yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II General] Pfeffernuss:
Kidding me, no? Almost 1500 posts, hundreds of images and now it needs to be explained?

In normal day use it usually IS no problem. I also have an uneven screen. Like we all do to a certain degree. Does it bother me? Nope. Do I proclaim to have a perfect screen? Nope. Does it bother me when people make such a claim without backing it up? Yup.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
Depending on the severity of the issue on the phone, it is VERY apparent in normal use even if you dont look for it.
[Galaxy S II General] buxz777:
i agree with this , my 1st two were terrible in may/june time and so were the swaps i got from the shops .

i sold them on ebay for profit and waited a while . i couldnt resist the sgs2 anymore so took the plunge a few weeks back and my new 2 are much much better.

the tint is still there but you have to really look for it , even on the lowest brightness it is hard to spot and like i say it is much better then my other screens .

My 1st two also had vertical lines in different places of the screen which could also be seen quite clearly and was annoying as hell .

My new ones dont have these vertical lines either . Maybe i was just lucky second time around or maybe samsung have had so many complaints they have upped the quality control on the screens or adjusted the way they are put together or something .

As the poster i quoted says they wont come out and say something as that is admitting that their was a problem and it opens the floodgates for claims and returns etc .

A quite fix on the side is much better for them as a company

Like i say i still have the tint but compared to my earlier ones you can barely see it at all and it doesnt bother me like it did on the other handsets .
[Galaxy S II General] anshmiester78900:
So bro the phone which was ur last n final one .. what was its manufacturing date ? i mean month of manufacturing ?
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
If you've read the posts, more people are "lucky" than not. I got my phone in May, one of the early batches, and can't see the banding unless I take pictures of it. Since there have been examples of variations in overall color temperature, I'd bet that those with a yellower cast probably make the banding more pronounced. Mine tends toward blue/cooler.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
When booting the phone with CWM mode, the yellow tint does not seem to be noticeable on the white text or even on the GT-I9100 logo on boot.
[Galaxy S II General] mission:
I've just bought one today from Amazon and I noticed there was a mark just below the centre of the screen that looks like someone brushed their finger on it before they put it together,

Not noticeable on other colours just grey, having paid £475 for it I want it to be perfect......... gutted:( Took me ages to decide on that fone
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
There have been a couple of reports of fingerprints on the inside of the screen.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
A friend of mine came over and I examined his screen, the red over all tint is so strong that it drowns the yellow tint issue or probably does not exist on his unit. His whites are dimmer on the same brightness level though which is a bummer. Greys are reddish.
[Galaxy S II General] sachilleas:
This is outrageous. Are they retarded or something in Samsung ? Anyone who has this problem please take a pic if it's possible .
[Galaxy S II General] Sourav_SGS2:
Can someone post some pics other than the grey screen/notifications area with 0/20% brightness which highlights the yellowish hue ... till date, I have only stared at grey screens and notification areas and that too clicked by cameras.. I mean if it's not visible to the naked eye, why bother at all ? I need some proof that the problem is serious enough to affect daily usage.. something tells me this yellow screen thing has been over hyped to a large extent .. and ya pics of grey screens (the ones clicked by digital cameras) are useless in my opinion ... digital cameras pick up things that the human eye cant ..so there you go.. can anyone please post pics of the yellow screen showing up while watching movies/browsing/general handling of the handset? If not, then I would say this is just a non-issue which is being highlighted unnecessarily.. even the HTC Sensation has a serious death grip issue (which affects reception and Wifi signals) and that to my mind is far big a problem area than a yellow spot in some corner of the screen and that too when clicked by a digicam !!
[Galaxy S II General] Seabass1:
Since the only camera I have is on my phone I'm unable to take photos of my screen, but while the deathgrip on the Sensation is possibly present on each phone to the same degree this problem has vary degrees of severity. For example my first SGS2 had it bad enough that it was easily noticeable and not just on grey screens at low brightness. Anyone who has got a screen as bad as my first would have a very legitimate reason to complain about this issue.

My replacement is a lot better but it is still noticeable without having to take a photo, although in most cases you can't tell it's there without having to look for it. It's still pretty obvious on grey backgrounds and is occasionally visible when browsing but it's not bad enough to be a problem for me but I can see how it might not be good enough for others. Chances are that there are screens out there that are better than mine where this issue doesn't show up outside of photos, if someone has a screen like that they are probably wondering what the fuss is about.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
This is what a lot of people fail to understand about this issue they dont see the yellow tint on their devices and assume all screens are made equally with the same degree of tinting.

The video review on GSMArena clearly shows that their unit is not affected, a local blogger who had a pre-retail unit didnt have this issue on his device as well.

Im wondering if this is the main reason for the delay on the US market, how the US consumers would react to this intentional defect when it officially hits mass market.
[Galaxy S II General] Sourav_SGS2:
I am not saying that the screens have no problem... otherwise there would not be so many people complaining.. its just that I wanted people to show "Actual" pictures where the yellow mark appears in normal use .. I have not come across any such pics.. just grey screens and notification areas clicked in low brightness..
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
I'm not defending bad QC, but the missing link is that we don't know what percentage of screens actually get passed with defects. They've sold 3MM phones and XDA is too small of an audience to really draw any conclusions as to what percentage of the 3MM are flawed. We're also much pickier about our electronics than a typical consumer (though I'm sure a typical consumer could see a finger print or suction cup circle).
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
I really think the percentage of phones that you'd be able to detect it on in everyday use is low. The discussion we've had about color temperature kind of supports that panels that run warmer (reds, yellows) probably exaggerate the problem. Mine runs cool/blue and no one I've shown the phone to can detect any discoloration even after I've told them where to look. Like I said above, if 2,940,000 are like mine, there really isn't a problem. And sad to say, 60,000 defective screens is less than 2% which is considered excellent consistency in electronics. We'll never really know if it's 60,000 or 2MM. Just based on the lack of participation in this thread by the majority on the SGS2 forum would lead me to believe it's closer to the former than the latter.
[Galaxy S II General] Endoran:
Handtec processsed my unit and sent me this email, I quote:

"Mr **********.

We are testing your Galaxy II that you returned to us and we cannot see a yellow tinge anywhere at all on the screen. We have tried looking for it using different apps and the camera - anything that gives a grey background.

It is possible that the yellowness has faded as this colouration does disappear with time. It is caused by the glue that keeps the screen stuck down not being fully dried. As it dries, the colouration fades to normal. This has been reported on many forums so I'm sure a quick Google search will lead you such reports.

However, if you have any information that you think we might find useful then please inform us.

Many thanks."

I already sent them an email saying to go into a dark room with brightness set to zero and auto brightness off and pull down the notification menu. I also asked them to compare my phone to a different phone on a white background. I also asked them to send me a link to ANYTHING that said the yellowing was due to glue besides speculation by bloggers who are/were drawing an imaginary connection to the iphone 4 glue problem from last year. I also told them Apple was the one who came out and said it was glue and in this case Samsung has said nothing. Any other suggestions? I have a feeling they will just ship my phone back to me. Probably at my expense. I'm a little mad, but at this point I just want my damn SGS2.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
Just a quick screen comparison I made with 2 friends..

Brightness level all the same, ticked auto brightness and removed to put it exactly at the same level and removed automatic power saving.
[Galaxy S II General] deanwray:
for this test to be of worth, would all have to have same fw revision, same screen protector, same colour mode, same brightness and be absolute facing the camera, not all at diff angles to the lens, (so they would all be at different angles to the table etc, but all the same 90 degrees to the lens)
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
KG1 on the left, KF1 for both

Same color mode

Same brightness

The KG1 has an SP, both none

This was just a quick snap actually as even IRL the color difference is very noticeable when viewed from a top, the color shift in angles are also different from all 3 phones.

We might redo this little test 1 phone at a time and probably just chop the image, problem is we dont have a tripod to maintain the same lens distance.
[Galaxy S II General] Sp1tfire:
Guess it's pretty hard to find 2 devices that show the same color temperature. Looking at your three pics, first one is rather blueish, second is the cleanest white and third is a bit greyish. At least that's how i see them :)
[Galaxy S II General] sachilleas:
How can this difference be explained ? I suppose the manufacturing process is the same for all of them.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
I'd imagine there's some tolerance built in to what's defined as "normal." The odds of 3MM displays being identical is probably pretty slim. Look at the Sensation, HTC sources displays from Sharp and Acer and each have different color temperatures, contrast, and sharpness levels. But while different, I'm assuming both meet whatever standard HTC established. Displays don't have to be identical, just pleasing to the user. To most people, any of those three displays would be fine (I'm assuming the blue's exaggerated on the left one due to the camera angle). And as we all know well, what the display looks like to the naked eye is different than in a pic.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
Yes and thats how the are in real life, the first phone is bluewish which I believe crushes the yellow tinting, the middle one is my phone which probably has the most natural whites and skin tone color reproduction but mine has the biggest yellow tinting issue among both ( not that obvious on the photo due to the brightness level ) but can be seem IRL. As per the owner of the 3rd phone, he really cant find any good qualities on his screen.

@BarryH_GEG

When viewed directly the blues are not that strong but from an angle the color shift is massive, the strong blue tint is very pronounced on his phone as compared to the 2 others.

Probably color calibration differences?
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
That sucks and they're being assholes. Rather than e-mail them, I'd call them tomorrow and say while you appreciate their perspective, you've looked at two of your friend's SGS2's and multiple SAMOLED+ screens on U.S. phones and in comparison the one you sent back has a very obvious yellow tint. And since they were all built within weeks of each other that the "it will fade with time" doesn't really hold water. Tell them if they'd prefer to issue a refund rather than send you a different phone you'd be fine with that. If they refuse, I'm hoping you paid by credit card, just dispute the charge which will be easy with them having possession of the phone. Tell them you're doing that and will refuse the phone if they ship it back without your permission. They're not being nice so at this point there's no reason for you to be either. Clove will have one to you in three days for $670 all in and from other posts they're not assholes.
[Galaxy S II General] Endoran:
I paid with paypal, would I be able to dispute the charge in the same way?
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
I think you can under the PayPal's buyer protection program. I'm guessing they'll cave when you stop being nice and send you a new phone anyway. You might also mention to them that you know there's no loss for them because they'll be able to send your old phone back to Samsung as defective anyway. I'd start the conversation off with a "Geez, I'm so disappointed, can't you help me out?" attitude and if they remain assholes use the nuclear option. Does anyone in the UK know if there's some sort of governing body that Endoran can threaten to report Handtec too? I bought accessories from Clove and they were great. They even split-shipped the order at their expense because some were back-ordered. Lesson learned for people looking at UK retailers.
[Galaxy S II General] Endoran:
I'll have to wait until Monday to call. Their email team works on Saturday (I read that somewhere but can't find it). I'll see what they say. If nothing good then I'll call on Monday morning as early as I can since UK is 7 hours ahead. When all is said and done though I don't want to have to deal with a refund via paypal because it takes 3-5days to transfer money to your bank account (I freaking hate paypal). I'll either be getting a new phone from handtec or my old phone back (which I will insist on them paying for next-day air). I'd get used to the slight yellow left, I probably would stop seeing it after a while.
[Galaxy S II General] Beowulf_pt:
I have two at home. One has good hue and very constant lighting. The other pulls a bit to the reds, a white or gray background looks a bit fleshier, the calibration definitely isn't constant in these panels.

Also lighting isn't as constant, I can tell small darker areas, like smudges.

Sounds terrible but the effect is actually not very obvious.. I only noticed it so well because I put the two SGS2 side by side. Still, I probably won't return the second unit. The first however, appears perfect to my eyes.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
Makes me wish that the US release would be sooner so that people can actually start returning their defective handsets easier and Samsung might look into this issue, could this be the delay for the US release?
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
Sprint's is due out in two weeks.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
How about the others, and also the non carrier branded version when will they hit US, mid August?

This a picture of GSMArena's phone.. there seems to be no yellow tint.

If i setup mine the same way, I get a yellow tint on the coulds, on the google search bar, the gmail icon would actually look greyish instead of white and the dialer icon and its text a bit yellow.

EDIT:

I've been wondering why people who upgraded to 2.3.4 says that the yellow tint is gone, a friend of mine who does not read on this forum but clearly sees the yellow tint on his phone says that after he upgraded to 2.3.4 ( Litening ROM to be specific ) the yellow tint is absolutely gone.
[Galaxy S II General] tophey:
So, I've pretty much skipped 50 pages worth of crap and arguing, so don't yell if someone's already mentioned this...

But I think software has something to do with this issue...

For instance, I had stock KE7 installed when I purchased my first SGSII, returned it due to yellow tint. My second one came preinstalled with KE7 and it also had yellow tinting, however not as bad as the first one.

I thought I'd just put up with it for a while and see if it went away, as Optus don't allow instant phone swaps, they need to take the damn thing away for approval first.

Now, when I flashed version 1.6 of Infusion ROM (KG1) the yellow tinting APPEARED to have completely vanished (to my and other friends naked eyes). I don't have any other cameras so haven't been able to take a pic, but when I upgraded to version 2 of Infusion, which uses a different kernel, the tinting came back.

Surely this can be fixed with a software update based on what I have just experienced!

I'm not sure what kernel was in use with 1.6, but I'm waiting for a reply in the ROM's forum and sent a PM to the dev and will post an update when I know, that way you guys can test it out.
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
There's two different issues. An overall yellow tint that's seen on some phones and a banding on the left side of the screen that shows up yellow on a grey background. A new ROM can certainly impact overall color temperature so your screen could be cooler (less yellow). The banding on the left side's been on every phone - we've never seen a pic of a phone without it. I have the banding but don't see a left side yellow tint unless I take a picture of the phone displaying a grey background. My phone runs cool/blue. I think people that see the left side banding in everyday use must have a warmer screen which exaggerates it. You read through 50 pages, you're nuts. ;)
[Galaxy S II General] BarryH_GEG:
AT&T should be no later than the end of Summer to support their LTE network which is launching in 5 cities. No word on Verizon. There will never be an unlocked/unbranded SGS2 in the U.S. because everyone gets there phone's subsidized by their carriers. The Canadian version is launching on Bell 7/21. It looks unchanged physically where the Sprint phone definitely has been modified.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
So no retail store in the US is gonna sell the international version, everyone imports from UK or something ?
[Galaxy S II General] tophey:
Nah, I read every page up until the last 30-50 (can't remember which page I was on, but I skipped straight to the end, was over the arguing and same stuff being repeated).

At first I had an overall yellow tint which went away after a few days, but what I'm referring to was the.. fine, might not be entirely yellow, but the issue where the left hand side is discoloured and is semi yellow/greenish on grey backgrounds. It's also noticeable on white to an extent.

Let's just say it's bleeding obvious in all display brightness level now, which makes me think it is something to do with the kernel and the colour temps set in it (I think that's where they're set anyway)... which leads me to believe there may be a fix :D

I've also got the colour banding issues due to lower quality images, but that's not what I'm referring to in this post, as that has been consistent with both phones and all ROMs I've had.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
This is a video comparison of the SGS2 and Sensation but keep your eyes on the S2, his unit has no yellowtinting at all, the menu boxes with white/grey colors are uniform. So there are units out there with non defective screens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM6sPTcFpAc&feature=related
[Galaxy S II General] Sp1tfire:
I don't think it's a relevant movie. Sure the display brightness is pretty high on that SII. I seriously doubt there is a SII without yellow tint, be it barely noticeable or very noticeable. I'm looking forward to see the american version.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
I see, I didnt know that about 10% brightness is already high enough to cancel out the yellow tint as he shows that the unit is set at around that level.

It may not be relevant to you but i find it very relevant that the display is uniform along with the photo that GSMArea has posted on their S2, which also has no yellow tint.

A very credible local blogger also informed me that he is 100% sure that the pre-production unit that was handed to him for a review didnt have the yellow tint and he knows how to look for it.

Yeah, Im also looking forward to the US release if their screens are good. I wonder what we can do if the carrier specific is actually better.. Maybe wait for replacement screens in a few months ?
[Galaxy S II General] Sp1tfire:
Even if they release flawless screens, then comes the ordeal of dealing with the companies/stores were you bought the device from. I'm pretty sure most of them will refuse to replace people's screen/phones, if the yellow tint is not visible in regular use. There have been reports of sellers that refused to replace the phone cause of this problem. So i guess it all relies on chance/luck and if sellers are reasonable or not.
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
Visibility is really subjective to the user ( purchaser ) and the examiner ( retailer ) and 99.99% of them will deny such issues exists, even the retailer I got my phone from said I was the first one to have the S2 exchanged for such issue, which I found funny since my buddy had his replacement a day before than mine.

Most of us who already have the phone will have to go through the service center for this, hopefully they wont refuse replacements on the screen.
[Galaxy S II General] tophey:
Interesting... the dev for Infusion ROM has advised he just used the standard CF Root kernel (for KG1) in 1.6, so I flashed this kernel and the yellow tint went away again. At first it was there, but then gradually faded after a few minutes. You can semi tell it's there when on the lowest brightness setting, but it's not all that noticeable and doesn't cause any annoyance. When it was on DesignGear's kernel (which is used in Infusion 2.0), the yellowing was quite obvious in all brightness levels.

I really think Samsung are on their way to fixing/masking this issue with their KG1 update... I just wish I knew more about kernel development and the main differences between DesignGear's and CF Root (which is as close to stock as possible!)

When I get the chance I'll take comparison shots of the two different kernels. One shows it, and CF Root doesn't :D
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
I dont see how a kernel change can fix this as this is not a software issue ( as proven by taking a screen shot vs a camera ) but its worth a try, gonna wait for the official 2.3.4 though, I heard KG5 is out and its official 2.3.4

for the mean time, heres a screen w/o any yellow tint ;)

This is how the SAMOLED Plus should look like in real life and in pictures, people who dont see the issue are just in denial =P
[Galaxy S II General] tophey:
I'm jealous! and that is also a sh*t load of icons in your notification bar!!

Also, I don't understand why there is a difference between the kernels, but there is. Maybe I'm just being way too optimistic and my eyes are playing tricks.. but I swear to God there is a massive difference. I just wish I had a camera here so I could show you :(
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
@tophey

its not my phone, its from a friend playing around with the Power control plus and messing it up on the notification tray.
[Galaxy S II General] Leggenda:
(sorry for my bad english)

To be precise, not gradually, but until you don't turn off/ON the display.

When you turn ON the display, defect dissapear (almost completely). ;)
[Galaxy S II General] EarlZ:
And this is with a STOCK KG1 Kernel ?
[Galaxy S II General] Seabass1:
I've just put VillainROM 2.0 on my phone and then flashed the KG1 version of CF Root and now I can't see any yellow tint on the left of the screen when displaying the notification bar. I honestly didn't expect that to happen as I'm still fairly sure it's a hardware issue, as surely if it was software it would be pretty much the same on each phone and would show up on screenshots as well as photos.

I've got no idea why the problem would disappear like this, but it's certainly a nice surprise.