"Small number" of iPhone 3GS users complain of overheating handsets
Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:40AM EDT
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One user said he was surprised but not overly concerned by his "warm-to-pretty-hot" iPhone, while another said her 3GS got so hot that she was afraid to hold it up against her face. Is a recall in order?
Then a few tech editors began feeling the heat. Melissa J. Perenson of PC World wrote that her black iPhone 3GS got "very, very hot" if she used it while it was plugged into its AC charger—indeed, "toasty doesn't even describe hot surprisingly hot it got … it was too hot to even put the phone against my face."
Next, cranky PC World columnist David Coursey noticed that his iPhone felt "warm-to-pretty-hot" on "several occasions," although he doesn't feel the overheating problems are "terribly serious, just surprising." Meanwhile, a MacNN writer with a white iPhone 3GS "encountered the [overheating] problem independently," and confirmed some "discoloration" on the back.
Wired's Gadget Lab talked to Aaron Vronko of Rapid Repair, who thinks "faulty battery cells" are the problem and that a recall might be necessary. "If you have a problem in the design of a series of batteries, it's probably going to be spread to tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, and maybe more," Vronko told Wired.
OK, but how widespread is the problem, really? Hard to say. For its part, Wired pegs the figure at a "small number." I have the black 32GB iPhone 3GS, and so far I haven't noticed any overheating problems at all (or at least nothing out of the ordinary). I also did a quick check of the support forums on Apple.com and Macrumors and only found a few sporadic threads—in fact, I'd say people are more upset about the 3GS's battery life than overheating issues.
Still, you never know, and the problem might blow up in Apple's face—literally—if someone's iPhone 3GS battery explodes.
As Coursey writes, "A mass iPhone recall isn't likely, but it isn't impossible, either. Just see what happens if an iPhone catches fire." Well said.
So, any iPhone 3GS owners out there having any overheating problems? Seeing any brown discoloration on the while model? Let us know.
Comments on "Small number" of iPhone 3GS users complain of overheating handsets
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2 Posted by phil.seymour on Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:49PM EDT Report Abuse
If one keeps their phone calls under 2, or 3 minutes the battery stays cool.
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3 Posted by ziggy76109 on Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:54PM EDT Report Abuse
I'm also seeing the overheating problem. The iPhone 3GS will become hot while using the 3G internet connectivity for an extended period of time. When talking on the phone the phone does warm up but its nothing to be alarmed about.
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4 Posted by kidjiujitsu on Wed Jul 1, 2009 11:08PM EDT Report Abuse
Well i am an iphone 3g owner and when i first got the iphone 3g it was a bit hotter then other phones i had previously owned which was only the blackberry brands as well as a few hi-end nokia's while in germany. The iPhone was not something to give up my phone up for though. I am now an iphone loyalist, and i have also got the chance to now own the iphone 3Gs it does get hot but never hot enough for me not to use or want to limit my calls under 2 to 3 minutes its a phone i should be able to talk on it as long as i want which i do. I think there maybe be a battery problem with in a certain few phones that im sure by now apple is diligently working on, or trying figuring out what the heck could be the problem.
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5 Posted by chyna_blue65 on Mon Jul 6, 2009 5:35PM EDT Report Abuse
wow that's a shame...
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6 Posted by joshrw1 on Fri Jul 31, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse
so far the only time my 3gs has gotten really hot was right after it was activated, though i normally dont use it when it is charging.....
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7 Posted by krapattoni on Thu Aug 6, 2009 1:40AM EDT Report Abuse
Today my white 3GS was charging in the car. After about 5 minutes, I picked it up and noticed that it was VERY hot. Too hot to hold your fingers near the bottom, for more than a few seconds. It was the hottest where the cord was plugged in. I was very surprised, but just un-plugged it, and didn't think much more about it, until later. Unfortunately, something must have fried because now, it will no longer charge or sync. I have never had these problems prior to today's overheating incident. Spent several hours on phone with Apple. Can't get appointment to take it in to Genius Bar until Friday night. Came across this page while researching my problems. Hope this will help someone else. : (
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8 Posted by jkander77 on Tue Aug 25, 2009 3:24PM EDT Report Abuse
I have the new IPhone 3G - s (16 gig). I was using it the other day on a golf application and I couldn't hold it because it was so hot. Also browsing on the web eventually makes it to hot to hold.
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9 Posted by nerissa_rn02 on Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:18PM EDT Report Abuse
holy crap mine got hot today, the very day this article was posted. The battery was very low on lower and was overheating to the point that I wanted to turn it off. It cooled off after awhile. Little scary...
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10 Posted by jen.caper on Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:17AM EDT Report Abuse
I recently got the new 3GS 32Gs and while sending a video through email the video never was sent but it kept trying to send ot for 20 hours the next day I felt it hot even though I hadn't used it for several hours and then discovered that it was still trying to send the video, then I did a hard reset and disabled the sending after vthat it cooled down. I just won't send any pics or videos from now on. Maybe similar situations happened on the reported cases.
1 Posted by lynnieth2003 on Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:18PM EDT Report Abuse
I have the black 3GS & tried to talk on it once while it was charging & it DID get really hot. Now if I need to use it, I unplug it. When I'm using it under regular (non-charging) use it does get warm, but not too hot to hold. But I won't use it while charging again- I admit that it was scary. I just chalked it up as a lesson learned. It doesn't overheat WHILE charging, or while talking but the combination seems to be a killer. I would certainly trade it in for a new handset if the situation presented itself. At the very least, I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone.