I wrote earlier today about my iPhone crapping out and replacing it, and at one point I was so worried that it was unusually hot I nearly challenged the heat by forming a little aluminum foil bed on which I’d rest a cracked open egg, to see if it would turn opaque. Well, this replacement phone is much cooler, I have to say, but I’m wondering if others have hot-handed iPhones that feel way too hot, and would like to hear if they stay safe or fail and wind up needing a fix. All comments welcome.
Joe,
Glad you got a replacement phone! I was standing behind you in line on Friday. My iPhone is working fine since 8:40pm Friday. This is a link of another user with a HOT iPhone (http://www.cellphones.ca/news/post002440/). Give me a ring or email and I’ll give you a data dump. I don’t have an email address for you. I’ve got my phone hooked to my WiFi and Edge isn’t bad either. So far it’s worth the wait and money. I’m checking my Yahoo and Comcast accounts via the iPhone. Bookmarked a bunch of websites, YouTube videos, and Google addresses. Setup Stocks, Weather, and tons of contacts. My phone lasts about 4-5 hours on Wifi and I have to plug it in. When using it plugged in, mine gets warm to the touch. I’m going to be careful not to let it get to hot. I’m sure you are aware not all headphones fit into the iPhone. I bought a Belkin Headphone adapter at Atlantic City Apple store. Get in touch with me when you get this message.
Yep, mine seems hot but I don’t know if it’s too hot. Hotness is relative you know.
Hey, Walt, nice to hear from you! Glad your iPhone is working well, and glad it isn’t too hot to handle. Meanwhile, I noticed quirks with the battery charge level, like having it plugged in all night last night then waking to see the battery icon isn’t full. Will be keeping a close eye on battery issues. Otherwise, playing around with it and doing day to day things, getting work done, and taking note of many “wish list” items that will appear in my eventual, lengthy review for MSNBC.com. Stay tuned, Joe
My iPhone gets hot while using the internet more than anything. However, so far, I haven’t experienced anything too hot to handle.
I will keep an eye on it while charging, and see if heat becomes an issue then. It’s good to know that if this is indeed a design or manufacturing issue, we can still get a replacement iPhone.
Hi Joe,
I had one of the original IPods. It was plugged in and got so hot that the plastic started melting; and the screen turned a funny color. Needless to say, the IPod was “Toasted” and no longer worked. I knew it was out of warranty, but I thought that Apple would be interested in seeing such a serious malfunction. Well, I called them, waited on hold for half an hour as usual and then got a long list of questions from the help rep. Basically the questions were aimed at trying to see if Apple might have some liability as to damage caused by the IPod. Once they determined that there was no collateral damage, they told me thanks, but that they didn’t want to see it. It left me the distinct impression that this was a common enough occurrence for them. Scary.
I didn’t ask them to fix the current one or ask them for a replacement. I was just thinking that they would want to see the damaged one. But without my asking they did mention that if I wanted to go into an Apple store with the IPod, I could get 10% off for a replacement. I declined. I’m certainly wary now about Apple products and haven’t jumped on the IPhone yet.
Rgs,
Steve
Mine gets hot as well. Not burn my fingers hot, but uncomfortable to touch the back hot. I posted on the discussion board at Apple, but haven’t gotten much feedback yet.
I haven’t given in yet to purchase one of these. To measure the heat on the phone surface you could use a temperature measure gun to shoot a laser onto the surface area and it will report back the temperature. They are relatively cheap at $150.
My Iphone gets exteremly hot while charging. So hot that it seems like it might melt. My battery also wont indicate a full charge, even after charging for a full 12 hours. I called Apple and they asked me the same long list of questions to determine if they had any liability, they were trying to find out if there was any property damage from the Ipod getting so hot. I’m worried that this phone is going to fail because it gets so hot. Apple is sending me a replacement but I wonder if it will do the same thing. I am trying to find out if other Iphone owners are experiencing the same problem. Does Apple know this is a problem? and do they already have updated iphone available to replace these defective ones? Or are they just sending me another iphone that will have the same issues?
The replacement I got doesn’t get as hot as the original that failed, and there aren’t widespread reports of too-hot iPhones, I don’t believe, so hopefully yours, like mine, is just a fluke, and your new one will be fine. In other news: My first and now this second one often won’t show full charge even after being plugged in all night, like you described. But then when I plug it into the dock it shows full charge. And then if I return it to the power adapter, it still shows full charge. It’s like it doesn’t refresh to full charge display when plugged in all night, even though it is charged. Something I expect will be address with an update to fix whatever hiccup is going on with the battery charge level reporting.
My first Iphone was a 4gig that never even got warm. I received my 8gig today and after a 10 minute call, it was almost too hot to handle. If I had only ever had the opportunity to use the hot phone, I would be convinced that the heat was normal and just live with it, but having had a very cool Iphone for a week of heavy usage, I’ m convinced that there is a major flaw here. I wonder how many of these hot phones are the 8 gig models. I may go back to the 4 gig since it is such a difference is comfort.
Got an 8gb and the phone never worked, and replaced it and the new one works fine but I did notice it got warm when pugged in. Not too hot to handle as you described…but noticibly warm.
I’m not sure about iPhone, since I’ve only played with one in the store, but from experience with other apple devices, they tend to get pretty hot. I especially noticed this with Apple TV, which can never really be turned off since there is no on/off switch. It’s never really malfunctioned, but it does get pretty hot. I was worried at first, but after a few months, figured that’s just the way it is.
The hear issue sounds more like a battery issue. The battery will get warm when it charges and even warmer when its full and the charger still pushes current. If it gets real warm, I would return it as the battery may be acting up.
en
you can tell that they went cheap on their circuitry protection on the device. I don’t think it’s the battery. The chips are getting hot as hell. That’s a huge design flaw that could have been prevented for probably 10 cents. Hopefully they use components that keep the phone cooler in their next gen. Bad design!! Still a very cool phone otherwise. 🙂
My phone only gets hot when pluged into a usb port to change and for some time after.
If I restart it, it cools off and stays cool, even when charging with AC pack.
you just unlocked another function when iPhone get warm. Look at this comic.
http://comictan.com/iphone-malfunction/
My 3 month old iPhone got very hot this morning. Powering it off, waiting a few seconds, and powering it back on fixed the problem. The only thing I can think of that was different this morning was I put my Bluetooth earpiece in my ear when I left the house, and then put it back in my pocket when I got to work. During that time I never opened my iPhone. Usually I do open it at least once when I wear the earpiece, but not this time. Within about one hour or arriving the heat started. I also noticed that the battery indicator was at about 3/4 while it was hot, but went back to full (as it should have been) after I power cycled it. Just my $0.02 worth, your mileage may vary.
Hi all.
Well my 8gig phone simply too hot to handle and I wasnt
charging it. I didnt drop it or anything of that sort. It
was very strange, the screen went black and then what
appeared to be a quarter inch wide line running
vertical along the screen. It stayed hot for
about 30 min and finally it line went away it remained
hot for a good 45 min or so and never fired back up again.
it was deffinately too hot to handle and was border line of
burning my leg as I had it in my pocket. the back side
basically was so hot that i would not leave my finger on it
as it would felt like I would have gotten burned. It truely
is defective. I have yet to take it in, hopefully this evening
but i hope they replace it i dont want a refurb, i paid
good money for a quality product and thats what I want.
My 8gig iphone actually started to melt and burned my fingers. Before it melted, the screen flipped backwards as if looking at it in a mirror, and then turned itself off. I restarted it and it was fine for another two hours. I then placed it on the charger and came back to check on it about 30 or 45 minutes later. I was in a hurry to leave my house, so I grabbed it off the charger without really looking at it, and immediately dropped it onto my floor because the melted plastic had burned the tips of two of my fingers. Apple replaced it the following day, but never offered any apologizes or anything for their product burning my hand or for the fire hazard caused by my iPhone. Has anyone even heard of another iPhone actually melting?
We had an iPhone melt and warp after being plugged into an iPod charger. The chargers look the same and are easily mistakable. Apple exchanged it (with a refurbished one- thanks) It’s silly that they made a convergence product that could easily use the same devices (aftermarket and the like) and not be compatible. Many companies put a lot of effort into making their products iPod adaptable, such as the new line up from Mercedes, but to the dismay of many iPhone users, your phone will not function in most of these products. Be careful what you plug your phone into, and if you do, touch it often to see if it’s baking!
My iPhone, since its initial purchase, has been too hot to handle particularly when I access e-mails. These phones seem to me to be useful for personal rather than business users. I have never had a problem with Blackberrys; in fact any Blackberry I have owned has never gotten even slightly warm. Yesterday I brought my Phone to Apple; first they gave me the run around about not updating the software. I’m not sure there was any relevance to the phone getting hot. The rep then agreed, after I insisted, to replace the Phone. Within about 10 minutes as soon as the e-mails started to load the new Phone started to get warm also. I brought it to the attention of SEVERAL of the reps and all they did was shrug their shoulders. I believe Apple knows there is a problem but would like users to think it is “in their minds.” I am going back to my Blackberry. It doesn’t have all of the fancy features but the 8800 has a great screen, downloads you can read and more importantly, the speakerphone is excellent, the ringtone is LOUD and I can hold it to my ear or in my hand without getting burned. Petrhaps what Apple needs is a nice big class action suit.
Yes, My Iphone would get hot when i would charge it but 2 days ago i put it to charge for 15 min on the wall charger that was provided when i got the phone i could not pick it up it was hotter then ever i could not even hold it with out burning my self i panic and pulled the connection off the wall checked the carger box that was cool but my phone died i called apple and will be taking it to be Checked by there Genies bar I had it for less then 1 yr Plus i got it with my American Express so im hopping they will replace it.
I’ve had my phone since January and it only started cooking 2 weeks ago. This seemed to time up with the addition of the new web apps, but I’m not sure why my phone would work fine for 8 months and then go berserk. It gets hot in all kinds of situations: plugged, unplugged… I’m worried the phone will die or melt one of these days.
my iphone stacks while i was browsing the net, i waited fora day but still it is dead, i tried to power it off but it aint working either, so what shall i do?