The border of faded color around the edge of the screen is a known issue. It happened to me as well and has been reported here (under differing descriptions) before. It's usually described as yellow, but I found it to be a faint yellowish white. The shape of the border is exactly as you depict in your following diagram.
Hi everyone. I have had my I300 for about 7 weeks now. I absolutely love it, but I have to admit the screen problems are big issues.
After watching a yellow border similiar (actually, almost exactly) to the the drawing that was posted earlier in this discussion start from a small blemish in the Graffiti area to a full blown yellow border on the entire screen, I decided it was time to take it back to my local Sprint store. The display also has a small green and red blemish against the right side that formed the first day I got it after running Solitaire Free. I never ran Solitaire Free again, but the green and red blemish never went away.
So, I go to the Sprint store and show it to them. They of course don't see anything wrong, but they said they would run diagnostics on it. When I come back a few hours later they tell me they are going to send me a replacement.
Two days later the replacement appears. I eagerly open it, looking forward to a new fresh screen. I attach my extra battery to it and turn it on.
The first thing I notice is that the screen has a definite yellow tint to it. The screen on my original is very white and this new one is yellowish. I think the best way to describe it is this. Have you ever had a PC monitor that let you switch between blue and red "warmth modes"? Basically the two screens are like that. The original is white and has the "blue warmth" and the replacement one is yellow and has the "red warmth".
The second thing I notice is that this one also has a blemish. It's in the middle of the screen, not too big, but only slightly less annoying than the full fledged yellow border on my original phone. The new phone display also has more of a side lighting look that my original phone doesn't have as much.
So, here's my question. Which would you keep? Would you keep the original one with the small green and red blemish and yellow border around the entire screen, but also has the white "blue warmth" sort of brighter looking screen. Or, would you keep the one that has the yellowish "red warmth" screen, the side lighting look and the smallish blemish in the center.
I read this forum all the time and really enjoy reading through all of the great comments and information everyone shares. I look forward to hearing what everyones thoughts are on this.
The I300 screen should have the bluish-white tone you saw on your first screen, with no discoloration, marks, blemishes, etc. Those are defects, as is a weird overall color.
You are not limited to keeping one or the other defective screen, you have a third option of insisting that they replace the phone with one that has a good screen, not just one that's differently flawed.
Originally posted by djschwar
So, here's my question. Which would you keep?
Thanks,
David
I agree with jfreas - return them both. Stay at it until they give you a good one. Most of the time your replacement phone is actually a used phone (one that was returned earlier), so be sure to inspect it first...
Well, I went back to my local Sprint store and showed them both phones. They wouldn't give me a new phone until I asked to speak with a manager. The customer service rep went away for a while and then came back and said her manager was going to let me exchange the phone, but only this one time.
So, she takes a new phone out of a sealed box and lets me check it out. The phone had the bright white screen like my original, and while it has no blemishes I could see in the few moments I looked at it, the display still had that side lighting look. I played with the phone a bit and decided this was probably the best I was going to get with this phone's display.
I beamed all of my data and apps to the new phone (BeamPro rocks for that) and left. So, we shall see how the display on this new phone works out.
Anyway, thanks to those who helped me out and answered my questions.
The phone had the bright white screen like my original, and while it has no blemishes I could see in the few moments I looked at it, the display still had that side lighting look.
If when you say 'side lighting' you mean that when holding it at a certain angle (especially a steep vertical angle), you can see ~7 individual areas of light glowing brighter on the edge of the screen, then that's what both of mine have always done. I figured it was just the design of the device. It appears to be much more prominant on the right side of my screens than anywhere else, but it really isn't noticable unless I look for it.
I'd say you probably have a normal unit at this point.
when you get the new phone, can you just sync it and have all your apps and address book or do you NEED a backup program??? if you do, whats the best?????
My phone has the blemishes too and there getting worse. but im scared ill lose info....help me.
does anyone know if the screen is active matrix in the 330??
maybe there wont be this problem with that one.
also, does anyone use the stock case???
the card holders on the flip part wiped the paint off of my phone in three tiny spots. the spot right next to the vol control, right above the sprint logo, and next to the phone button. they match up perfectly with the case....watch out!!!!!!!! its the botton credit card slot in the case.....and i never even put anything in the slots.
anyone else have this prob????
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Technology and women....is there more to life?????
Thanks for the warning on the standard case. I'm using the leather belt case and although it isn't as bad, it too can leave little marks if the snaps rub the front of the phone. I've turned mine face-out so if it rubs it will only mark the back.
As to backups, it should be automatic. The Palm Desktop software apparently makes a backup of the handheld everytime you sync. I had gathered all my installed software together before turning my phone in, in anticipation of having to reload everything. Brought the new phone home, sync'd once without reloading anything just to see what would happen, and bingo, everything was back in place including address book, Eudora, games, everything. It should be noted however, that this isn't 100%. For example, your voice dials will be lost and you'll have to re-record them, and I found that after the re-load, my Pocket Quicken wouldn't sync right anymore, so I had to reinstall it. Other than that it it was a simple swap.
My advice is to make sure you have your installation software available just in case, but I don't think you'll need it.
Well, I went to a different Sprint store and they ordered a replacement for me right away.
I got the replacement. It doesnt have any of the blemishes that were on my original. Also it doesnt "streak" as much. It is slightly brighter in the center of the screen (like lines and colors are more faded towards the center) but compared to my original its not bad at all.
The bad news is it has a yellow tint compared to my original which is pretty much pure white (with maybe a slight blue tint). The white looks off-white, giving the screen an "antique" look. Thats the best way I can describe it.
Hopefully after a while, I wont notice the off-whiteness. Anyone else have this problem? I think I only notice it because I am comparing it to my original.
My I300 developed the blue glow at in February (I got it in December). Over March it got worse; the circular glow around the speaker grow to almost 3/8"! I finally took my phone into the local Sprint store, but they couldn't help because they are no longer a service store. So, today I was finally near the MA Sprint service store (in Brookline) and took my phone in on it's 4 month aniversary. They swapped it out for a "reconditioned" phone; it looks brand new; I'd not have know it was reconditioned had the box not said so.
So, I'm happy with the results, although I think the "white glow spots" on the right hand side of the phone are more prominent than on my old one.
Let me add that I didn't beam from one phone to the other; I figured it would take too long. I'm just hotsyncing it now to restore everything. I made sure to hard reset the old phone as I let go of it.
I bought two of these phones on the same day at the same store (Best Buy - the day after Thanksgiving). One was for me, the other for my wife. After I had already synced up mine, I noticed that my wife's had a yellow tint while mine had a blue tint. I preferred the yellow tint, but since I had already given the phone to my wife I couldn't very well take it away from her with the argument that I should get the "nicer" one.
I haven't looked closely at my wife's phone in a while, but mine has the bluish border/blemishes as described. I just assumed that these defects are inherent to this screen technology. If people are replacing them with units that don't display this problem (or in only a very subtle way), perhaps I should think about replacing mine. I don't have the Sprint warranty coverage. I have an extended warranty through Best Buy.
I dont have the Sprint warranty coverage, but Sprint still replaced mine. I bought mine from Sprint.
It is a manufacturer's warranty I think, but I'm not sure when it expires. I had my phone for about 5 months and they replaced mine with a "refurbished" one. The replacement phone has a 90 day warranty.
I would take it in to a BestBuy or Sprint store and have them check it out. The first store I went to didnt think my phone had a problem, the second one replaced it no problem. So try multiple locations.
It all depends on how bad your screen is I guess, some are worse than others. It seems that your BestBuy extended warranty should cover any significant screen defect, especially if you can compare it to an in-store display that doesnt have the defects.
Depending on which store you go to and the day that the store manager has had, the warranty could be anywhere from 1 year or more. The average (and Sprint PCS policy) is 1 year.
I just got off the phone with Samsung Tech Support. I spoke with Jason, a Tier-2 rep, regarding a couple of issues I had questions about, the primary one was the screen-border fading issue.
Guess what? He had never heard about it!
I pointed him to this board and this thread and he was glad to receive the information. Apparently any complaints/exchanges through Sprint haven't generated any feedback to Samsung on the issue. Go figure, phone breaks, no reason to think the manufacturer might want to know about it
Anyway, they know about it now. He also said that anyone with a problem like that one can always contact Samsung directly. He said that if Sprint or another vendor won't take the phone in for service or exchange, Samsung would be happy to handle the repair directly. Granted it involves downtime that none of us would want to put up with, but I thought it was good of them to offer.
Less than 4 months later, I have a border glow on my replacement I300. Actually, the glow is only near the speaker, not really around the border. It is far less pronounced than my original phone.
Ring-around-the-screen.
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