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3G - Cracks in Plastic Housing

distortedloop said:
I wrote a rather lengthy response to your original response to me, but sadly it got lost in browser cache limbo. It's really not worth writing it all again, as you're clearly just a self-righteous Green Gestapo/Carbon Cop using the same old tactics you guys use across the web: use exaggerated examples to prove your point and make attacks based on facts not in evidence.

You keep making posts accusing all Americans of driving large distances in gas guzzling vehicles for single purposes. The green crap has no business in this discussion, and the attack on the first individual by your ilk was unwarranted, accusing him of damaging the environment because he wanted what he paid for: a beautiful Apple product free of defects.

You then chimed in with allegations of a long drive in a big vehicle and extra iPhones having to be manufactured because of his returning products. No one knows how far the guy making several exchanges lives from the store, or how he's getting there, so why attack him for doing it without knowing the facts? You also take the typical European hate-stance towards the US and paint everyone who lives here with the same brush as lazy, uncaring, unwilling to change people. That is not the case, just as any stereotype cliche we might make about Europeans is not accurate about all of you.

I also challenge your assertion that additional environment-damaging iPhone units are being produced because people are turning defective ones in for replacement. It's not as if the defective ones are just thrown into the landfills. They are refurbished and provided as warranty replacements for others, and/or sold to those who are unwilling to pay full price for a factory new unit. Just in this very thread there were several posts from 1st gen iPhone owners expressing glee at the returns so soon, as it means AT&T will have refurbs for sale in a month or so.

Finally, you again paint all Americans with the lazy brush by insinuating that just because your fat girlfiend was too lazy to walk 300 meters to the school bus stop, that we all are. I've got news for you, I walked to school everyday from Kindergarten through most of High School, two miles both ways to one of the schools, and my three children did the same, as did all the neighborhood children here.

I did not disagree with your opening statement that it didn't hurt to consider how your activities might impact the environment, but I resent the exaggerated examples, stereotyping and not-so subtle EuroHate you spew at Americans in general.

The bottom line is that a gent returning his iPhone is such a small impact on the environment that you green police types ought to just shut up about it, you're only showing that you are as bad as any religious cult zealots in preaching your cause, and it damages your credibility.
Click to expand...

:D... Anyway, I am now seriously considering not getting a 3g even though my glass on my original iphone is destroyed.
 
turtlehead said:
rich and doesn't care. he is the just like bill gates with windows releases now.
steve jobs just needs to come out and say, "yeah, there is a problem" but nope, he doesn't.
hate me, i don't care. he doesn't
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say he doesn't care, more like he has an image to maintain. Ya know, the one where they make great products that "just work". More than likely, the problem will be resolved quite silently. Its not just Apple, but every single company tries to save face in some way, look at all the companies that made those nifty plastic water bottles that may or may not have contained BPA (whatever that is) they would never admit to using BPA plastic, but yet, they will recall millions of product.
 
Pathogenesis?

I am not a scientist but from what I have seen this appears to be due to plastic and packing as much battery as possible in small space.

See:
http://mt.dreamwiz.com/upload/info/contents/200707/tree4u_20070711085514_1396_2.jpg
[They fixed this problem by enforcing the back case with bronze plate or sth... not all the units were affected]

1st obviously did not have this problem to large extent because Al is more flexible than plastic and it can dissipate the heat better and also it can withstand expanding battery better than plastic..

This is sad since I was going to get iPhone 3G but it does seem to be product that was bit 'hurried' in many aspects(including camera). Finally I was ready to let go of the fact it has lousy camera and now this???
 
For all of you shining bright lights and magnifying lens on your cracks, I have a really scary suggestion.
Shine that light on your teeth, or your skin, or any other part of your body.
You will see cracks and imperfections that will scare the sh*# out of you!
The iPhone is under warranty and easily replaced.
Your body is not.
Stop worrying about a f$#^ng phone and become a hypochondriac instead!:eek:
 
andyblila said:
I haven't heard of one MB499 getting cracks. I have a white one with that model number since launch day....no cracks. Sounds like they aren't bad?
Click to expand...

hate to burst your bubble, but i have a MB499 from week 28 from launch day with a crack on the top left corner.
 
At Apple Store Sydney Here

Checked out every single iPhone 3G white and every single one of them has crack around the port AT LEAST... but then again they could have put the cracked one out on display...

According to Mac Specialists the issue has NOT been addressed by Apple yet and Sydney branch at least does not seem to be doing the swap on the basis of the crack only.
 
puercaeli said:
Checked out every single iPhone 3G white and every single one of them has crack around the port AT LEAST... but then again they could have put the cracked one out on display...

According to Mac Specialists the issue has NOT been addressed by Apple yet and Sydney branch at least does not seem to be doing the swap on the basis of the crack only.
Click to expand...
same at Apple store in Edmonton:(
 
Hi guys!

I'm new here and I've been following this thread since a few days. I am still planning of buying an iPhone 3G here in Croatia and I hope we're one of the 20/22 countries which will receive it on the 22nd of August.

I planned to buy it in Italy but is SOLD OUT anywhere. You could find it only on eBay by spending around 600,00/700,00 € (or even more). It's just like with the "old" one about a year ago. People spending 1000,00 € just to get it before the others. Insane. Congrats to Steve Jobs and his marketing strategy. It worked out perfectly with the first gen and now with the second gen!

So... let's go back to the discussion!

I have shown the pics from this thread to my father (who sells resins for boats, yachts etc etc etc) and to a friend of mine (who studies Materials Engineering (literal translation) at the University in Trieste (Italy)).

Both of them have confirmed that the cracks can be caused by some factors:

  • the density of the material could be too high so, due to the temperature, it can expand or withdraw
  • the material has been moulded with superficiality in an economic way
  • the moulds themselves could contain defects of any typeh
  • the moulds could simply be "dirty" (due to dust or microscopic "rubbish")
  • the shape of that particular piece could be badly designed creating weak points (for ex. near the headphones jack)

Hope this could help somehow! ;)

Now we have to figure out in which fabric and in which period of time (read: week(s)) were the cracked iPhones produced. There should be a connection or a link between all of them!


Cheers from a sunny Croatia (today)! :)



Marko
 
But the amount of actually defective phones is exactly the same, or are you saying that cracks develop more in Macrumors members' phones?
Click to expand...
He is saying Macrumors membership develops more because of defective phones.
 
iPhone 3G quality control is CRAP!

I have currently gone through 7 iPhone 3G whites and all of them had some kind of defect.

1. Dead pixel and dust under screen (original purchase)
2. Back plastic cracked (from 1st visit to ‘Genius’)
3. Back plastic dented (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
4. Unevenly lit LCD (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
5. Dust under screen (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
6. Back plastic dented (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
7. Location Service (Triangulation or GPS) not working (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)

First of all, I should get paid by Apple for doing quality control for them.

Secondly, will I be 8th time lucky?

I’m annoyed that currently I have had 0% chance of getting a defectless iPhone 3G, and the fact that I’ll have to go to the Apple store for the 3rd time.

By the way, I've been told that Apple have unofficially recognised the problem (at least in the UK) and the 'Genius's will try to capture more information from anyone that has cracks on their iphones when they go for returns and so on...
 
mingineer said:
iPhone 3G quality control is CRAP!

I have currently gone through 7 iPhone 3G whites and all of them had some kind of defect.

1. Dead pixel and dust under screen (original purchase)
2. Back plastic cracked (from 1st visit to ‘Genius’)
3. Back plastic dented (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
4. Unevenly lit LCD (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
5. Dust under screen (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
6. Back plastic dented (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)
7. Location Service (Triangulation or GPS) not working (from 2nd visit to ‘Genius’)

First of all, I should get paid by Apple for doing quality control for them.

Secondly, will I be 8th time lucky?

I’m annoyed that currently I have had 0% chance of getting a defectless iPhone 3G, and the fact that I’ll have to go to the Apple store for the 3rd time.

By the way, I've been told that Apple have unofficially recognised the problem (at least in the UK) and the 'Genius's will try to capture more information from anyone that has cracks on their iphones when they go for returns and so on...
Click to expand...
Is your luck always this bad? I would lock myself in my room and never leave if I had your luck.
I have purchased three and all are well within QC, and in fact better build than my old iPhones.
 
That's quite a few iPhones you've gone through, at the estimated cost per unit which Apple pay is $174, so you've cost them $1218.

With all these QC issues, it's probably going to cost them more in replacing faulty iPhones.

I personally replaced my first iPhone as had a large piece of dust in the centre of the LCD), and a cluster of stuck pixels.

My replacement has the poorly aligned bezel issue, so it's rough around the edges, cracked ear phone jack, about 8 tiny bubbles on the plastic case and several stuck pixels. I don't know about taking it back, like most people I feel i'll just end up getting iPhucked as clearly I have expectations too high and just wasting time going to get it replaced.

I wish I hadn't of sold my old iPhone, I keep 3G switched off as it drains battery life and GPS isn't really useful at the moment for me.
 
Me and a friend of mine bought a white one.

His iphone has some cracks in 2 weeks..

I use an case.

it's the only way to prevent it.
 
I wonder why it is cracking, i have had my iphone since the release date and it hasn't cracked, but apparently it's more common in the white iPhones, which i really don't get, how does the white plastic crack more than the black plastic? It is really weird. Apple need to sort it out really!
 
I have had my white 16GB iPhone since release date, so far I don't have any cracks or scratches. I don't take too much care of it either. I usually slide it on my desk when I sit down or throw it on my bed before a shower. Personally, I think the cracks are due to pressure. When I handle my phone I barely put any pressure on it. When I mean pressure, I mean holding or on your pocket. For instance, you could have your phone in your pocket and rub your leg up against a car door or wall. Might not think anything of it, since the phone is in your pocket, but I would bet that is what some of the cracks are from. I just ordered a case from www.more-things.com. I will post a review of when I get the slim silicon case and cover.
 
Just got back from the Apple store here in Plano and they replaced my old Mb499LL week 28 phone with a crack. The guy said that apple was telling him to "capture" my old phone and send it back to headquarters. He also asked me a couple questions. Have you ever dropped it? Do you use a case? What brand? I now have a week 30:D. Not sure what part number since i don't have the box, but if i find out i'll post it.

UPDATE: It's an MB499LL
 
Evan.Jones said:
Called apple, described the problem, got a wonderful nice young lady that said they'd take a look. That was Wed, 5pm Eastern. Thursday, 10am, FedEx arrived with empty box. Friday, 10am, Apple has the phone and is "Diagnosing product." She told me to expect a new one Monday or Tues. I'm pretty frustrated with it, but Apple (specifically support) has been great.
Click to expand...

Damn, hard to go without your iPhone for so long. Too bad Apple doesn't do advanced replacements on warranty exchanges. I suppose their method assumes yours doesn't need to be replaced?
 
sandylp said:
Just out of curiosity, what are the first three numbers before 29? I think the first two represent the factory number and then 8 is the year and 28 is the week.
Click to expand...

Not the one you asked but my phone is 888281xxxxxx, MB499LL, it's cracked near the mute switch.

I will try to find via Google, but does anyone know a link to how Apple's serial numbers break down?
 
EthanNixon said:
I have had my white 16GB iPhone since release date, so far I don't have any cracks or scratches. I don't take too much care of it either. I usually slide it on my desk when I sit down or throw it on my bed before a shower. Personally, I think the cracks are due to pressure. When I handle my phone I barely put any pressure on it. When I mean pressure, I mean holding or on your pocket. For instance, you could have your phone in your pocket and rub your leg up against a car door or wall. Might not think anything of it, since the phone is in your pocket, but I would bet that is what some of the cracks are from. I just ordered a case from www.more-things.com. I will post a review of when I get the slim silicon case and cover.
Click to expand...

I hope you're not suggesting that a $500 phone shouldn't be able to handle the pressure of being held or placed in your pocket...?

:confused:
 
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