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

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

I had to send my One back to HTC to repair a camera with the purple tint issues as well as poor camera performance. Needless to say i was perturbed at having to be without my cell phone for a week or more, but i was able to force a conversation with a savvy tech person to get an understanding as to why these cameras are burning out. As it turns out, i was told that the cameras either need the camera module or the camera circuit replaced on the mother board of the phone. The interesting thing is the tech person tried to avoid the reason the cameras need this fix , but i would not let him off the hook. It seems that the Zoe feature on our phones is the culprit. The reason why? well when the feature is engaged it is constantly running and waiting for a shot to happen. The lense stays open in order to get the photo. We all know that Zoes are short video clips where we get 3 seconds of video, however, the tech informed me that the lense is actually opne a full 5 seconds to get the correct capture. Here's the real deal though, when your Zoe button is engaged ZOE is running. It's not only burning up your battery but it's also burmimg up the camera module itself and the one within the mother board!!!!! Hence, what HTC calls a thermal defect! WOW and WTF! Right? It seems that HTC has recognized the problem and when you send your phone in for repair, they are replacing these modules with parts that can handle the higher resistance that Zos can demand. But, the tech did say he would make sure to always disengage the feature even if it's for only a minute, when not in use!

 

[JBeef]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

Mind = Blown.

Actually makes a lot of sense. ZOEs capture a few frames before you click the button so when it's turned on it must be relatively intensive for the phone unit.

 

[ajua]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

It makes sense. In other threads, heat has been the main guess.

Luckily I don't have that problem with my phone but since the 4.3 OTA arrived I see a blue/purple haze on very dark areas in lowlight environments. Sometimes I can get away with it focusing on any other area of the shot but most of the time it's impossible to avoid it altogether.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

It makes sense. In other threads, heat has been the main guess.

Luckily I don't have that problem with my phone but since the 4.3 OTA arrived I see a blue/purple haze on very dark areas in lowlight environments. Sometimes I can get away with it focusing on any other area of the shot but most of the time it's impossible to avoid it altogether.

In the 4.3 update, HTC tried to enhance some of the camera features and it actually created more strain on the camera module. That's why you're getting the purple tiniting in low light, so you DO have "the Problem" which HTC has identified as a "thermal defect/tiniting" problem! You can try to get your phone replaced with your carrier as i did initially, but my replacement phone was even worse and that's why i'm sitting here without a phone right now. I wanted to ask the HTC tech if the newer phones would have the higher resistance camera modules in them, but the conversation had already gone some 45 minutes and I totally forgot to ask! You would think they would right??

 

[rozroz]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

where i live, there's little chance to get a better replacement. i'll probably wait for a month while it's sent to wherever,
and i'll get a phone with the same problem. so i gave this up.

one question:
is there no way to disable ZOE and by this bypass the heating? i don't use it at all.

 

[IanMcB]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

It's definitely a heat thing, as I can take one or 2 pics without blue or purple tint but any more than that, or if I start the camera app after a heavy usage period, the haze is there. The thing I would question about Zoe being the culprit is that it also happens while running my phone as a GPE, which does not have Zoe.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

where i live, there's little chance to get a better replacement. i'll probably wait for a month while it's sent to wherever,
and i'll get a phone with the same problem. so i gave this up.

one question:
is there no way to disable ZOE and by this bypass the heating? i don't use it at all.

I really just believe that HTC didn't work out the Zoe feature very well with this phone and am trhinking the thermal tinting issue just happens regardless of Zoe use...As, Zoe is the software that i believe is constantly intereacting with the camera and motherboard regardless of whether it is engaged or not!

 

[Cool Jeff]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

I don't think it's ZOE which is killing the camera because I barely used it over the 6 months I had the One,perhaps a total of 7 times,so no!

 

[JBeef]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

I don't think it's ZOE which is killing the camera because I barely used it over the 6 months I had the One,perhaps a total of 7 times,so no!

He said it was heat causing the problem. Agreed ZOE is intensive and can cause the heating but if it gets too hot in another way, the same thing is going to happen.

 

[JBeef]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

where i live, there's little chance to get a better replacement. i'll probably wait for a month while it's sent to wherever,
and i'll get a phone with the same problem. so i gave this up.

one question:
is there no way to disable ZOE and by this bypass the heating? i don't use it at all.

If you don't use it you don't need to bypass it.

 

[rozroz]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

If you don't use it you don't need to bypass it.

so, you mean that if i don't activate it in the camera app then it's not "on" inside the system?
it that's so,
it does not improve anything with the heating issue that causes the purple tint.
it's there after 2-3 shots, even in cold weather, and even when i pick up the cold phone and take a picture.
so basically, with all due respect, the ZOE theory is a fail.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

so, you mean that if i don't activate it in the camera app then it's not "on" inside the system?
it that's so,
it does not improve anything with the heating issue that causes the purple tint.
it's there after 2-3 shots, even in cold weather, and even when i pick up the cold phone and take a picture.
so basically, with all due respect, the ZOE theory is a fail.

You could be right. However, the tech never said anything about the temperature of the phone as the problem. He merely stated that the camera hardware could not sustain the Zoe featue. He spoke of resistance, camera module, motherboard camera module, and thermal tinting. He could have totally been wrong, but there has to be a reason that HTC is replacing camera and motherboard modules for this problem!!

 

[adriandb]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

Interesting theory. I loaded a custom ROM based on the GPE long ago so I haven't had Zoes for a while now. No purple tint issues here.

 

[JBeef]

Re: Here's the SKINNY on the infamous PURPLE TINT (thremal defect)

so, you mean that if i don't activate it in the camera app then it's not "on" inside the system?
it that's so,
it does not improve anything with the heating issue that causes the purple tint.
it's there after 2-3 shots, even in cold weather, and even when i pick up the cold phone and take a picture.
so basically, with all due respect, the ZOE theory is a fail.

Yes, if you don't activate it, it's not on. With all due respect if you have the purple tint only a replacement part will fix it - the damage is already done. Temperature doesn't matter much by that point. If ZOEs can cause a component to be heat damaged surely other activity can also do this? Therefore the ZOE theory is not a fail. It just suggests that part of the camera is more sensitive to heat than it really should be. The only advice I would take away is if you don't have the problem, remember to turn the ZOE option off after use.

 

[Ninjatogo]

Can't put all the blame on the ZOEs. I have taken just under 200 pics so far and maybe an hour of video. Only 5 ZOEs, and they all looked just fine.
It's when the phone starts heating up past 28 degress C (yes, I did tests), that I start to see the tint artifacts. This is regardless of camera mode/settings for me.
ZOEs will probably make the existing problem worse, but it's not the sole problem here.

 

[rozroz]

now the question is, how's such a serious thermal defect was ignored?
i suspect they discovered it too late and had to release the device.
this cannot be undiscovered when doing simple QC testings.

 

[Cool Jeff]

They discovered it after it was commercialized.
The 1st report of this issue on XDA was on May while the One begun in April even March,even this report was not considered as important as only 1 or 2 guys got it back then,the defect is taking about 3 to 4 months to appear after production.
Another fact that Zoe has nothing to do with it is that we opened 4 different One from June to August batches and all 4 were having this issue out of the box,meaning the issue was there while nobody even started up the phone,so the defect is probably caused by long term exposure to humidity + heat (stocked in summer's depot for months) or these lens have simply factory faults

 

[rozroz]

They discovered it after it was commercialized.
The 1st report of this issue on XDA was on May while the One begun in April even March,even this report was not considered as important as only 1 or 2 guys got it back then,the defect is taking about 3 to 4 months to appear after production.
Another fact that Zoe has nothing to do with it is that we opened 4 different One from June to August batches and all 4 were having this issue out of the box,meaning the issue was there while nobody even started up the phone,so the defect is probably caused by long term exposure to humidity + heat (stocked in summer's depot for months) or these lens have simply factory faults

Not cool. Not cool at all.

 

[JBeef]

They discovered it after it was commercialized.
The 1st report of this issue on XDA was on May while the One begun in April even March,even this report was not considered as important as only 1 or 2 guys got it back then,the defect is taking about 3 to 4 months to appear after production.
Another fact that Zoe has nothing to do with it is that we opened 4 different One from June to August batches and all 4 were having this issue out of the box,meaning the issue was there while nobody even started up the phone,so the defect is probably caused by long term exposure to humidity + heat (stocked in summer's depot for months) or these lens have simply factory faults

We don't know ZOE has "nothing" to do with it. We do know the problem is caused by heat. If you have an HTC ONE that has the problem out the box, ZOEs won't change anything. If you have a phone with no fault, if you start using a lot of ZOEs the camera module starts working really hard, is more likely to get hot and it may be more likely to fail. I think that is the only information we can take away from the first post. If you have a part that is sensitive to heat ANY type of heat will affect it (the camera doesn't know where the heat is coming from).

I think people want a nice easy soundbite for the problem. But it's a complex issue so will have a complex answer. It's never going to be "All purple tints are caused by ZOEs".

I do have the purple tint but it's not that bad on my phone to be honest. I can definitely work around it when it does appear (only in very poor light). And I love ZOEs so will continue to use them when required.

 

[Cool Jeff]

The thing is that the ultrapixel technology was first used in DSLR (Sigma) ,the name was Foveon before becoming ultrapixel.
A DSLR body is naturally way more cool due to internal space,HTC thought they can use the Foveon tech inside a phone but they didn't take the time to test it (they choice was made in the last couple of weeks prior to production),the closed shell of the One and the tiny space easily heat the sensor which is more sensible than an ordinary lens,I bet if they used the 13mp lens they were planning to put in the One it won't had purple tint issue at all.
Leaving the phones in stock all summer long in a 30c environment even if still boxed and not used can harm the ultrapixel lens.
Another possible thing could be battery juice, when I was working at Sony after sales department,we received tons of burned camera lens because of battery juice leakage,Sony replaced them all for free and the culprit was a bad insulation design of battery compartment,perhaps this is the case with the One and it would explain the purple issue with out of the box units...