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3G - Cracks in Plastic Housing

I took mine back to Apple Trafford Centre last night.

2 Cracks around the docking port, one in the corner that came first, then a week later a new crack appeared going up the middle.

booked myself at the genius bar, and then they had a quick look for water damage using the tool GP's look in your ears with, then they gave me a new one.

I was a bit cheeky and asked if they could swap it for a 16Gb white one and they said no, i even offered to pay for it as if i took it out on my tariff! They still said no, is there any other way i could get a white one?
 
Hi again guys

sorry for the double post, i was just reading through this thread and i assume there are some people who think that when they get a iPhone replaced they get a new 12 month warranty.

I think your wrong.

I work with warranties as part of my job and a in warranty exchange such as what we get when we take our phones back do not come with a new warranty, your warranty continues from the original purchase date.

I also have some evidence to back this up with too, if you go onto itunes and take a note of your serial number, head over to Apples website and follow through the support options you can put your serial number in and it gives you warranty info, such as the end and start date. Mine says 15th July 2009 it expires, well i got my phone on the 15th July 2008 and had it replaced yesterday.

Sorry if the majority are aware of this.
 
Stiss said:
I was a bit cheeky and asked if they could swap it for a 16Gb white one and they said no, i even offered to pay for it as if i took it out on my tariff! They still said no, is there any other way i could get a white one?
Click to expand...

Hmm. In your signature it says you have an 8GB one, so they probably didn't want you just to "upgrade" even though you would have paid. If you had had a 16GB one, it would be a different story. A genius offered to swap my white one for a black one because of the cracks...I stuck with white though.

Stiss said:
I work with warranties as part of my job and a in warranty exchange such as what we get when we take our phones back do not come with a new warranty, your warranty continues from the original purchase date.
Click to expand...

This is 100% correct. The warranty that started the day the iPhone was purchased remains the same no matter how many iPhones it is swapped out with.
 
Ahh well i will have to shut up and put up.

I thought it was worth a ask and i was a little disappointed that i couldn't, even O2 won't sell me a reconditioned white iPhone.

I guess i'll just have to wait for the inevitable new model coming in June/July.

Just a question while on this subject, you know when people upgraded from 2G to 3G were they able to keep there 2G phones?
 
Thats good because if theres a new one out this year and i upgrade its nice i can keep my 3G.

Another note regarding faulty iPhones.

My 3 day old replacement is now going back due to a severe light leak down the left hand side.
 
So after reading this thread I got to thinking - my 3G had had an inch long crack in the casing by the connector port for the best part of two months. I'd had my iPhone since last August but why not give Apple Care a call and see what they think? So - I give them a call and after being told to ring back later because the systems were down, I was told that I could go to the nearest Apple Store (Sheffield) for a possible exchange or it would have to be sent off to be fixed. If I went down to the store (a bit of a trek as I live in Leeds) then I might be in luck.

I decided to chance my arm and head down to the Apple Store at Meadowhall after having booked a Genius appointment. I was told that the usual policy was not to exchange iPhones which had case cracks, they were usually sent off for repair - but as I had been told by Apple Care that I might get an exchange, the Genius dude said he wouldn't go back on that and effected a change for my 16gb 3G there and then.

I'm glad I looked on here and even more glad that I've now got a brand new, shiny new 16gb - THAT'S what I call fantastic customer service - thank you, Apple!

:apple: is :cool: :D
 
I too just noticed my first crack after 5 months in my white phone. 1/4" near silence switch.

At this point, since phone works (better than when new so AT&T must have updated) I'll wait and see. Returbs are a risk as I learned with a dell PDA a few years ago. First replacement had bad speaker I didn't even notice for month. Second only lasted couple months. Then I was out of warranty.
 
I did notice a few weeks back a good way to send the phone into the grass is to golf with phone in shirt pocket. First drive, phone left in cart.
 
go go gadget replacement!

for what it's worth i'm taking my replacment back now because of a light leak as mentioned up there, and also right on the top right edge of the screen there is a chip missing, tiny little thing but its always catching the light and showing up white!

I'd take my old one back at this point.
 
Does anyone know how long it would take to get a replacement phone if I send in my phone because of cracks through the mail?
 
imoguy789 said:
Does anyone know how long it would take to get a replacement phone if I send in my phone because of cracks through the mail?
Click to expand...

So far I've only used Apple's advance replacement service, but they always ship the replacements to me via FedEx Priority Overnight. That means I can request the replacement on a Tuesday afternoon and have it in my hands as early as Wednesday morning.

As far as sending your phone in FIRST and then waiting to get your replacement, it could take a while longer since they have to send you the prepaid label and other stuff, you have to wait for your phone to get to them and then you STILL have to wait for the replacement to get to you. I strongly suggest using the advance replacement service if you're like me and can't stand to be without your iPhone. :D
 
yet another crack, yet another replacement...
How long can it go for?
I have to applaud Apple for "just replacing" cracked iPhones, but what about the ones that will reach the end of warranty?!
 
atlatnesiti said:
yet another crack, yet another replacement...
How long can it go for?
I have to applaud Apple for "just replacing" cracked iPhones, but what about the ones that will reach the end of warranty?!
Click to expand...

it usually cracks in the first two weeks. And Apple is repairing cracking macbooks out of warranty as well.
 
atlatnesiti said:
yet another crack, yet another replacement...
How long can it go for?
I have to applaud Apple for "just replacing" cracked iPhones, but what about the ones that will reach the end of warranty?!
Click to expand...

On my fourth replacement, and spoke with apple again today because I just noticed more cracks....Apparently apple has identified the problem, which had to do with the molding they used to make the plastic housing. Because I am on my 4th phone, and there is a likelihood that I will receive another refurbished iPhone that hasn't had the problem corrected, the customer relations department said they would send me a brand new phone, box and all!! Pretty good deal, especially since I asked them and they said that my warranty will be completely reset, as if i had just purchased the phone...Sounds like ill be keeping this baby in good condition and then ebay-in it sometime around July when this new phone hits....The only catch is that they have to charge my credit card until i send them back my phone...which is no big deal because the alternative to that would have been sending my phone first and waiting for the new phone...Either way I am totally impressed they finally effectively addressed this issue! :D
 
Jeremy08 said:
On my fourth replacement, and spoke with apple again today because I just noticed more cracks....Apparently apple has identified the problem, which had to do with the molding they used to make the plastic housing. Because I am on my 4th phone, and there is a likelihood that I will receive another refurbished iPhone that hasn't had the problem corrected, the customer relations department said they would send me a brand new phone, box and all!! Pretty good deal, especially since I asked them and they said that my warranty will be completely reset, as if i had just purchased the phone...Sounds like ill be keeping this baby in good condition and then ebay-in it sometime around July when this new phone hits....The only catch is that they have to charge my credit card until i send them back my phone...which is no big deal because the alternative to that would have been sending my phone first and waiting for the new phone...Either way I am totally impressed they finally effectively addressed this issue! :D
Click to expand...

Just like you I recently received a new, sealed phone from Apple due to numerous issues I had been having (NOT the cracking issue). I'm sorry to burst your bubble but even if they have identified the issue in regards to the cracking that doesn't mean they have fixed it in newer phones, and they sure haven't as my new phone shows the same hairline fractures around the headphone jack, silent switch, etc. It's one of the few issues that DOESN'T bug me as much as it seems to bug everyone else, and I'll be hanging onto this phone until the new model comes out.

Anyway, I just thought you should know so you didn't get your hopes up and then freak out what you started noticing cracks again. :eek:
 
Untaken said:
Just like you I recently received a new, sealed phone from Apple due to numerous issues I had been having (NOT the cracking issue). I'm sorry to burst your bubble but even if they have identified the issue in regards to the cracking that doesn't mean they have fixed it in newer phones, and they sure haven't as my new phone shows the same hairline fractures around the headphone jack, silent switch, etc. It's one of the few issues that DOESN'T bug me as much as it seems to bug everyone else, and I'll be hanging onto this phone until the new model comes out.

Anyway, I just thought you should know so you didn't get your hopes up and then freak out what you started noticing cracks again. :eek:
Click to expand...

I think i actually mispoke, the apple representative said they had identified the problem, and it has been resolved, I don't know how long ago you got your new phone, but hopefully I won't see these cracks again...But then again, its not like I mind getting a new phone 5 times in a year...not counting problems with the first gen iphone...HOPEFULLY the new phone this summer will solve most of the issues that have plagued the previous models.
 
Jeremy08 said:
I think i actually mispoke, the apple representative said they had identified the problem, and it has been resolved, I don't know how long ago you got your new phone, but hopefully I won't see these cracks again...But then again, its not like I mind getting a new phone 5 times in a year...not counting problems with the first gen iphone...HOPEFULLY the new phone this summer will solve most of the issues that have plagued the previous models.
Click to expand...

I received my new iPhone just over a week ago and the serial number tells me it was manufactured in Week 12 of 2009. That's pretty new. :p

Honestly the cracking issue is so common that I doubt ANY iPhone is completely free of the issue. I've inspected other people's iPhones that had no idea about the problem and sure enough, I was able to find the cracks on their phones (mostly black iPhones so the cracks are understandably hard to see). I'll make the recommendation to you that I made to myself, if you have the same problem with your new, SEALED iPhone then just put up with it for a few more months and hope the new model doesn't have the same crap quality control. Look at it this way, you ended up getting an extra pair of headphones, USB cable and power adapter for free, and even got a whole new warranty! You've still come out ahead even if your new one cracks. ;)
 
O.K, Here is one for you...
I have a hypothetical scenario for you guys... It is July 2009 (iPhone 3G MK2 already released);
Your current iPhone 3G MK1 is still under warranty and you have had multiple replacements of it due to cracks.
You have just noticed yet another crack on your recently replaced iPhone MK1 and you contact Apple (as usual).
What will Apple do? Will they replace it (again) with iPhone MK1 or are they obliged to give you (newly released) iPhone MK2...?
 
they replace 'like for like' - you get another 3G iPhone, same colour and memory size as your cracked one.
 
I've been lucky.

I've had my white 16G 3G since it came out and have inspected it numerous times with a magnifying glass - no cracks so far.
 
I'm hoping that since I have an IS on mine that even if it does crack they won't show up. Ignorance is bliss. :D
 
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