iPhone 3G - Cracks in Plastic Housing

i have had my white phone for 6 days and noticed significant cracks near the ringer switch and small ones all down the left side last night. went right to the apple store in chicago and the genius asked me the questions listed in the above posts - he said that the engineers need this information because they are working to solve the issue now. my phone is being replaced but the replacement had to be ordered. it makes me think i'm getting a refurbished phone as they had white phones in stock at the store. i read that someone was having trouble with a replacement in chicago - seems like they know what is happening now. good luck.

Hmm, I hope so, it oughta be time they started to notice something.

I've had my iPhone since July 30th and today I found my first crack between the right-hand screw and the port to charge/sync your phone. It's an 8GB and was made in factory #85 during week 30. I've been using the Griffin leather case with the hard plastic interior. I'm off to call Apple now.

I've had my phone since July 19th from factory 85, week 28. I don't see any cracks now, but it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. As soon as a crack appears, I'm calling to make an appointment at our local Apple store, which still has a line (out the door) to buy the iPhone, btw. I know it's just a phone, but I don't want a case with cracks either. I never had to worry about my other phones, so this is a real pain to have to keep looking it over. I really like the phone, though. I don't think I could ever go back to a regular cell phone after having the iPhone. Apple should issue a recall and replace the backs of all the iPhones that have been sold, IMO.

Hey guys,
I really have hard time to believe all that what are you saying about cracking! No, it's not that I don't believe your finding, but I am just curious, how is that possible that I have 2 iPhones first edition since June 29, 2007, and now for over a month 2 iPhones 3G and I have no problem what so ever. And my wife will tell you, that there may not be one person in the world who's more meticulous and who has examined and re-examined his toys with a loop more than me. And I find my toys absolutely beautiful, irreproachable, working perfectly, and so on and on. Enjoy your toys and be happy. I love my one so much that sleep with them. Please don't work for Microsoft, Google, HTC or who else, no one is going to beat apple and Steve. Thanks.

I'm also one of the lucky ones, not meticulous at all about taking care of it, it is in my pocket with no protection (other than a BestSkinEver} while I'm hiking, working on the cars, whatever. But then, I don't spend any time examining the back or sides of the phone, only the front. It seems to work fine, and its been though a bit more stress than most phones. My old eyes need reading glasses just to use it, I won't be getting out a magnifying glass to look for cracks as long as everything works...<g>

John F

This thread is for people who have had scratches and want to find out about replacements, etc...I'm happy your phone is great, but some have not been so lucky...We are trying to help each other out on this forum, not taunt people who have been having bad luck...

And I don't think anyone is looking under magnifying glasses, the cracks were pretty obvious on my unit...I think you should reexamine the reasons you are posting comments such as these...

Apparently no one has told Steve:

" Originally Posted by andyblila View Post
I emailed Apple about this issue (Steve Jobs), and the response I got from him was that the cases were not cracking on their own.

From: Steve Jobs <sjobs@apple.com>
Date: August 10, 2008 3:43:39 PM PDT
To: Andrew
Subject: Re: Cracks in iPhone 3G

The cases are not cracking.

Steve"



(Denial is a wonderful thing)

Hi all.

I posted a few days ago about my white iphone having craks and I thought I would share my experience of returning the phone. I live in the uk and went to my local (hour train ride) store after booking an appointment at the genius bar.

The bloke looked at it and said they are stress cracks. He asked what case I use, which pocket I keep it in etc. He then got a little brown box that had an iphone in it. I'm not entirely sure it was new, he said that it was, just they get their replacement stock from applecare, they don't give out retail boxes.

I got my replacement and left the store, went to put it on silent and the switch stuck! I went back and showed man and he swapped it for another (again in a little brown box).

The phone I have now is crack free and they exchanged it no problem. I am a little concerned that I have had a refurb unit but as long as it works and stays crack free I'm happy.

Wow, even aside from the cracks there seems to be a really high number of defects when you start looking closely at people who have gone back for replacements and have had to go through several phones to find one without cracks, without stuck switches, without skewed glass, without dents and bubbles, etc etc,. Quality control is really suffering on the 3G somehow.

UPDATE!

My third iphone is officially dead. I just get the message saying sim not supported when it is plugged into itunes. I've tried the sim in another phone and it works fine. Gonna have to travel all the way back tomorrow to get it sorted.

Well annoyed.

I'm glad that you and "ivanich" took the time to post that your phones are OK. It assures me that not every phone is destined to have issues for which others have to exchange them.

My first white iphone had a crack near the headphone jack. I was given a new one at the genius bar, now the second one has a crack. I have an appt tomorrow.

Consider this, it could be that he is not lying by generalizing what he knows.

In other words, the case itself may not be cracking. Rather, at least from the looks of the three units I have had that suffered from cracks, it is something in the coating process that is causing the cracks. Some of the cracks have been on the surface. Others have been under the surface. Others have been deeper still. So it seems to me that it could be a layering issue, and not one of the integrity of the material itself.

Regardless, I am at the point now, being on my 5th unit in less than two weeks, that the only way I will return this one, regardless of its minor light leakage and small cracks on the side, is if it literally falls apart in my hands.

Update 2 or 3 (I forget)

Just returned with my 4 replacement. It worked fine in the store and they were very apologetic about it all. I explained it cost the best part of £25 in train fares and 2 days off work.

The bloke at the genius bar replaced the phone and said that as an apology they would give me 10% off my next purchase.

I left the store with the phone working fine and even used it make calls. I was happy I had a functioning iPhone again.

Then...........

I got home, plugged the iphone in to to a backup restore and iTunes gives me an error message "The sim is not compatible", again. So Im back where I started!