I suffer from moderate OCD. I have an iPhone 12 Pro in Pacific Blue with some marks on it. The major scratches are on the steel frame's left bottom corner at the edge. But I can't see it when it's hidden by the case. However, there are additional micro scratches on camera steel rings that are evident from certain angles when thoroughly examined. I'm tired of continually cleaning the naked camera module with a microfiber cloth to make it appear cleaner. I'd like to stop thinking about my iPhone so much. So, what should I do?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 12 Pro OCD of Scratches on my Apple products
- Thread starter Ankush Goyal
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Get rid of the phone and don’t ever buy one again, problem solved. 👀
What you should do? deal with your moderate OCD because no matter what you do, the iphone WILL get marks/faint to mild scratches on it which will trigger your moderate OCD. The iphone is an everyday object, in your pocket, in a bag, it WILL find ways to get marks on it.
Does it help to think of this as normal and just like everyone else's device?
This is wear and tear and there is no avoiding it.
Get plain stainless steel and let it get micro scratched knowing you can polish it out later if you wish. After a while, like the old stainless steel watches, it actually becomes a form of patina unlike the other colors. You could polish it out or just leave it knowing you have the option later.
Nothing you can do really. Just continue to use your phone. It's a tool so it will have some blemishs overtime. Just have to live with it.
From your description that isn't OCD at all but rather OCPD, two very different things and OCPD is often confused with OCD.
OCD is an anxiety disorder where sufferers have to preform some kind of ritual or they think something horrible will happen (despite knowing it's all in their head the entire time).
OCPD is a disorder where people obsess over perfection, organization, and control.
you are getting some less than kind responses here... they are a little unfair.
However I do understand what you mean. I do not obsess over it at all however, i do everything i can to avoid any damage..
... having owned every iPhone since the first one... im happy to say Ive never damaged one at all.
How? its easy.
Firstly, as an adult with average motor skills (!!) I have never dropped my phone - this is a subject of some consternation between my friends and I as their phones are all scratched and dented and damaged through various droppings .... but I just dont get it... when the phone is in my hand I apply the appropriate level of care and grip and have never dropped it! They all think im weird to have never dropped it but how and why would you drop a £1000+ device?! - care and attention is a given.
Anyway, that said...
... when I first open the phone from the box, I always have the new case, and screen protector to hand. The screen protector is applied the moment the cellophane comes off the screen so it remains pristine and the case goes on.
Through the life of my phone I occasionally remove it from the case to remind myself what it's supposed to look like... and to slightly envy those with the relaxed attitude to carry it round naked.... I dust it off.. remove any debris that may have made its way into the case (and hope that debris didnt harm the phone) and put the phone back in its case.
Now, every time I trade in my phone, some lucky person is getting a pristine phone.
BUT - getting to the point - as much as I look after it.. should a tiny mark appear... because I know theres nothing possible I could have done to prevent it more than I have done... and the fact I use my phone all day every day - I am comfortable with that.
My god why everyone here is gaslighting OP? "Deal with it!", or "Just avoid dropping it!", "get rid of the phone!". Y'all are super unhelpful.
OP, two thoughts:
OP, two thoughts:
- If you are seeing a mental health professional for your OCD, nothing is too small to bring up to them and have them help you walk you through it. If scratches on your device are causing you stress, it is worth talking with them about it.
- You can buy camera lens protectors that hide the stainless steel rings. If a case works for you (as in, it hide scratches that would otherwise bother you), this might work too. Camera quality might be affected thought, so buy from somewhere that offers returns (like Amazon).
Last edited:
Embrace Wabi-sabi: there is a certain beauty to things looking used
See this thread
See this thread
The only thing you can do is get professional help. Coming to a forum and asking strangers with no medical/psychological training for advice is not how you find an answer or help with your condition. The damage to your phone isn't going to go away and even if you hide with a case, it it's still there. Even if you get rid of the phone and buy a new one, chances are it will get some type of blemishes from daily use and you'll be back where you started..
Last edited:
I know the feeling but then I look back and the only reason I was worried about keeping my iPhone in 'pristine' condition was the thought I could get the best price for it when I sold it on
Then I worked out since the release of the iPhone 16 years ago I've only ever actually sold ONE of the iPhones I've ever owned, the rest passed down to family or friends
Even looking at trade in values on somewhere like CeX
'A' grade 128GB iPhone 13...£267
'B' grade 128GB iPhone 13...£245
'C' grade 128GB iPhone 13...£218
So not really worth losing any sleep over the prospect of losing £20 if my phone had a few dings on it, or £50 if it had been through a few battles!
Then I worked out since the release of the iPhone 16 years ago I've only ever actually sold ONE of the iPhones I've ever owned, the rest passed down to family or friends
Even looking at trade in values on somewhere like CeX
'A' grade 128GB iPhone 13...£267
'B' grade 128GB iPhone 13...£245
'C' grade 128GB iPhone 13...£218
So not really worth losing any sleep over the prospect of losing £20 if my phone had a few dings on it, or £50 if it had been through a few battles!
One way is to scratch it even further (not the screen though), maybe even all over the back and sides of the phone. For many people in your condition, once it goes way beyond salvageable, the obsession breaks and you'd stop caring.
If you are not ready to commit, then do something that is not permanent. Put removable stickers all over the back and side of your devices, for example. The point is to push things so far that something will snap in you and you'd give up.
YMMV
If you are not ready to commit, then do something that is not permanent. Put removable stickers all over the back and side of your devices, for example. The point is to push things so far that something will snap in you and you'd give up.
YMMV
Last edited:
Get more hobbies and things to do in your life that are more meaningful, don't use a case so it develops a patina of scratches over time so you care less, realize it's just a cell phone that ultimately will be obsolete in a few years
^ if you keep this in mind you'll be better and not care as much. Pull out old iPhones that are in your drawer. Notice how silly you'd feel if you want them to stay pristine since you don't use them at all lol.
It's all about perspective!
^ if you keep this in mind you'll be better and not care as much. Pull out old iPhones that are in your drawer. Notice how silly you'd feel if you want them to stay pristine since you don't use them at all lol.
It's all about perspective!
You can get a case or a skin that covers up the phone more thoroughly, so that you never see any scratches at all. 
I'm curious, how is an iPhone getting scratched? I brought a USED iPhone 12 mini. There was no scratches on it. I just took it out of the case, there's no scratches that I can see. However, I'm sure some phones do get scratched up at times.
> I'd like to stop thinking about my iPhone so much.
Talk to your therapist about this would be my advice.
> I'd like to stop thinking about my iPhone so much.
Talk to your therapist about this would be my advice.
I got a deep scratch on the screen of my iPhone 5 once. In order to see it I needed super strong light and I had to arrange myself like a contortionist.
No idea how that scratch got there.
Gahhhhhhh.
It's like when you buy a brand new car and you do everything in your power to prevent dinks and scratches. It's going to happen sometime or other. But, when it does, and it will, it's like a deep sigh of relief and you feel so much better. It's the same with a brand new shiny iPhone. Embrace the dinks and enjoy your phone. My IP14+ has got quite a few scratches and a dink in the bottom of the case by the speaker. Now I don't have to stress out about keeping it pristine and unmarked, therefore, I can relax.
It's like when you buy a brand new car and you do everything in your power to prevent dinks and scratches. It's going to happen sometime or other. But, when it does, and it will, it's like a deep sigh of relief and you feel so much better. It's the same with a brand new shiny iPhone. Embrace the dinks and enjoy your phone. My IP14+ has got quite a few scratches and a dink in the bottom of the case by the speaker. Now I don't have to stress out about keeping it pristine and unmarked, therefore, I can relax.
To be fair this is an Apple fan site and this is the iphone forum. Questions about an iphone answered. This is not a forum to deal with state of mind, which the OP clearly asked how to do. The OP did not ask for advice on how to lessen damage to an iphone.
I obsess far and away over the scratches on my car and the dings on my windshield then my iphone. But that's me.
But as suggested the OP should get the best protection they think.
I was at a conference last week and I looked at the phones of all the people sitting around me. Everyone had their phone in a case but for the most part the cases were dirty and worn out and the screens were covered with fingerprints. One guy had worn out stickers all over his case. So I'm guessing that none of them really cared too much about cosmetic damage.
I just traded in an iPhone 12 that had been in its case for over two years. The phone had some minor wear anyway but AT&T still gave me $1,000 trade-in credits, which is more than the phone cost when it was new.
So basically the way I think about it is that wear and tear is inevitable and not worth worrying about too much in the grand scheme of things. I know...easier said than done...
I just traded in an iPhone 12 that had been in its case for over two years. The phone had some minor wear anyway but AT&T still gave me $1,000 trade-in credits, which is more than the phone cost when it was new.
So basically the way I think about it is that wear and tear is inevitable and not worth worrying about too much in the grand scheme of things. I know...easier said than done...
Same here i had the 12 pro max, wife needed a new phone, so i upgraded her line for the 14 pro max. I'm on Verizon though. We had a limited time offer for the $1000 trade in credit as well, Something that I can't pass up. So purchased at Verizon Corporate store and traded in my 12 pro max. Mind you that the 12 pro max was a hands down to my wife and she did not care much on cosmetics. So obviously the 12 pro max had scratches and dings everywhere but still took it for $1000 store credit.
The only real solution is to buy a new-in-box iPhone and keep it there. I'm not being disrespectful to the OP. I can understand the desire to admire the beauty of something as nice-and-new as an iPhone. <--I can appreciate this and occasionally have a temporary bit of anxiety when something I have that is 'new' and not-supposed-to-get-banged-up gets some inadvertent damage.
But unless you literally never remove it from the box, a scratch is guaranteed to occur. Some folks even report have scratches straight from the box!
But unless you literally never remove it from the box, a scratch is guaranteed to occur. Some folks even report have scratches straight from the box!
Yeah as long as the carriers keep having these trade in deals the cost of upgrading to a new phone is insubstantial.
My wife put a scratch in the door of our new refrigerator and when I pointed it out she said "so what?"
And my cats destroy pretty much everything in the house that I care about.
So as I get older I tell myself it's not worth getting too concerned about keeping things like new. Maybe that was ok when I was young and single, I dunno. Wife and cats are far more important now!