Apple's own iPhone 12 cases have a big problem

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Does your iPhone 12 case have speaker holes? You better double check

iPhone 12 review
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If you’re spending hundreds of dollars on a new iPhone 12, you want to make sure it’s properly protected. But the last thing you want is to pay for an iPhone 12 case that’s defective and interferes with how the phone works.

That’s happened more than once it seems, with multiple users voicing their frustrations about Apple-made iPhone 12 cases that don’t have speaker holes in them. And they’re kind of necessary if you want to use the phone’s speakers for, well, anything.

There are at least two Reddit threads documenting cases where users purchased an iPhone 12 Pro case and found themselves without any speaker holes. Sticking the iPhone 12 into one of these cases would muffle the built-in speaker at best, or at worst make it completely useless.

iphone 12 case

(Image credit: Natebaako/Reddit)

And these aren’t just any cases, they’re Apple's new MagSafe cases that lock your phone in place when you’re recharging. 

Reddit user u/zarnold16 claims that Apple customer support hasn’t been particularly helpful about the issue, even going so far as to claim the case was supposed to come without speaker holes. Naturally, they didn’t believe that explanation, and other users confirmed they’d purchased the same case without the missing speaker holes.

Is anyone else getting flashbacks to the iPhone 4’s “you’re holding it wrong” debacle?

u/zarnold16 was eventually told to go to the Apple Store to exchange the case before launch day, while u/Natebaako said they were able to exchange the case without issue. Apple Store employees were apparently shocked to see such a strange defect. So clearly the issue isn’t very well known at the moment.

There are only a small number of cases being reported right now, so if you have an Apple MagSafe iPhone 12 case on the way you probably won’t have this issue. That said quality control isn’t perfect, and should you find yourself missing the speaker hole (or suffering from any other manufacturing issues) contact Apple support. Or head down to the Apple Store to exchange it for one that isn’t defective.

Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.