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LifeProof Fr iP5 case

I wonder if I can put a call in to lifeproof and have them send me just that black plastic pad with adhesive on the back so I can add it to my case myself. I have a 2nd gen and the vibration is rather bad. And I don't really want to mail my case away for a few weeks until they receive it and then send me another one. Would have been nice if they had gotten this right the first time.

Also I had a weird experience on the phone last night. This phenomenon came and went, but when it was present, there was a very low pitched hum that faded in and out of the earpiece. It didn't make the call unintelligible, it was just weird - I'd heard of people having a high pitched noise, but never a low pitched hum. Figured I'd see if any of y'all had had this happen.

Thanks
 
jester0723 said:
I wonder if I can put a call in to lifeproof and have them send me just that black plastic pad with adhesive on the back so I can add it to my case myself. I have a 2nd gen and the vibration is rather bad. And I don't really want to mail my case away for a few weeks until they receive it and then send me another one. Would have been nice if they had gotten this right the first time.

Also I had a weird experience on the phone last night. This phenomenon came and went, but when it was present, there was a very low pitched hum that faded in and out of the earpiece. It didn't make the call unintelligible, it was just weird - I'd heard of people having a high pitched noise, but never a low pitched hum. Figured I'd see if any of y'all had had this happen.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I actually had that happen with me on my first Lifeproof Fre case. On one of my first calls after I installed the case there was a low hum like you mentioned, but it didn't make it inaudible... Since then I haven't had that issue.
 
Lifeproof sent me a new replacement in advance. In the meantime I used my own fix for the vibration on the back by just padding the case backing with tissue paper I folded in half a few times.
As for the hum and popping sounds, I believe this is caused by air pressure and from the air tight sealed case and the ear piece vibrating and making the front screen protector make sounds.
 
secured2k said:
Lifeproof sent me a new replacement in advance. In the meantime I used my own fix for the vibration on the back by just padding the case backing with tissue paper I folded in half a few times.
As for the hum and popping sounds, I believe this is caused by air pressure and from the air tight sealed case and the ear piece vibrating and making the front screen protector make sounds.
Click to expand...

Please let us know when you receive the case from Lifeproof and if it's the 3rd version or one with even more improvements.

How long until you will get the replacement from Lifeproof?
 
Well my replacement Lifeproof Fre case finally shipped today, should have it by Thursday this week. Will let you know which iteration I get and such.
 
Just saw a post over on Lifeproof's Facebook page of someone that just received their case yesterday from LP and it's in the 34,000 range.

Can't believe that they are still shipping the flawed cases. :(
 
I just received mine yesterday. It is a 104,000 model. Flawed. Failed the water test. Attempted to make calls and the proximity sensor was messed up. I kept hitting mute and callers said I sounded muffled. Sucks I was looking forward to it.

Luckily I paid via PayPal with the 14 day delayed payment option. I wasn't able to get through to LifeProof via phone so I filed a Paypal dispute so as of now I'm not out any money as PayPal fronted the 79.99 and they won't take the money from me until the dispute is complete. Now to wait to hear from them so I can return the case.

Very disappointed to say the least.
 
areyes163 said:
I just received mine yesterday. It is a 104,000 model. Flawed. Failed the water test. Attempted to make calls and the proximity sensor was messed up. I kept hitting mute and callers said I sounded muffled. Sucks I was looking forward to it.

Luckily I paid via PayPal with the 14 day delayed payment option. I wasn't able to get through to LifeProof via phone so I filed a Paypal dispute so as of now I'm not out any money as PayPal fronted the 79.99 and they won't take the money from me until the dispute is complete. Now to wait to hear from them so I can return the case.

Very disappointed to say the least.
Click to expand...

Does this 104,000 model have the black rubber pad in the middle of the back panel?
 
I've got a Lifeproof case that I purchased at Best Buy in Bowling Green, KY in the 156xxx range. It has the white foam strip at the top and black foam pad in the middle. According to everything, this appears to be the 3rd generation.

I have a white iPhone 5 and it fits well and snug in the case, but the screen protector is not lined up and flush. It seems that the top part of the screen protector needs to come down a few millimeters. Along with that, the screen also shows a nice oil slick in the middle.

The buttons on the side seem to work alright, but sometimes I have to touch something twice on the screen. It's a bit hard to recognize my touches, possibly because the raised top and bottom caused by the foam.

I also have the proximity issue. At first, when I finished a phone call the screen would stay black and I'd have to press the Home button to bring the screen back. So I took my phone out to try and readjust it, but it's doing the total opposite now. It won't go black.
 
Last edited:
The one I have in the 157,000 range seems pretty good except for a couple small oil slicks under the front screen.

Being it's working OK, I hate to remove the phone and try to lose the oil slicks. I could end up with worst.
 
What I still don't understand is they have gone through 3 iterations and they still haven't solved all the problems. The Iphone 4/s cases have NO issues whatsoever at least that's how it is with my friends iP4 case.
 
Case came in today; I guess since I ordered a replacement so fast I got one of the earlier models. My first case was around 182xx. My replacement is 351xx. So it is pretty much the exact same case. The good news is the screw in headphone adapter does work and the problem was the original case molding (the new adapter doesn't work in the old case either).

I tried calling support but the phone line is stuck on busy... I wonder why... (rolls eyes).

The rubber on the front and back of the case which is padding for the phone also looks rushed.. almost if done by hand rather than precision machines. I could see how some phones don't fit properly or are slightly off when it comes to the alignment of the sensors.

The problem I see is the case was rushed out because there was a demand. Also, instead of starting from scratch, LifeProof decided to try to re-use a lot of the design from the iPhone 4 case which doesn't quite work right because the location of the sensors and screen size.

I will stick with my new LifeProof case until I get yet another replacement; I will still do my own fix to add padding to the back... but if the issues aren't fixed in some major revision soon, I will be trying to quickly sell an RMA new-in-box case off for another product like the Obex or Atlas (pending reviews).
 
And to follow up on my new (2nd rev) case...

  • Passed Water test.
  • The hinge on the bottom charge port door squeaks.
  • The threads for the audio port and adapter work.
  • The fit seems slightly better, but this might be just because it is new.
  • The screen was flatter and more responsive out of the box than my previous case; although my previous case worked just as well after some use.
  • Sound issue still there unless I add some padding. I tried to duplicate the location as shown in a picture earlier in this thread but found putting the padding slightly lower offered better results.
  • Rainbow effects are still there. I got rid of these with time and leaving the case open for a while in a low humidity environment. This didn't get rid of them 100% but more like 85% of them faded or became very small artifacts.
  • The screen protector was slightly dented (as if it suffered an impact already) near the home button. This was very minor and only would be noticed under bright lights and a careful eye.
  • The same slight dent or dirt was in the left section of the ear piece cover too.
  • First day tests of the proximity sensor seem to show it is working fine. However, this was also the case with my first case until removing it or re-seating it became an issue. With my previous case, I ended up having to put pressure on the top left corner of the case (press down with your thumb to the left of the sensor) to enable the use of the end call or other buttons disabled by the proximity sensor. This is actually an Apple safety as they really don't want your face to ever hang up or press the screen, even if the screen is on/lit.
  • The case front and back are still not perfectly flush/smooth with each other (you can feel where they separate/join), but it is acceptable.
  • The front protector still has that extra hole to the left of the camera for no reason. A left over sign of pre-production guessing?
  • Camera Quality is acceptable.
  • No complaints for other people hearing me.
  • As expected, there is a slight volume decrease, but the audio is still clear.
  • Audio on speakerphone with the padding is much better than without, but I noticed at maximum volume on a speakerphone call, some frequencies will still cause the case to resonate. The audio quality suffers and will interfere with Apple's noise cancelling and speakerphone volume control. This is what makes the phone/audio to appear to cutout (by design of noise/echo cancellation in the phone).
 
So I think my guess of them starting at 150,000 with the rubber piece in the middle of the back is pretty close. Wonder what the 200,000 + models will come with?
 
It's ridiculous how many issues there are with an $80 case, many of which are inexcusable. I was an owner of the lifeproof case for iphone 4 and it had all of these problems. This is no different.

You can't own a phone where there's a chance the proximity sensor will prevent you from making a call, and possibly an emergency call. It's just not worth it.

Sound quality, forget it.

Giving up the glass screen and instead a clamshell plastic similar to that of the packaging you'd get with a stapler, and oil slick / rainbow effect, no way.

Just get an otterbox defender, remove the built-in screen protector, and install a glas.t screen protector... and just don't use the thing in the rain.
 
iamthekiller said:
It's ridiculous how many issues there are with an $80 case, many of which are inexcusable. I was an owner of the lifeproof case for iphone 4 and it had all of these problems. This is no different.

You can't own a phone where there's a chance the proximity sensor will prevent you from making a call, and possibly an emergency call. It's just not worth it.

Sound quality, forget it.

Giving up the glass screen and instead a clamshell plastic similar to that of the packaging you'd get with a stapler, and oil slick / rainbow effect, no way.

Just get an otterbox defender, remove the built-in screen protector, and install a glas.t screen protector... and just don't use the thing in the rain.
Click to expand...

Or wait for the OB armor =)
 
I think the Otterbox Armor will be just as expensive. Based on the videos, it looks even larger and bulkier than the Defender series. Perhaps physics plays a role in that the only way to get rid of the problems that show up in LifeProof cases is to add size to allow for better fit and finish?

I for one do not want a bulky case and am looking at the Seidio Obex and Incipio Atlas as potential alternatives with the same price range that offer the same rated protection as LifeProof but might be a little more fully baked by the time of release.

Until then, the issues can be fixed or mitigated with a little work from the customer so I will keep the functional protection and size of the LifeProof until a better alternative exists.
 
Bought a white one at my local FutureShop (Canada).

The sticker at the back of the box says LR000037920.

Passed the water test for 1 hour. I put my phone in, sealed the case and started making calls. Talked to 2 of my friends and they said my voice seems normal. Also exchanged phones with my wife to see if anything's changed.. everything seems normal. Made sure to check the proximity sensor during my test calls, everything is normal as well. Screen sensitivity seems normal too. Everything was easy to press and the screen was responsive.

Keep in mind I had a clear screen protector on my iphone.. I also have side and back film protectors on. With that said I did not notice any oil slicks yet, and hope it stays that way.

The back of the case has a foam only in the upper part of the Apple window. No foam in the middle.
 
Weird to see so many issues.

I bought mine from Best Buy a day before my trip to the Carribean.

I took it in the pool for some awesome photos and then on a sailing trip and for some snorkeling. The photos and video came out amazing...
 
I really want to try this case again for the third time but the only thing I can't get over is the stupid rainbow effect in it how can I get that away??? And do you guys use a screen protector under neath the life proof?? I'm afraid If I dont use one it will end up messing up the screen :/
 
danibug23 said:
I really want to try this case again for the third time but the only thing I can't get over is the stupid rainbow effect in it how can I get that away??? And do you guys use a screen protector under neath the life proof?? I'm afraid If I dont use one it will end up messing up the screen :/
Click to expand...

If you read my post above i do use a cheap $5 clear screen protector and i get no oil/rainbow effect. I can see that if one uses a zagg or ghost armor type of screen protector (or something with the same rubbery consistency) then you might get the rainbow effect.


Does anyone know if there is only a number of times we can take the case on and off? Worried that the seals might go loose.
 
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