iPhone users around the world are complaining about buying hot iPhones, and I don’t mean “hot” as stolen. Apparently some iPhones are having the same type of overheating battery problems prevalent in other small computer batteries which have been recalled over the last few years. Reports and reports of reports (like this one) are popping up all over the web about users complaining that their iPhone 3G S is overheating to the point of being too hot to handle, some even becoming discolored by the extreme heat.
As of yet, we haven’t heard of any iPhone 3G batteries exploding like so many laptop batteries have recently, but tmcnet, PCWorld, ChannelWeb, MacDailyNews, and several other online tech publications have all reported on the story, often with first-hand accounts.
Is there going to be an iPhone 3G S recall?
If so, it will affect a lot of people, with Apple having sold over 1-million iPhone 3Gs in just the first weekend on the market.
Has your iPhone 3G S been overheating? If so, tell us about it below in the comments section.
I had to call support today since my iPhone is heating up to the point I cannot make calls without the earpiece. I’ve had the two previous models and never had this issue.
I always wanted more apps for the kitchen, but I never thought I would be able to cook an egg with it.
I have an appointment at the nearby apple store and it seems they will replace it.
I’ve had problems with my iPhone getting really hot too. It only happens when I’m playing games. I think the graphic intensive apps are what make the iphones get hot like that. Melissa J. Perenson from PC World said it happened to her while playing a game app called The Oregon Trail.
Is there an iPhone recall? Ummm… not yet. But I think there’s gonna be.
Purchased iphone 32gb 3gs from at&t. Received it on a monday via fedx @ 11am et. Spent the first day loading apps and setting it up. Set to charge monday night. Tuesday 1pm iphone would not turn on. Phone was really warm to touch. Went to at&t store and the tech person did a hard boot. The iphone came on but the screen was extemely dim. The settings were set to brightest level. Next contacted apple support. Tech person said after hard reset with iphone on plug the iphone to charge the phone. The iphone backlight immediately went to full brightness. However, within 10 seconds the iphone screen flashed and filled with black lines and shut down. Repeated the steps a few more times with the same results (not the rear of the iphone was getting hot when charging). Apple tech support set me up for a friday appointment and told me not to charge or use the iphone.
I got my iPhone 3gS last June 20th,returned it on the 22nd for very short battery life(half of it was consumed after 30minutes of web browsing). Anyways,they gave me a new one with same issue plus one night after being on standby for atleast 6hours, I decided to reach for it, oddly very very hot and it was nowhere hot surface. I have the white one.
I was going to get an iphone today, but should I wait due to the possible recall? or is this just a bad batch.
Thanks
It looks like Apple are about to release a fix
https://bit.ly/6UXst
After making phone calls continuously for an hour, my iPhone 3GS was too hot to hold next to my head. The battery life is also disappointing, not making it through an average day of use. These two issues are a huge let down. A recall is unavoidable.
I tried to use the burn ointment but is said it “This accessory is not made to work with iPhone”.
I heard there was an iphone recall, but I guess not. Or maybe I should say “not yet”. Is it only the white-backed iphones, or are those just getting more complaints of overheating because it discolors the backing? I have a black-backed iPhone 3GS and so far mine hasn’t overheated once. But I’ve seen lots of screenshots of the overheating message. That doesn’t mean there needs to be an iPhone recall though, unless of course these things are injuring people.
I hope they have an iPhone “Fire Sale” – Get ’em while they’re HOT!
My phone has gotten hot the first time that I used it, it was so hot it actually burnt my ear when I went to talk on it. I live in Florida so when I use it in the heat, it becomes very discolored. I have never and would never leave this phone in the car, especially because of the type of battery in the phone. This phone is my digital life, I have not experienced the phone telling me it has overheated, but a few times especially while being charged or after being synced or after talking on the phone on 3g for over 10 mins. I hope this is settled, one complaint is the built in battery, now, maybe they will make it user replaceable, guess that is what they get trying to control the battery and upping the battery replacement price. Also with the 3g s I have to charge it every night because the battery runs out everyday. Right now as I am typing in my cool office, I am beginning to feel the heat through my Switcheasy Rebel.
Bought a 3GS yesterday and side by side with my 3G it had is limited phone reception 0-1 bars vs my old 3G and also notice wifi dropping out more. swapped it out and now applying my switch easy to my new 3GS I have no wifi at all did all apple support tips in articles. The read people putting device in frezer so took of vase and now works fine. To avoid recalls they going to have throttle further with software updates but this ultimately a hardware design fault that’s severly limits devices potential, is this why chipset retarded from been able to rec 720p video? – Dear I say it “Put Option – AAPL”
3G s iphone bought by brother while I was in U.S. on 26th June 2009. had to come to India in July and had no choice but to get it unlocked. The screen gets heated up beyond tolerance within no time. calls get dropped and wi-fi connectivity is poor. The heating of the phone even when not in use coupled with poor battery life requiring it to be charged every day has made my hard earned money flow in drain. I am very disappointed with the 3Gs handset. I was better off with cheap handsets which worked well and till dat.e have no complaints whatsoever. Switched off to Rs.2000/- chinese mobile
I’ve had my black 3g for about a month now. I’d not noticed any heat issues until this morning. I was listening to a radio show (via a free app) for about 2.5 hours. I went to close the app and noticed that the back and front of the iphone were very very hot.
I just purchased my iphone about one week ago. Went to use my phone after charging for about 10 minutes, and it was so hot. I made a call, and could not continue because the entire phone was so hot. Also the reception has been lousy. I had the Original iphone, and did not experiece the problems I am experiencing with the 3GS.
Had my 3GS for 5 weeks now. Really bad battery life, drained in less than 1 day. Gets really hot sometimes. Yesterday while in my cool car, mind you it was 56 degrees outside, my phone had 42%, put it down for a few minutes, picked it up and it had a black screen, woulnt respond at all, tried to plug it into power several times in two hours, nothing. Later, I reached in my puse and was alarmed by something REALLY hot, the dead iPhone. Held it next to AC for a few minutes and then pluged it in to power and I finally got it to respond. How did it go from 42% to dead for two hours, to hot, and zero battery life?
I returned my 2-week old iphone for a new (that’s what they tell me) one because of overheating issue. But the new one seems to have the same issue. I’m thinking about just returning the iphone all together. I love all the features of the iphone but it is becoming too uncomfortable to use.
My phone gets hot but NLT so hot that I can’t use it
My I phone froze up while uploading a survey…I thought the iphone had turned off….but it had not and it got so hot it could not be held. It appears that either a hardware or software glitch is causing it iphone to overheat dramatically. It had almost drained the battery .. I turned the iphone off with by holding down the power button. I am concerned that these occurrences may destroy the iphone.
i had my iphone 3gs for 30 days and it overheats really bad and last night it got so hot that the glass part of the screen not the lcd part cracked in the upper right corner and apple told me that it was due to customer abbuse. now im resorting to fixing it myself.
I’ve had my iPhone for less than a year and it gets hot when I talk on the phone for more than 5 minutes. Now, it gets hot even when it isn’t being used and the battery drains in a matter of minutes. This doens’t have anything to do with it being left in the sun, etc. as Apple tell you not to do. This happens in my very cool house. I’m very dissapointed that Apple has not addressed this situation. I know I’m not the only one.
I got my iPhone 3G S a few months ago. Yes I’ve experienced the overheating problem, at least 4 times. It didn’t happen “under direct sun light” as Apple claimed. It happened in an air-conditioned room, when I was reading e-books on the phone. After an hour or two, the phone just stopped responding, and got really hot. I had to turn it off and waited for half an hour before it could reboot again.
I really love my iPhone but I hope Apple could do something about the battery. It could be a potential hazard.
My iPhone 3GS is getting very hot when charging. Started last night. Would not charge past red for awhile.
iphone 3G, gets really hot and switches itself off. Stays very hot until you do a manual reset (hold down power and home button), and then starts to cool itself down again. the battery has been drained in the process.
As far as im aware its a hardware fault and you need to get your phone replaced by Apple…
My white 3gs got hot a few times but I didnt think much of it.
But last night my GFs room was kinda hot and I had the Iphone in my pocket on her bed, I took out my Iphone and could not turn it on nomatter what I did. I thought it had completely failed until I read on the net about overheating issues.
after leaving it by her window for about 20 minutes it booted back on again. Im going to call AT&T today to see what I should do. Any suggestions please let me no, but no spammers please.
I have just had my new 3gs since last Friday the 16th of October 2009 and today is the 21st and then today it was overheating and getting really hot just after I was on google and myspace via wifi. also the batt went down quite a bit at the time.
Was very hot and I then left it on the table and it cooled down after about 20 mins
I am also still having problems logging onto wifi with a wep key
Paul
I have had my 3gs for about 10 months, when I put it in my pocket it heats up and dies. Thanks for the tip on resetting the phone but you would think for this much money Apple would find a fix for this.
Hazzard
It heats. A lot! Help me. Was there a recall?
Had my phone less than 3 months now, not only does phone get hot even in standby, it drains the batter to nothing in less than 6 hours even with only phone call use!! It’s not just a heating issue, but a battery killer also.
My iPhone 3GS gets hot during extended calls (say over an hour). then reception deteriorates to the point of nothing and finally the call is dropped. Usually have to wait for a minute or two before it will connect to a redial.
hi i was charging and my iphone heated up and now not responding helppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 🙁
My phone did the exact same thing fahad on November 27th upon closer inspection I noticed that the charger and the bottom of my phone were chared so I called tech support and they said they would be sending me a replacement.
I just brought my 3GS up to best buy because it became so hot. As hot as toast right out of the toaster. I thought maybe a paperclip or loose change may have got into the connection- shorting the battery- but pocket was empty. This was a refurbished sent to me in replace of a my new one which went to a complete white screen-I am starting to develop a love hate relationship with my phone.
I think apple needs to do some major checks, on the iphones. mine has the problem too. I cannot pinpoint the cause. I have shut down all ness apps, and still have problem!!!!
I just bought an iPhone and found that it is extremely heating up. Should I have to take a trip to the iPhone shop and lodge a complian?
I bought iPhone 2 months ago (November2009) and have been using it.
I noticed the “HOT” issue only happen when I browse for more than 10minutes in Safari, playing games, using certain apps that require some heavy processing (including the GPS Maps).
but not using iPod.
what I actually worry is, the Battery will start losing its DURABILITY a.k.a the stamina.
i do some research about Li-ion battery that being used wide on gadgets. Hot temperatures or Hot environment will cause these battery to lose its ability to store power. and even the usage of heavy apps or games can also cause the battery to lose its ability to store power.
most Li-ion battery age is two years. but its also depends on the usage.
looks like, if we always use the iPhone on “hot” environment or using apps that cause its to “warm up”, in just couple of months, we will need to change our battery to a new one. because the old one will lose its durability by more than 50% and not usable at the end of the days
what is your thought about this?
My 3gs has been overheating for a while. Finally decided to look up in the internet and seems like many are heaving the same problem. Used to put it in my shirt pocket but it got too discomfortable and now i have to leave it on my table or in my jeans if I am wearing jeans. Is there a fix?
I have got an iPhone 3GS and one night when i decided to make a call it was boiling up. Is there anyway to fix it without replacing the battery because it will not turn on.
Both my iphone and my wifes are overheating … red hot to the point you can’t hold it. When I brought mine in for service, Apple said it was my case. The battery life on my wifes phone is less than 1 hour …
I’ve had an iPhone 3G for over a year and just upgraded to the 3GS. Immediately my phone got hot. I exchanged it at AT&T and the replacement did the same thing. AT&T recommended I go to an Apple store and see what they thought may be the problem. What they found is I had an application running and that may be what was causing the problem. The solution is to completely reset the phone, then when you connect the phone to your PC and sync with iTunes, do not choose to backup from your previous named backup as it may be corrupt. Instead choose to set up a new phone. and follow the instructions. Be sure to back up your pictures etc. before resetting your phone. My 3GS now works great and is cool to the touch. I somehow feel that migrating from the 3G to 3GS isn’t as seamless as one might think.
I bought a iphone 3gs towards the end of last year. i had no problems with it until i started installing apps and using them. recently i was playing one of the games that i installed and the phone heated up to the point that i could not hold it. i put the phone down to cool off and when i picked it up again there was a beautiful crack running the length of the LCD. now the chops here in South Africa are saying that it is physical damage and will not repair or replace the phone. has anyone else had this happen to them or heard of this happening.
this is my first, and at this rate, my last apple product i will buy. most disappointing
My 3G iphone I had it less than a year, I always get this heeting problem when I am making this calls but not when charging or using it for other things. I still have the warrranty so I called them a week back and have them replace it for a different phone. But it seems that also has the heating problem – not sure what to do now, this is rediculous for such an expensive equipment and they cannot resolve the issues – I think its high radiation since its happening when making calls this could cause health issue long term.
Today I was charging iPhone and I noticed it came up with the iPhone too hot screen although it was sitting in the dash of my lorry so it mayhave got a lot of heat from vent I have seen lots of complaints based in the us but have many people in the uk or Ireland seen this ?????
I got iPhone 3gs from Canada last month, which is cracked last week I install need for speed underground but as soon as I starts playing it the phone becomes too hot. Now iam thinking to sale it n go back to nokia again.
I was at Taipei airport and there was a free phone charging service. I tried on the 3Gs Iphone. Instantly, it went blank. I tried to on it or even reset but can’t.
The phone felt very hot for a long period.
Eventually I supposed the battery was flat and no longer hot.
I can’t use the phone? Data gone? Please help.
Just back from a holiday with lots of pixs inside.
Vince
My phone gets hot when it’s charging for a while, but not to hot to hold. My wife has the same phone, but hers doesn’t heat up.
My Iphone always ran very warm when using, but a few weeks ago it got very hot then went blank, It would not respond or take a charge. I replaced the battery and still no response. is there something else that needs replaced when the iphones get hot besides the battery?
After checking a text message and locking my iPhone, I placed it back into my pocket. Only to feel my leg getting very very hot. When I reached into my pocket my iPhone was roasting you could have cooked an egg on it. Apple should check this problem out before someone gets hurt or even looses a leg.
My husband and I purchased 2 Iphone GS Sept. 2009. My phone worked really well for the first for 9 mos. Now it heats up all the time while talking on the the phone, checking on the web, and listening to music. It seems to heat up more often which is a nuisance. I have had Apple Store check it and couldn’t find anything. My husband has no problem with his. i did own an older Iphone for awhile and had no problems.
I hope Apple will take care of the problem. We pay alot o f money for the phone. I reelly love the phone.
Thank you for your time. I hope this issue can be resolved.
Jane
Two days ago I had my Iphone replaced because of not being able to receive calls. While watching TV, with the new Iphone on my belt holder I took it out to make a call and it felt pretty hot. It wasn’t in sunlight and I wasn’t using it at all. This never happened with my old one. After about 10 minutes it cooled down. At what point should I make it an issue with Apple?
wow and i thought it was just my phone until i stumbled across this .
had 2 i phones 3 g that kept freezing up.got rid of them.
It happen to me now after using it for over 6 months!!!! What should I do??????
My iphone 3G gets so hot that I have to hang up. It burns my ear to the point were it hurts. I am losing my faith in apple products. My two year commitment is up, and I am considering going away from iphone altogether. I am runing 3.1.3.
I am afraid to update, with all the complaints that I am hearing. It seems like everytime you update, there is a problem.
M
I have a white 3GS iPhone and it started over heating a week after I got it and I paid 70dollars for insurance but the three options I have are put a 500 dollar deposits with my credit card that I don’t have mail them my phone and they’ll mail me one back or drive a hour to an apple store to get a new phone. I payed for insurance for nothing If I would have known that I would have got a different smart phone that u could bring back to the store I bought it from than to get the run around I wish they recalled the phones so I could bring it to AT&T and get a new one
I just noticed that when charging my iPhone 3GS the plug (NOT the phone) got very hot. Have you received other complaints and do you know why this is happening. What’s the solution? I’ve only had the phone & charger since April.
My phone got so hot after charging it for one hour that it read “phone is too hot for use and that it needs to cool down first” I only had my phone for two weeks and even with the otter box on it I can’t even hold the phone because it is too hot.
My G3S was heating up and the battery would drain within a few hours. I had been using this phone for 6 months and it started suddenly. I went to the Apple store and was told to quit my apps and upgrade to OS4.1 and that should fix the problem. It didn’t. I went back and told them I had restored to factory settings and removed all my apps and the problem still remained. Heating up and quick battery loss.
The Apple store was quick to replace my phone and suggested that I don’t restore the phone from my back-up but rather start as a new phone. This is what did, I didn’t install any apps and tried it out for a few days. But guess what, the problem is happening on my new phone.
I searched the web to find out if there was a virus on my computer that was transferring to my phone, but pretty much every source said there are no virus’ for the iPhone.
I’m now at a complete loss, my battery only lasts a couple of hours without using the phone, I’ve got location services turned off, roaming, and Wi-Fi as well. Nothing seems to help.
If it is because of hardware issues the chances of me getting two bummed phones is pretty remote. Could it be from my Mac at home? Is it transferring something to my iPhone that is causing the over heating and battery drain?
I own an iPhone 3 gs 16 gb. It too gets so hot it burns your hand and ear. The volume goes up and down on it’s own. It freezes up alot, the whole screen disappears where you can’t answer it. It goes to whatever it wants to when it wants to. It calls people automatically too. It rings sometimes and sometimes it won’t. It takes days to get some of my texts and voicemails. This is about the 6th or 7th Iphone I’ve had. The first one I got froze and blew up, wiping out everything when I synced it with my computer. It also messed up my computer and it hasn’t been right since. I took it back and it took alot of talking to them but they replaced it. The next one lasted about two weeks and again I had to take it back and get another one. This was the iPhone 3g I used the then this happened two more times. Then number 5 or 6 was doing the same things but I dropped that the day before I was to take it in to apple and cut it up with my lawnmower. So I had to go to apple and I bought another one but I got the 16gb 3gs in white hoping it would be better than the 3g. Wrong it’s doing the same thing. It’s hot when you use it, and I cannot get it to backup or update. This phone is no better than any of the others. When you spend over $300 on a phone you expect it to last atleast to your next upgrade. I can’t wait till I can upgrade again so I can get a different kind. I can’t afford another $300 for a phone again. I like the iPhone features but not the phone. You can’t even get insurance on them. It costs too much to take it in and have them see what’s wrong. So I just deal with it until I can get a different kind.. If there is a recall please let me know. I just hate to lose all my apps, songs and movies. I will live without them to get a reliable phone. My niece got one for her daughter, my brother got one and my
fiancés brotherinlaw and niece got one. I told them not to buy them but they did. They all are having the same problems. Let us know if there is a recall so we will know what to do. Oh yea and alot of times when trying to text the letters hang and it won’t even type them they come up in a big square like when you text but it hangs on that letter and you have to try to turn the phone off or try to hard reset it and it takes forever to get that done. And they don’t even tell you when you first buy one that you have to go home and sync it to iTunes and update it first. I had trouble using the first one the minute I left the store and had to call apple and find out what was wrong. They told me you had to sync it first. I’ve always heard people say apple products weren’t very good, but I didn’t listen. I wish I had. I could have saved a thousand dollars. Thanks for letting me vent my frustration with my apple iPhone. Barbara
I have one of those 3Gs iphones you can cook an egg on. I plan to call Apple today.
I recently noticed that my iPhone 3GS get’s extremely hot. I have had the phone for over a year without any issues, but just did an upgrade in December of 2010, and the phone feels like it’s on fire!
I just got a iphone from ebay 3Gs after i turn it on about 2 hrs my feel like burring
Had 3GS fro 16mths then suddenly overnight on charge it gets extreemly hot then battery life failed. Has anyone a solution, 12 months warrrenty has run out:(
I am now on my second new i-phone 3GS, the 1st lasted 11 months and then started overheating, black screen during use, draining battery within 2 hours from 100% charge etc, as described above. Vodacom replaced it with a new hand-set (under warranty) in January 2011, I spent 4 hours restoring the data and it immediately started heating up and cutting out again. I took it streight back to Vodacom, luckily still under warranty. This time they updated the software to version 4.1 and reset it. I have had it back for a week, have been asked not to put any of the apps back and turn off 3G, data etc. I am now having the same problems again, even without apps. This time I’m out of warranty, will have to fight with Vodacom:(
Yes, mine started over heating Dec, 2010 and it randomly overheats and battery last for about 1-2 hours on full charge,… it comes and goes,….
Yesterday I was charging my iphone, left the room and when I got back 1 hour later it was ready to boil water in a teacup!
Disconnected it let it cool down press the power switch nothing happened, tried the main reset still no lifesign. I fear my battery completely failed. Called Apple support, and sure enough the warranty is over by 2 months :(.
Nobody told me about this issue. I’ll try to replace the battery and I’ll provide a follow-up on this site if it does solve the issue.
Just hoping the charging circuit wasn’t damage.
I’m not going to lie!! I love my iPhone – as does everyone in the house – even those with other smart phones. But the battery does not last and the phone gets ridicuously hot when I’m using it. My next step is to buy a regular old phone and get a new ipad or something for all the fun stuff. I’ve had this baby for three plus years, replaced the glass (dropped it on the pavement), new internals (dropped it in water), it has a cracked case, I left it on the hood of my car and we found it 1 mile from the house in the ditch. This poor thing has been so abused I just can’t bring myself to buy anything else – it’s not the best – but I love it. Just wish it didn’t cut out on some apps, get so darn hot and have the battery life of my kids random melt downs!!
My iPhone 3g heated up to a point that the screen popped and cracked when I put it to my ear I don’t know if I was colder or what but I remember not just a week ago pulling the piece out of my ear canal I had to get a protective screen to keep spider crack from getting bigger because I was told I’m way past warrentee lucky I don’t sue their corperate a$$es.
Phone not even 5 mths old and it starting to get very hot last two days when it is charging. I am worried it may blow up or cause a fire. Can I get another phone?
I had my 3GS on the shelf..hadnt use it for months because of the heat. I decide might as well sell it, i go get it and the front glass is pushed up and the black back has a bulge and hairline cracks!! WTH!! Recall now!! time to take it to the mass media, 32GB iphone gone…this is a major health hazard!
Got a trade in Iphone from Apple a few months back and now it gets too hot to touch sometimes and blew my computer screen. Called apple and they wouldnt even give me an upgrade, SO if my house burns down due to the phone guess I have a lawsuit!!! I called and told them the problem.
Mine started crackling yesterday and heats up real hot when used