News
iPhone 3G owners report cracks in plastic casing
By Charles Starrett
Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
News Category: iPhone
A number of iPhone 3G owners are reporting the appearance of hairline cracks in the plastic finish of the phone. According to threads on Mac Rumors forums and Apple’s Discussion Boards, the cracks appear to be manifesting mostly in the white 16GB version of the phone; however, Engadget notes this may be due to the fact that the cracks are easier to see in the white model than the black. Importantly, iPhone owners experiencing the issue report that the cracks appear without the device being dropped, sat on, or misused in any way. It is unclear what might be causing the problem, or how widespread the issue is. Is your iPhone 3G developing small cracks in the plastic? Let us know in the comments below.
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1
Mine white iPhone has 3 small hairline rounded hairline cracks between the top sleep button and 3G card slot.
Posted by Michael on July 30, 2008 at 6:28 AM (PDT)
2
This looks very much like the cracks that white macbooks suffered. Oh Dear.
Posted by Steve Dougan on July 30, 2008 at 6:56 AM (PDT)
3
Mine has 3 cracks.. Oop found another. Make that 4: next to the sleep button, the silence switch, and two next to volume. I’ve been searching to see if it’s been reported to the web and this is the first news item I’ve seen.
Posted by Cam on July 30, 2008 at 6:56 AM (PDT)
4
I’ve a white iPhone since juli 12th and I don’t have any cracks. Also the number of affected users, seems to be quite small, as for instance on the MacRumor forums only a couple of user reported this issue.
Posted by Rogier on July 30, 2008 at 7:33 AM (PDT)
5
I have noticed a very distinct 2/3” long crack next to the iPhone 8GB sign at the back of my black 3G unit. My iPhone sits most of the time in inCase protective case yet this did not stop for the crack to appear. I will certainly report this to Apple Australia.
Posted by Tom Piotrowski on July 30, 2008 at 7:52 AM (PDT)
6
I’ve got a 16GB black iPhone and although I haven’t noticed any cracks I have found that the back plate makes creaking noises when held certain ways. What is it with Apple and plastic? The white MacBooks used to turn colors at the palm rests and (likely still do) had a lot of problems with the case crackin and now this with the (surprise!) white iPhones. Are they using cheap plastic?
Posted by Corey Smith on July 30, 2008 at 8:04 AM (PDT)
7
I have white 3g. No cracks thus far. I don’t use a case btw. I wonder If there may me a correlation between case usage and cracking? Just curious.
Posted by walleck on July 30, 2008 at 8:07 AM (PDT)
8
Keeping the iPhone in a case *may* increase the chance of cracking *if* the cracks are created by heat. Cases tend to insulate the hardware and affect the ability of the device to dissipate heat.
I don’t have an iPhone, so I don’t know how hot they can get, but my 16GB iTouch can get pretty warm.
Posted by Sam on July 30, 2008 at 8:16 AM (PDT)
9
After reading this article, and then checking my white 16gb iPhone I noticed two very small cracks near the head phone jack.
Posted by Jeff on July 30, 2008 at 8:32 AM (PDT)
10
My white iPhone has got a slitly curved crack between the silence switch and headphone exit.
Posted by beat on July 30, 2008 at 8:32 AM (PDT)
11
Sam-
that is a very interesting point, and one I hadn’t thought about.
I have a Black 3-G in a case-I just spent 5 minutes carefully looking it over and do not notice any cracks.
That being said, I guess I would rather have it in a leather case for the inevitable time that I do drop it-would rather risk a crack than more serious damage to the screen or…
Posted by Enigmafan420 on July 30, 2008 at 8:34 AM (PDT)
12
No cracks on any our three iPhones, but we do not sit on them either!
Posted by Stephen on July 30, 2008 at 8:34 AM (PDT)
13
Wow, I hope mine dosent get any - I have mine in a silcone case by DLO - it doesnt look so great but it’s very protective.
Posted by Sweetsun on July 30, 2008 at 8:37 AM (PDT)
14
Two 8GB black iphones here with no cases, and no cracks.
Posted by Tim Burrell on July 30, 2008 at 8:42 AM (PDT)
15
Man, I’m glad I didn’t upgrade!
Posted by sean on July 30, 2008 at 8:56 AM (PDT)
16
In an attempt to save a few bucks, Apple went from the tried and true aluminum to the plastic back for its iPhones. Now they will loose millions over the few bucks they saved.
“If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing it right.”
A quote from everyone’s father.
Posted by Mark on July 30, 2008 at 9:09 AM (PDT)
17
LoL, enjoy your cracks
my old nokia 3310 is all I need.
Posted by sarcasme on July 30, 2008 at 9:13 AM (PDT)
18
oh come on, these cracks look alot like the oneson my white macbook. why can’t apple use better plastic mr. jonatha ive?
Posted by robi on July 30, 2008 at 9:20 AM (PDT)
19
my first gen is still flawless
Posted by rob on July 30, 2008 at 9:26 AM (PDT)
20
mine has had 2 cracks near the headphone port for a few days but I just noticed that cracks are starting to develop from the camera, I have about 7 cracks starting to form around the camera circle, not too pronounced but soon enough they will be no doubt.
Posted by nev on July 30, 2008 at 9:57 AM (PDT)
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