Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 5 - black version scuffs (merged)
- Thread starter Pagemakers
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I got my iPhone 5 on September 21 and there is some discoloration on two of the bands and a small nick on one side. Can I still go to an apple store and get it replaced?
Week 38
So apple over the phone says they haven't heard a lot about the scuffs out of box. ???? This whole thread has been showing tons of this issue, worst quality control ever, my problem is that if u except a scuff phone and then protect it well in a case then try to sell it a year from now u wont get as much for it
Right. Because in the grand scheme of things they HAVEN'T heard a lot about scuffgate. Believe it or not, even 1000 users on MR is not a large sample size. There just aren't that many normal people concerned with tiny nicks on a device that is bound to show signs of use anyway over the next year or two. Most of the OCD crowd even accept that it WILL show signs of use, just that THEY have to be the one to cause it... it's kinda funny.
And true, you might receive SLIGHTLY less for it in resale. If resale is your primary concern for buying a phone, you should just get a 4S. If you think it will be a BIG difference (a 5 a year from now with a slight nick vs. one that has none) you are kidding yourself and need to do some research (even flawless vs. imperfect 4S's only had a spread of $20-$25 on buying sites like eBay instant sale and gazelle...).
Scuffgate isn't a big deal. Sorry. It might be to a handful of OCD users on a fanboy website (take no offense, I myself am an admitted iPhone fanboy), but it's not to the 99% of users that have never even heard of an iPhone forum, let alone worry about cosmetic damage requiring holding the phone at a certain angle, or certain lighting, to see.
There were a few that were BAD. The vast, VAST majority were nothing more than tiny, pin sized, imperceptable unless you were searching for them, imperfections.
No big deal. Doesn't change that the PHONE is the best phone ever.
My boss got a black 5 a week or so after launch day. Then his wife gave birth to twins and he's been out of the office since. He popped in to work today to check on things and pulled out his phone, which he's used without a case since day one of owning it. Nearly all the phone's edges were completely worn down to the silver aluminum. He said it was just from putting in and pulling it out from his pocket for a couple of weeks. No abuse. No drops. I was rather surprised to see it so worn in such a short time. Clearly the anodizing on his phone is sub par.
My co-worker got his yesterday. For the most part the phone looked great, however on the back of the phone where the anodized aluminum is there were some minor dings on it. You could see them before even taking the plastic protector off. It looked almost like if you have dust under a screen protector, except you take the plastic off of a BRAND NEW phone and see that there are dings.
He didn't mind as he was putting it inside an OtterBox anyway. For me they were bad enough that I would have wanted an exchange as I do not like bulky cases covering up my whole phone.
He didn't mind as he was putting it inside an OtterBox anyway. For me they were bad enough that I would have wanted an exchange as I do not like bulky cases covering up my whole phone.
Got my black iP5 on launch day and using with no case - no damage yet, BUT if you point it directly at the sun and take a picture there are purple streaks in the picture - BEWARE
Just wanted to chime in. I swapped for a white after my black was flaking. Couldn't be happier. I also put a BodyGuardz full body film on it... So the phone feels naked when it isn't.
Apple handled everything horribly and wasted tons of my time, however I am happy with my choice to go white in the end.
Apple handled everything horribly and wasted tons of my time, however I am happy with my choice to go white in the end.
How easy was it for you to switch to white?
I just got my first black replacement today at an Apple Store, and there's still a few dings here and there, and the band is now discolored (not sure of the right term) near some of the lines in the band. Wouldn't mind giving the white version a try. However, the dings aren't as noticeable as my original phone, so I'm slightly happier than before.
It was a nightmare. In the end, I called sales to return the phone altogether and sales was who made the swap for me.
I would like to share my story today. Reserve two iphone 5 at two different stores, one white and one black. First white one has a dent on the bottom, I went back to store for exchange and was advised that I can only swap once, even the replacement is not good (but if I am not happy I can return it). The second white still has some issues but overall it is OK. The black one is shown in following pictures, except problems (in my opinion) in pic, it is OK. All three phone are week 41. Do you think the black one should be replaced?
Attachments
The thing that really disappointed me is that the apple store manager said one small dent is acceptable.
I agree with the previous posted, that's a keeper!!! You probably won't find a better looking model than that.
Bit like a girlfriend, if she has no obvious mental defects then she's "A Keeper"
AKA: "the one"
In the case of the iphone 5 model. It's pretty much near perfect. A Keeper
I wonder if Apple is using different kinds of anodizing. While some people complain about easy scratches others say their phones stay like new.
Also while there is iFixit video of the iphone getting easily scratched by keys. There is also one destruction test where the iPhone does not suffer any damage from keys.
Also while there is iFixit video of the iphone getting easily scratched by keys. There is also one destruction test where the iPhone does not suffer any damage from keys.
I think parts of the unit are not getting the correct electrical current , it's not high enough to create the porous oxide layer which is needed so it can be filled with coloured dye.
Some parts of the unit are not flaking, although it appears that way. I've looked at this on my old device and it's missing the coloured dye in some places. As far as I can tell , I think It's because the electrical current isn't creating an even porous oxide layer over the entire surface.
The dents on the chamfer are another thing entirely , I believe that the crystalline diamond drill tool is to blame for this. All those shiny aluminum particles are flying all over the device whilst it's being etched, and the aluminum (because it's very soft) is being dented in some places due to the extreme heat caused by the tool itself.
Drill any piece of metal , file it, etc and you will find that the metal heats up depending on how fast your tool is.
Then again, I could be wrong and not know what the hell I am talking about, but I think I am pretty damn close.
Week 38
So apple over the phone says they haven't heard a lot about the scuffs out of box. ???? This whole thread has been showing tons of this issue, worst quality control ever, my problem is that if u except a scuff phone and then protect it well in a case then try to sell it a year from now u wont get as much for it
I wouldn't worry about that. Flawless phones are going to get just as scuffed up going in/out of cases over the next couple of years. In 1/2 years you simply are not going to find perfect used 5's. Not with the poor quality components and finishing Apple uses on them.
Who cares anyway? Every used iPhone I've sold has been scuffed/scratched from their cases, and it didn't affect resale.
You don't see a problem when people are allowed to open up 5-10 phones? People have been waiting weeks on end to get their iPhone. When a customer opens up 10 phones, those 10 phones are now unable to be sold. Now the people who were waiting have to wait that much longer until Apple sends 10 phones to replace the opened up 10 phones. People are having to go without because others are selfish and have entitlement issues.
And you don't see a problem?
Nope I don't. People paid for a perfect iPhone 5 and if mine wasn't perfect, i'd do the same thing until I was a satisfied customer. If people don't want to wait, they should have pre-ordered like the masses.
Those 10 phones are crap and should have NEVER passed through quality control. It's Apples fault, not the customer. Direct your anger towards the responsible party.
Not at all. If people did your job better, there wouldn't be so many damaged phones out of the box. I'm aware scuffs don't hinder usability, but they do tarnish the experience.
