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Taken case off and..

M

Macs4u

Suspended
Original poster
Apr 19, 2008
387
352
Stoke on Trent
Hi,

As usual , I case my phones to avoid scratching etc. Come to my phone today and decided to take the case off to give it a little clean and met with this (photo attached). Horrified doesn't come close. I have tried to wipe them off with a microfibre cloth but no amount of rubbing or trying remove does anything. Surely this is a faulty finish on my iPhone? This case has been on since day 1.

j0zim8.jpg


Matt
 
Macs4u said:
Hi,

As usual , I case my phones to avoid scratching etc. Come to my phone today and decided to take the case off to give it a little clean and met with this (photo attached). Horrified doesn't come close. I have tried to wipe them off with a microfibre cloth but no amount of rubbing or trying remove does anything. Surely this is a faulty finish on my iPhone? This case has been on since day 1.

Matt
Click to expand...

Mine looks about the same; same story: has been in a transparant soft plastic case since day one...
 
Jalu said:
Mine looks about the same; same story: has been in a transparant soft plastic case since day one...
Click to expand...

Thats absolutely rubbish isnt it. I pay nearly £1000 for a 256gb iPhone 7 Plus and it will lose lots of value now through no fault of my own.
 
You can't blame the paint job because sticking on a plastic case might react with the paint on the device. That's just part of natural chemical reaction. That's why I don't use cases either.

As a company Apple can't possibly test their devices out with every third party cases out there. I'd like to know if people using official Apple cases see the same issue.
 
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akash.nu said:
You can't blame the paint job because sticking to a plastic casing might react with the paint on the device. That's just part of natural chemical reaction. That's why I don't use cases either.

As a company Apple can't possibly test their devices out with every third party cases out there. I'd like to know if people using official Apple cases see the same issue.
Click to expand...

7 Plus in official Apple case since Day 1. No issue.
 
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Hi Matt,
1 If you always keep it in a case, this doesn't matter anyway.
2 The finite lifespan of an iPhone is relatively short; there is no reason to be precious about superficial damage.
3 There are, at present, no recorded instances of people being subject to hate crime based on the state of their iPhones.
4 The drug war of Rodrigo Duterte have left an estimated 5500 people dead at the hands of literal death squads. Is this more or less horrific than your iPhone?
Bovis
 
bovis0 said:
Hi Matt,
1 If you always keep it in a case, this doesn't matter anyway.
2 The finite lifespan of an iPhone is relatively short; there is no reason to be precious about superficial damage.
3 There are, at present, no recorded instances of people being subject to hate crime based on the state of their iPhones.
4 The drug war of Rodrigo Duterte have left an estimated 5500 people dead at the hands of literal death squads. Is this more or less horrific than your iPhone?
Bovis
Click to expand...

1. It does matter when I come to upgrade and I lose lots due to it looking like this
2. See 1
3. Not funny or clever
4. See 3
[doublepost=1503581645][/doublepost]
akash.nu said:
You can't blame the paint job because sticking on a plastic case might react with the paint on the device. That's just part of natural chemical reaction. That's why I don't use cases either.

As a company Apple can't possibly test their devices out with every third party cases out there. I'd like to know if people using official Apple cases see the same issue.
Click to expand...

I think any company knows that cases are made from lots of materials , including plastic. This case is exactly the same brand and model as the one I had on my iPhone 6s plus , which never looked like this.
 
Macs4u said:
1. It does matter when I come to upgrade and I lose lots due to it looking like this
2. See 1
3. Not funny or clever
4. See 3
[doublepost=1503581645][/doublepost]

I think any company knows that cases are made from lots of materials , including plastic. This case is exactly the same brand and model as the one I had on my iPhone 6s plus , which never looked like this.
Click to expand...

It doesn't change the fact that a phone manufacturing company shouldn't be held responsible for what case you use. As long as their own branded case work fine on their devices they're absolutely fine.

Similarly if you use a third party charging cable and your phone catches fire, Apple can't be held responsible.
 
That's a bummer. I use a skin/apple leather case. The microfiber lining in the leather case helps protect against grit damaging the finish on the phone. What case have you been using?
 
Macs4u said:
1. It does matter when I come to upgrade and I lose lots due to it looking like this
Click to expand...
I have never understood this argument for cases.

Why does condition matter if the next person to get the phone will use a case?
 
eyoungren said:
Why does condition matter if the next person to get the phone will use a case?
Click to expand...

They'll pay less to buy it. :)

Using the Apple leather case on my black 7+ shows no issues at all. If I had a problem like the OP I assume Apple would take responsibility.
 
I've seen that on everything since the OG iPhone, even worse on the old iPod/iPod touch models with the chrome steel back, cases always mess those up, but so does not having them in a case.

The worst offenders are usually plastic cases or the clear ones for whatever reason. It'll trap some dirt and rub it into the finish or react with the finish over time.

I have a Jet Black 7 (easiest to damage as far as I'm aware) and it's been in an Apple Leather case since day 1 and is almost flawless minus the bottom part where it's exposed. But it has a nice microfiber finish on the inside that seems to prevent exactly this. So does the Smart Battery Case and the Silicone case. Might be something to look into but probably doesn't matter now anyway.

Meanwhile I have a 3GS still that's never been cased and while it has lots of micro-abrasions (glossy plastic) it still looks pretty good 8 years later. Meanwhile my black/slate 5 looks terrible and it was cased. Looks very similar to yours, but with added nicks common to the black 5.

It's no big deal in the end though, especially if you keep the device around or hand it down but as someone who usually buys/sells every year I do get the value loss issue. But it's just cosmetic in the end.
 
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I do guess this has something to do with the aluminium matte finish. My previous space grey 6 plus didn't look like this after two years in a case just like the one I'm using for my 7.
 
If Apple don't swap it then I think it will be my last phone from them as I'm not the only one who has this. A lad at work has the glossy iPhone 7 plus (I know they are prone to marks) and it looks like its been thrown on the floor and dragged up the street and he nurses his stuff (his 2012 MacBook is like new and pristine even now)
 
Man that is the worst. Thinking you are protecting your phone with a case when the case actually causes the damage.

You really have no way of knowing in advance if a particular case is going to let dirt in and do this to your phone until its too late. What a bummer.
 
As most cases (and especially Apple cases) don't show this problem, it's clearly the case manufacturer's fault. Or maybe it was dust/dirt trapped inside. In any case I very much doubt Apple will swap the phone for a cosmetic damage that was a) not their fault and b) in no way negatively influences the function of the phone. But you can certainly try. Good luck!

P.S. I never use cases and only ever had very minor signs of wear on my phones.
 
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the future said:
Or maybe it was dust/dirt trapped inside.
Click to expand...
This was my immediate thought when I saw the photo.

I keep my phone in a case, not to keep it pristine, but because I have a tendency to drop stuff. (I also have a cat who thinks it's fun to push stuff off my desk.) I'm willing to accept a few marks on the phone to insure I can pick it up after a drop and say "Excellent - no damage!"
 
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Givmeabrek said:
They'll pay less to buy it. :)
Click to expand...
True. I don't deny this as a fact. But it seems more an an artificially constructed bargaining point when applied to a seller and a buyer who both use cases. Of course, being either pro or anti-case you'd never know what kind of buyer or seller you'd get but still.

The condition of a device is one of the arguments that pro-case users proffer as their justification for using a case. Yet if a device never leaves a case from the moment it's first received I just don't see condition (between case users) as being a valid barganing point.

My thoughts are academic. I am not arguing one way or the other. It's just my thoughts based on my observations of pro-case users.
[doublepost=1503586261][/doublepost]
Erdbeertorte said:
Same for my 6s+. It never had been in any case and looks like new, when I clean it. I even dropped it several times on hard floors. :oops:
Click to expand...
My last drop was from waist height to linoleum flooring. I was trying to put my phone in a pocket while paying attention to what my wife was trying to tell me and I missed the pocket.

Not a scratch, dent or scuff. Really fortunate on that one.
 
This happened to another forum member with their Product Red iPhone. They used a cheap plastic clear case and some how it had a reaction with the 7000 Series aluminum, which caused it to develope a "Bead" like pattern on the back of the iPhone.

It's just an unfortunate accident really. My only suggestion would be to use an OEM Apple case from this point forward, which hopefully wouldn't cause this issue again. (Assuming the case you are using now isn't from Apple.)
 
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My Matte Black iPhone 7 has the same issue - kind of a bummer but at the end of the day there's nothing you can do about it now and phones are meant to be used.
 
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