iPhone 11 screen scratches

Ok...went to Apple Store and as expected was told the only relief was to use AppleCare to replace the screen. When I told the store rep about the bevy of posts with the same issue, especially about these anomalies that look more like smudges than scratches (i.e., could be a coating defect) she told me that was like going onto WebMD to look up my symptoms. Great customer service Apple! I decided not to waste one of my two replacements on the issue but will make a formal product quality complaint in the hopes that if enough of these issues surface Apple will do the right thing, stand by their superiority claim and fix the issue. Until then it will have to be a screen protector to shield the “weakest” glass ever put on a mobile phone!!!

My replacement came today, but since Apple still hasn't addressed this issue I'm conflicted about whether I should put a screen protector on it or not so I still haven't opened the box.

And since my previous posts I've talked with multiple friends who pre-ordered their iPhone 11's and they don't have this issue, but handle their phones exactly as I do and always have. I ordered mine October 20th which has me wondering if it only applies to a certain batch.

Guess I need to take another trip to the Apple store and fork out more money for a screen protector that I don't want just to be on the safe side until they respond, if that ever happens. I also just don't understand how a screen protector is supposed to be more durable than this glass – I've never used one before and have never had an issue until now.

At this point I wish I never signed up for the replacement plan or upgraded from the 10 to the 11 Pro. What a waste of time, energy, and money.

Make sure to submit your feedback, it might be the only way we're going to get anywhere here: https://www.apple.com/feedback/

VERY Sad and boring comments in here by those vehemently defending Apple.

buying a glass protector as a mandatory is not even a topic of discussion in 2019 for a premium phone. My colleague at work just showed me his iphone11 pro which now has a deep scratch after he used micro fibre cloth once to wipe the smudges, a standard thing to do. We are suddenly supposed to believe that everyone’s pockets are full of diamond grade dirt, give me a break.

this is a major issue, 80 pages on here so far, multiple news articles and a quick search on Facebook and Twitter

Apple should acknowledge this problem and offer free glass replacements. I encourage everyone to use the “send feedback” feature on Apple website

I was curious about just how soft this glass was, so I bought an iPhone 11 Pro about a week ago and decided to spend a day treating it like I treat my iPhone XS:

I put it into and pulled it out of my jeans back pocket more than 100 times (with the screen always against a clean cotton handkerchief, which is my usual habit after what happened to my iPhone X; see below).

I sat on it a couple of times with it in that back pocket.

i put it into a dusty coat pocket and walked around for a while, pulling it out and replacing it a couple of times.

I blew most of that dust off and then cleaned it with a dry microfiber cloth. (Don’t try this at home. Much safer to use a lubricating cleaning spray.)

I used it for a few hours and wiped fingerprints off periodically with a microfiber cloth.

End result: screen is still perfect, with not even the slightest sign of a blemish at any angle under bright inspection lighting.

On the other hand, my iPhone X did get a very slight scratch (or maybe blemish in a coating?) in the screen—visible but not deep enough to feel—that I couldn’t explain for sure. However, I think it was from when I was on vacation with the phone in a big cargo shorts pocket, pulling it in and our repeatedly, possibly part a brass button.

So, I don’t see evidence of the 11 Pro glass being any softer than the X, anyway.

Still, this thread is enough to give me pause. I probably will return the 11 Pro within the 14 day return period and wait a couple of weeks until the holiday shopping season begins, and Apple offers the much longer holiday return period, so I can give it a long and proper shakedown.

Potts000 wrote:

Same here. 3 days in being very careful with the phone, 2 deep scratches and 1 lighter one.

No issue with IPhone X.

Quality control issues have got me considering switching it up next year to another brand. Very disappointed.

Then return it and buy something else now; it's clear you won't be happy with your purchase.

Because you are still confusing TOUGH with scratch resistance. They aren't the same. The glass on the new iPhone's are tougher. But that means they are less likely to crack and require and expensive replacement than phones from previous years. That DOES NOT mean they can't be scratched.

Why are you skipping that people complains that new iPhone 11 comparing to old phones scratches much easier.

I'm living in Dubai - city grown in largest sand desert in Earth. My 5+ years iPhone 6 and 2+ years iPhone X has less scratches than 1.5 month iPhone 11 Pro. Why don't imagine there is people who suffering from defect batch of screens? You're seems to be luck one. Others here - not that lucky. Should we just shut up and accept it as is as Big Brother knows better? Don't think so and never will agree. I have AppleCare+ so it isn't big problem to replace the screen - but why should I use paid service to solve Apple's defect?

rbrylawski wrote:

I do agree that some of the posted photo's are likely NOT the new phones and in some cases fake iPhone's. That's certainly not the majority, but certainly in some of the posts, I think they may be fake.

rbrylawski wrote:

1. I have helped by explaining facts.

Glass scratches period

2. Screen protectors stop iPhone screens from being scratched

3. If someone chooses to carry a naked screen, they may get scratches and clearly some have

4. Apple isn't here reading these posts for any reason other than violating the terms of use

5. Complaining here isn't helping anyone and isn't getting Apple's attention on this user to user ONLY forum

6. People should take their iPhone directly to Apple and see if Apple will do anything to help them

7. If Apple won't, which they have for the most part not done (only a few people have posted Apple gave them a one time courtesy replacement), they can then put a screen protector on their phone to avoid further scratches

8. Of, if someone really can't stand the scratches and they have AppleCare+ they can use one of their warranty claims and have the screen replaced for $29 or significantly more if they don't have AppleCare+.

9. If within 14 days of purchase, they can also return the phone for full refund and get something else they may like better

This is reality and the ONLY help ANYONE can really offer in this thread. Otherwise, it's just a "me too" thread which isn't helping any of you.

rbrylawski wrote:

I don't understand your question? Why would I need to visit outside my screen protector, whatever that actually means.? If you are asking if I have used iPhone without a screen protector, the answer is NO. I pay cash for my phones. When I pay $1249 for a product, I take every reasonable precaution to ensure my very expensive product is well protected. That's my choice and it has supported me well over the years. When I go to sell a previous iPhone, I get the most money back for them as my phones are beyond pristine.

If you think this is the very first iPhone which people claimed could be scratched, you'd be completely wrong. Every year, when the new phones are released, there is a thread about screen scratches. The fact you may not have ever gotten a scratch on a phone without a screen protector just makes you lucky. Guess you weren't so lucky this time around.

You had the same opportunity to protect your very expensive phone. You still do. You can continue to moan and whine about this, but it's up to you to do something about it. Not anyone on this forum.

Your posts are extremely unhelpful. You've discredited people by implying that they're posting pics of fake iPhones, by stating that they're lying about improper usage and repeatedly discouraging them from posting in this thread as if your opinion is the only one that matters. These are extremely base things to do...

Well, I purchased 11 pro max 256 green yesterday. It's manufactured between 14-20 October by serial number, so it's recent. When I removed the protective cover in my home and inspecting the screen with the flash light of my note 9 - 3 tiny scratches close to the power button... great start. :)

Will not return it just for that as they are from the tiniest type, i.e. can't see them without direct bright artificial light next to them, but it leaves bad taste given the phone price tag. If new one develops in the 14 days return window, I will return it for a new one and use a protector on it or take another phone altogether (I can use both android and ios, no problem for me regarding that one - I pick my phones more based on the device itself).

Will keep you updated. Everything else with the phone is great - no sharp edges, no speakers distortions, no screen brightness unevenness and so on. I hope that the screen holds (given that it comes with tiny scratches, I am kinda worried). I am extra careful with my phones - face up, alone in the pocket, I don't even leave them on hard surface - only soft one, I don't have anything on the exit of my left pocket on any of my jeans, I wear normal jeans with normal pockets, I clean my phone pocket after washing from anything in there (yep, including lint)... so, we will see.

cha0z_ wrote:

Will not return it just for that as they are from the tiniest type, i.e. can't see them without direct bright artificial light next to them, but it leaves bad taste given the phone price tag.

Honestly, that's what the return policy is for.

Return or exchange it because it's clear it's already left you with a poor impression.

I'm not protecting anyone, just pointing out that the issues here have largely been due to user action of some type. I'm not even an Apple stockholder so I literally have nothing to gain or lose in this. If you think I am an Apple employee, you're very greatly mistaken.

It comes down to your assessment - if you think it's defective of a product to be scratched by abrasion against a hard object, that's your prerogative. I've used a screen protector on every iPhone I've ever owned, I refuse to even take a device out of its shipping plastic until I can apply one. It just seems like common sense to me.

The bottom line here is if you believe it is a defect, contact Apple Support directly, as this is a user-to-user forum and we can't do anything to help you with hardware issues.

If they do not agree, if you do not have AppleCare+ and don't wish to use one of your accidental damage incidents, there's not much else you can do unless it's been less than 14 days since you purchased your phone and you choose to return it for a refund. You can sell it and purchase something else, but a quick Internet search will reveal lots of people complaining about scratches on every Android phone as well, even the new Google Pixel 4.

This shows nothing, Jerry test the screen only with materials with hardness of 5 and 6, nothing in between. Glass is normally around 5.5, but can vary and in gorilla glass case - by a lot. The only information you have from that video is that the iphone pro max glass hardness is over 5 and below or equal to 6. It can be 5.2 or 5.9 - you don't know that from this fast simple test.

Also worth nothing that a material with hardness of 7 will scratch deeper and easier softer glass. This is critical when the pressure is not that strong (like in a normal jeans pocket) as if the glass is softer - it's more likely to scratch in the first place. Stronger glass can come out unscratched or if the pressure is strong enough - will be less scratched. Physics.

No, it’s not fake. I love apple, have MacBook Pro’s and have had all generations of iPhones since launch. All treated the same way, in my pocket without screen protector (and obviously nothing else in the pocket). With the iPhone 11 Pro I had multiple scratches within the first week, have never had a scratch previously on any generation. Also, even huge Apple influencers Marques Brownlee and iJustine mentioned that they both had noticed this problem in the 3 weeks with iPhone 11 video that they made together.

Mohs Hardness of Common Objects

fingernail 2 to 2.5

copper 3

nail 4

glass 5.5

knife blade 5 to 6.5

steel file 6.5

streak plate 6.5 to 7

quartz 7

https://geology.com/minerals/mohs-hardness-scale.shtml

Also I find it quite funny how you know the brand and the exact hardness that blade carries. From what you know, he maybe even used a different knife for the iphone 6s video and changed it up. He is a youtuber for Gods sake. ;)

Also a material with hardness of 7 will scratch deeper and easier (with less pressure) a softer glass than a hard one. So while quartz will scratch every screen:

1) it will scratch DEEPER the softer glass than the hard one

2) hard glass can get away without dmg if the pressure is not that strong and soft material is on the other side of it

3) or hard glass will get away with way less dmg than the softer glass that will scratch deep as **** even from the smallest contact without pressure

Facts. The same as how the 7 pick scratches the screen a lot deeper and easier than 6. The bigger difference between the two materials - the bigger the damage is. So that 7 will scratch a lot worse and easier glass that is 5.2 vs glass that is 5.9.

My iphone 11 pro max without a screen protector: 3 vertical scratches right above the power button OUT OF THE BOX. In two weeks I have two new tiny scratches on the screen after extremely careful usage: alone in the pocket, I clean my phone pocket from lint after washing every single time on all of my pants/jeans, I wear normal jeans with normal pockets, I don't have anything on the exit of the phone's pocket, I always place my phone face up and I never place it on hard surface like a table (even at work it sit's on paper and every day it's different page, etc) or tl:dr I take care of my phones A LOT more than the average person and close to insanity level.

I believe you, but the 4 of you saying the phone is ok, from which only 2 use it without a screen protector - should understand that there is something in this world as defective batches and that if we isolate the screen itself it DOES NOT come from one factory, it's real possibility that one of those got a problem and manufacture defective screens.

This phone is the most expensive one ever made (will count out the gold covered ones or the folding prototypes), ad campaign shown durability (water, scratch and drop resistance) and this is a key point in it. It's ridiculous to show the phone dropped between the seats of a car and on the floor with all the dirt and sand there and then in real life the phone to scratch in the hands of a person that go as far as cleaning his phone pocket all the time from anything within. I personally didn't expect more durability regarding scratches, but I totally expected it to be as scratch resistance as my note 9 that got NONE after 14 months on top of the 15+ years of owning premium smartphones.

Yes, my scratches are tiny, but I am pretty sure that if my phone was in the hands of a normal person - they would had been a lot worse. Disappointing as ****.