wet1dawg

Q: iPhone 3gs exploding expanding battery

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

Posted on Feb 7, 2012 12:13 PM

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Q: iPhone 3gs exploding expanding battery

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  • by Pablitox,

    Pablitox Pablitox Mar 27, 2013 7:54 AM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 27, 2013 7:54 AM in response to wet1dawg

    This has happened to me today. The Iphone 3gs battery expanded and broke the iphone in 2. It broke definitely. I called apple but they wanted to charge 75 euros to change the battery beccause it's out of warranty.

    I think it's not a warranty issue, but a safety issue. What if it explodes in the night when you have the iphone next to you? or if a child have it in the hands?

     

    foto.JPG

     

    <Link Edited By Host>

  • by Pablitox,

    Pablitox Pablitox Mar 27, 2013 10:55 AM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 27, 2013 10:55 AM in response to wet1dawg

    Apple just blocked me to access the replies to my issue.

  • by Barry Shell,

    Barry Shell Barry Shell Mar 27, 2013 11:02 AM in response to Pablitox
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mar 27, 2013 11:02 AM in response to Pablitox

    Apple removed my most recent post as well because I "posted a Petition" according to an email they sent me in reprimand. How about this posting Apple? Will you also censor this posting, which includes images of my self-destructed iPhone 3GS. This happened through NO FAULT of mine. This happened to a well-cared-for iPhone and during normal use. It is very upsetting to have a $700 device become totally useless in just 3 years after caring for it lovingly, and hoping to sell it to buy an iPhone 5. Now it's useless. This is unfair.

    Exploding-3GS-1.jpg

    Exploding-3GS-2.jpg

    Exploding-3GS-3.jpg

  • by Pablitox,

    Pablitox Pablitox Mar 27, 2013 11:20 AM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 27, 2013 11:20 AM in response to wet1dawg

    APPLE:  This is a technical issue.  There is plenty of evidence that the 3gs batteries swell, resulting in damage to the phones with the potential to hurt someone holding the phone when it explodes.  Apple, you have not issued a warning, product notice, or recall.  We are doing your work for you, Apple. by warning people of this product problem. Do something about this. Apple. other than remove postings.

  • by Pablitox,

    Pablitox Pablitox Mar 27, 2013 11:26 AM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 27, 2013 11:26 AM in response to wet1dawg

    Apple asks for money because the iPhone is not anymore covered by warranty, for something that should be warranted in first: the health of the users!

    I was a very happy apple customer, I have many apple products (BJ=Before Jobs) wich I'm happy with: iMac iPad MacBook Pro MacBook Air iPhones for all people in my office; after iPhone 5 I started to doubt that apple could survive Steve Jobs. After this I abandon apple.

  • by J.K. ROFLing,

    J.K. ROFLing J.K. ROFLing Mar 27, 2013 11:56 AM in response to Pablitox
    Level 4 (1,220 points)
    Mar 27, 2013 11:56 AM in response to Pablitox

    Yes, it is a technical issue, that is why the technical post and technical parts of the posts are still there. What it appears they removed were the calls to contact the BBB and report, essentially calling people to post on a poll at the BBB.

     

    So far, it appears you have called Apple about this, have you tried taking it in to a store and showed it to a Genius? They might be more receptive if they can see the phone.

  • by Lynnecad,

    Lynnecad Lynnecad Mar 29, 2013 5:42 PM in response to Barry Shell
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 29, 2013 5:42 PM in response to Barry Shell

    My phone has just done that, I have left it outside as I was scared what it was going to do. It looks like it is about to explode. Something needs to be done about this as it is dangerous

  • by Pablitox,

    Pablitox Pablitox Apr 1, 2013 4:58 PM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 1, 2013 4:58 PM in response to wet1dawg

    <Link Edited by Host>

  • by Stubuggs,

    Stubuggs Stubuggs Apr 3, 2013 7:02 AM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 3, 2013 7:02 AM in response to wet1dawg

    I got a new / refurbed iPhone 3GS from apple under the battery replacement scheme. I paid a total of 82 euro including VAT.

     

    IMHO, it's not bad as the replacement is, for all intents and purposes, new.

  • by goof008,

    goof008 goof008 Apr 9, 2013 7:08 AM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 9, 2013 7:08 AM in response to wet1dawg

    It happened to my 3GS a month ago.  Bought new 4s' for us and gave kids the 3GS to use like an Ipod Touch.  They were being used and cycled, so they didn't just sit around.

     

    The fact is, batteries have a finite life.  They can only charge and recharge so often.  I get that.  If the battery had just died, for $12 I could have a perfect phone again.

     

    This expansion has ruined an otherwise perfect phone that was always cased and always had a screen protector on it.  My son was going to trade it in to get an Ipod Touch, but now it is worthless.

     

    Batteries are not supposed to act in this manner.  If they are, they should come with a warning to replace them before they do.

     

    I am going to an Apple store today to see what they will do.  If they fail to react responsibly, this will look really bad for them.

  • by Barry Shell,

    Barry Shell Barry Shell Apr 11, 2013 3:40 PM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 11, 2013 3:40 PM in response to wet1dawg

    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.

  • by VladRO,

    VladRO VladRO Apr 30, 2013 10:11 PM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 30, 2013 10:11 PM in response to wet1dawg

    Hello there community!

    Yesterday morning I woke up and try to check-up my good ‘ol iPhone 3Gs friend and you can see below what I got. I also have an iPhone 2G, an iPhone 4S, an iPad 2, an15-inch, Early 2011 MacBook Pro and never encountered something like that.

    I would visit an Apple Store right away, but my problem is that there’s none in my country (Romania - EU).

    Any advice? Thank’s!

    3Gs1.JPG3Gs2.JPG3Gs3.JPG

  • by Fotoboer,

    Fotoboer Fotoboer May 11, 2013 5:21 PM in response to wet1dawg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2013 5:21 PM in response to wet1dawg

    Well hello,

     

    I don't know if this helps anybody but anyways, today my iPhone 3GS just popped like the ones in this topic. I thought my kids dropped it on the floor since it's my obsolte phone which is mostly used by them. When they denied having anything to do with it, I more or less decided it could be the battery. I disassembled the whole thing and found a swollen battery and a heavily deformed mainboard ;-( These pics show how I found it on my table and the disassembled unit. I like to point out that until a week or two I still had this thing always charged on my desk. Yesterday evening I pushed the home button on both my iPod 4th gen and the iPhone 3Gs laying next to each other. Both without battery power. I mad no charging attempt on either of them and today the iPhone screen was lifted off. I think this incident could have potentially ruined my monitor/table if there was any more juice left in the device. I think Apple should consider some kind of callback This appears to me as dangerous possibly igniting fire. I dont believe the stuff about precautional bursting of batteries, toal bogus.

     

    My iPhone 2g, which is much older has not exploded yet, when can I expect that to happen?

     

    iphone_opengeknapt_DSC8225_sRGB_klein.jpgiphone_inside_2_DSC8226_sRGB_klein.jpg

    iphone_inside_3_DSC8226_sRGB_klein.jpg

    iphone_inside_4_DSC8235_sRGB_klein.jpg

  • by VladRO,

    VladRO VladRO May 12, 2013 1:55 AM in response to Fotoboer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 12, 2013 1:55 AM in response to Fotoboer

    Well, Fotoboer, I was asking myself when will the next one come, and it seems that you were the one! I am sorry for your experience and I hope that you will be able to get in touch directly with Apple by an Apple Store and get your problem solved. I didn't disassemble mine, as I hope that I will get to Germany some day soon and visit a Store myself.

    As you said, I have a 2G myself and now I ask myself: will it transforme into a bomb some day soon? Who is going to hold it that moment? Oh boy, that is a terrible perspective!

    Hey Apple: how do you react to that?!

  • by tonefox,

    tonefox tonefox May 12, 2013 12:44 PM in response to VladRO
    Level 6 (9,298 points)
    May 12, 2013 12:44 PM in response to VladRO

    It's not a bomb, it's a Lithium battery. This "blowing up" happens sometimes, just as everything else in the world happens sometimes. If Apple is approached calmly without ranting, they are more probable to resolve the problem.

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