Top iPhone 5 complaints: Some serious, others just silly

The iPhone 5 is off to a fast start with great reviews, but that’s not to say it isn’t generating a bevy of consumer complaints.

As with every major Apple product launch, people are going online to point out issues. Some of the problems seem widespread and you may need to consider them, while others are affecting just a portion of new iPhone owners. Whatever the case, here they are.

Scratches

The iPhone 5’s screen appears to be more durable than any iPhone before it, but its back and edges seem less resistant to scratches. Unfortunately for some people, myself included, the iPhone 5 even came out of the box with scuff marks. Be careful about placing it next to keys or sharp objects.

Here’s a video showing how scratchable the back of the iPhone 5 is.

Screen issues

But some issues aren’t just external. Other people are reporting problems with their iPhone 5 screen, including a weird problem in which the screen appears to have an air bubble, which you can see in the video below. Others are saying their iPhone 5 screens flicker or that the light from the screen is leaking out of other parts, such as the gap between the phone and the power button.

Wi-Fi issues

Others on an Apple forum are reporting problems connecting to Wi-Fi networks. In this thread that goes on for more than 30 pages, a number of people complain how their iPhone 5’s won’t find Wi-Fi networks, can only connect for brief periods or run very slowly when they do connect.

Not heavy enough

This is just a silly complaint, not an actual issue, but a surprising number of people are actually complaining that the iPhone 5 is too light. Gizmodo collected a series of tweets from people saying this, and sure enough, if you search “iPhone 5 too light” on Twitter it doesn’t take long to find more people complaining.

“Verdict - I don’t like the way iPhone 5 feels! It’s too light and feels like a toy phone :(“ tweeted one user.

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If you’re one of the people who is dealing with these issues, don’t be too alarmed.

I brought up the scuff that came on my iPhone 5 to an Apple Store employee the other day and he reminded me that customers can return or exchange their iPhone within 30 days as long as it’s brought back how they got it.

Return policies vary from retailer to retailer, but you should be able to return yours too if you’d like. Even if it’s just because it’s too light.

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