[One (M7) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] D3uB:
New HTC One owner, purple right out of the box

Hi everyone!

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with this issue. I'd like to return the favor by doing the same, mainly regarding AT&T's handling of the situation specifically on the 64GB model.

I recently got a 64GB HTC One in silver from AT&T. Love the phone, but the first thing I did in the store was test for the purple issue, and sure enough, purple right away! No tiger pattern at least. I assume you've seen enough purple pictures already, but I can upload some if requested.

The phone is from the HT37 series, came with Android 4.1.2, and has this sensor:

st vd6869(1.0) cinesensor 2013-06-20

As the AT&T store doesn't stock the 64GB model, it had to be special ordered. To make matters worse, their warehouse was out of stock, so it took them 20 days to deliver it. While I was waiting, I had time to read through all 300+ pages of this thread. :) Anyway, I was hoping that the delay meant that they had exhausted the supply of pre-HT39 phones, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

The phone updated itself to 4.3. As everyone else has noticed, there seems to be some automatic fiddling with the ISO setting in low light situations that turn purple but visible images to pitch black. Raising the ISO manually brings back both the image and the purple. HDR in low light sometimes causes the image to freak out, cycling through colors like a disco club. Even in moderate lighting conditions (under my desk), there's significant purple around the edges of the image. My sensor/software also exhibits the pink spot problem.

Although AT&T has a 14-day exchange policy, the AT&T store said they'd have to order another unit, which would take longer than 14 days, so the manager would also have to override the exchange period limits. My understanding was that I would be stuck with the replacement phone, whether or not it had even worse issues, as there would be no continuation of the exchange period. Instead, I opted to hang onto my current phone, let the exchange period expire, and send it in for warranty servicing.

AT&T has facilities called "Device Service Centers" which are separate from their retail stores. They stock rebuilt units of a variety of AT&T phone models, including the HTC One, but only the 32GB version. From talking to the customer service rep at the local DSC, it appears that HTC takes parts from returned phones and build "new" (not previously owned) ones from those parts. He assured me that such units looks exactly like new ones, plus AT&T tests them thoroughly as well. I really don't care about the difference, as long as I get a new-looking phone that works.

Normally, the process is to bring your phone to them and they swap it out for one they have in stock -- no waiting, no repairs. In my case, again the 64GB model has to be ordered, but for warranty service it comes from their central warranty service center. Rather than taking the phone to the local DSC, I needed to call their central warranty number. I explained the issue and told them HTC has acknowledged it. They called HTC to confirm. Without further explanation required, they put in the order to swap out my phone, then read me a statement explaining what would happen if the phone I send back to them was damaged in a way that was my responsibility (water, physical damage, etc.): basically, I'd be the owner of two phones. I am to receive the replacement at home and send them back the defective one in the same shipping box. I suppose that sometime after they receive my defective phone, they will make a determination of whether they will accept it. That's not an ideal position to be in, but my phone is new and I've treated it like a glass ornament, so I don't anticipate any problems.

They had it in stock and sent it out the same day; that was on Tuesday. I'm not in a hurry, so I chose not to pay the $14 expedited shipping. As of right now, my replacement phone looks to be about 50 miles from me according to DHL, so perhaps in a day or two I'll have it. I'll post details on the new phone when I get it.

Dave