, but it's still there.

I'm thinking I should have kept my first one... too late.

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