Really? That's interesting. Can you let us know if the reduction in eye pain continues? I'll try anything at this point
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
- Thread starter Kitkad
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
-
- Tags
- eye strain xs max
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
I respect your way of testing.
You are working and finding a way to fix the eyestrain for months now.
50 procent brightness and/or no Face ID enabled etc. etc.
I wonder if you are enjoying the X with all these compromises. At the end it's only a phone no more no less.
Buy another phone which is not giving you any eyestrain. Who cares if the bezel is bigger.
Just my thoughts.
I have bought a 8 non plus. No eye strain. Keep looking at the X though as the screen is fantastic. I don’t care for the other benefits of an X over an 8. So looks like I’m keeping the 8 and X is on eBay.
I can't speak to michaelsd's reasons for continuing to try to make the X work, but here are mine:
1. It's not just about the X. It's about PWM in general. If we just give up and buy other phones, we aren't going to make any progress in getting Apple to consider changing their PWM implementation. At the very least, we're making them aware of the issue.
2. There are several potential solutions out there that have not been explored (Iris, the custom S8 kernel, etc), and I'd like to see if any of those lead to a fix.
3. I'm already way out of my return window, so there's no point in rushing to return it anyway.
I’ve found myself getting more and more used to the phone and am not experiencing anywhere near the amount of eye strain I initially was. I did test the iPhone 8 Plus and Apple has been helpful but I was surprised at how much it feels like a significant downgrade from the X.
This may be entirely coincidental but I haven’t noticed any notable eye strain since I’ve restored my iPhone X. I will try setting up FaceID again during the week since it’s inconvenient constantly entering a passcode. I would prefer TouchID under the display regardless. There may be nothing wrong with exposing the eyes to IR constantly, though with the amount of times a day I unlock my phone I’d prefer not to constantly expose my eyes to it even if it’s not the reason I’ve been experiencing strain.
I also plan to test if the sensors are still on with FaceID setup and disabled since disabling FaceID didn’t benefit my situation when I originally got the phone.
Last edited:
This is odd: so far I’ve experienced almost no eye strain since restoring my iPhone X... (and circumstantially not setting up FaceID)
[doublepost=1518321066][/doublepost]I tested my theory and with FaceID setup the sensors aren’t still activated when you unlock the phone if you do disable it. So as I assumed it’s not caused by FaceID. It’s working faster after setting it up again, by the way.
I’ve been slowly getting used to the flicker and that may be why my eye strain is mostly gone. Since restoring I’ve had less eye strain though PWM is still very much present.
[doublepost=1518321508][/doublepost]Hey guys, I have an interesting development and thus far my issues are mostly gone.
Restoring my iPhone X seems to have modified its flicker behavior!
[doublepost=1518321066][/doublepost]I tested my theory and with FaceID setup the sensors aren’t still activated when you unlock the phone if you do disable it. So as I assumed it’s not caused by FaceID. It’s working faster after setting it up again, by the way.
I’ve been slowly getting used to the flicker and that may be why my eye strain is mostly gone. Since restoring I’ve had less eye strain though PWM is still very much present.
[doublepost=1518321508][/doublepost]Hey guys, I have an interesting development and thus far my issues are mostly gone.
Restoring my iPhone X seems to have modified its flicker behavior!
Last edited:
The PWM seems to be different after restoring. This may be due to the video file itself but the PWM was never as consistent in my other videos or when viewed through the camera via slo-mo mode. Maybe I’m just being optimistic though.
It’s also odd that the IR transmitter is constantly functioning, which I’d assume it’s doing to learn my face better since I just set FaceID up again today.
Last edited:
That's so weird, I can't even imagine how restoring could mess with the flicker rate. I'm definitely gonna try this tomorrow though.
Imagine if this actually somehow fixed the issue lol
I could theorize that there’s a bug affecting a minority of phones which causes the PWM not to function as intended.
[doublepost=1518333238][/doublepost]In all honesty I think the PWM is probably the same and my eyes have just adjusted to it. I’m curious to hear your thoughts though.
Last edited:
Thanks for your insights. I will try and use the X again for the next few days and see what happens. I haven’t done a restore but am tempted to do so.
Like you I can’t imagine this will fix the issue though.
Also have my 8 with me as well and don’t suffer anything with that phone. At least that is still within the return window so if the X does get better I can return that lol.
Like you I can’t imagine this will fix the issue though.
Also have my 8 with me as well and don’t suffer anything with that phone. At least that is still within the return window so if the X does get better I can return that lol.
Yep, they refused to do anything. As my X is outside of the return window they would not let me take it back. AC just said you will have to sell it on eBay! While I fully understand the decision, it was a little disappointing.
They also acknowledged this thread and the one on Reddit, but said this sample is so small compared to the amount of X's sold, it is not really relevant.
Thanks for the response. Pretty disappointed in their service here. I guess handling it differently could be admitting that there’s a problem.
Small sample yes. But it is crazy that about half of the voters in this thread say that they have the problem.
The flicker does seem to be more uniform and consistent after a restore. Since I can’t verify that it is definitively different with two iPhone X’s side-by-side I won’t post any further videos as the original video served the purpose of capturing the PWM flicker. I do still experience a degree of eye strain and headaches but not as bad as it was. Frankly I’m not totally convinced the restore helped in this regard.
[doublepost=1518376391][/doublepost]
Still, if multiple users are complaining about a genuine issue then there should be some kind of solution if possible. We know for a fact that iPhone X utilizes PWM and that some users are sensitive to it.
[doublepost=1518376391][/doublepost]
Still, if multiple users are complaining about a genuine issue then there should be some kind of solution if possible. We know for a fact that iPhone X utilizes PWM and that some users are sensitive to it.
Last edited:
Is there a time duration associated with this? Is it different if you're checking a couple of emails, compared to reading a web page or watching a long (more than 5 minutes) video?
Used to get eye pain immediately that intermittently lasted throughout usage then throbbing immediately afterwards, so far so good.
Restoring has totally fixed my phone. No eye pain so far, FaceID is practically instantaneous compared to taking a few seconds, and so far very minimal lag compared to the excessive lag I was experiencing.
I should also note that I always setup my iPhone as new so really not sure why my iPhone X was acting up.
[doublepost=1518393840][/doublepost]Maybe all that excessive lag was causing the PWM to not operate smoothly enough to not be visible? I’m not totally versed on how software-dependent the implementation is but that seems plausible.
I should also note that I always setup my iPhone as new so really not sure why my iPhone X was acting up.
[doublepost=1518393840][/doublepost]Maybe all that excessive lag was causing the PWM to not operate smoothly enough to not be visible? I’m not totally versed on how software-dependent the implementation is but that seems plausible.
Last edited:
How can a simple restore change PWM of the screen ?
Sorry this is not possible.
New Firmware maybe yes, but a restore no
One day later and minor lag is already starting to show up again. Some apps also tend to lag at times despite not utilizing the full CPU, then become silly smooth after exiting to the home screen and going back into it. Between this and the PWM I’m not totally satisfied with iPhone X. Again, I was being overly optimistic that the restore would fix all my issues but I think my eyes have gotten used to the display so at least there’s little to no throbbing pain anymore.
[doublepost=1518467474][/doublepost]Cue (mild compared to when I first got iPhone X) throbbing eye pain. Fun while it lasted. As much as I don’t want to give up my iPhone X I’d probably be happier for the next few months with the 8 Plus...
[doublepost=1518467474][/doublepost]Cue (mild compared to when I first got iPhone X) throbbing eye pain. Fun while it lasted. As much as I don’t want to give up my iPhone X I’d probably be happier for the next few months with the 8 Plus...
Last edited:
I think "silly smooth" might be an even better term than "silky smooth" haha! Thanks for all the testing and public service announcement you're doing. I bet there are thousands of people who have headaches and eyestrain and they don't know why. Advil and Tylenol sales must be making record profits.