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

[t_p]

I just thought I'd chime in my experience. My wife and I both have TMO HTC One's running 4.3 and neither of us had ever had camera issues before (except for me in the beginning when I had to get mine replaced by HTC because the camera couldn't focus.. That was a fun one too...). I used her phone on Christmas morning propped up by the Christmas tree to record what turned out to be a straight hour of video while we and our kids unwrapped gifts... During and since that video being recorded, her pictures and videos often (but not always.. maybe half the time or a little less - I am guessing...) turn out purple coated.... Draw your conclusions. My wife would rather live with it than go without her phone but I sure would like to get it fixed.

 

[Marvin-13]

I just thought I'd chime in my experience. My wife and I both have TMO HTC One's running 4.3 and neither of us had ever had camera issues before (except for me in the beginning when I had to get mine replaced by HTC because the camera couldn't focus.. That was a fun one too...). I used her phone on Christmas morning propped up by the Christmas tree to record what turned out to be a straight hour of video while we and our kids unwrapped gifts... During and since that video being recorded, her pictures and videos often (but not always.. maybe half the time or a little less - I am guessing...) turn out purple coated.... Draw your conclusions. My wife would rather live with it than go without her phone but I sure would like to get it fixed.

Has it gotten any worse/better? Once I get mine back this Wednesday (unless FedEx pushes it back again) ill let you know if it is worth it or not. In my opinion though, if they can fix it for free (except shipping) under warranty why not go for it? Two weeks max won't kill anyone (at least not yet ).

I still don't understand the whole thing but I think heat has at least a small part in it because when I first start taking pictures on a given day the quality slowly becomes worse the more pictures I take, at least with the defective lens. It doesn't make sense though that this problem has not affected any other device to such a great extent, htc or not, metal or not, etc.

 

[Marvin-13]

I sent mine in, and they are trying to BS me saying that the speaker needs repair and it's not under warranty. I argued with them that the reason i sent phone in is for the Camera, not the speaker and they claim it's either all or nothing fix. They wont fix the phone unless i pay $90 for speaker replacement.

When i asked them why speaker doesn't work, they couldn't prove it doesn't work, They said oh case is damaged. I literally only dropped my pone 1 time ever and it has a small nick on the bottom and i think they are claiming that is not covered under warranty. Nick is so tiny you honestly wouldn't see it unless i pointed it out. So i think it's BS they just want me to pay for repair and labor so they don't have to keep fixing their cameras.

Here is what my pictures looked like in low lighting...

View attachment 101520

You had me worried there because I have a noticeable dent on the back of the phone where I had it in my pocket (WITH a case) and it banged into a desk at school.

It's odd that they would give that as a reason though. Maybe you talk on the phone too much and your ear sweat built up enough moisture to damage the circuits used for producing sound out of the speakers!? What did you end up doing?

 

[05 TypeS DC5]

sorry for late reply, i actually never talk on my phone physically. I connect it via blutooth to my car's nav and even then i maybe use 100-200 minutes of talk time a month... I mainly use my phone to text and browse web and of course social media.

That dent you referring too is the same issue i had. Was like a small pin sized dent on the back of the case like i walked into the edge of the desk, funny thing is I too had it in a case. Except my case is like the thinnest case i could find. ;-)

When they first listed that my phone had an issue that was out of warranty I immediately called HTC support and complained and had them escalate the issue. When escalation finally called me back 2-3 days later i complained again that my speaker is fine, I even did the test where they give you some number to call that allows you to test all the phone settings including speaker and it passed. I told him all I want is the camera fixed, that's why i mailed it and told him that and said well I'll wait for the people who fix the phones to email me pictures. Then like 2 hours later he called me back saying ok we'll fix it free of cost. I finally get my phone today so I'll let you know how it turns out. I'll try to take exact same pictures so you can see before and after.

I guess I'm the only one this happened to, so maybe it wont happen to you, just make sure you stand firm tell them that it should be covered.

 

[Marvin-13]

sorry for late reply, i actually never talk on my phone physically. I connect it via blutooth to my car's nav and even then i maybe use 100-200 minutes of talk time a month... I mainly use my phone to text and browse web and of course social media.

That dent you referring too is the same issue i had. Was like a small pin sized dent on the back of the case like i walked into the edge of the desk, funny thing is I too had it in a case. Except my case is like the thinnest case i could find. ;-)

When they first listed that my phone had an issue that was out of warranty I immediately called HTC support and complained and had them escalate the issue. When escalation finally called me back 2-3 days later i complained again that my speaker is fine, I even did the test where they give you some number to call that allows you to test all the phone settings including speaker and it passed. I told him all I want is the camera fixed, that's why i mailed it and told him that and said well I'll wait for the people who fix the phones to email me pictures. Then like 2 hours later he called me back saying ok we'll fix it free of cost. I finally get my phone today so I'll let you know how it turns out. I'll try to take exact same pictures so you can see before and after.

I guess I'm the only one this happened to, so maybe it wont happen to you, just make sure you stand firm tell them that it should be covered.

I got my phone back a couple days ago and after testing the camera at every possible second since I got it, it appears to be fixed! I can finally take pictures at night

 

[05 TypeS DC5]

Mine appears to be fixed, they made a big stink about my case being "cracked" got it back and they just fixed it left case with small nick on the bottom it originally had. So i don't know why they made such a big deal about mine. i'll try to get pictures to show people the damage they complained about.

 

[babo0oli]

I got my phone back a couple days ago and after testing the camera at every possible second since I got it, it appears to be fixed! I can finally take pictures at night

Hi Marvin. I'm thinking about repairing my Htc One for the same issue. but i have a question, htc is not present in my country and i have to send it to another country and i don't have a problem with this, but 3rd party stores & mechanics told me if i do this, the repaired phone wont be like a new one. i don't mean performance wise, but the physical form like the gaps wont be as closed and tight as a new htc one. so since you've repaired your One i ask you, does it look like it has been opened? if so, is it that obvious?? and how long it took? thank you.

 

[jlh73]

sorry for late reply, i actually never talk on my phone physically. I connect it via blutooth to my car's nav and even then i maybe use 100-200 minutes of talk time a month... I mainly use my phone to text and browse web and of course social media.

That dent you referring too is the same issue i had. Was like a small pin sized dent on the back of the case like i walked into the edge of the desk, funny thing is I too had it in a case. Except my case is like the thinnest case i could find. ;-)

When they first listed that my phone had an issue that was out of warranty I immediately called HTC support and complained and had them escalate the issue. When escalation finally called me back 2-3 days later i complained again that my speaker is fine, I even did the test where they give you some number to call that allows you to test all the phone settings including speaker and it passed. I told him all I want is the camera fixed, that's why i mailed it and told him that and said well I'll wait for the people who fix the phones to email me pictures. Then like 2 hours later he called me back saying ok we'll fix it free of cost. I finally get my phone today so I'll let you know how it turns out. I'll try to take exact same pictures so you can see before and after.

I guess I'm the only one this happened to, so maybe it wont happen to you, just make sure you stand firm tell them that it should be covered.

Nope. Same exact thing they're trying to tell me. My phone was in very good shape when I sent it to them. Your story is almost identical to what they're telling me. Not too happy right now and when they call back hopefully they better fix my phone. That's why I sent it to them. If they wouldn't have had this issue with their camera none of this would have been necessary.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Marvin-13]

Hi Marvin. I'm thinking about repairing my Htc One for the same issue. but i have a question, htc is not present in my country and i have to send it to another country and i don't have a problem with this, but 3rd party stores & mechanics told me if i do this, the repaired phone wont be like a new one. i don't mean performance wise, but the physical form like the gaps wont be as closed and tight as a new htc one. so since you've repaired your One i ask you, does it look like it has been opened? if so, is it that obvious?? and how long it took? thank you.

Oh my gosh i'm so sorry i never receive notifications about replies and I just saw this right now! It doesnt look bad at all, no gaps, everything is exactly the way it was when i sent it in. Only thing they messed up a bit was a small area around the sim tray opener. They tell you to remove the sim card when you send it in but i tried and tried, damaging it slightly in the process but could not for the life of me get the sim card tray to pop out, and they had the same problem, but I probably made it worse and so the white plastic part is slightly damaged right around the hole but that is all.

 

[anon(4861525)]

I was without my phone for 26 days. I sent mine in for the purple camera problem and they denied the warranty because the phone had been unlocked. They dragged their feet every step of the way and getting any sort of communication out of them took days. The phone was at their facility on a Monday morning, but wasn't put into their tracking system until that Wednesday. Twice I had someone agree to repair the camera if I didn't hold HTC responsible for anything else that happened to the phone, only to have nothing happen for days until I called back to find out what was going on and had to start all over again. Absolutely the worst customer service experience I've ever had, and I subscribe to Comcast. Never again.

 

[ram1220]

I was without my phone for 26 days. I sent mine in for the purple camera problem and they denied the warranty because the phone had been unlocked. They dragged their feet every step of the way and getting any sort of communication out of them took days. The phone was at their facility on a Monday morning, but wasn't put into their tracking system until that Wednesday. Twice I had someone agree to repair the camera if I didn't hold HTC responsible for anything else that happened to the phone, only to have nothing happen for days until I called back to find out what was going on and had to start all over again. Absolutely the worst customer service experience I've ever had, and I subscribe to Comcast. Never again.

I am hearing this from quite a few people lately. If true this will be HTC's down fall.

 

[TsuaSai]

So I was thinking about buying a refurbished one from tmobile. But after reading most of this I am wondering if I should get a new one. Do you guys know if new ones are still having this problem?

 

[Androidfan27]

Did anyone have a zagg shield full body cover on the phone before they sent if off.
I really want to get my phone fixed but i think you new to take the shield off before getting it fixed.
Does anyone have experience with this or know any useful information.
Im in the UK too if that helps

 

[mjpatey]

Hi, all!

Well, we HTC One users got a bit of a raw deal with this. One of the main reasons I bought the One was its excellent camera. This issue has been plaguing my phone for a long time (since before the 4.3 update), and just yesterday it reared its ugly head at a time when I really needed a nice image: recording video of my daughter's chorus concert.

So I just did a quick test to repeat the issue, because why not? I took a series of 4 images in a dark environment with the main camera, a few seconds apart. You can see the blue shadows getting worse and worse from shot to shot, and the difference between shot 1 and shot 4 is astounding. In some environments everything goes purple rather than blue; not sure what causes the different results. Here are the test shots:

https://plus.google.com/photos/1020...ms/6014231407792614577?authkey=CPvlkMGB6L2JXQ

...Also in that album is a similar series of 4 shots, but taken with the lo-res front camera. No such issue with that camera.

Anyway, I'm thinking of bringing my phone back to AT&T. I pay their monthly insurance fee (I think it's $8 or $10)... Anybody know if this sort of thing is covered by that insurance, and if so, does it buy me a quicker replacement?

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed!

-Mark

 

[lachdanan]

I have the same issue, I thought it was an effect. Should I send my phone back and get a replacement? This sucks because I need my phone. Also how long is the warranty, 1 year?

 

[05 TypeS DC5]

You can call them and find out but I think manufacturer warranty is one year from purchase.

I think standard rate to fix anything on phone is 100 from what I was told. They don't send you a replacement but rather just fix the issue and put it back together.

If you are past a year compare that to price of your carriers lost or stolen fee and see which is cheaper.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[lachdanan]

So you still have to pay under warranty?

 

[ram1220]

So you still have to pay under warranty?

No. If it's under warranty you do not have to pay.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Sorry if I rebumped a really OLD thread.

My beloved One has this awful defect for months now, but there seems to be a 'fix'.

Use light. No kidding. It worked fine on outdoor shots with lots of sunlight and at low-light with the flash.

That, however, almost completely negates the point of the UltraPixel.

If anyone tells me why I didn't send my phone for repairs, mine is modified, with an InsertCoin Sense 6 ROM. It's extremely likely that they won't repair a modified phone.

 

[safeel]

I have this issue for a long time. But the problem is I made the purchase in another country. The HTC service center in my city said that they are not authorized to install software since the manufacturing place was another country.

Will they be able to repair the device if I send to the HTC tech center where the device was purchased?

Thanks