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iPhone 5 separation

ncaissie

ncaissie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 1, 2011
665
6
Has anyone had this happen?
I always keep my phone in an Otter box case and clipped to my belt.
Never in my pocket. Also when I put it on a flat table and there is no bend in the case.
Also my home button is taking a lot of pressure to function.


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I would say that your battery is swelling.

Mine was swelling last year and it was pushing up on the screen. Apple replaced it under warranty.

Your case seems far worse than mine however.
 
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MrGuder said:
I've never seen that so can it explode??
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I imagine so, if you let it go long enough.

I went in last year to replace my wife's lightning cable and the Genius noticed it. I brought it back the next day after backing it up and they swapped it out. But between those two points in time I heard an ominous "crack". Nothing was affected on my phone but I was glad I got it replaced after the Genius noticed it.
 
The entire screen lifted straight out of my dad's iPhone 5 due to a swollen battery. Fortunately it was replaced under the recall program even though it was 2.5 years old. Same thing is happening to my wife's 5S though to a lesser degree, one corner of the screen is much higher out of the bezel than the other 3 corners. Its not covered by the battery recall, but its a corporate phone so they will have to deal with it. I've heard of several other instances of screen separation due to battery swelling - its a fairly common iPhone 5 flaw
 
I wonder if the phone was left in the car or excessive heat that made it swell?
 
MrGuder said:
I wonder if the phone was left in the car or excessive heat that made it swell?
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Heat could possibly be a factor. I live in Phoenix. It's 100+ degrees from mid-May to the end of October. However, I don't leave my phone in the car and on hot days it always rides somewhere cool in the car.

With that, my battery still swelled. So, while possible, I don't think that's the sole factor.
 
yep it's the battery swelling...my phone looked just like this on both sides...took it to the Apple Store and they fixed it
 
I went to the Apple store and they replaced my phone.
They said it's policy because the battery swelling is a fire hazard.
 
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I called first and the guy on the phone said it wouldn't be covered because the otter box case could have over heated it.
Not ture.
 
ncaissie said:
I went to the Apple store and they replaced my phone.
They said it's policy because the battery swelling is a fire hazard.
Click to expand...
Glad you got it replaced. BS story by the rep on the phone but at least the store Geniuses knew better.

Now that you have it you will probably be reminded of how thin it was when you first got it. :D
 
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I've never seen anything like that either but it's good they issued you a new phone you wouldn't want your old phone who knows if the battery leaked into the internal components.

When Amazon sent me my iPhone 5 battery that I installed the stickers on the outside box had 3 or 4 warnings hazard explosives on it. I said what the heck the battery is super super small and thin how explosive could it be. Lol
 
I'm taking mine in Monday for this same reason hoping to get it replaced. Should I backup and restore the phone before taking it in?
 
bobright said:
I'm taking mine in Monday for this same reason hoping to get it replaced. Should I backup and restore the phone before taking it in?
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At a minimum, backup your data. This issue requires a replacement. You won't be getting your current phone back.

Personally, I would back up and restore as new though and then put the phone in airplane mode. No sense in handing Apple a phone with private data on it. They wipe them, but it's just a good practice.
 
MrGuder said:
Always unless you like to take chances if your data gets lost.
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eyoungren said:
At a minimum, backup your data. This issue requires a replacement. You won't be getting your current phone back.

Personally, I would back up and restore as new though and then put the phone in airplane mode. No sense in handing Apple a phone with private data on it. They wipe them, but it's just a good practice.
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Ok, do you guys think even though I'm out of warranty and its this old they'd still do a swap most likely? I'm almost positive it's the same issue/battery as I push the panel down and it just bounces back up as if something inside is indeed swelled up.

Thanks for the responses
 
bobright said:
Ok, do you guys think even though I'm out of warranty and its this old they'd still do a swap most likely? I'm almost positive it's the same issue/battery as I push the panel down and it just bounces back up as if something inside is indeed swelled up.

Thanks for the responses
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They might. If the battery swelling is a known defect to them. If not, you'll probably end up having to pay the OoW price.

I was under Applecare+ at the time they replaced mine so your chances may be good - given that this seemed to be a defect they replaced for under AC+.
 
eyoungren said:
They might. If the battery swelling is a known defect to them. If not, you'll probably end up having to pay the OoW price.

I was under Applecare+ at the time they replaced mine so your chances may be good - given that this seemed to be a defect they replaced for under AC+.
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I just wanted to update this for anybody that might see this and has the same issue. I went in today and told them the phone display all of a sudden popped up from the top on its own didnt happen from a drop. They took it to the back, came back no questions asked and said its a swollen battery and that they'll order me a replacement. They didn't have any in store so they're going to call me when it's in.

They always come through time and time again this phone is 3 yrs never had AppleCare just the basic manufacturer warranty that's just awesome. The phone had a broken ringer switch so that'll be fixed along with it. :)
 
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