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Apple Recalls iPhone 3G USB Power Adapter

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

Wow. This is nuts I had no idea that this was happening. I guess there will be a rush to Apple stores on October 10th. I hope they don't run out of adapters.
 
Lucky one

mavis said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G (16GB, 2.1 PWNed): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)



Seriously. Contacts lag, dropped calls, using 3G/EDGE for data even when connected to wifi, case cracking, light leak, ALoDs, **** battery life, apps crashing, crap reception.

A real winner in every way. Clearly a well thought out product with time and care put into its design and production. :rolleyes:
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I guess I must be lucky then *knock on wood*. The only problem with my iphone 3G is safari unexpectedly quit on me ONE TIME but I have never had another problem. My reception is great I can always get reception even when my friends don't and my phone is always trying to connect to wifi even when I am using 3G/edge (which is annoying when you are doing something in 3G/Edge) but that is the fault of me for not changing the settings and the fault of the wifi since it always connects to this wifi which I have to sign on online before going to any webpage but still gives off the signal that I am connected. I also have had the original ipod touch since it was put out and it has been amazing as well with about 4 app crashes which happened in 2.0.4.

I couldn't be the only one with great experience could I?
 
khunsanook said:
Numbers Shmumbers...the consistent string of probs nearly ALL of my mac buddies have been having with hardware since the intel switch is enough of a number for me. I'm all for less market share if it means better product quality.
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If people who say this ran Apple we all would be waiting on PowerBook G5s and Apple's stock would be selling for 10 cents a share.

The Intel switch was one of the best choices Apple made. It allowed them to ditch the proprietary hardware in favor of lower cost off the shelf parts (in most cases). This increased revenue and allowed them to cut prices on their products. Two very good things when it comes to running a business.

If the defective rate is too high, its too expensive and it impacts profitability. On the flip side, if the defective rate it too low, you end up spending too much on quality control and it impacts profitability. The only thing that needs to be taken care of in this situation is the customer who happens to get the defective product. Last time I checked, Apple was rated at the top when it comes to customer service, so I think they are doing well in this respect.

AeronPrometheus said:
It doesn't, but I wonder if they'll do anything when they see that particular serial is not tied to a AT&T account... It looks to me like a sneaky way to conduct a roll call.
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This is the most paranoid thing I've ever heard. The only way to get a 3G i the US is to get an AT&T account. Since there isn't an unlock available that doesn't require some sort of SIM card trick, I'd say 95% of the 3Gs in the US are still tied to an AT&T account. Plus, what would they do if you didn't have a AT&T account, not replace your adapter? Its a hardware recall, nothing to do with the service.
 
mocciat said:
OK smart as*!!! I just tried 3 power adapter: mine, my wifes and my neighbors. We stuck the in an extra socket I had in the tool box and tried to break them off. Two of them we could not break, the third took and extreme amount of pressure to break off in the socket. Just out of curiosity we also too a random extension cord and tried to break that off. It took roughly the same amount of tension (granted we did not measure with a torque wrench) to break that on off.

Now I understand this is an extremely small sample, but unless Apple knows of some defect in a certain batch that can't be identified by batch numbers I would stick to my initial feelings of preemptive recall on the basis of lawsuits.

And frankly like a previous post said this would be more on UL for putting their stamp of approval on the item than Apple for producing it.

I do find it amusing that we get all bent out of shape for a power adapter recall but when we get recall notices on our automobiles noone says boo. Maybe the auto manufactures are held to a lower standard than a computer company. Or maybe we just expect mediocity for auto makers.

So there is my 2 cents do with it as you please.
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LMAO ... one of the funniest things I have read in these posts for a while!! I hope it wasn't a 100' extension cord. Could end up being an EXPENSIVE experiment.

You had a small sample size of wall chargers but we are sure glad you used random assignment in your little experiment.
mocciat said:
Just out of curiosity we also too a random extension cord and tried to break that off.
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Your results must certainly be valid. ;)

Cheers.
:):apple:
 
Tosser said:
It's not the volts that kills you, it's the amps.
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I'm picturing an ad for the new Chevy Volt:

Guy crosses street without looking, Chevy volt shrieks to a halt just before him and the huge guitar amp that was transported on the Chevy's roof drops onto the guy.

"It's not the Volts that kill you, it's the amps" :p

Because every ad involving dying people works. Look at all those 3rd world country donation ads...
 
mocciat said:
OK smart as*!!! I just tried 3 power adapter: mine, my wifes and my neighbors. We stuck the in an extra socket I had in the tool box and tried to break them off. Two of them we could not break, the third took and extreme amount of pressure to break off in the socket. Just out of curiosity we also too a random extension cord and tried to break that off. It took roughly the same amount of tension (granted we did not measure with a torque wrench) to break that on off.

Now I understand this is an extremely small sample, but unless Apple knows of some defect in a certain batch that can't be identified by batch numbers I would stick to my initial feelings of preemptive recall on the basis of lawsuits.

And frankly like a previous post said this would be more on UL for putting their stamp of approval on the item than Apple for producing it.

I do find it amusing that we get all bent out of shape for a power adapter recall but when we get recall notices on our automobiles noone says boo. Maybe the auto manufactures are held to a lower standard than a computer company. Or maybe we just expect mediocity for auto makers.

So there is my 2 cents do with it as you please.
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Wasted effort. Apple already verified that there's a problem with the plug. If it were manufactured to specification, they wouldn't recall (and wouldn't have to fear a lawsuit).

That it doesn't break easily actually doesn't matter. If it doesn't match specifications there's a larger than normal risk, even if it's still a small risk. All it takes is one "idiot" (as you call them) to electrocute himself...
 
All of this because a few "idiots" don't know how to properly use or plug in a power adapter. What a waste of time and effort, IMO. Another example of our overly litigious society reacting to the lowest common IQ denominator. :(
 
this exact thing happened to me, luckily i didnt get it stuck in there.

and just for the record, I didn't try to take it out. One day I just noticed my iphone wouldn't charge, pulled it out and noticed one of the prongs were really loose, then I tapped it, and it fell right off.
So stop acting like you guys know what you're talking about, because you idiots obviously don't. It may not be all adapters with this problem, but there are some then just come off easily, consider yourself lucky and ****.
 
theheadguy said:
Ya the problem is not everyone knows that. :rolleyes: This is what happens with aesthetics come before quality. This was preventable with quality design and construction. Any reason to the contrary is just a lame excuse.
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I agree, but I have to point out that the new adapter design is both higher quality and more aesthetically pleasing. It looks like they went with cheap, generic prongs the first time.

thedommer said:
I wonder if I can just not send back the old one. that means Ill have 2! :D
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this isn't personal to you and is just a general note to anyone thinking of keeping the old adapter...

You can if you want of course, but if you have the capability to go to a nearby Apple store and drop off the old one, you definitely should IMO. If these adapters are around they will just get more likely to break as time goes by and it might not be you, or anyone you know that owns the thing at that point.

Considering the cheap cost, the relative ease of turning it in, and the fact that some fool or some kid down the line might get electrocuted it's a no brainer to get rid of it. You don't really want to be responsible for some little kid getting killed down the line do you?

If you turn it in it will be properly recycled instead of just dumped in a landfill.

kingtj said:
We've been building devices to plug into standard 2 and 3 prong electrical outlets for over 100 years now. I think there are some well known standards to follow by now, for the approximate forces the prongs should withstand without breaking off.

This is quite likely yet another casualty of allowing everything to be manufactured overseas (in China especially). I have a buddy who travels to China regularly to purchase goods from them, and he says the way they do business with you, it's *critical* you specify every conceivable detail of anything you want them to produce in a factory for you. Making even the smallest assumption about them assembling something using "common sense" results in them cutting corners in that area.

I could EASILY see somebody forgetting to specify (or assuming specification wasn't necessary) the exact thickness of the metal required for the standard AC outlet prongs, and some Chinese factory saying "Hey, let's go as thin as possible on that material. It doesn't specify otherwise!" So voila, problems!
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You make a really good point; probably spot on.

If you notice in the pictures, the original adapter has square-ended prongs for instance, while the newer one has what appears to be thicker metal prongs with tapered ends. The first type is very easily chopped out of any old sheet metal available, and I have only ever seen this kind on stuff on products available in the local Dollar store, which is all made in China.

The second type requires at least one other "chop" or manufacturing process and might even be forged, moulded or multi-layered. Each of these processes adds to the cost of production. The first prongs are definitely a lowest-common-denominator, cheapest-possible production effort which Apple never specifies.

Apple doesn't send a product to a manufacturer and say "BTW, make it out of whatever sh*t is cheapest, we don't care." So the lack of a spec at all, (with Apple thinking that they wouldn't need to), is indeed the likely cause.

Lershac said:
Well here in the US ( I dont know about the UK and I am too lazy to look it up, how american eh?) as long as a two prong plug is polarized (one side bigger than the other ) it really is grounded. The Ground and the Neutral connect to the same bus in the breaker box... The "hot" wire carries 120V at 60Hz (or thereabouts, sometimes alternatively 110, and these vary depending on temperature outside and the time of day). To supply 240 in the US (or 220) we simply take two opposite phase 120V lines, and there is no neutral.

Thus the third pin was added as a sort of "belt and suspenders" approach I suspect. Someone please correct me on this if I am incorrect.
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True, but personally I would argue for the three prong plugs for mechanical reasons and as standardisation. Three prongs are just more stable. A lot of the time, esp. if the socket is old, two prong plugs are "wiggle-able" and sometimes just fall out. The three prong is standard for many years now and a three prong socket is more likely to be in better shape. It also would disallow people from using crappy old sockets in crappy old poorly wired houses for modern electronics.

It will never happen though for two reasons:

1) Manufacturers are all about "cheaping out" so if they can get away with two they will.

2) Steve Jobs won't allow anything with an extra button if it's not absolutely necessary, and an extra prong that's not entirely necessary will similarly never pass his desk.
 
bobbleheadbob said:
All of this because a few "idiots" don't know how to properly use or plug in a power adapter. What a waste of time and effort, IMO. Another example of our overly litigious society reacting to the lowest common IQ denominator. :(
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Mac Sux said:
So stop acting like you guys know what you're talking about, because you idiots obviously don't. It may not be all adapters with this problem, but there are some then just come off easily, consider yourself lucky and ****.
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Play nice kids!

A recall is the sensible thing to do if they foresee this being a bigger problem later on. It's not as stupid as McDonald's putting 'caution: hot' on their hot drinks.
 
I know it mentioned the new ones wont be available until October - however Ive been waiting for a 3g iPhone replacement from Apple since September 3rd. Yesterday it finally shipped (been backordered, even though shipping showed 1-2 days) from China and should be here mid next week (slow shipping?).

I have pretty good contacts at Apple and they said ALL models of the iPhone were backordered (but it seems they weren't just backordered but something was happening...)

Who knows.
 
Virgil-TB2 said:
I agree, but I have to point out that the new adapter design is both higher quality and more aesthetically pleasing. It looks like they went with cheap, generic prongs the first time.
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personally i like the old charger. i like the prongs that fold out
 
Not sure if this has been posted (I'm not going through 8 pages to find out) and that it says in the post that it's only if it affects you, or if I'm telling everyone how to suck eggs, but, I just bought an iphone and the recall is only specific to that exact type of in wall charger. Each country may have different wall plugs.
 
MrCrowbar said:
I'm picturing an ad for the new Chevy Volt:

Guy crosses street without looking, Chevy volt shrieks to a halt just before him and the huge guitar amp that was transported on the Chevy's roof drops onto the guy.

"It's not the Volts that kill you, it's the amps" :p

Because every ad involving dying people works. Look at all those 3rd world country donation ads...
Click to expand...

HAHA! Ok that is a great way to start the day reading that! That will put a lasting smile on my face all day. Thanks! =)
 
dwd3885 said:
personally i like the old charger. i like the prongs that fold out
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I have to agree. It just seems more substantial.... Not that I dwell over the details of power chargers.. if it gets the job done who cares... but the 1st one did seem better.
 
well, since i don't anticipate actually having mine break off in the wall, i'll order the replacement and keep the original one at the office and the other at home. seems like a sweet deal to me . . .
 
Geez, Apple's quality assurance has really gone down the cr**per. With this, batteries, laptops, etc. I've been looking at Consumer Reports and Apple laptops & desktops used to need the least number of repairs. Now they need the most.

However, those new power adapters are super-small! Can I get the new ones at an Apple store or something? Only thing I miss is the fold in prongs.
 
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