iPhone 3gs exploding expanding battery

I got my old 3GS replaced at an Apple Store yesterday for $80 - it was out of warranty but they said they would replace it as a battery problem. This was the second Apple Store I went to - the first tried to sell me a new battery for $150. I found an authorized Apple repair shop and they told me to go ASAP to Apple (and go to a store that wasn't as busy as the one I went to) and they should offer to replace for $50 - $100, confirming that the battery was swelling and it could explode or at least leak and damage the board. The second Apple Store was great - I did not have to throw a hissy-fit to get them to replace, just dropped a few key words like product defect; the Genius at the first store just wanted to get rid of me.

I noticed the problem when I was finally getting ready to sell the phone. I got a new iphone 5 in Nov. and had sold the phone after taking photographs of the phone in mid Jan. No bulging back and screen was clear and bright. I did notice that the phone was not holding a charge very well. Sold the phone about 10 days later and while getting it ready I noticed a dark spot on the screen, below the glass. when I pressed on the area, the spot moved. got an appt at Apple that afternoon and the Genius told me that the battery was swelling and pushing upwards and that's what caused the darkening. he opened the phone and apparently relieved some of the pressure but there was still a spot. obviously I could not sell with a known change so I checked around and found the place to replace the battery. in the 5 days between noticing the dark area and then going to get a new battery, the case started bulging. this was shocking as I was not charging or using the phone.

Took a while to find any info on battery swelling on Apple website (only here). Google 3GS battery swelling and the photos are grim - this is NOT unique problem. If your phone gets warm and the battery does not hold a charge, run, do not walk, to get the battery replaced.

Here's my update and resolution to my ruined 3GS.

Went to Genius Bar. They know well of the issue. He told me all batteries are

Meant to have a life of at least 400 charges then they are risk is failure (or expansion).

He said as soon as you see your charge time drop off replace battery.

About 2-3 years is typical.

Apple's offer to me from the genius guy: cost of out of warranty repair is $150 which means a replacement with a refurbished one. He told me b/c it is the battery that caused the failure it would be $79. With tax $84 out door with a newish 3GS. BTW refurbished he told me is all is new except the camera and the logic board. Not ideal solution for sure - they should have replaced it for free or less money but I found it a decent option and better than buying a new touch with 1/2 the memory for much more money. Also fyi, they would not offer me any credit to a touch. What I described is the ONLY option he said. I hope this is helpful to the rest I you?!

Czarmuzz, that sounds like garbage (no offense to you). First, if apple makes a claim that their battery pnly lasts two years, they need to document it. I doubt people will shell out hundreds of dollars for a products that are documented to only last two years. What they have is a design flaw flaw that they are calling a feature. Do you really think apple designed a phone to have a battery expand after twenty four months and ruin the device? Is that something Steve Jobs signed off on and said "Yes, lets sell this."

My device was purchased in August of 2009 and functioned perfectly until June when I got a 4S. After 34 months, the battery itself, still had remarkable capacity. The story in these cases seems to be the same, e.g. Bought a new phone, put the old one on the shelf for a couple of months, decide to use it for something else, charge for a little while, then boom... no more phone.

You do not see this happening in any other product they sell. This is a serious defect, they need to acknowledge it and offer to fix product or offer a refund to the consumer.

If you feel so inclined, write a reports on the US Consumer Safety site, saferproducts.gov. Other 3gs owners have started to write reports and document the saftey hazards of the battery suddenly exploding. Even if you don't live in the US, you can report the incident as Apple is a US company.

http://www.saferproducts.gov/Search/Result.aspx?dm=0&q=3GS&srt=0

wish your statistical analysis was accurate. this has happened to more than a few phones and I'm guessing that all of us who had phones ruined by swollen battteries wished that we had won the lottery instead. I've bought many more lottery tickets than phones and so far, my success with swollen/exploding batteries is infinitely higher than lottery winnings - 1:0.

The issue is that despite the fact that Apple has known about this issue for quite some time, they do NOTHING to warn owners of the risk. They do, however, have a replacement program if batteries cause damage to the phones ($79 in the US).

Google the issue and take a look at the photos of the exploded phones. Not pretty. All these people won the wrong lottery that had a much better chance of "winning."

If it has exploded, for sure call Apple Care. This is a safety issue, which they surprisingly take very seriously. They will most likely set it up for replacement. Might cost money, up to $149 for out of warranty replacement fee.

A number of people who have visited an Apple store report that the phone was replaced if in warranty, and was replaced for the cost of the battery ($79) if out of warranty. It's probably a decision by the local store manager, so your advice to be nice is sound.

superjaz1 wrote:

Just to note as I didn't mention it in my previous post, my wife stopped using the phone for a few months and it was sat in a drawer. Then about a week ago she decided to use it again and charged it up. The battery didn't start expanding till a few days later after charging however.

That is significant. Leaving it unused that long without charging it will allow the battery to drain completely. Complete discharge is a death warrant for Lithium chemistry batteries, as it is for most other secondary batteries. (If you did the same with your car battery you would get the same results.) When the phone shuts off due to low battery under normal use there is still plenty of charge left in the battery; it shuts off early to protect the battery from total discharge. But leaving it uncharged after it shuts off will eventually drain it completely, as a few functions of the phone continue to operate (primarily maintaining RAM memory).

went to Apple store (in the UK) - showed popped up phone - and got a replacement phone within days for £55 (the fee for replacement battery). Its a pain as the data is lost but at least I now have again a working phone.

Exact same thing happened to me I notIced battery starting to swell and was starting to lift the screen out

I took to apple retail they had a quick look said this needs to be changed now but said $89 for battery but tech guys said too dangerous to attempt battery removal as the back was also bulging but phone still works they come up to me said sir we can't change battery and can't give you a replacement for the $89 we can't offer you anything other than a free disposal of the phone there reason was the phone is too dangerous to take from me but still allowed me to take it home since getting back home the screen now popped out and no longer works I called apple 133622 spoke to several guys they offered me a mail in repair I took phone to aus post one look at the swollen battery they said too dangerous to mail now tech support said same thing just dispose of the phone I asked why the battery do this he said its a safety feature of the phone rather than leaking inside phone the battery expands and it happens towards the end of expected battery life so they make battery to do this roughly after 2 years almost every case I seen advertised about swelling battery has happened about 2 years old the phones are not considered as even a out of warranty replacement even tho they still work but a phone run over by a tank will be replaced

Not fair and only seems to be iPhones that are programmed to self destruct after 2 years

My suggestion - call the Apple help desk and give them the websites that show pictures of the exploded and damaged iphones. (just google iphone 3GS battery swelling or something similar - you'll find lots of scary pictures and maybe even some you tube videos.) Insist that they look at this while you are on the phone with them and ask them to explain how this is normal.

I filed a complaint here in the US with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and they later confirmed that my report has been sent to Apple. Hope more people will do this. If you have something similar in Spain, consider reporting.

In the meantime, maybe it is time to switch to Samsung - they have some nice products priced reasonably. Don't know their position on batteries but worth checking.

I agree that it's a problem, and that it shouldn't happen. But, as Boeing has discovered, Lithium battery technology can be unstable and unpredictable. The battery is expected to last through 500 full charge cycles, which is about 2 years for the average user. But it should die gracefully, not melt. When it does die Apple will replace it for $79, and independent dealers for less. When it destroys the phone Apple should replace it.

I have no idea how to convince them to do that, other than involving government regulators. That's already been mentioned. Consumer Reports is another avenue. There IS such a thing as bad publicity.

The problem with iPhones seems to be rare. Compare, for example, to Sony having to recall 10 million laptop batteries a few years ago.

Just a follow up to say that I finally got a half-decent resolution from Apple. I took my "puffed" 3GS to a different Apple store and they gave me a whole new iPhone 3GS for the price of a battery ($79 Canadian) plus tax. So I got a pretty much new iPhone 3GS after almost 3 years of use for about $88. Not too bad. Now I think I can sell it on Craigslist for about $150 if I'm lucky. But at least the phone is not a total write off. So thanks Apple for doing the right thing.

I do still believe that Apple should send a warning email to everyone with phones that are about 2.5 years old to replace their batteries or else they risk the puffed up experience, which totally destroys the phone. Nowhere in any of the manuals or promotional material does Apple warn people of this tremendous danger.

Well, I went to use my 3GS last night and realized that the battery was expanding. I use it as an iPod touch, and it is part of my Apple collection. Today I called AppleCare and spoke to senior advisor who, of course, wanted me to buy a Support Agreement. Thankfully, they waived the charge and spoke to me. Apparently, Apple has a policy on the battery in any iPhone that as long as it hasn't come into contact with moisture, they will replace the iPhone for up to 3 years after the purchase date.

My iPhone was purchased 3 years and 2 months ago. Of course arguing got me nowhere. I'm going to go down to the store in the next couple days to see what they say.

Delighted to say that we got ours resolved yesterday. Booked an appointment at the apple store in cambridge using the contact support tools on here and turned up with a pile of bits. Handed over another 55 ukp for a "battery replacement" and left 10 mins later with a brand new (refurbished?) 3GS 16gb which they had in the stock cupboard.

Satisfied with the service, and the outcome.

But I'm still deeply annoyed that they couldn't provide some kind of warning? I can't believe that they can't detect an outgoing battery and warn the user to get it replaced. Even of they only have a 3 yr warning.

...and how come all these legacy models are "in stock" you can't buy a "new 4s 16gb anywhere yet they have a 3GS sitting on the shelf?

Just an update from me.. made an appointment with a Genius last week who was suprised when he saw the expanded battery. I got the impression of a fake reaction tbh. Anyway he was saying I'd have to pay just over £100 for a reconditioned 3GS and then I mentioned that I'd spoken to you guys and that the general thing was to replace with a reconditioned phone for the price of battery replacement, the battery destroyed the phone etc etc. So he said "Yes, good point" and arranged a replacement. I felt he was trying to get the extra pennies out of me. So today I picked up the replacement 3GS which looks brand new with 90 day warranty for £55 not a bad result really.

Thanks all for your help.

Jason