[ycomp]

Hi all,

not sure what exactly happened. Maybe someone can shed some light?

I purchased a brand new iPhone 3G 16GB model a few weeks ago. I have the gevey 3G inside but have not been actually using it with any networks yet. I've been playing with it, configuring it and such.

I jailbroke it a week or more ago so that I could use it with iTunes using quickpwn.

It was working fine.

Today I was playing around some more with some apps that I really didn't use much before. Cydia and Installer. I installed cyrecorder and a bunch of other apps from cydia to test earlier in the day and removed some too. Later in the day I installed some stuff from Installer. And removed it all I think. Pool game and a couple of utilities.

I had installed dTunes earlier in the day. I've been using that quite a bit today. I did press the brightness button in dtunes to toggle the screen on and off, once or twice. But since then hadn't used it.

Anyhow I believe a song was playing in dtunes when this problem occured...

I was in the bloomberg app and reading an article and all of a sudden the screen goes blank... or so I thought. Actually it is there, just so dark I can only see what it is displaying by holding it up to a light, and then it is still quite dark.

So I guess the backlight is off. My question is, how do I turn it back on? I went back into dtunes and that "bright" button does nothing anymore. I cannot turn the backlight back on.

I have not tried anything related to flashing 2.2... I still have 2.1 jailbroken through quickpwn.

I would prefer not to have to restore v2.1 and jailbreak it again because I would probably lose my apps right? and their data? I assume I wouldn't lose photos, or address book settings if I restored, right?

Or is this some kind of hardware malfunction?

any help appreciated, thanks.. this is my first iPhone so I'm not too familiar with it.

[cpjr]

Sounds like the LED burned out, for whatever reason. Very tiny and attached to the LCD. No way to "replace" it.

Will need a trip to the Apple store. Or replace the entire screen.

[ycomp]

thanks.. any idea what they usually do in this case? do I have to wait to get my phone back, if so how long would that take usually?

or would they give me a replacement?

I'm leaving country in 2 weeks, need the phone back by then...

also it is a rogers phone, but I bought it on ebay (new sealed box) because I didn't need the contract since I'm not in the country much, so I'm not sure - do I take it to rogers? or to apple store?

nothing is ever simple with me, it seems, lol )

[MikeYuse0406]

I think taking it to the apple store would be your best bet. However, let's see what others say since I might be wrong. A quick fix would be to carefully drill a tiny hole in the back casing and glue an LED flashlight to the back. It will look weird but it might work... JK...

[cpjr]

Well, you can go to Redirect for Online Service Assistant

Input your serial # and country (where is was bought for Rogers) and it will show you the warranty information, if its under warranty you can setup an appointment with a genius at an Apple store (if there's one near you) and come in, let them take a look at it.

They should swap it out on the spot.

If you dont have an Apple Store near you they will send you a box and you mail it to them, not sure how long that takes.

[ycomp]

looks like I'm covered until Nov 18 next year... thanks.

btw. does this kind of think happen often? I've never owned an Apple product before. Do most people experience some repair issue with iPhones within a year or 2 of purchase?

[cpjr]

The LED burning out doesnt seem to be a big issue, but i've seen it before. Apple is great when it comes to resolving these things though, as long as the iphone doesnt have any water damage.

And overall, take care of it....should serve you well, Apple makes fairly solid products.

[ycomp]

ok, you won't believe it... I turned my phone off after I decided that I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Now (1 hr later), I turned it on... and the LED works!

But... before posting my original post, I did of course try to turn it off... and turned it back on again (I could see the faint "apple logo" loading)... now same thing happened, only it was a bright white apple logo.

Maybe this LED just needs to take a break once in a while?

[MikeYuse0406]

I have never experienced that issue. I am glad the your problem was resolved without any further hassles.

[ycomp]

ok, and this is weird also... I have 5 pages of meticulously organized application icons... and after I have this phone working again, they are seriously jumbled... no way I could've mixed so many icons around accidentally when my phone was dark.

Not complaining, my phone is working... it is just a bit strange, that's all.

[rx7turbo287]

not really, once awhile u get a bad one. just like everything. but iphone a pretty easy to repair then most ppl think. i was wonder on your phone, it could be sensor or software. becuz the lcd back light does get control by software and sensor too. but since u cover, i would go replace it. i think iphone last a very long time, i buy and customize it and resell them, and i buy some pretty beat up one, and they still going thu, no problem with lcd and digitzer, but u can replace every part of your iphone thu ebay. lol u can build your iphone with part on ebay, lol. if u can buy u a warranty, get one.

[MikeYuse0406]

It is definitely strange, but luckily for you, it is all back to normal. My advice is to try to get a replacement before your warranty expires in the event that you keep experiencing problems.

[ycomp]

Since I am going overseas in a few weeks for a long time, probably would be a good idea to get a replacement as you guys suggest.

Question is, can I just walk into the store and explain what happened and they would probably give me a replacement? Because after all it is working right now...

[MikeYuse0406]

I always say that you will never know what the future holds if you do not try it. With that said, I would go to the Apple store and explain the situation. You might get lucky and find a rep that knows of this sort of issues and finds a way to help you.

[ycomp]

ok, I'll try that next time I'm in vicinity of an apple store... maybe if I slip him a $50, lol