I had the same issue with my X, it was a freakshow I had to replace 6 iPhone X models. I switched to the XS Max, it's alot better than the X, in other words I didn't like the XHey all,
I haven't found many threads relating to iPhone Xs issues, but I thought I'd share my experience and wanted to see if anyone else is having any issues like these, because I want to decide what I should do from here (i.e. keep current iPhone or return, and place an online order).
So basically, as the title says, I am currently in possession of my 16 exchanged iPhone Xs (and apparently my last exchange because they're losing money opening all those phones). Something seems to be wrong with apples manufacturing facility or something. In almost every phone Ive opened up, there has been some sort of strange debris / possibly glue (holding the bezels and watertight seals together) between the bezels, and obviously if you can see that, the metal or seals are separated.
Besides that being present in almost every phone, I have had 2 with dust within the camera lens, 1 with a rattling speaker, quite a few with button issues (mushy and uneven), and many with uneven and almost sharp edges along where the steel meets the glass, and a lot of the iPhones have multiple of these issues combined.
All of the display models I checked at the store had the debris as well, and one phone I opened had an almost pre-peeled and crumpled plastic cover (you know, the plastic that comes on the phone, you use to pull it out of the box then peel it off the phone).
At one point, I opened up about 5 in store at once and all of them had issues, and all the staff involved, including managers, saw it as well. I have never had this experience with an iPhone. They always come perfect and develop some sort of defects or issues later in their life, if any.
My local store is Robina, in QLD, Australia. I was hoping to get some feedback about other users phones, and if they notice anything like the issues I noticed mentioned above, to find out if its just a few stores here in Australia receiving these horribly produced phones (compared to apples own boasted standards obviously), or if this is happening across multiple countries. The current phone I have now is probably the best Ive had, with minor mushy volume down button on the lower half of it, and only a slightly uneven 'edgy' bezel. It's alright, but it's not what apple should be sending out, and nothing like what Ive ever received before from the company. I am just debating though on returning it, and then attempting to order one online, and possibly get it from another location or 'batch' to see if it could be just a bad batch.
(Also, just to note, this has occurred over 2 months of exchanges, besides the 5 or 6 at once in store, starting with the pre-ordered one I received on September 21st)
Anyway, thanks for reading if you took the time, and I appreciate any and all replies.
Kind regards,
PK
EDIT: I appreciate everyones replies thus far, and thank you. I just wanted to post a reminder that, while I do appreciate your wisdom and opinions, I am mainly looking for anyone who might have noticed the same issues I have. I came here for others experiences with their iPhones, and not for plain suggestions and assumptions. I can say, I know what I know, I see what I see, and I would not be here listing a seemingly ridiculous topic if it was made up. It goes without saying that no one except myself and the ones around me have seen this first hand, so its understandable if you can't fathom this a reality. But family, friends, and apple store employees have all agreed upon this. If they didn't, how would I be this many phones in without their approval? Believe it or not, I just want one that works properly out of the box, as it should come according to Apple. If I didn't want that, I'd go to another less reputable company and buy a phone from them, toss it when it completely breaks, and just buy another new one.
EDIT 2: For those of you who can't fathom that the apple store was on board with my iPhone comments, here is at least half of the 16 phones, and for some I don't have receipts because, as I said, a few were opened in the store before making a complete transaction to make sure they were actually up to standard. I feel it would be unreasonable to continually exchange unnecessarily, and as you all are aware, so would Apple. But I have had genuine, visible and noticeable defects witnessed by the staff who have helped me out. I agree that 16 is a ridiculous amount, and I am also amazed, and to be honest, disappointed, that this is the case.
I have just blacked out most of the information except for the date and the end of the serial numbers so at least you can notice there are multiple serial numbers over different days, with some a same day, and a few only a couple days apart.
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I guess the baffling thing for me is, surely you know that there are people out there without issues. And surely, having admitted that you haven't found many threads about Xs issues, you realize its not some widespread problem. And surely this shouldn't change the fact that you did have issues. Just don't see what you stand to gain here outside of telling the world you have gone through 16 iPhones. It's a crappy situation, and I'm not implying it didn't happen, I just don't know that anyone here can help you, outside of possibly offering their sympathies. As I mentioned earlier, you've already dealt with more than I'd be willing to put up with.Thanks for your replies. Most thanks to those with both constructive comments and actually related comments about your Xs quality.
I am not really asking for advice, per se, I am asking about the quality of other peoples iPhone Xs's and if they've noticed what I have with the batch of phones I received or viewed to compare other locations iPhone quality. As I said previously, I was in contact with the managers of the store, and he explained the waterproof seal follows around the iPhone between the stainless steel and glass / screen bezels, and is made of some sort of rubber compound.
Many employees did come over, and one of the specialists went to get a different manager because he was in disbelief the state the iPhone was in straight out of the box, at which point the manager started yelling about how that is not apple standards and to get rid of that phone. So to say, the employees were rejecting them along with me. I am not looking for absolute perfection, I am looking for a properly working phone (including clean out of the box (as all phones should and have always come, and that goes for any phone I have ever purchased) with no debris within the seal or the bezels), with low potential of needed repair down the track.
Some of the devices were not completely exchanged. Many were opened by a manager, and he would check them himself. In one case not even giving me the device to check over, noticing a gap in the seal himself. Most phones had large amounts of debris, some had dust in the camera, and some had mushy buttons, etc.
unless of course OP is lying.
Well, yes, I would say I’m very OCD about things, and it definitely is not always a fun experience (although sometimes it can have benefits) but it’s not normal for me to return things like this. I have had a few iPhones, and I’ve never returned or exchanged any of them. Yes, I’ve had to get some repairs later on, but that’s it. Let me just reiterate, because it seems you and many others are reading into something else, that I am not returning these over little ‘ocd’ things. These are actual physical and potentially ‘worsening over time’ defects. Yes, variances can occur, and I accept that, as with they can occur with anything. But dust in a camera, in ANY camera, is unacceptable, but particularly unacceptable when it can’t be removed by the user of the camera. Buttons that become mushy over time (couple minutes to a few hours, over a few presses) are unacceptable because they are prone to worsening even further to the point of not working at all, and probably quite quickly to set in seeing as the timeframe for them to become mushy is almost instantaneous in a couple cases. Water seal and bezel separation is, also yes, unacceptable when it is a feature of the phone to be water resistant, and introduction of water to the phone would become detrimental to the functionality due to the gaps in the bezel and the seal, even if said introduction is accidental, the peace of mind for that type of liquid-phone interaction is gone.You’re supposed to not care about the little variances in manufacturing. That’s called being normal. The ones who do are the so-called nightmare customers.
To OP: imagine not giving a crap about any of the issues you listed. Imagine that stuff not even phasing you in the slightest. Imagine how freeing that would feel, to be able to accept flaws and love what you have. To be rid of that crippling OCD over specks of dust. It’s truly bliss.
Actually, you’re somewhat right and somewhat wrong. In the beginning, looking for defects was not a thing. Once the defects presented themselves in a multitude of cases (4), it was then that I was forced to look for the same defects for ones I had encountered previously, which low and behold appeared in all of them, hence my theory of a bad batch, seeing as many of you are critics and lack of support. You are wrong in that they developed over use, and unfortunately are noticeable almost immediately. The strange thing about the criticism I am receiving on this thread is that many seem to be just responding to the first thing they see—16 iPhones. They are not noticing the actual reasons for the returns. Either that, or an obviously defective phone is something people are willing to live with, when they can expect a repair down the line, or problematic photography and video—something that pertains to me the most.The OP isn’t lying. Actually, probably the polar opposite being that all 16 phones did have problems of some sort. The reality is, the OP is intentionally and vehemently seeking for defects on _each and every_ iPhone. They’re actually looking defects, no matter what, that is their main goal to seek perfection, when most who use their phones, simply don’t look for defects and if there is a problem, it usually arises where the defect will affect the experience with the iPhone, which then they simply make a return.
In this specific situation, all 16 iPhones are under the scrutiny of an extreme ‘microscope’ per se, which, that’s the OP’s prerogative.
seeing as many of you are critics and lack of support.
So, are you pronouncing you wouldn’t mind a phone with dust in the camera? I use the camera on the daily, so it’s an important part of my life, it gets a lot of usage.I'm sorry but complaints about dust, mushy buttons, and uneven seams are the textbook definition of ridiculous OCD nonsense.
Thanks for your input, it’s heavily appreciated!I'm on my 10th Xs Max which is coming today, I have varied supplier and colour of phone and ALL have had some form of scratch on the front or back or both. Fit and finish has been variable on all as well, some having sharp edges and some being tightly assembled. A couple had a mushy volume up button with a recessed or flush button. They were all produced in China, Zhengzhou - Foxconn. These phones cost £1100.00 and should be well made so I fully intend to keep going until I get a phone that meets my expectations and Apples marketing hype. I have had reasonably consistent screen brightness but some have had a horrible gradient from top to bottom or left to right. I pretty much always have to return multiple units of any apple products and am actually genuinely surprised and elated when I get one that is perfect (or as close to as you can reasonably expect). For people who don't have a critical eye and are happy if a device merely turns on and works good for you. I expect exemplary quality at this price point and have not had these issues with Samsung products but love the Apple Watch and need an iOS device. I also have iMac, iPad Pro etc etc. I love the design and material choices on Apple products but not Foxconn quality control or apparent lack of it.
Not a helpful comment, and I don’t appreciate the insinuation. Who in their right mind would want to drive 40 minutes to their nearest apple store, (as I would need to do) just to tell apple they want a new phone for fun? I don’t want to be in there, I want to enjoy my phone. I want to forget about the phone and be on my way, and not have to worry about a phone that could just stop working the next day in some way. The only reason I didn’t order online is because I wanted it launch day, since I thought it would be exciting to get the product in hand. I’ve been waiting for one and a half years just to get this phone — X model, but gold color. I knew they’d release it, as they always do for their own typical money making scheme, so I laid low when the X came out, but followed the so called ‘rumors’ of the phones until it was time to order it.Remember, to most the return process would be a huge hassle and not worth it. After the third unacceptable phone, most would give up.
But there are a bunch of folks that relish it.
They walk with purpose to the Apple store, they can't wait talk to a sales drone and go through every "I'm not crazy" checklist.
They walk out from the store and pump their fist and when they get home and scour over the new device to see a minuscule scratch, they pump their fist again and count down the time until they go back to the Apple store.
After the third time, I don't blame the customer, it is the store's fault (and manager) for enabling the behavior.
If you think the customer is worth keeping, on the third return, you tell them the party is over, flag them and either don't allow returns or don't sell.
I never looked for dust until I saw it. As in, I was wiping my camera off, and realized I couldn’t wipe some dust off, and found it was inside the camera enclosure. So, naturally I wanted to make sure the next one I had wouldn’t have dust in there. I feel that is a reasonable thought. I feel especially since as a new phone, I would assume there wouldn’t be any pre-existing grime upon the lens.Then use it. If you’re asking me, I don’t go looking for friggin dust in the first place. I doubt even most published professionals look for it. If my photos are compromised, I’ll notice. Dust and grime remain on a camera lens anyways, even with the most fastidious of wipers. You’re just eating away at yourself over nothing.
Why do I even bother trying to get through though, it’s clear you’re only looking for the posts that give you validation. Nobody wants to take that hard look at themselves.
Dude just joined macrumors yesterday, I think he's playing us. We'd all be better off ignoring him and this thread and moving on.
I don’t know how many times I’ve taken pictures that were clear as day and then I happen to look at the camera lens to see it covered in finger prints and smudge. So I don’t know how much a spec of dust is going to affect any picture quality!Then use it. If you’re asking me, I don’t go looking for friggin dust in the first place. I doubt even most published professionals look for it. If my photos are compromised, I’ll notice. Dust and grime remain on a camera lens anyways, even with the most fastidious of wipers. You’re just eating away at yourself over nothing.
Why do I even bother trying to get through though, it’s clear you’re only looking for the posts that give you validation. Nobody wants to take that hard look at themselves.