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Mines the same as your video. I don't want to change it yet as I may get a worse screen or battery. I figure I'll phone in for a replacement some time in the year and send a video showing the noise like yours. It's clearly not right on a £600 phone

Oh If you turn it over and tap it goes away right?

Thanks for taking the time to post.

I can understand not wanting to chance a replacement but the way I see it is if there's something wrong with the replacement like a bad screen or hardware issue, at least it'll be a symptom that verizon can't just say "is normal" like this one... not to mention, I'm going to check the phones side-by-side when the new one comes and make sure it doesn't have any issues right out of the box.

I will be purchasing an applecare+ warranty when I get my new one and I'm going to bypass my carrier (verizon) for support/service. I am letting verizon try to make it right this time... but they're one of those companies that's getting so big, it's starting to degrade customer service.

Interesting yours is EXACTLY as bad as mine is though...
 
I've found 2 youtube vids like mine and one other person on the official apple forums who said theirs is like my video.

I can't imagine with millions of the 4s models sold that everyone is either accepting the sound as "normal" or is just brushing it off... to the uninformed, it certainly sounds like a loose screw or something.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4S: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Yeah, if I tap it like you show in the video, mine does it too. No big deal to me as I don't tap on my phones backside by the camera ever.

I don't care about it unless it cause's a real problem because it doesn't make that sound any other time during my normal use of it and operationally the phone is just fine.
 
I've found 2 youtube vids like mine and one other person on the official apple forums who said theirs is like my video.

I can't imagine with millions of the 4s models sold that everyone is either accepting the sound as "normal" or is just brushing it off... to the uninformed, it certainly sounds like a loose screw or something.

Search for 4 iphone camera noise and you will find many saying they here a slight vibration when tapped and it's the auto-focus lens.

On another note-I have heard 4 owners say their autof ocus stopped working and to cure it they tap near the camera while the camera is on and it un sticks the lens.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4S: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Yeah, if I tap it like you show in the video, mine does it too. No big deal to me as I don't tap on my phones backside by the camera ever.

I don't care about it unless it cause's a real problem because it doesn't make that sound any other time during my normal use of it and operationally the phone is just fine.

Yeah, I fully understand. I don't typically tap mine either but I do set it down on the desk and can hear it when I do that. I'm a bit OCD but I can get used to it if it's truely "normal". As I mentioned in a different thread on a different forum, my definition of "slight rattle" and someone elses may be totally different. I'm trying to gauge my experience and expectations and ensure they're not out of order.

Thanks for your post!

Search for 4 iphone camera noise and you will find many saying they here a slight vibration when tapped and it's the auto-focus lens.

On another note-I have heard 4 owners say their autof ocus stopped working and to cure it they tap near the camera while the camera is on and it un sticks the lens.

I did see some iphone 4 owners mentioning it. Most iphone 4 models that I've tested were not NEARLY as bad as mine. You have to hold it up to your ear directly and tap DIRECTLY below the camera. I can pretty much tap anywhere on the back of my phone and duplicate the issue and you can be standing 5ft away and hear it.

I find it interesting that some iphone 4 owners have complained about the auto focus over time however... That's kind of what I'm afraid of. I intend to pass this device along to my wife in a year and want to make sure it's in good shape.
 
I have never noticed til now.
(had to turn the tv off and really listen for it)

do you have a 4 or a 4s?

every 4 owner who I asked to see their phone did not even notice it until I pointed it out to them (on their device). They DID say they heard it on mine without even holding it up to their ear.
 
Mine has it. I don't even have to tap it. I can just shake the phone side to side in my hand and hear the rattle. Everything else seems to work ok though, so hesitant to return for one that is worse.
 
Hey thanks for the bump.

I actually have an update to this... Verizon sent me a BRAND NEW phone after telling me the rattle was certainly NOT normal. Apple told me the same thing.

I took a short clip of me opening the BRAND NEW phone.

Stay tuned for updates....
 
My 4s makes the same sound, may be not as loud (as in video)? But couldn't really tell from the video how loud it really was.
 
My 4s makes the same sound, may be not as loud (as in video)? But couldn't really tell from the video how loud it really was.

Speaking from my own perspective if yours was the same as the video you'd recognise it. Does that makes sense? Even from the OPs description I knew we have the same.
 
I can hear it on my 4S if I tap the back right under the camera (but who the hell does that?). I can shake the crap out of the phone and I don't hear any kind of rattles though.
 
Mine has it. I don't even have to tap it. I can just shake the phone side to side in my hand and hear the rattle. Everything else seems to work ok though, so hesitant to return for one that is worse.

+1

And like the OP's video, don't have any problem at all with my camera though or any other problem for that matter.

Even my several thousands worth of canon lens makes this noise, which i know is normal for that one, that's why i am accepting the noise as the lens is a far more expensive "toy" and still does it.
 
I can hear it on my 4S if I tap the back right under the camera (but who the hell does that?). I can shake the crap out of the phone and I don't hear any kind of rattles though.

So you don't hear it every time you put you're phone down or of its on a table on silent and it vibrates? If you don't then you haven't got what the OP has.
 
+1

And like the OP's video, don't have any problem at all with my camera though or any other problem for that matter.

Even my several thousands worth of canon lens makes this noise, which i know is normal for that one, that's why i am accepting the noise as the lens is a far more expensive "toy" and still does it.

Your Canon lenses rattle a bit when tapped? I will check mine.
 
Uploading a video now... (if it ever finishes).

Saw my cousin this weekend who also has a 4s. It rattled when tapped as well but not as bad as my first video.

The video I'm uploading is the unboxing and rattle testing of my replacement phone. It was brand new in box.
 
Sorry, I haven't been back to this thread - but no, never caused an issue at all.

Thanks for the update. I'm learning this is "normal" though I find it odd that Apple and Verizon both deem it "abnormal" and are replacing devices because of it. Someone needs to clue them in...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0unTlDxoEkE

Please excuse the recording in the bathroom -- it was well lit and quiet so I went in there to open it. Also note that the little tear in the shrinkwrap was there when I took it out of the fedex box.

It's hard to tell but this phone rattles MUCH less than the original.

The verdict is that I feel there is a "tolerance" or a spectrum for the rattling. I think *some* is normal. Was my first phone defective? I don't know... It DID rattle quite a bit more/louder than my current one or my cousins that I checked out on Sunday. Maybe I could have kept it and it would have been fine for me for the next year and for my wife for the next few years... I wasn't willing to take that chance if I didn't have to.

Thanks to all who discussed this matter...
 
I would agree, have 2 4S's and a 4 sitting here, all rattle a bit.
 
i have had 3 4s' (for different issues), and they all did it to some degree. I was told that it is worse in the att model because the vibration motor is different from the verizon model. (it is just an irregular cylinder). Also was told that it is the camera shutter. Either way i only notice it when i tap the back or set it down a certain way.
 
I have a verizon iphone 4S 16gb and mine rattles if I tap it near the lens, yes.


Should I be concerned? I got it yesterday. I wouldn't have noticed unless I didn't come across this ad. I've got a gameboy silicon case and I hope its enough protection.

I'm coming from an OG droid that was a little tank. It worked even after repeated falls, using it to listen to music in a hot, steamy bathroom and it even worked two days after it was completely submerged in water (I did the rice trick though).
 
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