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Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,788
293
San Francisco, CA
I did some research and read that the iPhone 4 had a rattle noise. Some people said that it was the on/off lock button and others said that it was the camera lens. I have noticed this noise with my new 4S. I hear it when I set it down on a table or when I tap on the back of the phone. I upgraded from a 3GS so I am a bit unfamiliar with what the i4 did. Does anybody else hear this rattle noise form their 4S? I'm thinking about making a appointment with the Genius Bar.
 

BFG86

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2011
420
109
Yes I have it. Went to the other store the other day and they offered a swap but I was unprepared to do that. They didn't know what it was and was hard to compare it to other phones cause it was so loud in that store. If they all do it to some degree probably isn't worth it to swap.
 

Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,788
293
San Francisco, CA
Yes I have it. Went to the other store the other day and they offered a swap but I was unprepared to do that. They didn't know what it was and was hard to compare it to other phones cause it was so loud in that store. If they all do it to some degree probably isn't worth it to swap.

Thanks for the reply! Hmmm, I may have to make a trip to the apple store and check out the other phones. After doing some research it seems pretty normal. I just don't know the culprit.
 

BFG86

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2011
420
109
For me it's the camera which I guess is supposed to be "normal" but perhaps mine is looser than others since it can be quite annoying some times.
 

ewils19

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2011
323
21
Dallas, TX
I have that noise too. I only get it when I tap on the back of the phone near the top so it seems like its probably the camera.
I did research on it too and it seems like a pretty common thing so I don't think its anything to worry about.
Out of curiosity, do you have a case on yours?
 

Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,788
293
San Francisco, CA
I have that noise too. I only get it when I tap on the back of the phone near the top so it seems like its probably the camera.
I did research on it too and it seems like a pretty common thing so I don't think its anything to worry about.
Out of curiosity, do you have a case on yours?

I am currently using a cheap silicone case from Walmart until my Otter Box comes in the mail. When the defender case is on I doubt the rattle noise will be noticeable.
 

ewils19

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2011
323
21
Dallas, TX
I am currently using a cheap silicone case from Walmart until my Otter Box comes in the mail. When the defender case is on I doubt the rattle noise will be noticeable.

Yeah I bet the otterbox will help with it. I don't have a case yet because the one I want from Speck is out of stock. I'm hoping once I get that it becomes less noticeable. If not, I may take it into the Apple store and ask to switch it out.
 

BigRingIt

macrumors member
Oct 12, 2011
87
1
I have the same noise with my white iphone 4s 64gb. My black iphone 4 did not have this noise.

I asked a friend who just got a white 4s 16gb and he said he has the noise too, but his white iphone 4 also had that noise so he didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary.

I wonder if this noise issue is with white iphones only. Do you guys have the white one?
 

ewils19

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2011
323
21
Dallas, TX
I have the same noise with my white iphone 4s 64gb. My black iphone 4 did not have this noise.

I asked a friend who just got a white 4s 16gb and he said he has the noise too, but his white iphone 4 also had that noise so he didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary.

I wonder if this noise issue is with white iphones only. Do you guys have the white one?

I have a black 16GB
 

Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,788
293
San Francisco, CA
I have the same noise with my white iphone 4s 64gb. My black iphone 4 did not have this noise.

I asked a friend who just got a white 4s 16gb and he said he has the noise too, but his white iphone 4 also had that noise so he didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary.

I wonder if this noise issue is with white iphones only. Do you guys have the white one?

No I have the black 16 gig
 

EmbraceTheOne

macrumors 6502a
Aug 26, 2011
688
16
I've determined it's my camera lens. I tapped on the black, Heard the rattle.
Then I held the camera, Tapped, Didn't hear anything.

I don't really care. It's not that big of a deal to me.
 

Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,788
293
San Francisco, CA
Since everybody's does this I am not going to worry about it. I am going to throw it into my defender case and forget about it.
 

ohio.emt

macrumors 6502a
Jul 18, 2008
815
181
Ohio
Both my white 4s and black 4 have the rattle. I've been using the 4 since the day it came out and haven't had any problems with it.
 

Bhazza

macrumors newbie
Oct 16, 2011
1
0
I too have this rattle. It's pretty loud when lightly tapping or putting the phone on a desk. Anyway, after much research, I can confirm mine is the camera autofocus. A good way to test is this:

1) Open the camera app and focus on something in the distance.
2) Tap the back of the phone near the camera - rattles, right?
3) Hold the phone up pretty close to something and let it focus.
4) Tap the phone again - the rattle is gone/quieter?

That's the case for me anyway. I'd be keen to hear other peoples results from doing the above. If yours is different, it seems loose buttons can also cause a rattle.

The rattle doesn't sounds great, but it seems like it's normal. Some people don't have/can't hear the rattle - they're either not as OCD as me, or their autofocus is slightly tighter fitting. I guess it's all to do with manufacturing tolerances.

You can try your luck and try and get a replacement, but seems like it's 50/50 as to whether the phone will rattle. Plus, I'm sure us OCD folk will always find a problem - dead pixels, tinting, loose buttons.

Hope this helps anyway.

PS - I also took mine to the apple store at first, and was told it was the vibrate motor. I'm surprised how many people get told this. Seems that Apple could do the above test and reassure customers. Perhaps the vibrate motor is easier for people to understand. Also hear a lot of "it's the accelerometer/gyro/compass". This is nonsense, as these are solid state (microscopic) devices.

PPS - This also strikes me as something that could be solved by a firmware update. If you have it so the camera autofocus is set to maximum (as if it's focused on something close) while not in use, it wouldn't rattle. I guess it'd use more battery powering the autofocus (peizoelectric) constantly. Might be worth it to avoid thousands of people worrying about their rattling phones. Must cost Apple a fair bit in manpower and phone swaps though.
 

Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,788
293
San Francisco, CA
PS - I also took mine to the apple store at first, and was told it was the vibrate motor. I'm surprised how many people get told this. Seems that Apple could do the above test and reassure customers. Perhaps the vibrate motor is easier for people to understand. Also hear a lot of "it's the accelerometer/gyro/compass". This is nonsense, as these are solid state (microscopic) devices.

PPS - This also strikes me as something that could be solved by a firmware update. If you have it so the camera autofocus is set to maximum (as if it's focused on something close) while not in use, it wouldn't rattle. I guess it'd use more battery powering the autofocus (peizoelectric) constantly. Might be worth it to avoid thousands of people worrying about their rattling phones. Must cost Apple a fair bit in manpower and phone swaps though.

Thanks for the tip. I just got back from AT&T and the apple store. I tested a total of 7 phones and they all did the same thing. I am not worried anymore about it. My camera took awesome video today. This rattle is not affecting the operation of the phone. Besides, once I get my Otter Box defender I won't notice it anymore.
 

TonyC28

macrumors 68030
Aug 15, 2009
2,758
6,938
USA
Mine rattles pretty loudly when it's on vibrate. But for me the rattle is coming from the lower right corner of the phone. If I squeeze it or push on the metal band that will stop it. Anyone else have the rattle in that area?
 

orange42

macrumors 6502a
Apr 12, 2009
612
1
Mine rattles pretty loudly when it's on vibrate. But for me the rattle is coming from the lower right corner of the phone. If I squeeze it or push on the metal band that will stop it. Anyone else have the rattle in that area?

I do. It bothers me. Every time I send or get a text message at the end of the tone I hear a little rattle noise.
 
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