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Dust under glass-iPhone 3G

dantay

dantay

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 11, 2006
478
410
UK
Let me start by saying I think the new iPhone is great.....never had a device I found so hard to put down!
My reason for posting ist that I have about 5 or 6 tiny specs of ust on the screen under the glass cover. I got my iPhone on launch day and noticed them while unboxing the phone when it was switched off.
I wondered if this was normal and have 2 friends who also have new 3G iPhones and looked at there's.....same story....few specs of dust of a similar size and quantity under the glass.
Its not a deal breaker for me but just wondered if anyone else has noticed it on there iPhone? :apple:
 
Me too. But only noticed mine yesterday, so they may not have been there from the start. I have been trying to think how they could have manged to get there - maybe through one of the openings whilst in my pocket? Its a bit annoying, either way. Sometimes they look like dead pixels, which is what annoys me.
 
sallythemac said:
Me too. But only noticed mine yesterday, so they may not have been there from the start. I have been trying to think how they could have manged to get there - maybe through one of the openings whilst in my pocket? Its a bit annoying, either way. Sometimes they look like dead pixels, which is what annoys me.
Click to expand...


Yeah..... I only notice one bit in use and it comes and goes being visible as I angle the screen and the dust moves over the matrix in relation to my eye position. I would have asked for an exchange but as 2 others I have seen have dust too I think its "normal" or my personal fave "within spec" :rolleyes:
 
That ain't nothing. I have a 5lb cockroach and a baby armadillo under my glass. Really makes it hard to use.
 
marksman said:
That ain't nothing. I have a 5lb cockroach and a baby armadillo under my glass. Really makes it hard to use.
Click to expand...

That sounds terrible......now I feel lucky I only have a few specs of dust. Looking at apple's dead pixel policy I can see both cockroaches and armadillo's are "within spec" so I guess you lucked out there :D
 
Apple's QC needs to improve. I have an iMac that arrived with lots of crap under the glass. I'm going to need to buy some of those suction thingys to sort it out. Bad luck on the armadillo though.
 
marksman said:
That ain't nothing. I have a 5lb cockroach and a baby armadillo under my glass. Really makes it hard to use.
Click to expand...

So you have got this thing inside your iphone3g??

babyarm063.jpg


Did you steal the giant display model or something?
 
If you have 5-6 specs of dust under the glass now, there's a pretty good chance you'll have 50-60 specs of dust under the glass in a month or two.

If I were in your position I'd return it for a new one now.
 
This reminds me of a period way back when the early iPAQ devices would gather dust under the glass, causing them to look like glowing orbs from the sidelights. People were taking strands of hair and "fishing" the dust out through the stylus storage slot. The problem then was that the display wasn't a truly sealed environment. I'm wondering if it's something as simple as the switch from a cloth or felt covering for the phone speaker to a (seemingly) much more open metal grill. But then again, it might not be related at all and I could be smoking crack.
 
I haven't got anything undesirable under my iPhone screen, but I did get a couple of thunder flies in the LCD on my MBP which was incredibly annoying. If you've got dust under the screen and it annoys you I'd say take it back for a swap out
 
ive also got some specks of dust under my screen, but will apple/o2 here in ireland swap it out for a new one? is it considered faulty? can i keep swapping them out if this happens once its under warrenty?


for the record i dont think these specks of dust were there when i unboxed it, its been in a microfiber pouch alot of the time, and only in my pocket once or twice, its usually on my desk or in a car mount.
 
i too, have 1 spec of dust (if u want to call it that).
in fact, it looks more like a shaving of plastic.
its not on the screen itself.
its more on the left side of the screen on the very edge.
you cant really see it while the phone is on and running.
but when the phone is off or in sleep, you can see it.
i can, , ,bc i look it over closely every night , most others wont at first glance.

so my options are-

A-
keep it and just know its there.
i waiting in line for that phone. its my phone damn it!!!
(all that hard work just to return it for a speck of plastic?)


B-
return it and swap it out for another one,,hoping that there is nothing wrong with it.
what if i get another one that is worse? ...bad screen, more dust, dead pixels...etc.
i know i have 2 weeks to replace no questions asked.


i just saw this thread and wanted to voice my story.
prob wouldnt of posted or replied if i didnt see this thread.

what would you do??
 
I called my AT&T store about this and they advised that all exchanges were to be done at the Apple store. Seems odd since its in return policy.
 
dantay said:
Let me start by saying I think the new iPhone is great.....never had a device I found so hard to put down!
My reason for posting ist that I have about 5 or 6 tiny specs of ust on the screen under the glass cover. I got my iPhone on launch day and noticed them while unboxing the phone when it was switched off.
I wondered if this was normal and have 2 friends who also have new 3G iPhones and looked at there's.....same story....few specs of dust of a similar size and quantity under the glass.
Its not a deal breaker for me but just wondered if anyone else has noticed it on there iPhone? :apple:
Click to expand...


The ifixit tear down claims the old iphone had the glass attached to the LCD, where as now they are separate. Presumably to make it cheaper if you crack your screen (you just have to replace the glass now, not the entire lcd unit)

I wonder if dust will be a problem now
 
The reason for this is that the new 3G screens come in two parts, the glass, and the LCD, which means it's not a sealed unit and dust will get in between the two parts during the manufacturing process. I sold my 1st gen iphone a month ago because i wanted to get a 3G one when they came out, i can't believe there are already build quality issues with the 3G iphone, i went through 3 1st gen's until i got a "perfect" one, and to be honest i don't want to go through the same with the new one. I got myself a samsung g600 as a "get me by" phone and i think it's fantastic i'm gonna think long and hard about getting the 3G iphone, a £300 product should be made to the highest quality, obviously this is not the case.
 
Ohh great, I was hoping I would never have to deal with this again upon leaving my Nextel. I pray that I don't get sudden unusual scuffs on the back or dust under the screen just by putting it in my pocket.
 
newyorksole said:
Ohh great, I was hoping I would never have to deal with this again upon leaving my Nextel. I pray that I don't get sudden unusual scuffs on the back or dust under the screen just by putting it in my pocket.
Click to expand...

the plastic is resilient enough to not scuff just by leaving it in your pocket.

dust shouldn't be able to get in there afterwards, i believe the dust that is in our screens right now has been done in the manufacturing process. i found some in mine just after opening up the box and peeling off the plastic cover. go to your apple store, they should be able to help.
 
I have this same problem. No apple stores near me though... and I would probably get stared out of O2.

If anyone manages to swap one then raise the alarm on here and I might find an Apple store next time I'm out and about.
 
It's a sign of careless manufacturing.

Assembling should happen in a dust-free environment.

My take though is that Apple urgently needed new manufacturers to produce an astonishing amount of several tens of thousands of units a day.

Maybe version B has the issue ironed out.

I'd return any phone immediately with dust under the screen. Did so with an old Ericsson, did so with a Nokia.
 
Holy crap, I just noticed a speck of dust or plastic under the glass. I swear it wasn't there the first day when I looked for dead pixels. I have a feeling it may have come from the inside.
 
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