iPhone 5 - black version scuffs (merged)

mdlooker said:

I wish I could say that. I have bastardized my phone to the fullest this time. I thought I'd be pseudo careful and not really care too much and keep it naked without coating it with one of those whole-body film protectors. I thought I'd keep it in my regular belt phone holder and I'd be good. But after a few months and looking at it repeatedly, yeeaaaa..I'll have a whole different outlook on my next purchase. Can I find on of those phone repair shops and have the bezel replaced? It really needs it.

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I don't believe if you left that phone on a table it would just lose colour by itself. Sure, nicking on the bezel is much easier compared to the iPhone 4 but seriously, during the few months you used it, did you not stop and think, hmm, every time I hit the phone on something, a little colour comes off so I should be more careful and not treat it the same as I have treated other phones?

Have been using it naked for 2 months and no marks.

My replacement from Apple has 0 scuffs or scratches but a very loose sleep button.

I've swapped new phones probably 7~8 times before finding my current one that's flawless on the outside. Some of the ones I had returned looked good too but rattled like crazy. This one doesn't even rattle very much. Everything is good - except I've just realized that it has bad wifi range.

I've given up on this exchange game. I'm not even gonna bother getting another one. I know it's likely not gonna be perfect and will likely have different flaws. I'm just gonna wait for the iPhone 5S to replace my 5, and in the future only go for the (more likely) ironed out S version.

Chris092881 said:

I just threw up in my mouth.

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Really?? It's just a phone, dude.

So today I was cleaning a replacement phone that I got about a week ago from the Genius Bar, and I noticed a small dent/chip on the side (not on the chamfer, on the actual side and not more then a mm in size, probably less) however, it is still anodized over, I looked at my case (speck candyshell) and I saw something that is around the same size and in around the same place, but I think it is just a defect in the rubber. My question is, could the case have caused this, or was it out of the box like this but I didn't notice? I've only had it for a week.

Mine bought last week looks perfect out of the box. I was quite scared about the quality but it looks pretty solid in my hands. May Apple have found a solution to the scuffing problems?

I'm using an Ozaki jelly case (only covering top, sides and back), lets see how it works over time, but I'm not extremely careful. If the bottom side is not getting scratched in some time I'll probably go naked.

slch said:

Mine bought last week looks perfect out of the box. I was quite scared about the quality but it looks pretty solid in my hands. May Apple have found a solution to the scuffing problems?

I'm using an Ozaki jelly case (only covering top, sides and back), lets see how it works over time, but I'm not extremely careful. If the bottom side is not getting scratched in some time I'll probably go naked.

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No solution, you just haven't gotten any nicks yet. It'll happen eventually.

I bought another white 16GB for my mom from AT&T on 2/10/13. It has a small nick on the bezel. Go figure. We have 5 in my family. All have scratches or dings out of the box. As a family we've had 3 replacements. All have had scratches/dings/marks on the back/sides of the phone.

drew0020 said:

I bought another white 16GB for my mom from AT&T on 2/10/13. It has a small nick on the bezel. Go figure. We have 5 in my family. All have scratches or dings out of the box. As a family we've had 3 replacements. All have had scratches/dings/marks on the back/sides of the phone.

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Yeah, even my replacement had one mark on the chamfered edge - it now has a few more to go with it.

They just aren't as durable as they used to be - it's going to mark at some stage, it's just unfortunate that they come like that from the actual factory. It's a problem that is making me reluctant towards an iPad mini seeing as it has the same finish and coating.

my launch day black is still flawless

Just to share my experience. I dropped my black iphone twice, the first one was specially hard (dropped it while running and it jumped several times on concrete ). The phone is virtually perfect, just a tiny nick on the headphone zone that someone who doesn't know it dropped wouldn't find. I really expected it to be much much worse.

woodynorman said:

Really?? It's just a phone, dude.

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Doesn't matter. It's a $650 electronic device. Take care of it with a case. Or at least get AppleCare+. Just my two cents.

AndrewR23 said:

My replacement from Apple has 0 scuffs or scratches but a very loose sleep button.

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I've learned it's really a pick your poison type of game. Scratches or rattles. Personally, I'll take scratches.

Hello guys, i'm about to buy an iphone 5 and prior to that i already bought a speck pixelskin HD TPU case. My question is, would the black iphone bezel get all scuffed using that case? or any case at all i mean, because i've read somewhere the phone scuffs EVEN USING a case, is that so?

iPad mini same problem

My slate iPad mini has the same problem. After a few weeks I noticed silver showing through on the edges. The case I had didn't cover the edges so I replaced it with one that did. Sucks that Apple makes such beautiful products that require you to cover them up entirely in order to remain beautiful.

hernanstafe said:

Hello guys, i'm about to buy an iphone 5 and prior to that i already bought a speck pixelskin HD TPU case. My question is, would the black iphone bezel get all scuffed using that case? or any case at all i mean, because i've read somewhere the phone scuffs EVEN USING a case, is that so?

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I've had my black 5 since release and it has no scratches from using cases. I switch them once a week and always clean the phone before putting the next case on. I don't have any speck cases so I can't comment on them but none of the cases I have caused any problems.

Got one on launch day, swapped it b/c of the manufacturing defects a month later. It didn't have any man made scuffs, I wasn't happy with the QC of the first batch.


I've been using this replacement unit since Oct, case'less and only front & back SPs installed.

E2EK1EL said:

Got one on launch day, swapped it b/c of the manufacturing defects a month later. It didn't have any man made scuffs, I wasn't happy with the QC of the first batch.


I've been using this replacement unit since Oct, case'less and only front & back SPs installed.

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Where did you get your SP from?

Guys thanks a lot for your replies. Well after all i went for the white version, even when i don't like it as much as the black, but i'm afraid the black one will scratch even with a full case. Still, thanks a lot to everyone for your time, you've been very kind in sharing your experience

I took my black iPhone 5 out of the case for a few hours and apparently some stupid little particles that were in my case scratched the back. There are a few silver dots in the left side now. I'm assuming this happened when I put it back in the case again. I hate that I baby the phone so much and this happens without a drop. I'm mostly concerned because I like to keep my phones in excellent condition to resell once the new one comes. Oh well.

I always leave the back plastic that comes with the phone on, and just cut a portion off for the camera lens. I have a cheapie slim plastic case that covers most of the device. I can honestly say that when it comes to reselling most people aren't too crazy when it comes to inspecting for tiny imperfections. I always get top dollar when I go to resell on Kijiji.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

daneoni said:

Where did you get your SP from?

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It's some Asian brand manufactured in China of course LOL I used two sets to get it like that, clear and matte SPs.

I would hit up at chinese mall in your area, show them the pic and ask if they have it that type. If you can't find it, PM maybe I can send you a pack.

One thing I don't like about that back SP, the camera hole cutting is so tight and cleaning the lens is a bit of a pain. The bright side of, the SP does do a good job in protecting each sections.

I just bought a black i5 today... completely flawless

Today i was cleaning my phone and noticed a very small chip on the silent switch. It's VERY small but it's there. I've gotten the phone for just 2 days, using it inside a rubber case the whole time, and i put it inside another case (like a sock) when i'm not at home (so i put it inside 2 cases). I have NO IDEA how this happened but it's there. Since it's a very minor defect i won't exchange it, i don't think it was like this when i took it out of the box because i inspected it carefully and didn't notice. It's a white 32gb btw.