IPHONE 5 PROBLEMS: WHAT
USERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE
MOST (UPDATED)
By Simon Hill — August 27, 2013
Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5 units in the
first three days after release.
Considering most of these buyers never
saw, held or played with aniPhone 5 in
person, that’s a big leap of faith. While
we haven’t seen any flubs the scale of
“Antennagate” this time around, there
have been plenty of complaints about
the new smartphone.
Let’s take a look at the most common
gripes people seem to have. While not
necessarily universal or even
exceptional in the world of
smartphones, these are the iPhone 5
problems that people have been
complaining about the most online and
around the world. Wherever possible,
we’ll also let you know how you can
work around these issues or fix them if
you’re encountering them as well.
Problem: Apple Maps
It’s no secret that Apple and Google are
no longer exchanging Christmas cards.
The “thermonuclear” war Steve Jobs
initiated on theAndroid platform is far
from over. With iOS 6 and the new
iPhone 5,Apple stripped out the Google
Maps app as the default and replaced it
with its own Maps app. A flurry of
stories in the days following release
focused on mistakes and inaccuracies in
Apple’s new navigation system.
The data is inaccurate for many places,
the app is buggy, and many core
features of Google Maps that people had
come to rely on simply don’t exist in
Apple’s Maps app. The fuss in the press
got so bad that Apple CEO Tim Cook
actually apologized publicly, and
promised the app would improve over
time.
Workaround: There’s no way to fix the
Maps app, and no telling how long it will
take Apple to get it right, but in the
meantime you can always turn to an
alternative. Here’s aroundup of the best
alternative map apps for iOS. We’ve been
hearing that the Google Maps app for iOS
6 is just around the corner for a while
now, but right now the only way to
access it on your iPhone 5 is through
the browser: Point it to
maps.google.com.
Problem: Can’t connect to Wi-Fi
A number of people have reported
issues with their iPhone 5 connecting to
specific Wi-Fi networks. Sometimes it
refuses to connect at all; sometimes it
drops the connection. Some people
report that even standing right next to
the router with their iPhone 5 the signal
strength is extremely low, but it works
fine on other devices.
Workaround: You can always try
holding down the Home button and the
Lock button together for a few seconds
until you see the Apple logo and the
phone restarts, but this is unlikely to be
a permanent fix.
Solution: Apple released the iOS 6.0.2
update specifically to fix the Wi-Fi issue,
but it has persisted for a number of
people. If you have the latest version of
iOS and you are still experiencing Wi-Fi
problems, you should go to an Apple
Store or call support and see if you can
get a replacement. A number of people
have reported it as a suspected
hardware issue and have been given
replacement devices that didn’t have the
same problem, although there hasn’t
been any official recognition of a
hardware issue.
Problem: Overheating and excessive
battery drain
After the iOS 6.1 update rolled out, a
number of user complaints regarding
overheating and a fast draining battery
surfaced. Some reports linked this to a
problem with Microsoft Exchange 2010
that was supposed to be fixed in Apple’s
iOS 6.1.2 update. However, some users
are still reporting an excessive battery
drain problem, even after the latest
update.
Workaround: Go to Settings > Mail,
Contacts and Calendars > Fetch New Data
and turn Push to Off and select Manually
at the bottom of the screen. This means
you’ll only get new emails when you
actually fire up the email app, but it has
solved the battery drain and
overheating for some people while they
wait for another software update from
Apple.
Possible solutions: Some people have
reported the issue solved itself after a
hard reset. To perform a hard reset, hold
down the Lock and Power buttons
simultaneously for a few seconds until
the iPhone restarts. You can also try
deleting your Exchange account,
restarting the device, and entering the
details to create the Exchange account
again. Beyond that, it looks like your
only option is to wait for another iOS
update. We’ll keep you posted.
Problem: Scratches on the body
Reports of the iPhone 5’s anodized
aluminum casing getting scratched and
scuffed very easily started to emerge
quite quickly after the launch. A number
of people found the coating was easily
scratched off around the edges and
chipped on the back panel, revealing the
silver aluminum beneath. There were
also reports of iPhone 5 units being
scratched right out of the box.
Apple’s marketing boss, Phil Schiller,
responded to an email from a
complaining customer to say, “Any
aluminum product may scratch or chip
with use, exposing its natural silver
color. That is normal.”
Workaround: Assuming your
smartphone isn’t scratched on arrival
then you should invest in a bumper or
go shopping foriPhone 5 cases. If it
does get scratched you could always
polish off the coating to create a silver
highlight around the edge or evenlaser
engrave something on the back.
Problem: Purple glare on photos
The camera on the iPhone 5 is supposed
to be the best yet, but many users have
reported a strange purple glare. The
effect seems to rear its ugly head when
there is a strong edge or out-of-scene
light source. The standard lens flare
effect we’re all used to seems to have a
purple hue when using the iPhone 5
camera. In direct comparisons with
other cameras, such as that on the
iPhone 4S, the difference is pretty clear.
Workaround: Apple released a support
document addressing this issue and
suggested that, “Moving the camera
slightly to change the position at which
the bright light is entering the lens, or
shielding the lens with your hand,
should minimize or eliminate the effect.”
Problem: Light leakage
A few people reported that light was
leaking out around the power connector
on the white iPhone 5. It’s not really
noticeable unless you are in low light or
dark surroundings, but it is a flaw.
Solution: Show the offending iPhone 5
at an Apple store and they’ll replace it
with a new one.
Problem: Rattling from inside
A number of people reported a rattling
noise coming from inside their new
iPhone 5 when lightly shaken.
Apparently in the rush to meet demand
some iPhone 5 units shipped with a
battery that was not properly set.
Solution: Take your iPhone 5 to an
Apple store and they’ll fix the loose
battery or offer you a replacement.
Problem: Date and time bug
There have been several threads in the
Apple and Verizon forums about a bug
with the date and time incorrectly
updating on the iPhone 5. Some users
reported that the device was losing
minutes, but others complained of it
being hours out of sync and even
changing the date by several days. The
majority of complaints concern Verizon
customers, although there are some
complaints from Sprint customers as
well. Many people have suggested it is
related to the LTE network, but neither
Apple nor Verizon was keen to take
responsibility.
Solution: You can try switching the
update from automatic to manual in
Settings > General > Date & Time. Some
people have suggested switching off
LTE or resetting the phone, but there’s
no definite fix. If you experience this
problem then complain to your carrier.
Some customers suffering from the
problem have reported it magically
vanishing so there’s a good chance that
Verizon is working on it behind the
scenes. Judging by reports of similar
issues from people on Verizon with
other phones it is likely not an Apple
problem.
Problem: Screen flicker
Reports of an intermittent screen flicker
on the iPhone 5 have also been pretty
common. This glitch most frequently
appears on the virtual keyboard in the
App Store when users go to enter their
password to purchase an app. It turns
up as flickering lines across the bottom
of the screen over the keyboard, but it’s
relatively minor.
Solution: Wait for the next iOS update
because it looks like a software glitch
and will likely be fixed when Apple rolls
out a platform update. There’s not really
anything you can do about it in the
meantime.
Problem: Unresponsive touchscreen
A few complaints have come in that the
iPhone 5 touchscreen is randomly
dropping touch input when a finger is
dragged forwards and backwards
diagonally across the display. Some
people have even reported a completely
unresponsive touchscreen or the screen
going blank for a few seconds. There
have also been complaints about the
touchscreen registering touches when
the user hasn’t touched that part of the
display. While this doesn’t seem to be a
widespread issue it is clearly a pretty
extreme problem. There could be more
than one issue here, some tests suggest
the quick swipe failure is an iOS issue,
but the more severe unresponsive or
wrongly registering touches problems
are likely to be hardware related.
Solution: If your problem is severe then
take your iPhone 5 to an Apple store and
show them the issue and you’ll get a
replacement. You could try resetting or
restoring your iPhone 5, but this is
probably a hardware problem and you
shouldn’t have any trouble getting a
replacement. If you are experiencing the
quick swipe problem then you may just
need to wait for an iOS update.
Problem: Home button not working
A lot of people have run into problems
with the physicalHome button not
working. For some iPhone 5 owners it
has been flaky and increasingly
unresponsive from the start, for others
it has gradually worn out through use.
Workaround: If you’re planning to get
your iPhone fixed or replaced, but you
still need to use it in the meantime, then
there is a good workaround for an
unresponsive Home button. Go to
Settings > General > Accessibility >
Assistive Touch and turn it on. You’ll see
a small circle on screen and when you
tap it you’ll have access to Home, Siri,
More, and Favorites, which allows you to
bypass the button.
Solution: If it is still under warranty then
you should be able to get a replacement
from Apple. If you’re able to visit an
Apple Store then that will be the fastest
way to get it dealt with; they’ll probably
repair it on the spot or get you a
replacement. If you can’t get to an Apple
Store then contact Apple or your carrier
and ask about your options. Note: if
there’s any sign of damage (like an
indication you dropped it) or if it is
outside warranty then there will be a
charge for the fix.
Problem: Power button not working
A number of iPhone 5 owners have had
problems with the Power button. In
most cases it seems to be getting less
responsive over time. It may require
multiple pushes to register and it often
seems to be unresponsive on the right,
but works better if you push on the left
side.
Solution: Head to an Apple Store and if
you’re still under warranty and there’s
no sign of obvious damage then they’ll
replace it for you on the spot.
Alternatively you could take it back to
your carrier or retailer.
Problem: Running out of space
Your iPhone 5’s storage can fill up a lot
faster than expected and it’s not always
clear what is taking up the space. A
number of users have complained about
a large Other folder. It can be made up
of all sorts of things from documents, to
emails, to the Siri cache.
Solutions: Some people recommend that
you factory reset your iPhone, but that’s
a little extreme. There are a couple of
things you can try first. You could delete
old messages and emails, any
downloaded files, and your Safari cache.
Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced >
Website Data and delete some of the
entries, particularly if there are websites
listed that you don’t intend to revisit.
If you have a data corruption problem,
possibly from a failed sync, then it will
also show up in Other and you’ll need to
restore your iPhone to get rid of it.
You could also try something like
PhoneClean, which is free software that
runs on your PC or Mac and can delete
junk files from your iPhone 5 when you
plug it in.
Other problems
If you’ve encountered any other iPhone
5 problems or you want to volunteer
some fixes then post a comment. With
the severe problems we’ve suggested
that you visit an Apple Store to get them
resolved. That’s because this will always
be the quickest way to find a fix or get a
replacement phone. If you are unable to
get to an Apple Store then contact
customer support, but you can expect to
be asked to run through
troubleshooting steps and then have a
bit of wait time before they’ll ship you a
replacement...