Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 5 Black Fix

Macdude2010

Macdude2010

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 17, 2010
1,325
507
The Apple Store
Hello,
Today I was at the apple store talking to one of the mangers there, they said about 2 weeks ago, they had no stock of chamfered devices due to them fixing the scratching problem on them, can anyone verify this? If anyone could speak to the manager at their local store or something that would be great!
 
vastoholic

vastoholic

macrumors 68000
Jan 28, 2009
1,957
1
Tulsa, OK
Macdude2010 said:
Hello,
Today I was at the apple store talking to one of the mangers there, they said about 2 weeks ago, they had no stock of chamfered devices due to them fixing the scratching problem on them, can anyone verify this? If anyone could speak to the manager at their local store or something that would be great!
Click to expand...

No stock of chamfered devices? Do you mean iPhone 5's? Store manager most likely has no idea what the actual supply chain or factory is doing and is just feeding you a random BS line. What did you ask to get this response?
 
R

RevolvingSheep

macrumors regular
Mar 4, 2012
138
0
I replaced my 5 due to a shattered screen yesterday. I complained about the black metal wearing off. The employee's solution? Use a sharpie.
 
JoeG4

JoeG4

macrumors 68030
Jan 11, 2002
2,841
519
lol awesome. :) There used to be something just like that to cover scratches on titanium powerbooks! I'm with ya guys wanting mostly perfect phones out of the box though. If apple couldn't make the phones without scratching them, the design team should have found alternate build and/or aluminum processing or something.

Chips afterwards, well.. there are markers :) And my macbook air already has a few chips on the edges sadly, lol
 
Macdude2010

Macdude2010

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 17, 2010
1,325
507
The Apple Store
A response to a few questions, by chamfered devices I mean the iPad mini and the iPhone 5. I told him that a recent iPad mini I bought came with no scratches, he asked me when I bought it, I said a few weeks ago, then he told me about them not having stock about 2 weeks ago due to them fixing the chamfer scratches, I was asking if anyone could verify this.
 
M

maxosx

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2012
2,385
1
Southern California
Macdude2010 said:
A response to a few questions, by chamfered devices I mean the iPad mini and the iPhone 5. I told him that a recent iPad mini I bought came with no scratches, he asked me when I bought it, I said a few weeks ago, then he told me about them not having stock about 2 weeks ago due to them fixing the chamfer scratches, I was asking if anyone could verify this.
Click to expand...
Apple reps get bonuses based on who has the most creative imagination, combined with excellent story telling skills. :)




(Just kidding)
 
C

corys00

macrumors regular
Sep 6, 2011
158
62
Macdude2010 said:
A response to a few questions, by chamfered devices I mean the iPad mini and the iPhone 5. I told him that a recent iPad mini I bought came with no scratches, he asked me when I bought it, I said a few weeks ago, then he told me about them not having stock about 2 weeks ago due to them fixing the chamfer scratches, I was asking if anyone could verify this.
Click to expand...

There's not an ice cube's chance in hell that Apple would pull stock in the middle of the holiday selling season to fix, if they are ever going to fix, a cosmetic issue.
 
C

Chris092881

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2012
409
3
The fact one would need to use a sharpie roughly 3 months after the phones release to cover up chips or nicks where the bare metal is exposed tells me something is definitely wrong and Apple should be on the hook for it. I know the fanboys here will feel the need to chime in with the usual "It's aluminum, and aluminum is extremely fragile" argument, but let's be reasonable here. Phil Schiller doesn't care about you or your iPhone, so quit blindly supporting his wear and tear argument.

Leave your loyalties at the door and admit Apple screwed this launch up. They owe plenty of people out there, including myself, and I plan to collect. Of course this is just my opinion. But I say don't "settle" for a device with cosmetic damage simply because it could be worse. That's a foolish mindset to have.

Keep pushing Apple until you get a device you're pleased with. Had Apple announced before the iPhone 5 launch that the phone is prone to chips, or even worse, the phone may come chipped out of the box because of manufacturing tolerances, then that would be one thing. But Apple didn't say that. Therefore it's their job to make this right.

Anyone that wants to argue that point either got a perfect iPhone 5 out of the box and hasn't been put through any unnecessary BS when trying to get the phone replaced, or they simply want to disagree just for the sake of doing so. To me this is a pretty cut and dry issue.
 
Last edited:
Frenchjay

Frenchjay

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2010
1,840
28
corys00 said:
There's not an ice cube's chance in hell that Apple would pull stock in the middle of the holiday selling season to fix, if they are ever going to fix, a cosmetic issue.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's to far gone into sales now to do a recall. Maybe they have just changed the production method quietly. I can't remember Apple owning up to a problem and admitting a mistake. How about case program 2.0? :p

----------
Chris092881 said:
The fact one would need to use a sharpie roughly 3 months after the phones release to cover up chips or nicks where the bare metal is exposed tells me something is definitely wrong and Apple should be on the hook for it. I know the fanboys here will feel the need to chime in with the usual "It's aluminum, and aluminum is extremely fragile" argument, but let's be reasonable here. Phil Schiller doesn't care about you or your iPhone, so quit blindly supporting his wear and tear argument.

Leave your loyalties at the door and admit Apple screwed this launch up. They owe plenty of people out there, including myself, and I plan to collect. Of course this is just my opinion. But I say don't "settle" for a device with cosmetic damage simply because it could be worse. That's a foolish mindset to have.

Keep pushing Apple until you get a device you're pleased with. Had Apple announced before the iPhone 5 launch that the phone is prone to chips, or even worse, the phone may come chipped out of the box because of manufacturing tolerances, then that would be one thing. But Apple didn't say that. Therefore it's their job to make this right.

Anyone that wants to argue that point either got a perfect iPhone 5 out of the box and hasn't been put through any unnecessary BS when trying to get the phone replaced, or they simply want to disagree just for the sake of doing so. To me this is a pretty cut and dry issue.
Click to expand...

If agree with you sentiments here but I'd lean more to there being marks out of the box. That is definitely unacceptable. They need to stop making the phones out of material that easily marks or scratches. There is plenty other metals they could have used even like the 4/4s which I thought was more durable and less susceptible to damage. I don't want plastic, I want it to look great but hold up well. It's impossible to expect there to be no damage at all but it shouldn't be this easy.
 
C

Chris092881

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2012
409
3
Frenchjay said:
Yep, it's to far gone into sales now to do a recall. Maybe they have just changed the production method quietly. I can't remember Apple owning up to a problem and admitting a mistake. How about case program 2.0? :p

----------



If agree with you sentiments here but I'd lean more to there being marks out of the box. That is definitely unacceptable. They need to stop making the phones out of material that easily marks or scratches. There is plenty other metals they could have used even like the 4/4s which I thought was more durable and less susceptible to damage. I don't want plastic, I want it to look great but hold up well. It's impossible to expect there to be no damage at all but it shouldn't be this easy.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Scratches will happen over time. It's inevitable, just like dying. But the fact Apple acts shocked when I call them to tell them the replacement they sent me looks like it went through a blender or that the Genius at the Apple Store shrugs his shoulders when I tell him the phone has a deep nick behind the lock button and a really visible scratch under the glass to the left of the earpiece speaks volumes to me. When I tell Apple they can have their phone back and they tell me no, I'm just going to shrug my shoulders.
 
Frenchjay

Frenchjay

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2010
1,840
28
Chris092881 said:
Agreed. Scratches will happen over time. It's inevitable, just like dying. But the fact Apple acts shocked when I call them to tell them the replacement they sent me looks like it went through a blender or that the Genius at the Apple Store shrugs his shoulders when I tell him the phone has a deep nick behind the lock button and a really visible scratch under the glass to the left of the earpiece speaks volumes to me. When I tell Apple they can have their phone back and they tell me no, I'm just going to shrug my shoulders.
Click to expand...

Yes, they shouldn't act surprised about this because its quite widespread and I know two other friends who had really bad marks out of the box. If its so difficult to make without a number of devices being imperfect, they shouldn't have put them into production. A lot of people here put up with it but when you spend so much on a phone and its celebrated by Apple so much you quite rightly have a legitimate grievance when it's not perfect.

This is the most money I've spent on one piece of technology so disappointment was warranted when I had a mark out of the box.
 
C

Chris092881

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2012
409
3
Frenchjay said:
Yes, they shouldn't act surprised about this because its quite widespread and I know two other friends who had really bad marks out of the box. If its so difficult to make without a number of devices being imperfect, they shouldn't have put them into production. A lot of people here put up with it but when you spend so much on a phone and its celebrated by Apple so much you quite rightly have a legitimate grievance when it's not perfect.

This is the most money I've spent on one piece of technology so disappointment was warranted when I had a mark out of the box.
Click to expand...

Definitely. I remember when I called VZW to place the order for the 5. I'm on a business account and therefore I can either pay for the upgrade with a credit card or have them put the equipment charge on the bill to pay the next month. Usually I just have them place it on the bill because it's easier. The rep at Verizon told me that I couldn't bill the iPhone 5 to the account because it was an "iconic device", which I needed to pay up front for with a credit card. Iconic? Okay, I do agree. But so far my experience hasn't matched that whatsoever. It's actually quite silly.
 
docal97

docal97

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2006
808
59
Southampton
Chris092881 said:
The fact one would need to use a sharpie roughly 3 months after the phones release to cover up chips or nicks where the bare metal is exposed tells me something is definitely wrong and Apple should be on the hook for it. I know the fanboys here will feel the need to chime in with the usual "It's aluminum, and aluminum is extremely fragile" argument, but let's be reasonable here. Phil Schiller doesn't care about you or your iPhone, so quit blindly supporting his wear and tear argument.

Leave your loyalties at the door and admit Apple screwed this launch up. They owe plenty of people out there, including myself, and I plan to collect. Of course this is just my opinion. But I say don't "settle" for a device with cosmetic damage simply because it could be worse. That's a foolish mindset to have.

Keep pushing Apple until you get a device you're pleased with. Had Apple announced before the iPhone 5 launch that the phone is prone to chips, or even worse, the phone may come chipped out of the box because of manufacturing tolerances, then that would be one thing. But Apple didn't say that. Therefore it's their job to make this right.

Anyone that wants to argue that point either got a perfect iPhone 5 out of the box and hasn't been put through any unnecessary BS when trying to get the phone replaced, or they simply want to disagree just for the sake of doing so. To me this is a pretty cut and dry issue.
Click to expand...

Good post. I agree. But I do think that it is important to check your phone BEFORE you leave the store with it. That way, if it is not cosmetically acceptable to you, then no one can argue about how the imperfections occurred. That's what I did when Apple replaced my iPhone 5- both myself and the Genius inspected the phone before I left. In fact, the 1st one that they gave me had imperfections, and the Genius had no issues whatsoever w/ going and getting me a new one. They didn't let me leave until I was satisfied w/ my phone. They were great about the whole thing.

After you leave the store, it may be harder to go back days later, etc and say the scuffs, scratches, dings, were present straight out of the box.

But to the OP- if you are dissatisfied w/ scratches that can only be seen in direct sunlight, then take it back and see what they say.
 
C

Chris092881

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2012
409
3
docal97 said:
Good post. I agree. But I do think that it is important to check your phone BEFORE you leave the store with it. That way, if it is not cosmetically acceptable to you, then no one can argue about how the imperfections occurred. That's what I did when Apple replaced my iPhone 5- both myself and the Genius inspected the phone before I left. In fact, the 1st one that they gave me had imperfections, and the Genius had no issues whatsoever w/ going and getting me a new one. They didn't let me leave until I was satisfied w/ my phone. They were great about the whole thing.

After you leave the store, it may be harder to go back days later, etc and say the scuffs, scratches, dings, were present straight out of the box.

But to the OP- if you are dissatisfied w/ scratches that can only be seen in direct sunlight, then take it back and see what they say.
Click to expand...

Yup. I ordered through Verizon, so there was no pre-inspection unfortunately. But you're right. Those that are buying in-store should be checking it over before leaving. That's good advice for everyone here. I really think it depends on the employee you get. Sounds like you got a good one. I got one that looked at the first 5 I had with a deep cut behind the lock button and a scratch under the glass on the front to the left of the earpiece who just shrugged his shoulders and made a face as if "no big deal". Shouldn't that be my decision?
 
docal97

docal97

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2006
808
59
Southampton
Well, of course it is your decision. I would not leave the store without what I judged to be an acceptable replacement. No disrespect to any of the Genius', but I have to live with the phone that I walk out of the store holding. And I want it to be as perfect as possible.

But I think the Genius' probably do get frustrated with dealing with people all day who complain about minute imperfections on the phones.

The point it: don't leave until you are satisfied with what you are getting. You paid alot of money for the phone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom