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Spontaneous separation of new iPhone 5

OP explains great historical disasters:

Hindenburg: just caught fire
Titanic: just sunk
SF Earthquake: buildings just collapsed
Chicago Fire: stuff just burst into flame
Hiroshima/Nagasaki: never there
Katrina: stuff suddenly got wet
BP Oil Spill: oil just came out of nowhere

I bet he "forgot" to bring a lot of homework he finished completely too...
 
So basically, what I can gather from your 2 post-visit replies is that the Apple geniuses agreed with all of the "flamers" in your thread that called "B.S.!" to your claims that the phone just spontaneously damaged itself.

Glad the right thing was done and you had to fork over the $50 for the accidental damage.

For the record, I'm not trying to flame or troll, I just never believed you, and find it conclusive that the geniuses didn't either.
 
Not to mention, this is STILL the only iPhone 5 that has managed to "fail" specifically in this way.
 
Why would anyone believe an apple genius in this case. They are retail clerks and not engineers.

I would contact apple direct and escalate.

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scaredpoet said:
Not to mention, this is STILL the only iPhone 5 that has managed to "fail" specifically in this way.
Click to expand...

Right the majority of owners are members here... Not!
 
Rocko1 said:
It's on apples site. They list it as 6000 series aluminum. The 6061 non-tempered has been confirmed by a metallurgist.
Click to expand...

That's pretty bad. I have a client who's involved with CAD/CAM and CNC stuff and he tells me that non-tempereted 6061 has a tensile strength just slightly better than PlayDoh. Exaggerating of course, but you get the idea.
 
Lots of other similar cases out there, and notice that all these iPhones have separated below the - volume button. I was skeptical, not anymore.

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macinhand said:
Now don't flame me or the OP just yet on this one because Aluminium can actually spontaneously bend!

It all goes back to when the aluminium was smelted, extruded, annealed and if this process is not completed impeccably well, You get what is called "Snap Back" and this is when the aluminium try's to go back to it's natural state!

Even though this experience of aluminium bending is not the same as the OP's it show's that Aluminium can just bend without external forces!

A friend of ours had an extension built with one of the sides of the building being a wall of glass and the structure beams were made of aluminium! The problem occurred when two of the massive sheets of glass started to crack and shatter and it turned out that the aluminium beams were bending themselves thus breaking the glass! When the structural engineers came in and did a full report as to what caused the glass to break it was proved that the Aluminium was bending caused by the annealing process and it was caused by a difference in surface stresses pulling against each other! Ian thinks it was called Biaxial behaviour!

So i am not saying in any way what so ever this is what is happening to the select number of iPhone 5's that are reported to be bent! but it can happen.
Click to expand...

Very interesting.
 
While I'm not sure that the phone just spontanously broke, the whole "bend-gate" thing has me worried. I've got my phone in an Speck PixelSkin case, which isn't adding any structural integrity. But now I'm afraid to have it in my front pocket when I sit down because it can bend. I suppose that's the only thing I can do, and plan to use both of my applecare replacements over the next 2 years...
 
Meatwad said:
While I'm not sure that the phone just spontanously broke, the whole "bend-gate" thing has me worried. I've got my phone in an Speck PixelSkin case, which isn't adding any structural integrity. But now I'm afraid to have it in my front pocket when I sit down because it can bend. I suppose that's the only thing I can do, and plan to use both of my applecare replacements over the next 2 years...
Click to expand...

I would suggest a case with some rigidity. Casecrown makes some, Otterbox, etc. The phone will bend. The aluminum is just so darn soft.
 
this is very real, the phone CAN bend unexpectedly. It happened to me. Now if you're going to get it replaced for that I recommend you don't tell that that it is bent... if it isn't very noticeable.
 
tymaster50 said:
this is very real, the phone CAN bend unexpectedly. It happened to me. Now if you're going to get it replaced for that I recommend you don't tell that that it is bent... if it isn't very noticeable.
Click to expand...

Hi new member. Pics?

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Meatwad said:
While I'm not sure that the phone just spontanously broke, the whole "bend-gate" thing has me worried. I've got my phone in an Speck PixelSkin case, which isn't adding any structural integrity. But now I'm afraid to have it in my front pocket when I sit down because it can bend. I suppose that's the only thing I can do, and plan to use both of my applecare replacements over the next 2 years...
Click to expand...


Dude stop using 'gate' and starting silly rumors.
 
OatmealRocks said:
Hi new member. Pics?

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Dude stop using 'gate' and starting silly rumors.
Click to expand...
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=371598&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1351019212
https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=371599&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1351019319
Not sure if you can tell from the pics it's kind of hard to see but you can definitely tell when you place it on a flat surface, press down on one side and the other lifts, it starts around the volume buttons and dirt has managed to get in that area... which means the phone is bent
 
OatmealRocks said:
Hi new member. Pics?

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Dude stop using 'gate' and starting silly rumors.
Click to expand...

I agree with the 'gate' term but using the work 'rock' as a verb is about the worst thing you can do.

The phones bend. That's it. Pretend they don't if you want, it won't change a thing.
 
Rocko1 said:
I agree with the 'gate' term but using the work 'rock' as a verb is about the worst thing you can do.

The phones bend. That's it. Pretend they don't if you want, it won't change a thing.
Click to expand...

You're right they do bend, I didn't think mines would bend but hey it did! Maybe being longer and thinner was a bad thing. I could sleep with my iPhone 4, accidentally step on it, drop it and no signs of bends/cracks. I keep the 5 in my loose-fitting jeans pockets and the thing turns out slightly bent.
 
OatmealRocks said:
Dude stop using 'gate' and starting silly rumors.
Click to expand...

How about this? It's even got pictures for you, dude.

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Rocko1 said:
I would suggest a case with some rigidity. Casecrown makes some, Otterbox, etc. The phone will bend. The aluminum is just so darn soft.
Click to expand...

I'm looking for better options. I would have done the Otterbox Commuter if it didn't leave a hole in the back for maximum scratch-ability. The Defender is too huge. I want something Commuter sized but rigid enough to protect from bending.
 
Meatwad said:
How about this? It's even got pictures for you, dude.

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I'm looking for better options. I would have done the Otterbox Commuter if it didn't leave a hole in the back for maximum scratch-ability. The Defender is too huge. I want something Commuter sized but rigid enough to protect from bending.
Click to expand...

Don't ruin their image of Apple being a perfect company! Imagine the backlash if they found out Apple actually does make mistakes and their only excuse is "you're doing it wrong"! My iPhone bent too and all the apple fanboys rushed to defend them saying "you did it, you sat on it/put pressure on it" even though I repeatedly told them I didn't. They literally told someone with a bent phone that they put the otterbox on wrong.
 
ZipZap said:
Right the majority of owners are members here... Not!
Click to expand...

Right the ONLY way anyone hears about problems with the iPhone 5 is posts here... NOT!

If iPhone 5s of ANY percentage were magically bending themselves into two pieces, and there was even ONE person with credible proof of it, there are plenty of tech sites who would be ALL OVER it, trying to be first to report on it. Do you honestly think the OP is the only one who would have had this magical thing happen, and didn't just shrug their shoulders and walk off quietly when Apple denied their claim?

But, not a single major tech site is reporting this as the latest epidemic "-gate" for Apple. One two-bit also-ran did write up something on it, but it was entirely off the OP's sole experience. That tells me this isn't credible.
 
My iPhone 5 bent as well, on its own

I went to bed last night after using the phone (perfect condition) and woke up to this. Ive read all the posts and i ll answer the obvious questions first.

1. I did not drop the phone
2. I did not sit on the phone (i do keep it in my front right pocket, i do not wear tight jeans, I do not carry a purse as I am not female so hence where the hell else would i put my phone)
3. I did notice this yellowish-ness right before i went to bed last night, but figured id take it in to apple next time i was in the area as this has happened before. (picture 1)
4. I have not gone to apple yet and will refuse to buy the apple care (the phone is 6 weeks old, got it on launch day and i should not have to pay to replace it) this is the last straw, i have had every single iPhone since they came out and i am sick of this. I will wait for the galaxy 4 and i will probably hate it, but Apple truly doesnt care about its customers
5. Another reason why I dont want to go to apple today is because i will freak the f out if they accuse me of this. I AM NOT LYING, THIS HAPPENED ON ITS OWN

NOTE: also, does anyone notice how its the same side that bends for everyone and at the same location? if it was due to being in your pocket, why isnt the other side bent? what are the chances that everyone that bends their phone is on the same side?

Its about the principle, ok enough said, here are the pics

picture_1.jpg

picture_2.jpg

picture_3.jpg

picture_4.jpg

picture_5.jpg
 
stucazzo said:
I went to bed last night after using the phone (perfect condition) and woke up to this. Ive read all the posts and i ll answer the obvious questions first.

1. I did not drop the phone
2. I did not sit on the phone (i do keep it in my front right pocket, i do not wear tight jeans, I do not carry a purse as I am not female so hence where the hell else would i put my phone)
3. I did notice this yellowish-ness right before i went to bed last night, but figured id take it in to apple next time i was in the area as this has happened before. (picture 1)
4. I have not gone to apple yet and will refuse to buy the apple care (the phone is 6 weeks old, got it on launch day and i should not have to pay to replace it) this is the last straw, i have had every single iPhone since they came out and i am sick of this. I will wait for the galaxy 4 and i will probably hate it, but Apple truly doesnt care about its customers
5. Another reason why I dont want to go to apple today is because i will freak the f out if they accuse me of this. I AM NOT LYING, THIS HAPPENED ON ITS OWN

NOTE: also, does anyone notice how its the same side that bends for everyone and at the same location? if it was due to being in your pocket, why isnt the other side bent? what are the chances that everyone that bends their phone is on the same side?

Its about the principle, ok enough said, here are the pics

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Click to expand...

First pic looks to be in a case. Is it possible you only noticed it bent after you took it out of the case? Or was it already out of the case and NOT bent, the night before?
 
the poster above me just proved that these phones DO bend, no matter how hard apple fanboys wish they don't. It's a real issue and just because every geek site doesn't report doesn't mean it isn't real. We were just unlucky enough to have phones that did
 
Where's a scientist when you need one. Science should be able to explain it. I've heard some people here say that the metal can some times store energy from trauma it was exposed to previously and then suddenly release that energy, but then it would still have to be the users fault more than likely. I'm pretty sure the factory employees didn't go around busting up all the phones. And if I remember the process that they make these, there is no bending of the aluminum to get it to this shape, it's all milled out from a solid piece. Is that correct or is that just the laptops and iMacs?

I'm sorry, I just do not see how a metal would bend without outside force being applied to it, unless you guys are heating up your phones to make the aluminum so weak until it bends under it's weight.
 
trozau said:
First pic looks to be in a case. Is it possible you only noticed it bent after you took it out of the case? Or was it already out of the case and NOT bent, the night before?
Click to expand...

the first pic is the yellow stuff i notice the night before, i downloaded a black background to make it stand out more and took a screen grab. You really cant see the yellow if the page your looking at has a lot of white or light colored background. but with a black background, you see it big time. Again, the right side has no yellow at all, just the left side.

I have a soft case on it, not a hard plastic case so yes i noticed it the minute i picked up the phone. It was in the case the whole night, hell, its been in the case since day 1. plus you can see the crack marks it made as well, WHICH WAS NOT THERE THE NIGHT BEFORE, 100% CERTAIN OF THAT

I emailed gizmodo with the pictures and I even volunteered to send them my phone for further testing, if they want to look into it further. its not about the money, its about a 600 BILLION dollar company treating its customers like crap and yes i know, don't buy apple then, but they do make a good product.

What pisses me off is they don't stand behind it. I own a business and yes there is always problems in the production of a product and yes this may only happen to 1% of the iPhones sold. what really bothers me is that they wont take care of that 1%. would it really hurt your bottom dollar if you replaced all phones that had this issue? Cause we all know how they solved the Antenna issue on the iPhone 4... "here is a free case", but we wont apologies for it, instead we will say "don't hold it that way" and fire the lead engineer who designed it....seriously all the iPhone 4's should have been replaced back then, REPLACED, but of course that would of cost a lot of $$ and apple didn't do it. the iPhone 4 (first built models) were DEFECTIVE phones and like the idiots we are, we accepted it and continue to buy from apple. straight POOP!

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vastoholic said:
Where's a scientist when you need one. Science should be able to explain it. I've heard some people here say that the metal can some times store energy from trauma it was exposed to previously and then suddenly release that energy, but then it would still have to be the users fault more than likely. I'm pretty sure the factory employees didn't go around busting up all the phones. And if I remember the process that they make these, there is no bending of the aluminum to get it to this shape, it's all milled out from a solid piece. Is that correct or is that just the laptops and iMacs?

I'm sorry, I just do not see how a metal would bend without outside force being applied to it, unless you guys are heating up your phones to make the aluminum so weak until it bends under it's weight.
Click to expand...

even if you sat on the phone, IT SHOULD NOT BEND....None on the old iPhones were ever bendable so why is this one bendable...the question is, is Aluminum cheaper than stainless steel? if so, why use it then? maybe its about Apples bottom dollar? And no, i didn't heat the phone up but I am pretty sure the battery gets pretty hot and that could definably effect the structure of an aluminum frame.
 
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