iPhone 4 bumpers scratch stainless steel band!

Well I don't know what to make of all this bumper stuff...

I just put mine on. It has been sitting here for several days but reading all the horror stories I had a rough time making myself give it a try.

I have even read stories that claimed the bumper didn't fit well. All I have to say about that is "Nuts". The thing fits like a pair of surgical cloves. Actually the fit IMHO couldn't be any better. I had thought it might fit loose and slide around, well that is sure not the case (no pun intended).

Anyway mine is now on and is not coming off until thru wear it is time to replace it. It looks great and the buttons work smoother then any case I have tried to date.

Oh - I can see where if you carry it in your pocket especially tight fitting jeans and you get a little grime under the bumper you may well scratch the metal but then I would expect that to happen with any of the plastic or silicon cases.

Chris Laynes wrote:
Bumper case + Zagg Invisible Shield = Good combo... Shield prevents scratches that could occur from any case or any dust or dirt trapped between the case and the phone

The Invisible Shield kit I bought only covers the front and back.
Still not having any issue with the bumper (except that the phone looks so much better without it).

Message was edited by: Kurt Triffet

Update on the “Apple Bumper” comments I made earlier in my post #15.

I have discovered what I believe is causing the damage to the iPhone 4 SS band.

I had made a comment that the bumper fit like a “Pair of Surgical Cloves” well I was wrong. While the bumper at first seems to be an excellent tight fit it is in fact NOT.

If you press on the top or bottom corner of the long axis on either side of the phone you will find that that the bumper will pop up or down about a thirty second of an inch. It appears that the corner radius of the case are not an exact match for the phone. Because all four corners of the bumper are made of the hard acrylic (whatever) plastic when you press down with a little pressure on any of the long axis corners you effectively force the corner to form to the phone thereby allowing the plastic side to snap down/up along the SS band.

I doubt that the acrylic/polycarbonate plastic alone would scratch the SS band BUT I am absolutely positive that with the addition of a little “pocket grime” you will in short time mar the SS band’s finish. Also if you carry the phone bumper combo in your jeans during the course of a single day the number of times that the plastic slides up and down on the SS band would probably amaze the most skeptical of us. Just for clarification those carrying their phone bumper case in a loose fitting pair of dress pants, cargo shorts or purse side pocket you may never encounter the reported band damage but in a pair of Levis you are going to have a sad day sooner or later.

Please accept my apology for posting a kneejerk and totally inaccurate post. I have gone back to my Incipio NGP case and will not use the “Apple Bumper" ever!

Message was edited by: HolmanGT

Apple Bumper really serves no purpose to most of us. It's not going to prevent the glass on your phone from breaking if it drops. For most of us there was no Antennagate issue to begin with so it won't fix that issue. And now with all the reports of scratching maybe your better off buying a case for protection.
Just a thought.

I like the bumper. It let's me set my phone down without fear of bad scratches on the back or front.
It does help reception in fringe areas.
I have noticed on close inspection a few rub marks on the stainless steel.
I have to ask though. How much time do we spend looking closely at the steel bands? I know it's irritating but so are bugs. I have never own a cell phone that wasn't a little scratched here and there. I take care of them too but I use them. So yeah. If you want it to stay close to perfect get a good case. Otherwise use the phone and don't worry

If you still want to put the case on but dont want to worry about gettng the scuffs get one of the icolour wraps, the thin plastic strip covers only the stainless steel band and still allows the bumper/anycase to be put on.

i got the scuffs but i just got the icolour wrap because i thought if i took it in they would just say that they cant do anything about it.

I like the bumper.

The bumper also keeps the phone from sliding around on a smooth surface.

For example, I can put it on the center console of my car and it won't slide off while driving.

Matt

Not true. Apple never promoted the bumper as protection for the phone. If you read the description on the Apple store site, it says it was designed to dress the phone up. I always carried my iPone 3G naked; however, because of the density of the iPhone 4, I found it more "slippery" than the 3G. I came close to dropping it on several occasions. After putting on the bumper, with it rubber edge, I have a much better grip. Since I see no reason to remove the bumper and I won't be selling it after I get an iPhone 5, the scratching, scuffing, etc. is a non-issue for me unless someone can demonstrate that the marks affect antenna performance. (As an aside, the bumper does eliminate the antenna signal attenuation problem, a.k.a., "death grip")

Same problem here, noticed 2 weeks ago, since then it's been getting worse. Since I am left-handed, can't use the phone without the bumper either.

2 days i got with bumper on. I start notice small scratches on the metal band . now i am back to my incase case. ***** because i started to like the bumper

cristianro, Sorry to hear you got a few scratches. Minor I hope. I am pretty sure anyone that keeps their phone in their front pocket after a bit of time is going to have the same problem. (rear pocket has a whole different set of problems)

The real reason I am posting back to you is even after I figured out why this is probably happening, I had a hard time giving it up. The bumper from **** does "Look Good" and I too had decided I like the way it looked and felt in my hand.

"after I figured out why this is probably happening" explain ...

cris,

look back about 8 or 9 post previous you will see one where I explain what I found and believe to be the source of the problem.

I would state it again but it is a little long winded trying to explain a physical problem without pictures...

yeah that make sense and i was thinking the same too. its pretty sad whats happening with this iphone 4 but this is the reality. Since the phone its very well designed and looks absolutely amazing , everyone tries to keep it nice and scratch free. fashion show .... lol

My bumper is still in pre-order and it has yet to ship.

However, after reading the horror stories here, I'm gonna use regular tape and tape up the inside of the bumper when I get it. I know its a pain but the pain would be less than seeing scratches on my beloved phone :P