Alcohol Said To Remove White iPhone 3GS Discoloration

A new report coming from FrenchiPhone.com claims that the discoloration affecting some white iPhone 3GS devices is not the result of overheating as many websites reported early last week. Blame for the pinkish hue is being aimed at contact with some third-party cases according to the French iPhone blog. Removing the discoloration is said to be easily accomplished by using basic rubbing alcohol.

- After numerous calls to Apple technical service and maintenance of contact with a level 3 (engineer) the problem seems to come not from a hot 3GS but contact with some covers! This was evident by ourselves on a device with a small sticker (a warning not to listen to music too loud) remained stuck, part of the hull below remained white.

 - A simple solution to the problem is to clean the back of the iPhone with alcohol, tested by myself I can confirm that it works and reassure you it is safe for your precious.

I would choose a soft, lint-free cloth using the alcohol sparingly on one small section of the device until you can confirm that the discoloration is actually being removed.

The original report of overheating causing white iPhone 3GS devices to become discolored came from another french blog Nowhere Else which has been known to mislead with bogus posts in the past. Which is the reason why we chose not to run what sounded like grand speculation when the story first surfaced.

The brand of third-party cases allegedly responsible for causing a discoloration problem has not yet been identified. Apple has also not issued an official statement on this issue.

[MacRumors]

Comments

[Lisa]

try using bath and body works body spray. Any scent will do, I use this to get ink off of everything. I had a pilot gel pen blue ink explode on my micro fiber suede couch and the spray got it off. I havent tried it on my phone but if you used alcohol I dont see where this would hurt. Good luck

[Gabriela Gammo]

I actually had this happen to me today. I have had my 3Gs for about 2 weeks now. I bought a magenta "incase" protector with it. Today I removed the casing to clean my phone, and the back had hot pink stains all over with some spots darker than others. The case was bad, not the phone. I checked the incase website and they do not cover damages their cases cause to iPhones or iPods. I called Best Buy and they recommended I try rubbing alcohol. I have rubbed now for almost 2 hours in total. Much of the pink has faded however I do still have a pink tinge (sp). I will continue using the alcohol until it's gone. Please beware of colored casing on white products. I am going to Best Buy tomorrow to try to exchange the casing for a white hard case as I cannot find a soft white case.

[bravelittlememe]

Good news also for Pre owners: the infamous "Oreo Twist" phenomenon whereby the front and back of the device becomes unhinges can be fixed by the generous application of Malt Vinegar.

The vinegar causes the plastic to contract, thus restoring the... nah, sorry Pre owners, you're screwed really.

[iPhone Savior]

Thanks for that Joe. I'm not a fan of jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to bashing Apple products before understanding the finer details. Sure, an Apple product like any can be flawed, but their track record proves a larger percentage of product excellence out of the box.

The overheating stain story smelled a tad premature to me and almost malicious. The headline was certainly delicious after the huge success of the iPhone 3GS launch.

[Joe Anonymous]

I'm glad SOMEONE was rational about this and didn't run around screaming that the sky was falling.

While it looks like the original report may have been bogus, it is entirely possible that a small number of iPhones overheat. After all, they sold a million in the first weekend, so even 99.99% good phones would still leave a lot of bad ones. All the sites ranting about how terrible it was never seemed to understand the concept of "let's wait for some facts instead of panicking over anecdotal whining", so I'm glad you got it. Way to go.

[Neil Anderson]

Finally a report where alcohol cures a problem.