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Goodeye

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2009
750
276
Sounds like you feel foolish for even mentioning it to them. I can understand that, even if you feel like you can live with them it's good you brought it to their attention here is why: They need to know these are probably leaving the factory like that, while it can happen they had worse issues of this with the 5.

This helps them get this info up the chain to the right folks to make changes to ensure this does happen in the future.
 

InfinitiG

macrumors 6502
Jun 22, 2010
403
0
I dont think any iphone comes perfect out of the box no matter what people say

This will continue to be the case as long as they are made in china
 

ohenriquez

macrumors member
Dec 7, 2005
74
7
Auckland, New Zealand
I agree with the thread starter. The iPhone should be in immaculate condition, everybody is different and if I were him, I would have done the same.
it should be up to the customer to scratch the iPhone whenever they want. It is a premium, expensive device that should be delivered in perfect condition.
I have had all my iPhones in perfect condition until the end and as an example I got paid £430 for my last iPhone 5.:apple:
 

jumpman25

macrumors regular
Feb 23, 2004
192
0
It's like everything in life bro. You want perfect at the start, but within 6 months you'll be chucking your phone around, in your pocket with your keys, etc not giving it a second thought.

Slightly jelly you received your phone...

For me, as long as the screen is without issue I'd be cool with it.


Ha ha, this is so true. For the first month or two I'm always washing my hands before I touch my phone, wiping off oil and fingerprints 10 times a day, never set it down on a hard surface and so on. I inevitably drop it or get a tiny scratch on it and after cursing myself out and scheming about a replacement, I ultimately breathe a sigh of relief and start using the phone the way it was intended. Apple products definitely bring out the OCD in each of us.
 

Spacial

macrumors 6502
Aug 29, 2013
463
0
Hi all!

This is my first post here. I've followed the forums for awhile but never felt the need to post. Like a lot of you who were lucky to be in the first wave of orders at launch, I received my iPhone today. Gold 16gb Verizon.

It came out of the box with a few nicks and scratches on the back gold plate:

Image

As small as they are, it's still disheartening to have a product come out of the box not at 100%. I'm not upset about it really but I went ahead and called Apple and was moved up the line to a top manager. I sent him the pictures. I told him I understand we're in a predicament because replacing it isn't so easy with the gold production situation. They're trying to come up with a solution and he's going to call me back. I told him I might be being ridiculous even calling about this but he assured me that I wasn't, that my phone should have come out of the box with no nicks or scratches.

I'm coming from a 4s and this is my first experience with the new aluminum/metal backing which I realize scratches more easily.

If it's easy to replace, even if it takes a few weeks I might go ahead and do it. Obviously I'm not wanting to part from the phone I have until I get the new one. :)

I just wanted thoughts from other Apple customers on what you would do. Would you want a replacement?

Also congrats to everyone getting their phones this week and for those of you still waiting, hang in there! It will be worth the wait!

Unfortunately Apple either doesn't care, or is unable to live up to their own vision as a superior maker of smartphones.

Last year my brand new iPhone 5 came out of the box scratched and scuffed. Having read about the problem prior to picking up my phone I was prepared. After paying the Apple rep for my phone I opened it up right there in the store, asking the rep to be my witness.

Sure enough it looked like a used phone. So since they couldn't blame it on me, they gave me another and it only had two small marks on the back.

These days quality issues assure its genuine Apple.

Maybe next year they'll improve.
 
S

syd430

Guest
Wait until OP finds out that the gyro is off by 4-5 degrees, while you're at it, try loading a complete white screen and tell me if the colour of the screen is totally uniform, also lay your phone on a flat surface and push down each corner of the phone one by one and tell me if the device is perfectly flat or rocks slightly. Try also lightly tapping your power button and tell me if it's loose or not.

I find threads like this hilarious for one reason only - Apple's marketing power is so strong that people here literally think they are buying a pocket Lamborghini when in reality they are buying a cheap Chinese made mass produced product that cost $197 to build. The iphone is not like those Samsung phones. It's made in some magical precision factory in the Switzerland where a team of 5 workers have been reassigned from building the Ferrari 458 in Milano in order to churn out millions of iphone 5s's a month by hand. I'm sure half this delusional board would believe that.

Believe me, I'm not an Apple apologist. I couldn't care less. But it's funny when someone wants to send something back over something so minor that they haven't even realised that their iphone has 5 other issues (see above) and the replacement might very well be worse than the one they have now.
 
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Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,132
31,175
Seriously if someone has to circle or put an arrow next to scuffs on the phone I think it just proves they suffer from OCD. If the OP hadn't circled the scuff marks I probably wouldn't have noticed them.
 

drew0020

macrumors 68020
Nov 10, 2006
2,334
1,235
I'd return it. It's defective. It should not have those marks new out of box. Biggest problem with those defects on the back is that it wil impact a back protector. I use spigen protectors and my iPhone 5 from a year ago hard those marks. The protector would bubbled up in those areas.
 

HazyCloud

macrumors 68030
Jun 30, 2010
2,779
37
FWIW, Apple gladly swapped mine with the chipped chamfered edge. They even discussed how to exchange it to insure Apple would be aware they are coming from the factory like that. There was even someone else exchanging for the same reason, but I didn't catch what model they had. Mine was gold.
 

Carlanga

macrumors 604
Nov 5, 2009
7,132
1,409
I dont think any iphone comes perfect out of the box no matter what people say

This will continue to be the case as long as they are made in china
Even if they were made in the US, at the volume they have to make them Plus new extra gold orders will cause this issues, keeping dust out of color rooms is hard.
 

JoeG4

macrumors 68030
Jan 11, 2002
2,842
518
Meh. I noticed right after unboxing that mine had a dimple (you can't really see it, but you can feel it), and a scratch.

IMG_1973.JPG


Seeing as the edges and everything else are pristine I don't really have much to complain about, although I guess I could nitpick and say for what is considered the phone of all phones, I was surprised that the plastic film had a few bubbles on it and the cover for the earbuds case had dirt on it. Kinda sloppy.

I dunno if I'll do anything about it, might as well let them know I suppose. :) The phone's hella nice!
 

Harthag

macrumors 68000
Jun 20, 2009
1,795
2,174
U.S.
I would also exchange the phone if out of the box it had minor scratches. My 5 had a tiny mark on the bottom chamfered edge but I kept it because everything else was flawless. Not this time. I exchanged my 1st 5S due to a dead pixel on the top center, as hard as it was to find. Most people would say that is nuts and you can't see it during normal use. It would've driven me crazy had I kept it. Store manager and genius both saw it right away and did a retail exchange for me yesterday which was awesome of them. New 5S is perfect and I'm glad I went in to take care of it. OP there is no harm in trying to exchange, scratches should be made by you not the factory. It is your hard earned money.
 

powerbook911

macrumors 68040
Mar 15, 2005
3,999
379
Thing is, you can feel those nicks on the back of these.

My 5 from the box last year had 2 similar ones. I could always feel them when holding the phone.

Nevertheless, I didn't want to go through the headaches of sending it back and forth.

This past summer, my sleep/wake worn out so I was given a refurbished phone.

Oddly enough, and thankfully, the refurbished unit was 100 percent perfect.

Tomorrow my 5S arrives. If it has a lot of marks out of the box, I may return it and just keep using my 5. I don't have time for exchanges.

That type of damage in the photo I could live with, but again, right out of the box is annoying. I did live with it last year, but I must say...when I got the refurb a couple months ago, I was very happy to no longer feel the nicks when I hold the phone.
 

skafia

macrumors 6502
Apr 4, 2010
277
1
SOCAL
Unless you're going to frame your phone or keep it in a display case, I wouldn't worry about it as it's going to be damaged anyway. If it was easy to get it swapped, I would, but because of the hassle and the time it will take to get a replacement, I would just keep it.
 

kjparfekt

macrumors regular
Sep 24, 2012
235
90
Washington, DC
I had to exchange my 5 repeatedly which was especially disappointing because it was my first iphone. If it happens again I definitely will return it and wait for the 6 or the next best thing whatever that might be Apple, Android or Mocrosoft.
 

ladeer

macrumors 6502
Feb 15, 2007
391
10
I'm sorry, I guess my tone was misunderstood. I wasn't super upset about this at all. I even told Apple it wasn't a big deal but they insisted that it was and a phone should come out of the box in perfect condition.

I'm not freaking out over it or anything. And I like I said in comments above, I'm coming from a 4s that was a in a case and never had a scratch on it after two years so this is my first experience with the new aluminum/metal surfaces. I've yet to experience the scratching like this.

Sorry you had such a strong reaction to my simply asking what other people would do if their phone had come with nicks and scratches on it.

you weren't misunderstood. you shouldn't have even called apple in the first place for this....zero world problem.
 

PaulOBrain

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2013
211
0
UK
you weren't misunderstood. you shouldn't have even called apple in the first place for this....zero world problem.

Someone get lost on their way to the Africa forum? This whole forum is dedicated to "first world problems"
 

gbnz

macrumors newbie
May 21, 2010
21
0
if you're disappointed a little then take it back .. you've paid good dollar for it... but it's up to you bro...
 

TechnicallyTee

macrumors 68020
May 14, 2013
2,011
2,791
Atlanta
I would exchange the phone as well. Some people like myself want my device perfect without any nicks and scratches on it. I keep a case on my phone 100% of the time but that's beside the point. It's a new device out the box I expect perfection. Other people scratch their iPhone all to h**l and I can't see how they do it. To each is own.
 

iapplelove

Suspended
Nov 22, 2011
5,324
7,638
East Coast USA
i have to say the gold is the best color so far. the grey just isn't dark enough and the silver isn't white not that it's suppose to be, gold is perfect.
 
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