Apple Investigating Reports of iPhone 8 Plus Devices 'Splitting Open' (9to5mac.com)

Apple is currently investigating reports of the iPhone 8 Plus splitting open while being charged with the included cable and plug adapter. The first claim comes from a Taiwanese iPhone 8 Plus owner, who posted photos which show damage consistent with a swollen battery. The second claim is from a Japanese owner who posted similar photos of his device, which he says arrived in this state. The Next Web reports: The phone belonged to a Ms. Wu, who recently renewed her phone contract and purchased a 64GB rose gold iPhone 8 Plus. The issue emerged five days after purchasing the phone. Wu placed her phone on charge, using the supplied cable and adaptor. After three minutes, she reported seeing the front panel bulge, and eventually lift completely from the device. According to multiple Taiwanese outlets, the phone was later recovered by the carrier, and has since been shipped to Apple for analysis. 9to5Mac adds: While any incident affecting a new iPhone model is bound to attract media attention, it's worth noting the usual disclaimers. First, any device manufactured in the millions will include some faulty models -- the real news would be if this were not the case. Second, investigations into charging-related incidents often reveal that a third-party charger was used, even when an owner initially claims to have used the supplied Apple one.

Comments

It is difficult to build a bug free product

[CustomBuild]

That being said, Iphones are a premium products, this should not be happening. Hopefully this is from a defective batch and not indicative of a design flaw.

Re:It is difficult to build a bug free product

[cdsparrow]

It's just designed to be charged while in the freezer. Pretty simple fix. I expect Apple fridges soon with lightening connectors beside the ice tray so you can charge up the phone safely.

Re: It is difficult to build a bug free product

[Anonymous Coward]

Battery swelling is less of an issue if the battery can be removed and replaced without disassembling the phone. I had issues with an iPhone 5 battery swelling, which can't so easily be replaced. I'm on a Galaxy Note 4 now, which despite being old, is a great phone. I've had a couple of batteries swell, too, but it's an easy fix to simply buy a new battery and swap it in. Because of the difficulty with getting a Samsung battery now that isn't counterfeit, I'm using a Powerbear battery. I've had no issues with it. It's a great phone and even still gets software updates. Since then, Samsung has eliminated removable batteries. They're removed useful features like the IR blaster and added an unnecessarily curved screen. I'd love to have the faster CPUs, more cores, and more RAM in the newer models. I wouldn't mind a newer version of Android. However, in many ways, Samsung has actually made the newer models worse. Make the phones a bit thicker and let users replace the battery. I'm not interested in buying a Note 8 if I'm going to have the battery swell and no way to replace it. The same goes for new iPhones.

Re:It is difficult to build a bug free product

[rpstrong]

You don't need to put the phone in the freezer, you simply have to super-chill your electrons before charging. This also provides around 15% greater energy density within the battery - see Space-X's site for further details.

Right to repair?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess they listened to complaints and made those new models easier to open and repair.

Re:Right to repair?

[hcs_$reboot]

Not sure how waterproof it is, though.

Re:Rose gold?

[Known Nutter]

Gold, maybe?

https://www.apple.com/iphone-8...

But still, piss poor journalism at its finest.

Re:Rose gold?

[rmdingler]

The phone belonged to a Ms. Wu, who recently renewed her phone contract and purchased a 64GB rose gold iPhone 8 Plus

Impressive, seeing as the 8 doesn't come in Rose Gold.

It does, however, occasionally remain available in the color pregnant.

Ode to an iphone

[boudie2]

There was a young lady named Wu. Whose new iphone broke into two. To her dismay, The warranty did say. If you're too fat this could happen to you.

Re:Ode to an iphone

[hcs_$reboot]

You're joking, but for once, iFixit may give the iPhone a good "disassemble" rating!

Re:Rose gold?

[Anonymous Coward]

https://www.apple.com/iphone-8...

It's the primary color they are pushing. Shame to let facts get in the way of a snappy post, but still...

Not "Splitting Open"

[hduff]

They are not splitting open, just expanding to accommodate the new double tweets.

It's a feature, not a bug!

Can we rule out clones?

[SuperKendall]

I don't think this is impossible, but I am pretty suspicious that both failed devices are from Asia - how to we know these are not some really good look alike clones? You'd think if this was really an issue there'd be at least one report from Europe or the U.S.

Re:Can we rule out clones?

[TheFakeTimCook]

I don't think this is impossible, but I am pretty suspicious that both failed devices are from Asia - how to we know these are not some really good look alike clones? You'd think if this was really an issue there'd be at least one report from Europe or the U.S.

That is a VERY good point!

Re:Can we rule out clones?

[mattr]

Sorry that is just discriminatory and unimaginative. It is totally possible either by pure chance or due to parts logistics sending more of the bad batches to one part of the world. Perhaps they were rushed to Asia to meet marketing campaigns, who knows. (Someone at Apple, not you or me.) Also, the Japanese text on the linked page does not suggest it being fake. The user reports Apple will replace it. Other users are telling him that appears to be a battery deformation like Samsung's, and not to further charge it or take it on a plane in that condition due to risk of explosion. It does not include the kind of fear-mongering text that would support your allegation.

Re:Can we rule out clones?

[SuperKendall]

Sorry that is just discriminatory and unimaginative.

Ask me how I know you are retarded.

Also, the Japanese text on the linked page does not suggest it being fake. The user reports Apple will replace it.

Ask me how I *confirmed* you are retarded.

I mean, obviously it's real because the same possibly fake user that reported the issue, also reports Apple replaced it!

What a retard.

Like I said, it COULD be real, but for you to accept so blindly a single report... well lets just say you aren't too bright, what would be the word for that...

A big problem

[fermion]

Apple is replacing swollen batteries on watches. They replaced mine, I know at least two other who have had their battery replaced, and when I went into the store last time there was a women there who was having her battery replaced. There were no questions asked.

At work I have lost two old macs because the battery swelled, but these were about four years old.

If this is a problem for the iPhone it is bad news, but I suspect they will replace it. If this is a problem for the iPhone, when it is new then I suspect it is going to be a widespread problem, like the watch.

Re:A big problem

[hey!]

This is a not good, but it appears to be a benign failure mode, the way an engineer would design a consumer product to fail if it must. You could encase the battery in a sufficiently rigid capsule and failures would be less frequent but possibly more catastrophic.

Re:Bad EEs!

[freeze128]

Parent is totally correct. The batteries swell because they were overcharged. The charging circuitry is *INSIDE* the phone, not the charger. Even if a third party charger was used, it's still the phone's job to keep track of how charged the battery is. It's not like third-party 5 Volts is any different from Genuine Apple 5 Volts. Either way, it's still 5 volts.

Re:You should stick it under water

[freeze128]

So, I should put it in the microwave?

Re:You are charging it wrong

[chipschap]

It takes courage to build a phone that splits open.

Where is that new battery technology?

[freeze128]

These battery problems are really getting dangerous. Where is that breakthrough Li-ion battery technology from that "Goodenough" guy that would promise safer batteries?

Re:Where is that new battery technology?

[paulej72]

These battery problems are really getting dangerous. Where is that breakthrough Li-ion battery technology from that "Goodenough" guy that would promise safer batteries?

These were breakthrough batteries :)

Re:So to sum up

[dgatwood]

First of all, do not leave your iPhone in direct sunlight. It'll kill it. Second, don't immerse it in water—not even to clean it. But the most important rule—the rule you can never forget—no matter how much it buzzes, no matter how red the charge indicator is, never charge it after midnight.

Re:Bad EEs!

[TheFakeTimCook]

Parent is totally correct. The batteries swell because they were overcharged. The charging circuitry is *INSIDE* the phone, not the charger. Even if a third party charger was used, it's still the phone's job to keep track of how charged the battery is. It's not like third-party 5 Volts is any different from Genuine Apple 5 Volts. Either way, it's still 5 volts.

Actually, LiOn/LiPo battery charge circuitry monitors battery temperature to determine when to start throttling-back in the initial phase of the charging profile. It does not monitor current or, for example, Samsung's exploding batteries (which were caused by internal short-circuits in the layers of the batteries, which would have naturally shown up as increased charging current) would likely have stopped at the "bulging" stage.

So, either this was a bad battery, or the battery temp sensing in this particular phone was defective.

Having said that, if it truly started bulging after only 3 minutes, that pretty much HAS at one the fault of the battery, IMHO.

Six nines? Isn't that the gold standard?

[darthsilun]

First, any device manufactured in the millions will include some faulty models...

I'f I'm doing my math correctly, In 10M devices we would expect 10 problems, right?

With seven nines, just one problem.

Off hand I'd say Apple's doing pretty good.

Re: Six nines? Isn't that the gold standard?

[Brockmire]

Citation needed. When I looked this up years ago, you're aiming for better than 3% failure for a successful product.

STOP COMPLAINING!

[jddj]

That's just how you access the 3.5mm headphone jack!

Who here asked for a thinner phone?

[FullCircle]

Maybe instead of pushing the boundaries of battery size, they should make a phone that can fit a good sized battery safely with current battery technology.

While they are at it, they could make the screens and case thick enough to resist day to day use.

I'm not just complaining about Apple here either.

Re: Fire Tim Cock

[hackwrench]

So what? Apathetic do as I say and not as I do ism self-detected. There's a better term for the patter half of that, but I am growing senile in my old age. Trying agan. Nope. You are both welcome on and should really get off my lawn. Timey-Wimey. Microsoft's Zo is based on real life Zoe Bond who has a son Neveah, and two dogs, Barkmoji and Asia, age 22.

Re: Fire Tim Cock

[hackwrench]

Hypocrite, that's the word I was thinking of dang nabbit.

FUCK YOU IN THE LOO!

[Anonymous Coward]

Glad to oblige you too!

Re: Tell that to Note owners

[LynnwoodRooster]

Or, if you were committed to a good design, you'd run through user tests and discover people LIKE putting their phones in their back pocket and then design your phone so it would survive that treatment. Don't blame the customer for what they would assume would be normal handling and care - because all other phones can do it...

Re:So to sum up

[LynnwoodRooster]

Reminds me not to taunt Happy Fun Ball...

Re:So to sum up

[fahrbot-bot]

First of all, do not leave your iPhone in direct sunlight. It'll kill it. Second, don't immerse it in water—not even to clean it. But the most important rule—the rule you can never forget—no matter how much it buzzes, no matter how red the charge indicator is, never charge it after midnight.

The rules for Fight Club were simpler.

I call BS

[thsths]

What you call a "charger" is actually a power supply - the charger is integrated into the phone. It is therefore physically impossible to use a third party charger. And consequently, blaming the power supply is just a lame attempt to avoid liability.

Who knows, this could be Apples "Note 7" moment.

Re:Bad EEs!

[thsths]

Exactly. The problem is in the phone, and this is a just a rather brazen attempt of blame deflection.

Re:So to sum up

[thsths]

Don't hold it the wrong way.
Don't do un-apple things with it.
Don't be creative.
Don't break out of the mold.

Battery management chip

[DrYak]

Actually, LiOn/LiPo battery charge circuitry monitors battery temperature to determine when to start throttling-back in the initial phase of the charging profile. It does not monitor current

The charging circuitry in the smartphone/laptop indeed does NOT monitor anything beyond temperature
(sometimes using a dedicated thermistor inside the battery using an extra conductor).
(and sometimes, it has also a very primitive "do not charge if battery undercharged under given very-low voltage" protection)

The battery management chip inside the battery itself DOES monitor current and voltage (both over/under).
(See the characteristic of any battery management chip).
It also exports these informations over the I2C bus or whatever that peculiar smartphone/laptop uses.

Re:You are charging it wrong

[laurencetux]

look at it this way

The Apple iPhone 8 comes equipped with a Fail Safe Charging Circuit in the event of a thermal runaway beginning the phone will breach the case to
1 indicate to the user the error has occurred
2 radiate the excess energy safely
3 disable further charging

Re:So to sum up

[blindseer]

That's what you get when you buy your Gizmo from an Asian shop...

I see I'm not the only one that got the joke. Kids these days will have no idea what that means.

Re:Fire Tim Cock

[Joce640k]

Never mind that, what are we going to call this?

"Splitgate" doesn't really roll off the tongue. How about "burstgate"?

Re: Bad EEs!

[Brockmire]

Why the fuck aren't they using a Coulomb counter? Last year, we used a Qualcomm soc and some standard usb-c charger microcontroller and it was a basic feature. Of course they fucking measure the charging current. You can't just go by temperature alone.

Re:Fire Tim Cock

[networkBoy]

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