Why Apples customer and repair service rules! iPhone 5s with uneven display backlight

Well check this out: I got my "new" iPhone 5s (yes, I know, it's an older model but I chose it as it was included in my new contract with Telenor, the cell phone provider) and noticed two darker areas on the display. Since our eyes adapt quite well to contrast differences they weren't visible when looking straight at one point on the screen, say the center of it. But I saw the spots if I was scrolling black-on-white text on the screen and following it with my eyes, then the eyes would kind of travel from brighter areas through the darker spots into brighter areas again.

And you probably know what it's like: when you've first seen something like this then you will always see it. Just like that tiny dent on your new car.

Updating the software did nothing, so my theory was that it was a hardware fault.

Now, I realize this is not the end of the world or anything like that. It's almost ridiculous. The iPhone still worked perfectly fine despite this "cosmetic fault". But if I was going to do anything about it, now was the time. I think it will be harder to sell this iPhone in the future if the screen has these darker spots, so even if it made me feel a little picky I decided to try to have it repaired under warranty.

I returned it to the cell phone operator for warranty repair. The guy in the Telenor store agreed on there being darker spots so he sent it to their repair service with a clear description of the fault.

The repair company Conmodo however returned the iPhone without repair, saying "The stated fault could not be recreated". They did some software updates and also wrote that the error could be in the customers (my) backup data.

Well well. I was not happy to see the darker spots as soon as I started the device again right there in the store. I'd say Conmodo's repair techs either are to stressed or not thorough enough. Everyone can make mistakes, I'm sure they do fine work otherwise but not in this case however.

I contacted Apples chat support and after a very short wait got in contact with an advisor. He looked at a picture I sent him and immediately saw what I saw  - darker spots on the display. I guess I'm not crazy after all:

Uneven, blotchy iPhone 5s screen - easiest seen on thumbnail size.

Please pardon the poor picture, I never planned to actually use it. The darker spots are much easier to see on the thumbnail size picture, again I think because our eyes are so adaptive. Still, trying to photograph it was not easy. Tweaking the levels a bit exaggerates the differences in light intensity, again easiest seen on thumbnail size:

Adjusted image - note "blotchiness" especially along the right edge

Following the Apple advisors advice I went to an Apple Store. They too saw the fault and took the iPhone in for screen replacement. I was asked to come back an hour later to pick up my phone.
When I came back they told me that my phone did not pass the calibration machine test after changing the display. It seems there was something else at fault other than the display itself, so they replaced the unit and gave me a new iPhone under warranty!


In short - I think Apple has the best customer support there is! They seem to go to great lengths to satisfy the customer. I also think that warranty repairs - actually all repairs - are best left to Apple themselves. They seem to have the highest standards for their work.

Texas TI-84 Plus CE-T calculator screen foam edge issue - customer support is great!

I recently bought a Texas Instruments Ti-84 Plus CE-T, a graphing calculator with a color screen. Long ago I had a TI-83 that unfortunately got stolen, so I was looking forward to be Ti-armed again.

As I used my new calculator I noticed a white spot at the top left edge of the screen. I looked closer and I noticed that the screen is surrounded by black foam. I assume that this is to seal it from dust and reflections. And I think that it is a good way to do that, the foam will conform to the screen and small dimensional differences in the production will do nada. That would give problems if a ridgid material was used.


However, on my particular Ti-84 it seems as if this foam piece is either damaged or got caught up and folded over in the manufacturing process. Instead of forming a nice black edge it shows the white plastic beneath and above the screen:






Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE-T showing damaged foam surrounding the screen - iPhone 5s



Obviously this is just a cosmetic problem, the calculator works fine. But it still feels a little uneasy to pay for a new toy and find a fault such as this - after you have seen it for the first time it will stand out every time you look at it. And you will look at it because you know it´s there. Just like the first scratch or dent on your new car.

I sent ti-cares@ti.com an email and asked them about their opinion. They replied within two business days and asked for a picture of the problem. I sent them the one the above cut-out is taken from and within one hour I got this reply: "We have looked at the picture you sent and it is for sure a warranty exchange." Then they provided me with several options to have it exchanged.

My experience of this is that Texas Instruments have a great customer service!
I´m looking forward to exchanging this unit under warranty. Good customer service Texas Instruments!

Now I have to go and refresh my math a little bit. Or perhaps a little bigger bit....

Parallels Desktop 11 and OS X El Capitan: Problem ID: 352

I love being able to run Windows on my Mac thanks to Parallels. It really simplifies my computer use as I am not "locked in" on either system.

I recently had to restart the Mac by holding the on/off button after the Photos app had frozen. Annoying! But the real problem appeared after the "hard" restart...

When the Mac was running again Parallels wouldn´t start. "Unable to load the Parallels driver." "Problem ID: 352" See http://kb.parallels.com/en/123307 for more info.

Parallels driver error - iMac screenshot

I tried: resetting permissions, deleting the Info.plist, running as root user, deleting and reinstalling Parallels (several times) - all to no help. I was in contact with Apples support who kindly made an exception for me offering free advice over the phone and email despite my support period being expired. Very good Apple, thank you! They were in doubt as to the Info.plist was at fault, but gave me tips on how to delete it.

Parallels support and article was convinced the Info.plist was corrupt for some reason. Honestly, I have no idea.

What fixed the problem was reinstalling El Capitain. And ironically that took much less time than all the other messing around did.

So if you get the same problem and don´t feel like spending half a day messing around - just remove Parallels, reinstall OS X El Capitan, and then reinstall Parallels. Even if reinstalling the OS X somehow reminds you of using windows...