Related
Hi...
So i bought the new galaxy s...the best screen of mobile phones at the moment, super amoled....is everything to me except "super" right now.
The phone is merely a month old. I bought it from some guy that sells phones without the bill but with valid warranty (seal+signature) because in my country (Croatia) it wasn't officially available when I was buying it (it is now)...
Everything was fine for a week or so, when one morning I turned it on (left it for recharge during night) and noticed that something is wrong with the display. It had a certain "mist" layer (similar to when you boost brightness too much) in the home screen and menus were different too. I couldn't tell what exactly happened until I opened a few dark HD pictures.
I realized that the phone isn't displaying colors correctly, or their depth or something.
It displays them as if someone messed with color depth in driver settings and set it to 16 or even 8-bit (default is 24 or 32-bit as far as I know).
I tried fully resetting the phone (by typing in the code for factory wipe+reset) but with no luck.
Then I called the guy that sold it to me and he wasn't very polite, saying that it can't be possible and that I must have messed with phone or dropped it or something, which I haven't, I even have a special case for it to avoid scratches, etc. Nevertheless, he told me to send it to him and I did.
I also wrote him a short message explaining what the problem is, and even told him to compare the display with the other new galaxy s and to lookup some dark pictures, because the anomaly is best seen there.
The phone was for 2 weeks at him, and he kept saying that everything is alright with the display, that he compared it with other phone, etc. and that he'll keep running some tests just to make sure. I said alright, didn't want to mess with his job.
Today I received the phone. You're guessing - he didn't fix anything but I paid postal charges alright.
Since he doesn't seem to know or care about my problem I'm asking you for some favors. I need pictured proof of my anomaly, which I will then send to him again in hope he'll finally understand the problem and do something about it.
What I'm asking from you is to take screen shots of your Galaxy S with these two pictures on the screen (when they open click on them to get full size):
1. http://img824.imageshack.us/f/14213741.jpg/
2. http://img819.imageshack.us/f/35743610.jpg/
Please, just make sure that the pictures are clear to see. You might need to turn off your lights and take a night shot with macro to capture the screen properly.
After you do that, just post the screens here. I will need those pics to send him the evidence.
These are my screen shots, take a look at the pictures and you will see what I mean:
The home screen. Artifacts can be seen:
The menus screen:
The gallery screenshot, even here you can see the color anomaly:
The second pic. Please compare this to the second link I gave above:
And yes, everything is alright with my digital camera, the picture just looks that awful on the phone's screen
The second pic when screen dims after 30sec (notice how it adds purple layer):
The first pic. Please compare this to the first link I gave above:
The first pic when screen dims after 30sec:
So there it is...
If some of you wise people know how to fix this problem without sending it again to that guy or voiding the warranty, please do tell me. I assume it has something to do with color depth or something, maybe somehow that setting changed, don't know how or why, maybe some software I installed triggered it although none of it was illegal or malicious in any way...I think...
Thank you in advance for any help and I appreciate your efforts for helping!
Have you flashed any new firmwares lately?
No, I'm afraid to get the warranty void, nor do I know which firmware to flash, how to do it and how to un-do it. I also don't know if serial numbers will change or something :|
Sorry
Don't be sorry. I was just asking because there have been reports that some of the 2.2 froyo firmwares had some similar issues, but I think that was mostly when watching films.
So you didn't do anything "new" when this happened? Installed an app, messed with phone settings etc?
I received an advice to go to video player and while playing a video go to settings. There are some color controls but it didn't help.
One more thing I didn't mention before, the color anomaly is present even when phone boots up or shuts down, when those logos spin, etc. For example, when it boots, the big shiny "S" also has this anomaly instead of being smooth as it was originally...
Here, I even recorded a video of the bootup, maybe you can see what I mean although my digital camera isn't intended for capturing video so it may not be the best quality :/
At 0:14 where purple color is, it isn't smooth, instead it looks like thick lines of purple...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50G2uLFDo5I
Just take it to the closest Samsung Service Center for repair/replacement. Forget the dealer. If you have proper warranty papers there shouldn't be a problem.
Same thing happened to mine, bought directly from Vip, about one hour after turning it on. Returned it to the Vip center and got a new unit 2 days later.
In any case, the address of the authorized service center is somewhere on the eastern outskirts of Zagreb.
It's got warranty papers of that guy's company. I don't think it would be accepted by official Samsung service center because it's not the original Samsung warranty paper that is legitimate in every Samsung center. This guy owns a small cellphone service company, sells cellphones bought outside of Croatia and gives his own warranty on them. Who knows how he gets them, I just know he had Galaxy S far sooner than it appeared here officially. Thanks for the advice anyway...
BronzedDroid said:
Have you flashed any new firmwares lately?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you recommend to flash a new firmware? I've read guides and I can do it, I just need an advice which firmware to flash? Will it void the warranty?
Sorry for posting one post after another, but this is important. I found someone else with the same problem: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1520586
I don't think I'm gonna try flashing the firmware, I'll wait until monday to contact the warranty guy and ask for repair of the device or the replacement. I will also send him a link to this post, so if you can take your screenshots, now would be a good moment :/
Thanx
I'd do the shots but I've got nothing to take them with. Sorry.
In any case, a replacement is necessary. It's definitely a hardware fault and it appears to affect early units. My replacement device has a later manufacture date and a newer firmware than the first, dead one.
AnnihilatorSC said:
It's definitely a hardware fault and it appears to affect early units.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you know this, is there a link about this? Is it a known fault for early units? How do I know if my unit is an "early unit" ?
Wierd. You should definitely give Samsung a call. Your phone should be still under the manufacturers warranty. Hopefully they will replace the screen without any hassle.
Neo-ST said:
How do you know this, is there a link about this? Is it a known fault for early units?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't, sorry. I'm just guessing based on my experience and the fact that it happened to other people who bought the phones early on.
I just called the guy who gave me the "warranty" and they don't admit that there's a problem with the phone, instead I have to pay analysis at the official Samsung service center (approx. 10€) to get the official paper saying that something really is wrong with the screen. After that he'll give me a new phone and take this one.
I'm not 100% satisfied with this solution, but considering other options I had and a fact that I bought it on the black market, this one is fastest.
So...
My phone just returned from Samsung Service. Yes, the screen is faulty. I already knew that so it didn't surprise me, but behavior of the "warranty guy" did.
He attacked me verbally, saying that I'm a liar and that he doesn't believe me (although I did all this just because of him). He asked me worksheet number of my case at Samsung Service so that he can check if I'm telling the truth. To make to long story short, he refused to help even after he was convinced. One of his statements was "you bought the phone for half the price, what did you expect?! why didn't you buy the real one!".
After I ran out of nerves and being polite with him, I told him to fix the problem or face the consequences (inspectorate), after which he went mad again saying that I'm threatening him and that he can pay someone to find and kill me... I told him to do so freely. Then he yelled some more and finally hung up the phone. After 10 minutes I received a call from him saying to send him the phone on Monday.
So, suma summarum, I ended up being without the phone for more than a month and with 40€ of postal costs + Samsung Service's inspection.
I came across this thread, and it look interesting.
Best of luck claiming your warranty. There always problems when it comes to 'service' warranty, because the seller will need to repair/pay repair bill from Samsung/get you a new device from his own pocket.
I personally would never buy a electronic gizmo w/o manufacturer's warranty.
Neo-ST said:
So...
My phone just returned from Samsung Service. Yes, the screen is faulty. I already knew that so it didn't surprise me, but behavior of the "warranty guy" did.
He attacked me verbally, saying that I'm a liar and that he doesn't believe me (although I did all this just because of him). He asked me worksheet number of my case at Samsung Service so that he can check if I'm telling the truth. To make to long story short, he refused to help even after he was convinced. One of his statements was "you bought the phone for half the price, what did you expect?! why didn't you buy the real one!".
After I ran out of nerves and being polite with him, I told him to fix the problem or face the consequences (inspectorate), after which he went mad again saying that I'm threatening him and that he can pay someone to find and kill me... I told him to do so freely. Then he yelled some more and finally hung up the phone. After 10 minutes I received a call from him saying to send him the phone on Monday.
So, suma summarum, I ended up being without the phone for more than a month and with 40€ of postal costs + Samsung Service's inspection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow dude. Sorry you had to go through all that, that's just ridiculous. That guy clearly shouldn't be selling technology if he doesn't expect to get any returned because of issues. I hope you get it resolved okay and end up with a nice new phone.
So my phone decided to start rebooting at random times all the time. No matter what ROM was on there, or if it was charging or not, it would reboot.
I called HTC and the tech asked me what I had done/tried and after a bit he told me that the sensor that detects overheating was faulty (referreed to it as the hardware watchdog) which was causing a reboot. He said that it was entirely possible that my phones memory was also borked but was not going to commit to that. He did mention that the fact it is unlocked may have negative consequences as they could blame software for the hardware failure.
I was xferred to warranty dept and opted for the "mail me a shipping label and I will mail my phone back" option rather than a swap. They told me to keep the battery, sd card, sim card, phone back plate and take off any screen protectors.
I will update this threat with what I experience so others can see what to expect.
My poor Nexus...it has treated me well.
Off goes an AT&T non SLCD model...here's hoping I get back the same
Sent mine in Thursday for dust under the screen and the sound muffled, came back in Monday fully repaired and no dust to speak of.
Good luck, sometimes 2 weeks is the wrong expected timeframe. =)
Did you get back an Amoled version?
I have a repair ticket in because my headphone jack (I thought) was flaky. I rebooted a few times and it has been working great since. When I called, I had the CS rep find out if I would get a SLCD or an AMOLED screen back as my exchange. She reported that I would get a SLCD. So I never finished the process in fear of losing my AMOLED screen, which was a huge buying factor.
I figured I use my headphone port rarely vs my screen every time. But again it seems to be working fine now. I would swap them if I knew I would get an AMOLED back.
Ticket Information
Status: Service is complete. Please visit HTC Customer Survey if you would like to take a quick survey regarding your experience contacting HTC.
Service Type: Repair
Issue Description: rebooting - (possibly overheating?)
----------------------
now to wait for it to return to me. who wants to bet nothing was done to it
player911 said:
Did you get back an Amoled version?
I have a repair ticket in because my headphone jack (I thought) was flaky. I rebooted a few times and it has been working great since. When I called, I had the CS rep find out if I would get a SLCD or an AMOLED screen back as my exchange. She reported that I would get a SLCD. So I never finished the process in fear of losing my AMOLED screen, which was a huge buying factor.
I figured I use my headphone port rarely vs my screen every time. But again it seems to be working fine now. I would swap them if I knew I would get an AMOLED back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your trying to warranty exchange the att unit, then I'm pretty sure you won't get the slcd unit! They stopped manufacturing the att units before manufacturing the slcd units. Anyone who swaps the att unit are only swapping for recycled refurbished att units.
Phone is back and seems fixed. They also locked my bootloader which goes to prove its possible.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I sent mine in for power button repair on Monday using the prepaid label. they got it yesterday morning and when I checked this morning, the status says its repaired. Hopefully it'll arrive by saturday.
I just got my phone delivered. Exactly 5 business days - mailed it on Monday and arrived today. I'm certain that its my original N1 because I made an inscription before sending it in. The power button is fixed and very responsive. I'm wondering how they are able to lock it. I had rooted my N with Cyanogen 6.1 on it. Gotta start all over again.
Hey, guys after reading this thread I decided to call HTC about my N1's paint peeling issue. I opted for the swap but I'm a little hesitant now because my bootloader's unlocked. Even though the paint chipping is under warranty, the unlocking the bootloader isn't. The lady said that I'll have to pay for any "out of warranty" repairs with my phone. Do you guys think I should go ahead with the swap or ask for them to not do the swap (I can just tell them that I don't want to be charged $529)? or should I even send my N1 in at all? Thanks guys!
I sent in a Nexus One rooted phone that was completely dead. The LED wouldn't even light up when plugged in.
Exactly 1 week later they fixed it, all under warranty.
quarq said:
I sent in a Nexus One rooted phone that was completely dead. The LED wouldn't even light up when plugged in.
Exactly 1 week later they fixed it, all under warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did u do the swap option or did you send in your Zune?
timchoi89 said:
Hey, guys after reading this thread I decided to call HTC about my N1's paint peeling issue. I opted for the swap but I'm a little hesitant now because my bootloader's unlocked. Even though the paint chipping is under warranty, the unlocking the bootloader isn't. The lady said that I'll have to pay for any "out of warranty" repairs with my phone. Do you guys think I should go ahead with the swap or ask for them to not do the swap (I can just tell them that I don't want to be charged $529)? or should I even send my N1 in at all? Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well HTC seems fair with their warranty policy. Never had to deal with them, but from what I read, if the issue is not caused by unlocking the bootloader (and I am almost 100% positive paint chipping did not start by changing the ROM ) they will honor the warranty. Look up all those posts with people with failing power button and an unlocked bootloader, getting it exchanged under warranty.
deprecate said:
Phone is back and seems fixed. They also locked my bootloader which goes to prove its possible.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure your bootloader is relocked? When I sent mine in for rebooting I got the same phone back... same serial no and imei sticker under the battery, but when I connect to adb it's a different serial number. I'm guessing they swapped out the motherboard but left everything else the same (including amoled screen) which would on turn give you a locked bootloader.
HTC can lock the bootloader again, they can also set your HBOOT to S-OFF, which is probably how they lock it.
How can I tell if I have a AMOLED screen or not? Going to swap with HTC. So I guess I need to know what I'm getting in the mail from them. My nexus one would not make calls or connect to voice or data anymore. Thanks
CentralWARMK said:
How can I tell if I have a AMOLED screen or not? Going to swap with HTC. So I guess I need to know what I'm getting in the mail from them. My nexus one would not make calls or connect to voice or data anymore. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, if you don't know what you have, then what do you care what you get back?
I'm glad you got a laugh out of it. At least someone is happy today.
But, yes I would like to know. Do you know?
The only way to tell is with your eyes. In a dark room, bring up a mostly black screen. On an AMOLED it will be black, on SLCD you'll get backlight bleed.
Thanks Rusty It looks like its a AMOLED screen! yee ha HTC was fast on sending a Nexus one on the swap. Only four days since I called.
Well, I sat on the A7 and now my screen is broken.
I have e-mailed the company to ask about getting it fixed. but I'm not sure if they offer any kind of repair service at this point. I will await their reply (most liklely won't hear back till monday)
Does anyone know if/where I can get a replacement/compatable screen. If worst come to worst I will endeavor to fix it my self.
Any ideas???...
I'd be extremely interested in you attempting to put a higher res LCD on there...
I don't think that would work without some kinds og kernal hacking/modding, and that's something I can't do.
So unless someone can confirm otherwise or supply a kernal that would work, i'll stick with the stock res.
I'm hoping eLocity/Stream TV will be able to fix it. Just flashed it back to stock, just in case I have to ship it back for repair. I can still see a bit of the right side of the screen thankfully.
RojasTKD said:
Well, I sat on the A7 and now my screen is broken.
I have e-mailed the company to ask about getting it fixed. but I'm not sure if they offer any kind of repair service at this point.
Does anyone know if/where I can get a replacement/compatable screen. If worst come to worst I will endeavor to fix it my self.
Any ideas???...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some credit cards, like Mastercard and Visa, provide protection against accidental breakage for a period of time after purchase (maybe 30 days?). Worth giving them a call...
jazzbone said:
Some credit cards, like Mastercard and Visa, provide protection against accidental breakage for a period of time after purchase (maybe 30 days?). Worth giving them a call...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Humm... I'll have to look into it. Thanks.
Not going to get my hopes up though....
Well, I still haven't heard anything back from eLocity/Stream TV. I e-mailed them again yesterday.
I got it using by debit card so that won't offer any coverage.
Still have no clue as to how to find a replacement screen.
My screen is wonky, and I didn't sit on mine. I had been using it 5 days, it charged while sitting on a couch overnight, I turned it on in the morning and the screen has a vertical line and an slightly tilted line down the screen and a it's all jumbled. There is no damage to the plastic anywhere, and I have no idea what could have caused it, it was working great the night before. I contacted Elocity twice by their site and twice by phone, and they still haven't responded to set up a return. On the phone they recommended returning with TigerDirect, who I bought it from. After describing the problem to them, I'm now attempting to exchange it with TD. We'll see how this goes...
Well eLocity customer service really stinks.
I e-mailed them twice to find out if I could get my broken screen repaired. I have not gotten a reply in three weeks plus. I called them and was told Tech support would contact me with in 48 hours (work hours), I have not heard back in nearly a week and a half.
It's a shame because it a decent tablet.
I heard u!
That's why I returned this Junk!
I recently purchased a Samsung Omnia 7 online from someone who had won the phone in a competition held by optus.
It came with the proof of winning and it was all sealed, no issues at all with the transaction.
The phone works great, but it has a dead pixel right in the middle of the screen. It's small but it's annoying now that I've noticed it and lets face it, who wants to start getting dead pixels with their new phone.
I asked the person it says to contact on this letter with any problems and they said to return it to the store where it was won from (And I'm very far away from there since it's in Queensland) and they will start the repair procedure.
That's not really an option, it would be such a hassle to ship it back to the guy I bought it from and get him to do all the work. Plus it would take me a month to get my phone back between it being away for repair and then being sent back to be again.
I called Samsung and I have the option to send it to service centers in Sydney, but the guy from Samsung said it might not be worth it because it may have to be several pixels in order to be repaired/replaced.
I looked around and couldn't really find solid answers for mobile phone dead pixel policies.
Is it worth sending back or am I going to have to live with this?
It's a real disappointed, and although it's one pixel, this will say something about how Samsung cares about their customer and quality of product to me.
If I don't walk away happy, I won't be going Samsung again.
Anyway, to send it for repair or not too? Is Samsung going to care about one pixel? I don't want to do it, if it will be a waste of time.
Hmm... I don't know about samsung repair policy, but I think that for phone screens 1 dead pixel is enugh to be repaired. For monitors and TV there need to be more... more than 10 I think but for a phone... I really don't know, if the guy from Samsung says that it will not be replaced than it probobly won't. Try calling again and hope that another person will answer not the same guy and ask him/her about their return/replace policy, how many dead pixels need to be there on a PHONE screen. You should also specify that it's a super AMOLED screen and wich phone model it is.
Anyway, it's not only Samsung, every other phone manufactures are nearly the same.
i had a dead pixel on my old school omnia (i900) on the bottom left corner of my screen. I sent it to the samsung repair centre and they replaced the screen for me!
So good luck with your quest
The international standard for dead/bright pixels is from 3 to 6 dots, no matter what size screens, but companies have there own policies, I know hong kong samsung has 3 whether it's a phone or a screen on a TV/monitor, so i imagine it's the same around the world, like wise apple has a 0 dead pixel on the iphone, but 3-5 on notebooks to over 7-10 on desktop monitors (i think, seen it mention somewhere), although apple doesnt state it, it's just for staff and internal referrences.
correct me if i'm wrong.
To the OP,
Try this link: http://www.samsung.com/au/support/location/serviceLocator.do?page=SERVICE.LOCATION
When my antenna died, I popped in to my local repair centre and they had it fixed within 3 days, all on warranty. It may be worth calling them first if your nearest one is a long way.
Doing it this way means you can avoid going through the shop you bought it from and deal directly with Samsung (who don't care where you bought it, as long as it's in warranty).
Hey everyone! just wanted to share my experience so far.
I got an HTC One m7 last year, and I love almost everything about it, except it began to develop the pink camera tint. For those who don't know, many m7's have a manufacturing/design defect that causes the camera to slowly degrade, and as a result, all low light pics come out with a pink or purple haze across the image.
I took my phone over to the bell store, where I signed a couple documents, and the rep sent the phone over to the repair center. The phone was in "Like-New" condition, and still in warranty.
I waited about a week, and today I got an email telling me that the repair facility was refusing to repair the phone citing physical damage (there was none, maybe a micro scratch!), and to get it back they would charge a $35 diagnostic fee. I don't even really care about the fee (although there shouldn't be one) I just want my phone fixed.
I called Bell and they escalated the issue and told me someone from the repair center would call me in 24-72 hours. They wouldn't give me a number to call, so now I have no choice but to play the waiting game...
bbmaster123 said:
Hey everyone! just wanted to share my experience so far.
I got an HTC One m7 last year, and I love almost everything about it, except it began to develop the pink camera tint. For those who don't know, many m7's have a manufacturing/design defect that causes the camera to slowly degrade, and as a result, all low light pics come out with a pink or purple haze across the image.
I took my phone over to the bell store, where I signed a couple documents, and the rep sent the phone over to the repair center. The phone was in "Like-New" condition, and still in warranty.
I waited about a week, and today I got an email telling me that the repair facility was refusing to repair the phone citing physical damage (there was none, maybe a micro scratch!), and to get it back they would charge a $35 diagnostic fee. I don't even really care about the fee (although there shouldn't be one) I just want my phone fixed.
I called Bell and they escalated the issue and told me someone from the repair center would call me in 24-72 hours. They wouldn't give me a number to call, so now I have no choice but to play the waiting game...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well u are not in USA. I had couple of devices with this deffect fixed under warranty even when warranty was expired. Call the consumer support number in your country and talk to them and tell them u have done your homework and this is a well known deffect and it should be taken care by them. Or wait maybe they will call.I never deal with carriers in this situation s call directly the manufacturer. Good luck.
Well, its been a while now, and it looks like I may have to send the phone to HTC since Bell are a bunch of ********. I eventually got a call, but it wasn't from the repair center, it was from USA's tech support, and the gentleman told me he had no idea what was going on, and that he couldn't help me at all, nor could he offer any type of recourse, or contact information for someone that may be able to help. I am very displeased as you can probably see. Anyway, I wrote HTC a letter complaining about their service. Here's what I wrote to them for your amusment:
Hello,
I recently sent my phone in to repair it's camera that wasn't working correctly. I was denied the repair, citing physical damage (I have documentation from the Bell store stating otherwise) and the device has now been marked down to be shipped back without the repair, when I did not give my consent, nor talk to anyone who had any bit of control over the repair process. I am very displeased at the service that has been given to me, as well I do not appreciate being lied to, or cheated out of the repair I am entitled to.(the phone's camera issue is a widely documented factory defect, just search Google or call HTC about the m7 pink camera issue). As well, I am appalled at how Bell has tried its hardest to evade my asking for help, instead pointing fingers at other divisions of the company and telling me to go talk to them. And finally, I would have liked to call the repair center, or visit the facility directly as I understand it is fairly close to me, but the information I have been seeking was kept secret from me. If you listen to the recording of the support call I made last week, you will hear the agent telling me that the company actively tries to withold this information.
I WANT MY PHONE REPAIRED. Not returned defective. If my phone is returned defective, you can be sure I will not renew my contract with Bell, ever.
Brandon Benyacar
I can only hope they read this letter sooner than later. Anyway, that's my repair experience so far. Lesson learned: Don't by a phone right away, let a few months go by and see if any major problems turn up. also, note to self: Buy extended warranty.
I may post one more time if anything else worth sharing happens. Have a good day everyone!
I'll also post my experience with the purple tint problem. Got my phone in may/june 2013 and got the purple tint somewhere around september 2013. Over time, it got worse in dark settings, but as the phone was still ok during daylight, never bothered too much. This year I finally took the effort to get it fixed. I contacted HTC europe (as I live in the Netherlands) about the problem and they said to just make an appointment; if I had caused the problem, I had to pay 35 euros research costs and if I agreed, an additional fee for the repairs.
As I rooted the phone like a month after I got it (unlocked through HTC dev website), I was kinda 'scared' they would say that would be the cause, but I followed all wonderful steps here to get it S-OFF and in locked/untampered state again and send it off. Made the appointment (UPS came to pick it up) and after a few days I got the email it was ready and repaired. Today (after about 10 days) they delivered the phone back. No charge at all.
So my experience with HTC customer support is fairly positive at the moment. Purple tint is indeed gone. Sadly, my original phone was just fixed and not swapped for an M8, but still no complaints about their service.
PandorasNL said:
I'll also post my experience with the purple tint problem. Got my phone in may/june 2013 and got the purple tint somewhere around september 2013. Over time, it got worse in dark settings, but as the phone was still ok during daylight, never bothered too much. This year I finally took the effort to get it fixed. I contacted HTC europe (as I live in the Netherlands) about the problem and they said to just make an appointment; if I had caused the problem, I had to pay 35 euros research costs and if I agreed, an additional fee for the repairs.
As I rooted the phone like a month after I got it (unlocked through HTC dev website), I was kinda 'scared' they would say that would be the cause, but I followed all wonderful steps here to get it S-OFF and in locked/untampered state again and send it off. Made the appointment (UPS came to pick it up) and after a few days I got the email it was ready and repaired. Today (after about 10 days) they delivered the phone back. No charge at all.
So my experience with HTC customer support is fairly positive at the moment. Purple tint is indeed gone. Sadly, my original phone was just fixed and not swapped for an M8, but still no complaints about their service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear everything worked out for you. I contacted HTC a few days back and explained what happened and they said they would be happy to repair my phone at no cost, and agreed with me about Bell's repair process being all sleazy. I just need to wait until my phone gets shipped back from Bell's repair center first.
I think I read somewhere that sometimes HTC will put in a higher quality camera module. do you notice the picture being better than the original? (before the purple tint started)
I really don't want my phone to be swapped for an m8, I like the m7 better. slightly smaller, capacitive buttons, and a more symmetrical speaker grille. Not to mention its super easy to s-off. though I might not mind if they give me an M9! HAHA
well, its been about a month, and after much trouble, I finally got my phone fixed. See, When I got my phone back from Bell, HTC told me to ship my phone to a company called Futuretel, located about 15 minutes from where I live. I shipped it, and a few days later, received an email claiming that the repair would not be covered under warranty, and would cost me $226. they also have a policy that requires them to replace both the camera, and the motherboard at the same time, hence the price.
Their first claim was that my H-Boot date on the bootloader screen tells them that my phone had been tampered with. I did install custom firmware, but I flashed it back to stock, with the date showing January 29 2014, before I even bought the phone(not that they would know that) so I called them out on their claim. Then, they disregarded that claim, and now stated that since was that since my phone was S-Off, I was not entitled to a repair. Everything else on the phone was stock, bootloader locked, tampered flag removed and status showing locked.
talking directly to Futuretel was futile, so I called HTC and explained how refusing a defective hardware warranty because of S-Off is like ford refusing to replace your faulty transmission because you changed your headlights. The two are completely unrelated (unless your mechanic REALLY sucks I supposed). They agreed, but still wouldn't fix my phone.
My father, who isn't really a lawyer, but knows quite a lot for an average guy, wrote up a legal document for me to sue HTC. This isn't his first lawsuit, so he knew exactly how to write it up properly and file it into small claims court. I sent a copy over to HTC, and the next day, they offered to pay for the repair. It probably just wasn't worth it for them to fight it, so they gave in.
I also let HTC know of all the horrible reviews and complaints of this repair facility, with many of the stories online ending in either ridiculous repair costs, refusal of repairs for stupid reasons, or devices being returned with additional damage. HTC said they would do an investigation on this facility. that being said, Futurtel repaired my phone in 2 days time, and returned it in the same condition it left (actually, slightly better condition, my power button was losing its black paint, and they replaced it. small, but good attention to detail).
I powered up the phone to 5.0.2, and firmware version 7.17.666.7 which I believe is the newest version (a google search produced no results). They also replaced my mainboard, so everything was stock, and I had a new IMEI. tested out the camera, and its a night and day difference. Now my pics look the way they were meant to look. Once again, I am a happy customer.
I hope my experience inspires others to fight back, know your rights, and don't take no for an answer. I would love to hear other people's success and failure stories, especially ones pertaining to this pink camera issue.
Now onto installing insertcoin's sense 5.5 ROM. I just like it better than sense 6!
My related experience recently, I acquired almost new imported HTC One from local dealer, and there was Pink Tint, I took it to HTC Service Center in my locality, I had already did OTA updates and the phone is in Lollipop, the support person said, it will take 5500 INR (88 USD) which I agreed, then they said it is imported phone, the camera module might not be compatible they don't have software to calibrate the camera since the phone is in Lollipop (?!), and it is the risk they are not willing to take! they don't even try to repair and say it did not work. Their excuse was once they attempt to install new camera, and it doesn't work the Camera will be completely shut off even day light photos will not be possible. Looks like I had to live with purpley photos!
santhoshr said:
My related experience recently, I acquired almost new imported HTC One from local dealer, and there was Pink Tint, I took it to HTC Service Center in my locality, I had already did OTA updates and the phone is in Lollipop, the support person said, it will take 5500 INR (88 USD) which I agreed, then they said it is imported phone, the camera module might not be compatible they don't have software to calibrate the camera since the phone is in Lollipop (?!), and it is the risk they are not willing to take! they don't even try to repair and say it did not work. Their excuse was once they attempt to install new camera, and it doesn't work the Camera will be completely shut off even day light photos will not be possible. Looks like I had to live with purpley photos!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, you can always use flash to avoid pinkish photos in the night. I didn't even bother to get mine repaired for free.
Semseddin said:
Don't worry, you can always use flash to avoid pinkish photos in the night. I didn't even bother to get mine repaired for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the flash helps(thank god its even there), but still, video in low light is practically unusable.
It's not acceptable that HTC can get get away with this(though I found it had more to do with the repair facilities), and you should fight it if you've got the time, especially now that they have introduced that "oops protection" this for the M9. If they can replace an M9 at no charge for dropping your phone onto concrete, then they should at least be able to fix their own factory defect. Even if its out-of-warranty. Its what I believe is fair.
by the way, after they fix, not only are the pictures not pink, but they're less grainy now, and they're not washed out.
I too had this problem since last 1.5 years.. somewhere read online that you can get rid of it by placing your cellphone in freezer for sometime and it will get rid of the pink/purple issue of camera. So I did it.
WHat to do-
1.) I placed my cellphone HTC One(M7) in my freezer nicely wrapped in a small towel
2.) changed my refrigerator setting to the coolest...
3.) kept it in there for almost 20 minutes
4.) Took it out.... and no more Pinkish pics.......
Not sure if its permanent solution as I have tried it today only.... but as of now I am happy to see my camera work as good as new.... NO FAULTS WHATSOEVER.
It worked for me.. hopefully it can work for someone else as well.. please try at your own risk and make sure to cover your cellphone properly before trying this option.
anilkapoor9 said:
I too had this problem since last 1.5 years.. somewhere read online that you can get rid of it by placing your cellphone in freezer for sometime and it will get rid of the pink/purple issue of camera. So I did it.
WHat to do-
1.) I placed my cellphone HTC One(M7) in my freezer nicely wrapped in a small towel
2.) changed my refrigerator setting to the coolest...
3.) kept it in there for almost 20 minutes
4.) Took it out.... and no more Pinkish pics.......
Not sure if its permanent solution as I have tried it today only.... but as of now I am happy to see my camera work as good as new.... NO FAULTS WHATSOEVER.
It worked for me.. hopefully it can work for someone else as well.. please try at your own risk and make sure to cover your cellphone properly before trying this option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you really think our phones are designed to withstand below zero temperatures? This is a terrible idea which is most likely only a temporary fix (if your phone survives it).
While not a true "fix" I just edit the effected pictures and add an effect to them. 2 of the effects work well to remove the purple haze in pictures (depending on the picture each effect works better than the other). Not perfect, I understand, but they come out looking quite good.