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Exploding/Expanding Battery on the iPhone - Can it be avoided? Or will it happen?

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StressedSnowCat

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 23, 2013
47
0
I just ordered myself an iPhone 5. Now I am a little worried when I read all these threads from people who have had their iPhone 3, 4 and 5 damaged by an expanding battery...

Will the battery expand and damage the phone some day no matter what or does the battery only expand under extreme conditions/because it is faulty?

The reason I am asking is because I'm the kind of person who uses the same phone for a very long time and plans on replacing the battery when it is dead to keep using the phone. But if the battery damages my iPhone 5 by expanding when it dies then I won't be able to use it anymore...

So what is it, do all battery expand and damage the phone eventually?
 
Menel

Menel

Suspended
Aug 4, 2011
6,351
1,356
StressedSnowCat said:
I just ordered myself an iPhone 5. Now I am a little worried when I read all these threads from people who have had their iPhone 3, 4 and 5 damaged by an expanding battery...

Will the battery expand and damage the phone some day no matter what or does the battery only expand under extreme conditions/because it is faulty?

The reason I am asking is because I'm the kind of person who uses the same phone for a very long time and plans on replacing the battery when it is dead to keep using the phone. But if the battery damages my iPhone 5 by expanding when it dies then I won't be able to use it anymore...

So what is it, do all battery expand and damage the phone eventually?
Click to expand...
No. There is a fractionally small non zero chance that it could happen, but it is a manufacturing fault. It is not inevitable.
 
R

RoofMonkey911

macrumors member
Dec 12, 2012
77
1
Just be sure to use the supplied charger and not some cheap 3rd party knockoff and you will, more than likely, be fine.
 
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S

StressedSnowCat

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 23, 2013
47
0
Menel said:
No. There is a fractionally small non zero chance that it could happen, but it is a manufacturing fault. It is not inevitable.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! So if I take good care of it and replace the battery once it dies/weakens I could possibly get 5+ years out of my phone then?
My provider does not subsidize phones so I had to pay full retail which is why I'd rather use it as long as I can get it to work. (650 bucks or half a months salary, ouch!)
 
Menel

Menel

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Aug 4, 2011
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StressedSnowCat said:
Thanks man! So if I take good care of it and replace the battery once it dies/weakens I could possibly get 5+ years out of my phone then?
My provider does not subsidize phones so I had to pay full retail which is why I'd rather use it as long as I can get it to work. (650 bucks or half a months salary, ouch!)
Click to expand...
There is nothing special you have to do to take care of. It's internal circuits handle that. Preventing deep discharge and overcharge.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

Depending on how heavy your use is, it's battery should even last you 5 years, albeit with degraded capacity. As the battery degrades, you just lose usage time, not increased risk of catastrophic failure.
 
C

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,154
The battery will just die (very very high chance) or fail and gas build up will cause expansion (very very unlikely). Regardless it will die eventually.

Every standalone GPS unit I've ever had has eventually had the battery expand as it dies. Maybe something to do with them being in hot vehicles and exposed to the sun for long durations. I was able to save my Garmin because I knew it was happening because I could see the screen looking like there was pressure on it.
 
Last edited:
firedept

firedept

macrumors 603
Jul 8, 2011
6,277
1,130
Somewhere!
You only read about the battery problems as people want some answers why or solutions. People who are not having a problem will not be posting. It is an extremely slim chance that a battery problem could arise for you. Do not worry about it and just enjoy your new phone.
 
Namji

Namji

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2010
627
20
cynics said:
The battery will just die (very very high chance) or fail and gas build up will cause expansion (very very unlikely).
Click to expand...

I'm curious.. does this only apply to batteries in the iPhone? The reason why I'm asking is because I still have all of my old smartphones ( Blackberry curve, tour, Samsung Blackjack ) and all 3 phone batteries have expanded.. it looks bloated.
I have since thrown the batteries away in fear of exploding for some unknown reason.
 
C

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,154
Namji said:
I'm curious.. does this only apply to batteries in the iPhone? The reason why I'm asking is because I still have all of my old smartphones ( Blackberry curve, tour, Samsung Blackjack ) and all 3 phone batteries have expanded.. it looks bloated.
I have since thrown the batteries away in fear of exploding for some unknown reason.
Click to expand...

I think all rechargeable batteries in general. I've had car batteries exploded, rechargeable AA batteries explode, RC car batteries explode, etc.

I've never had an issue with a phone laptop or tablet yet. I usually replace a battery every year to year and a half in my devices including my iPhone.
 
S

Sofeea26

macrumors newbie
Aug 7, 2013
1
0
I just dropped the bottom half of my Iphone in soup. I had it in raw rice for about 3 mins. Earphones work, it still charges, but the speakers sound kind of crappy. Can my battery be damaged? The charging outlet at the bottom has a brown spot inside. Can it explode while charging or?
 
C

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
Sofeea26 said:
I just dropped the bottom half of my Iphone in soup. I had it in raw rice for about 3 mins. Earphones work, it still charges, but the speakers sound kind of crappy. Can my battery be damaged? The charging outlet at the bottom has a brown spot inside. Can it explode while charging or?
Click to expand...
What exactly would keeping it in raw rice for just 3 minutes do?
 
H

H01D3N

macrumors newbie
Aug 4, 2013
24
0
It is a very small chance that your battery will expand. I have had many Apple devices and not one of them has had this happen. But it is possible, just not very likely.

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C DM said:
What exactly would keeping it in raw rice for just 3 minutes do?
Click to expand...

The rice draws out any liquids from the phone.
 
C

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
H01D3N said:
It is a very small chance that your battery will expand. I have had many Apple devices and not one of them has had this happen. But it is possible, just not very likely.

----------



The rice draws out any liquids from the phone.
Click to expand...
But it won't do much in just 3 minutes.
 
charlituna

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
Menel said:
No. There is a fractionally small non zero chance that it could happen, but it is a manufacturing fault. It is not inevitable.
Click to expand...

Not true.it is NOT a manufacturing defect at all. At least not in all cases. Faulty third party chargers, leaving a screw under the battery when getting a cheap replacement, continuing to try to charge a consumed battery, physical damage from a drop or being run over etc all can cause battery fires and/or expanding and non are due to manufacturing.
 
chris41

chris41

macrumors newbie
Jun 13, 2016
1
0
same here my friend i order the
iPhone 5c model and i am extreme worried about all those news i heard so it is true??
[doublepost=1465812052][/doublepost]sorry for the big letters i was panic before.....tommorow afternoon i am waiting for my new iphone you know.....
 
willmtaylor

willmtaylor

macrumors G4
Oct 31, 2009
10,314
8,198
Here(-ish)
chris41 said:
same here my friend i order the
iPhone 5c model and i am extreme worried about all those news i heard so it is true??
[doublepost=1465812052][/doublepost]sorry for the big letters i was panic before.....tommorow afternoon i am waiting for my new iphone you know.....
Click to expand...

What "news"? The news from 2013?
 
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