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iPhone 13 mini iphone 13 mini camera housing discoloration around lenses

sqenixs

sqenixs

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 20, 2021
24
13
So my new iphone 13 mini has discoloration around the camera lenses. Apparently this is not an isolated issue as I have found a few reddit posts about this also from iphone 12, iphone 11:

https://www.reddit.com/r/iPhone12/comments/jlmujk
https://www.reddit.com/r/applehelp/comments/d7fjv2

jrupumu380o31.jpg


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Has anyone else seen this so far? I assume this won't magically go away and I would need a new phone. However from what I saw online it looks like there is a high chance of it showing up on the new phone also.
 
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I had something similar on my 12 mini that I grew to forget was even there. I think it’s because of the aluminium lens frames, they are a different temperature to the frosted glass.

If you try to rub those areas with a clean cloth, they should go away. This would suggest that it’s temperature related.

If they don’t go away, then it could be an adhesive issue inside/behind the lenses.
 
Looks like adhesive or sealant under the glass. Possibly it's there to insure water resistance around the lenses. You may want to check display models of other 13's to see if it's noticeable on those too. If not you might want to exchange/return depending on how long you've had the phone.
 
Noticed this on my midnight 13 mini. I suspect what’s going on is that the frosted glass of the camera bump is getting “buffed” a bit by friction, being in and out of pockets, etc. and as a result the texture changes a bit. I think the area around the lenses then looks different because it’s shielded from the buffing effect. I took a cloth and buffed the area around the lenses and it reduced the effect somewhat so you might try that to see if it helps.
 
Never notice before this post, by the way is there on my 12 mini Ocean Blue, and is there on my 13 mini (product) red too.
 
I have this as well on my new blue iPhone 12. It’s 4 days old lol. Never noticed it until I saw this post hahaha. Looks like it has some micro scratches here and there as well on the discoloured area. Noticeable only on certain lights though. Looks to be a pretty common problem it seems.
 
I was going to make a thread, but saw this one. I ordered 4 - 13 Mini's on a T-Mobile switch promo. Three of them were black and one was blue. The blue has the circular ring marks around the cameras, but it's more faint b/c of the light color of the plate. Two of the blacks have the issue very obviously. It looks like air stuck beneath, or some substance that's just trapped & moving around under the plate. When you run your finger over it, it can morph around. For a phone this price, it just looks like the plate was messily stuck on. Only ONE of the blacks is perfect & doesn't have the issue. See picture below, how terrible it looks:
IMG_0539.JPG

Now I'm debating if I should exchange it. I wonder if T-mobile will send me to Apple, or what I can do...
 
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voraciousvegan said:
I was going to make a thread, but saw this one. I ordered 4 - 13 Mini's on a T-Mobile switch promo. Three of them were black and one was blue. The blue has the circular ring marks around the cameras, but it's more faint b/c of the light color of the plate. Two of the blacks have the issue very obviously. It looks like air stuck beneath, or some substance that's just trapped & moving around under the plate. When you run your finger over it, it can morph around. For a phone this price, it just looks like the plate was messily stuck on. Only ONE of the blacks is perfect & doesn't have the issue. See picture below, how terrible it looks:
View attachment 1855704
Now I'm debating if I should exchange it. I wonder if T-mobile will send me to Apple, or what I can do...
Click to expand...
It depends. I honestly am thinking the first few minutes after I saw this post and saw that I have the same problem. But judging by the number of people who say they have this problem (and I also searched on reddit - a LOT also have this problem), and your post that statistically shows only 1/4 is perfect, I have decided to keep the unit. It won’t affect usability and water resistance anyway. I even read a post in reddit that he had his changed and after a few days, the discolouration resurfaced on his camera module so he just kept it as it is. I know it is a bummer to have this on an expensive phone, but I reckon it is just cosmetic and as long as the phone works, the hassle to exchange it and have another one with the same problem or worse is not worth it. Just for me though.
 
The easiest way to eliminate this, as it was a common issue on the 12’s as well, is to get the starlight model. My 12 mini had this issue, so got the starlight this time. If it’s still there, you can’t notice it.
 
aamac said:
It depends. I honestly am thinking the first few minutes after I saw this post and saw that I have the same problem. But judging by the number of people who say they have this problem (and I also searched on reddit - a LOT also have this problem), and your post that statistically shows only 1/4 is perfect, I have decided to keep the unit. It won’t affect usability and water resistance anyway. I even read a post in reddit that he had his changed and after a few days, the discolouration resurfaced on his camera module so he just kept it as it is. I know it is a bummer to have this on an expensive phone, but I reckon it is just cosmetic and as long as the phone works, the hassle to exchange it and have another one with the same problem or worse is not worth it. Just for me though.
Click to expand...
I also searched around & found a few references, but I'm still curious to see how common this issue is -- I hope more people here chime in so we can get a true idea. I think we'd have more complaints if it was very common. You are right though, with 1/4 perfect it's a risk getting the same issue, I guess I have to decide. Lighter colors seem to not show this issue as obviously, as others say.

Here's a picture of 3 black models side-by-side: Top left is perfect. Lower 2 have the issue, but what makes it tricky is the "stain" changes form or increases/decreases depending on surrounding temperature -- making it hard to know until after you have it in your hands for a while.

EDIT: Another thing -- this defect can have an effect on future resale value of these phones. Prospective buyers will likely consider this as damage!
IMG_0569.JPG
 
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My 13 mini has this issue around the flash and other sensor. At first I thought I got grease or something on it.
 
TreRep said:
so?
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So in my opinion it's a cosmetic defect. Look at my picture of the 3 same phones side by side above -- if some of them have the issue and others don't, it's a defect, not normal. Additionally some of them have it in a patchy pattern. It's definitely not dirt and cleaning it doesn't work. I do believe this defect will effect resale value of the phone, as buyers will think it's damaged. Either way, an item at this price shouldn't have this issue -- another lapse by Apple.
 
voraciousvegan said:
So in my opinion it's a cosmetic defect. Look at my picture of the 3 same phones side by side above -- if some of them have the issue and others don't, it's a defect, not normal. Additionally some of them have it in a patchy pattern. It's definitely not dirt and cleaning it doesn't work. I do believe this defect will effect resale value of the phone, as buyers will think it's damaged. Either way, an item at this price shouldn't have this issue -- another lapse by Apple.
Click to expand...

It’s been there since the 12 was released and was pretty well documented on this forum back then, but not so much with the 13’s as I’d guess people are either used to it/ expected it or haven’t even noticed.

Return it to an Apple store and compare it to those in store, it will likely be the same.
If you don’t want this issue you need to get the starlight or the pink versions. Can’t be seen on those.

I still think it’s the process used in manufacturing, the aluminium is always colder than the glass around it, and creates an effect. On my 12 mini I could rub the area, and once warm it looked identical and all one shade. Leave it a minute or so, and it would return to having discolouration around the lenses.
 
I saw this issue immediately after 1 hour of purchasing iphone 13 midnight. Sometimes it appears more and sometimes less. This occours due to humidity as apple store guy told me. But i think this is something else and apple is not considring it. Apple should fix this because there is no point of picking midnight colour if its not dark at all.
 
Guess I am one of the lucky ones. I have a black 12 Mini that is 16 months old and there is zero discolouration on the rear camera housing. I thought it was only the coloured phones that suffered from this issue so I am surprised to see some black ones with the same defect.

I clean my phone once per week with a wet cloth though which might be why there is nothing wrong with it.

It could be a problem with the housing not being 100% air tight on some phones. This makes me slightly apprehensive about upgrading mine to a 13 Mini.
 
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I remembered my 12 mini seemed to have this issue but my 13 mini don’t…because I slap on a lens protector, doesn’t matter anymore then.
 
honestly its starting to bug me. for some reason this just frustrates and worries me… some expert save me please.😰
 
Mine had the same problem when new. But it keeps getting smaller with use and now it is barely visible and only very thin around the camera borders.

To me it feels like they used some cleaning solutions for the lenses that dried out this material a bit and maybe grease makes it darker again haha
 
Nozuka said:
Mine had the same problem when new. But it keeps getting smaller with use and now it is barely visible and only very thin around the camera borders.

To me it feels like they used some cleaning solutions for the lenses that dried out this material a bit and maybe grease makes it darker again haha
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Hello, is it true that it will disappear by itself? because I also have the same condition because there is grease in the camera bump area even though I just bought it new on the second day. I think it was because of the oil when I installed the tempered glass in the shop. please answer 🙏
 
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