New Ipad Air dirty and scratched up out the box?!!

We here are all users like yourself and cannot answer your question. Take it back to the store and ask them.

Return it and open the replaced ipad air in the store.

Do it immediately or they might blame you!

Let us know what happens here.

I also got a factory pre-scuffed Ipad Air, but from Target. The scuff is darker than in the pic. Didn't even remove the plastic covering the Ipad.

Would return to Target, but scarce supply in the SF Bay Area Targets.

Is an exchange in an Apple Store possible?

Follow-up: Resolved!

After an initial spiel at the Genius Bar about how they might not be able to exchange with iPads purchased from 3rd party retailers (albeit a major one in Target), 5 minutes later the Genius came back and said she got the go-ahead from the her supervisor to do an exchange with a brand-new one (they took it off the shelf where new customers go to purchase stuff).

New iPad looked good -- being really picky, it wasn't flawless since there was a very small scratch blemish in the corner of the silver back where the protective plastic covering doesn't cover the back -- but it was a vast improvement over the initial one I got, where the chamfer was actually chipped in two places (not in the pic I posted above) and the depicted scratch extended from those chips.

Glad I was able to exchange it for a new one at the Genius Bar appointment. I also tested some demo smart covers to see if they aligned well, which luckily they did.

🙂

I had 3 ipad air changed with scratches out of the box

I gave at the third one, it was only a minor scratch, and after queeing half an hour at the genius bar; I left...

Very disapointed, 128 G, applecare+ makes a very expensive tablet and it is scratched....

My husband surprised me with a new, factory-sealed Ipad Air (slate/black) that was purchased from an Apple Store in Sacramento, CA for Christmas. I was super excited, until I opened the box and saw a deep scratch on the back. He returned it. I was so confident in Apple that I told him to bring the replacement home without inspecting it at the store. The second one had a scratch on the back and what appeared to be debris inside the screen. He took that one back and opened the third one at the store in front of the Apple salesperson. Upon inspection, this one had scuffs all over the back. I told my husband to just get a refund. I refuse to pay that kind of money for a defective product. I am very disappointed in Apple. Apple has definitely dropped the ball. I am afraid to buy anything else from them.

I'm having the same issues at the moment. I found a dead pixel on my ipad air so I went in and swapped it for a replacement only to find scratches on the back once I got home. I'm going back tomorrow to see if they'll swap it out for another or just blame the scratches on me. Ugh what a hassle.

After the hassle of going to the store and back 5 times I gave up. The issues would be dust under the screen, scratches and crackled speakers. Will they issue a new batch soon?

After going in and explaining the situtIon at the Genius Bar, the technician apologized and ran back and got me a replacement. He opened it and inspected and almost immediately said "oh no I'm not happy with this one" turns out it had scratches and smudges on it as well. He then went to grab a second which he opened as he was walking back to the counter, he didn't even get halfway to me before he stopped and said "no way not this one too?" And went back and grabbed a 3rd ipad air only to find it had dents. The guy couldn't believe it and apologized again and told me that they only has those three in stock. He immediately recommended that we place and order for one and hope that it's from a good batch, I agreed and we ordered it. It should be arriving on Monday or Tuesday at the apple store. I can only hope that his one is in proper condition.