iPhone Wear & Tear... Is it normal?

[zaccameron]

Hey guys,
I'm one of those iOCD people. When I notice damage to my Apple devices, I go into a meltdown. Just this evening, I took my iPhone 4S bumper off, only to find a horrid amount of scuffs and abrasions. I was just curious, is this sort of stuff normal? I guess knowing it's not just my luck will help put my mind at rest.

Thank you!

 

[IFRIT]

It's normal to get scuffing under the bumper from particals getting trapped between the 2 and causing scratches, you should take the bumper off every week or so and clean out any crap.

 

[sulpfiction]

Totally normal with a bumper. As mentioned above, take it off weekly and clean the bumper and band.

 

[macingman]

Hey guys,
I'm one of those iOCD people. When I notice damage to my Apple devices, I go into a meltdown. Just this evening, I took my iPhone 4S bumper off, only to find a horrid amount of scuffs and abrasions. I was just curious, is this sort of stuff normal? I guess knowing it's not just my luck will help put my mind at rest.

Thank you!

Yep normal dust gets caught under the bumber and rubs against the band creating marks.

Just cover it up. Move on. It's just a phone. Not worth stressing about.

 

[zaccameron]

Thanks guys. I guess it's not worth worrying over. I have no idea where this need for perfection comes from! Maybe it's Apples advertising? The perfect devices flawless on a blank white page? I'm not so sure. Anyway, I might just use a plain case for now.

 

[PNutts]

Yeah, it's a daily use thing so it's going to take some bumps and bruises. My old iPhones look much better than the plastic phones (with the same amount of use) I had before the iPhone. Fake chrome paint flaking off. Letters and numbers rubbed off the keys. HTC / Palm - yikes!

 

[tiartrop]

Is that the official Apple bumper?

My friend's iPhone suffered the same scratches/scuff marks issues, I always thought he's more on the rough side when handling his phone, but I guess the bumper is also to blame.

It'll fare better with silicone or any other cases with soft materials inside.

But don't think too much of it, you'll probably get a new phone within the next 1-2 years!

 

[rgarjr]

There have numerous threads regarding the bumper scratching the stainless steel band on the 4/4s. But yeah that bumper does more harm than good on the band of those devices.

 

[BarryL]

Mine is the sme way. Need to clean it more often.

 

[AFDoc]

Hey guys,
I go into a meltdown.

Maybe this is your problem. Not sure how old you are but as you age and become a bit more mature normal wear and tear such as you describe becomes less of an issue. (not making a judgement on you personally, simply stating priorities change as you age) You should of taken your bumper off more often and cleaned the dust out OR put edge protection on your phone like those available at http://www.theluckylabs.com I know people want to keep their i's perfect forever but that's just not very realistic when most "abuse" their phones by their daily actions.

To answer your question yes, marks on the edge of the i4's is perfectly normal. I would think if you're as iOCD as you say you would of taken the bumper off on a regular basis and cleaned your phone. Maybe you're progressing and didn't even realize it.
I will also add ANY case/bumper will do the same. It's not the case, it's the dust/dirt that gets in there that causes the issue. It gets in there and acts like fine grit sand paper with the very small movements of the case against the phone. Only way to stop this from happening is to remove the case and clean house.

There have numerous threads regarding the bumper scratching the stainless steel band on the 4/4s. But yeah that bumper does more harm than good on the band of those devices.

This statement is total bunk. The bumper is a great way to protect your phone while still being able to actually "see" the phone. Great (edge) drop protection, minimal footprint and easily removed. You simply have to be proactive in taking care of your phone.