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Returning iPhone4 with scratch

J

jakofharts7

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 14, 2010
9
3
Hi all,

I bought an 16GB iPhone 4 at the end of July and ordered an Otterbox case the same day. Well, as some of you may know, Otterbox has had some delays on getting the cases out and I haven't received mine yet. Well, as luck would have it, my iPhone fell out of my pocket while I was sitting in a chair, and now has a nice inch-long scratch on the screen. So much for that helicopter windshield glass. I can feel the scratch when I run my fingernail over it so it could possibly even be a slight crack in the glass, I really can't tell for sure.

Fortunately, the scratch is almost invisible when the iPhone is on the home screen, but it is still annoying the piss out of me. I am thinking about trying to return it to my local Apple Store since I'm within the 30 day period. Could anyone tell me how much or how little they scrutinize returned hardware for scratches, etc.? If I turn off Auto-Lock and they just take a look at the home screen, they most likely won't even notice it. If I return the phone and get a refund, could I wait a day or two and go to a different store and buy a new one? I am also considering going and trying to exchange it for a 32GB thinking that they might not look it over too much since I am upgrading and giving them even more money. If I can finagle a new one out of them, I won't even take it out of the box until my Otterbox arrives. :)

Any help/insights would be greatly appreciated.

jakofharts7
 
Uh oh, the White Nights of macrumors will descend upon you and moralize any minute. :). To answer your question, I think you'll be ok with the return.
 
Unless something is actually wrong with it then i don't think they'll take it back unless you get an employee that doesn't care about the company or one that is "cool." The screen is rumored to be gorilla glass. Gorilla glass acts like glass. If you rub something against it that is harder then or equal to the RC of the glass it will scratch. Diamonds can be scratched. At the end of the day the only thing you can do is try.
 
barkomatic said:
Uh oh, the White Nights of macrumors will descend upon you and moralize any minute. :). To answer your question, I think you'll be ok with the return.
Click to expand...

Impale him on the moral spear :D

Seriously it's up to you if you want to do that but it was an accident out of yours and apples control.

Just be honest i think they will exchange it for you :)
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Sure, they'll take it back as you're within your 30 days, although the ugliness of an Otterbox would piss me off far more than an unnoticeable scratch.
Click to expand...

The scratch is pretty easily noticeable on other screens or if the screen is off. It is distorted, most noticeable on a white background. On my home screen background, the scratch falls into a black area and just touches the side of the Phone icon. You have to really look for it. I'm just hoping that when I take it in to return it that they don't put it on another screen.

jakofharts7
 
Frenchjay said:
Impale him on the moral spear :D

Seriously it's up to you if you want to do that but it was an accident out of yours and apples control.

Just be honest i think they will exchange it for you :)
Click to expand...
I agree, don't disable auto-lock, tell them before-hand that there's a little scratch on the iPhone, but you're returning it for another reason. If the genius doesn't accept your honesty, try another Apple Store or the same one at a different time.
 
I seriously don't think they're going to care about any scratches on returns within 30 days because the case is going to be replaced anyway when they refurbish it.
 
I would for sure exchange/return it. They make a huge deal outta that super glass that they put on the IP4 so it shouldn't have happened. They've got billions, your exchange is a drop in the bucket. Screw morals and go for it!
 
Sorry I ran my brand new car into a pole and scratched the pain.... will you please swap out my car because I'm careless with my expensive items?
 
DroidRules said:
Sorry I ran my brand new car into a pole and scratched the pain.... will you please swap out my car because I'm careless with my expensive items?
Click to expand...

A phone and a car are two different things. That's not a good example.

OP, return it!
 
DroidRules said:
Sorry I ran my brand new car into a pole and scratched the pain.... will you please swap out my car because I'm careless with my expensive items?
Click to expand...
The negligence required to scratch a phone made of glass and a bulky metal car are entirely different.
 
...been there

I went into the genius bar and showed them the scratch on my 3GS and asked what my options were. I was told "scratches aren't covered but I see you have hairline cracks on the back so we'll just exchange it for ya. Will that work for ya?". I was estactic! I hadn't even noticed the cracks! I doubt they'll do that close of an inspection. You should be fine with doing a return.
 
Why can't people just PAY to fix it? Bent your Mac's screen? $800. A broken port? $50. Yes, the glass is bad, but you should have had a case on it. Heck, I got the bumper and bubble wrapped mine so it wouldn't slide around too much.

AppleCare is for your internal parts, NOT wear and tear.
 
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