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Apple is aware of your cosmetic issues [Read]

s15119 said:
300 out of 5 million. It's all about perspective.
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300 that have actually been voiced online. No doubt there are hundreds/thousands out there who dont know about or use MacRumors, have this problem, and either dont care OR do care and have called Apple about it.

monkthehonk said:
Just wanted to let you guys know my experience with the Black iPhone 5. Mine came out of the box with silver creeping out near the 4 antenna bands on the side. Went to the store to get it replaced, and every replacement iPhone had it as well. The guy just told me to put a case on it. Kind of a joke, and I've grown to expect better from apple. Half of the display ones had the same problem as well.
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Go back and speak to the store manager. Whoever gave you the case advice is a dumbass.
 
I have an appointment to be switched again for a 3rd time.

First one had a ding near the top left bezel went in store to swap went through 2 boxes before finding a flawless one.

Turns out the glass on the bottom right would move/click when you pressed the screen in any way. Took it back and got a 3rd one looked fine but later on I noticed scuffmarks, nicks, and glue coming out of seems.

Back again tomorrow.
 
Mine has a small nick on he bottom. CBF going to Apple though.

Imagine how trashed our phones are going to be when they are coming out of the box already worn.
 
DayOfChaos said:
UPDATE: Apple is overnighting me a brand new iPhone and throwing in an extra cable, adapter, and headphone set. I cannot be happier.

Be sure to report your problem! The senior advisor also wanted me to send pictures to him, which was no problem for documentation.

:apple:
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Do you have to return the original phone.
 
I went back to an Apple store in London yesterday with a dark spot imperfection on the silver aluminium back - I sat and opened 7 new 32GB white & silver iPhones out of new retail boxes and each one had varying degrees of imperfections ranging from etches to the bezel you could run your fingernail into, to multiple 'spots' on the aluminium back to sharp burrs of metal around the side cut-outs which had been machined poorly.

I gave up after 2 hours of looking for what I would consider to be an Apple iPhone of the quality I would expect out of the box. The Apple employee was great and helpful the whole time and apologised that I could only leave the store with a refund, not a perfect iPhone. I've never opened an Apple product before which wasn't perfect and this has been a frustrating and disappointing experience. The phones were from different week numbers so I assume different batches/factories.

This morning I phoned to check if there was an official line on whether these imperfections to the finish are a 'feature' of the phone which we should just accept of whether I should expect the level of finish to be the same as any previous Apple product I've ever bought. I was told that I needed to be happy with the product and could keep exchanging them, but that "no iPhone 5 is perfect, despite Apple trying their best". So I guess the message is you're welcome to search for a perfect iPhone 5 and the Apple guarantee will back you up 100%, but don't expect to find one very easily!

The first time I've felt let down by Apple, ever. I'm a massive fan of all their products and own most of them, but the phones I viewed yesterday felt cheap and tacky compared to the usual amazing end product I've come to automatically expect from them.
 
I always wonder is it because Apple Geeks expect perfection and inspect the phone so vigorously that every little dent / nick is found - or is it a real issue here of QC. After all iPhone 4 had antenna gate... But this out of the box thing AND the WiFi issues reported seem a bit much. I am starting to be happy that my employer doesn't offer the iPhone 5 yet as corporate accounts seem to get them last (and thus hopefully new batches and generations)
 
gri said:
I always wonder is it because Apple Geeks expect perfection and inspect the phone so vigorously that every little dent / nick is found - or is it a real issue here of QC. After all iPhone 4 had antenna gate... But this out of the box thing AND the WiFi issues reported seem a bit much. I am starting to be happy that my employer doesn't offer the iPhone 5 yet as corporate accounts seem to get them last (and thus hopefully new batches and generations)
Click to expand...

Definitely a QC issue. There simply shouldn't be these kind of marks along the side of the phone, especially when there are lots being made that are seemingly 100% fine. It's hardly fair for a select amount of people to be getting the 'short straw' on Apple's new device.

I've mentioned it a few times but I definitely am seeing a lot more people with scuff/mark free devices, and they're happy. Furthermore, after 2-3 days of handling, they're reporting (see other threads) that their iPhone 5's are still in good condition, regardless of putting them in pockets etc etc.

There are a lot of first batch (And by 'batch' I simply use that as a word to group the defected iphones as a collective) iPhone 5's that are messed up, but plenty that aren't. I imagine that at some point they'll fix the QC, fix the checks, fix the machines and whatnot. And more good ones will be produced, with old ones being sent back. Not change the materials or design, just bring things up to the desired standard (as per Ive's little video piece) Sort of like a recall, but without publicly addressing it as a recall (PR disaster for Apple)
 
It turns out they sent my replacement iPhone and accessories all separately. Each came in their own box or envelope with a note to return the original ones. They accidentally sent me replacement in-ear headphones instead of the earpods though. I assume the iPhone they sent me won't be a brand new one in sealed box. We'll see when it gets here. It actually got delayed a day at FedEx...
 
lgb2000 said:
I went back to an Apple store in London yesterday with a dark spot imperfection on the silver aluminium back - I sat and opened 7 new 32GB white & silver iPhones out of new retail boxes and each one had varying degrees of imperfections ranging from etches to the bezel you could run your fingernail into, to multiple 'spots' on the aluminium back to sharp burrs of metal around the side cut-outs which had been machined poorly.

I gave up after 2 hours of looking for what I would consider to be an Apple iPhone of the quality I would expect out of the box. The Apple employee was great and helpful the whole time and apologised that I could only leave the store with a refund, not a perfect iPhone. I've never opened an Apple product before which wasn't perfect and this has been a frustrating and disappointing experience. The phones were from different week numbers so I assume different batches/factories.

This morning I phoned to check if there was an official line on whether these imperfections to the finish are a 'feature' of the phone which we should just accept of whether I should expect the level of finish to be the same as any previous Apple product I've ever bought. I was told that I needed to be happy with the product and could keep exchanging them, but that "no iPhone 5 is perfect, despite Apple trying their best". So I guess the message is you're welcome to search for a perfect iPhone 5 and the Apple guarantee will back you up 100%, but don't expect to find one very easily!

The first time I've felt let down by Apple, ever. I'm a massive fan of all their products and own most of them, but the phones I viewed yesterday felt cheap and tacky compared to the usual amazing end product I've come to automatically expect from them.
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dude, do you really need a perfect phone when you're going to get the same knicks and scratches like, after 1 day of use anyway?
 
The faults are all because of poor machining.
If QC was up to the usual apple standard then the launch would have had far less phones for sale.
I think Apple knew about this all along and let it slide to get as many phones out there as possible.
The question is, would Apple have had a larger backlash if the made a statement that there would be less phones at launch due to machining problems of the new aluminium case? I don't know but I would have had more respect for them than I do now.
Welcome to the new apple under the leadership of Tim Cook. I have no doubts that this issue will disappear by the third batch as they will have the manufacturing issues ironed out.
But don't accept the brown box refurbs because apple are just recycling what comes back, there is no way they are just binning those cases, remember the recycling green guys will be busting their balls if they are not being recycled.
 
What's are the serial numbers/weeks/factory of those with issues?

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but maybe we can track down batch here on the forums

Dave
 
Cindori said:
dude, do you really need a perfect phone when you're going to get the same knicks and scratches like, after 1 day of use anyway?
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Yes. I am entitled because, well, I say so.

Every Apple product should be 100% flawless. Steve would have never let any flaws happen ever under any circumstances. Phones need to be pristine, because... Umm... Not OCD, I'm going to go with... Resale value. Yup, resale on a phone I just bought that I won't sell for a year. Definitely not entitled OCD.

Every nick must be mine or else I'll never be able to sleep at night.

Surely you acknowledge I deserve that?
 
Cindori said:
dude, do you really need a perfect phone when you're going to get the same knicks and scratches like, after 1 day of use anyway?
Click to expand...

Perhaps, after paying a premium price for supposedly well-designed item, he doesn't want it nicked and scratched after one day of use.



Marco123 said:
The faults are all because of poor machining.
If QC was up to the usual apple standard then the launch would have had far less phones for sale.
I think Apple knew about this all along and let it slide to get as many phones out there as possible . . .
Click to expand...

According to this video, posted before launch of the phone itself, you might be onto something there.

http://youtu.be/0l4vpyQIafY
 
A new phone should not have scratches out of the box. Ofcourse it will scratch in time but it should not have them before you even touch the phone..

How can people even defend apple???:confused::confused::confused::confused: this is an issue and im sure apple is on to it. Many phones are coming out perfect.
 
Marco123 said:
If QC was up to the usual apple standard then the launch would have had far less phones for sale.
Click to expand...


heh heh, I think your view of the corporate world are pretty out of focus.. Apple like other corporation want to make money. Have a problem like scuffed Iphone out is very expensive. In addition to the PR problem which will hit the sales number on the margin, the replacement units add a lot more cost to Apple (send it back to a facility to unmount all the internal, put it in a new shell, test it. ship them back to the store and use them as refurbished replacement phone. All these steps cost a lot of money).

Most likely the problem lie in the anodized process. There are reports that people intentionally abuse the demo unit and has no problem and then there are a lot of reports of problem right out of the box. So the anodized aluminum body can stand up to some pretty bad abuse. The problem with the scuffed unit is in the manufacturing process. With the serial number, I am pretty sure Apple can track the defect to the source pretty fast. And now that they know what to look for, at a minimum they can put more workers into inspection to reject any defective units before shipping. The trouble is that they builded so many Iphones at the launch that we may have a few weeks before all the initial inventory run out. I would guess that in a month or so, we won't be talking about these at all since the problem will be fixed. Since Apple is willing to replace any damaged unit out of the box. There is not much risk if someone check the phone out before leaving the store.

How can people even defend apple??? this is an issue and im sure apple is on to it. Many phones are coming out perfect.

The manufacturing process is problematic but they are willing to replace all the unit that has problem. What more do you want to ask a manufacturer? One that stand behind their mechandise or one that doesn't have a problem you can find now?
 
For those of you who called up Apple, had them ship you a replacement, and have already received it, how did your replacement iPhone 5 arrive? Was it just a replacement phone without a new box and accessories? Or was it a full new retail box sealed with a new iPhone 5 and accessories inside?
 
@xofruitcake - Did you watch the entire video above & take note of the fact that it came out two weeks before the launch of the phone?
 
techman28 said:
For those of you who called up Apple, had them ship you a replacement, and have already received it, how did your replacement iPhone 5 arrive? Was it just a replacement phone without a new box and accessories? Or was it a full new retail box sealed with a new iPhone 5 and accessories inside?
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I am quite upset now.

I called and report the problems with my black iphone 5 on 22nd September, I was told that I need to go to an apple store to get a replacement. I went to store on the same day and there was no stock at all. I called back AppleCare. This time I was told that Apple does not have any in stock and they took a note to my account that they will be shipping a replacement in mid or late October!

WTF! I read that people here getting their replacements day and night.

What do you think I should do? This is really not fair! :mad:
 
sevimli said:
I am quite upset now.

I called and report the problems with my black iphone 5 on 22nd September, I was told that I need to go to an apple store to get a replacement. I went to store on the same day and there was no stock at all. I called back AppleCare. This time I was told that Apple does not have any in stock and they took a note to my account that they will be shipping a replacement in mid or late October!

WTF! I read that people here getting their replacements day and night.

What do you think I should do? This is really not fair! :mad:
Click to expand...

Did you ask for retail packaging? That might hold things up.
 
Got my replacement phone in white box. It also came with a sim ejector tool. Gonna have to inspect the hell out of this one.

Update: replacement has very faint nick on bezel but there is now a scratch on the aluminum back. Ugh, prob will just keep this one.
 
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