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Natesac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 29, 2008
816
47
Dallas,Tx
My glass on front of my iPhone 4 seems to have a bad coating. No matter what cloth I use it never seems to get clean. It's very hard to explain. When I give it a good wipe to clean off all oil (to look at my spider web of scratches) there seems like there is something either on or in the screen. And it really shows up with some good palm grease on it. Almost looks like a flock of butterflies.

I am going to try to take pics of it.



I'm being pretty anal about it after all he scratches. They are faint but some are long. I'm guessing they are coming from my empty pocket or from me wiping the screen with my cotton tshirt ( the same shirts I cleaned all my other iPhones with)

Anyone else seeing this?
 

Shasta McNasty

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2010
691
69
Southern Cali
Yeah i have a few also. I think its from being in my pocket. Maybe try not to be so a n a l retentive about it? Do you have a car? Go look at it and see how many spider web scratches you have on it. And you spent thousands more on it than the iPhone.
 

appleg33k

macrumors member
Jul 8, 2010
40
0
yea i know exactly what you are talking about. i actually made a post a few days ago about this. i was saying how the iPhone 3GS screen was a lot easier to clean and looked less dirter/smudgier, like how you are describing. Not surprisingly though, these apple fanboys jumped on it and denied the issue, like they always do. but yea, i think all iP4's have this. my dad received his iP4 yesterday (week28) and his is the same way. so don't really go by what these fanatics say. i noticed this on 2 iP4's that i had in my household. i returned one of them.

Apple fanboys, go!
 

F123D

macrumors 68040
Sep 16, 2008
3,776
16
Del Mar, CA
The back glass on mine seems like there's an oilyness on the glass. No matter how well I clean it, its still there. Surface is still smooth and shiny but you can definitely see something. I have a case on the back so it never really bothered me. My front glass is perfect.
 

appleg33k

macrumors member
Jul 8, 2010
40
0
... How can you see the coating?

not see the coating, per se, but the way the finger prints and smudges appear. they look different (worse) than how they looked on the iPhone 3GS. and it was much easier to clean them off the iPhone 3GS compared to this one.
 

TMRaven

macrumors 68020
Nov 5, 2009
2,099
1
yea i know exactly what you are talking about. i actually made a post a few days ago about this. i was saying how the iPhone 3GS screen was a lot easier to clean and looked less dirter/smudgier, like how you are describing. Not surprisingly though, these apple fanboys jumped on it and denied the issue, like they always do. but yea, i think all iP4's have this. my dad received his iP4 yesterday (week28) and his is the same way. so don't really go by what these fanatics say. i noticed this on 2 iP4's that i had in my household. i returned one of them.

Apple fanboys, go!

You'd be hard-pressed to find a good amount of 'apple fanatics' on these forums. You'd see that the majority of its frequenters are just any other every-day reasonable person who just prefers osx over windows.
 

Matthew Yohe

macrumors 68020
Oct 12, 2006
2,200
142
not see the coating, per se, but the way the finger prints and smudges appear. they look different (worse) than how they looked on the iPhone 3GS. and it was much easier to clean them off the iPhone 3GS compared to this one.

Not seeing this. (And yes, I had the 3GS, and have the one from the first batch of iPhone 4s)

Also, how are people scratching this up already? "Spider web" ?! Sheesh! Just give it a front pocket of its own and you're fine.
 

Natesac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 29, 2008
816
47
Dallas,Tx
I don't seem to notice it on the back. Other than the scratches.

The smudge problem is on the front.

I had both the 3G and the 3GS and iPad. None of them had this problem. None of them had a single scratch on the screen.

I really wonder if the new glass or process on the new glass is flawed or if there were a few bad eggs. I really wish there was a fix for this. Other than the easy scratch greasy glass my iPhone 4 is perfect and very awesome!
 

ajohnson253

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,751
0
Not seeing this. (And yes, I had the 3GS, and have the one from the first batch of iPhone 4s)

Also, how are people scratching this up already? "Spider web" ?! Sheesh! Just give it a front pocket of its own and you're fine.

I thought I was alone for a second. I was just thinking the same thing. Glass does scratch. I never even had coins or keys or anything else in the same pocked as my 3GS. It only seems reasonable to keep the iPhone pocket empty with just that in it. You'll be good
 

ajohnson253

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,751
0
I didn't literally mean glass will scratch I meant. You should expect the coating to scratch off with nails or coins or keys if you knew it wears off. It is just a coating.
 

Shasta McNasty

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2010
691
69
Southern Cali
I've never had keys, coins or anything in my pocket and my phone has one on the front and one on the bad. Nothing bad, and I have to try and search for it to find them. Perhaps you guys don't want to admit it, or don't have good enough eyes to see it. But I HIGHLY doubt you have none.
 

Matthew Yohe

macrumors 68020
Oct 12, 2006
2,200
142
I've never had keys, coins or anything in my pocket and my phone has one on the front and one on the bad. Nothing bad, and I have to try and search for it to find them. Perhaps you guys don't want to admit it, or don't have good enough eyes to see it. But I HIGHLY doubt you have none.

After looking further, I really have to look for it, but it appears I have a very small one (1/4-1/8th of an inch?) only on the back. Absolutely none on the front.

I assume they are using different glass on the front/back?
 

itsmemuffins

macrumors 68040
Jun 23, 2010
3,180
1,316
If you are having these problems I would say the coating is defective and get the phone replaced.

I put my phone in my pocket after using it with finger prints and smudges and it comes out clean.

I haven't got any screen protectors on it and I don't have a scratch.

I will say that I never put the phone down on a hard surface. it is either in my pocket or if I'm at home , it rests on a soft cloth.:eek:
 

ajohnson253

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,751
0
If you are having these problems I would say the coating is defective and get the phone replaced.

I put my phone in my pocket after using it with finger prints and smudges and it comes out clean.

I haven't got any screen protectors on it and I don't have a scratch.

I will say that I never put the phone down on a hard surface. it is either in my pocket or if I'm at home , it rests on a soft cloth.:eek:

I just got mine yesterday. I also only set it on a soft cloth, microfiber. Also I'm sure having it in a bumper is a + also it has yes to see any hard surfaces. The screen literally only touches my finger tips. I'm not even going to pull it out at work until I get an invisible shield on the front and the back.
 

redman042

macrumors 68040
Jun 13, 2008
3,051
1,629
My glass on front of my iPhone 4 seems to have a bad coating. No matter what cloth I use it never seems to get clean. It's very hard to explain. When I give it a good wipe to clean off all oil (to look at my spider web of scratches) there seems like there is something either on or in the screen. And it really shows up with some good palm grease on it. Almost looks like a flock of butterflies.

I am going to try to take pics of it.

My wife is having what sounds like a very similar problem.

She gets makeup from her face on the glass during use. This was an issue with her previous 3GS too, but it wiped right off. On the iPhone 4, she gets a "spotted pattern" that is very difficult to remove. It's like faded polka dots that really stand out under direct sunlight. I had her try my iPhone 4, and it cleaned up much easier. She doesn't wear a lot of makeup either.

It really seems like her coating is defective, or perhaps even missing. I haven't fully looked into this yet (she's so addicted to Words with Friends, it's hard to get the phone away from her for five minutes), but I think we'll be exchanging the device once we get around to it.
 

Natesac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 29, 2008
816
47
Dallas,Tx
I need to get with my friends with iPhone 4's and see if theirs are the same. Also I need to see what it looks like under AppleStore lighting conditions. I don't want a genius turning me away because he/she "cant see it"

I wonder if iPhone 4's with proper coating are more scratch resistant.

I got mine through Fedex on june 23rd. Its a week 25
 

itsmemuffins

macrumors 68040
Jun 23, 2010
3,180
1,316
I need to get with my friends with iPhone 4's and see if theirs are the same. Also I need to see what it looks like under AppleStore lighting conditions. I don't want a genius turning me away because he/she "cant see it"

I wonder if iPhone 4's with proper coating are more scratch resistant.

I got mine through Fedex on june 23rd. Its a week 25

I got mine from an Apple store on the 24th week 22.
 

sct3426

macrumors newbie
Jun 28, 2010
2
0
I have been wiping my iPhone continuously all week with the same "faded polka dot pattern".. It seems like whenever i start to heavily use my phone, and my fingers start to smudge the screen, the dots show up. The dots also only appear in the lower half of the front side of my phone.

I'll clean the screen with a bit of water, and the dots go away until I begin to use the phone again.
 

woofermazing

macrumors member
Jun 25, 2010
49
0
I need to get with my friends with iPhone 4's and see if theirs are the same. Also I need to see what it looks like under AppleStore lighting conditions. I don't want a genius turning me away because he/she "cant see it"

Bring a laser pointer with you.
 
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