So about that "dark screen" bug...

[OrlandoTragic]

You know what I'm talking about... turning your phone's display on after it switches off, and you can BARELY see the screen because the brightness is turned down.

Turning the screen off/on again fixes it, but its still really annoying, and its happening more frequently.

Is this a known issue in Apple's eyes? Hopefully it'll be fixed in 3.1, its maddening.

 

[fireman13]

i'm sorry, this is my first time hearing about this. Maybe i've been out of the loop. Is this happening to 3GS phones or is this a software issue with 3.0.1

 

[BlownJetta]

This also happens to mine occasionally, I am running 3.0.1 on the 3GS. Hoping it is just a software bug and it will be fixed in 3.1... that is if Apple even knows about it.

 

[Small White Car]

I've probably used at least 20 people's iPhones over the last 2 years. I've never seen this happen.

I'm not saying it didn't happen to you, but I suspect it's very rare, and probably something to do with one of the sensors in your phone, not the software.

 

[-aggie-]

I've never seen this either. And I'm not sure what you mean by the brightness is turned down. Is that because you have it down, or does it open like it's dim and then brightens up once you touch it? It could be a sensor issue. Have you tried a DFU restore?

 

[AbSoluTc]

You know what I'm talking about... turning your phone's display on after it switches off, and you can BARELY see the screen because the brightness is turned down.

Turning the screen off/on again fixes it, but its still really annoying, and its happening more frequently.

Is this a known issue in Apple's eyes? Hopefully it'll be fixed in 3.1, its maddening.

I've probably used at least 20 people's iPhones over the last 2 years. I've never seen this happen.

I'm not saying it didn't happen to you, but I suspect it's very rare, and probably something to do with one of the sensors in your phone, not the software.

I've never seen this either. And I'm not sure what you mean by the brightness is turned down. Is that because you have it down, or does it open like it's dim and then brightens up once you touch it? It could be a sensor issue. Have you tried a DFU restore?

It's a known issue. Not sure if it's on purpose or a "bug".

See this thread - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/740362/

Happens to a lot of people. It might be happening to people and they don't even know it. Beyond that thread and here, I don't know. It's not a faulty sensor, it's a software thing.

 

[mojohanna]

I have seen this happen a couple of times on my 3gs (3.0.1). I notice it when I am outside in bright sun. If I slide to unlock, it goes away and returns to normal.

 

[Small White Car]

It's a known issue. Not sure if it's on purpose or a "bug".

It's sure not on purpose, or it would be a lot more common.

It's not a faulty sensor, it's a software thing.

How could you know that? If it's an unidentified bug, that bug could be anywhere.

 

[amorican]

It happened to me once, while outside in the bright sun. Hope it's not an ongoing thing. Not gonna worry about it.

 

[AbSoluTc]

I've probably used at least 20 people's iPhones over the last 2 years. I've never seen this happen.

I'm not saying it didn't happen to you, but I suspect it's very rare, and probably something to do with one of the sensors in your phone, not the software.

It's sure not on purpose, or it would be a lot more common.




How could you know that? If it's an unidentified bug, that bug could be anywhere.

Do you just blurt out whatever comes to mind?

It COULD be on purpose. It could be a feature to increase battery life by reducing the back light level. Something Apple could have done. You don't know that. Neither do I. If it's NOT something they did intentionally, then it's a software bug. Why is it software and NOT hardware? Well, I have had 11 - yes, 11 iphone 3GS'. ALL did the same thing. So you tell me, did I have 11 faulty light sensors? What does COMMON SENSE tell you it is in this case?

Lastly, were talking about the 3.0 software/3GS phones. It seems to be only the 3GS phones. I do not know if the 3G phone with 3.0 has the issue or not. Someone I am sure will chime in and say so. However, it seems to be a 3GS issue only at this point until something comes along and blows that out of the water.

Please read the information and comprehend it before you post.

 

[heyp]

i've seen this a couple of times... thought it was a hardware issue, but maybe not

 

[army91c]

If I have auto brite on it happens to me a lot.... 3.0 3gs. I turn auto brite off and it stops. Of course then battery life suffers a touch.... which do I want, shorter battery life or annoying screen goes dark when I unlock? It doesn't matter if I'm in sun light or indoors, it still happens. Not sure what the problem is but it does peev me off.

 

[tilmonabbott]

this happened to me both on my 3g and the 3gs. It has something to do with the auto-brightness sensors. Its annoying sometimes, but honestly all you have to do is press the sleep/wake button twice to fix the issue. Nothing that i think is too horrible to live with and its not like it happens all the time.

 

[Roofy.]

Considering alot of iphones have this (including mine) I dont see this as a big deal at all.

 

[Simgar988]

Do you just blurt out whatever comes to mind?

It COULD be on purpose. It could be a feature to increase battery life by reducing the back light level. Something Apple could have done. You don't know that. Neither do I. If it's NOT something they did intentionally, then it's a software bug. Why is it software and NOT hardware? Well, I have had 11 - yes, 11 iphone 3GS'. ALL did the same thing. So you tell me, did I have 11 faulty light sensors? What does COMMON SENSE tell you it is in this case?

Lastly, were talking about the 3.0 software/3GS phones. It seems to be only the 3GS phones. I do not know if the 3G phone with 3.0 has the issue or not. Someone I am sure will chime in and say so. However, it seems to be a 3GS issue only at this point until something comes along and blows that out of the water.

Please read the information and comprehend it before you post.

why have you had 11 3GS'? That's more than one a week since release date

 

[Eso]

The brightness is about the same level as when the screen dims for the couple seconds right before automatically locking. I've noticed this often, and I've even unlocked the phone and used it with the dark screen and it doesn't go away until you lock the screen again.

 

[Surrix]

The brightness is about the same level as when the screen dims for the couple seconds right before automatically locking. I've noticed this often, and I've even unlocked the phone and used it with the dark screen and it doesn't go away until you lock the screen again.

Figured I'd chime in too. I've had this happen maybe 3 times so far on my 3GS.

 

[Small White Car]

It COULD be on purpose. It could be a feature to increase battery life by reducing the back light level. Something Apple could have done.

So you think they designed a battery-saving feature that works sometimes, for some people, but not all the time? A feature that randomly comes and goes?

That's "something Apple could have done?" I suppose so, but it seems like an odd feature to me.

Why is it software and NOT hardware? Well, I have had 11 - yes, 11 iphone 3GS'. ALL did the same thing. So you tell me, did I have 11 faulty light sensors? What does COMMON SENSE tell you it is in this case?

Common sense tells me that a manufacturing error would likely have affected all early 3GS phones.

So your experience with the 11 phones is actually pretty good evidence towards the 'hardware' theory.

It's not proof by any means, but even ignoring that I don't know why you're throwing out evidence to support my theories since you seem to disagree with them.

 

[AbSoluTc]

why have you had 11 3GS'? That's more than one a week since release date

One had a signal issue. All but 2 have had piss yellow screens, brown screens, half white, half yellow screens, washed out colors, gray blacks and the like. Several of them have had terrible batteries as well. Not lasting more than 12 hours in standby and 1 hour of usage. The most I have ever swapped was 3 in one day and that was Saturday.

I am not one of those people who nit pick so don't worry. I have had no issues with my silent switch, bezels, or anything like that. Just battery and screen issues mainly.

Thankfully I am done and NEVER want to go through that again.

 

[AbSoluTc]

So you think they designed a battery-saving feature that works sometimes, for some people, but not all the time? A feature that randomly comes and goes?

That's "something Apple could have done?" I suppose so, but it seems like an odd feature to me.



Common sense tells me that a manufacturing error would likely have affected all early 3GS phones.

So your experience with the 11 phones is actually pretty good evidence towards the 'hardware' theory.

It's not proof by any means, but even ignoring that I don't know why you're throwing out evidence to support my theories since you seem to disagree with them.

Honestly no offense to you - I really don't care. I just posted my experience and what I thought. I could care less what it is as long as it gets fixed. Even if it doesn't, it won't bother me as it only happens in dim/dark situations (at least for me).

I don't claim to know anything nor do I feel like debating it. It's an "issue". As to what causes it - nobody knows unless you made the device and work at Apple. Until then - it's anyone's guess.

 

[uncleSmurf]

This happens to mine occasionally too.