iPhone 5 front glass panel separating/lifting away from body?

any luck with this, just noticed same issue on my iPhone 5, of course my Apple Care just expired 8 days ago.

I noticed this on my two year old iphone 5 too.

It turns out it was the battery! How do I know this? I replaced the battery. Upon removal of the old battery, I observed it was ballooned in its shell. This was what was causing the display screen and cover to bulge out away from the case.

The replacement battery being installed, and the iPhone re-assembled, the bulging screen was no longer there.

My iPhone 5 was not covered by the battery replacement according to Apple at the website https://www.apple.com/support/iphone5-battery/ ...

I To just found this issue on my iphone5 when I talked to the carrier they said sorry buy a new phone, what a total failure

I took my phone to the Apple Store and saw the Genius.

Saw it was battery issue, since it obviously was causing damage to phone replace my slightly over 2 year phone for Free.

Told me for swollen battery issue they would have replaced it up to 3 years.

I would never deal with the carrier they don't have the same customer service as Apple.

same screen issue on a nearly 3 year old iPhone 5 - nearly 2 years out of warrantee

took to the apple store today - they ran a test on the phone and handed me a new replacement - same model

We get hit with high prices but the service can be excellent.

Word of advice - don't run in screaming , be polite

Have any idea they will replace all the iPhone 5 or some particular range of production as they doing it in battery replacement program

I'm glad you guy's posted this. I have the same issue and the carrier told me they won't do anything and when I called Apple, they said insurance doesn't cover glass issue. I have some hope now that it's just the battery, since my phone overheats!, so maybe I can drive 2 hours to the nearest store to get it replaced. Hopefully.

Yes of you go to the apple store... I bought my I phone 5 in the UK Dec 2013 I have been in the Philippines since Aug 2014 and around Christmas I also noticed that the screen was lifting both sides and a rainbow effect would appear on the screen when pushed. I made a 4 hour trip to Davao 2 weeks ago and went into an I phone centre they told me 4000 Peso (£55.00) to fit a new battery and it would take 2 hours. I remembered also seeing another shop in the same mall called Power Mac Centre so I said I will visit them first and see what their price is like, a good job I did they told me the other shop only do battery exchanges for apple and they are not authorised. They also informed me that Apple will replace the whole phone at no cost for swollen battery problems. The almost (I'm not sure) brand new phone was there for me to collect 2 weeks later. I'm very impressed with the service. Well done Apple.

Just another data point.

Having same issue - battery swelling on iphone 5, lifting the glass along the side with the volume buttons.

Phone is 3 years old (10/2012). Went to the genius bar. Dude looks at it, says because it's a safety issue they'll replace the phone despite being out of warranty, spends 5 minutes trying to get his ipad to accept the repair/replacement, consulting help files along the way to make sure he's not doing it wrong. In the end says "Sorry, your phone just isn't eligible." :-(

It was just slightly more than 3 years old - by a few days. From jbarron4's reply perhaps that was the problem.

My iphone 5 also had ran into swollen battery, lifting the screen on the top part and causing the right side the the touch screen becoming not responsive.

I had went to Apple Authorized Service Provider in Singapore in October 2015 and they did not offer to replace the phone for free.

They advised to contact Apple to open a case to get exception.

I am curious why would it need exceptional handling if the phone, by the looks of it, is seriously a manufacturing issue.

I still have a working iPhone 3GS (2009), iPad 2 (2011) that are in perfect working condition, less the iPhone 3GS can no longer hold its charge as long as before, otherwise working fine.

This is clearly a safety issue that Apple should take full responsibility of.

iPhone 5 was released in 2012.

I made the call today and they had to talk to customer relations just to check if they can do all the repair at no cost to the customer. Really?

Just check the phone first and if there is no water damage or any user caused issue that will lead to this battery swollen problem - REPLACE IT FOR FREE!

You cannot even bother to offer that and just said "No" until I had to raise all the safety concerns then you would try asking your customer relations if there is something they can do about it.

A bit late?

Yes, a bit late. You're replying to a post that started a year & a half ago, and hasn't been updated by the OP since then.

Your device was outside of it's one year hardware warranty. So, you're subject to the Out-of-warranty fee, until such time that an investigation confirms that there was a defect in the device and that such a defect is separate from the one-year warranty rules.

The thing is Apple Support don't even bother advising me to bring my device to an Apple Authorized Service Provider to investigate if the defect is manufacturing or user problem. I gladly pay for the cost of repair if the issue was caused by me.

Any repair you set up via Apple (store or by mail) or an AASP would involve an inspection to see if it is a defect or abuse.

If it's abuse, then you have to pay for a repair or purchase another device 9depending on level/type of abuse)

If it's a defect, then if you are within the one-year warranty or two-year AppleCare Plus (or covered under your local laws for a longer time, like in the EU I believe), then you get the device serviced, usually for no cost or a shipping fee if applicable.

If it's a defect and you are not within those time frames listed above, then you are outside of warranty, and can pay the out-of-warranty cost, UNLESS Apple has authorized a program that extends coverage time for specific defects/issues (such as the Sleep/Wake Button or Battery for certain production runs of iPhone 5).

So, if your iPhone did not qualify for one of those special programs, and it's a defect that you did not report until after your coverage time expired, then you take full responsibility for the cost of repair, as per the guidelines of the terms & conditions for warranty, which was available to review prior to your purchase.

What about Apple technology that promises no overcharging of batteries which should never have resulted in swollen/expanded batteries?

Normal drop in battery cycles is acceptable and replacement costs should be bear by user when out of warranty.

I have the same issue on my iPhone 5S, the top right hand corner of the glass has come away from the metal body and now lifts up. I push it in, but it comes right out, it clicks a little too. I just discovered this when I was cleaning out the lens of my 5S, it gets so dusty! And now I know why! It's because of the panel gap!

So I read you guy's comments and see it's because of a swollen battery, however my iPhone 5s should not have battery swelling issues... right?!!?! Only the iPhone 5 should have the swelling batteries? So what do I do?

I run a diagnostics check and it says my battery needs a service anyway. So I now have two problems: the glass panel, and the swollen battery. If it is the swollen battery that is causing the glass to raise up? Am I in the right mind to get a free replacement from Apple?!?!

I call Apple and book an appointment at my local Store, however, should I be going in with an open mind or should Apple be replacing my iPhone 5S? I feel like this is an issue that needs fixing seeing as my battery runs flat quickly too, and the glass panel problem.

Help please! Thank you guys for posting here!! 🙂

iPhone 5S, iOS 9.2.1