Anyone ever seen an ALL white 3GS with the Red mystery light?

[Vitiell0]

Does anyone have any idea what this red light might be???


iPhone 3GS ALL White Front & Back! RED Mystery Light ON - eBay (item 180606919473 end time Jan-04-11 21:25:35 PST)

[Cowboy]

u do realize thats an iphone 4 front on a 3gs housing right?

[Turnamental]

I lol'd pretty hard at that guys auction... Thanks for the laugh!

"it's some kind of secret code, I'm sure of it." lmao

[CaptainChaos]

Smoke crack much?

[pratt1503]

well to give you the answer, it will be where the flash is on a iPhone 4 but seen as its not an iphone 4 (just the cover) i would suggest it is where the 3GS sensors are, shining like a light through the flash section.

But he is right it is one of a kind, a strange kind but one of a kind

[Vitiell0]

well to give you the answer, it will be where the flash is on a iPhone 4 but seen as its not an iphone 4 (just the cover) i would suggest it is where the 3GS sensors are, shining like a light through the flash section.

But he is right it is one of a kind, a strange kind but one of a kind

Are iPhone 4 fronts even the same size? Plus how would the digitizer cables fit they are different for the 3gs and the 4.

And did you see the picture where the phone still had the black front and the red light was on? I didnt even know there was a light up there in the proximity sensor.

[krosis]

And did you see the picture where the phone still had the black front and the red light was on? I didnt even know there was a light up there in the proximity sensor.

The light is part of the proximity sensor. It shines the light out, and checks the sensor to see how much is reflected back. It's the same mechanism used by automatic sinks and the like.

I'm guessing what happened here is the panel he used to replace the front was missing the IR filter and allowed a little bit of visible light out, which would appear dim red. This also explains why it's super bright in the camera pictures (many digital sensors pick up light into the 900nm range, past what humans can see naturally), while he says it's dim IRL.

Hah, yeah I just noticed it's an iPhone 4 screen too, or at least it has a camera hole. Considering the iP4 doesn't have holes or hardware in the same spot as the 3GS, I wouldn't expect the proximity sensor or auto-brightness to work very well.

[pratt1503]

The light is part of the proximity sensor. It shines the light out, and checks the sensor to see how much is reflected back. It's the same mechanism used by automatic sinks and the like.

I'm guessing what happened here is the panel he used to replace the front was missing the IR filter and allowed a little bit of visible light out, which would appear dim red. This also explains why it's super bright in the camera pictures (many digital sensors pick up light into the 900nm range, past what humans can see naturally), while he says it's dim IRL.

Hah, yeah I just noticed it's an iPhone 4 screen too, or at least it has a camera hole. Considering the iP4 doesn't have holes or hardware in the same spot as the 3GS, I wouldn't expect the proximity sensor or auto-brightness to work very well.

Much better answer than mine

[Vitiell0]

The light is part of the proximity sensor. It shines the light out, and checks the sensor to see how much is reflected back. It's the same mechanism used by automatic sinks and the like.

I'm guessing what happened here is the panel he used to replace the front was missing the IR filter and allowed a little bit of visible light out, which would appear dim red. This also explains why it's super bright in the camera pictures (many digital sensors pick up light into the 900nm range, past what humans can see naturally), while he says it's dim IRL.

Hah, yeah I just noticed it's an iPhone 4 screen too, or at least it has a camera hole. Considering the iP4 doesn't have holes or hardware in the same spot as the 3GS, I wouldn't expect the proximity sensor or auto-brightness to work very well.

Your theory would make sense if the light would only appear with the new panel. But he has the picture on there showing it with the Apple original screen also.

Its not an iPhone 4 screen. Not only are they not the same size, but the digitizer flex cable off an iPhone 4 screen would not connect to the 3GS. They make 3GS white panels now, the black dot you are seeing is just one of the 3 proximity sensor spots. (they cant make these white) and the 3rd one above the light is not visible because the light is so bright.

[krosis]

Your theory would make sense if the light would only appear with the new panel. But he has the picture on there showing it with the Apple original screen also.

Yeah you're right about it not being a iP4 screen, and I agree that the light appears in both pictures. However it appears dimmer in the black screen picture. While I can't be certain it's a missing IR filter, the light is unquestionably the proximity sensor. It's in the exact same spot, and it lights up just like the PX does. It's just staying on for some reason, even when not in a call. That's why I think it might not be working properly.

Interestingly enough, I answered a phone call late last night (when the lights were dark), and as soon as I answered the call, I noticed a little red dot above the earpiece of my iP4. I knew that's where the light / proximity sensor was, I had just never noticed visible light coming out of it before. I guess this thread got into my sub-conscious and made me notice it. Anyway, I went ahead and took a pic for you guys, so here's my iPhone 4 complete with super secret spy LED: