The battery in my old iPhone (out of warranty) has just decided to explode, pop the screen off and bend the main board. Is Apple doing anything to correct this issue? I wasn't using it for a phone, rather an ipod around the house, but still it shouldn't just fall apart like that!
iPhone 3GS, iOS 5.0.1
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.
Took mine to the apple store in Denver Co and they replaced the phone for the cost of a battery ($80)
i decided to repair this myself and was surprised how easy it was to repair
2 screws remove screen with suction cap remove mainboard from broken back bought new back $30 new screen assembly $25 new battery $5 $60 and it now looks like new just no wifi as the wifi part of the board snapped but atleast can be used as a phone
i made a small video on me repairing it if anyone needs to know how to strip iphone and repair
mmarcuci,
This isn't typical for iPhones, but anything is possible. If you haven't already, I would strongly recommend contacting Apple Support concerning your phone. www.apple.com/support/contact
And no, you shouldn't expect this to happen to your iPad too. This is a pretty rare occurance.
Call them anyway. If you tell them the battery exploded and you don't think you should have to pay, they will normally kick the call up the support chain to someone who can waive the charge. They jump on things like this pretty quickly and agressivly.
So, again, don't let the out of warranty status keep you from calling. And let us know what happens.
It was still £55, which is a **** sight more than a battery for my Samsung Galaxy S2 would cost. At least it meant I could sell the phone on and get something back.
My advice to anyone who can would be to make an appointment at the genius bar, they seem to find it harder to say no to people face to face! That obviously isn't an option for everyone though.
The whole thing has put me off unibody phones, I was looking at an HTC one x+ next but I think I might stick with Samsung, at least if the battery expands, the flimsy back will just pop off.
To update this thread from my previous message :
I called apple customers the same day and got my new new 3GS for 6000 yens factured as battery replacement 2 weeks after the incident....
Becareful to always remove the cheap from your device before to send it back to Apple (they pay all fees for package cost) because then won't send you back the cheap.
Also very careful when you open the device because the battery will expand like an Airbag (a shock) and things will fly away when removing the small screws.... For my case screws slots got broken then impossible to remove the cheap. Then I pushed like crazy on the entire structure to success to remove the cheap from the slot.
Cheap is important if you want to start your new device.
How about reporting the issue to the Consumer Product Safety Commission here in the US (and there must be something similar in the EU and other countries as well. To file a report with the CPSC, go to https://www.saferproducts.gov/CPSRMSPublic/Incidents/ReportIncident.aspx
Even though my phone did not explode, it appears that I can still report it under these instructions.
... a description of an illness, injury, or death, or the risk of illness, injury, or death related to use of the product;
Apple should not be so cavalier in its response to consumers who have bought their phones only to find out a couple years later that the diminshed battery can cause major damage to the phone and physical damage to a person. They should issue a recall, send notices to those who have purchased the phones, and replace the batteries for free.
Going forward, Apple needs to be abundantly clear about the life of their batteries and risks that can occur.
It's not a design fault. ALL rechargeable batteries have a finite life. When they reach the end of life the results are unpredictable. Every phone in the world will eventually stop working when its battery dies. As will every battery powered device. When the battery fails is based on your usage pattern. An iPhone battery (according to Apple) will retain 80% of its original capacity through 400 full charge/discharge cycles. That's a little over a year if you drain the phone to zero every day and recharge it overnight; about a year and a half if you charge it daily at about half capacity. I'd happily pay £55 for a new phone that would otherwise cost over 10 times that.
I am wondering if in fact the exploding battery thing is very rare, otherwise why would Apple (and for that matter the media) be doing nothing about it? With tens of millions of iPhones sold, we are just a few dozen unfortunate end users who have experienced this. That is essentially nothing, when compared with millions. Could this be the reason why Apple is doing very little about the problem?
One might speculate that there was one bad batch of possibly a few thousand batteries that went into iPhone 3GS phones, but that it was it. Hence, most phones are fine. This is why Apple may be doing very little and why the media is very quiet about this issue.
You have to admit that the solution Apple provides--a brand new phone for only $80 after nearly 3 years of use--is a pretty fair compromise. Street price of used 3GS phones is about $150.
While a few iPhones have had battery failures where the battery expanded, none have caught fire. Which is not true of some other makes of phones and computers (or airplanes). Sorry for your problem; you should take it to an Apple store and see what they say.
5/1/14 - battery popped / expanded and lifted screen as well - this time in London. Bought Phone (3GS) in Feb 2010, worked well for 2.5 years by when I got a 4S. 3GS not used since except 2 weeks ago when I decided to charge battery & restore to factory settings before selling. Phone was in a north-facing room, no sun whatsoever, cool temperatures. It happened while I was away - luckily it didnt explode and burned down the house...
Any luck anyone with Apple UK replacing phone / providing voucher for replacement? Or anyone tried the UK "Sales of Goods Act" to claim replacement / repair?
Obviously a phone that costs several £100 but has a battery installed (i.e. not satisfactory quality) that causes the phone to burst (i.e. no longer being 'fit for purpose') clearly does not comply with the Sales of Goods Act of 1979 (whereby Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.
Hey, all of you guys with "exploding", "expanding", "swelling", whatever batteries. If you haven't called Apple yet, do so. What is the worse that they can tell you? That it isn't covered? Well, if that's their answer, you are no worse off, you are only out a few minutes of time and there is a case created in their system (unlike complaining here) that you are having this problem.
But who knows, if you are nice and aren't screaming and hollering, they just might be able to so something. Then again, they might charge you for the battery replacement, $80 if I remember correctly, but they might cover the parts damaged by the battery.
Who knows for sure what they will do, but IMHO its worth a shot.
CMC55 wrote:
You missed the point.
You are missing the point. It is a failure mode of ALL Lithium batteries, whether they are in iPhones, Galaxy phones, Windows phones, Nokias, laptops, Tesla cars or space ships. Apple's batteries if anything are safer than most others, as none of them have ever started a house fire or injured anyone, like these:
http://osaseye.blogspot.com/2013/07/samsung-phone-battery-catches-fire-in.html#. Us9M0GRDuA0
http://www.digitaltree.org/samsung-galaxy-s3-fire-incident/
http://gsminsider.com/2013/07/samsung-galaxy-s4-exploded-hong-kong/
Actually, you SHOULD go to the nearest Apple store and politely explain what happened. For about $80 (the price of new battery) they will give you a new or refurbished iPhone 3GS. You will then have a perfectly good phone with a new battery that will last another 3 years, and then it will destroy itself. :-) iPhone 3GS's are still selling for about $100, so this might be a good option. Or not.
I don't consider this very rare, its not just this Apple forum that talks about this issue, it has been on many News channels and web sites also that has documented the 3GS battery problem, there are probably thousands of these phones experiencing the same LION chemical failure and Apple knows all about it, they are just glad its an older phone. This is my second iPhone 3GS that exploded out of 4 family owned 3GS phones. I have a 50% failure rate in my world, you call that rare, come on TJBUSMC1973 get outside and enjoy life instead of defending Apple. 1 month ago this phone was fine, I was just about to give it to my daughter for her Birthday in 2 weeks as a starter phone and it blew up in the draw, its junk, the LCD is cracked and the case is deformed, the battery cracked the logic board in half, this is a major safety issue sitting in your draw. Can you tell in the picture which phone is bad, the one that has grown 3/8"! If someone plugs this in and charges the phone who knows what could happen. One lawsuit will open up the can of worms.
iPhone 3gs exploding expanding battery
