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Not light leak, but BACK leak?

I'm not really all that unhappy or anything. It was just like; I saw it, went "ew" and made an appointment with my Apple Store.

Not that I doubt anyone, but I find the idea that every single iPhone having this a bit dubious. I think Jobs and Co would have added a half MM to the thickness before letting this go through "on purpose".

Like, I can see paint strokes (or whatever they are) through the case ... I doubt this is by-design.
 
cellocello said:
I'm not really all that unhappy or anything. It was just like; I saw it, went "ew" and made an appointment with my Apple Store.

Not that I doubt anyone, but I find the idea that every single iPhone having this a bit dubious. I think Jobs and Co would have added a half MM to the thickness before letting this go through "on purpose".

Like, I can see paint strokes (or whatever they are) through the case ... I doubt this is by-design.
Click to expand...

i felt the same way it was just like a big WTF. MY phone works fine other then that. They could of had an even coat of paint or whatever to keep the back from looking poorly built.
 
I don't think they paint the cases black or white. They may add a clear coat finish to the outside to get a glossy look but I don't even know if they do that. The lines or splotchy appearance you are referring to are probably due to components and wires crossing the area.

You would have to add more than a 1/2 mm of thickness to get rid of this issue. And painting the inside of the case wouldn't solve the problem either. This really comes down to the thickness of the material. The only other possible solution would have been to add in some sort of light impermeable material in the areas where the light from the LCD can be seen in between other components. Adding something like that in is just another potential problem area.

As I said in my previous post, there are trade-offs and I think the only real solution is to get a black one.
 
cellocello said:
Damn, really? I dunno man ... I mean, it's really unsightly.

It just doesn't seem very Apple like at all. I can't imagine them selling iPods with warped backs and uneven mirroring. Or MacBooks that don't light up the Apple logo properly. If people are up in arms about light leaking (and checking in darkened rooms), I'd imagine I would have heard about this more.

I'm going to go anyway, and ask what the deal is. If this is honestly "the way apple does it" ... I'll be pretty disappointed.
Click to expand...

I agree, they shouldn't have this issue. Even though it doesn't affect the functionality of the phone, they should have had the foresight to paint the inside of the casing a dark colour so the light doesn't show through. As of right now though, they all have this issue.
 
Grab a really bright flashlight. Cup your hand over the light, then turn it on. See the light that seems to leak through the flesh of your fingers? Now go demand an exchange on your hands due to the light leak.

For the love of god, get over it. Does having light visible through the back of your phone REALLY ruin the experience for you? It's not like you're giving yourself away to the enemy... If you're a Special Ops soldier, you probably shouldn't be on the phone in the dark anyway, you should be killing someone :p
 
StoneColdSober said:
As I said in my previous post, there are trade-offs and I think the only real solution is to get a black one.
Click to expand...

Interesting. If this is indeed true, and this ugly ass light leaking back plate is on purpose - I'll be *shocked* to say the least.

Either way, I'm going to the Apple Store on Thursday.
 
i0Nic said:
I agree, they shouldn't have this issue. Even though it doesn't affect the functionality of the phone, they should have had the foresight to paint the inside of the casing a dark colour so the light doesn't show through. As of right now though, they all have this issue.
Click to expand...

If they painted the inside of the white cover a dark color you would probably end up with some funky color of light bleeding through instead of a white light. It would take more than a thin layer of paint to solve this issue.

And I don't think it is "on purpose." I think it is a trade-off that had to be made and if they could have prevented it they would have.
 
SHIFTLife said:
Grab a really bright flashlight. Cup your hand over the light, then turn it on. See the light that seems to leak through the flesh of your fingers? Now go demand an exchange on your hands due to the light leak.
Click to expand...

:eek: I think I am going to demand new hands now! Either that or I am going to go all Blue Man on the world and paint my whole body and hope the paint doesn't wash off. I can't go on with life knowing that light can actually go through my hand. :D
 
cellocello said:
Interesting. If this is indeed true, and this ugly ass light leaking back plate is on purpose - I'll be *shocked* to say the least.

Either way, I'm going to the Apple Store on Thursday.
Click to expand...

i doubt its on purpose, but, its seemingly inevitable.

definitely post back and let us know if you got one without the light leak.
 
here is what it looks like
 

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My original iPhone 3g has the back lighting up, my replacement has the back lighting up, and of course my new replacement lights up as well. I really doubt this is an actual defect and effects most/all white iPhones. I'm not complaining and It doesn't effect functionality whatsoever of you using right? But each to his own...

Although what I'm kinda of regretting now was that my first replacement lighted up more than the others :p
 
Black One Leaks Too!!!

StoneColdSober said:
As I said in my previous post, there are trade-offs and I think the only real solution is to get a black one.
Click to expand...

I ahve a black 3G and I noticed the other night that there was a little bit of light coming from the rounded sides. At first I thought it was coming from betweenthe plastic and the chrome piece around the glass, but it was actually coming throughthe plastic. It was about four dots on each side of the phone that were from this size (--->o ) to this size (--->O ). The sides mostly look like the sides of the white one pictured above just with a black tint which makes them pretty difficult to see.

Though this does not sound as severe as what people with white ones are experiencing, but there is still some light that actually leaks out of the black one. It is just the nature of the material. Thin plastic just doesn't stop light no matter what color it is.

But let me say that i have no problem with this becasue it has no affect on the phone's operation.

_______________________

MacBook Pro 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 128MB nVidia GeForce 8600M GT
iPhone 8GB
iPhone 3G 16GB Black
 
i mean seriously dude like why berate us, most of us aren't even complaining just more or less concerned if this is due to build quality or just a part of owning the white phone
 
TheRiseofTheFal said:
i mean seriously dude like why berate us, most of us aren't even complaining just more or less concerned if this is due to build quality or just a part of owning the white phone
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agreed

of course people are concerned about a product that they care about and paid for. Thats like buying new car and noticing some flaws in it down the line....of course your going to ask questions about it..
 
My first White 3G did not have this but my new one does, its only noticeable if the brightness is high in a really dark room tho, and i think its kinda cool.

Phone, MP3 player, Full Web Browser, Camera, Mail Browser, GPS, and Flashlight! iPhone 3G:D
 
Yeah, flashlight. And just think, you don't have to download an app from the app store to get it. Just think of it as a :apple: bonus! :cool:
 
Any other thoughts? Is this for sure on every single iPhone?

I just want some more opinions before rolling into the apple store tonight. If this is honestly just by design (aka "just the way it is"), I won't even bother.
 
Mine does it....

doesnt bother me...you'll exchange it and then have something really wrong.
 
I took a picture of my white iPhone 3G in the dark. There is a lot of light coming out the back. I'm currently in the process of talking to a couple of people at Apple about this (iPhone Product Specialist and iPhone Engineer).

I also checked my wife's white iPhone 3G and she had light coming out the back as well, although in a different pattern. So it's not the exact same for each phone, which makes you wonder...

-X-
 

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