I went through the same thing...my black one is chipped so I am getting a white one in exchange. I'm hoping that the bare aluminum band/back won't be so obvious to see imperfections as seeing bare aluminum against an anodized black back/sides. The white one just looks better in person IMO also.
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iPhone 5 - black version scuffs (merged)
- Thread starter Pagemakers
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I went through the same thing...my black one is chipped so I am getting a white one in exchange. I'm hoping that the bare aluminum band/back won't be so obvious to see imperfections as seeing bare aluminum against an anodized black back/sides. The white one just looks better in person IMO also.
That was my concern but it appears most are US. I suspect the faulty batch must have mainly gone there. But then again US has a bigger population so that could count a bit! I have a perfect black.......but am swapping to white just because i like it more and more as i see it!
Wrong. An email was sent out to staff on why this happened. She actually showed me it at the store and they were told to expect issues.
I've been reading this entire forum from the start and finally feel the need to join in. I got my black 16gb iPhone 5 on launch day from my local AT&T store and noticed a scuff right away on the side right above the silent/ringer rocker switch, directly below the insert in the side. It's not a nick, dent or chip, it looks like the finish on the aluminum was rubbed off. It's pretty small so I didn't really think too much of it until I started seeing other people with similar or worse problems. Upon a very close inspection of my phone I noticed three tiny little nicks in the bezel. I called Apple first thing on Monday morning and spoke with a Sr. Advisor who hadn't heard of the problem at all, she asked me to take pictures of the phone and email them to her, which I did. I have not heard back from her since that conversation on Monday and I have called her as well as emailed her back since - still nothing. If I don't hear from her I'm just going to walk into my local Apple store and I'm not leaving until I have a flawless phone or they are out of phones to show me. Totally unacceptable to receive damaged goods when sold as brand new.
On another note - I have to say that I'm not entirely thrilled with the design of the phone. I thought this phone would have Steve Jobs finger prints all over it but I do not think that is the case. From reading the biography I know that when they designed the original iPhone Jobs wanted to have a phone that could easily be picked up off a table, this is not the case with the iPhone 5, you have to really use your finger tips to pick up the phone and be very cautious with it. I think it looks awesome and functions equally as well but in my opinion they went a little over board with making the phone look like a fine wrist watch rather than something that, by it's nature, is going to take some abuse from day to day use. Maybe this is a result of Tim Cook "not being a product guy" like Jobs was. I'm going to stick with it and get a nice case for it as soon some good ones come out but this will be the first time I've ever put a case on phone and it kind of sucks to have to.
On another note - I have to say that I'm not entirely thrilled with the design of the phone. I thought this phone would have Steve Jobs finger prints all over it but I do not think that is the case. From reading the biography I know that when they designed the original iPhone Jobs wanted to have a phone that could easily be picked up off a table, this is not the case with the iPhone 5, you have to really use your finger tips to pick up the phone and be very cautious with it. I think it looks awesome and functions equally as well but in my opinion they went a little over board with making the phone look like a fine wrist watch rather than something that, by it's nature, is going to take some abuse from day to day use. Maybe this is a result of Tim Cook "not being a product guy" like Jobs was. I'm going to stick with it and get a nice case for it as soon some good ones come out but this will be the first time I've ever put a case on phone and it kind of sucks to have to.
Notice all the "complainers" just register Macrumors Sept 2012!
That's because they have issues. No issues, no reason to register or post. Real simple
Mine was scratched and had another issue. Did not complain here, but returned it, and will wait it out a bit.
Have been following/posting in this thread for a few days now, when I can. Today was the day though, it arrived
Happy to say that there is no visible damage so far, and I've checked carefully. Hoping it stays that way as I don't plan on using a case (I have one, but the Black 5 is TOO sexy for a case to ruin it)
Name: iPhone 5
ModelCode: iphone_5
Model Number: MD299
Group1: iPhone
Group2:
Generation: 7
Machine Model: iPhone5,1
Model introduced: 2012
Production year: 2012
Production week: 35 (September)
CPU speed: 1.3GHz
Family name: Become a pro user to see this information. (sorry)
Screen size: 4 inch
Screen resolution: 1136x640 pixels
Colour: Black
Capacity: 32GB
Factory: C3 (China)
Ordered from Three (UK) on 18th September.
Good luck everyone else! (Gonna stick around anyway, to try and help others where I can)
Happy to say that there is no visible damage so far, and I've checked carefully. Hoping it stays that way as I don't plan on using a case (I have one, but the Black 5 is TOO sexy for a case to ruin it)
Name: iPhone 5
ModelCode: iphone_5
Model Number: MD299
Group1: iPhone
Group2:
Generation: 7
Machine Model: iPhone5,1
Model introduced: 2012
Production year: 2012
Production week: 35 (September)
CPU speed: 1.3GHz
Family name: Become a pro user to see this information. (sorry)
Screen size: 4 inch
Screen resolution: 1136x640 pixels
Colour: Black
Capacity: 32GB
Factory: C3 (China)
Ordered from Three (UK) on 18th September.
Good luck everyone else! (Gonna stick around anyway, to try and help others where I can)
Mine had a small scratch/dint, out of the box, on the aluminium band just below the Home button.
Today I brought it back to the Apple Store where I bought it (Hornsby, Australia). The first guy I spoke to told me that it was perfectly normal for there to be small scratches on the iPhone 5 and that there was nothing I could do about it.
I spoke with someone else. This guy a took a little more time to explain that Apple will not do anything about small cosmetic faults like this on my iPhone. They will only offer replacements where the fault interferes with the functionality of the device. He said that there have been many people bringing their phones back over the past week and they are all being told the same thing - that nothing can be done.
When I pushed it further he spoke to his manager and came back to say that he could set up a Genius Bar appointment and they might be able to replace it with a refurbished model. He didn't recommend I do this though because he said the refurbished model will probably be in worse condition than my "new" phone. (I can believe this because when they replaced my iPhone 4 with a refurbished one the first one I got had a purple screen, the second the SIM card slot wouldn't close and the third had a yellow tint to the screen and they refused to try a fourth time).
I asked if I could get a refund and then I'd just buy another one. He said I can do this within the first 12 days but they probably won't have stock again for quite some time so it will be a long wait before I will be able to buy another one. Also, he said the new phone will likely have scratches too and may be worse then the one I have now. So, he recommended against it.
I'm not happy. It's only a small scratch but after paying $1,000 for a phone then I expect it to be perfect out of the box.
Today I brought it back to the Apple Store where I bought it (Hornsby, Australia). The first guy I spoke to told me that it was perfectly normal for there to be small scratches on the iPhone 5 and that there was nothing I could do about it.
I spoke with someone else. This guy a took a little more time to explain that Apple will not do anything about small cosmetic faults like this on my iPhone. They will only offer replacements where the fault interferes with the functionality of the device. He said that there have been many people bringing their phones back over the past week and they are all being told the same thing - that nothing can be done.
When I pushed it further he spoke to his manager and came back to say that he could set up a Genius Bar appointment and they might be able to replace it with a refurbished model. He didn't recommend I do this though because he said the refurbished model will probably be in worse condition than my "new" phone. (I can believe this because when they replaced my iPhone 4 with a refurbished one the first one I got had a purple screen, the second the SIM card slot wouldn't close and the third had a yellow tint to the screen and they refused to try a fourth time).
I asked if I could get a refund and then I'd just buy another one. He said I can do this within the first 12 days but they probably won't have stock again for quite some time so it will be a long wait before I will be able to buy another one. Also, he said the new phone will likely have scratches too and may be worse then the one I have now. So, he recommended against it.
I'm not happy. It's only a small scratch but after paying $1,000 for a phone then I expect it to be perfect out of the box.
Hum, I think it would be best in your case to call up Apple support. I am sure that they will be more willing to try to help you out in this case.
i barely ****ing touch this thing I baby it like its made out of .0001mm thick glass yet its still getting marks on the black rim where silver metal is shining through.
Extremely disappointed with the build quality of this thing, never though Apple would put something out like this.
Extremely disappointed with the build quality of this thing, never though Apple would put something out like this.
Notice all the "complainers" just register Macrumors Sept 2012!
Really? I've been here for years noob
I'm quite surprised how wide spread this is.
My iPhone was thrown around the back of a near empty DPD van on launch day, having been ordered from Three online.
There's no chips really, just a slight imperfection near a antenna band.
My iPhone was thrown around the back of a near empty DPD van on launch day, having been ordered from Three online.
There's no chips really, just a slight imperfection near a antenna band.
I was just talking on my phone and during the conversation I was looking over the phone and noticed that the edges of the holes covering the speakers on the bottom are showing the bright metal under the finish. Seems like the finish on the edges is wearing off. I have totally babied this phone so it was either like that when I got it or the finish is rubbing off very easily. Very disappointed in the built quality of this phone and Apple's decision to use a design process prone to easily show wear.
My phone is nicked up too, i have a case #, i am waiting to swap/exchange for a 16gb model, going down from my 32gb, don't need the space. should i wait until october for a new batch or try to do it now? Also is it possible to do this by calling apple instead of going to the store? Or would the price difference cause an issue?
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Mine has started to do this around the speaker holes also.
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Mine has started to do this around the speaker holes also.
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People are seriously never satisfied... Apple switched to metal to avoid the glass cracking. Now people are pissed it scratches?? I do agree that they should not come marked out of the box.
And this is different from the iPhone 4/4S how? Jobs was very much alive when the iPhone 4 was introduced. Makes no sense.
Sounds like defective anodizing. It shouldn't "seemingly scratch itself" so get it exchanged. Just because you got a defective iPhone doesn't mean the build quality of all iPhones are like yours.
Most are concerns about out of the box scratches, and a failure of the coating where it is coming off/flaking off not part of a scratching incident.
For example, mine flakes off more and more every time I wipe it with a micro fiber cloth. Unacceptable.
flaking off when cleaning it with a microfibre cloth?!?! WTF?!?!
Im switching mine to a white model this week to avoid all the hassle (even though the black is lovely to look at).
They say once you go black you never go back, but I reckon when you go white it will be alright
The solution is simple. Get a white model and problems solved. If you are going to get a case put on it anyway, who cares what color it is.