Resolved SE Build Quality Issues - Had to say goodbye

[C.O.T]

I bought a 64 gb space grey. Loved the speed of the a9 chip and how I could type in one hand. However the build quality was terrible! Very loud camera rattle, loose power button, so much so that you could hear a rattle every time the phone vibrated! Hell even when I just picked it up it rattled a bit! I could not accept this bad build quality from a €600 phone. I was so disappointed so I called apple and after speaking to one of the nicest supervisor he agreed that it shouldn't be like that and agreed I should be given a full refund. He even called the shop personally to let them know the situation so I would have no issues. I really like the form factor so I decided to buy myself a second hand 5s, the build quality of this is so much better than the se and I really do not know why there is such a disparity?!, that will do me until I see what the iPhone 7 will be like. I miss the a9 chip as it was so fast and gave great battery life but the 5s is almost as good and I saved €350!! People, do not accept your phone if you are not 100% happy with it and don't be afraid to call apple support about anyissues. They really are very good at what they do

 

[Reno Raines]

This interesting as I know there are many people that have had a similar experience as you. However mine has none of the reported issues. I wonder if there was a bad run of the se phones or perhaps made in a different factory. I would also be interested to to see if the 64 gb phones are more prone to these defects than the 16 gb phones. I am glad you were able to get your money back. That is good customer service.

 

[C.O.T]

This interesting as I know there are many people that have had a similar experience as you. However mine has none of the reported issues. I wonder if there was a bad run of the se phones or perhaps made in a different factory. I would also be interested to to see if the 64 gb phones are more prone to these defects than the 16 gb phones. I am glad you were able to get your money back. That is good customer service.

I was thinking the same but I didn't want to chance a replacement being the same. I would have had to wait a week or two as there wasn't any in stock. I was so disappointed as the intervals were excellent, only let down by build issues. I'm glad you do not have the same issues. What colour/storage option have you got? I was very impressed with apple support. It was my first time contacting them and they truly were excellent and assured me that they would work to resolve this issue then and there

 

[Reno Raines]

I got a 16 gb gold one. I just use it for work si did not need more storage capacity. I got the sim free version.

 

[C.O.T]

I got a 16 gb gold one. I just use it for work si did not need more storage capacity. I got the sim free version.

I picked up a 5s 16gb to do me the next few months. Enjoy your se, it's a great phone if you managed to get a non rattly one

 

[jasjeet]

Build quality of my 5S and SE are identical. 5S has more pronounced tint. Both have clicky home buttons. The SE has a loose power button which the 5S started with but over time I expect dirt to have lodged it in place.

 

[Daria]

I was thinking the same but I didn't want to chance a replacement being the same. I would have had to wait a week or two as there wasn't any in stock. I was so disappointed as the intervals were excellent, only let down by build issues. I'm glad you do not have the same issues. What colour/storage option have you got? I was very impressed with apple support. It was my first time contacting them and they truly were excellent and assured me that they would work to resolve this issue then and there

I've had Apple products since the late nineties: I always get Apple Care and have never had a negative response from them. There have been a couple of times when it became obvious that the tech rep was a newbie. But the next tech was more knowledgable and the problem was soon solved.

And....as someone else said, you could have easily returned the replacement one if it had the same problems. There would have been no resistance; their work ethic of striving for satisfied customers is very effective. In my opinion,

 

[gim]

Returning my replacement SE on Monday for the exact same reasons.
First one had a really bad yellow tinted screen, the replacement they sent me is rattling all the time, the home button sounds like a cheap computer mouse and already started to register a double click when I only clicked once.
Worst build quality I've ever encountered in an Apple product

Loved the size and speed but I just can't live with these imperfections. Happily waiting for the iPhone 7 now.

The German customer service was great though.

 

[Barrierfreeman]

And....as someone else said, you could have easily returned the replacement one if it had the same problems. There would have been no resistance; their work ethic of striving for satisfied customers is very effective. In my opinion,

All they need to do now is strive to make the phones have decent build quality, and they might be onto something

 

[C.O.T]

I've had Apple products since the late nineties: I always get Apple Care and have never had a negative response from them. There have been a couple of times when it became obvious that the tech rep was a newbie. But the next tech was more knowledgable and the problem was soon solved.

And....as someone else said, you could have easily returned the replacement one if it had the same problems. There would have been no resistance; their work ethic of striving for satisfied customers is very effective. In my opinion,

That is true I could have returned the replacement but that would leave me without a phone for 10 days and I couldn't do that. I don't have a spare that I could use.

Like I said before the customer service that I received was excellent

 

[Retired Cat]

Returning my replacement SE on Monday for the exact same reasons.
First one had a really bad yellow tinted screen, the replacement they sent me is rattling all the time, the home button sounds like a cheap computer mouse and already started to register a double click when I only clicked once.
Worst build quality I've ever encountered in an Apple product

I'm surprised at these build quality issues, because the unibody, display panel, and other exterior components have been in production for years. These issues should have been resolved long ago.

Is Apple slipping?

 

[Channan]

That is true I could have returned the replacement but that would leave me without a phone for 10 tens and I couldn't do that. I don't have a spare that I could use.

Like I said before the customer service that I received was excellent

?

 

[C.O.T]

?

Sorry, 10 days I meant. As there are no Apple stores in the Republic of Ireland as of yet. This makes a huge difference when having to get things fixed or replaced under warranty

 

[adeodatust]

I bought a 64 gb space grey. Loved the speed of the a9 chip and how I could type in one hand. However the build quality was terrible! Very loud camera rattle, loose power button, so much so that you could hear a rattle every time the phone vibrated! Hell even when I just picked it up it rattled a bit! I could not accept this bad build quality from a €600 phone. I was so disappointed so I called apple and after speaking to one of the nicest supervisor he agreed that it shouldn't be like that and agreed I should be given a full refund. He even called the shop personally to let them know the situation so I would have no issues. I really like the form factor so I decided to buy myself a second hand 5s, the build quality of this is so much better than the se and I really do not know why there is such a disparity?!, that will do me until I see what the iPhone 7 will be like. I miss the a9 chip as it was so fast and gave great battery life but the 5s is almost as good and I saved €350!! People, do not accept your phone if you are not 100% happy with it and don't be afraid to call apple support about anyissues. They really are very good at what they do

so yeah recently i bought my 64 GB gold SE,i didnt buy it from apple official reseller tho,this phone is SOOO fast and smooth,but the build quality is just really bad,the power button is a bit loose and the upper glass panel at the back of the phone is a bit tilted (idk if thats the right word for it)so yeah,can i claim this to the shop that i bought it from?
Thanks

 

[dave2010]

I'm also noticing build quality issues with my iPhone SE. I never had scratches on my iPhone 5, but the screen on my SE has fine scratches after 3 months of use. The power button and one of the volume buttons rattles.
Plus GPS isn't nearly as accurate as it was on my last phone, the iPhone 6.
I wonder if they used a cheaper production method and less quality control than in the past, the phone looks the same but it's wearing out a lot quicker than my 5 did.

 

[Mrbobb]

but the build quality is just really bad,the power button is a bit loose and the upper glass panel at the back of the phone is a bit tilted

I looked at the picture and I don't see anything. Did you measure it with a caliper? Sure is not an optical illusion? Are we looking for problems?

Someone, somewhere gripe about built quality of any phone, I have yet to read a perfect phone that not a single person complained.

That's not to say am contradicting you, am sure in a batch of millions, some will fall into the crack. If this is the phone you really wanted I would had though you would try a 2nd, but perhaps you wanted another model to begin with.

My SE, knock wood, doesn't seems to have any major issues. YMMV.

 

[Mr_Killjoy]

I've had four SEs. Two Space Gray, two Gold. Out of them, only one space gray had issues - a rattle on the power button and slight yellow tint on the upper part of the screen.

My current gold model is perfect, so they're out there. The flawed space gray was an early production, where the rest were later. That may be part of it.

 

[sunking101]

A high percentage of 5/5S/SE iPhones have loose power/volume/mute buttons out of the box, or they develop them over time. It's a cheap button design which has been helped on the 6/6S/7 by the use of rubber gaskets.

 

[Vlada011]

I bought SE before few days... My first iPhone .
I didn't notice any build quality issue and I read forums in my country owners are very satisfied.
Some of them are 5s owners, some of them even cross from Samsung S5 or even S6 and even they are happy.

I couldn't afford more expensive iPhone models and I looked did price of iPhone 6s drop with my provider and than I saw offer iPhone SE 16 GB for 275 euro on 24 months. I always wished iPhone 5s, for me that's icon of all smart phones... and when he become affordable it was too old for new investment for next 2 or more years.
That was good price, with new SIM I choose number and my cell phone number is exactly same as home number.
I don't play games, don't look movies on cell phone, I use PC for that and very rear music and for me 16GB is enough.
I'm glad because I didn't go with some androids and my next cell phone will be 100% some waterproof iPhone when price drop.
In my country price go up to 550 euro in official stores and 390 euro on black market, because of that 275 euro contract with my ADSL provider look too good to miss.
OK he work great if some use him 2-3 years but as new investment better is stronger CPU.
I installed tempered glass front only, still didn't decide about case, but I think I will use him without case and try to protect him as much possible.

 

[adeodatust]

I looked at the picture and I don't see anything. Did you measure it with a caliper? Sure is not an optical illusion? Are we looking for problems?

Someone, somewhere gripe about built quality of any phone, I have yet to read a perfect phone that not a single person complained.

That's not to say am contradicting you, am sure in a batch of millions, some will fall into the crack. If this is the phone you really wanted I would had though you would try a 2nd, but perhaps you wanted another model to begin with.

My SE, knock wood, doesn't seems to have any major issues. YMMV.

naah the glass part is just a small thing,i dont really care,but what i do care is the rattles on the power button,other than that,there's not really much.and also my iphone has B/A codes,i wanna see how many people with B/A code that has these kinds of problems