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Are you experiencing this issue?


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tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
If I experience this, can I return the phone even after the first 14 days of usage and get my money back?
I did this today and was charged a $50 restocking fee. Non negotiable. I didn’t push the issue cause my head was killing me and I wanted to go home and set up my 8+ before work. The x max was the best phone I have ever used. I turned mine in at 2pm today and still have a headache nearly 16 hours later. I haven’t slept yet (3rd shift this week) so hopefully sleep will reset me. I woke up feeling good and then used my max heavily Saturday Sunday and today, all of which gave me pain and discomfort. Not worth even trying to get past it. I’m honestly worried about my wife using an X, even though she has no pain.
 
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GlenK

macrumors 65816
Aug 1, 2013
1,473
932
St. Augustine, FL
I hope everyone is reporting this to Apple if they have issues. It's really discouraging but happened to me with the X. Bought it then had to return it. Now waiting on the XR and hoping they at least continue to offer options to avoid this issue. I read that approx 10% of consumers are affected by this problem.

Surely they can't keep ignoring it.
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
I hope everyone is reporting this to Apple if they have issues. It's really discouraging but happened to me with the X. Bought it then had to return it. Now waiting on the XR and hoping they at least continue to offer options to avoid this issue. I read that approx 10% of consumers are affected by this problem.

Surely they can't keep ignoring it.
Even if 1000 people complained today, that’s a drop in the bucket for them. One day they will fix it, but they have zero motivation to do it now. They’re worth untold amount of money. 1000 bad reviews could sink a small company. There are probably LOADS of people out there with these symptoms that don’t come on forums or anything. How many millions of dollars have been spent on doctor bills by X users who think all of a sudden they have a brain tumor or some kind of serious neurological disaease? I highly doubt an eye doctor would know what pwm is or even suspect a phone.

When I returned the phone to Tmobile the kid who helped me kind of scoffed when I said the phone was giving me a headache. I asked the manager if he could waive the $50 restocking fee, but he said no. I wasn’t in the mood to argue so I just finished my transaction.

Tmobile has a deal when you open a 3rd line you get one free for life. I also got a free 8+ to go with my own 8+. So $40 a month for 2 more lines, and $699 total for 2 product red 8+. Not a bad deal at all. Had I not felt like my head was going to pop I probably would have pushed the issue on the return, but I get it they can no longer sell the phone for $1099.

I really liked the max, and it’s a bitter sweet feeling to have another 8+.
[doublepost=1537874197][/doublepost]
My problems (eyes hurt, frontal headache, dizziness...) start 5 to 10 seconds after i start looking at the screen. And, no, it's not FaceID cause i covered it.
Me too. The biggest thing I noticed immediately is it’s impossible to follow along with text as I would scroll down. Very weird. I noticed that before the pain started.
 

TDDM

macrumors 6502
Nov 25, 2017
490
634
KA
I really liked the max, and it’s a bitter sweet feeling to have another 8+
Same here, but I think the XR will be a decent replacement. Have you considered getting that instead?

Me too. The biggest thing I noticed immediately is it’s impossible to follow along with text as I would scroll down. Very weird. I noticed that before the pain started.
I had the same issue with my X last year, it's unfortunately a trade-off of OLED screens. Unlike PWM, you can train your eyes to not follow the text while scrolling & it should stop bothering you. Not that it matters, since the PWM is still there anyway :(
 

Proteinaceous

macrumors regular
Dec 4, 2004
198
215
You have gotten a reply aldready but I just wanted to confirm that the iPad uses IPS-LCD and not OLED. You should be fine.

The Apple watch does use OLED, but I have heard that many PWM sensitive users don’t have a problem with the watch. The screen is small, only viewed for short moments, and it’s mostly a black UI (black = pixels off, no light. Light that doesn’t exist can’t flicker) so I’m hopeful that I will be able to use the watch, and I want to give it a try. I’ll be a few months before I can afford one though after buying the XR.
Can confirm...I am sensitive the the iPhone X. Headaches, mild nausea, etc. I use my iPad all the time. No issues. As you said, the screen is IPS-LCD, not OLED. Rumors are that the upcoming iPads will not use OLED (I hope this is true since I’m planning to upgrade when new ones are released).

Also, I’ve been using an Apple Watch everyday since the day series 0 was released. Yes, it has an OLED screen, but it does not give my any issues. Could be as you said...smaller screen/less light. Could be a different OLED implementation. Could be just the fact that it’s not a device that is typically used for many minutes/hours at a time. Don’t know...but it doesn’t give me any problems like the X did.
 

TheBoxer

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2014
28
17
Can confirm...I am sensitive the the iPhone X. Headaches, mild nausea, etc. I use my iPad all the time. No issues. As you said, the screen is IPS-LCD, not OLED. Rumors are that the upcoming iPads will not use OLED (I hope this is true since I’m planning to upgrade when new ones are released).

Also, I’ve been using an Apple Watch everyday since the day series 0 was released. Yes, it has an OLED screen, but it does not give my any issues. Could be as you said...smaller screen/less light. Could be a different OLED implementation. Could be just the fact that it’s not a device that is typically used for many minutes/hours at a time. Don’t know...but it doesn’t give me any problems like the X did.

Thanks for that. I was worried the upcoming iPads would use OLED. We'll see what happens there. As for the watch, I'll buy one and try it out. From the comments here, I most likely will be fine.

Today I decided to not use my phone all morning. It worked, no headaches. I started using it after 3 and I'm already noticing light headaches. I'm likely returning it tomorrow. Its a shame since I do love the XsM. I'm going to give the XR a try when its released.

Does Apple charge a restocking fee? I bought the sim-free version of the iPhone full price from Apple.com.
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
Same here, but I think the XR will be a decent replacement. Have you considered getting that instead?


I had the same issue with my X last year, it's unfortunately a trade-off of OLED screens. Unlike PWM, you can train your eyes to not follow the text while scrolling & it should stop bothering you. Not that it matters, since the PWM is still there anyway :(
I have spent thousands of hours staring at android amoled screens and never had a single issue. Apple is doing something way different than Samsung, Oneplus and motorola.
 
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stafil

macrumors 6502
Sep 15, 2017
425
297
The 8+ i have should be good for 2 to maybe 3 years. If apple has no alternative ill go back to android.

I would rather use a flip-phone than the pocket sized ad-surveillance-machine you call android phone
[doublepost=1537920114][/doublepost]
If we're lucky, Apple will update the XR next year (or the year after) with a 401ppi screen. Then it'll be smooth sailing from then on out.

I am afraid XR will have flickering too, not to mention that it's difficult to get used to smaller screen sizes now we have been spoiled by the 7,8 Plus
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
I would rather use a flip-phone than the pocket sized ad-surveillance-machine you call android phone
[doublepost=1537920114][/doublepost]

I am afraid XR will have flickering too, not to mention that it's difficult to get used to smaller screen sizes now we have been spoiled by the 7,8 Plus
Xr is lcd, which apple has never used flicker on.
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
A little update here. I went to sleep with a really bad headache. I still have a minor headache after sleeping. Looks like this will linger for a few days. I have used my 8+ for about 5 hours since I got it with zero pain. I miss the max badly, but it isn’t worth the pain for me. Good luck to anyone still waiting on their xs or max.
 

MrGarak

macrumors newbie
Sep 15, 2018
28
38
Same issue here, got my XS earlier today but within a few minutes of using it noticed really really bad eye strain then started to get a headache. I switched back to my 8+ and no issues since. Definitely not worth it to stick out to see if it’ll change or not.

I’ll probably try the Xr when it comes out in a month or so, I really hope something is done in the future about this, glad I’m not the only one though
 

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I have spent thousands of hours staring at android amoled screens and never had a single issue. Apple is doing something way different than Samsung, Oneplus and motorola.
Pixel 2 has Samsung displays which also do this. I love my Pixel 2 but don’t use it for anything which requires me to stare at the display for very long. No movies, no emails, no forum posts and web surfing. I can do all of those things on my Pixel 2 but my eyes water after about 20 minutes. Also there’s an issue where movies look like bad gifs due to “black crush”.
 

AJAAY

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2012
438
293
Some good news. Half way through the week and my symptoms are borderline non existent. It's a 0.5 to 1 on a 1-10 scale. Just a very faint dull pressure behind the eyes that comes and goes. It's manageable and bearable. But I'm still on the fence, I'd rather have ZERO issues. Using True Tone helps a lot.
 
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dazz87

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2007
1,631
1,710
Me too. The biggest thing I noticed immediately is it’s impossible to follow along with text as I would scroll down. Very weird. I noticed that before the pain started.
And if the background is white its overs for me.......This forum(white background) last yr with my X within minutes I had to put down the phone.
 

boomer11

macrumors 6502
Sep 23, 2014
316
310
Don't you just get use to it? It seems no different then if you've never worn prescription glasses. When you put it on, it's not super clear and will definitely give you a headache. Your eyes get use to it and after a few days, they are normal glasses.
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
Don't you just get use to it? It seems no different then if you've never worn prescription glasses. When you put it on, it's not super clear and will definitely give you a headache. Your eyes get use to it and after a few days, they are normal glasses.
I have yet to see anyone able to get used to the flicker if it bothered them
 

jtl_

macrumors member
Nov 3, 2015
54
26
Canada
I wish apple would make the MBP's flicker free too!

Used an Lenovo X1C with a flicker free HDR display and its was noticeably easier on the eyes.

Explain how your eyes are sensitive to Macbook Pro's PWM. Well I heard of someone who had 3Khz PWM on his 2015 13" Macbook Pro (tested with oscilloscope) but that must have been an outlier.
 

jimmy_uk

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2015
2,484
3,309
UK
I couldn't use the X last year as it gave me terrible eye pain at the backs of my eyes which gave me a headache. Surprisingly the Max didn't do this but I could still see the colour shift/shimmer present on the X. I returned mine as display had a terrible yellow shift when looking straight on.
[doublepost=1537951770][/doublepost]
You are looking at it wrong!
Played out "joke"
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
My headache is nearly gone. I miss the max, but my 8+ will serve me well for 2 more years I hope. By then the a11 will probably be tapped out.
 
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