Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

snook911

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 13, 2007
889
0
Yorba Linda, CA
When I hold my phone at an angle looking at the plastic back I notice 6 dots of light about halfway down the side under the volume switch. Anyone else have this?
 
When I hold my phone at an angle looking at the plastic back I notice 6 dots of light about halfway down the side under the volume switch. Anyone else have this?

Yes and I don't get why it is a problem, I can see my screen fine.
 
Ok, ok everyone is so hostile in this forum latley.

All the problems with Apple, MobileMe, the iPhone and 2.0 software may have something to do with that.

I'm amazed the press haven't been notified yet actually.
 
Ok, ok everyone is so hostile in this forum latley. I didn't say it was a problem. It's the only thing I could find on my phone so I wondered if it was what everyone else was talking about so I posted a question. You don't have to bite my head off.

Well if you did some searching you would find that the light leak that iPhone users describe permeates from in between the bezel, gasket, and glass.

What you say you seeing is light passing through the thin translucent plastic backing of the iPhone.
 
NO, that is NOT.

well, lets see... its light from the display and its leaking through the plastic on the side...

sounds like a light leak to me, right? :eek: i don't think that if you looked up "light leak" in Webster's that it would say that its only when light leaks out the front of the iPhone.

I had my white iphone swapped last night because I had dust under the screen and my replacement had a major light leak on the back. The left side had a strip going down it's entirety that was about a 1/4 inch wide, and the right side had one about half that length. I went today to get it replaced and got the most attitude I have ever gotten from a Genius. I had to be VERY insistent that a leak of this magnitude is unacceptable to me. And after "checking with his manager" he agreed to swap it out, "one last time." He was sure to tell me that there's no guarantee that this phone won't have problems and that they probably won't swap it out again.

Up until today I've never had anything but exceptional service, but this "genius" was confrontational from the start and really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Oh well. That being said, we pay a lot of money up front and over time for these phones, and it isn't unreasonable to expect them to be in "perfect" condition. Maybe not when its 6 months old, but in the first couple of weeks? C'mon, genius.
 
well, lets see... its light from the display and its leaking through the plastic on the side...

sounds like a light leak to me, right? :eek: i don't think that if you looked up "light leak" in Webster's that it would say that its only when light leaks out the front of the iPhone.

I had my white iphone swapped last night because I had dust under the screen and my replacement had a major light leak on the back. The left side had a strip going down it's entirety that was about a 1/4 inch wide, and the right side had one about half that length. I went today to get it replaced and got the most attitude I have ever gotten from a Genius. I had to be VERY insistent that a leak of this magnitude is unacceptable to me. And after "checking with his manager" he agreed to swap it out, "one last time." He was sure to tell me that there's no guarantee that this phone won't have problems and that they probably won't swap it out again.

Up until today I've never had anything but exceptional service, but this "genius" was confrontational from the start and really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Oh well. That being said, we pay a lot of money up front and over time for these phones, and it isn't unreasonable to expect them to be in "perfect" condition. Maybe not when its 6 months old, but in the first couple of weeks? C'mon, genius.

Why is that bad?
 
Why is that bad?

its great that they swapped it out, but it was only after i got a little, shall i say, testy and demanding, that he honored my request. he had refused to take care of what i deem to be a pretty big defect and it is only due to my insistence that this was unacceptable service and quality control that he swapped my unit.
 
its great that they swapped it out, but it was only after i got a little, shall i say, testy and demanding, that he honored my request. he had refused to take care of what i deem to be a pretty big defect and it is only due to my insistence that this was unacceptable service and quality control that he swapped my unit.

No, why is the light leak bad? I never see it unless I am in bed, and even then I have to turn the phone over to see it. Why would I look at the back side of the phone in the dark anyway? I don't get it?
 
No, why is the light leak bad? I never see it unless I am in bed, and even then I have to turn the phone over to see it. Why would I look at the back side of the phone in the dark anyway? I don't get it?

mine was pretty damn bright. i use my iPhone in bed a lot and it really distracted me. i just don't think that a brand new product should have such a big defect. i paid a lot for the 3G iPhone (not to mention the 1st gen I bought less than 1/2 a year ago) and expect it to start off in as perfect a condition as possible. there isn't supposed to be a light leak, so i don't feel that i have to settle for one.
 
mine was pretty damn bright. i use my iPhone in bed a lot and it really distracted me. i just don't think that a brand new product should have such a big defect. i paid a lot for the 3G iPhone (not to mention the 1st gen I bought less than 1/2 a year ago) and expect it to start off in as perfect a condition as possible. there isn't supposed to be a light leak, so i don't feel that i have to settle for one.

I also bought a 16Gb for 500 in February, but I sold it and got my 3G for next to nothing. How can you see the "light leak" on the back of the phone with out turning it over? I guess what I am saying is, how is it "distracting"? And how do you know there is supposed to be no "light leak"? And who the hell coined the term "light leak"? I still don't understand how it "malfunctions"...... :(
 
I think you guys are getting confused, the "light leak" that everyone is talking about that actually is a problem occurs on the FRONT of the phone, on the left side between the bezel and the rubber gasket that runs around the screen. seeing as how light can escape, it suggests theres a hole there for dust and gunk to get in. Thats why its an issue.

I think the back is just translucent, been through 7 phones and they all light up on the back.

pic from another thread(look towards bottom)
 

Attachments

  • DSCN2617.JPG
    DSCN2617.JPG
    681.4 KB · Views: 140
I think you guys are getting confused, the "light leak" that everyone is talking about that actually is a problem occurs on the FRONT of the phone, on the left side between the bezel and the rubber gasket that runs around the screen. seeing as how light can escape, it suggests theres a hole there for dust and gunk to get in. Thats why its an issue.

I think the back is just translucent, been through 7 phones and they all light up on the back.

pic from another thread(look towards bottom)

no, not confused. its just 2 separate kinds of "light leaks."

the one you have i've experienced with the 1st gen iphone.

i'm talking about a "light leak" of sorts that seems to be a result of too little lacquer on the back of the phone, allowing light from the LCD to come through.
 
no, not confused. its just 2 separate kinds of "light leaks."

the one you have i've experienced with the 1st gen iphone.

i'm talking about a "light leak" of sorts that seems to be a result of too little lacquer on the back of the phone, allowing light from the LCD to come through.

Ah, ok, I just assumed confusion given the focus on the back casing.
 
well, lets see... its light from the display and its leaking through the plastic on the side...

sounds like a light leak to me, right? :eek: i don't think that if you looked up "light leak" in Webster's that it would say that its only when light leaks out the front of the iPhone.

I had my white iphone swapped last night because I had dust under the screen and my replacement had a major light leak on the back. The left side had a strip going down it's entirety that was about a 1/4 inch wide, and the right side had one about half that length. I went today to get it replaced and got the most attitude I have ever gotten from a Genius. I had to be VERY insistent that a leak of this magnitude is unacceptable to me. And after "checking with his manager" he agreed to swap it out, "one last time." He was sure to tell me that there's no guarantee that this phone won't have problems and that they probably won't swap it out again.

Up until today I've never had anything but exceptional service, but this "genius" was confrontational from the start and really left a bad taste in my mouth.

Oh well. That being said, we pay a lot of money up front and over time for these phones, and it isn't unreasonable to expect them to be in "perfect" condition. Maybe not when its 6 months old, but in the first couple of weeks? C'mon, genius.

he was being confrontational because you are being overly obsessive. its not a big problem. your phone works fine. heaven forbid there should be some light coning from around the screen. youd think the big rectangle of light on the face would be enough to drown out the sliver on the side.
stop getting your phone replaced for tiny cosmetic imperfections so that there are enough replacement units for the people with real problems
 
he was being confrontational because you are being overly obsessive. its not a big problem. your phone works fine. heaven forbid there should be some light coning from around the screen. youd think the big rectangle of light on the face would be enough to drown out the sliver on the side.
stop getting your phone replaced for tiny cosmetic imperfections so that there are enough replacement units for the people with real problems


First of all, I'm not talking about a tiny bit of light coming from around the screen. It's quite a bit of light coming from what should be an opaque plastic back. Secondly, why is it obsessive to expect a brand new, $300 device that will ultimately cost thousands to own to not have cosmetic defects? I haven't seen any Apple literature that says we should expect the back of the iPhone to glow like a flashlight in the dark.
 
I actually think the light coming out of the back of my white iPhone looks pretty cool. I don't see anything "wrong" with it if it's only noticeable when it's pitch dark and I turn over my phone to look at it.

The way I see it, it's kinda like when you put your fingers on a flashlight and you can see light coming through. Your skin isn't "defective", it's just that there's a very bright light directly on the other side of it so it shows through. Same thing with the iPhone, there's nothing wrong with it, there's just a very bright light (the backlight) directly on the other side of it.

As for the front leaks, I'm not too freaked out about it, although I understand the people who are, since dirt and stuff might be able to get in. To me, it's not worth a trip to the Apple Store.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.