No flawless iPhone 5s?

I dunno whats the issue. I received my phone on launch day, no issues. One of the first production weeks too.

Got a replacement, one of the newer production weeks. Still pretty much flawless. Unfortunately got a somewhat noticeable ding on the chamfer from me dropping my watch on it (derp!) but other than that it was flawless. It was a 'Flawless iPhone 5'. They both were

pnoyblazed said:

Why don't you laminate the phone while you're at it.

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That's actually an awesome idea... I wanna look into this

XboxMySocks said:

I dunno whats the issue. I received my phone on launch day, no issues. One of the first production weeks too.

Got a replacement, one of the newer production weeks. Still pretty much flawless. Unfortunately got a somewhat noticeable ding on the chamfer from me dropping my watch on it (derp!) but other than that it was flawless. It was a 'Flawless iPhone 5'. They both were


That's actually an awesome idea... I wanna look into this

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If everyone got phones like your two (and mine) there wouldn't be an issue and noone would probably complain about it. The thing seems to be that not everyone has been as fortunate as us receiving flawless phones.

Nale72 said:

If everyone got phones like your two (and mine) there wouldn't be an issue and noone would probably complain about it. The thing seems to be that not everyone has been as fortunate as us receiving flawless phones.

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Well clearly. But the OP is basically saying that a perfect iPhone 5 doesn't exist. Which is clearly a fallacy. Most of them are. Some people just have no luck.
Cheers

Have one and seen two others

XboxMySocks said:

Well clearly. But the OP is basically saying that a perfect iPhone 5 doesn't exist. Which is clearly a fallacy. Most of them are. Some people just have no luck.
Cheers

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^what he said

The OP said no flawless iPhones 5s exist which isn't true. This happens every year, the minority makes their problems seem like its a problem with the majority because they are more vocal (anyone remember the so called "antennagate" which was BS). The ones who are happy about their phones are less Likely going to sign up for a forum to brag about how good their phone is. This is the reason why almost every thread we have is about people complaining. Yes some have lemons but that is with every phone from any company and its not the majority.

Prime85 said:

^what he said

The OP said no flawless iPhones 5s exist which isn't true. This happens every year, the minority makes their problems seem like its a problem with the majority because they are more vocal (anyone remember the so called "antennagate" which was BS). The ones who are happy about their phones are less Likely going to sign up for a forum to brag about how good their phone is. This is the reason why almost every thread we have is about people complaining. Yes some have lemons but that is with every phone from any company and its not the majority.

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The OP asked if there were flawless iPhone 5s out there. He didn't say there weren't any. It was the first reply in the thread that said there is no such thing.

And as I wrote earlier, some on this forum says there aren't any flawless phones and some say that anyone saying they got a damaged phone in the box is lying, because they themselves got a flawless phone and had no friends who got a damaged one, so that must be true for everyone.

I wasn't around here when the 4S released since this is my first iPhone, so I have nothing to compare to there. However I have frequented many Android forums the past years and I can't recall reading as many threads about faulty phones out of the box as I've read here about the iP5.

And it's pretty obvious that almost every thread is about problems since it's often only when you have a problem you take time to start a thread. It's not very common to start a thread saying how great everything is, because good should be the default state and nothing to make a fuzz over. If we come so far so that we have to cheer as soon as we have a perfect unit we are in deep trouble.

What I was reacting against was that I see so many aggressive answers to posts describing problems. Almost as some have to accuse people with bad news of lying or making things up. Like it's a dangerous and ugly thing talking bad about their "preciousssss". I never got that feeling on the Android forums I frequented since they seemed more prone to helping, supporting or correct in a more friendly tone.

I think it's a good thing airing bad experiences. Either you find a real problem that might be solved if brought to the surface or you can get informed that it's not the case, that you have misunderstood something. But you can do this in different ways and there is no need being hostile as the reflex response, like some here.

Flawless black 32g here. Absolutely flawless. I'd bet 80-90% (if not higher) of iPhone 5's are perfect. The number of people here with problems is not an accurate representation of what the real world suggests.

sulpfiction said:

Flawless black 32g here. Absolutely flawless. I'd bet 80-90% (if not higher) of iPhone 5's are perfect. The number of people here with problems is not an accurate representation of what the real world suggests.

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According to the poll in this thread where 2348 users from this forum have cast their vote 33,43% of the users got a scuffed phone out of the box.

This isn't of course the same as it's the same for all new iPhone 5 sold. The users on this forum isn't representative for the "normal user. But I bet that many of the users here with flawless phones has tried their best to vote there to tidy up the numbers. At the same time many users with both flawless and scuffed phones have surely not seen the thread of bothered to vote.

However I believe the poll seems to indicate that at least more than 10-20% of the phones has not been flawless.

Nale72 said:

According to the poll in this thread where 2348 users from this forum have cast their vote 33,43% of the users got a scuffed phone out of the box.

This isn't of course the same as it's the same for all new iPhone 5 sold. The users on this forum isn't representative for the "normal user. But I bet that many of the users here with flawless phones has tried their best to vote there to tidy up the numbers. At the same time many users with both flawless and scuffed phones have surely not seen the thread of bothered to vote.

However I believe the poll seems to indicate that at least more than 10-20% of the phones has not been flawless.

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This is also a horrible way to conduct a poll. Asking a forum where there is a higher chance of someone registering to voice a complaint with a damaged phone they received than to sign up and brag about receiving a perfect phone. I'd hazard a guess 90% of the people on that poll voted basically by accident - simply their presence on the site brought them to the poll, nothing else. That is not the case for users with damaged phones, as they seek a forum (literally) to voice their displeasure. Hopefully you can understand this basic concept of statistics and not brush it off as 'dismissive'.

richard13 said:

For those that say not to sweat it so much, what would you accept for a cosmetic defect?

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I'd accept some of this "scuffing." Possibly even a light scratch or two on the body. Really, so long as performance isn't compromised, it could be covered in hash marked gouges. (joke-ish) I don't buy Apple cause it looks nice, thats just a plus.

But if I open the box and my screen isn't "perfect" or there is some sort of defect that effect use-abilty, then its time to visit the return line.

Nale72 said:

According to the poll in this thread where 2348 users from this forum have cast their vote 33,43% of the users got a scuffed phone out of the box.

This isn't of course the same as it's the same for all new iPhone 5 sold. The users on this forum isn't representative for the "normal user. But I bet that many of the users here with flawless phones has tried their best to vote there to tidy up the numbers. At the same time many users with both flawless and scuffed phones have surely not seen the thread of bothered to vote.

However I believe the poll seems to indicate that at least more than 10-20% of the phones has not been flawless.

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Keep in mind that this is not a scientific poll. Many people sign up for a site like this in order to voice their disapproval. I doubt the sample is representative of the population.

I am not saying that there arnt any bad quality iPhones out their and i am lucky to be able to purchase three flawless ones but i don't believe that it is as bad as some would like you to think on this forum.

One example is the guy in another thread that said he had to return his iPhone 15 times and still has to return the one he has. I am calling BS on this one. Whats the changes that i get three perfect iPhones and this guy gets 15 bad ones? I can believe the ones that say that they have to exchange their phones 1 or 2 times but 15 is ridiculous.

I have also noticed many android uses that have been coming here and saying how much the iPhone sucks and starting threads on the QC on the iPhone. Why even come to an Apple forum if you don't like Apple products?

Every product i have purchased from Apple has been flawless from 2iPads, a MBP and numerous iPhones and iPods. I know i have probably been lucky but this QC issue is no where near as bad as people make it out to be.

No Flawless iPhone 5's

I ordered two on launch day a black one and a white one both 32 GB. They were and still are flawless.

My iPhone is flawless. Not a single scratch, deno or scuff. All buttons are sturdy and not bent. As soon as I got it placed a screen protector and a case on it. All good. Lens flare is gone. Can't find a single issue with it.

iSensei said:

My iPhone is flawless. Not a single scratch, deno or scuff. All buttons are sturdy and not bent. As soon as I got it placed a screen protector and a case on it. All good. Lens flare is gone. Can't find a single issue with it.

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I haven't been able to duplicate the lense flare issue.

Prime85 said:

I haven't been able to duplicate the lense flare issue.

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Me neither. I won't lie but many "bad" iphone 5 reviews are from Android users.

Took 12 iPhone 5s to get me a 'flawless' one. 8 were cosmetic defects, 4 were mechanical. Horrible QC.

If you have any scuffs/nicks on the shiny parts of the outer frame, they really aren't anything to be concerned with, especially if you are going caseless.

If you are going to use a case, any sediment that gets between the phone and case will scratch it anyway.

Basically, being anal about this phone is futile. It will never stay pristine.

Prime85 said:

Keep in mind that this is not a scientific poll. Many people sign up for a site like this in order to voice their disapproval. I doubt the sample is representative of the population.

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Agree

Prime85 said:

One example is the guy in another thread that said he had to return his iPhone 15 times and still has to return the one he has. I am calling BS on this one. Whats the changes that i get three perfect iPhones and this guy gets 15 bad ones? I can believe the ones that say that they have to exchange their phones 1 or 2 times but 15 is ridiculous.

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Actually if this problem affect certain production batches, it wouldn't be unthinkable that if one phone in a batch is scuffed, the rest in that batch (or many of them) are also scuffed. Especially if it's due to some defect in some production machinery. I'm not saying it has to be so, but I think it could be possible

For the same reason, if your phone is flawless, there would be a good chance the other phones from that batch are also flawless.

Prime85 said:

I have also noticed many android uses that have been coming here and saying how much the iPhone sucks and starting threads on the QC on the iPhone. Why even come to an Apple forum if you don't like Apple products?

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I don't think that too many of the doubtful QC threads have been started by Android users just coming in here just to complain about phones they don't have.

I haven't said that iPhones sucked, because besides some questionable QC that appear to be the case in some batches I think it's a great phone. I miss some features from my Android phones, but on the other hand I like some new features/pros where the iPhone is better. Just because I think the QC for the iP5 might be beneath my earlier Apple experiences and expectations don't mean i don't like Apple products. I find it natural for someone like me, who have been reading a lot of Android forums when using an Android phone to frequent a few Apple forums now when I've bought an iPhone 5.

But just becuase I now am an iPhone owner shouldn't mean I can only say nice things about iPhones and bad things about Android phones. Like before I try to be as objective as possible (believe it or not, I have defended iPhones on the Android forums also ).

Prime85 said:

Every product i have purchased from Apple has been flawless from 2iPads, a MBP and numerous iPhones and iPods. I know i have probably been lucky but this QC issue is no where near as bad as people make it out to be.

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Good for you and that is also what I have been expected from Apple products. Especially as you pay a premium price for them, which should allow you to have very high expectations on them compared to what you would expect/demand from, say, an Android phone that costs a third of what an iPhone cost.

Before I became an Apple owner I didn't think that any form of defects on a new Apple product would be acceptable. Not from Apple and not from "Apple fans". From what I've read recently I guess I have to change my probably too high expectations since a big part of the users here seem to think this is ok and should be expected to get small cosmetic defects right out of the box.

I agree that this is probably not a huge thing and the overwhelming majority is probably flawless. But I still think that there have been a lot more flawed iPhones out of the box here then most would expect and I can't remember that I've read at previous iPhone launches that people are waiting to buy an iPhone, or avoid a specific colour due to doubful QC, waiting for the QC to be better. But since I wasn't on these forums when the 4 and 4S launched I'm just guessing here in the last part.

Mine was flawless when I first got it. It still is, and not bent

But I am sure it's not flawless technically under a microscope, but for my naked eyes it is.

I know one thing for certain, there are PLENTY of flawed iPhone USERS...

The simple INability to just take it back if you aren't happy simply amazes me. Instead of just moving on, people act so entitled, so owed, so childish over a microscopic (in most cases) "scuff" that you'd think the world had ended.

Let's say 99% of them have a speck that, at the right angle, in the right lighting, under a magnifying glass, showed a teeny tiny bit of silver. SO WHAT??? It's a mass produced consumer electronic designed to be used every day without a case. And before you ask, yes, I would accept teeny tiny cosmetic damage on a brand new car (I represent a car dealership at my firm... let me let you in on a secret: almost NO cars are even CLOSE to cosmetically "perfect" at delivery...). If owners scrutinized their new cars the way the OCD crowd fawns over the chamfered edge on this phone, car dealerships would never deliver a new car.

It's just "damage" on a device that Apple chose to make out of Aluminum so they could make the phone thinner, lighter, and DIFFERENT (god forbid they didn't change materials enough... FFS every day there's a new thread about how "unoriginal" it is). In doing so it is slightly more easily cosmetically damaged. Big whoop.

And the majority of people don't care. So far, the only place with any uproar are the fanboards. No lines of people at the stores, no apologies from Apple, nothing beyond the most rabid. It is the best iPhone ever, and sales are bearing that out.

If you have a LEGITIMATE issue with the workings of the phone, Apple has support second to none. You can literally walk in with just the device and walk out with a working one in minutes. Can you do that with a 3 month old Samsung? Nope. Head to the Samsung store lately? It's right next to the Nokia store in most malls... You get to send it in and wait!

So go buy a SGS3 if you hate the aluminum that much. Go buy something that WILL make you happy. But again, as it truly amazes me, people can't stand the idea of not having an iPhone, even it ruins their OCD lives because of the "scuffing" that most people find impossible to notice without extreme examination.

It's an overwhelming testament to just how good the phone itself is

itjw said:

I know one thing for certain, there are PLENTY of flawed iPhone USERS...

The simple INability to just take it back if you aren't happy simply amazes me. Instead of just moving on, people act so entitled, so owed, so childish over a microscopic (in most cases) "scuff" that you'd think the world had ended.

Let's say 99% of them have a speck that, at the right angle, in the right lighting, under a magnifying glass, showed a teeny tiny bit of silver. SO WHAT??? It's a mass produced consumer electronic designed to be used every day without a case. And before you ask, yes, I would accept teeny tiny cosmetic damage on a brand new car (I represent a car dealership at my firm... let me let you in on a secret: almost NO cars are even CLOSE to cosmetically "perfect" at delivery...). If owners scrutinized their new cars the way the OCD crowd fawns over the chamfered edge on this phone, car dealerships would never deliver a new car.

It's just "damage" on a device that Apple chose to make out of Aluminum so they could make the phone thinner, lighter, and DIFFERENT (god forbid they didn't change materials enough... FFS every day there's a new thread about how "unoriginal" it is). In doing so it is slightly more easily cosmetically damaged. Big whoop.

And the majority of people don't care. So far, the only place with any uproar are the fanboards. No lines of people at the stores, no apologies from Apple, nothing beyond the most rabid. It is the best iPhone ever, and sales are bearing that out.

If you have a LEGITIMATE issue with the workings of the phone, Apple has support second to none. You can literally walk in with just the device and walk out with a working one in minutes. Can you do that with a 3 month old Samsung? Nope. Head to the Samsung store lately? It's right next to the Nokia store in most malls... You get to send it in and wait!

So go buy a SGS3 if you hate the aluminum that much. Go buy something that WILL make you happy. But again, as it truly amazes me, people can't stand the idea of not having an iPhone, even it ruins their OCD lives because of the "scuffing" that most people find impossible to notice without extreme examination.

It's an overwhelming testament to just how good the phone itself is

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So what ? The fact it's the most expensive phone on the market. The fact that that its £529 (in the UK) and for that price you expect a product that's flawless when out the box

Mine (white) was perfect out of the box. I studied it to make sure, due to the ongoing discussions here. If it had a dent or other easily noticeable flaw, I'm sure I would have gone back to Apple.

6 hours later, dropped it 3-4' to a school floor, hard tile/concrete, I'm sure peope are familiar. Still looked perfect, although it probably had some of this that I didn't really notice right away:

A week later, I do notice (with very close scrutiny) the very edges of the aluminum are a bit scraped up in places (corner of matte side panel and shiny chamfered edge), possibly from being in a pocket with a metal pen frequently. No doubt if this was a black model this would show up as natural-aluminum-colored and be more obvious. I call this normal wear and tear on a device that is constantly with me, doesn't worry me at all.

Also had one scuff mark on the back that I've seen for a couple days. But that came right off just now with a little polishing. I wonder how many others described this way might simply be "on" the phone.

Have not noticed any dead pixels or other screen issues. No button or other operations issues.

Ordered my black 5 on 9/27 - Arrived on 10/26 in MINT condition. No scratches, no nicks, no faulty buttons. Just perfect.

After over a month of solid use, the bezel on the bottom of the phone shows some very minor scratches. I'm using the SPIGEN Ultra Thin Air Series case (the bottom and top of the phone are completely exposed). But I still highly recommend that case; it is barely there and has worked excellent, providing just enough protection while preserving the natural look and feel of the device. I've bought around 5 cases since receiving my phone and the Ultra Thin Air case is by far the best. Get it here.

Threads like this really worries me. I'm getting my iPhone 5 next monday, and I'm crossing my fingers that I get a good unit. My iPhone 4 has been great from day one, and I hope my new iPhone 5 doesn't disappoint.

The only issue I noticed with my 5 was that the home button was sort of lopsided, but it seems to have settled in better over time.

The antenna issue with the 4 was definitely real, although it never affected me because I had a case. I did do an experiment though. I took it out of the case, and any time two parts of the same hand completed the circuit between the antennas on both sides of the phone, the signal strength would drop noticably.