[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Apple Admits iPhone Overheating Issues -- Sort of here

[TheSouljourner]

The fact that none of these alleged overheating iPhone users have posted a picture of that screen shown above tells me there's not really an overheating issue. It's just people feeling the phone get mildly warm, overreacting, or intentionally trying to cause a scandal. Leaving your phone (no matter the brand) in a 113º car is obviously a bad idea, and is no indication of a failure on the part of the hardware.

[arkitekt78]

hahahahaha... Classic Apple!!! They only like to take credit for their so-called innovations. What do they do when their product has a problem??? They blame the USERS!!! Classic... There is a way to stop this madness however. STOP BUYING APPLE'S OVERPRICED JUNK!!!

[gurly]

Oh, that's why I've never encountered an overheating problem! I know when to stop using my iPhone!
Guys, it's summer over in the U.S., right? Ever connected heat with summer?

[expertmagician]

Easy for them to say.

But when my iPhone breaks faster and/or battery life is shortened because of excessive heat when using the phone at room tempurature...guess who eats the cost of buying a new battery or new phone because of shortened life expectency.

I doubt that Apple will eat the cost of a new phone or battery because of excessive heat causing increases in "mean time between failure".

[expertmagician]

Does anyone know if the heat is being caused by the battery or by the internal CPU/processor running at an overclocked speed ?

[nexgenmax]

That's BS.
"Operate iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F). Low- or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly."
Ipod battery life is getting shorten without being exposed to sunlight.
"Temperature warning screen appears with the message "iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it" (see image below)"
Did 3G or 1st gen have this issue? No.

[dk3d]

I think it would be cool to have a fan embedded in the back cover. A switch to make it reverse direction to cool us down.
I have noticed one big difference between my 3GS and my original iPhone. The new one is ALOT lighter and seems thinner. To me this means a couple things are happening: 1) the faster processor obviously generates more heat + 2) New case is seemingly thinner so more heat is felt by touching it.
I notice that if I use the GPS and some other higher intensity apps, yeah, the phone gets warm. But so does my original iphone. It gets very warm. But I never used my original in a car on my dash with the GPS on. It doesn't have a GPS :)
I think basically the phones reach the same temperatures but just the thinner case and a higher speed processor the the main culprits in it feeling a touch warmed.

[dk3d]

How warm does my 3GS get?
Well sitting here in Florida in the bright sun with my 3GS on and just staring at the GPS/Google Maps app while move my hands around, after maybe 5 minutes, yeah it does get warm. about as warm as my laptop.
But no more warm than my original did when playing something like "real racing" or doing alot of surfing or watching YouTube.
Now, if I put it in my car (which has been now sitting in the sun 5 or 10 minutes) on the dash and pretend to use it as a GPS, well let me just say this, after 10 minutes of sitting in the sun, my steering wheel is so hot it burns and my dash is so hot it would be uncomfortable to put my hand on for a long period of time.
Imagine what my iPhone will feel like in 10 minutes... even WITHOUT using it!?

[brentcox]

Apples warning states, "Operate iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F)."
I live in Jackson, MS where temperatures this week exceed 95º. Does Apple really expect me just not to use my phone because I live in a hot climate?
It's insulting to hear Apple say I need to modify basic common cell phone usage to accommodate their design flaw.

[saltminer]

PCWorld: You guys realize this is the same warning Apple issued when the 3G was introduced about a year ago, right? All Apple did was updated it for the 3GS.
This "warning" is old news.

[expertmagician]

Hey, I have an idea....

How about making a Shock resistant GEL casing for the iPhone that is filled with liquid nitrogen or some less volatile coolant :-)

OR maybe a batery operated fan :-)

Seriously, a better idea may be to have the iPhone heat sensor automatically slow down the clock speed dynamically depending upon thge internal temperature of teh iPhone.

[technicalhitman]

Congrats to Apple! Your iPhones are now too hot to handle!

Literally!

Seriously, its 106 degrees in Dallas on 7/2/09 at 1:23PM. I wonder how many 3G S are getting hot in town? So according to the specs of the iPhone 3G S, its too hot to operate an iPhone 3G S.

This is my big problem with Apple. It seems any problem, they blame the customer. This would be completely unacceptable to Microsoft customers. This would be completely unacceptable to any other business. Instead of demonstrating some corporate accountability, they pass the buck to the customer. Unbelieveable.

That is precisely why I refuse to buy one of their computers or the iPhone itself. The iPhone 3G had issues with the chipset. Looks like we've got another chipset issue. Yet they're charging so much money for this phone?

I'll gladly put up with the issues with Sprint and the Instinct, before dealing with Apple. It just seems like a company out there to gouge the consumer for every last dollar.

[anshassi]

I think that this model will not last much, they will issue an upgraded one that's why I dnt buy my gadgets when they r just released

[l44l44]

Oops, Gizmodo had the same story up and had to retract. Will PCworld do the same?

[PoorBird]

Hmmm ...wonderments abound...my Motorola
IDEN phone warms up noticeably on long phonecalls(10 mins. +)....not so much on radio (Direct Connect) calls....using a hi-cap battery (1600 MaH)..but its a hardened unit...hi/lo temps, solar radiation, drops, rain, snow, etc. ...built to take it....with all that the Iphone does - music, video, GPS,I'net, etc., it does seem the Apple kinda missed the boat on the heat thing...they sell a go-anywhere, do-anything phone, but maybe it really isn't quite what they say it is? I dunno, maybe the cult members drool all over the printed warnings making
them unreadable. Or maybe it is planned
obsolescence on Apple's part... heat IS a life-shortening enemy for batteries and components. You buys your ticket, you takes your ride. I know that there is not a smartphone out there that will work for me on a daily basis, so I don't own one... if I needed one, I would be forced to employ a second unit in addition to my current one... such is life.

[myke34]

Are they kidding? Don't use the GPS in a car on a sunny day? Ok, so I can only drive when it's cloudy or raining or at night.

[JakeB]

Dear arkitekt78,

May I just take time out from my busy schedule to congratulate you on your 'assault on Apple' post, which brightened my morning no end? The decision to begin with simulated laughter... brillant! Did you have several false starts, or did the idea just strike? Perhaps one shouldn't question the creative process too much.

I must also draw attention to the combined one-two punch of not simply employing all-caps for emphasis, but then following this up with multiple exclamation points. How Apple and their PR department will recover from such an attack is, frankly, beyond me.

Finally, the way you traverse that fine line between too much detailed evidence (which I'm sure you'll agree can be boring and unnecessary) and overly general statements (which would open one to charges of being an illiterate buffoon, as you are no doubt well aware) is a tightrope act which recalls James (Henry, not William, of course) at his finest.

Once again, bravo, sir. Your contributions to this forum shall not go unsung.

[sda000]

I have an iPhone 3G and it did this very thing last week. It was my fault. My phone was in the sun for about an hour or more and when I picked it up it had this message on the screen. It took about 10 mins in the shade for it to cool off. I live in Texas and it was over 100 degrees in the sun. I have also had a few friends tell me this has happened to them as well. I wasn't even using the phone at the time when it overheated. So YES, it does happen and not just with the 3GS version.

[sda000]

I have an iPhone 3G and
it did this very thing last week. It was my fault. My phone was in the
sun for about an hour or more and when I picked it up it had this
message on the screen. It took about 10 mins in the shade for it to
cool off. I live in Texas and it was over 100 degrees in the sun. I
have also had a few friends tell me this has happened to them as well.
I wasn't even using the phone at the time when it overheated. So YES,
it does happen and not just with the 3GS version.