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iPhone 7/Plus Iphone 7 matte black antenna bands

D

darrenandytan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 12, 2017
5
1
Recently bought my Iphone 7 matte black. It went straight into a case after the purchase and yesterday when I was removing some dust trapped in the case, I discovered the antenna bands are full of micro-scratches.

Just wondering some of the following questions on the iphone:
1. What is the antenna bands made of?
2. Did this issue came up when iPhone6 came up with the white antenna bands?
3. Are any matte black users facing this problem too?
 
darrenandytan said:
Recently bought my Iphone 7 matte black. It went straight into a case after the purchase and yesterday when I was removing some dust trapped in the case, I discovered the antenna bands are full of micro-scratches.

Just wondering some of the following questions on the iphone:
1. What is the antenna bands made of?
2. Did this issue came up when iPhone6 came up with the white antenna bands?
3. Are any matte black users facing this problem too?
Click to expand...

I don't seem to have the problem using matte black iPhone 7 Plus without case.
 
mrblog47 said:
I don't seem to have the problem using matte black iPhone 7 Plus without case.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, I guess the case might have caused the micro-abrasion. Was thinking that the dust got stuck in between the phone and the case, and the friction between this two materials seems to caused it. Just curious that only the antenna bands got affected whereas the other parts of the phone(even with dust initially) still seems perfect.
 
It's probably made of a composite material but it's almost like plastic so I'm not sure how you've scratched it. Mine's holding up just fine.
 
Hmm, maybe dust tends to accumulate more around the edges of the case. This is one of the reasons I don't use a case. I used to expect the phone to stay in perfect condition but the screen will always get tiny scratches from going in and out of pockets and the apple sign on the back was scratched by dirt particles in the case on my 6s.
 
What sort of material is the case made of? I've seen hard plastic cases that are difficult to get the phones in and out of. I use a soft clear tpu back cover and have no problems with marks on mine.
 
deano1972 said:
What sort of material is the case made of? I've seen hard plastic cases that are difficult to get the phones in and out of. I use a soft clear tpu back cover and have no problems with marks on mine.
Click to expand...

its a very soft clear case that is probably made of silicon/rubber. its easy to remove and replace.
 
It's funny I noticed these scratches earlier too. I've been using the Apple leather case and today took it out only to see these tiny hairline scratches along the antenna. Everything else is pristine but it doesn't bother me much. I've had the phone for almost a month and no matter how you baby this phone it will get scratched.
 
borgsauce said:
It's funny I noticed these scratches earlier too. I've been using the Apple leather case and today took it out only to see these tiny hairline scratches along the antenna. Everything else is pristine but it doesn't bother me much. I've had the phone for almost a month and no matter how you baby this phone it will get scratched.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i guess the composite material is more scratch prone.
 
darrenandytan said:
Recently bought my Iphone 7 matte black. It went straight into a case after the purchase and yesterday when I was removing some dust trapped in the case, I discovered the antenna bands are full of micro-scratches.

Just wondering some of the following questions on the iphone:
1. What is the antenna bands made of?
2. Did this issue came up when iPhone6 came up with the white antenna bands?
3. Are any matte black users facing this problem too?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen these scratches. Can you post a pic?
 
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darrenandytan said:
Recently bought my Iphone 7 matte black. It went straight into a case after the purchase and yesterday when I was removing some dust trapped in the case, I discovered the antenna bands are full of micro-scratches.

Just wondering some of the following questions on the iphone:
1. What is the antenna bands made of?
2. Did this issue came up when iPhone6 came up with the white antenna bands?
3. Are any matte black users facing this problem too?
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1513712888][/doublepost]I’ve had the same prob. For no apparent reason, the antenna was full of scratches. I’ve never used the 7 without the Apple case, so whatever has happened must have been while the case was on, which is proof that the antennas are very prone to scratching.
 
darrenandytan said:
its a very soft clear case that is probably made of silicon/rubber. its easy to remove and replace.
Click to expand...

"Easy to remove and replace" probably means it's loose enough to let a lot of grit, dust and other abrasive stuff in between the case and the phone, which would cause scratches.
[doublepost=1513717207][/doublepost]
darrenandytan said:
Yeah, was doing some research and I realized most of the abrasions are caused by dust particles between the case and the phone.
Click to expand...

Looks like you already got that. Try one of the Apple cases. Tight fit, no grit.(tm)
 
Theo13 said:
I’ve had the same prob. For no apparent reason, the antenna was full of scratches. I’ve never used the 7 without the Apple case, so whatever has happened must have been while the case was on, which is proof that the antennas are very prone to scratching.
Click to expand...

Or, there is debris that's trapped inside the case and rubbing against the antenna bands that caused it to scratch. That's not uncommon either, so it's not necessarily the bands, it can be due to the case or debris embedded under the case.
 
darrenandytan said:
Hahaha, I guess the case might have caused the micro-abrasion. Was thinking that the dust got stuck in between the phone and the case, and the friction between this two materials seems to caused it. Just curious that only the antenna bands got affected whereas the other parts of the phone(even with dust initially) still seems perfect.
Click to expand...

Likely the case did cause the damage. You need to remove it weekly and clean out the debris that works itself between the case and phone. The bands are softer than the phone so it got scratched first.
 
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Newtons Apple said:
Likely the case did cause the damage. You need to remove it weekly and clean out the debris that works itself between the case and phone. The bands are softer than the phone so it got scratched first.
Click to expand...

I don't remember the last time I disagreed with Newtons Apple, but I will respectfully disagree on the case cleaning if the case fits correctly (which most don't). I've got a Jet Black iPhone 7 in my pocket right now that I bought shortly after launch last year, so roughly 15 months old. It's always been in an Apple leather case, and I never take it out to clean it.

It's been in an out several times in the last month because I've been swapping the sim card in and out of an iPhone X.

The Jet Black finish is perfect, at least without a bright light and a magnifying glass, and if there EVER were a finish that would show scratches, the Jet Black iPhone 7 is that finish. My theory is that the Apple case fits so well that dust, dirt and crud can't get in between the case and the phone, which is what can lead to scratches. Others have had similar reports with the Apple cases. They just fit better than most.

The downside, of course, is that they don't protect the phone as much as many other cases. Pick your poison...
 
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