I went through almost the EXACT same experience!
I would try another store(thats what I did), or next time, bring your friend along and have them compare the two phones.
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Iphone 3g "light leak" thread
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I went through almost the EXACT same experience!
I would try another store(thats what I did), or next time, bring your friend along and have them compare the two phones.
Yeah, I actually knew that Geniuses at Fifth Avenue suck. He put in writing that I am aware they would not replace it next time and he also put there that I was irritated and unsatisfied!!! I wish I have read it before I signed the damn paper!!!
The thing what pissed me off the most was that the phone is within specs!!! WTF!!!
The thing what pissed me off the most was that the phone is within specs!!! WTF!!!
with all due respect, what's the big deal about these light leaks? I'm pretty sure I have this same issue on my phone based on all the descriptions, i'm not losing sleep over it.
i mean how perfect does the phone have to be...
i mean how perfect does the phone have to be...
It's a pretty big issue if you use it in the dark.
I doubt you have the issue that is described if you don't think it sounds that bad. It's completely unnoticeable in the light, but incredibly annoying and distracting in the dark.
I hope the new 3gs does not have this light leak issue and dust under the screen. Hopefully the build quality is good like the first gen this time.
My refurbished replacement 3G has a small light leak. I'll take it back at some point. It is very annoying in the dark, even though it's small.
iPhone build quality in general
Heres a brief history of my iPhone troubles:
1. Got my 1st iPhone in Jan 2008 - faulty, massive gaps both sides of screen, you could see the circuits! Long argument with O2 and got a replacement.
2. 2nd iPhone - kept losing network - Apple store replacement March 2008.
3. 3rd iphone - light leak and dust under screen - Apple store replaced it with no problem - April 2008.
4. 4th iphone - light leak, this time the Genius referred me to the manager stating light leak is cosmetic, I argued my case and received iPhone No5, checked it in the store and light leak was obvious so the Genius then fetched out iPhone No6, no light leak, did a screen test using the calculator and the screen froze and phone crashed...out came brown box iPhone No7, no light leak, good screen...then I tried the camera, yup you guessed it, the camera was faulty and every picture had red and green circles. So out comes iPhone No8, which I actually still have, it's about as perfect as you can get, but recently I have noticed a slight sliver of light leakage which wasn't there from new, but it's not a problem.
It seems that getting a "perfect" iPhone is a lottery, some people don't notice these build errors and some do, but after all of the above I still think the iPhone is the best currently available device of it's kind....oh maybe the strength of the 3g receiver could have been tweaked, but thats another story.....zzzzzz
Heres a brief history of my iPhone troubles:
1. Got my 1st iPhone in Jan 2008 - faulty, massive gaps both sides of screen, you could see the circuits! Long argument with O2 and got a replacement.
2. 2nd iPhone - kept losing network - Apple store replacement March 2008.
3. 3rd iphone - light leak and dust under screen - Apple store replaced it with no problem - April 2008.
4. 4th iphone - light leak, this time the Genius referred me to the manager stating light leak is cosmetic, I argued my case and received iPhone No5, checked it in the store and light leak was obvious so the Genius then fetched out iPhone No6, no light leak, did a screen test using the calculator and the screen froze and phone crashed...out came brown box iPhone No7, no light leak, good screen...then I tried the camera, yup you guessed it, the camera was faulty and every picture had red and green circles. So out comes iPhone No8, which I actually still have, it's about as perfect as you can get, but recently I have noticed a slight sliver of light leakage which wasn't there from new, but it's not a problem.
It seems that getting a "perfect" iPhone is a lottery, some people don't notice these build errors and some do, but after all of the above I still think the iPhone is the best currently available device of it's kind....oh maybe the strength of the 3g receiver could have been tweaked, but thats another story.....zzzzzz
Need advice ASAP
Hey guys I have a White 16gig iPhone 3G and I have a light leak but it isnt the typical light leak. The light is coming more from the back panel of the phone then next to the screen. I took it to the Apple Store and the guy who was at the genius bar was a complete a-s-s-h-o-l-e and he said he sees no problem with the phone. I then went home in shame and went into a dark closet to see if the light leak is just in my head or if its actually real, and sure enough the light leak was still there. I then called AppleCare and complained like crazy to them. They made me a Case ID and told me to give the case ID to the apple store genius or w/e the hell the next time i go, which is tomorrow. What i was wondering with you guys is if theres anyone else who has gotten a replacement because of this. This is a 100% manufactering defect. My iPhone doesnt have any cracks on it. Does anyone else have pictures of a light leak thats on the back of the phone? Also when i went to the Apple Store yesterday to show the guy the problem, he said he sees absolutely no problem. I argued with him for at least 10 minutes and finally got so pissed off that i just walked out of the store. The guy was giving me excuse after excuse of why he cant replace it ( the main reason was that he couldnt see it) I insisted to go in the back and personally show him the problem but he refused. Any advice on what to do tomorrow when i go in again will be greatly appreciated.
-Thanks
Hey guys I have a White 16gig iPhone 3G and I have a light leak but it isnt the typical light leak. The light is coming more from the back panel of the phone then next to the screen. I took it to the Apple Store and the guy who was at the genius bar was a complete a-s-s-h-o-l-e and he said he sees no problem with the phone. I then went home in shame and went into a dark closet to see if the light leak is just in my head or if its actually real, and sure enough the light leak was still there. I then called AppleCare and complained like crazy to them. They made me a Case ID and told me to give the case ID to the apple store genius or w/e the hell the next time i go, which is tomorrow. What i was wondering with you guys is if theres anyone else who has gotten a replacement because of this. This is a 100% manufactering defect. My iPhone doesnt have any cracks on it. Does anyone else have pictures of a light leak thats on the back of the phone? Also when i went to the Apple Store yesterday to show the guy the problem, he said he sees absolutely no problem. I argued with him for at least 10 minutes and finally got so pissed off that i just walked out of the store. The guy was giving me excuse after excuse of why he cant replace it ( the main reason was that he couldnt see it) I insisted to go in the back and personally show him the problem but he refused. Any advice on what to do tomorrow when i go in again will be greatly appreciated.
-Thanks
Yes same exact problem guys i just got back yesterday and i came home in shame without a replacement. The guy said there is no problem with the phone. But i checked when i got home and that exact problem was there!
Can ANYONE please help me out here????
Call applecare and tell them you would like them to send you an advance replacement.
I noticed this on the back of one of my white iPhones too. I don't have any pictures and I don't think you'll have much luck with the Genius. When I went for a light leak on the front (I didn't even mention the back, mainly cause it's just the back of the phone and I can deal with that a lot easier than having it on the front) the Genius was said it was still "within normal specs/variation" and wouldn't replace it.
Im going for rounds 2 and 3 this weekend at the apple store i have 2 appointments set up already, Im not going to take no for an answer. You HAVE to argue with these people. The only things they are actually "geniuses" at are giving people excuses why apple cant replace the phone. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. sometimes you just get complete *******s that dont replace it but if you get the right guy they'll replace it for you with no questions asked. I found an exact picture that someone else posted up that looks EXACTLY like how my light leak looks like...
http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=132251&d=1219969120
Good advice, if all else fails thats what i will be doing. Is there a way to do that without them charging you 400 bucks on a credit card though?
I swapped my iPhone at an Apple store because of a dodgy volume control, but it also had quite a nasty light leak. My replacement is perfect.
When I mentioned it to the genius (cringe), he said most of them have it and that they wouldn't replace a phone based on that one defect. I kind of see his point, but the leak on my first phone was really noticeable and made it look cheap and poorly constructed.
When I mentioned it to the genius (cringe), he said most of them have it and that they wouldn't replace a phone based on that one defect. I kind of see his point, but the leak on my first phone was really noticeable and made it look cheap and poorly constructed.
Hahahaha, I read this forum all the time, but this thread has caused me to make an account.
I made it just to say:
IT'S A LIGHT LEAK.
DOES IT RUIN THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR PHONE?
C'mon people, don't you realize eventually your nitpicking is going to ruin it for the rest of us when we have a legitimate reason to exchange our phones?
It's gone past being "defective" and you people are just being anal whiners.
You give iPhone customers a bad name. Just like those people who try to exchange laptops "my power button is .05mm off-centered!" "I DEMAND you replace the WHOLE laptop"
I would just rather have the genius "repair" your light leaker instead of giving you a new phone. I'm sure most of you are abusing it so you are getting a new iphone every 2 weeks.
Disgusting.
I made it just to say:
IT'S A LIGHT LEAK.
DOES IT RUIN THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR PHONE?
C'mon people, don't you realize eventually your nitpicking is going to ruin it for the rest of us when we have a legitimate reason to exchange our phones?
It's gone past being "defective" and you people are just being anal whiners.
You give iPhone customers a bad name. Just like those people who try to exchange laptops "my power button is .05mm off-centered!" "I DEMAND you replace the WHOLE laptop"
I would just rather have the genius "repair" your light leaker instead of giving you a new phone. I'm sure most of you are abusing it so you are getting a new iphone every 2 weeks.
Disgusting.
Iphone 3g "light leak" thread
I just got an iphone 3g 2 days ago and had the same problem..there was a slight light leak around the volume buttons..so i made an appointment at apple and when i went there, instead of giving me a refurbished phone, they took it to the back and just replace the screen and fixed the problem! It only took like 10 minutes an i got to keep the same brand new phone!
I just got an iphone 3g 2 days ago and had the same problem..there was a slight light leak around the volume buttons..so i made an appointment at apple and when i went there, instead of giving me a refurbished phone, they took it to the back and just replace the screen and fixed the problem! It only took like 10 minutes an i got to keep the same brand new phone!
Not really. Everyone is different - some people like things to be perfect, whilst others (like you) aren't bothered. It's hardly disgusting.
Here's a picture of the light leak on my iPhone 3g, which was a replacement for a phone that had other, more serious issues.
I didn't bother returning the phone because of this. While it's a bit annoying, it can be mostly resolved by pressing the glass toward the offending side with one's thumbs, and I'll try using a #11 X-acto blade to further move the gasket into place eventually.
The same phone exhibits a couple small cracks, as shown here:
But again, I didn't bother returning it. I'd feel a bit pretentious and silly making a two hour commute to return an otherwise fully-functioning phone for these small cosmetic issues. Though I'm pretty sure I could have convinced a CSR to replace my phone, especially by showing him these pictures.
In the end, though, the light leak can usually be fixed by the user, and the cracks are going to happen in key pressure points in most situations anyway. This is especially true if you use a tightly fitted case like the Capsule Rebel, at least in my personal experience with a couple white iPhones (which are handled very carefully). I plan to keep this device around for a very long time (hell, I still use my Palm Tungsten E for some things) so I imagine it wouldn't have remained pristine forever, despite my best efforts.
The only reason I would have returned it would have been to get an as-new phone to sell, if I had planned to sell and then purchase the 3GS (since at some points the 16GB 3G was selling for ~$400. I'm not sure what they go for now). In the end, I'd rather see what's in the market when my 3G contract expires, so that's not the route I took.
I do, however, realize why many of you would attempt to exchange solely for this reason, particularly if you live fairly close to an Apple Store.
I didn't bother returning the phone because of this. While it's a bit annoying, it can be mostly resolved by pressing the glass toward the offending side with one's thumbs, and I'll try using a #11 X-acto blade to further move the gasket into place eventually.
The same phone exhibits a couple small cracks, as shown here:
But again, I didn't bother returning it. I'd feel a bit pretentious and silly making a two hour commute to return an otherwise fully-functioning phone for these small cosmetic issues. Though I'm pretty sure I could have convinced a CSR to replace my phone, especially by showing him these pictures.
In the end, though, the light leak can usually be fixed by the user, and the cracks are going to happen in key pressure points in most situations anyway. This is especially true if you use a tightly fitted case like the Capsule Rebel, at least in my personal experience with a couple white iPhones (which are handled very carefully). I plan to keep this device around for a very long time (hell, I still use my Palm Tungsten E for some things) so I imagine it wouldn't have remained pristine forever, despite my best efforts.
The only reason I would have returned it would have been to get an as-new phone to sell, if I had planned to sell and then purchase the 3GS (since at some points the 16GB 3G was selling for ~$400. I'm not sure what they go for now). In the end, I'd rather see what's in the market when my 3G contract expires, so that's not the route I took.
I do, however, realize why many of you would attempt to exchange solely for this reason, particularly if you live fairly close to an Apple Store.