Q: iPhone 3gs exploding expanding battery

Same thing here. Below is the email (typos and all) I sent to Tim Cook. CEOs never read these their executive complaints department handles them.

The bottom line is they won't do anything because the number of cases is not statistically significant. So they won't admit anything.

Dear Mr. Tim Cook,

I realize you will probably not read this, but I feel I need to this. You see I am not the type to complain about bad service nor do I write letters to complain to CEO's about how bad their corporate policies are. But this experience I had at your Stonebriar Mall in Frisco,TX really ticked me off.

I went there after my 3GS, which I was using to play music in my car exploded or popped earlier that day. The phone has always been handled with care by me since I bought it in 2010. The battery was charging and holding the charge perfectly well until the pop occurred.

Pictures attached.

After checking on line, actually own the Apple Forums, I saw that apparently this was not an usual event. Looked through many pictures that showed the phone popped open like a clam.I also read the frustrations other customers had experienced when they went to the Apple stores to seek help. So I figured that this was not going to be a walk in the park.

So to cut to the chase, I went to the store and while. I was waiting for the Genius Bar I had the Manager Brenda Tetu greet me and explain to me that although she was not a technical support person she could tell me that there would be a fee I would need to pay. Another employee told me she had never seen this happen. When I finally got to speak with the advisor he was polite but told me that this is normal that these batteries have like a built in feature that causes them to expand after so many charging cycles. He explained to me that Apple was willing to replace the phone with a good battery for just the cost of the battery replacement, $79.

I think what really upset me is that here is a company worth millions of dollars with millions of loyal customers like me who swear by the quality, innovation and reliability of Apple products and who are willing to "pay a premium" for this quality and then are faced with this???

I am not an electronics engineer but nobody can tell me that this battery failure is normal, predictable and a built in feature??? Are you serious?? Apple made a phone which retailed unsubsidized for about $600 to only last 3 years and promptly self-destruct? Mission Impossible style? Come on please!

What has happened here? Where is Apple's pride for the products they make? Will my iPhone 5's battery do the same? The battery is already needing recharging sometimes twice a day. And it's only one and half years old.

I am not looking for any handouts or special dispensation. I would like to see Apple do the right thing and admit that this is a battery failure and issue a recall even if it partial. Obviously, I don't know how many of these failures have been reported. Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, it is a very small number of failures, but still this does not look good.

Mr. Cook the ball is on your court.

Another iPhone3GS just ended its life before 2014...  I bought it in 2010, and it just exploded in my bag.

It's quite odd thatso many failed last night. I woke up to find mine had popped. Like one the previous ones, my case also split.

Mine's the same, opened my drawer early Christmas morning (25-Dec 2013) and guess what, cracked open on one side ...

My phone carrier told me it's out of warranty so no more coverage and I asked them to official send a request to Apple if there's anything they can do and Apple replied after a few days and said the same thing - out of warranty coverage.

Well, I hope Apple realizes that this is something they should look at and I hope nobody gets hurt from this bloated, exploding or self-destructing batteries in the future.

I better keep away my remaining Apple products from my children until this issue has been officially acknowledged and fixed.

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.

my 3gs just popped 2 days ago exact same as everyone else's when the nano did this apple put in an excellent replacement program.

what has happened to this company.

does this mean my ipad will do the same ?

my wifes 4s?

ipod touch?

the devices are not safe, but they will be the first to put in the media people using fake clone chargers just to sell more of there own.

this looks like an issue for watchdog uk

My iphone, after first inquiring about dead spots on my touch screen for no reason ended up getting worse and not. getting Past the apple logo after charging.  Deciding I won't be able to take it away on holiday I put it away only to fibnd the screen popped off, but tHe insides warped and couldn't press back together. When I turned it over I noticed the bulging and the cracks on the back from stress on the plastic.

With an old cybershot phone still going strong I'm dissapointed in the apple prodct to say the least. I've never seen a phone do this.

Another one. My iphone 3gs exploded last week as well. Working perfectly then the battery inflated and the screen popped out.

Found my IPhone 3 GS in the same condition. Battery failure/exploded, the screen lifted (excessively) and cracked, as well as the backside bulging outward. This IPhone is rarely used these days and is only used for music. It is kept in a drawer and safe from the elements......WTH? Can't seem to post my photos, but I just had to post my disappointing experience and mourn the money lost!

Looks like some posts are getting deleted in here. Just so apple support people know we do get these sent to our email so I am still reading them.

Probably. I am not going apple anymore.

You really need to look up the definition of "exploding". So far, not a single picture posted here shows anything that exploded. Old lithium batteries expand sometimes. That's what these pictures show.

Whereas the batteries in other smartphones and tablets HAVE exploded, causing personal injury and property damage.

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.

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.