iPhone 6s Plus Gold aluminium chipping

May 15, 2016



I bought my iPhone 6s Plus (Gold) in December 2015 (photo above is from the day I unboxed it), that is 6 months ago. When I saw the phone in one of the Taiwan Mobile shops a few weeks before that, I was stunned. The Golden color looked gorgeous, and it's the first time I didn't buy a black (or space gray) iPhone. When I unboxed the new phone, I checked every detail, and the device was spotless (photo above was taken at that time). In order to keep it intact, I decided to buy a case. It was a plasticky/rubbery transparent case, that had a good grip, but made the phone a little bit bulkier. I used to have an iPhone 6 Plus (Space Gray) without a case before, and it was really easily to slip from my hands. I dropped it a few times, and learned my lesson, so I decided that my next iPhone will be put in a case, despite me hating the way iPhones in cases look. So I was really surprised to see that despite being in a case, my new iPhone 6s Plus had got some small scratches on the side (photo from April 2016):

These dots started to appear about 1 month after I bought my 6s Plus.

What started on the side then spread at the back, it looks like a bad virus. These are lots of small tiny dots - the aluminium is chipping. Once I realized that the case doesn't really protect this phone, I removed it, so for the past 4 months I carry the 6s Plus without a case. I never carry it in the same pocket as my keys, and I've never dropped it. I dropped my 6 Plus like 5 times in the past, it has real dents, but the aluminium has never chipped like on the 6s Plus. See some more images and click on them to enlarge them.



Needless to say that I am very mad about this, and I'm planning to return the phone and get it exchanged. I'm not sure it will work out, though, but I'm still within 1 warranty. I first thought the three dots on the side were my fault, perhaps something slipped inside the case and caused the scratches, I wasn't sure. But when the dots started to spread like chickenpox, I'm pretty sure that this is Apple's fault. After checking some forums, it seems I'm not the only such case. I'm a big Apple fan, so this is pretty disappointing. I usually sell my phone, and this will massively lower my resell value, if I don't get it replaced.

UPDATE: It's now end of December 2016, over 7 months since I have published this post, and the chipping has become much much worse. You can click on the images to enlarge them. The phone is now exactly 1 year old, and this is the result of what started as just a few small spots:



Unfortunately my 1 year warranty has just expired, I was reluctant to go to the authorized Apple service center, because I needed the phone every day due to the nature of my business. I'm quite disappointed about the quality here, and I'm 100% sure it's not my own fault. I used to have the 6 Plus Space Grey (which I gave to my sister) and there's no such thing. I owned 5 iPhones so far, this is the worst experience in terms of built quality so far. However performance is still top notch 1 year later, but I do worry that the corrosion will cause damage to internals. Also, what can I do with this phone in the future? Who will buy it? My resell value went down the drain.

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