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Anyone had to get a replacement iPhone X?

  • Yes, entire phone replacement

  • No, but parts were replaced

  • Nope, my iPhone X is fine

  • I don't have an iPhone X


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TechNismo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 22, 2017
285
133
6ix
I have had AN iPhone X for over 3.5 months (had one since the release date). To say the least this was the worst experience as I had to get a second (replacement) iPhone X, two and a half months later. Originally, I created a quick vid on the issue that led to me having to get a replacement iPhone X, but it turned out as a rant on why I really hated the X, which was not the message I was trying to portray. So I re-created that as a mini-review on the iPhone X, highlighting the main advantages, disadvantages, and explain the chaos I went through with my iPhone X. Here are time interval for the video:
Intro: 0:01- 0:21
Screen/Notch: 0:22- 1:10
Face ID: 1:11 – 1:34
MAJOR PROBLEM/ISSUE (Battery?): 1:35- 3:16
Camera (#ShotOniPhoneX): 3:17- 3:30
Software: 3:31- 4:02
Hardware Issues: 4:03- 4:30
Conclusion (Is it worth $1000?): 4:31- 5:21

I honestly feel that I can explain the issue through the video more clearly, then writing it out (posted about it 2 months back and from the feedback it seemed most people didn’t understand the issue). However, for people that like reading instead of watching, here is a summary for the main points:

Screen/Notch: Screen is amazing. You eventually adapt to the notch, like how we have adapted to bezel on older iPhones. Notch is annoying during videos because I like to take advantage of the screen, but due to the aspect ratio and the presence of the notch, content is cropped. (Hopefully the aspect ratio is fixed with iPhone 2018 Plus)
Face ID: Love it! It might be slower than TID, but features make it more convenient such as revealing notification only when the use looks at the phone.
MAJOR PROBLEM/ISSUE: On the first iPhone X, battery will randomly drain overnight (like from 50% to 0% without being used). Battery status will show weird things like camera using 80% on the charge (only used for 1 min) or iMessage using 48% (used for 7 mins). Battery tests showed it still had 100% of original capacity. Took it to the Apple Store twice. First time: Factory restore and set up as new iPhone, this didn’t fix anything. Second Time: replaced entire phone with new X. This is when it got weird. Since the first time wasn’t as Software issue, apple said I can put the backup on the old X to the new X. I did this. Then a week later on the new X, the battery issue returned. I then factory reset it and set it up as new and did not use a back up, and this solved it on the new X, which is the one I am using. Do not understand why that happened. This leads me to believe the first iPhone X had some hardware and software issue (Does something like this ever occur?)
Software: Improve with relocating control centre access point. Show battery percentage of phone when inside battery settings. Stability fixes (crashes easily).
Hardware: When turning off the phone I sometimes take screen shots for where the volume-up button and side button is (getting tired of doing this). Also, camera bump causes it to be unstable on flat surface. Worried the camera lens will get scratched (thus I now use a case)
Conclusion: Not worth $1000. But I feel it is more worth than $800 for iPhone 8 Plus which is already out-dated in comparison to other 2017 flagship phone (IMO). For $1000 they could include 128GB standard option, faster charger cable/brick, or wireless charging pad.

This was the worst experience with Apple products for me, because from all the Apple devices my family and I have owned, this was the first one with a defect. Travelling to the Apple Store twice was not fun, but worth it at the end of the day.

Defects can occur in any phone, just because MY iPhone X had an issue does not mean that ALL iPhone X are bad. Don't let this issue be the reason you don’t buy an X. IMO the iPhone X is a great phone in general, as long as it is functioning normally!

How has your iPhone X experience been? How long have you had it?
Anyone had any issues/defects with their iPhone X? Anyone have the same issue as me?
 
Hmm you described yours as faulty, over priced and the support experience 'not' fun', even went to the effort of producing a video (which isn't exactly common place) ... and then said "don't let this be an reason for not buying an X"

... To me a bit of a mixed message
 
MAJOR PROBLEM/ISSUE: On the first iPhone X, battery will randomly drain overnight (like from 50% to 0% without being used). Battery status will show weird things like camera using 80% on the charge (only used for 1 min) or iMessage using 48% (used for 7 mins). Battery tests showed it still had 100% of original capacity. Took it to the Apple Store twice. First time: Factory restore and set up as new iPhone, this didn’t fix anything. Second Time: replaced entire phone with new X. This is when it got weird. Since the first time wasn’t as Software issue, apple said I can put the backup on the old X to the new X. I did this. Then a week later on the new X, the battery issue returned. I then factory reset it and set it up as new and did not use a back up, and this solved it on the new X, which is the one I am using. Do not understand why that happened. This leads me to believe the first iPhone X had some hardware and software issue (Does something like this ever occur?)

I've had this problem with a few iPhones. Not the X though. I remember my iPhone 7 used to it so I wouldn't really say thats to do with the X and more of a software/app problem. Speaking of software though, iOS 11 is horrible. Full of bugs and quite frankly we deserve better.

My iPhone X hasn't had any problems but a friend of mine returned hers within a couple of days as it seemed to be a defective device.
 
I have had to replace every phone I bought since the iPhone 6. I have had to replace my 6 plus, 7 plus, and 8 plus due to various issues, all within two weeks and up to two months of purchase. I skipped the X altogether.
 
Hmm you described yours as faulty, over priced and the support experience 'not' fun', even went to the effort of producing a video (which isn't exactly common place) ... and then said "don't let this be an reason for not buying an X"

... To me a bit of a mixed message
Even though it is over priced, I feel its the best phone for the buck in comparison to the other iPhones thats currently sold.
I just wanted to make clear of the fact that any phone can have defects, including the iPhone X, but that does not mean that every iPhone X will have the defect. Just to clarify, the Apple Support was amazing (they always provide numbers 1 customer service). What I meant by "not fun" was waking up to find my phone was dead and thus my alarm did not go off and travelling to the Apple Store twice.
Overall, it was a mixed emotion. Waking up to a dead phone was a frustration. But I am still grateful for it, because it serves me much better than my old iPhone 5.

I've had this problem with a few iPhones. Not the X though. I remember my iPhone 7 used to it so I wouldn't really say thats to do with the X and more of a software/app problem.
How often did it happen on your iPhone 7? How many software updates did it take to get fixed? Which apps were causing this problem? Because I had this issue on my first iPhone through 3 different version of iOS 11.
[doublepost=1519003708][/doublepost]
I have had to replace every phone I bought since the iPhone 6. I have had to replace my 6 plus, 7 plus, and 8 plus due to various issues, all within two weeks and up to two months of purchase. I skipped the X altogether.
Did any of the issues relate to the camera or battery?
 
Even though it is over priced, I feel its the best phone for the buck in comparison to the other iPhones thats currently sold.
I just wanted to make clear of the fact that any phone can have defects, including the iPhone X, but that does not mean that every iPhone X will have the defect. Just to clarify, the Apple Support was amazing (they always provide numbers 1 customer service). What I meant by "not fun" was waking up to find my phone was dead and thus my alarm did not go off and travelling to the Apple Store twice.
Overall, it was a mixed emotion. Waking up to a dead phone was a frustration. But I am still grateful for it, because it serves me much better than my old iPhone 5.


How often did it happen on your iPhone 7? How many software updates did it take to get fixed? Which apps were causing this problem? Because I had this issue on my first iPhone through 3 different version of iOS 11.
[doublepost=1519003708][/doublepost]
Did any of the issues relate to the camera or battery?

Not for me. My issues were related to phone calls and use, screen, and reception.
 
How often did it happen on your iPhone 7? How many software updates did it take to get fixed? Which apps were causing this problem? Because I had this issue on my first iPhone through 3 different version of iOS 11.
[doublepost=1519003708][/doublepost]
Did any of the issues relate to the camera or battery?

The first iPhone it happened on was my iPhone 5S which they replaced for free. But that was probably something different. The latest was iPhone 7 I'm still not sure what caused it but I did notice after deleting the weather app that helped a bit but didn't solve the problem. I ended up doing a factory reset. It was annoying though going to sleep with full battery and waking up having to charge it. Glad I don't have this problem anymore though.
 
Hmm you described yours as faulty, over priced and the support experience 'not' fun', even went to the effort of producing a video (which isn't exactly common place) ... and then said "don't let this be an reason for not buying an X"

... To me a bit of a mixed message
He’s just trying to plug his channel. I feel stupid for clicking on it.
 
Had to replace my phone after two days, because Face ID decided to not work anymore. Absolutely no problem since!
 
I had my iPhone X since launch day. Zero issues.

As unfortunate as it is, it's inevitable that we will eventually purchase a piece of tech gear that will turn out to be a lemon. A couple of weeks ago, I upgraded my aging desktop PC with a new one. I brought it home and set it up. After playing with it for a couple of hours, I powered the PC down. When I tried to power it back up, it was unresponsive. A quick phone call to Dell and the subsequent troubleshooting session revealed that the power supply was dead. I immediately took the PC back to the store and exchanged it for a new one. Unfortunately, these things happen sometimes.
 
No GPS functions! And this is my second iPhone X since December 2017.
I will be getting my third ‘X’ and I’ll betcha’ it too has NO damn GPS!
What garbage.
 
I ended up doing a factory reset.
Did the factory restore help at all or did the issue return?
No GPS functions! And this is my second iPhone X since December 2017.
I will be getting my third ‘X’ and I’ll betcha’ it too has NO damn GPS!
What garbage.
Wow. I should not even be complaining.... third iPhone X?!? Thats quite insane.
 
Did the factory restore help at all or did the issue return?

Wow. I should not even be complaining.... third iPhone X?!?
Thats quite insane.
Factory resets and iOS upgrade from 11.2.0 to 11.2.5 did absolutely nothing.

I would assume that all the defective iPhone-X units have to cycle thru the system to us unfortunate buyers so that eventually when Apple quietly fixes this GPS issue at the factory (and and the 'newer' phones are in circulation), THEN I will have a chance at getting a replacement X that's not defective.

NOTE: Going to the Apple store tomorrow. What a joke. I should record the event. LOL.
I'll post back here soon as I get more info.
Regards,
-Ej-
 
I feel like the problems discussed by the original post are sufficiently rare enough that they don’t warrant discussion?
[doublepost=1519087959][/doublepost]
No GPS functions! And this is my second iPhone X since December 2017.
I will be getting my third ‘X’ and I’ll betcha’ it too has NO damn GPS!
What garbage.
That seems very unlikely.
 
Ah... I forgot. We're dealing with the almighty 'false narrative'. The reality of the situation has no place here.
Sorry. I should have known better.

I'll shut up and move along.
-Ej-
 
Aside from the silly Notch. Mine has worked flawlessly. Hardware build is beautiful and iOS has been fast and reliable.
 
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Please share your Apple Store experience. Were they willing to give you another replacement?
Greetings TechNismo,

It pains me to make this post but after I upgraded to iOS 11.2.6 the GPS on my iPhone X started working, Thus I never went to the Apple Store to file a complaint.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking…
This is nonsense since there was nothing in 11.2.6 that addressed the <nonexistent?> GPS problem in the first place.
But yeah… soon as I upgraded I immediately tested the GPS function and it worked!

It’s kind of a shame too because I really enjoyed hating this new iPhone. There were so many things to dislike.

So now my X finally works properly and I am completely content. :)
After months of screwing around with this issue my $1000 re-manufactured iPhone X works perfectly. I can now happily throw this over-priced POS in the “junk draw” and go back to using my 6s+ until the X Plus version is released in November and we can start the process over again.

Enjoying the ride! :apple:
Regards,
-Ej-
 
Last edited:
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SOMETHING IS WRONG ON GPS ON MY IPHONE X.

I noticed it in the first couple of days as I used GPS on the X back on release day. Google Maps/Waze was confused and kept rerouting in circles.

I ended up testing my iPhone 6 and the X. I was driving north on a small highway clear of building interference and X was telling me I was 2-3 blocks to the west. I have screenshots of 6 and X and the positional accuracy is laughable. The X kept on telling me to reroute because it thought I was on local streets.

Spoke to Apple genius and he told me to reset network settings. So far it hasn't made a difference. I am on IOS 11.2.6 on the X and using iphone 6 for navigation. I upgraded from 6s+ to X and never had a GPS that was so confused.

Anyone have same issue? Is it the compass that is messed up? I did the figure 8 thing to reset compass but that didn't help
 
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