iPhone 4s electric shock and overheating.

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Level 1

8 points

iPhone 4s electric shock and overheating.

Hiya guys,

I've had my iPhone for 2.5 years now, and lately it's been getting very hot whilst charging. I sleep with the phone next to me, on my bed, so whilst this happened I've been burnt a few times (Though not seriously). I've tried different chargers, different plug sockets and even different houses (in different counties), but there's no change - it constantly gets hot enough to burn. It doesn't throw any overheating messages either. Yesterday was the final straw. I put it onto charge as normal, and held it in my hand. I felt a slight buzzing sensation in my fingers, but thought nothing of it. Suddenly I felt quite a sharp ***** in my hand where it was resting, and dropped the phone from my hand.

I've spoken to apple regarding this, as I now cannot use the phone because I'm worried about being shocked/burnt. I have two young children living with me, and I'm concerned they could get ahold of the phone, and can't leave it unattended because I'm terrified it will explode.

Apple have told me that as one of the water indicators has gone red (The bottom one, headphone jack is fine), I will have to pay to replace the iPhone. Morally, I think this is wrong - the phone surely has a life longer than I've had it. What are my rights surrounding this? I've been told to take it to a genius bar, which I'm doing this weekend, and they'll open it up and check. I know these indicators can simply go red from being in pockets, and in humid conditions. I'm not prepared to spend £160 on another iPhone that could potentially do this again in two years.

Has anyone else experienced this with their phone? Obviously because I've seen before that they can explode whilst on charge, I'm slightly scared. 😟

iPhone 4S, iOS 7.0.6

Posted on Mar 13, 2014 12:32 PM

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Answer 1

KiltedTim

Level 10

228,300 points

Mar 13, 2014 12:43 PM in response to kustirider2

kustirider2 wrote:

Apple have told me that as one of the water indicators has gone red (The bottom one, headphone jack is fine), I will have to pay to replace the iPhone. Morally, I think this is wrong ...

You got liquid in the phone. That's why it's getting hot. It's shorting out from the corrosion caused by the liquid damage. How is it morlly wrong to expect you to pay for a replacement for damaged equipment? If you drove your car into a tree, but continued to drive it, even though it was leaking gasoline on the exhaust manifold, threatening to start a file that would kill you, would you expect the manufacturer to fix it or replace it for free? Of course not!

Pay for an out of warranty replacement or dispose of it responsibly and buy another phone. EVERY documented case of an iPhone exploding or catching fire can be traced to either a faulty repair job by an unauthorized servicer or to liquid damage.

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Answer 2

kustirider2 Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2014 2:02 PM in response to KiltedTim

I can't remember if I mentioned this or not in the original post. My phone has always been with me, never left alone. I've never dropped it in water, or anything like that. It's never been near liquid. I used to work in phone insurance so I know how important it is to keep electronics away from liquids/moisture. I spoke with a collegue who says most likely it was caused by being in my pocket, or from moisture. The red has been in the bottom of it for as long as I can remember, this has only started happening recently.

Obviously if I'd have damaged the phone myself, then I'd have moved on and bought another!

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Answer 3

KiltedTim

Level 10

228,300 points

Mar 13, 2014 2:08 PM in response to kustirider2

The fact that a moisture sensor was tripped is a good indication that it got wet or was exposed to excessive moisture. You can take it to the genius bar and see what they say. Apple has the final say. A single moisture sensor tripped usually won't result in voiding the warranty. Of course, you've had it for 2.5 years, so warranty isn't an issue. The warranty from Apple is 1 year. There may be a statutory warranty that extends for an additonal year, but that is between you and the original seller of the phone, which may or may not be Apple, and it is up to you to prove that a manufacturing defect existed at the time of sale. Since you're already 6 months beyond that, you're pretty much out of luck. Apple offered you a pretty substantial discount on a replacement. If you don't want to take it, that's up to you.

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Answer 4

kustirider2 Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2014 2:11 PM in response to KiltedTim

Well, I can't really prove it's a manufacturing defect. However, I wouldn't assume when buying a rather expensive handset, that in 2.5 years time that it will suddenly start overheating, and somehow (and I don't even know how it is possible) producing small electric currents. I'm going to take it to the Genius bar, and see if there's something going on inside the phone. I'm just feeling really disappointed by it all.

I'm assuming since I had it through Vodafone as a contract, they would be the original seller?

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Answer 5

KiltedTim

Level 10

228,300 points

Mar 13, 2014 2:30 PM in response to kustirider2

It's 2 and a half years old.... Do you know how old that is in phone years?

The original warranty expired a year and a half ago.

The statutory warranty expired half a year ago.

The offer you got from Apple is the best you're going to get.

Honestly, you're being unreasonable. I'm not trying to come down on you, but a failure after 2 1/2 years is not something to get broken up about.

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