HTC One: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thermal defect)

[DSultan]

I didn't read all 5 pages of this thread, so if this had been answered, my apologies. I had the purple (or blue, or red) picture problem with my HTC One and it was frustrating as hell. Sprint was good enough to replace my unit with a brand new phone which I picked up a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, the new phone takes purple pics as well. Do I have any recourse?

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

I didn't read all 5 pages of this thread, so if this had been answered, my apologies. I had the purple (or blue, or red) picture problem with my HTC One and it was frustrating as hell. Sprint was good enough to replace my unit with a brand new phone which I picked up a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, the new phone takes purple pics as well. Do I have any recourse?

Interesting that you got a replacement with the same problem or worse! It goes to show that carriers won't order new merchandise until the old is gone. If you just bought the phone then it's warranted by HTC for one year! You'll need to send it in to HTC like I did to get the problem repaired! The repair solved the problem for me and several others in this thread! But, I'm using the M8 now and it has its own set of camera related problems. Takes good pictures until the lens coating starts to deteriorate. Once again,I had to return my phone to HTC! All is perfectly good now! The M8 is the way to go!

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[javierlp]

I called HTC 2 weeks ago and they offered to repair my out of warranty M7/for free. They received it last friday and they sent me an Email that the repair would cost $180. I immediately called them and they "escalated" my case. On the tracking site is now showing as In Repair.

I'll let you guys know what transpires.

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[litig8or98]

By way of update, I got my phone back from the repair facility after about 8 days. Couldn't tell it had been in for repair; I would love to know how they crack these things open, and then can seal them back up, with no apparent ill effects. I've had the phone back for about 2 and a half weeks now, and so far, the camera is working well. No purple. We'll see what the future holds.

 

[Wexal]

Changes in the ISO setting do not affect any change in the purplish / red tinting. I do know that the last 3 generations of HTC phones Fuze, Vivid & M7 have been eager to become warm during use.

 

[TimmyB]

I read the entire first and last pages of this thread, but not the middle ones, so...

My wife and I have identical M7's, purchased in May 2013. Both cameras have operated fine, until about a month ago, when my wife complained that hers was taking really lousy pictures. I know she was happy with her camera, before, so what happened? When I went to look at her phone, it was exactly as the others described: purple/pink tint, very grainy in low-light situations. She is not so great at updating her software, so I spent several hours, making sure she had the latest updates, including the monstrous one from ATT that came out in about June. Clearly, her camera has gone bad, and it wasn't the result of any software updates.

When I called HTC, the person walked me through a few steps, then said, yep, it's bad. The only thing to do was send it in for repair, which would be between $200 and $250! For an 18-month-old phone? No, thanks. Very disappointing, as we really love everything else about our One's.

Not sure what steps to take next, and if it's a new phone, not sure of brand.

 

[javierlp]

Call again.

Tell them you've researched online and that this issue is widely documented and that they should take care of it.

They will take care of you.

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[TimmyB]

OK, so just for fun last night, I thought I'd try what another user had tried: I put my wife's phone in the freezer for about 6 minutes, taking before and after pictures. Unbelievable difference.

Then, this morning, I took the same picture. Back to the way it was.

As for whether or not bad software caused this issue, I'll leave that for others. What I do know is, the hardware definitely now has an issue, and it is definitely heat and/or humidity related. Very disappointing, either way.

 

[pwrof3]

I have just given up and live with the fact that I won't be able to take night or low light photos until I get a new phone next year

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[Turtlebob]

just made a claim with HTC, my phone was outside of the warranty period. I advised the purple haze issue seems to be a common issue with people online. The agent agreed and also agreed to repair the phone at no cost. Just wanted to let you know in case you are worried about being outside of a warranty period that you should let them know you did research online and it appears to be a common issue as stated here by many others.

 

[TimmyB]

I have sent two emails to their support department, and have not received a reply to either one of them. Needless to say, I'm a bit frustrated by this. Guess I'll have to call them.

 

[Turtlebob]

Call them, i tried their online chat and the agent basically said i was out of luck. When i called, they were agreeable that it was a common issue and that it was covered even though i was outside of warranty. Just let them know that many people are having the same issue online and it appears to be a thermal defect with the camera. They already know this of course, but aren't likely to admit it over the phone unless you present them with evidence that others are also having the same issue. Be cordial on the phone, it seems to have gotten me what i needed!

 

[zauche]

When I called them two weeks ago, upon learning I had the problem when using the camera for the first time while on vacation, I was told the warranty period for the phone was extended to 15 months and I would be covered. I suggested going into one of HTC's walk-in repair locations, because one is a few miles from my home, but the representative (he was in South America) said I had to mail it to Houston in order for the repair to be done. I sent it off a couple of days ago and today I got an "out of warranty" message, along with a repair estimate of $180. I have sent an email relating the above and also referring to this discussion, but I have not yet had a reply. The fact that they have waived the warranty expiration claim and repaired the problem as recently as yesterday gives me hope.

 

[rozroz]

the M7 phone is great, the camera is CRAP . let's face it. this glitch is a huge let down for many people.
i just don't use the camera (i mainly need it indoors).
if i have known i might be stuck with this problem, i would have NEVER bought the phone.

 

[Anoles]

To those who took their phones to Sprint and received an exchange - exactly what procedure did you follow? I've spoken with Sprint, and I've been told that my phone cannot be exchanged. They told me the warranty is up and that it's not their fault/problem. One support agent even told me that, due to my having the phone for more than 14 days, exchanges due to defects cannot be honored.

With all of these accounts of people getting a new [refurbished as they may be] phone, I am somewhat surprised that I'm being told that I am all but screwed. Any advice?

 

[Turtlebob]

just made a claim with HTC, my phone was outside of the warranty period. I advised the purple haze issue seems to be a common issue with people online. The agent agreed and also agreed to repair the phone at no cost. Just wanted to let you know in case you are worried about being outside of a warranty period that you should let them know you did research online and it appears to be a common issue as stated here by many others.

UPDATE: Well, just got an email from HTC, they are claiming the phone is water damaged. My phone has never seen water, i have made sure of that. Telling me it will be $324 dollars to repair. I will not be buying an HTC again. This is despite overwhelming evidence that the purple haze has to due with the sensor as stated by many other people with this phone.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

UPDATE: Well, just got an email from HTC, they are claiming the phone is water damaged. My phone has never seen water, i have made sure of that. Telling me it will be $324 dollars to repair. I will not be buying an HTC again. This is despite overwhelming evidence that the purple haze has to due with the sensor as stated by many other people with this phone.

Just get the M8, I had that phone for 6 months and it's leaps and bounds better than the M7. The M7 was a good phone but the camera really did suck and the m8 was a great improvement. I used it for 6 months and there were none of the issues with the m8 camera that you had with M7. But, with that being said the m8 did run into problems with the rear lens glass becoming easily scratched. It was the weirdest thing actually. There are fixes for it all over the internet. I just returned my to HTC and they fixed it free of charge and it worked flawlessly ever since.

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[Christine726]

Class action suit? Lol. Yes, it's truly annoying

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[mkhall]

Frankly, this phone is terrific except for the camera. It's too bad, really, that I bought it because of the purported excellent low-light camera. They offered to fix it under warranty, but I'd have to go without a phone for ten business days while they repaired it.

It's a shame that their poor customer support has turned me off HTC for life.

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[BigBlueEdge]

Looks like HTC is owning up and doing the right thing. I called support (866-963-0953) Friday and all I had to tell them is "I have an HTC One M7 with the purple camera problem." They immediately got me set up with a repair order and provided a free 2-day UPS shipping label to return it. They didn't make me do any testing or try any fixes or troubleshooting. They assessed the phone promptly after receiving it and it is being repaired for free. They did tell me the repair center might send out a quote asking for money since the phone is out of warranty - which did happen - but I followed their initial directions and called back to have customer service get the quote immediately waived and back into the repair queue. No hassles, no charge.

They said they will repair it by replacing some hardware (thought they said camera module, but not exactly sure). There will not be a swap for a refurb phone. For this out-of-warranty coverage they also won't do the pre-ship version of their repair where they send out a replacement unit before you send yours in, for the same reason.

When I get it back in a couple days I'll advise if the repair is anything other than successful and smooth.

One caveat is that if there is any other problem with the phone (cracked screen, case damage, etc.) they may require that it be fixed too before or along with the camera fix, at your cost.

Rob