iPhone 5 - black version scuffs (merged)

[billinaz]

Ok here was my experience

Booked an appointment early today, went in told them about the scuffs, they replace it no questions ask ... Very nice of them

Here is the twist

Took a look at 2 replacements + 1 the employee rejected

Both of them had discolourations on both size, black dots and yellow showing, plus one had a big scuff at the bottom edge

I ended up not taking either, and I booked another appointment at another store later on to try my luck

Will keep you guys updated

This is not the first time Ive read a post like this.

This one post goves us an idea of the problem. It is definately real, andif even the apple store employees are rejecting supposedly new phones and that in this case there is a 100% failure rate of the phones presented then thats not acceptable.

Im apprehensive on what Im going to get on my replacement thats being shipped to me.....

 

[kellte2]

This is not the first time Ive read a post like this.

This one post goves us an idea of the problem. It is definately real, andif even the apple store employees are rejecting supposedly new phones and that in this case there is a 100% failure rate of the phones presented then thats not acceptable.

Im apprehensive on what Im going to get on my replacement thats being shipped to me.....

Assuming there is stock for a replacement, I will post my experience when I go to my Genius Bar appointment @ 1:00 pm tomorrow.

 

[KeanosMagicHat]

. Oops wrong thread

 

[enophi1]

How can we tell the week?

Go here and enter your serial number - the entire string! not the last four digits. Come back here and enter last four digits only.

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html

 

[iAco]

Im unable to see the poll results on mobile safari. Bad design.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Major surveys are often published as fact with far less respondents than this.

So? Major surveys use a specific methodology. Just looking at the number of respondents tells you exactly nothing.

----------

You have no more of a basis to prove a non-issue than anyone has to prove an issue at this point. Stop trying to pretend you do.

When did I say it was a non-issue? Stop pretending I said something I didn't.

 

[ADMProducer]

I can't see your photos
Can you post them again?

links:

iphone 4: http://d.pr/i/5zTh
iphone 5: http://d.pr/i/9I15

 

[i3six5]

I've seen many surprising examples of nicks and dings on brand new iPhones here. But some of the examples are so slight and so minuscule that I just can't believe people are fussing over them.

Ok, so let me get this right. You would be happy with a device that, has dents or kinks which have most likely occurred in the factory during manufacturing?

If you do, then you must have pretty low standards my friend.

At the end of the day, you SHOULD expect perfect quality products from Apple. You pay them for it and its also what they advertise!!! Apple should maybe update their iphone 5 marketing campaign with dented and kinked iPhone 5's and maybe consumers wont expect a perfect phone for which they pay £500+ or $700 for.

 

[Grey Area]

There are chemicals available for the purpose of blackening aluminium, could that be an easy fix?

Yeah. That would be called anodizing.

No. I know what anodizing is, so anodizing was obviously not what I was talking about when I mentioned chemicals for blackening aluminium. I am referring to products like this: Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black

I only have experience with such chemicals for steel, though, so I do not know how well this would work here. Simply painting the scuffs might be easier.

 

[i3six5]

Mine is essentially flawless but I intend to use a case with it just to be sure it stays that way. I've bought a cheap silicon case for now. I'll buy a nicer case when all the manufacturers have their new models out.

As for this poll, I think we should take it with a massive, MASSIVE pinch of salt.

First you have a self selection bias. People with no problems with their device are far less likely to click on this thread and take the time to vote. This is a massive bias problem which happens with any self selected group. A better method would be to go and contact 2000 buyers and ask them each the question. That would eliminate this bias.

Secondly you have the issue of lack of evidence - how can we be sure that all those "damaged out of the box" reports or even the scuffed reports are true? Macrumors is filled with anti-Apple trolls. Would anyone here put it past them to click on that option just to skew the poll and give them some new ammo to attack Apple with? Also we have no idea how those who have scuffed their devices have treat them though that's a lesser issue if all we wish to learn is the overall instances of scuffing.

Thirdly you have the main problem - the sample is far too small. Apple saw 2 million pre-orders on day one. We should assume that about 4 million iPhone 5 devices are now in use. You've got less than 2000 votes here. If we assume that 3 - 3.5 million of those pre-orders are the black model, the sample here is almost vanishingly small. Certainly not large enough to diminish the impact of self selection bias and dishonesty which will skew the poll.

We might be able to, at a very, very rough estimate, say that between 2-20% of black iPhone 5s have suffered scuffing either in the box or within the first couple of days of use. It could be much lower, of course. I suspect, if it is a wide spread issue, we'll hear about it more widely in the mainstream news media.

As a side point re. the general question of robustness, arguably the iPhone 5 is a step in the right direction. Drop tests have shown that the iPhone 5 fairs very well compared to phones like the Galaxy S3 in terms of real, structural damage. It's clearly far more robust than the 4/4S when it comes to withstanding impacts. It is, however, likely more vulnerable to scratching and scuffing on the chassis if not on the front panel. So it's tougher in one sense - you're far less likely to render this new iPhone unusable than the last model, but that comes hand-in-hand with a greater chance of minor cosmetic damage. I guess that's a decent trade-off all told.

Interesting point. However, i disagree. I went through 6 boxes on two different days at the same apple store, all of which were dented and scuffed. I seriously doubt people on this forum would deliberately scuff, dent and scratch their iPhone 5's just to then inconvenience them selves to go and get a DOA replacement.

I agree, the poll may not reflect the true numbers. However, i seriously doubt all these posted pictures are trolls wanting to bring apple down.

Simple fact is that, somewhere down apple's manufacturing chain a serious error has occurred. Whether this be the machines or employees. I feel the materials used in the iPhone 5 are strong and very durable. However, if a machine has put the iPhone 5 together and dented it during the process, then it needs addressing.

 

[Nutcracker33]

Build quality is one of the selling points across all Apple products

it just sucks to see this happening

 

[bitslap47]

So? Major surveys use a specific methodology. Just looking at the number of respondents tells you exactly nothing.

----------



When did I say it was a non-issue? Stop pretending I said something I didn't.

Here you call it a made up issue. Is that not the same as saying it's a non-issue?

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15795078/


Then you just continue to insinuate it is a non-issue and insult people who have the problem:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15813613/

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15811253/

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15804663/

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15798068/

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15795030/

 

[milan03]

So far this is what we have / add to the list! we need Week/ Colour/ Factory location. Go here and put your serial number in

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html


Flawless.


Week 32 factory C3 (Black )

Week 32 Factory C3 (White)

Week 33 Factory C3 (White)

Week 33 Factory C3 (White)

Week 37, Factory F2 (Black)



Damaged.

Week 34 Factory F2

Week 34 Factory DN

Week 36

Week 36 Factory C3

Week 36 Factory ?

Week 37 Factory C3

Week 37 Factory DN

Week 37 (glue residue) Factory DN

Flawless:

Production week: 35 (September)
Colour: White
Factory: F2

 

[Nutcracker33]

Flawless:

Production week: 35 (September)
Colour: White
Factory: F2

Damaged
Production week: 33
Colour: black
Factory: DN


it looks like mine is one of the earlier built that has damages

 

[musiciscool]

Ok, so let me get this right. You would be happy with a device that, has dents or kinks which have most likely occurred in the factory during manufacturing?

If you do, then you must have pretty low standards my friend.

At the end of the day, you SHOULD expect perfect quality products from Apple. You pay them for it and its also what they advertise!!! Apple should maybe update their iphone 5 marketing campaign with dented and kinked iPhone 5's and maybe consumers wont expect a perfect phone for which they pay £500+ or $700 for.

A dent, ding or scuff is one thing; some of the pictures of 'rejects' are being very picky over a minor speck of un-anodized aluminum. A shiny speck that isn't a ding a scuff or a dent! Those of us with a real dent aren't going to have a replacement option because they are getting burned through by people complaining about smudges, fingerprints, and damage they do themselves trying to test it's durability.

 

[networkr]

A dent, ding or scuff is one thing; some of the pictures of 'rejects' are being very picky over a minor speck of un-anodized aluminum. A shiny speck that isn't a ding a scuff or a dent! Those of us with a real dent aren't going to have a replacement option because they are getting burned through by people complaining about smudges, fingerprints, and damage they do themselves trying to test it's durability.

A shiny spec could lead to other problems. Smuges, finger prints and self made damages are pretty noticeable in comparison to real scuffs and dings.

 

[ltb7]

iPhone 4 'antenna-gate' is the prime example that this won't happen. At best they would make a new bumper case that covers the sides and back.

I am an Apple fan just like everyone else on these boards, but if people really think a product is shoddy and hate it, vote with your dollar. Return the phone. Most people however will end up buying a case and not noticing any antenna issue and Apple will sell millions.

I agree on voting with the dollar but with antenna-gate they were able to provide a fix to the situation - what are they going to give us now, some black, slate + white nail polish kits?

 

[jeremiah239]

I thought I would chime in here, I have a white 32gb and nothing is wrong with it at all. But when I took it out of the package it was dirty, like I thought there were scratches all over the aluminum but it was just dirt. I thought it was kinda odd but other then that every thing is perfect.

 

[Zunjine]

Interesting point. However, i disagree. I went through 6 boxes on two different days at the same apple store, all of which were dented and scuffed. I seriously doubt people on this forum would deliberately scuff, dent and scratch their iPhone 5's just to then inconvenience them selves to go and get a DOA replacement.

I agree, the poll may not reflect the true numbers. However, i seriously doubt all these posted pictures are trolls wanting to bring apple down.

Simple fact is that, somewhere down apple's manufacturing chain a serious error has occurred. Whether this be the machines or employees. I feel the materials used in the iPhone 5 are strong and very durable. However, if a machine has put the iPhone 5 together and dented it during the process, then it needs addressing.

I'm not saying the issue isn't real, merely that this poll is not good evidence for it.

Also I didn't say that people would deliberately dent or scuff their devices - just that there will be some votes in this poll which are dishonest votes. Maybe no more than 2 or 3%, maybe more but, added to the self selection bias, there's a serious reliability question mark.

I agree that there appears to be an issue here but we can't yet say how big an issue it is. It may well be simply one or two batches that have come out bad - that would potentially explain why you found a large number of damaged iPhones in one place - they could all have been from the same batch. What I'm saying is that we don't really know yet. If there is a problem Apple will handle it, I'm sure. They're generally good at this sort of thing. Not universally, of course, but overall.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Ok, so let me get this right. You would be happy with a device that, has dents or kinks which have most likely occurred in the factory during manufacturing?

If you do, then you must have pretty low standards my friend.

At the end of the day, you SHOULD expect perfect quality products from Apple. You pay them for it and its also what they advertise!!! Apple should maybe update their iphone 5 marketing campaign with dented and kinked iPhone 5's and maybe consumers wont expect a perfect phone for which they pay £500+ or $700 for.

I am an Apple buyer. As a whole, I believe that the company makes quality products. However, I don't recall Apple claiming to make perfect (read: without any defects) products.

As with most companies, there are going to be production problems from time to time. I can certainly understand unhappy customers here, who bought phones that were damaged out of the box. I would be disappointed as well, if I were one of them.

Each customer has to make the determination, as to whether or not the product they received, is worthy of being returned for a replacement. Even if some members here don't return their phone, I believe it is prudent for all who have received damaged phones out of the box, to promptly report it to Apple. That way, Apple can gain a better understanding of the problem at hand, and properly address it in a timely manner, that benefits them and the customer.

 

[Gix1k]

Oh it has gotten back to Apple.

Link??

 

[enophi1]

So far this is what we have / add to the list! we need Week/ Colour/ Factory location. Go here and put your serial number in

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html


Flawless.


Week 32 factory C3 (Black )
Week 32 Factory C3 (White)
Week 33 Factory C3 (White)
Week 33 Factory C3 (White)
Week 35 Factory F2 (White)
Week 35 Factory DN
Week 35 Factory DN
Week 36 Factory C3
Week 37, Factory F2 (Black)



Damaged.

Week 33 Factory DN (Black)
Week 34 Factory F2
Week 34 Factory DN
Week 36
Week 36 Factory C3
Week 36 Factory ?
Week 37 Factory C3
Week 37 Factory DN
Week 37 Factory DN (Black) (glue residue)

 

[i3six5]

A dent, ding or scuff is one thing; some of the pictures of 'rejects' are being very picky over a minor speck of un-anodized aluminum. A shiny speck that isn't a ding a scuff or a dent! Those of us with a real dent aren't going to have a replacement option because they are getting burned through by people complaining about smudges, fingerprints, and damage they do themselves trying to test it's durability.

well, excuse me for not mentioning Unanodized Aluminium in my post. I don't blame people for burning through the DOA stock because, no one should settle for anything less than perfect from a company that is known for quality!

Cut a long story short, you stick with your not so perfect iPhone 5, as you seem to enjoy it more than a perfect one.

 

[striker33]

So far this is what we have / add to the list! we need Week/ Colour/ Factory location. Go here and put your serial number in

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html


Flawless.


Week 32 factory C3 (Black )
Week 32 Factory C3 (White)
Week 33 Factory C3 (White)
Week 33 Factory C3 (White)
Week 35 Factory F2 (White)
Week 35 Factory DN
Week 35 Factory DN
Week 36 Factory C3
Week 37, Factory F2 (Black)



Damaged.

Week 33 Factory DN (Black)
Week 34 Factory F2
Week 34 Factory DN
Week 36
Week 36 Factory C3
Week 36 Factory ?
Week 37 Factory C3
Week 37 Factory DN
Week 37 Factory DN (Black) (glue residue)

I think you have the titles mixed up.

A large amount of the damaged ones have been C3 and weeks 33 and 35.

 

[Sneakyfox]

Link??

Apple (not sure where along the chain of command this came from) sent a mass email to most/all Apple stores, basically outlining that customers would probably be asking for returns on iPhone 5s, if so, they are allowed them. And that the replacements would be flawless.

The above is what I've heard from 2 or 3 users, one if which works in an Apple store.

Apple know of it I'm sure, they're just not wanting a PR disaster. Better to 'silently' fix the situation and replace damaged units then be all LOLOL SOZ WE F*CKED UP BUT WE WILL FIX IT WE PROMISE.