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iPhone 4 Rattling - Genius Bar?

James Godfrey

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 13, 2011
2,074
1,713
Hi all,

I have noticed a rattling on my iPhone 4 coming from the on/off switch area when I shake the phone slightly. When I hold down the on/off switch the rattling stops. I checked afew of my friends iPhone 4's and they dont have this rattle, so obviously it shouldnt be doing it, I also hear it very loudly if I record a video on the device.

I still have a good 10 months left on my contract, and am worried that this rattle will lead to a much bigger problem by the time my contracts up and I come to sell my phone (dropping the price I get for it quite a bit), my warranty runs out in February so should I take it to the Genius Bar for a replacement or free repair?

It would be my first time going to a genius bar, so any ideas on what I need to take with me etc...

Do I need my receipt? I think I have lost it.

Thanks

James
 
Am I being to fussy, I feel a bit of a tit complaining about a rattle, but when I have paid £500 for a phone I dont expect it to rattle.
 
Wirelessly posted (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)

If you get a dumb/new genius you'll get a replacement however of there clued up they will turn you away and tell you it's perfectly normal! The auto focus is free floating when not powered that is what the rattle is.
 
So when I am recording it shouldnt shake is that correct? If so, I have a recording on my phone which you can clearly hear the shaking taking place.
 
Wirelessly posted (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)

If your recording it'll click as it focuses if u put the af lock on it shouldn't unless you tap hard
 
I have tried putting the auto focus lock on but it still rattles I dont think it is the auto focus, the only thing that stops the rattling is by holding the power button down. Something is definately loose inside.
 
I think I am going to take it in today and see if they can do anything about it, Im within my warranty so cant see any problem with doing so. The sound is very loud when recording a video, sounds like a maraca when I shake it whilst recording.
 
You seem to have a hardware problem and not like us 4S owners who all suffer from this rattle, but not to your point of rattle as you explain, but more like a image stabilizer rattle that DSLR cameras even make.

I think the poster before is misreading you as you own a 4S and not a 4... the 4 doesn't have image stabilizer (which i think is the cause of the rattle on ALL the 4S).

If i where you i'd send it in for warranty.
 
Hi,

Yes it is an iPhone 4 and not a 4S, I have booked a genius appointment today, should I take my box, charger etc in to?

Thanks

James
 
It's 'normal' it has been there since the 3GS. I have it on my iPhone 4 and I had my 3GS replaced about five times for separate issues when I had it and they all had this rattling.
 
James Godfrey said:
Hi,

Yes it is an iPhone 4 and not a 4S, I have booked a genius appointment today, should I take my box, charger etc in to?

Thanks

James
Click to expand...

Only need to take the phone and recite(?) with you, or only the phone in most cases..

RossMc said:
It's 'normal' it has been there since the 3GS. I have it on my iPhone 4 and I had my 3GS replaced about five times for separate issues when I had it and they all had this rattling.
Click to expand...

I never had such a sound on my 3GS and when i had it dissassembled in pieces (which i have had many times), i can't remember any piece inside the phone that would make a rattle even now of today..

bandofbrothers said:
I've never felt the need to shake my phone to listen for a rattling noise and still don't !
Click to expand...


It's not about that. You're obviously not seeing the point.
 
M Quick said:
I never had such a sound on my 3GS and when i had it dissassembled in pieces (which i have had many times), i can't remember any piece inside the phone that would make a rattle even now of today..
Click to expand...

Ah well, Every one that I had rattled and I ever took it to the Apple Store the first time I noticed it and the Genius had it happening to his phone as well. You could tell when you tapped the back of the Apple logo not just shaking it.
 
RossMc said:
Ah well, Every one that I had rattled and I ever took it to the Apple Store the first time I noticed it and the Genius had it happening to his phone as well. You could tell when you tapped the back of the Apple logo not just shaking it.
Click to expand...

Well then, i guess that is the case then :) It could be that my 3GS was supposed to rattle but didn't because of a hardware fault(?), not likely, but if it's a common thing on the 3GS aswell, then i think that is the case for me :)
 
M Quick said:
Only need to take the phone and recite(?) with you, or only the phone in most cases..



I never had such a sound on my 3GS and when i had it dissassembled in pieces (which i have had many times), i can't remember any piece inside the phone that would make a rattle even now of today..




It's not about that. You're obviously not seeing the point.
Click to expand...


I understand your point dude.

I pay outright for my iPhones and this iPhone 4 was no exception. £504 sterling.
So I expect it to operate as described.

I'm personally not concerned by a rattling noise only noticed if I shake it.
 
Just noticed mine rattles a bit when you shake it.
No biggie, it's really quiet and you can only hear it when you're shaking it and it's <20cm from your ear.
 
bandofbrothers said:
I understand your point dude.

I pay outright for my iPhones and this iPhone 4 was no exception. £504 sterling.
So I expect it to operate as described.

I'm personally not concerned by a rattling noise only noticed if I shake it.
Click to expand...


Hehe, i'm in the same boat, i always pay them cash and never take them on a contract, the exact same amount as you did as mine was also bought from nearby you :)

I have no problems with the rattle myself, but in this case it seems to be the power button making such noise! :)
 
OP isn't talking about the camera rattle. OP, I think your on/off button is lose.. If that's the case, mine is too. I think most are though, so nothing to worry about.
 
Lens rattle is normal. On/off button is not. However, if its not to bad then you can not worry about it.
But if it does bother you, merely take in just your iPhone (no boxes, books, chargers,etc.) to you local Genius bar.
 
As the other person said, the auto focus is free floating mechanism. It will rattle slightly when tapped near the camera. It shouldn't rattle during most movements. I have seen others that rattled by looking at it-that is not normal.
 
Hi all,

Just a quick update, I went to the Genius Bar, the fella was really great he explained to me that all phone have moving parts inside them but he did understand when it came to hearing it during recording (quite loudly to be honest).

Therefore he swapped it for a brand new iPhone 4 on the spot, it did come out of a black box, but he did assure me it was brand new and not a refurb.

No more rattling on my new phone.

Thanks apple great service!
 
Can anyone tell me how I can tell if this is definately a new iPhone or a refurbished one, looked online and they talk about serial numbers. My new iPhone serial starts with QR.

Thanks

James
 
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