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Differences in real white iPhone 4 and conversion

utwarreng

utwarreng

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 8, 2009
393
129
So in wanting to trade my 16gb black iPhone 4 (AT&T) for a white one (16 or 32gb) and offered to give $50 plus my phone for 16; $125 for 32. So far I put out a Craigslist ad, and have gotten a few replies.

To make sure I don't get scammed, what differences should I be looking for to make sure it's a REAL white iPhone 4 instead of a conversion? Is there a certain part of the phone's serial numbers I can look at, or some marking on the back?
 
Proximity sensor will be black on the REAL white iPhone and on the FAKE white iPhone it will be a white grille looking sensor cover. Just look above the speaker and you will know the difference.
 
utwarreng said:
So in wanting to trade my 16gb black iPhone 4 (AT&T) for a white one (16 or 32gb) and offered to give $50 plus my phone for 16; $125 for 32. So far I put out a Craigslist ad, and have gotten a few replies.

To make sure I don't get scammed, what differences should I be looking for to make sure it's a REAL white iPhone 4 instead of a conversion? Is there a certain part of the phone's serial numbers I can look at, or some marking on the back?
Click to expand...

Maybe I should offer cash too. I posted an ad that just said I'd take a white 16gb for my black 32gb :)

mltaylor said:
Proximity sensor will be black on the REAL white iPhone and on the FAKE white iPhone it will be a white grille looking sensor cover. Just look above the speaker and you will know the difference.
Click to expand...

This is only surefire way to know for certain. As far as I can tell this is the only discernible difference.
 
When you plug a real white iPhone into itunes, the picture displayed of your phone will be a little white iPhone, if it's real.
 
iRach said:
When you plug a real white iPhone into itunes, the picture displayed of your phone will be a little white iPhone, if it's real.
Click to expand...

While this is 100% true, the OP probably doesn't want to wait until he/she gets home to find out if it's genuine or not. :D

The proximity sensor is really the big trigger though. If it looks like a series of dots, don't take it. If it's a solid black bar, you're good.

The attached picture should serve as a good diagram:
 

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if its fake it will be a lot heavier then your black one, and also on the back glass on the sides the ripple thing will be pretty big compared to the real one
 
Thanks so much everyone. I was actually going to take my MacBook with me once I saw the post about it looking different in iTunes. Is there a difference at all in the home button? Seems I remember seeing something about how the appearance was, but I could be confusing it with the early prototypes.
 
awadeee said:
While this is 100% true, the OP probably doesn't want to wait until he/she gets home to find out if it's genuine or not. :D

The proximity sensor is really the big trigger though. If it looks like a series of dots, don't take it. If it's a solid black bar, you're good.

The attached picture should serve as a good diagram:
Click to expand...
Wow, for the most part both phones like exactly similar. But what about some other conversions, wouldn't some of them have a solid black bar? Or all conversions have series of dots?
 
Shivek said:
Wow, for the most part both phones like exactly similar. But what about some other conversions, wouldn't some of them have a solid black bar? Or all conversions have series of dots?
Click to expand...

Currently, only the real deal has the solid bar - until people start selling conversion kits that is.

Another way to check is by going to the apple repair & warranty site and putting in the serial # - The date should be April 29th or later.
 
Just to make sure I'm on the same page: here is the picture I received from a potential trade partner. It looks like the sensor is a series of dots. I plan to do my trade locally, so I will plug it in to my MacBook first to verify, but based on the picture, does this look like a conversion? I'm thinking it does, but wanted to ask you who would know better than I. Does this appear to be a trade worth spending the time to meet up with the guy and plug it in to verify?
 

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The sensor should be black. Mine is.

Doesn't look real to me. I wouldn't even meet the guy.
 
utwarreng said:
Just to make sure I'm on the same page: here is the picture I received from a potential trade partner. It looks like the sensor is a series of dots. I plan to do my trade locally, so I will plug it in to my MacBook first to verify, but based on the picture, does this look like a conversion? I'm thinking it does, but wanted to ask you who would know better than I. Does this appear to be a trade worth spending the time to meet up with the guy and plug it in to verify?
Click to expand...

While it seems like it's a good one, I'm 99% certain that's a conversion. I personally wouldn't touch it.
 
utwarreng said:
Just to make sure I'm on the same page: here is the picture I received from a potential trade partner. It looks like the sensor is a series of dots. I plan to do my trade locally, so I will plug it in to my MacBook first to verify, but based on the picture, does this look like a conversion? I'm thinking it does, but wanted to ask you who would know better than I. Does this appear to be a trade worth spending the time to meet up with the guy and plug it in to verify?
Click to expand...

That looks like a photo from Engadget? Anyhow it was blogged when they unveiled the iPhone4. The exact unit in the photo would be a prototype, and unlikely to be the unit that is being sold to you.

It would be interesting if you do verify it as being a white iPhone on your Mac, as it would be a prototype unit.
 
Thank you everyone, I appreciate all of the feedback (and the catch that the picture was from Engadget. I definitely would not have caught that).

The guy stopped emailing back after I asked if it would be ok with him if I plugged the phone into my Macbook to verify that it was indeed a genuine white phone instead of a conversion.

What do you guys think of my price offering? Is it about right? Too high/low? I'm wondering if I'm too low, as I'm not getting very many offers. I'm trying to also bear in mind that the white one has not been out very long, so there may not be many people looking to get rid of it. Just hoping to find someone who has buyers' remorse on white, and wants to go to black.
 
you might be able to do it for your phone + $50. just depends how much patience you have. i traded my black 32 for a white 16. mine had no warranty (no idea why.. bought it used) so in all reality i think i got a fair trade - a phone i used for 6 months or so in trade for a week old phone. to find somebody to do it for $50 though, you may just have to get lucky. most people getting the white right now are either getting it to resell, or getting it to keep (obvious statement, i know). but you may be able to find somebody who doesn't end up liking the white, or who can't adjust to the different tint of the screen. the reality is, the resale value of the white is much better than the black right now. but like i said - enough patience (or enough money) and i'm sure you will find somebody.
 
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