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The bumper does rub and damage the steel band! It has a polishing effect!

That's not scratching though. That's more like what happens to your keyboards spacebar or your trackpad over extended use with something as soft as your finger.

All things wear down.

If your bumper is so loose fitting that it's rubbing smooth spots into the antenna, return it. Mine was never that loose even before I boiled it to make it even tighter.
 
I've had mine on since day one (24th June), and unfortunately, it has put at least 5-6 minor scratches/marks in the metal. And I take it off every couple of days and clean it quite thoroughly, and make sure I never put the phone anywhere with too much dirt in it. I do put it in my pocket though, but always with nothing else in it, and I'm fairly sure there's no sand in my pockets, or anything else that abrasive.

All initially seemed ok for a couple of weeks, then one mark appeared near the speaker. Then, again, for a few weeks no further marks appeared (it's after the first mark that I started cleaning it every couple of days), and when I had a look just now, there was something like 5-6 new marks, all over, bottom, top and both sides. :( Very disappointed.
 
Had a Bumper on my iPhone 4 since June 23. Just removed the Bumper to check for scratching/scuffing. Not a single scratch or scuff to be found.

But, then, I don't carry my iPhone in my pocket. There's too much debris in pants pockets, including dirt and sand. Debris that remains trapped in the pocket when you wash the pants. Debris that all to easily can get in between the Bumper and the iPhone.

The Bumper isn't scratching the iPhone 4, it's the crap that gets between the two that's doing it.

Mark
 
Yes.

When I got my iPhone 4 on launch, the Apple Store salesman put the bumper on my phone for me. I took it off 2 days later and there was a scratch (seemed more like a small dent) near the headphone jack. Over the past month, a few other small smudges have shown up on the steel.
I agree %100 with you, I got my blue bumper I put it on, a week after took it off and bam all scratches and dents that I couldn't wipe away, I really don't know if I should keep my phone or replace it.
 
anyone who doesn't want their bumper, let me know because I love mine and want other colors.
 
I agree with the resell value comment. When you try to sell it later, people who can't see scratches under NORMAL conditions will hold it up to the light in angles never held to in normal usage.
 
Scratching with a cas eon is all user fault to be honest. I mean it's 50/50 read the thread, some have no scratches, others have dings and scratches(dont ask me how plastic can dign or dent metal) anyway, seems to me, some people even with a case think that they are more protective of the phone then they really are, really, i've had about 4 different cases on my iphone since June 23, and not one scratch dent or ding. Plus, I imagine many people who reply to these things, don't have iPhones and just posting crap anyway, which has become norm on the boards.
 
I have the Invisible Shield sides/top/bottom protector on, with the bumper on the phone.

That, along with screen protectors on the front/back is ample protection while out and about.

During my time using the bumper without the Invisible Shield I didn't notice any scratches when removing it to clean the phone.
 
I just got the bumper from apple and now im scared to put it on. Damn it
 
Yes, it does. I think just the minor movement where the plastic touches the metal buffs out the rougher finish over time. It kind of bugs me, but then, I keep the bumper on it and I never sell my iPhones, so I kinda got over it. However, if I ever have to replace the phone, I will make sure to protect the metal bands.
 
Thank god I didn't order the bumper from Apple's free case program. How about did anyone experiencing similar problems with other cases that's not the Apple bumper?
 
Thank god I didn't order the bumper from Apple's free case program. How about did anyone experiencing similar problems with other cases that's not the Apple bumper?

Of course they would. The ONLY reason the Apple bumper scratches anything is because some kind of hard debris gets under the bumper and then the bumper can move slightly.

A lot of cases have a bit of movement in them and most every case I've tried has a more loose seal around the screen which would only allow more dirt and debris in.

Now people talking about their case being buffed...that's totally different then scratching. That could happen with any case which has movement in it if used enough.
 
I have never owned a case that didn't scratch my phone. On the original, 3G and the 3GS, cases would always scratch the chrome band no matter what case.

The Apple Bumper is the first "case" that I have owned that didn't scratch my phone yet in one full month. I do take the bumper off every week and wipe off the phone so maybe that helps. I love this bumper!
 
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I have had my bumper on since launch day June 24th and have yet to see a single scratch on my phone from it. It's all about keeping the phone clean so dust doesn't get trapped in between. This happens with lots of cases though.
 
Well considering the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G/3GS's chrome scratched if you even looked at it, the 4 is a definite improvement, though in some cases the bumper can cause scratches.

I seriously think all the iPhones have been design flawed. The chrome on the older gens was just awful. It was impossible for it NOT to scratch.
 
Yes it does and I often take mine off and clean it though I don't baby the phone. My steel band now has multiple scratches all round the band but it's a risk worth taking for the impact protection in my view. On the plus side I guess it's pretty easy to buff the scratches out of steel.
 
Who cares.... next year we'll all have the iPhone 5

and the scratches will be someone elses problem ;)
 
I have never owned a case that didn't scratch my phone. On the original, 3G and the 3GS, cases would always scratch the chrome band no matter what case.

The Apple Bumper is the first "case" that I have owned that didn't scratch my phone yet in one full month. I do take the bumper off every week and wipe off the phone so maybe that helps. I love this bumper!

Wow, that's strange. I have never owned a case that scratched my iphone. Had the bumper on for over a month and not one single scratch. Had a cheap Kroo case on my 3GS and not one single scratch when I went to sell it. I think it just depends on the owner and how they treat their phones.
 
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