iPhone 3gs exploding expanding battery

Just to add that my iPhone 3Gs has also blown up.

Disapointed to read they reaction from Apple.

That is all...

Hey David, you, unlike me, living in London, can visit one of the Apple Stores and try to deal straight with them; why don't you give them a chance to really show up their politics? Maybe the evil assumptions will prove wrong. Then, please let us know how everything went on...

Thanks VladRO,

I have a genius bar appointment for this evening (actually the fastest I have been able to get one, usually have to wait a couple of days).

Will post back their solution.

Ta,

David

All right David. We are eager to get your result! Good luck!

My second phone and has now done exactly the same. Incredible!

Well, BombDog, just as I advised David Lee, I encourage you as well, as a citizen of England, to visit an Apple Store and try to get the issue fixed. I myself hope to reach Germany soon, as there is the nearest (1400km) Apple Store to my home. Please let us know of how things are advancing.

Well, went to Apple Store White City, London this evening.

Apple Man said that the battery is designed to expand when it reaches its end of life. He was very relaxed and confident when he said it. I asked if he had just made that up but he assured me this is Apple advice.

They offererd to replace the battery for £55 and that would actually mean getting a new phone.

I think it is amazing that Apple have designed (planned!) to have their iPhones self-destruct after 2.5 years.

To claim this is not a design fault is unbelivable, to say they planned to blow up iPhones is just plain crazy. I detect they are trying to get out of this with the £55 offer.

I think if you pay £600 for a device then it should not self destruct after 2.5 years. If it is by design then Apple should give me a replacement phone without charge.

People may say well you needed a new batter anyway and these cannot be guarenteed to last for many years but I would argue that this single component should not be able to destroy the rest of the device. What if I wanted to just keep it and only used it off the mains or maybe I just want to have it as an ornament! Ha.

I don't know, all seems reiculas.

I didn't pay the £55. The phone is my spare and what I had been using for testing VoIP apps for work.

Shame!

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.

And... If you just need to replace a battery, you can get this done at third party shops for about £20. (In Canada, where I am, it's about $35.) So the £55 price Apple charges is high.

At the very least, Apple should provide a very large warning on the packaging stating that if the battery is not replaced in a timely fashion, the phone is likely to self destruct. A better idea would be a warning message that pops up on your iPhone screen at around the 2.3 year mark saying: "Battery dangerously old. Your phone is about to self-destruct unless you immediately get a new battery." This would be very helpful, and true.

@Lawrence,

You are missing the point. We are not saying that the battery should last more than 2.5 years. We get it that the battery will die sooner or later, but it should NOT destroy the device. I can get a new battery and all my data should be retained. Getting a new device for 1/10 of the price is not a bad deal, but losing your data withour warning is.

Well, amazes me this can be defended.

It was designed to fail. If they knew this would happen then they should have designed the phone to accomodate it and allowed the back to gracefully pop off or something.

I have old phones knocking around and none of them had self destructed. This includes other smart phones.

How do you lose data without warning? You mean you don't back up regularly? The iPhone has 3 means of backing up the phone daily, all of them nearly or completely automatic, and an option to manually back up every 5 minutes if you want to. if you lose data on your iPhone (or your computer) it is your negligence.

Yes, good point.

Your funny.

So I plan to look after my phone, keep it safe.

Apple plan to blow it up without warning, without it being in the manual or marketing material, surley this is negligence? No?

So do wel know if this happens to the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G? I have them both and seem ok.