Matte black iPhone 7 owners complain to Apple about chipping paint finish

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 73
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    While we're on the subject of whining about Apple, my iPhone 7 had the audacity to flash up a warning that the camera flash was disabled because it was too hot...

    ...it's my damned phone and if I want to use the camera flash under a blazing hot sun, then I should be able to!

    49C a mere 120F, as you Americans put it, I've a good mind to put pen to paper and shoot off an angry missive to Mr Cook over this unacceptable situation.


    edited February 2017 Soli
  • Reply 62 of 73
    Chips on anodised finished items like those shown are normally down to poor degreasing.
    It is not necessary to bead blast an item to achieve a matt finish, but if this has been the case, as suggested in the above comments, then the etching process is most important to remove any of the beaded material left embedded in the aluminium which can be another source of chipping/bleamishing. Gloss finishes are far superior, but do show up scratches. Matt finishes are when viewed through something like a microscope reveal a surface more a kin to a sponge, thus not reflecting light (matt), but more likely to gather dust and when cleaned/rubbed produce a worn finish
  • Reply 63 of 73
    SujeitoSujeito Posts: 16unconfirmed, member
    sog35 said:
    These people abuse their phones then try to blame Apple.
    Where is your evidence this is happening because people are abusing their phones?
    To be fair, where is your evidence that this is (chipping by itself) is actually happening? Goes both ways.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 64 of 73
    SujeitoSujeito Posts: 16unconfirmed, member
    lkrupp said:
    sog35 said:
    These people abuse their phones then try to blame Apple.
    Where is your evidence this is happening because people are abusing their phones?
    Human nature. 
    It's human nature for people to abuse their smart phones?
    At least for the same people that have the same nature towards pens.
  • Reply 65 of 73
    Time for another class action lawsuit.  Or, use a sharpie and touch it up.  
  • Reply 66 of 73
    qwweraqwwera Posts: 281member
    Soli said:
    qwwera said:
    And dont forget to wear shoes, jacket when it's cold and a condom when needed.
    protection is important and yes idiotic when you don't protect yourself. 
    Ah, I understand your position now that you've equated an iPhone chipping, denting, or scratching with your person. Since I see it as just a consumer electronic device for which I hold no emotional attachment and which can be replaced, and not my identity or valuable to my fundamental safety, we'll never see eye-to-eye. Or should I say FaceTime camera-to-Facetime camera to appeal to your identification with the utility device.?
    Just find some common sense. 
  • Reply 67 of 73
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    It looks like someone counts on people buying automotove touch-up paint somewhere. Not the quality of Apple products I remember from 12 years ago. Perhaps do proper anodizing black instead of painting. The old techniques really worked.
    O rly? We didn't have iphones in our pockets 12 years ago, but we did have ipods -- you don't remember the scuff complaints? The supposed fault with the nano? I do. 
    Or the chipping paint on the Ti-Book before that.
  • Reply 68 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    lkrupp said:
    The real question is:   Is it paint?  Or, is it anodize?

    If it's paint, then EXPECT it to chip.   I hope it is not paint -- because that would indicate that Apple tended towards a flashy, initial appearance rather than quality.   That is not what Steve Job's Apple did.  His beauty came from inherent functional quality, not a quick paint job.
    So if it’s paint, as you postulate, then why aren’t ALL the matte finish iPhones doing this? Why are there only a few, a very few? And please, stop with the “Steve wouldn’t have allowed this” nonsense. It’s not true.
    Well. Unless Apple or some third party decides to analyze a large number of phones, and make the results public, we may never know.

    but there are many factors in manufacturing that could lead to a delamination of a paint layer. Surface preparation is a major factor. Paint mix is another. Environmental conditions before, during and after painting has an effect. If it's baked, that is a factor. If it's powder coat, something I do a lot of, the paint should stick very well, but even there, surface prep is a very large factor.

    then there are batch variations. Early batches are more subject to problems than are later ones.

    apple doesn't do any of this work themselves, remember. Not that that would matter in and of itself. Manufacturing isn't perfect, and all manufacturers have some problem or another.
  • Reply 69 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member

    CCampbell said:
    Chips on anodised finished items like those shown are normally down to poor degreasing.
    It is not necessary to bead blast an item to achieve a matt finish, but if this has been the case, as suggested in the above comments, then the etching process is most important to remove any of the beaded material left embedded in the aluminium which can be another source of chipping/bleamishing. Gloss finishes are far superior, but do show up scratches. Matt finishes are when viewed through something like a microscope reveal a surface more a kin to a sponge, thus not reflecting light (matt), but more likely to gather dust and when cleaned/rubbed produce a worn finish
    This isn't anodizing. Anodizing doesn't chip. If the surface is poorly prepared, then you will get a poor coat. That looks uneven in color and density. Some areas may be softer, and wear off more quickly. I've even seen (extremely rarely) small bubbles in the surface from outgassing. But it's pretty obvious that this is paint. For one thing, it's way too thick. You can get cracking in an anodized finish. That happens because the anodizing is far harder, and therefor more brittle than the underlying aluminum. Stress can therefor cause the surface to crack, as the aluminum flexes.

    That matt finish had better not look like a sponge under a scope. If it does, then there is something wrong. Sponge implies that the finish is open, like open cell foam. That should never be the case. The surface is irregular, because the paint is made so the surface dries that way. The components of the surface push and pull at each other, creating the irregular surface. You can get deglossing agents to mix into paints for that purpose. But the paint layer is solid all the way through.

    the surface is either acid etched or blasted, not for matt, but for adhesion. Paint adhesion isn't normally chemical in nature, but physical. Paint adheres to a surface that's not glossy better than when it is. You can get either a glossy or a matt finish irrespective of the surface prep.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 70 of 73
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    For something that people use constantly during their wake-up hours for years, I would be even more surprise if there weren't any chips (assuming one does not use case at all). I would think it's more reasonable to complain if they found their brand new iPhone had chips, not after using it for a long time and very likely without even much care.
  • Reply 71 of 73
    That photo looks like someone had one of those metal plates between the phone and case for the magnetic car mounts and that it shifted, causing the scratches. These things aren't going to chip without some sort of abrasion.
  • Reply 72 of 73
    rhinotuff said:
    I've got two very small spots where the paint has chipped, both on corners that I've carelessly dropped it on.  The back of my phone and around the buttons is still flawless...  I'd bet the person with chipped finish around their buttons has long nails...



    Must be apple trolls on this site blaming the consumer.   I have just developed the same problem on my phone in the last day, thus I came looking to see if others have it.   I don't have long nails are a nervous tick.  I am, however, a mechanical engineer with years of experience in powder coat / anodized finishing processes.   This is an ADHESION problem, which is a far different issue than cosmetic wear and tear through usage.    You're probably one of these people driving down the road with the paint pealing off your deck lid back when GM had the issue with paint adhesion, but that's probably just because you had long finger nails, right?

    Newsflash....Apple is not perfect....my first iPhone (3) they replaced no questions asked because the mute button cracked...bad plastic.   If you look at your iOS charging device, there is a green dot on it...why?  Because they had released a bunch of defective charging units that were causing fires and the green dot is how they quickly identify the good lot from the bad...Apple replaced the bad ones no charge if you brought it into the store.    The antenna short issue, Apply finally released a fix for that too - they gave out free bumpers for a period of time to those affected.    Heck, go back to my MacPlus...they put the power supply below the video board and over time the heat from the power supply would cause the solder joints to fail and the video would have issues...easy fix, resolder the joints, but still - Apple is not perfect and has issues.  

    For you to assume the issues people are having is cosmetic wear / abuse, does not help Apple.  A good company will do root cause analysis and fix the issue before it becomes a major problem.  Apple is at a crossroads and cannot afford to not support their product.   I take very good care and have NOT dropped or banged my phone and do not have long nails, do not rub it against things, and the paint has come off.  How?  My guess is that there was poor adhesion to the substrate material and with thermal changes it became apparent.   Is micro linear expansion considered outside the scope of warranty?   seems to me the specs provide for nominal operating ranges.   The finish of the product is a part of the product and should not fall off during normal usage...thermal cycling is normal usage because the battery and processor will generate heat as will going indoors and outdoors often.  If your screen fell out, would you be okay with that too and blame it on someone pressing too hard or putting their finger nails under it?    Threaded fasteners are also susceptible to thermal effects and will back out over time. But they seem to have put on enough threads with the right amount of surface area contact to prevent the two case screws from backing out too rapidly during the useful life expectancy of the product.   Making sure the paint sticks is their issue to resolve..there are many that could have caused this manufacturing defect...  pretending it is not there wont help them fix it, nor help their image.   Statements blaming the consumer, are sadly people who just don't get that true loyalty to a company means addressing issues to improve them, not turn an eye from what could become a much larger issue.


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