Level 1

6 points

Scratches under the iPhone glass

Hello

Thought I'd post here as I have noticed a couple of scratches have appeared on my iPhone, they are only slight, but I have no idea how they occured and they are noticeable.

The reason I've posted is that they are under the glass, with no visible marks or damage whatsoever to any other part of the phone. The scratches are right at the edge of the glass at the bottom of the phone below the home button. It's almost as if some internal component has scratched at the back of the glass and removed the black coating.

I doubt I can take the phone back, I've had it 3 weeks and the scratches are only small, but I'm a bit disappointed now that for the remainder of my 18 month contract, I will have a less than perfect phone through no fault of my own as far as I can tell.

Does anyone have any ideas how these marks might have appeared? Has anyone else had this happen? I want to make sure I avoid it getting any worse...

PowerBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11), iPhone 3G

Posted on Aug 6, 2008 6:00 AM

46 replies

Aug 13, 2008 12:37 PM in response to Holster®

Good luck! I called Apple the other day and told the iPhone Technical Support representative that there were scratches under the glass, he put me on hold for 5 minutes and said "we will replace your phone for you", I opted to go with the advance replacement service because I use my iPhone as my primary/home phone, my phone shipped out on the night of the 11th (when I set up service) and arrived today in a smaller black box that has "iPhone" written on the top of it, got everything set up and it was painless. Sending my old iPhone back to Apple tomorrow (missed the cut-off time for UPS today).

Thanks, Apple! 🙂

Aug 13, 2008 1:39 PM in response to Kristan K.

That's awesome, and might be the route that I would like to take.

How does the service transfer? Do you have to goto your local ATT store to get it reactivated? Do they need pre put all the info before they send?

Aug 13, 2008 2:02 PM in response to agent_s87

Update: I think I'm saying something wrong, I got on the phone with the tech support rep (super cool by the way) but he said, theres two options, goto an apple store, or send it in, and we may or may not deem it as repairable or replaceable. Didn't even go after the advanced replacement route. I'm almost there to just living with it.

Aug 13, 2008 2:03 PM in response to stellar_gopens

You remove your SIM card from your original iPhone using the SIM Tool, and put it into the new iPhone, then connect it to your computer and start iTunes, which will complete the activation process. You'll need to contact Apple to find out if you are eligible for an advance replacement, and also give them a credit card to put a temporary "hold" charge on (which is the cost of the phone, and is removed when Apple receives the original iPhone).

Aug 13, 2008 2:12 PM in response to Holster®

I have the same thing! I thought it were a couple of metal flakes from the chrome bezel that got stuck under the screen but now I see the scratches thanks to this thread. What a piece of Junk this phone is, this is my second phone and it has dust under the screen and these scratches, I almost don't want to go get it replaced because of the whole light leaking from the left side issue, this one doesn't have that but now is developing other defects. Does anyone have a perfect phone? I have not seen one yet. Only in the Ads...

Aug 13, 2008 4:33 PM in response to stellar_gopens

When I called technical support I simply told them that it looked like there were scratches under the glass on the touch screen, and he came back and offered to replace the unit. I'm in Canada, so I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

Aug 14, 2008 6:32 AM in response to is this my name?

You know, these guys are smarter then they look. I went to a local jeweler, and had them look under the microscope, and it was a surface scratch as they put it under, and saying it's casting a shadow. I'm cautiously buying displex, the LCD screen scratch remover, but hesitating to put it on, I've heard incredible positive things, as well as just a few negatives. Otherwise, if this stuff works, I'll be happy. I could have sworn it was under the glass since I couldn't feel it too! Oh well!

Aug 14, 2008 11:30 AM in response to stellar_gopens

Although looking more about the product Displex, I am seeing that it is highly not recommended for touch screens, ala, probably would not be good to go on iphone. I put on my Invisible Shield, and it covered the scratch. It is almost invisible to the naked eye when I put the shield on. Maybe this would be a good recommendation for others.

Holster® Author

Level 1

6 points

Aug 14, 2008 1:00 PM in response to Holster®

OK, I went to my Genius appointment today at the Apple Store London after work. They changed my phone for a new one straightaway, I hardly had to explain the problem, they didn't even ask to see my receipt. They just changed it as a matter of course and they were very friendly about it.

They said they hadn't seen the problem before but there was no hesitation that it was a case of straight replacement under warranty.

So, I now have a brand new iPhone and I'd recommend anyone else who has had this problem go straight to Apple and do the same if you can...

Aug 14, 2008 8:09 PM in response to Holster®

I got my replacement iphone today at the Atlanta Lenox Apple Store. I missed my genius appt by 15 mins and they looked really short staffed to begin with. The specialist I caught kinda was unsure how to handle my situation but eventually they brought out a brand new retail box phone and did a straight return/exchange. I was a little worried however as they basically redid everything from initial purchase (like buying a new phone from start to finish but without paying). I left the store and went by the ATT corporate store that is in the same mall and asked them to check my account information to make sure it was still correct and it was so that's good.

The actual exchange could have gone more smoothly tonight but I think it was a result of insufficient staff on hand rather than poor service. All in all, it turned out ok.

bweigel

Level 1

0 points

Aug 24, 2008 2:04 AM in response to Holster®

Hi there,

I do have the same problem with my 3 weeks old iphone 3g.

Three different scratches appeared on top of my phone...

I did call Apple support here in Austria after having read in various forums that this was a well known problem around the world. Apple replied that this was a "cosmetic problem" and that I could sent the iphone in for repair ... for Euro 350!!!

I wonder why support is so diffrent in different countries. Even in German forums people say that their phones were replaced....

Anybody from Austria experiencing similar problems?

Aug 24, 2008 4:05 AM in response to bweigel

bweigel, You said you found 3 scratches that appeared on top... On top of the glass? And these scratch just appeared. Something scratched the glass on you part, not Apples. That's why they want you to pay for repairs.

If so, that's a repair not covered under warranty.

hazzaHJ

Level 1

0 points

Aug 24, 2008 6:43 PM in response to bweigel

Im from Australia and have just noticed two silver like scratches at the top of my iphone aswell. However due to fact there is no apple store here in Perth i am not going to bother looking for a replacement. Insted im going to go down to the jeweler and see if they can buff the scratch out which im sure they can. less fuss hopefully and wont cost the price of a new phone.

Sep 17, 2008 4:55 PM in response to Holster®

HI, I'm in the Uk & have exactly the same problem. The first mark appeared just above & to the right of my ear piece after about 1 month. Since there's no apple store local to me I decided to leave it until I was near one as the mark wasn't too major. over the next couple of weeks the line doubled in size & then another one appeared, this time to the left of the ear piece but perfectly in line with the first.
I called apple & spoke to a really helpful guy, although he seemed to struggle to understand what I was trying to describe... He gave me his email address & telephone number & asked me to send him a picture of the phone & a link to this forum. I sent these off & am awaiting reply. I'll post an update when I receive one. Thanks to everyone for helping me understand what these marks are.

gilesjuk

Level 2

195 points

Sep 19, 2008 8:47 AM in response to Holster®

It's possible the scratches are on the surface of the glass and what you are seeing are shadows when light shines through the glass. You can test this theory by seeing if they are less noticable in daylight (light from many directions) compared to a desk lamp (light in a narrow beam).

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Scratches under the iPhone glass