Some iPhone 12 cases are shipping without speaker holes

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2020
Some of Apple's iPhone 12 cases appear to be shipping out to customers without speaker holes on the bottom, according to user reports.

Credit: zarnold16
Credit: zarnold16


The defect seems to affect the new MagSafe-compatible cases for Apple's new handset. Although the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro officially drop on Oct. 23, accessory orders have been arriving throughout the week.

At least two separate users have received defective cases, per two different Reddit threads.

One Reddit user said that an Apple advisor told them the case wasn't meant to have speaker holes, but that isn't true. Without them, the sound from the device will be muffled. Other cases received by customers also feature the speaker holes.

It appears that this is a fairly uncommon issue, and anyone who receives a defective speaker case should be able to get a replacement by contacting Apple Support.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    sebnolan11sebnolan11 Posts: 15member
    In the manufacturing process, errors could occur. For every brands. But geeze don’t tell me that a case without holes could exist 😂. 
    chemengin1NotoriousDEV
  • Reply 2 of 17
    ro_ro_ur_boatro_ro_ur_boat Posts: 51member
    QA lapse... but that’s like skipping a step in the production process. 
    chemengin1watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    M68000M68000 Posts: 725member
    Wow,  that’s amazing.  I’ve actually preferred cases without the bottom covered for a long time.  Recently have moved to pouch case anyway.  Now I really prefer using phone without any case and putting back in pouch.  Yes,  it’s more “work” but the best of both worlds - protection when not using and holding phone without case when using.
    edited October 2020 NotoriousDEV
  • Reply 4 of 17
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    It's not like I have a clue, but I'm assuming after the cases are molded, the speaker holes are either drilled, or punched-through in an assembly line.  Given that the manufacturer is making hundreds of thousands of these (if not millions), I would think it possible that some slipped through the conveyor improperly, bypassing this step.

    People will get outraged over anything in this era of instant-information.  I don't see an issue.  Take it back to Apple and get a replacement. Jeez.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 17
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,033member
    sflocal said:

    People will get outraged over anything in this era of instant-information.  I don't see an issue.  Take it back to Apple and get a replacement. Jeez.
    Class action countdown engines on . . .

    Somebody patented a case that muffles the sound. They approached Apple and Apple refused to license it, saying that it’s a stupid idea.  And here they are ripping off the non-practicing entity . . .

    If Apple sticks to its guns and insists it’s intentional, Samsung will start selling one soon. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 17
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    Some production line worker with serious trypophobia. 
    cescowatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 17
    BuffyzDeadBuffyzDead Posts: 356member
    ... Doh !!
  • Reply 8 of 17
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Blame it to COVID. Seriously, this ain't look like Apple's stringent QA process.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    em_teem_te Posts: 41member
    sflocal said:
    People will get outraged over anything in this era of instant-information.  I don't see an issue.  Take it back to Apple and get a replacement. Jeez.
    But we're talking about a $45 case here. Not a $5 case bought from Wish.com. One would assume Apple would have picked a factory with more stringent quality checks.
    cesco80s_Apple_Guy
  • Reply 10 of 17
    cescocesco Posts: 52member
    Fire the dolt who tells the customer the case supposed to be without holes.
    PetrolDavewatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 17
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    cesco said:
    Fire the dolt who tells the customer the case supposed to be without holes.
    Yes, that smacks of pure dishonesty, assuming it actually happened. 

    So how many cases are we talking about here? By the looks of it, two so far. 
    edited October 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 17
    paul turnerpaul turner Posts: 222member
    No speaker holes makes the sound muffled

    wow genius level logic there. So clever
  • Reply 13 of 17
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,361member
    sflocal said:
    It's not like I have a clue, but I'm assuming after the cases are molded, the speaker holes are either drilled, or punched-through in an assembly line.  Given that the manufacturer is making hundreds of thousands of these (if not millions), I would think it possible that some slipped through the conveyor improperly, bypassing this step.

    People will get outraged over anything in this era of instant-information.  I don't see an issue.  Take it back to Apple and get a replacement. Jeez.
    Agreed, although I'd be shocked to see a fully commissioned production process miss a process step. In all likelihood they used the wrong molds or didn't have the hole drilling process step in place at all, which is still very unusual. They probably have multiple lines running in parallel so it's possible that the unholy cases all came from the same line. 

    If Apple refunded the purchase price on these it would not be a big deal for a lot of folks to just keep them. I personally don't use the iPhone speaker for anything but the most rudimentary of functions and if I have to crank up the volume a bit it's no big deal. This will have no impact on the use of wireless headphones or access to the lightning port.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 17
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    AppleInsider said:
    ...

    One Reddit user said that an Apple advisor told them the case wasn't meant to have speaker holes, but that isn't true. Without them, the sound from the device will be muffled. Other cases received by customers also feature the speaker holes.

    ...

    LOL....   As an IT support person I can't tell you how often I heard that excuse:
    When I reported a defect in a software product to its vendor they often would respond with:  "It's not a bug, it was designed that way!"

    I would patiently explain to them that I didn't care if a programmer made the error or a design analyst, I wanted it fixed!
    ... Typically, they would sputter and fume but, eventually, fix the problem.
  • Reply 15 of 17
    airnerdairnerd Posts: 693member
    This is the new security case.
  • Reply 16 of 17
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    sflocal said:
    People will get outraged over anything in this era of instant-information.  I don't see an issue.  Take it back to Apple and get a replacement. Jeez.
    Who is outraged?
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 17 of 17
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    Sorry... what did you say?
    watto_cobra
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