iPhone 7 Plus Matte Black Paint Chipped

Dear Apple,

You need to do something about this if you want to keep your many loyal customers. People who pay somewhere from $649-$969 for a phone that they take care of do not expect for the paint to chip off of the device and if it does you guys are responsible for replacing them. It's obviously affected many users so you need to look into it. Maybe a bad batch came out of the factory and there was a design malfunction, so a recall needs to be issued. Thanks!

Ok I cannot tell if I caused a precedence here, but I had my Genius appointment today and the Genius had the manager's assistance. They confirmed that obviously the paint chipped of without external influence or usage and that I get a replacement phone. They don't have that "damage" type in their warranty list so far, but they were able to register the case and I got my replacement.

So, that's German service level. I cannot speak for the US though.

I have also iPhone 7 matte black. It has also some dots like chipping. Today I talked to one of the customer care people. Below is what they have replied:

"I cannot guarantee the phone would be replaced, we would want to have the phone looked at first to determine what’s going on.

I completely understand, however I cannot guarantee a replacement.

OK, what I can do is refer you to an Apple Authorized Service Provider in your area to have them take a look. Would you like to do that?"

So I need to find the solution by visiting service provider.

Hi, similar reply to me as well... they "understand us"... but a replacement not guaranteed. At least he recognized they are studying this issue.

I've got appointment for this case next week on Apple Store.

Apple will NEVER admit this as an issue they can cover under warranty. I wouldn't do it... Simply because if they would do that, that's an open door for any esthetical issue... remember the iPhone 5.... However there might be some anodisation issues with some manufacturing lots... we can only hope that our iPhone 7 is not part of them.... I switched from a Silver to a black mat recently, so I am usually very cautious with my iPhones but this time I am checking it regularly... so far no problem, fingers crossed... I have friends with the same model and they have no issue neither.... I have heard we could potentially have 70% risks to have a bad iPhone 7 black mat... well, 78 mios iPhone 7 sold and a majority of black mat... if 70% would have that issues, that would be a sea of people coming back with their chipping phone ;-)

I can completely understand the frustration of people where it really happened with their phone but there might be some trolling around.... well... I just shared my opinion, if some really had chipping paint on their iPhone 7 I hope they can do something with the Apple customer care which is one of the best service...

Apple SHOULD admit at least to their support team this is an issue and cover for this in warranty... if some models (or manufacturing lots of one model) of iPhone 7 Plus Black matte has a small % of anodisation problems it MUST be covered by Apple Warranty. We agree on that, right?

I agree that apple should indeed investigate if there was an anidisation issue on some lots and if proven, they have to recall these lots. Now saying that they to add "chipping paint" under their warranty, they would shoot in their own foot... So I am sure they will not use these terms, probably "commercial gesture" or "customer convenience"

Apple didn't get to be the successful and commanding presence in the technology world by giving away free stuff. In addition, how do you intend to prove that this chipping is not the result of accidental damage? It's not that your claims are unbelievable, but also consider this from Apple's perspective and what you might do in their shoes.

This is fairly easy to prove. Accidental damage has more than paint chipping off. There would be a dent, a scratch or anything similar in or around the chipped area. Any expert anodiser or anodising assessor could easily tell the difference, as already found in the discussion here.

I totally get Apple's perspective, but they knew the risk, just like Samsung did with the Note 7. The risk of drawing an angry mob is way higher if they don't acknowledge that this is a processing error from their side.

What they have to do though is train the Apple Store people well to tell accidental damage apart from anodising failure.

I guess its normal to happen like that. I was in dilemma between matte and jet black, decided to buy matte but as they did not have in stock had to purchase jetblack. I used 1 week without case and back of the phone is scratched. I really dont understand when you are paying 800 - 900 usd or whatever and they cant solve this problem. Most probably its a strategy 😟

I don't think they anticipated the anodisation issue... that's really too bad it happened and I don't believe it's a strategy... I just hope there is a good outcome fair for us, the customer, and to not expose Apple too much, also victim of their manufacturing plants in China...

I have chips forming on the left side (side with the volume buttons) Iphone 6, 256GB . The bottom one is just below the antenna separation line, and the top one is just before the curvature to the top edge. Is less than 2 months old. I don't use a case, but I have a screen protector (tempered glass) on the front, and a mylar type on the back. I am very careful with handling of it. It is either in my hand, shirt pocket (no the shirt material is not rough nor do I move much when it is there...if I am moving, it's in my hand). I have a soft leather anti-slip pad in the car so and secure spot where even if I had to brake hard, it's not going to bang against anything. Beyond that, it's on a desk or nightstand charging. The only way to handle it more safely is to simply not use it.

I don't use bumpers or cases because I simply do not drop or bang it against things and my experience with cases in the past is that dirt gets in them and creates micro scratches and pitting. So I just don't drop it.

The fact the paint is coming off, is very disturbing. I work in automotive and we anodize and powder coat all the time. It would be completely unacceptable and a definite warranty issue when there is paint peal. Cosmetic damage is not covered under warranty in the automotive industry either, but there is a difference between cosmetic damage and manufacturing defect with paint adhesion.

I will be taking my phone to the Apple store as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully they will not give the cosmetic excuse and require me to take it to the lab and prove that this is an adhesion problem...because then they will have a much bigger issue to deal with. Claiming an adhesion problem is cosmetic wear is as insulting and ridiculous as it would have been if Samsung claimed their battery issue was due to a thermal exposure not covered under warranty. The paint is part of the product and should not fall off over normal use any more than the screen should pop off or screws fall out. This is a product quality problem.

Exactly that is a manufacturing issue... I hope Apple will clarify what happened to some lots.

I also hope that the ones in this thread who really had the chipping problem, to find a solution. I am constantly checking my phone so if I see something I would do the exact same thing you are doing right now...

exactly what I told them in response was. "I don't care what your warranty covers or not, it is absolutely uninteresting." It is a manufacturing issue, otherwise it is not explainable that others use phones without bumper and have no "paint" chipping off. Then I went on and asked whether they would be fine with ****** up paint on their newly bought AUDI. Yes the car would be fully functional but warranty or no warranty, a car manufacturer wouldn't get away with that.

So why am I paying more to get less? Even the customer support starts sucking. This is exactly the arrogance that let apple going down the drain before. We the apple users did so much to convince people of the superiority of Apple products and now they let everyone down again. I really loved what they did and now I am selling all the stuff that I purchased the last 13 years.

Hi All,

Yesterday Apple replaced my "chipped" iPhone with no cost.

Bravo for customer service, and as should be expected from Apple... (in fact this should be expected from any company... in a perfect world).

It was not covered by warranty, and the IT told me it was the first one he had seen (and this Apple Store is always incredibly crowded). He knew (by media) some iPhones had this issue, but told me he had no idea if Apple was looking for it. He needed to talk with his supervisor prior to replacement, and my feeling is they approved the replacement as a "commercial gesture". My impression is that it seems there are very few cases, and they will check one by one as they appear.

First I should recommend chat with Apple Customer Service (web) and send them some pictures... and with them programa a visit to Apple Store.

My problem is solved... and I hope this thread and my case helps someone else.