iPhone durability (anecdotal)

[+user13371]

We ll know the iPhone is neither rugged nor waterproof, in spite of the occasional anecdotal stories of them surviving being run over by trucks or dropped out of a skydiver's hands. Here's another one for your consideration...

 

Friday evening as I was getting off the train, I kicked something on the platform stairs. It was an iPhone 3G or GS. It had been face-down in a puddle. Weather was pouring rain and had been all day, it was soaked, so I assumed it was a goner. Pressed buttons but screen stayed dark. Tucked it into my inside coat pocket and walked home, wondering how I could find the owner and return it. Even if it was broken I figured whoever lost it would want it back.

 

When I got home, it already seemed dry enough, so I plugged it into a charger. Nothing happened. At first. A minute later it lit up with the critical low battery symbol. A few minutes more and it powered up normally, and I could get to the lock screen. That made it easy to post this ... lost and found item locally.

 

The funny thing is, I didn't really need to post that ad. Within seconds of hitting the "save" button, the found phone rang...

 

Me - Hello?

Caller - Um... is Jessica there?

Me: No, but I just found this phone a little while ago. I was hoping someone would call for it. If you have another way to get in touch with her, could you tell her to come get it?

 

Turned out the caller was the Jessica's mother, and the kid happened to walk into their house while we we still on the phone. Phone returned without incident; when she came to pick it up I suggested she leave it in a bag of uncooked rice over night to draw out any extra moisture, just in case.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Portland Cyclist

[+The Frosties!]

A friend of mine dropped his while getting into a van, it fell about 2 foot onto tarmac, and required a new screen.

[+user13371]

How much did that cost and how long did it take?

[+coggins]

A friend of mine dropped his while getting into a van, it fell about 2 foot onto tarmac, and required a new screen.

My better 1/2 dropped one onto the tile floor in the house, and it hit the edge and busted the screen. Only got 1 month use out of it. Would hate to think how it would hold up in the great outdoors.

[+user13371]

...dropped one onto the tile floor in the house, and it hit the edge and busted the screen. Only got 1 month use out of it....

That makes it sound like you threw it away? I'm curious what the time and cost is to replace one these days. Last I heard it could be done in the Apple store, flat rate $200 as an out-of-warranty repair, but there have been waiving the fees if there's doubt about the circumstances -- that is, if it's inside the normal warranty period and someone claims they don't know how it got broke as opposed to "I dropped it." And there are DIY kits available also like this one.

 

Would hate to think how it would hold up in the great outdoors.

You might have better luck there Most of the iPhone survival anecdotes I've read have been drops on things other than hard floors. But I think it's mostly a matter of luck, what it hits and at what angle.

 

The thing that impressed me about this specific one was that it had was found submerged in a puddle, out the rain for some time, and apparently not harmed by it. And maybe that it was my first-hand observation rather than reading someone else's story online. Gotta tell you I was surprised when the thing lit up after being on the charger for a few minutes.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Portland Cyclist

[+JesandTodd]

A friend of mine dropped his while getting into a van, it fell about 2 foot onto tarmac, and required a new screen.

My better 1/2 dropped one onto the tile floor in the house, and it hit the edge and busted the screen. Only got 1 month use out of it. Would hate to think how it would hold up in the great outdoors.

 

I've dropped my 3GS more times than I can count. I have broken several cases too. Never a scratch on the iphone itself though. It's been holding up just fine in the great outdoors.

 

I have a iphone4 now, with no screen protector. Just took it to cougar mtn yesterday. Dropped in the snow (ice?) and mud a few times. the other day, I slid about 15 ft down a mountain side. The little area where i plug it in was filled with mud. I actually hurt myself pretty good on that one.

 

iPhone was fine though. I've been in the searing 120 degree Az summers with it, humid Hawaii with it, and rainy, rainy, muddy and rainy Seattle forests with it.

 

It does much better than I do

[ao318]

I work for the fire department and I dropped my iPhone 4 from the top of one our ladder trucks by accident. I was on the cab checking out the ladder and I leaned over the edge to ask someone to pass me a pair of pliers when my phone slid out of my sweatshirt pocket and fell approximately 12' to the ground, hitting the corner of the phone and bouncing around. The phone was in a cheap casebut had a ZAGG screen on it.

 

I asked the firefighter to tell me how bad it was damaged and he replied, you have a great looking golden as your screen saver but beyond that the was no damage, screen intact, and the corner of the phone showed no damage. I think, or want to believe, that the ZAGG screen probably helped out in not causing any damage toi it.

 

Beyond thay, I did run an iPod nano through the laundry and initially it didn't work until it dried out. I still use it with no problems.

Edited November 21, 2011 by ao318

[+isjustus4]

I use my iPhone4 more and more for caching, as I am either chasing FTF's and don't stop to load the coords into my Garmin, or am caching spur of the moment. Being someone who has dropped my phones numerous times, and this one being my first touchscreen phone, I got a good case for it. I'd recommend an Otterbox Defender case for any iPhone user. Sure, it's a little more bulky, but it sure appears to be safe in there. Other than a drop/impact directly to the now-recessed screen, it's a sturdy case. Still not waterproof or anything, but for impacts..... FWIW.....

Edited November 22, 2011 by isjustus4

[+fegan]

My iPhone 3G just crossed the 3 year mark a few weeks ago...still going strong. Dropped it plenty of times, too. And it's only had a ZAGG on the screen and a cheap silicon case to cover the sides and back. I always have mine with me when I go caching...even used it to find a few (very few). If I know I'm going to be on the water (e.g kayak) I put it in a waterproof dry box...that way I can have it with me if I need it in an emergency.

 

While I do understand most modern technology tends to be on the delicate side (to build them rugged would drive up the cost) it looks like I've been lucky.

 

I'm a firm believer in using a dedicated GPS to find caches...not a smart phone. Although they 'can' be used as a GPS for locating caches, they weren't designed with that in mind...why risk it?

 

To the OP...I'm glad you picked up that phone and got it back to the owner...bravo!

[+The Frosties!]

How much did that cost and how long did it take?

no idea, I never saw that phone again

[+The Frosties!]

double post - is there a delete option that I'm missing?

Edited November 22, 2011 by frosty68

[+The Real Boudica.]

How much did that cost and how long did it take?

 

In th UK here but a friend of ours had his screen crack. Was told he could get it repaired for £120, now he is a farmhand (why would a farmer take an I phone to work with him you ask, so did I!) and it was pretty busted up all over anyway so he decided not to bother and just replace it.

 

We were then chatting to another mate who initially trained in PC repairs, he was getting more and more people wanting him to fix their laptops, so he did some more training, and now people want him to fix their phones. Not having the experience in itty bitty things like this he was intrigued and said if the bloke didn't mind he would like to have a go.

 

£6 for the replacement screen and an hour of his time to work it out and replace it. Unfortunately for this little phone it turned out the LCD underneath had also been damaged in the drop (again only £20 odd to buy replacement) and while the second mate was willing to have a go at this the first had already set his heart on a blackberry!!

 

You Tube searches show how to do most things!

 

Edit: the funny thing was that with the screen out of action you couldn't do anything with the phone and he had his distinctivly loud alarm set for 5.30am with over ride for power off. So until second mate fixed it he was rudely awoken every morning with a foghorn

Edited November 22, 2011 by The Real Boudica.

[+user13371]

...funny thing was that with the screen out of action you couldn't do anything with the phone and he had his distinctivly loud alarm set for 5.30am with over ride for power off. So until second mate fixed it he was rudely awoken every morning with a foghorn

You must be talking about something other than an iPhone.

 

1- There is no "over ride for power off" in the iPhone's alarm feature. When the phone is off the alarm clock won't ring.

2- The battery would run down pretty quickly. With every feature off or in standby, an iPhone's battery life might be several days at most - and it's unlikely your friend's phone was in that mode when the screen broke.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Portland Cyclist

[+The Real Boudica.]

Err no, I myself might not be that technically minded but I know an iphone when I see it, and it did it when it was in our house waiting to be dropped back to its owner too.

 

Something else must have been going on then, every time the alarm went off, they shut the phone down (or thought they did), the next morning off went the foghorn again. I guess not being able to see anything on the screen makes it hard to know but I was just trying answer the question you posed - not much and not long.

[+user13371]

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted. If you couldn't see the screen it would be hard to turn the thing off completely You'd have to hold the powerr button until the confirm message showed up on (which you wouldn't be able to see) and then swipe it across to shut it down (and you couldn't see that either). So the phone was really still on the whole time while waiting repair (many days?) and the battery never ran down... Funny!!!

[+The Real Boudica.]

Correct! Had another word with the fixer last night and that was what was going on. I guess as the screen brightness seems to be the the thing that drains battery most, the fact that it didn't work meant the power lasted. I have found similar with my SamsungGS in the caching field. Geobeagle uses the screen time out rather than other apps I have used which keep the screen active and the battery lasts soooo much longer.

 

On the plus side fixer said it was a very simple job to mend.

 

Hopefully I can avoid using his services as I instantly obtained a good robust case with a deep lip around the screen although I have been very careful with it so far, my worst fear is dropping it off a bridge rather than on the ground, there is something in the subconcious about holding it suspended over water which makes you grab it back and treat it like you would a baby, I wish could attach a wrist strap.

[+coggins]

...dropped one onto the tile floor in the house, and it hit the edge and busted the screen. Only got 1 month use out of it....

That makes it sound like you threw it away? I'm curious what the time and cost is to replace one these days. Last I heard it could be done in the Apple store, flat rate $200 as an out-of-warranty repair, but there have been waiving the fees if there's doubt about the circumstances -- that is, if it's inside the normal warranty period and someone claims they don't know how it got broke as opposed to "I dropped it." And there are DIY kits available also like this one.

 

Would hate to think how it would hold up in the great outdoors.

You might have better luck there Most of the iPhone survival anecdotes I've read have been drops on things other than hard floors. But I think it's mostly a matter of luck, what it hits and at what angle.

 

The thing that impressed me about this specific one was that it had was found submerged in a puddle, out the rain for some time, and apparently not harmed by it. And maybe that it was my first-hand observation rather than reading someone else's story online. Gotta tell you I was surprised when the thing lit up after being on the charger for a few minutes.

I wasn't the open that dropped it so I wasn't the one that went to the Apple Store and received the replacement but was told it was no charge. The cheap DIY work well for the older 3 series, but on the 4 & 4s I believe you also have to replace the display as well as the glass/digitizer as they are 1 piece. Oh, and a couple of weeks ago I found a 4s on the curb. No damage to it with it's silicon cover. It received a call from it's owner and she dropped by to pick it up within 5 minuets. So if you own one, get a cover, a screen protector and the "Find My iPhone" app.

[+user13371]

...the one that went to the Apple Store ... was told it was no charge.

Good to know!

 

The cheap DIY work well for the older 3 series, but on the 4 & 4s I believe you also have to replace the display as well as the glass/digitizer as they are 1 piece.

Yeah, that one is a little more expensive. And even at that I myself would opt to let the Apple store repair a newer one, because it's trickier to take apart now. Even the screws are funky -- pentalobe on newest ones, instead of just 000 tiny phillips head.

 

if you own one, get a cover, a screen protector and the "Find My iPhone" app.

I go one step further: My "lock screen" says "If found, please call ..." and lists an alternate phone number for me, and also says "This device tracked using Find my iPhone".

Edited November 23, 2011 by Portland Cyclist