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iPhone Glass- Very Poor Durability

S

Snowman3459

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 15, 2010
547
0
I've been reading countless post on this forum; from people who bash the iPhone 4 glass because it shatters when they drop it 5 feet onto concrete.

Obviously it's going to break.

Now I am anything but a iPhone 4 hater. In fact, I made a thread a day after I received my phone saying how perfect it was. This phone is great and I love it.

However, I've had my first experience testing this "durable" glass.

I have only dropped my iPhone ONCE. Yes, ONCE. I was sitting on my bed when i got butter fingers and it slipped to the floor.

Here's the thing though, my bed is about 3 feet from the ground; when it fell my legs caught it making this drop about 1 1/2 feet. And it fell onto padded carpet.

As a result, I have a small crack.

DSC00942.jpg


Yes this isn't really a big deal compared to all the shattered iPhones out there, but I thought it was a little ridiculous how this can happen from less then a 2 foot drop onto a soft surface.

Anyways, that's my rant.

*waits for "cool story bro"*
 
its really down to the angle of the drop and what it hits. Every drop is different, i have seen videos of people dropping it from 5 feet four times before it cracks.

You just got unlucky, apple might replace it for you i think, as i one time thing.
 
Onto carpet, a hard surface is one thing, but the fact that it cracked hitting carpet really worries me.
 
aaah..that sucks man! I haven't dropped any of my phones :crosses fingers: go to the Apple Store and see if they can do anything for you.
 
Zaft said:
its really down to the angle of the drop and what it hits. Every drop is different, i have seen videos of people dropping it from 5 feet four times before it cracks.

You just got unlucky, apple might replace it for you i think, as i one time thing.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'm more scared to replace it. This phone has virtually no issues; and I'd hate to replace it with one that is faulty.

I'm not quite sure how it dropped, but the way it looked once it fell from my legs, it was going to land straight on the back, at no specific angle or side.
 
Snowman3459 said:
Honestly, I'm more scared to replace it. This phone has virtually no issues; and I'd hate to replace it with one that is faulty.

I'm not quite sure how it dropped, but the way it looked once it fell from my legs, it was going to land straight on the back, at no specific angle or side.
Click to expand...

If it's the back then you can, once parts filter through, get a replacement. The back appears to be the easiest thing to replace.
 
Those edges is the weak spot.

Did you have a bumper on? That sucks. While I believe the iPhone 4 is the most beautiful, it certainly is the least durable. The 2G iPhone was no doubt the most durable of all iPhones. It was prone to scratches on the chrome bezel, but it was solid in concrete drops and resisted the least fingerprints on the back.. The 4 is basically like carrying two slabs of glass as a cell phone. A fingerprint magnet on both sides like the last two iPhones and easily becoming the most shatter prone.
 
Savor said:
Those edges is the weak spot.

Did you have a bumper on? That sucks. While I believe the iPhone 4 is the most beautiful, it certainly is the least durable. The 2G iPhone was no doubt the most durable of all iPhones. It was prone to scratches on the chrome bezel, but it was solid in concrete drops and resisted the least fingerprints on the back.. The 4 is basically like carrying two slabs of glass as a cell phone. A fingerprint magnet on both sides like the last two iPhones and easily becoming the most shatter prone.
Click to expand...

All true.

But no, I do not have a bumper. I'm oh so ironically waiting for my blue bumper :(
 
BUT! this new glass is highly bendable.

I don't know about you, but I bend my iPhone all the time :rolleyes:

Has me kinda worried tho.....all of my floors are concrete, not a square inch of carpet in the whole place...
 
palmerc2 said:
BUT! this new glass is highly bendable.

I don't know about you, but I bend my iPhone all the time :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I will give you that. There's a difference between bending a piece of glass when it isn't fixed in place on a device. Any flexibility that existed is gone once it's on the phone.
 
I feel your pain(not really-never had any damage to my 3GS)..but there aint no way I could have a crack in my iPhone and look at it everyday....like driving with a cracked windshield...no can do...good luck to ya though.

do you go bare or just havent gotten a case yet?
 
yentrog31 said:
I feel your pain(not really-never had any damage to my 3GS)..but there aint no way I could have a crack in my iPhone and look at it everyday....like driving with a cracked windshield...no can do...good luck to ya though.

do you go bare or just havent gotten a case yet?
Click to expand...

Waiting for bumper.

This is actually the first phone I ever decided to get a case for. I always go naked :cool:

Luckily it's on the back of it and isn't very visible when giving it a quick look.
 
This is by far the worst problem then reception issue. I hate to use bumper for any phone. I dropped my blackberry, my iphone 3G few times on concrete, no problem at all.

It is unacceptable if ip4 cracks just slips out of my pocket!
 
You mean you dropped your phone made of glass and you're upset because it broke? You could of done the same to any phone made and it could of broken, it's not a unique iPhone 4 situation. My advice is to be more responsible with your very expensive electronic devices.

As far as poor durability... dropped mine onto a tile floor, marked the bezel but that is all. Of course the 3 times iFix it dropped their iPhone 4 without breaking it (onto asphalt) says the phone is pretty damn durable. As far as a 1.5' drop after you caught it with your legs onto carpet and that happening, Cool story bro!

So many new MR guys with issues, kinda funny.
 
palmerc2 said:
BUT! this new glass is highly bendable.

I don't know about you, but I bend my iPhone all the time :rolleyes:

Has me kinda worried tho.....all of my floors are concrete, not a square inch of carpet in the whole place...
Click to expand...

Where do you live? At least in CA, you can't sell a house with bare concrete... Find another house!
 
Ya apparently the back glass is the easiest thing to replace, pop out 2 screws and it comes off. I would wait to see if Apple will just replace the glass so you can keep your phone or find glass when parts start becoming available. It sucks though, I know I'm hoping nothing like that happens to me b/c like you I have zero problems with my I4 as it is now, hate to have to roll the dice when getting a replacement.
 
army91c said:
You mean you dropped your phone made of glass and you're upset because it broke? You could of done the same to any phone made and it could of broken, it's not a unique iPhone 4 situation. My advice is to be more responsible with your very expensive electronic devices.
Click to expand...

lol at you.

Like I said guy, if you drop your "glass" phone from 4 feet or higher onto concrete and it breaks, it shouldn't be a surprise.

1 1/2 feet onto a padded carpet? I've dropped plenty of glass, regular old glass, ya know the glass thats supposed to be weaker then this? And it doesn't break.
 
army91c said:
You mean you dropped your phone made of glass and you're upset because it broke? You could of done the same to any phone made and it could of broken, it's not a unique iPhone 4 situation. My advice is to be more responsible with your very expensive electronic devices.

As far as poor durability... dropped mine onto a tile floor, marked the bezel but that is all. Of course the 3 times iFix it dropped their iPhone 4 without breaking it (onto asphalt) says the phone is pretty damn durable. As far as a 1.5' drop after you caught it with your legs onto carpet and that happening, Cool story bro!

So many new MR guys with issues, kinda funny.
Click to expand...

A little empathy goes a long way.
 
Snowman3459 said:
lol at you.

Like I said guy, if you drop your "glass" phone from 4 feet or higher onto concrete and it breaks, it shouldn't be a surprise.

1 1/2 feet onto a padded carpet? I've dropped plenty of glass, regular old glass, ya know the glass thats supposed to be weaker then this? And it doesn't break.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm questioning the validity of your story. Again, cool story bro.
 
Snowman3459 said:
Waiting for bumper.

This is actually the first phone I ever decided to get a case for. I always go naked :cool:

Luckily it's on the back of it and isn't very visible when giving it a quick look.
Click to expand...

After seeing Anandtech's take on the bumper I decided to order one also first time I will be getting a case for a phone. The main reason for me is so when I set it down the glass is slightly raised from the surface, and to possibly have a better grip on the phone when taking it out of my pocket. I also feel like a jerk when people are like ooo can I see your phone and I am hesitant or don't :\ If I drop it though I want it to be on me not on someone else. Not that a case will ease that.

To the OP it seems like they could replace the glass panel at the apple store. From what I read the back panel is basically a 2 minute or less process for replacement. I also guess it makes sense to see more reports about cracked glass than previous phones since there is twice as much glass.
 
You said you stopped it half way with your legs, did it hit your shin or knee? It would be more likely to break from hitting bone than the carpet, especially if you were swinging your leg quickly to stop the phone from the fall, you know almost like kicking it. Still sucks though that it would break from such a fall.
 
I have a feeling that the phone is so tightly packed that any sort of drop will result in the glass cracking.
 
This is a legit "cool story bro" not a sarcastic "cool story bro."

I would assume that a fall from any distance onto CARPET would not break the glass. I've dropped my iPhone 4 a few times onto carpet already with no problems.

In fact, earlier this year I dropped my 3GS, face down from 5 feet onto the concrete sidewalk in New York and it was perfectly fine. Guess I'm just lucky :)

EDIT: With no case!
 
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