new ipad2 - deep scuff in aluminum body

[mhinrichs]

My wife noticed this on the back because I was too busy looking at the screen all day!
Picked it up on Friday and handled it like a raw egg since then and it wasn't dropped or anything.
The scratch is next to the headphone jack and super clean. No other scratches around it, no dents. Its also very deep, maybe about 1mm into the metal.

Looking at the type it looks like a factory issue as its a very clean scuff with no rough edges, no metal shavings etc. It almost looks like cut in with a knife or tool.

Too bad that I now have to go back to the store and exchange it. I am hopeful nobody there will imply that I damaged it. Now I wish I had them unpack it at the store and set it up for me, could have saved me a lot of hassle.




Anybody ever seen this on an ipad or other unibody product?

 

[aohus]

looks as though YOU made that scuff on accident without realizing it. theres no way that the scuff came in like that out of the box.

 

[AlphaDogg]

looks as though YOU made that scuff on accident without realizing it. theres no way that the scuff came in like that out of the box.

Now, now. Don't be playing the blame game. A lot of the aluminum Unibody MacBook/MacBookPros had issues with scratches and dents being there right out of the box.

 

[rgarjr]

damn, that looks pretty deep.

 

[iggypod]

Oh no. Man that looks deep. That would drive me a wee bit nucking futs too.

 

[Apple OC]

looks as though YOU made that scuff on accident without realizing it. theres no way that the scuff came in like that out of the box.

definitely could have came that way ... I see no problem getting Apple to exchange it.

 

[bembol]

I've witnessed so many customers trying to get their purchases exchanged at Best Buy, claiming it was a manufacturing defect. They turned them down.

I know Apple has amazing customer service but OP you really think they would exchange this?

 

[biw999]

There's no reason for the guy to lie to US about causing the scratch. I believe him when he says he handled it like a raw egg (I do this as well).

Apple shouldn't give you a problem swapping it out man.

 

[mhinrichs]

I've witnessed so many customers trying to get their purchases exchanged at Best Buy, claiming it was a manufacturing defect. They turned them down.

I know Apple has amazing customer service but OP you really think they would exchange this?

If I would have damaged it myself I would be mad at myself.
This wasn't done by me. Why would I post here and make this up?
I'm just mad that I didn't take the store up on the offer to set it up for me. Then I would have seen this and gotten a replacement unit right there.

I was actually wondering if this has been seen on other unibody products out of the box.
Things like this do happen in factories, I work for an electronics manufacturer and sometimes these things slip through QC, or a worker did this by accident during packing and didn't want to get fired / reprimanded over the damage. Or it just got nicked somewhere and nobody noticed it.

Doing close to 1 Mill. products some issues like this are normal. I'm hopeful nobody at the Genius bar will try to blame me, but usually Apple guys are top notch and when in doubt the customer comes first.

 

[asleep]

Smart Back Cover.

 

[bembol]

Who knows if you did or not, I'm just wondering how Apple will handle this.

I didn't know these type of defects is an issue. I don't visit the Mac Book Pro forums.


Anyways, good luck.

 

[Kadin]

Luckily it doesn't look like there's any other signs of damage. It really does look like something done in the manufacturing process. I'd simply be completely upfront and even call to speak to a manager before you go. Try and sneak it in and all credibility will be lost...

 

[AndrewR23]

my macbook pro came with a scratch on the back...looks exactly like that but not as deep. It didnt bother me because it was on the bottom. It was there before i removed the plastic.

 

[mhinrichs]

Luckily it doesn't look like there's any other signs of damage. It really does look like something done in the manufacturing process. I'd simply be completely upfront and even call to speak to a manager before you go. Try and sneak it in and all credibility will be lost...

I actually will make the appointment for this exact reason. I didn't do this so I have nothing to hide.
Its not a drop damage, its completely clean, no dents around it etc. The back of the ipad looks as pristine as it should, being brand new.
I guess I was just too excited to examine it first all around.

The scratch btw. is exactly in the spot that is not covered by the plastic pouch it comes in. Bummer!

 

[radiohead14]

Anybody ever seen this on an ipad or other unibody product?

my 1st gen unibody macbook pro came out of the box with a dent on one of the corners. apple 5th ave ny let me exchanged it without any hassle. goodluck

 

[bchreng]

Should they not exchange it for you, you can always tell people that it adds character and uniqueness to your iPad.

 

[Warbrain]

Both of my iPads had little defects in the aluminum but they weren't bad. That's a bad one.

 

[eagleglen]

Don't mean to imply anything negative towards the OP, but when took mine out of it's box at home, the first thing I did as admire how was made. I turned it over in my hands several times. I'm sure I would have noticed a scratch like that then.

I do wish the OP luck getting it exchanged. I would hate to have such a defect so soon after getting it. If any company would swap it out for you, it's Apple.

 

[RadicalxEdward]

Set a genius appointment and bring it back dude. I've seen several other people open theirs and have nicks/gouges like that straight out of the box. If they give you an issue of it being a few days later just say it was a gift and just got opened today.

 

[Alaerian]

Best advice anyone can give you is simply this: be polite. You are much more likely to have a favorable outcome if you treat the sales staff with respect and politeness, rather than a toxic and demanding attitude (I am in no way implying that you have acted like that in this thread).

I've worked in sales. I've done it. I've seen my share of absolutely charming people, but also my share of vile little cockroaches that think I am their personal servant. Take a wild guess as to which customers got more help and assistance from me.

 

[ozred]

looks as though YOU made that scuff on accident without realizing it. theres no way that the scuff came in like that out of the box.

Your crystal ball is wrong.

Mine came the exact same way. It's just that I'm aware of Apples rapidly declining quality. So I unpacked mine in the store and exchanged it for a new one.

 

[toxictrix]

Mine has a little tiny ding in the bottom left corner I saw it out of the box so I did not do it. I'll live with it though

 

[herdnerfer]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

This is why apple always has plenty of refurbs on hand. People are way to picky with their I devices. That scratch ain't hurting anything. I say live with it!

 

[malnar]

Don't mean to imply anything negative towards the OP,

Really it *kinda* sounds like you do. You know?

but when took mine out of it's box at home, the first thing I did as admire how was made. I turned it over in my hands several times. I'm sure I would have noticed a scratch like that then.

...because maybe the OP was like me and the first thing he did was tear the i-condom off, so he could truly admire the iPad's grace and beauty, and THEN he noticed the gouge.

As for the gouge, without any other marks on the rest of the aluminum shell, it sure looks like a manufacturing defect and not post-purchase damage. If you drop it, it's going to have other scuffs and scrapes, not just one gouge like that. Well, I mean, I guess it could in extremely rare instances, but generally there's collateral damage when some kind of bad event happens with things like this. If, as others suggest, you are nice about it, I don't doubt the Apple store will exchange it.

 

[mhinrichs]

I had a Genius appointment this morning and got an exchange for a brand new sealed unit.
Not a single problem or question about it.

As others said, it is not a drop damage etc. It is a clean piece of aluminum missing, like a tool mark and otherwise a perfect surface around it.

Gotta love Apples customer service, I am not upset that it happened, its a lot of product to move and some will have issues. Not even Apple can avoid that.

What I learned though is to unpack products in the future to inspect them in store. Would have saved me the drive back to the store.

Now back to playing on my shiny new ipad!