iPhone 7 Plus Matte Black Paint Chipped

My case might be even worse. The paint at the back of the iPhone started to chip off very heavily. First there were some bubbles building up and then when I put the iPhone on a table the paint chipped off completely.

I was at an Apple Store complaining about it but they didn't know how to classify my case so I didn't get a new phone for free. But the Apple Support hotline helped me out and asked me to send pictures of my phone. These pictures now have been sent to the engineers in California and I'm waiting for feedback...

Will keep you posted.

I've bought my iPhone 7 Plus and after 3 weeks the paint started chipping/pelling near the right speakers.

I have contacted Apple care and they asked to send a few images of the problem and after 12 days they told me it is not covered under warranty since it is under cosmetic damage. How can they see it is a cosmetic problem and not a manufacturing problem through a photo? The only thing I know is that this is getting worse.

I'll not accept this information and I have seen that other users are having the same problem, and in some cases the phone is being replaced (links below).

This is unacceptable for a phone that costs more than 1000€ and it looks pretty bad.

Links:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/iphone-chat-room-240/iphone-7-plus-matte-black -peeling-near-speaker-grille-5500475.htm…

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comm...one_7_peeling/

Here are the photos that were sent to Apple Care:

this was last month ... i covered with some paint that i bought it the paint shop but seems the paint does stay long ... the chipped area getting more now ... i think i just as i scratch the phone and make it a Silver iPhone (****)

Same Problem here. Issues started few days after unboxing. Had it in a bumper and never dropped it. Paint chipped of around the speaker first and now punctually all around the phone.

Discussing with apple support since October 2016, no news until now - they just asked for more pictures and I've sent them a bunch every other week. I am super upset about the quality of a 700€ phone and the support that goes along with it. I wonder when my black watch will start to fall apart.

First, the iPhone aluminum body is anodized and not painted. Anodizing is a controlled oxidation process, essentially giving the metal a thin layer of natural "rust". This is not as bad as it sounds as metal oxides are essentially ceramics, which usually are very hard materials. This is especially convenient for aluminum, being a fairly soft and porous material. Aluminum oxide is colorless and transparent enough to let the natural metal reflect light through it and top of that you can even seal color pigment in the pores, under the outer ceramic layer. This is how you get the space grey, rose gold or jet black look.

The problem is that the coating of course is only skin deep, so there is a chance that it can crack and peel off if the adhesion to the base metal is poor, which appears to be what is happening here. My bet is that the problem is at least partially related to the switch from 6000- to 7000-series aluminum that happened between iPhone 6 and 6S. (Remember Apple "innovating" a new 40% harder aluminum grade for this product?). 7000-series is much harder than 6000-series (resolving the "bend gate") but does of course come with some drawbacks, like all materials. Besides the longer machining time, the other issue is that it is more difficult to anodize well due to it's metallurgy (high amount of zinc).

If this happened to my device, I would definitely complain to Apple. The wear and chipping we saw back with the eventually removed black iPhone 5 is normal and just happened to be amplified by the high color contrast, but the kind of bubbling and flaking I see in these photos seems like a manufacturing problem and not something that should be accepted a natural wear without further questioning.

I went to the apple service centre, the guy who was incharged over there told me that its cosmetic damage(damage due to usage) and it is not covered under warranty and there is no use of keeping the phone under inspection. Apple US will directly reject the warranty claim

Same issue here... last day at Apple Store "it seems like it dropped..." they told me... :-/ I didn't know it's a common issue. I hope they give an official reply soon (warranty) and I will visit again apple store.

A.

I have the same thing.

iPhone 7, bought from Apple Store in IFC Mall (Hong Kong) with AppleCare. Next day I went back and bought a "Smart Battery Case" for it because the battery life on the 7 sucked like all previous iPhones. Not suitable for a days work in the real world. The extra battery power from the case makes it perfect for me.

Back to the issue at hand. Day 3 of the phone's life I have to fly out to another office in the region. I take the phone out of the smart case to put in a SIM card that is local to where I am now and see this:

Higher res images.

Web chat told me because its 3 days old I should contact the store. Store said "come see a genius". Genius said "sorry no can do, you must have dropped it" (I did not. I has Skinomi film on front and back and lived in that battery case that is all smooth velvet inside).

AppleCare support ticket went to a person in New Zealand who said they would personally own this case and see it through to the end. Provided direct e-mail address and phone extension. A week after he "reached out to engineering" He told me there is a resolution and I should call in to find out what it is. I was in Dominica by then. 12 timezones away on a little rock in the ocean...

I e-mailed back twice asking what the outcome was. Surely its not top secret that it cant just be disclosed by e-mail. No reply. Got caught up with other stuff and let it stall for a while until I read on reddit that there are hundreds of people with exactly the same issue. This will be my last Apple product for a while. This and the stupidity of no headphone jack (really bad on long flights) and the stupid new MBP "features" are not worth the premium. I will be back in a few years. These things go in cycles LOL.

Yes.... I did reach out to service center, team mentioned it's cosmetic damage is not covered under warranty. Later I had to call apple customer care (case # 100135560757), team mentioned to wait stating "Apple team might come up with replacement program" is it true? 😐

As everyone is aware, we pay a BOMB in India on iPhone 😢

Hello.
I am an owner of an Iphone 7 128gb - Imei 359214071846186.
I've already reported Apple Brazil about my case. The service protocol is 100138893691.
Unfortunately it has cropped up on my phone several spots on the back. Typical paint problem. I take good care of my phone so much that it never fell or suffered any impact.
Even so, Apple's engineering sector claims to be a problem of use and friction on the back of the phone. What I will never accept, because the apple's back symbol is intact, without any risk, demonstrating how the device is intact.
I am very dissatisfied with the way Apple has been handling my case. I am an Apple customer of this Iphone 3g. But for this reason, I'm seriously tending to pair up with a Samsung S8 at the end of the month, and never again worry about this appalling service from Apple.
In a quick survey on Apple, including Apple's own forum, we noticed hundreds of cases just like mine. It's time for Apple to properly service its customers, and repair or replace phones with this defect.
I await a brief return

I have similar issue with iphone 7 matte black, i have been using iphone for more than 7 years now and this is first time i have seen paint with such quality. I heard this when using iphone 6 but did face this problem but iphone7 users are reporting more of this case and apple is nowhere interested or concerned about this issue rather terming them as cosmetic damage. I wonder what quality team of apple has to say about it.

Hello! Im started to have the same problem with my black matte iphone 7. I have it since 2 months with a case since day 1. I take a lot of care on my phones. The paint started to chip off

I have already contacted apple and sent this photo, they told me to get to the nearest apple store so they can make a replacement. But Im going to ask them to replace it for the silver one. Dont want to get another black matte cheap paint

Thought I was the only one with this issue but seems not.

I have a big chunk missing from mine just next to the - volume button. Have had a soft case on mine since the day 1 and bought a screen protector. Has never been dropped yet it feels like my phone is crumbling.

It wouldn't have bothered me so much if it was my fault but considering I take over the top care with my electronics and gadgets its frustrating to see this problem that could potentially get worse. Cosmetic damage caused by general wear and tear is one thing but its like buying a Ferrari not knowing that the paint will eventually fall off and your not covered in any way 😠

I have the same problem on my new iphone 7. I'm very concerned about the lack of color that look like little dots on the back of the iphone 7 black matte. Is this the first step that some of you have talked before the paint come off completely?

Thank you

Hi!

Unfortunately I don't see any photos linked to your comment.

In my case, the primary argument of Apple was that the cosmetic damage is not covered under warranty, and so to identify it as an accidental damage.

If that's the same for your case, we need to convince Apple that's it's due to their somehow faulty process that this has happened.

Usually, there should be no impact (like dropping the phone to ground, or accidentally something striking it). Since it came off directly, the surface underneath shall be spotless, bright clear aluminium without any dents or scratches. This proves that there was no instigation for colour to come off, and hence, surely not an "accidental damage".

You may continue on above lines, that such a colour coming off shall not happen without any denting or abrasion, and so that indeed is a faulty colour coat.

I hope the same is applicable in your case too. An advice, please consider contacting Apple support over chat, so you'll be able to show them the pics and tell them what happened. Once convinced, they will record a response to your case and directly ask you for repair through mail or directly walking in an Apple Store.

If it helps, I am attaching the pics of my previous device.

Cheers!

Darshik