cracks in iPhone??

Me too, except is was 2 weeks old. Between the volume buttons and the chrome. The first one I was sold already had a crack there, so I swapped it before I even left the store. The second one I have taken very good care of (in a case, gently handled), and there is the same crack. Seems endemic to the design. Off I go back to Apple tonight. This really is stupid.

Hello All,

What are the production weeks on your phones?

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html and type in your serial number.

I hope this is not going to be an on-going problem!!!

Make your appointment with an Apple Genius online: http://www.apple.com/retail/

Thanks,
Doug

All plastics are subject to surface and/or deep fracture on their own, with little or no external stress. One of the causes is too much curing agent, or pushing the hardening process too fast leading to a more brittle end product, that is no longer flexible and in some cases, will crack on it's own due to continual curing that may go on long after the original material appears to have hardened.

Sunlight degrades plastic for the same reason - it causes changes in the polymer leading to crazing (surface cracks).

Some plastics are more prone to this than others. I have no idea what kind of material Apple is using, but they could change the material (there are many kinds of plastics) or check into the process itself (how is the material being cured).

If the white plastic is cracking more than the black plastic, I'd wonder about the coloring dye being used. That might have a bearing on how brittle the final product becomes, or how stable it is.

Just a thought. But not all cracks or crazing in plastic is caused by users, external stress, etc., some is actually caused by the manufacturing process and/or the kind of plastic used.

8gig iphone. Just got it 3 days ago and I see a tiny crack at the bottom of the phone where you plug in the usb. It's very tiny but definitely a crack. Worth replacing or not worth the trouble?

Just got off the phone with applecare. They offered to send me a replacement but it'd take 7-10 days. I could pay 29 bucks to have it here in 48 hours or I can go in to an apple store and get a replacement. I asked if this was a common problem and she said she had heard about it in July when the 3G was released but other then that, she hasn't seen any more reports. I almost wonder if I should just let it go because my phone works fine, it's just a slight crack at the bottom of the phone where you connect the charger. Anyway, I am happy with Apple's customer support.

A crack would probably propogate and become larger, especially if it's related to the material itself being over-cured or too brittle.

In my opinion, what Apple should do is take note of crack reports, and before replacing phones, they should address the manufacturing procedure, and maybe change the kind of plastic used, or the process used.

If they don't want to do this, then an immediate exchange/replacement might be the only option.

This is one of those mfg nightmares that any business dreads. I hope Apple can resolve it to everyone's satisfaction.

My problem with the iPhone is the bluetooth buzz on my Lexus when you place a call, and the limited "forwarding" options when the phone is out of the service area. I doubt my issues will be addressed quickly, but I do think they are software related and will be fixed someday.

The cracking/crazing etc. is a manufacturing issue (materials, mfg process, phone assembly, etc.) that they can't fix with a download.

1 week old white iPhone, just noticed a 5mm crack spreading out from the center of the dock connector, treated it with kid gloves so far, certainly not been dropped or anything like that. I hope Apple officially recognise this soon, from reading everyone else's comments around the web it seems even a replacement might have the same issue so I'll stick with mine for now and hope it doesn't spread.

Okay, we get it. You think they're meatheads. Move on..

I wonder if this issue is specific to a certain batch of iPhones... bad plastic?? I bought mine within a couple days of release and it's totally fine. I think people way want to think about adding an estimated purchase date. It would probably help Apple pinpoint the batch.

FYI... these kinds of "bad batch" things happen all the time in manufacturing, I'm sure Apple is all over their supplier who has switched plastics, new phones will be fine, and if you have an issue get a replacement... you may want to wait a few weeks though for the good ones to cycle through.

I predict alot of "refurbished" phones for sale soon...