Noticing hairline cracks on my 3GS need some help...

[jaysen]

Ok, so today I happened to be cleaning my ifrogz case and in doing so, noticed some hairline cracks starting to form to the right of the volume up/down button. I've got a white 32GB 3GS so of course they stuck out more when I tried wiping them off with my dirty hands/fingers

Is this a common problem or is it just my luck? I know 100% I have never dropped my phone and I baby this thing like no other (i have an invisible shield + ifrogz case!) I'm working right now and don't have access to a good digital camera but I'll take some pics when I get home.

The cracks are roughly 1/16th in size and there are a total of four just to the right of the volume switch - they actually expand that little distance from the switch to the screen but only on the white plastic.

I've got a few questions for the Macrumors community... I don't have Apple Care and I purchased directly from AT&T on its release date. Can I walk into any Apple or AT&T store and have this replaced ?

Second, besides the obvious (restore my jailbroken phone), should I be worried if it is replaced I'd get a new phone w/ 3.1 firmware ?

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Apple certainly will replace it. However your odds of getting anything prior to 3.1 is pretty much nil, and becoming more so every day.

 

[orrelse44]

Don't all iPhones have applecare for a year after purchase?

 

[Vandam500]

Don't all iPhones have applecare for a year after purchase?

Lol no. All iPhones have 1 year warranty. Apple care cost's money and it adds a extra year. Making it a total of 2 years warranty.

 

[Cobreezy]

I have a hairline crack as well, but at the bottom right corner of the volume ON/OFF switch. Like you I never dropped my phone and I have a case on the phone. What givesI...I bought the phone last June!?!? I'm gonna have to take a trip to my nearest Apple store to get this fixed/replaced.

 

[orrelse44]

Lol no. All iPhones have 1 year warranty. Apple care cost's money and it adds a extra year. Making it a total of 2 years warranty.

I know dude. What I'm implying is the 3GS hasn't been out for a year yet. He still has applecare coverage.

 

[marcongj]

I have a hairline crack as well, but at the bottom right corner of the volume ON/OFF switch. Like you I never dropped my phone and I have a case on the phone. What givesI...I bought the phone last June!?!? I'm gonna have to take a trip to my nearest Apple store to get this fixed/replaced.

I just did that last week and for sone reason the guy at the genius bar gave me a really hard time about this but finally replaced it. Good luck to you!

 

[mavis]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (White, 32GB): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7C144 Safari/528.16)

Don't all iPhones have applecare for a year after purchase?

Warranty, yes. AppleCare, no. Those are two different things, although for the first year the difference is in name only, I think.

 

[_Refurbished_]

Word of advice. My roommate has the white iPhone 3G. He has gone through about 4 phones due to cracking issues. Within a few months, almost ALL white iPhones will show these cracks you are experiencing. Most people don't notice them. The good news is Apple will replace your phone without hassle.

Now for the advice....

Unless the cracking starts to get "really" bad, I would just hold onto the phone until the warranty is about to expire (within a year). At that time, bring the phone back to Apple and they will hand you a shiny new phone. There's ZERO point returning your phone every few months because of the cracks. They will come back and you will be right back where you started. I've already made up my mind that my 3Gs will not get returned until later this year if cracks begin to develop, you should do the same. You're going to waste your time at the Genius bar a few times this year otherwise....

 

[sers]

Don't all iPhones have hairline cracks? I know 2 other people that have iPhones and they both have cracks as well. All the ones I had certainly had them. I wouldn't worry about it, though. It doesn't affect the performance of the phone.

 

[alphaod]

I have five cracks on mine; doesn't really bother me.

 

[shvartsies]

No, you're wrong. Applecare IS warranty and nothing else. All iPhones have one year of Applecare. Yes, Apple will replace your iPhone.

Set an appointment at your local Apple Store at apple.com/retail

 

[jayenh]

doesn't apple care offer additional benefits though, such as getting a replacement phone before returning your broken phone should you choose to do it via the phone and post?

 

[jaysen]

Well good news.... Apple replaced my iphone with absolutely no questions and actually the genius made the comment; "It's white, it cracks" Got the new phone with 3.0.1... Couldn't be happier.

 

[rlt54]

Ok, so today I happened to be cleaning my ifrogz case and in doing so, noticed some hairline cracks starting to form to the right of the volume up/down button. I've got a white 32GB 3GS so of course they stuck out more when I tried wiping them off with my dirty hands/fingers

Is this a common problem or is it just my luck? I know 100% I have never dropped my phone and I baby this thing like no other (i have an invisible shield + ifrogz case!) I'm working right now and don't have access to a good digital camera but I'll take some pics when I get home.

The cracks are roughly 1/16th in size and there are a total of four just to the right of the volume switch - they actually expand that little distance from the switch to the screen but only on the white plastic.

I've got a few questions for the Macrumors community... I don't have Apple Care and I purchased directly from AT&T on its release date. Can I walk into any Apple or AT&T store and have this replaced ?

Second, besides the obvious (restore my jailbroken phone), should I be worried if it is replaced I'd get a new phone w/ 3.1 firmware ?

I have one piece of advice that I have not seen anyone else mention. Apple is apparently getting tired of replacing the iPhones with cracks and now push the idea that the cracks happened because you dropped your phone in water. That's what they told me and I know it is not true. I do live in a very humid environment, and it rains a great deal, too. However, my iPhone was never submerged - period.

Anyway, there are little white strips where you connect your power and in the ear plug. If they have a red stain, they will send you away empty handed. In my case, I called Apple support that same day, and after explaining the facts they gave me a confirmation number and I got a new phone the next day. However, they made it clear that this was a "courtesy" because I was a ongoing good customer.

Good luck and I hope this helps.