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I just got back from the costa mesa apple store. My new iphone was so yellow I hated it. So, I made a genius appointment online. They acted like they never heard of the problem, but after hemming and hawing, he did open a box and let me see another, which was much better, and they did exchange it for me. Considering all the business I have given them over the years, they sure can be rude, but the outcome was good. It's not as white as my G2, but it's much better.

I dont like the Genius's at the costa mesa store, they act like its a problem all the time and act like they've never heard of the problems everyone talks about. Irvine store, though smaller have some pretty rad staff and genius's there.
 
you're kidding right? this is a screen shot, I don't think that will show anything, will it ?

Did you even need to ask?. iPhone screenshots are created in software, and it is the TFT which has the colouring/warmth, not the data which is output to the TFT. If 100 people took screenshots, I bet you £100,000 they would ALL look idendical, and not one bit discoloured!
 
Got my fourth replacement today and it was the best so far. Screen was whiter, closer to what my 3G was. The yellow tint was hardly there. The build was 927 and it came in the white box.

Keep trying until you get it right. The manager at my store handled this personally and made sure I was a satisfied customer. My thanks to him and apple.

Good luck guys!
 
I just got my replacement 3GS today. Build week 24, first one was wk 20. Model number starts with MB rather than MC. The screen is the same as my 3G it's nice and white, no yellow anywhere, and quite a difference with the camera too, the focus is better, and pictures look sharper the colours are truer. Only one problem, it has a nick on the bezel. I will see how well the battery performs in the next couple of days. If all goes well I will keep it.

By the way, the main reason I asked for a replacement was because my screen was so out of whack with the bezel on one side it was very deep in the case and the other was high up and would move down when I push down on it.

I still have my first 3GS and will be doing more comparisons over the next few days before I send it back.

My second 3GS came in a small black box with the iPhone logo on it.

Anyone saying that the people complaining about the yellow screens are nitpicking are very wrong. There could be a huge difference from one phone to another, and the yellow screens are not just warmer, they are just plain yellow and fuzzier.
 
You guys are lucky...i can't even swap out my phone because the apple store forgot to transfer the warranty to this replacement phone and it's two weeks and counting now and they still haven't resolved it :mad:
 
Call apple directly and speak with a product specialist. Tell them about the problem and open a ticket. You can then go to the apple store and they have to deal with the issue based on what the product specialist wrote even if it means swapping the phone.

Apple does care about it's customers.
 
Got my 3GS yesterday....within the first 5 minutes after I left the AT&T store I noticed the yellow tint at the bottom of the screen. The entire screen is a warmer color but it's more noticeable at the bottom.

http://twitpic.com/9oh2s
http://twitpic.com/9oh5h

Got an appointment scheduled for today at the Genius Bar at the Oakbrook IL Apple Store.

Model starts with MC.

Any tips for going there would be nice...this will be my first time going to the Genius Bar.
 
Keep strong

Apple NEEDS you to reject sub-standard products or faults in it's hardware.

Dimwits who state that "mine is fine so you're clearly OCD/making it up!" clearly don't have enough brain cells (probably about 3) to realise that THEIR phone is not YOUR phone, so don't let their dumb fool you.

If you notice a fault, accepting it through "fear" of the hassle returning it, is ultimately your responsibility and is doing no-one any favours. The more people with faulty screens return the phone for swap or refund - the more Apple will have to accept the problem and deal with it. Unfortunately it seems to be the ONLY way companies take notice these days because as someone else said, Apple doesn't care about its' customers. It might value them, but that value is only tied into whether you've given them any cash or not. It's dumb beyond belief but most corporations have lost sight of LONG term success by creating and maintaining quality standards. These days it's more than ever about simply flogging whatever people will accept. If we accept LOWER standard iPhones from Apple, why on Earth should we expect them to give a damn and IMPROVE their products? If we'll buy and keep LESSER quality products - who exactly is to blame?

The difficulties you expect at the Apple store if you attempt a refund or exchange are both real and imagined. It's VERY much in Apple's interests to keep you with the iPhone 3GS you got - but if it's faulty it isn't in your interests so don't be a wuss and demand you get what you paid for - i.e. a PREMIUM quality PREMIUM product at a PREMIUM price. Settle for less and that's ok - if you're ok with being a FOOL.

If there's nothing wrong with your iPhone 3GS then freaking fantastic - count yourself lucky - you're probably not reading this anyway. And if you noticed something previously un-noticed because of this thread then GOOD - we've all here done you a great service and you can now get your money's worth.

There's also an interesting thread over at the Apple support forum which might be worth getting involved in also.

Bottom line - it's up to you to decide to take action or not and you can't blame anyone else for the consequences of NOT taking action.
 
Call apple directly and speak with a product specialist. Tell them about the problem and open a ticket. You can then go to the apple store and they have to deal with the issue based on what the product specialist wrote even if it means swapping the phone.

Apple does care about it's customers.

I'll try that

Got my 3GS yesterday....within the first 5 minutes after I left the AT&T store I noticed the yellow tint at the bottom of the screen. The entire screen is a warmer color but it's more noticeable at the bottom.

http://twitpic.com/9oh2s
http://twitpic.com/9oh5h

Got an appointment scheduled for today at the Genius Bar at the Oakbrook IL Apple Store.

Model starts with MC.

Any tips for going there would be nice...this will be my first time going to the Genius Bar.

Yours actually looks like one of the better ones...its not that much of a deviant from the 3G screen compared to others i've seen
 
Yours actually looks like one of the better ones...its not that much of a deviant from the 3G screen compared to others i've seen

Yeah I know there are others that are considerably worse...but it is enough to bug me..thus the reason why I'm going to Apple today.

No reason I should have to settle with a warmer screen with inconsistent color. Apple couldn't arrange to make it easy on us 3G owners to upgrade and only caved with AT&T for who pay a lot per month when the public outrage was beginning to sour their reputation. Leaving those of us who don't need a ton of minutes to have to fight to even get early upgrade pricing. I have no problems personally with insisting I get a perfect iPhone considering I'm being treated like a second class citizen in AT&T land due to the amount I pay per month.
 
Took charge of my 3rd iPhone which is a now week 26 as opposed to 22 - and the warm level seems very similar to my last one, that was still an improvement on the first.. and will more than likely be keeping this one as I am sick and tired of getting replacements. Although I should add that the chances will more than likely increase to 'return + refund + wait X weeks before trying a 4th time' as the more I return to the unit the more I see the warm level being worse than I thought it to be.

I feel that the urine/nicotine-yellow colour that is 'intense' on some phones certainly should worry those that have those issues; but a move towards a warmer level has never been an issue as long as its acceptable. I use a 'warm' setting on my monitors and also HDTV for movies.. but anything that becomes yellow and dirty is a no-no.

I would suggest people who have access to numerous devices and wish to compare to do the following: Visit www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ and click on the single-page version. You will notice differences between good and bad 3GS's here with shades of colouring looking radically different. You surely would expect ALL 3GS phones to be the same. It might surprise you how different your colours look to others who own the same device.

I should also add that the "warm" colouring is not the full story and that the intensity of Red, Green, Blue do look different also. The current (week 26) phone I have although having 'warm' whites does have Red, Green & Blue intensity levels that are more in line with my older devices than the last two 3GS phones I was in possession of.
 
I also noticed that on my 3rd replacement, the colors are really lacking saturation. All the colors seem dulled down. The light blue at the top of mail is almost a graphite gray. The colors are punchy on my 3G, but when I look at my 3GS, it really lacks color and contrast.
 
Got my 3GS yesterday....within the first 5 minutes after I left the AT&T store I noticed the yellow tint at the bottom of the screen. The entire screen is a warmer color but it's more noticeable at the bottom.

http://twitpic.com/9oh2s
http://twitpic.com/9oh5h

Got an appointment scheduled for today at the Genius Bar at the Oakbrook IL Apple Store.

Model starts with MC.

Any tips for going there would be nice...this will be my first time going to the Genius Bar.

I'm not being funny or anything but you do not have a problem with your unit and are giving those with real problems a bad name! :D

Your warm level looks more than acceptable and I cannot see any problems with the lower end of your screen.
 
I'm not being funny or anything but you do not have a problem with your unit and are giving those with real problems a bad name! :D

Your warm level looks more than acceptable and I cannot see any problems with the lower end of your screen.

I'm not being funny or anything but it's probably a lot harder to capture with a camera than to see with the naked eye.
 
I'm not being funny or anything but you do not have a problem with your unit and are giving those with real problems a bad name! :D

Your warm level looks more than acceptable and I cannot see any problems with the lower end of your screen.

I can see a problem just fine. First pic, left phone - much warmer on the bottom than the top. It's uneven.

I will say, my phone is the same as the one on the left without the uneven bottom. It's uniformly "warmer". I have accepted this since it was my 4th phone. I am hoping Apple can fix it with a firmware update or I will replace it in a few months when I hear that the 3GS screens are back to what they should be. Until then - it's "acceptable". Even though its nothing like my 3G was. :(
 
Went to my appointment yesterday...the guy said he couldn't see it either but offered to either replace the LCD or replace the entire phone with a refurbished one. I chose to have him replace the LCD...10 minutes later he came back. The screen is still a warmer color, but no longer uneven. Going to give it a try for a week before I consider taking it back again. I would ideally like to have a much cooler screen (like my 3G) as I prefer cooler screens on all of my LCDs (desktop LCDs included)...but warm is something I think I can live with and get used to...so long as it's an even color across the screen.

And as usual...going to an Apple store is confusing as hell. I wandered for a bit before I finally found someone who could check me in for my appointment. Then after my appointment I was looking to purchase some power support crystal film and couldn't find someone to ring up the transaction. It took me about 5 minutes to find someone to ring up the transaction. This has pretty much happened every single time I've been to an Apple store. Their customer service once you actually get their attention is good...but their organization there leaves a lot to be desired. And this was the middle of the afternoon on a Weekday...the time I would expect them to be the least busy...but every single time I go there it seems like there's a hundred people milling about.

and yeah I chose to side with protecting the screen from scratches rather than risking them and enjoying the fingerprint-less and easy to clean screen.
 
Went to my appointment yesterday...the guy said he couldn't see it either but offered to either replace the LCD or replace the entire phone with a refurbished one. I chose to have him replace the LCD...10 minutes later he came back. The screen is still a warmer color, but no longer uneven. Going to give it a try for a week before I consider taking it back again. I would ideally like to have a much cooler screen (like my 3G) as I prefer cooler screens on all of my LCDs (desktop LCDs included)...but warm is something I think I can live with and get used to...so long as it's an even color across the screen.

Can every Apple store replace the LCD? I've got an appointment tomorrow for an uneven screen and this would be my preferred solution, as my phone is fine in every other way.
 
Can every Apple store replace the LCD? I've got an appointment tomorrow for an uneven screen and this would be my preferred solution, as my phone is fine in every other way.

I've actually never heard of a Genius cracking open an iPhone and replacing components within it.

Their usual modius operandi is to simply swap the phone with another one. As far as I know there are no refurbished 3GS phones yet. The ones in the white boxes still have an 8xxxx serial number indicating a brand new phone.
 
Just got my iPhone3GS and its much warmer than my iPhone3G thats right next to it. Though I dont know if this would be such a huge problem if I hadnt been using my 3G for a year...or didnt have them side by side. Couldnt Apple fix this with a firmware update?
 
For those of you with something to compare a yellow 3GS to, try this.

Instead of comparing an all white background or the settings screen, try to compare the factory wallpaper. I tried this with my two 3GSs (one very yellow and one slightly yellow). The very yellow 3GS actually looked BETTER when viewing brightly colored wallpapers (orange flower, roses, etc.).

Also, on the home screen, the black background looks MUCH more black on the very yellow 3GS when compared to the slightly yellow 3GS.

I am curious as to what you guys think about this comparison.
 
I do notice the screen is more yellow on the 3gs.
But I take a picture of my house, and look at it on both my 3G and 3GS screens. And the colours look more realistic on the 3GS. Therefore I assume the yellowing was deliberate colour tuning of the newer phone and is not an issue.
 
My 3G has a warmer screen than my Mom's 3GS. Screens vary from iPhone to iPhone, even within a generation (I've never got two 3G screens that were alike), and I suspect the same applies to the 3GS.
 
I do notice the screen is more yellow on the 3gs.
But I take a picture of my house, and look at it on both my 3G and 3GS screens. And the colours look more realistic on the 3GS. Therefore I assume the yellowing was deliberate colour tuning of the newer phone and is not an issue.

I am currently on my 3rd 3GS and I have to agree that its looking more and more like it is 'intended' to be the more warmer level; just as most calibrators recommend that we change our HDTVs and Monitors to a 'warmer' colour level than the old fashioned 'white is white' ("cold/normal") we have been used to.

It's easier on our eyes for one (reading for longer periods.. less 'glare' at higher brightness) and even more comfortable in darkness for reading/browsing at night.

Pictures furthermore in comparison do look better on 'warmer' units .. comparing the stock-pictures included with 1st, 2nd & 3rd gen phones demonstrates that the 3GS 'warmer' level displays each picture better.

Once you get over the fact that a webpage that has a white background that you have always been used to being white is now 'warmer' (and warmer than you may have been using on a 3G) and get over the initial 'its too yellow' -- but give it a chance, you'll find that you actually like it more after a weeks use.

Those with 'cold' 3GS units seem to be the faulty ones if the truth be told.
 
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