Anyone return their 3gs for a loose/rattling vibrate button?

[voncarlo]

I have the black 16gb - bought at the apple store. Screen appears to be ok - not yellow (at least compared against my old first gen). Vibrate switch has a slight - not awful - rattle when in vibrate mode. In standard mode it holds pretty solid.

I've seen the other threads here and it seems like those people who have tried to return them have had little luck - either been told that it's "within spec" or that the swapped out one had the problem as well (and maybe a yellow screen). I don't want to go in and start some big argument with the mac genius over it if that's what it's going to come down to.

I figured I would take a wait and see attitude if it gets worse, then go in. It does bug me a bit, but it's not that bad.

What I'm wondering is if I am in a better position now to take it back (1 week old) or waiting for a month or so?

 

[barkomatic]

You are in a better position now to take it back IMO--especially if you are within your return window. How easy it actually is to convince the person to swap the phone will vary greatly depending upon the store management and the personality of the genius you deal with.

Additionally, you are more likely to get a truly new 3GS in return right now. There hasn't been enough time to generate a large refurb pile. Once you are caught in the refurb cycle, its hard to get out!

 

[uberamd]

My white 16GB 3G S is doing the same thing, and I just noticed it today (and I did a search before starting a new thread). Its annoying now that I noticed it. I am debating sending it in, but I don't want to risk getting a refurb that may be worse off.

 

[Stiss]

Go and switch it.

I remember when the Genius asked me did i think mine was faulty for this issue and a light leak and i said its debatable, but it makes me question the integrity of the product and affects my enjoyability of it.

The integrity part stumped him and he swapped it.

 

[voncarlo]

so i went in tonight and decided to check out the floor models before saying anything. i checked at least 8 floor models - 3g and 3gs. ALL - and I mean ALL of them did it the same as mine, so i figure it's probably "within spec". if it gets super loose or worse, i'll get a refurb, but for now i'll keep it.

 

[Anuba]

I have the black 16gb - bought at the apple store. Screen appears to be ok - not yellow (at least compared against my old first gen). Vibrate switch has a slight - not awful - rattle when in vibrate mode. In standard mode it holds pretty solid.

I've seen the other threads here and it seems like those people who have tried to return them have had little luck - either been told that it's "within spec" or that the swapped out one had the problem as well (and maybe a yellow screen). I don't want to go in and start some big argument with the mac genius over it if that's what it's going to come down to.

I figured I would take a wait and see attitude if it gets worse, then go in. It does bug me a bit, but it's not that bad.

What I'm wondering is if I am in a better position now to take it back (1 week old) or waiting for a month or so?

99 of 100 iPhone 3G and 3GS units rattle horribly when vibration is on. I wouldn't trade in an otherwise flawless specimen over this, the risk of getting one with other problems is infinitely higher than the chance of getting a non-rattling one (let alone one that is otherwise flawless). The rattling is due to poor construction, not an anomaly.

 

[uberamd]

99 of 100 iPhone 3G and 3GS units rattle horribly when vibration is on. I wouldn't trade in an otherwise flawless specimen over this, the risk of getting one with other problems is infinitely higher than the chance of getting a non-rattling one (let alone one that is otherwise flawless). The rattling is due to poor construction, not an anomaly.

Which is stupid because I managed to disassemble my 3G completely, and reassemble it and even missing some screws the vibrate switch is sturdy. Ugh. I canceled my Concierge appointment.

 

[mplewis87]

I had returned mine because of sound distortion when receiving SMS, and it had a rattling vib. button too... The new one I got also has a rattle vib button and distortion on SMS, so I'm back to square one. Sound problem is 3.0's fault, but the rattling vib button doesn't seem to be a big deal to me...

 

[raymanster]

I never even noticed the rattling problem until I read about it on this forum. Sat in the office looking a bit like an idiot shaking the phone next to my ear, oh yes it rattles when switched to silent. Not enough to annoy me though.

I think no mass produced consumer item is perfect, IMHO as an overall package the iPhone comes really close.

 

[Anuba]

I had returned mine because of sound distortion when receiving SMS, and it had a rattling vib. button too... The new one I got also has a rattle vib button and distortion on SMS, so I'm back to square one. Sound problem is 3.0's fault, but the rattling vib button doesn't seem to be a big deal to me...

3.0 has lots of weird sound problems. One of them being that all sound effects are split in half somehow. Instead of it going "bing" when a mail arrives, it goes "bi-" (pause) "-ng".

As someone who didn't get into Apple's products seriously until a couple of years ago, I must have missed the days when Apple built their reputation for rock solid software that "just works", because every release during my time as their customer has been buggy as ****. Leopard, iPhone OS 2.0, iPhone 3.0... all initial releases have been littered with bugs that make me wonder if they even do any beta testing at all. Meanwhile, notorious bug factory Microsoft has been getting their act together... it's like living in Bizarro world: The release candidate for Windows 7 is more stable on my Mac than Leopard attempt #7.

 

[uberamd]

3.0 has lots of weird sound problems. One of them being that all sound effects are split in half somehow. Instead of it going "bing" when a mail arrives, it goes "bi-" (pause) "-ng".

As someone who didn't get into Apple's products seriously until a couple of years ago, I must have missed the days when Apple built their reputation for rock solid software that "just works", because every release during my time as their customer has been buggy as ****. Leopard, iPhone OS 2.0, iPhone 3.0... all initial releases have been littered with bugs that make me wonder if they even do any beta testing at all. Meanwhile, notorious bug factory Microsoft has been getting their act together... it's like living in Bizarro world: The release candidate for Windows 7 is more stable on my Mac than Leopard attempt #7.

I beta tested iPhone OS 3.0 from the beginning. If you think its buggy now, you should have seen the first beta.