iPhone 3G - Cracks in Plastic Housing

Well I'm back to post again since my second iPhone (this one only a week old) has developed two cracks this time.....GRRRR. I'm very disappointed. I've got two long deep cracks on either side of the phone where you grip it around half an inch long. At this point I think I'll wait to get a replacement.

I'll call APPLE Care tomorrow and document this issue and get a case number but I don't think getting a third new phone in less than a month is the fix I need. I want APPLE to come up with a more permanent fix than exchanging every week or two. Sorry for the gripping but I LOVE my iPhone and want it to be pristine like th way I treat it.

Yes. I completely empathize as I went though simila troubles since launch...At this point some are reporting theirs are fine while others keep getting defective phones...so its hit or miss...

I do agree you should definitely document the issue with applecare to cover your tuckus in the future...

Well I took it in but they said that is not covered because it's only cosmetic. Now, I'm p*ssed because I have taken such good care of this thing and now it's cracking on me. They also played dumb and said they haven't heard of other phones cracking even though I offered to show them the posts. They said it's probably due to people abusing the phone and not a defect of the phone. Great. I'll wait a little while and see if the crack gets bigger or I get more and if so, I'll be taking it back in.

yeah i remember seeing this on the news like a week after the iPhone 3G came out. it said that people were having the little tiny cracks in random locations on the phone's housing....

I got the 16GB white unit on "DAY-1" (July/11) in HONG KONG. Hardly used it, and with great care when I did. On week 4 it developed an obvious crack between the volume toggle switch and the chrome-bezel. The crack is not subtle. The phone has not been abused, it is otherwise pristine. Not even a scratch, except for the crack.

I'm too busy to contact Apple (or "Three" - the sole iPhone3G seller in HK at the moment) to resolve this issue at this time. But I'm posting this 'for the record' and also to clarify that in my mind, there is no doubt that this is definitely a manufacturing defect, that must be resolved by Apple, not only for new production, but definitely also for everyone that owns a unit from day-1.

I trust Apple and their ethics, so I also have no doubt they will do the right thing asap, but even otherwise, it would be a very immature and inexperienced company that would try to bury the issue.
And Apple is ANYTHING BUT immature and/or inexperienced. The cost of the bad publicity and customer
dissatisfaction would far exceed the cost of fair resolution, and Apple's bean counters know that.

Chaos, call applecare, and speak to someone via the phone, they are aware of the issue and are replacing them, you must have got an uninformed or grouchy genius...I would speak to someone else...That is unacceptable if it is cracked(not scratched)...

I went to the Apple Store in Sydney and the Genius said it was cosmetic but on my up to the Bar I had swung buy white iPhones and they just happened to have cracks in the exact same spot as mine (headphone jack). So he said that I can get a it replaced with a new one, but i should wait till Apple make this problem known - the replacement they might give me could have the exact same problem as the one I own now.

Judging by the (low) number of responses to this thread - 247, it looks that the iPhone "crack" problem is not as wide spread as "pictured" here. 3G reception problem thread started 2 weeks after this one and scored 505 replies already...
Go and figure...

Not to mention-3G performance can be subjective, but no one is going to let Apple get away with even the smallest cosmetic issue 😀

Sounds like the case cracking was a small shipment/batch at most-certainly not as widespread as the infamous stained white Macbooks 😝

My 5 days old iPhone 3G has started to show some cracks in the white plastic housing, on the volume buttons side.
I don't know if I should get it back to show it to my dealer or wait for more cracks to get it replaced by Apple...

Are all the user reporting cracks using a case for the iPhone? Is it tight, loose or heat fractures caused when the iPhone heats up then cools down?

um, you might want to look here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=525177

803 posts, 33 pages going strong. cracking is inevitable.

I also think many don't post, and I for one didn't notice my first cracks till I read a post about them...But I do hope it isn't widespread...

Pff, dramatic experiences you all. I am from the Netherlans, and there have been some reports on cracks around forums here too. I myself have a black 16Gb, and it cracks just above the volume buttons / mute switch. It's about half inch now, and when I check in bright light, I see small cracks around the big crack. Also, near the camera and the headphone unit I can see small cracks, however, it is hard to see on the black one, even though the big crack is obvious..

Is there anyone from the Netherlands that got his/her iPhone replaced? S/N starts with 88827 btw, seems more of that week/factory give trouble..

Just looked at my headphone jack today 16gb black and the chrome has come of in one 1/4 are around the rim of it exposing a white plasticy material...guess its back to the drawing board...ughh