Overheating problems plague iPhone 3GS
updated 12:50 pm EDT, Mon June 29, 2009
iPhone 3GS overheating
Some owners of the iPhone 3GS are finding their devices overheating, MacNN can confirm. Public accounts of problems originated in France, where one 16GB 3GS user has noted that his phone ran unusually hot during recent testing. The owner later discovered pink-tinged marks on the white backing of his device, roughly surrounding the location of the battery.
A MacNN staffer has meanwhile encountered the problem independently, with discoloration noticeable on the back of a white 32GB unit. A PC World author, Melissa Perenson, claims to have experienced a more serious incident while playing The Oregon Trail. Though her 16GB black phone's backing did not change color, the device as a whole is said to have heated up dramatically, to the extent that placing it against her face would have been painful. The phone was plugged into a wall socket during use.
Overheating phones should otherwise remain functional. Apple has not so far acknowledged the problem, though people may theoretically be able to secure an exchange at retail. The French iPhone user notes that when he attempted to contact Apple, the company only offered to hold his phone for five days of testing.
Sounds like...
06/29, 12:58pm reply
Sounds like a bad chipset got mixed into a batch.
- A
Fast iBook
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2003
seems like...
06/29, 01:18pm reply
Seems like every MacBook and PowerBook I've ever owned. Ridiculously hot to the touch under most circumstances.
bp2k7
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2006
Mine too
06/29, 01:32pm (1 reply) reply
Mine does this too, although I've only noticed it whilst tracking my location by GPS inside Google Maps. That's not to say it won't happen under other circumstances, I've just not been aware of it anywhere else.
My 3GS is not plugged in at the time of the overheating.
Geobunny
Grizzled Veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
hold the phone
06/29, 01:58pm reply
" the company only offered to hold his phone for five days of testing."
Sounds like they couldn't hold it for five minutes. SS! Hot!
Loren
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2001
re: hold the phone
06/29, 02:04pm reply
"the company only offered to hold his phone for five days of testing."
If this interaction really happened and that was Apple's response, that would be entirely unacceptable.
ff11
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2004
plague?
06/29, 02:39pm (1 reply) reply
A plague is a widespread affliction. How do we go from "plague" in the title to "some users" in the first sentence of the article?
I wonder if one day we'll see a trend back to print news when there were actual editors that reviewed stories. I think I preferred the days when I got my weekly MacWeek magazine in the mail with researched articles.
simdude
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Joined: Jun 2004
research!
06/29, 02:45pm reply
I think I preferred the days when I got my weekly MacWeek magazine in the mail with researched articles.
-Me too! Those were the days- when news was gently debated on the internet, but the delivery form was paper....MacWeek, NeXTweek,... I hate the way news is reported now...everywhere! this is not the way it was supposed to play out...
benj
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Joined: Mar 1999
LOL
06/29, 03:47pm reply
While I agree that the news articles on this site are written and plagiarized by obvious amateurs sometimes, I have to ask... why do you people come to this site in the first place if you hate the way it's edited? MacNN is not the only Mac news site out there.
G4_Kessel
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Joined: Jan 2003
Re: LOL
06/29, 04:05pm reply
why do you people come to this site in the first place if you hate the way it's edited?
They come for my lively, intelligent, and informative comments, of course.
That and its the only place people still find "Zune...what's a Zune" funny.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Haven't noticed...
06/29, 06:58pm (1 reply) reply
Hmmm... I haven't noticed this with my 32GB white phone - but then again I have yet to charge it from the wall. It always gets plugged in to my computer at night.
BTW, NetShare works beautifully on it. I was a bit worried if 3.0 would break it somehow.
musocat
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Joined: Jun 2009