What kind of defects do iPhone 7 have? Defective iPhone out of the box - examples of real people. The choice is yours
While the Chinese division of Apple is investigating the first incident with an iPhone 7 allegedly exploding in the hands of the owner of the iPhone, specialists in restoring Apple devices are disassembling the “seven” one by one and telling what problems its owner can expect, and most importantly, explaining how to avoid these problems.
Experts did not find any obvious reasons for the explosion. It is unknown how the investigation in China will end, but repair experts say there is definitely no reason to panic in this regard. But there is another problem. If you have already purchased an iPhone 7, be careful with your smartphone: if you break it before Chinese New Year, repairs will cost a pretty penny.
Specialists from AkulaService told the publication what most often breaks down in the iPhone 7 and what owners of the new flagships should pay attention to.
1. Protect your screen
Broken glass and broken display are the main reasons for contacting service centers. As in previous models, the screen in the “seven” is not protected in any way. In addition, keep in mind that replacing it automatically means a loss of moisture resistance (protection from water, however, will be lost if the device is opened any time). Buy a special protective glass and case.
2. Don't be surprised if your iPhone 7 starts clicking
The following defect has been identified in all “Sevens”: under high load on the processor (games, watching videos, etc.), they begin to make a characteristic clicking sound, which can be heard if you bring the phone to your ear. This is most likely due to the overall high power and speed of the electronic components. In general, any electronics makes sounds when operating. The more powerful it is, the stronger the sound.
3. iPhone is now waterproof. As if
But this does not mean at all that it can be dipped in liquid and kept there for a long time. This can lead to serious problems with electronic components, and if moisture gets inside, it’s not at all a fact that your “seven” can then be revived.
4. Don't charge your iPhone in the car
The practice of repairing the latest Apple models says that this can lead to breakdowns - regardless of the car brand and class charger. This also applies to iPhone 7. Instead of charging from the cigarette lighter, it is better to use external batteries.
5. Do not over-discharge the battery
Do not allow the battery to discharge below 40% (in an emergency - 20%). Ideally, you should charge and use your phone only when room temperature. Otherwise you will have to change the battery.
6. If you haven’t bought it yet, but are planning to, it’s better not to rush
Firstly, as a rule, the first batches need some modifications. Secondly, in case of repair there is no place to get spare parts yet. The only option is donor phones (service centers purchase similar gadgets in a minimal configuration and disassemble them for spare parts). The cost of repairs will decrease somewhat by spring - market players expect the start of deliveries of relatively inexpensive, but, in principle, high-quality components from the Middle Kingdom after the Chinese New Year (February 9).
7. Buy iPhone 7 with PCT
PCT is an all-Russian certification standard mobile devices, which indicates the legality of sale, official localization and warranty from official representatives of the manufacturer. That is, only official devices and only from official Apple resellers. The point is a guarantee of free repair of minor breakdowns (display, battery, etc.). In addition, if you buy a “gray” phone, then if a serious problem happens to it (a defective processor or modem), you will simply be left without a device, since such problems are insoluble.
A systemic crisis for any company not only means the destruction of the usual rules, it also affects the production chain, what the company considers acceptable for the quality of the product. The main product for Apple has been and remains the iPhone. During the time of Steve Jobs, they tried to keep the quality of the iPhone at the highest possible level, errors and shortcomings happened, but the company made sure that the most expensive devices on the planet were, if not ideal, then close to it in terms of production. Those quality standards have long since sunk into oblivion. For example, the iPhone 11 Pro I bought has a dirty front camera, and it’s dirty from the inside! Is this a defective assembly? Definitely. In past years, such a device would not have passed quality control; today this is considered the norm.
One of our readers, Alexey Kulimanov, decided to collect a selection of defects that he encountered himself or read about from other people. This is a selection of messages from the 4pda forum, below is a letter without any cuts. I think that these are quite telling “mistakes” that happen to all manufacturers, but only at Apple did they become a habit and became standard in last years. So, over to Alexey.
Eldar, good evening. It's boiling.
I have been using iPhones since 2007, when the first model came out.
I was always surprised by the attitude with which the company approached the production and assembly of the phone. Everything is perfectly assembled, no jambs or other nuances, not counting the peculiarities of the system limitations at that time)
But, apparently, after the death of Steve Jobs, everything in the company began to turn upside down. And my last stumbling block was the poor build quality of the devices.
Below will be presented only a small part of the reviews about the devices on the forum where users communicate.
I myself personally tried to buy a normally assembled device (iPhone Xr).
Summary: only 1 out of 6 comes across without jambs... Where is the attention to detail, Apple?
Now I have given up on all this and go with Android.
So what does the official website say:
“Exceptional quality of materials. Particularly durable glass front panel. Tight-fitting frame made from aerospace-grade aluminum. Protection from water and dust."
What do users actually say on iPhone owner forums?
Writes DmitriPsy, 4pda forum:
"Friends! I've been butting heads with Apple since September. In my case, there was dust under the camera in 6 out of 7 devices (one had dirt under the glass).
Moreover, there was dust both in simply replaced devices and in completely new ones out of the box.
Apple does not acknowledge the problem, but simply replaces the device with the device. The maximum that I heard from the specialists from the hotline: this is generally a cosmetic defect that does not in any way affect the operation of the device. And the fact that this phone is just out of the box and has IP 67, then it doesn’t matter... =) If they recognize it as a mass problem, then apparently millions of returns are guaranteed. On the Internet in English-language forums, I also saw a lot of user requests on the topic: “Dust under the camera glass”... people over the hill are also worried about this problem!
First, what I realized when communicating with Apple: Verbal technical support is essentially a waste of time. They do not make concessions, but they say that we will help you... In the end, all their help comes down to an offer to return the money for the device. Believe me, I achieved direct communication with the customer service department (these are English-speaking Apple specialists in Ireland). The Apple hotline has no (relatively speaking) responsibility for wasting your time and theirs. All claims must be sent to Apple Rus LLC and to in writing(to their legal address). You can ask them to reduce the purchase price of the device, cover your costs taking into account delays in repairs, and other points reflected in the articles of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights.
Service centers in general are responsible for little at all... they are not so-called “Authorized Organizations”, accordingly they do not decide anything at all and in general we can make claims against them, but this is practically useless.
For clarity, I attached a small part of the photos of iPhones with dust under the camera =) The last two photos were taken by me personally!
Writes Marto4kaKotskaya, 4pda forum:
“This is my fourth XS, the first had specks of dust in the display, the second was chipped and the gluing was crooked, the third was all covered in glue at the edges, I just took the fourth, realizing that I wouldn’t find the perfect one, now there is also dust in the camera, I just resigned myself.”
Sent my Xs Max 512 Gb gold to the service center:
- The top left corner of the display is crackling
- The whole rear window crunches
- When playing sound, the top speaker does not work periodically
- There is also some kind of stain inside the display (barely noticeable)
- Factory stamped steel frame rear bottom right
Writes michael80, 4pda forum:
“Hello, I bought the XR a week ago, and only now I noticed spots on the back panel at a certain angle. It’s as if the glass doesn’t fit well, and if you look directly, you can’t see anything. Apple support was told to take it to the service center; the service center said if it was defective, we would change the glass. Why should I change the glass on a new phone? I bought it in TMall, it’s not so easy to return it there, I already sold the old device, there is no other one. I don’t know what to do yet.”
Writes nikitabun, 4pda forum:
“Has anyone encountered such a phenomenon? XR, appeared about a month ago, is it worth bringing it to the service center while the phone is under warranty? It’s visible mostly only on a gray background, but sometimes I notice it on a white background too.”
Nuyton writes, 4pda forum:
« Good day!
I purchased an XR Red from Svyaznoy almost a week ago and found a small scratch on the bottom edge of the black frame around the display, as if it had been chipped or underpolished, and, right under it, a small dot on the aluminum frame, which you have to try to see, as if poked with a compass.
There is no dust, the screen seems to be uniform in color, there are no cracks, there is no creaking, there seems to be no rattling, i.e. Apart from Kotska, the phone is problem-free.
Is it possible to replace it in the ASC or not even try since the week has passed? Has anyone had experience? Will the replacement arrive in even worse condition? I think it’s useless to try to return it to Svyaznoy.
Or score, since, it seems, you were lucky and the only thing you can do is knock and rejoice? And then, remembering my experience with the 6S, I made a couple of replacements, it seemed like there were some mistakes in each one, then the dust would accumulate, or the button would crunch. Is it even worth looking for the perfect device?
Arseny370
"Hi all.
10 days ago I bought Xr red 64. (2018 year)
Literally immediately I noticed a lot of dust under the camera lens (15 specks of dust).
There is a crunching/wheezing sound in the speakers.
Does Apple recognize this as a defect?
Writes Aleksandr10rus, 4pda forum:
“I bought a brand new iPhone XR today in a store on Tmail, the courier delivered it to my home, I opened the box and saw a crack in the aluminum frame, is this a warranty case?”
Writes klumoff, 4pda forum:
"iPhone Xr. "Perfect" fit of the SIM tray. You can immediately feel this joint in your hand. The solution is a cover. Apple fans must suffer)."
Writes stepleridze, 4pda forum:
“Hello everyone) I want to write my own story about the marriage) I wrote earlier that there are Kotskas on the frame from the factory, and it seems that I don’t care about them, I still carry them in the original case, go to the guarantee - they will say cosmetics and you can’t prove that this is from the box. Of course, I was saddened by this fact, and the impression was spoiled, but I scored it and continued to use it. Then I began to notice that when using the phone it often freezes, once it stopped responding to the touch, I had to reboot, once it began to eat the battery, rebooted, once it froze and hung, in short, all this time these lags and stupidities infuriated me, the freezing in the In some applications, when you log in, for example, in the clock application, it freezes for a couple of seconds, for the girl everything flies. Well, that’s okay, tolerable, then I started talking on the phone longer and then I heard the ringing of the speaker, it actually began to hurt my hearing when I went north on a business trip where the communication quality was not the best and then I felt all the fat of the crap speaker (or defective I don’t know). In short, I think maybe this is how the connection influences. Then I take it out of the case, start wiping it, and it creaks in my hands like a basement door, and having looked at the screen in detail, I notice a kilometer-long gap between the screen and the frame, in addition to the loud clicks of apples. In short, I was wildly disappointed in the quality of the phone for 90 thousand. I gave it to my girlfriend, she came to the city and took it to the official service center - she indicated the reasons: a crack in the screen, creaking of the case, clicks, knocks and ringing of the speaker. As a result, they took it for diagnostics, out of 5 reasons, only the creaking was confirmed, they sent it to Moscow, there they confirmed the creaking and recognized the defect, as a result, today they picked up a new device as an exchange. So the creaking falls under the exchange. They haven’t turned it on or checked it yet, the girl picked it up, but outwardly there are no jambs, kinks, creaks, clicks, cracks, purely outwardly everything is ok, I specifically asked her to check for jambs.
New device by serial number – Model: A2101 / Factory code: F2L - China, Zhengzhou - Foxconn / Year of manufacture: 2019 / Week of manufacture: 21 (20.05 - 26.05)
Old - Model: A2101 / Factory code: F2L - China, Zhengzhou - Foxconn / Year of manufacture: 2018 / Week of manufacture: 40 (01.10 - 07.10)."
Writes Stipler555, 4pda forum:
“Good evening everyone. Please tell me this moment. I bought a new iPhone xr yesterday. Everything seems to be working well. But today I noticed a small spot in the upper right corner of the screen when the screen was turned off. At first I thought it was dirt or something like a sticky layer left over from the film that was on the glass when purchased. But this garbage is not removed in any way and upon closer examination it looks as if the oleophobic coating was not completely applied. It doesn't seem to affect the phone's operation; it's not visible when the screen is turned on. It’s a small thing, but still, for a phone costing 50 thousand, it’s somehow not very pleasant.
Writes klumoff, 4pda forum:
"Iphone 8 Plus display defect."
Writes klumoff, 4pda forum:
“Another xr. The side keys are different colors - one is lighter, the other is darker. Apparently there is a bad colorist at the factory)).”
And this is only a small part of the reviews from the forums, taking into account that not everyone sits there and not everyone notices such nuances.
The most interesting thing is that, having seen scratches and chips on their new smartphone at home, many will want to return or exchange the device for another without defects, but in the store with a 99.9 percent probability they will send you to all four directions. It will no longer be possible to prove that chips and damage to the case were right out of the box.
This is the magic of Apple today... I’m not surprised that the devices are assembled by children and unqualified specialists.
Below I will add a few more photos from countless cosmetic defects straight from the box.
Have you encountered anything similar? Share photos and stories in the comments.
Just a week ago, my wife and I decided to buy an iPhone Xs Max with 256 Gb. We purchased our first gold-colored phone at the showroom. cellular communications“Svyaznoy”, and for the silver one I went to MVideo. Already standing at the point of delivery of goods, the seller and I decided to check the contents of the iPhone box, and when I removed the protective film and opened the box, under the envelope there was dust on the black front surface of the screen, which seemed surprising to me, because for that kind of money the phone should actually be in vacuum, tightly isolated from the external environment.
The seller was not embarrassed by this, he said that there were cases where even broken iPhones arrived. “Well, okay, anything can happen,” I thought, “the main thing is that everything is OK with the iPhone.” After briefly examining the phone (I didn’t have a second iPhone with me and there was no way to compare them on the spot), I put it in the box and went home to give my wife a nice gift. I would like to note the fact that she had previously used an iPhone X, it was perfectly assembled without gaps, so she had something to compare with.
Terrible build
Towards the evening, she called me on FaceTime, of course, by this time she had activated it, restored it from iCloud, glued a protective glass to the screen, and said that the device was tactilely unpleasant in the hand, and later at home I was convinced of the defect with my own eyes. For comparison, I had two identical iPhone Xs Max in my hands. And on the silver model, deformation of the side steel frame was felt, and the difference between these iPhones was visually noticeable.
The next morning, I went to MVideo in the hope of exchanging the goods, since not even 24 hours had passed since the purchase, already having a second iPhone in my hands in order to show the difference. But no one there even bothered to look, they said that I was being picky and offered to submit the phone for a quality check for up to 21 days. Of course, I refused, then they suggested that I go to an authorized Apple service center in order to resolve all the issues there on the spot so as not to wait 21 days...
Problem
The frames of the device body and the edges of the back glass cover of the device, the edges of the display protrude significantly and are tactilely felt when you touch them. The gaps between the case and the rear glass cover have been increased.
Of course, I had questions and doubts about the IP68 stated in it - this is a very high level of protection against the penetration of small particles and liquids, but here one does not stick to the other. In turn, the gold version was perfectly assembled and felt monolithic, without raising any doubts upon the slightest inspection, just like the previous “ten”. I had a similar experience, as well as reviews from hundreds of people who suffered due to similar defects on various forums and news resources. There were cases when the phone came out of the box with a loose display that was “crispy” and made various sounds when pressed in the corners of the screen. It could have been worse, but that’s not about it now.
Apple's Conclusion
Since the defect cannot be eliminated through repair, I was counting on an exchange. In general, I called Apple and asked for clarification on this situation, describing the defects in great detail, I was asked to drive 100 km to an authorized service center and carry out diagnostics in order to once again, but from the company’s side, confirm the presence of a defect. After an hour-long inspection of the defective phone, I received a refusal of warranty service and this paper...
...where it is said that this defect is cosmetic and is not covered by the warranty! Yes, there is a tactile and obvious defect in the case, but in the terms of the warranty, Apple clearly stated such cases, thereby protecting and securing itself. Wait, what about us? What should we do in such cases? Do you offer the loyal fans, at the expense of whom the Apple corporation thrives, to enjoy the negative operating experience?
In response to these questions, the service center asked me to reconcile myself and put on some kind of cover, well, that doesn’t happen to anyone, right? That's bad luck, right? You got one such iPhone out of 100, right? Such Mr. exceptional...
Calling Apple
After I “wiped” this spit from my face, there is no other way to call it, I called Apple technical support again and, after talking with a specialist 10 times, they transferred me to a senior technical specialist, who, in turn, after listening to the whole situation, asked to send a photo of the phone in order to confirm the presence of a defect for the 5th time. I sent her a photo, this is what they answered me....
I understood that the situation had exhausted itself, and now the only way to exchange (note not to return, but to exchange) an expensive defective device for a new one and somehow restore justice is to go to court, which I will not do, because there is no time and resources This is not the case, but I am certainly obliged to write a review and highlight an action of this nature, because there are very, very many such obvious violations of consumer rights. And it is necessary to convey our dissatisfaction to the company. Agree with me, in this price category the device must justify the cost invested in it.
Bottom line
Pay attention to the presence of dust in the box, scratches and cracks on the device, so that if it is defective, it will be replaced immediately and under no circumstances activate it until you are convinced of the quality of the product.
About the warranty
There is no Apple Store in Russia, and there is also no fourteen-day warranty, according to which I have the right to return and exchange an iPhone if it has a manufacturing defect, regardless of whether it is activated or not, such a luxury is only available in Europe. Here in Russia, until you buy a phone, you are a welcome guest in the store, but after the purchase, interest in your person is lost, and you and your problems are transferred from one department to another, forced to have many conversations on the phone, travel 100 km to hear the word “no”, after which you simply lose the desire to do it and waste your time. Yes, that's exactly how it works.
I upgraded from an iPhone 6s Plus to an iPhone 7 Plus in October. This was the purchase of a real gadget addict, but the “seven” was definitely best iPhone in my life. It’s incredibly fast (even sharper than the iPhone 4s on iOS 6), holds a charge for two days, takes great photos, and looks good: the matte black body suits me better than a silver surface with peeling paint.
But even the iPhone 7 Plus has its downsides. Two of them are incurable, five are exclusive: most likely, they are observed only in my copy, but I see no reason to return the phone because of strange glitches.
1. Deadly low charging speed. With the iPhone 6s Plus it was simple: you insert a cord connected to an adapter from the iPad into it, and the process takes not three hours, but two. For some reason this number doesn’t work with iPhone 7. Or rather, the speed is the same, but there is a risk to health: the gadget heats up to the temperature at which the residents of Pompeii scurried out of the city.
You have to charge with the original adapter and wait 3.5 hours. In a nearby outlet, as a rule, an Android device is fed with energy, and for some reason (it has the same capacity - 3000 mAh) it takes 70-80 minutes to go from 0% to 100%.
The saddest thing is that the great iPhone 4s could charge in an hour without any overheating. And here not only does charging take more than three hours, but also external batteries become almost useless: you just get tired of carrying this box with you, waiting for a measly 10-15% to pour into you. This is easier on a train or plane, but if you suddenly need to recharge where you need to move, then it’s more logical to plug your iPhone into a power outlet and hope that it won’t be stolen.
2. Absolutely idiotic phone design. Yes, the iPhone has become much louder, but why is it that as soon as I move the slider slightly past the middle, the screen starts to vibrate and shake?
Obviously, it is affected by the power of the two speakers. Let me tell you: using an iPhone with blaring music is decidedly inconvenient. Apple leaves a choice: either turn it up loud, put the phone on the table and dance, or keep the slider below the middle and pretend that there is still only one modest speaker in the case.
3. Mysterious notification menu glitch. From time to time (I caught it, but there is no pattern) when you open the top menu, terrible things happen to the iPhone screen. Flashing light stripes either fill the entire space, then neatly fit in the middle, or expand to a third of the screen and interfere with the perception of information. What it looks like is in the photo below (there is a slight blur on the right, don’t be alarmed). This has never been found on any other menu.
4. Problem with the accelerometer. Like all normal people, the first thing after turning on a new phone is that I give up on automatic orientation change: there is nothing more inconvenient than adjusting to the accelerometer while lying on the couch. But sometimes the horizontal mode is still needed: for example, when watching a video where there is no magic “full screen” button.
Naturally, after the session I immediately turn off the unfortunate automatic orientation changer, but that’s not the case: it haunts me even when it’s turned off. That is, the accelerometer is officially on vacation, but for some reason it continues to turn the screen over.
I don’t know how to explain this, but only locking and unlocking the phone helps. The effect lasts approximately two hours after leaving the accelerometer.
5. Key failure. Three times in three months I recorded an endlessly embarrassing glitch: the screen works, but there is no button. Without buttons it’s difficult: you can’t lock the phone, change the volume, or minimize the application. Only “reset” (Power key + volume change button) helped me escape from such nasty things, but every time I lost precious time and no less precious charging percentages.
6. Zero stability. You calmly use your iPhone, and then rrrr! – and the screen goes dark, and the waiting wheel spins on a black background. Next is the original desktop. The application you were just in is slammed shut. I admit, before the update to iOS 10.1, this happened almost once every three days. Now (iOS 10.2) – once every couple of weeks.
7. Weak connector. I hated the 3.5mm hole because very often there would be noise when turning the plug, or the sound would disappear altogether.
This didn’t happen with the lightning input for a long time, but in last weeks another problem occurs: you plug in the headset, it doesn’t work, you turn the cable over, insert it the other way, and the music plays great through both headphones. If anything, I use both the headset and the phone carefully.
You can tell us about your disasters with new (and not so new) iPhones in the comments.
When buying Apple smartphones, most users, given the brand’s worldwide reputation, hope to receive a high-quality gadget without any deviations (“glitches”, “bugs”), and certainly do not expect to find a defect in an expensive device. In addition, people want to see noticeable improvements in the new model compared to the previous version. But still, the iPhone cannot satisfy all the needs of demanding users who find flaws in the smartphone. The new product was no exception.
Processor noise: normal or defective?
Experts note that in new version The iPhone has the most powerful mobile processor in existence. But in practice it turned out to be not so ideal. Owners of the latest iPhone model have noticed a strange noise that it makes during operation. According to experts, previous versions They also made similar sounds when the smartphone was under load, that is, when watching videos online, launching games and other programs and applications. Perhaps users have become more attentive to such things after recent incidents with gadgets Samsung Galaxy Note 7 whose batteries caught fire when overheating. Cases like this motivate people to be more wary of the strange sounds that the iPhone 7 makes.
Since the model is new, it has not yet been possible to find out whether such hissing and noise in any way affects the performance and quality of the phone. By the way, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models have the A10 Fusion processor, which does an excellent job of launching and running any applications.
Frightened by the hissing of the gadget, users immediately began discussing the problem on various forums and even came up with a separate name for it - “HissGate”.
Communication problems or speaker defects?
It seems that during the creation of the iPhone 7, the developers were so busy coming up with new functions and improving the characteristics of the smartphone that they forgot about its main purpose - making phone calls.
Owners of the latest iPhone model all over the world complain about poor sound during a conversation - it is very difficult to hear the interlocutor. Such a defect can be caused, for example, by an incorrectly cut SIM card for the Nano Sim format required by this phone model. But the number of complaints suggests that the iPhone 7 is still defective.
Some experts believe that this drawback appeared due to a special membrane that is designed to guarantee. That is, while trying to improve the additional qualities of the smartphone, the developers did not take into account the deterioration of the main function of the gadget.
Attention to details
In addition to the above, the most demanding and attentive users also note that there are a lot of visible fingerprints left on the body and display of the latest iPhone model, which spoils the perfect appearance phone and forces you to buy a case for the device. Also, some smartphone owners experience slight slowdown in operation when quickly switching between programs.
Apple developers decided to remove the standard connector, called a mini-jack, but not everyone happily accepted this innovation. Now iPhone 7 owners can only use headphones that support the Lightning digital connector. Or standard ones, but with the help of a special adapter. An option is also available.
Do manufacturers respond to customer dissatisfaction?
Since the poor sound of the speaker in the iPhone 7 did not cause any scandals published in the press or online, Apple representatives did not give any official comments. At the same time, if the user notices such a defect in his iPhone, the service center will not refuse to return and exchange the smartphone for a new one. However, given the worldwide demand for the new model, the disgruntled owner of a defective smartphone may have to wait indefinitely for a new iPhone. Many iPhone 7 owners have already contacted the AppleCare department, which exchanged defective gadgets for new ones for free.
The choice is yours
It's up to you to consider the hissing of the processor and the insufficiently good sound of the earpiece in the iPhone 7 as a defect. Since each user has his own individual needs and expectations from purchasing a gadget. If the quality characteristics of a smartphone, its performance and performance are in the first place for you when choosing, and your iPhone 7 is defective, contact technical support and get new phone. If the above disadvantages, in your opinion, are insignificant compared to all the advantages of the iPhone and do not cause any discomfort when using the device, enjoy your new purchase and make the most of all its advantages.
