Analyst: Apple iPhone screen problems may get worse - the dreaded "dead strip"
Posted by Will on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 5:44 pm under iPhone, Mac OS, Apple, Technologies, Research, Devices
Just when we thought it couldn't get worse (seriously, we thought it would stay an isolated and rare defect), Nomura International analyst, Richard Windsor released a note to clients indicating that the iPhone's "dead strip" display problem could become more widespread.
Apple bought the rights to the screen technology used in the iPhone from a Finnish firm. Finnish firm reported that usage led to the same unresponsive display problems after some time. Apparently, 3 to 6 months of "extensive use" would start to degrade the technology and cause a lose of sensitivity to touch-inputs. This suggests that the relatively new iPhone fleet in the US could start to exhibit similar problems with time.
With technologies as advanced as multi-touch, and production volumes as large as they are, hardware faults could very reasonably start to crop up.
We'll keep a close eye on this problem for you guys, but should you find yourself facing the dreaded "dead strip," drop us a line and let us know. Seriously, we'd appreciate it.
Update
The iPhone does not use heat chemical deposition technology, nor does it detect inputs based on heat.
[Via: The Inquirer]
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August 11th, 2007 at 8:47 am
I see a lawsuit coming up… It qould be quite interesting to see the hundreds of thousands of people that bought iPhoney file a lawsuit against the fruit company
Maciek
www.symbiosis60.com
August 11th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Wow… a Finnish company.. must have been MyOrigo which had a proto with touch and tilt sensitive UI a couple of years ago, as well as heptic (?) feedback used by e.g. Moto in the new Razr2.
Heh, wouldn't be ironic if the mighty iPhone became a flop because of this? Let's wait and see what happens.
August 11th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
It would really be a shame if a significant portion of the iPhone fleet starting showing these problems. I'm crossing my fingers for my own iPhone.
August 12th, 2007 at 11:48 am
iPhone's touch interface is capacitive, not thermal. Use a leather object or certain types of rubber and it will work, just like a finger. I still wouldn't buy one though.
August 12th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
[…] for? Maybe a firmware update you can have done at the Apple store? Nosirree, it looks to be an honest-to-goodness hardware problem that only promises to get worse: Apple bought the rights to the screen technology used in the […]
August 13th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
my iphone is doing this
August 13th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Sorry to hear that
When did this start happening? What part of the screen is affected?
August 13th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
The bottom 2-3 rows of my iphone are acting up right now. The problem seems to happen on and off. Started this past Friday and now I can't access the Back/Forward buttons in the browser or the Space bar when typing.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:21 am
[…] Nomura International analyst, Richard Windsor released a note to clients indicating that the iPhone’s “dead strip” display problem could become more widespread.Apple bought the rights to the screen […]
August 15th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I started a bet about this on Blubet:
http://www.blubet.com/bet/Will_iPhone_displays_wear_out_in_3_6_months_1
August 15th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Take it into an Apple Store right away. I hope they replace it for you. Good Luck!
August 15th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
A few days ago my touchscreen would not pick up any of my input. A reset and a restore wouldn't fix the problem, nor any other fix. I could only send it to Apple for replacement. I hope this isn't a start of further issues.
August 15th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
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August 15th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
This doesn't sound too good for Apple, if this problem is widespread, they could face a class-action lawsuit.
August 16th, 2007 at 4:29 am
WOW, i am not buying a phone if its easy to break the buttons off. Why don't they make a phone you can talk to and it calls someone like without having to push buttons.
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August 16th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Hello
I am having this problem fro the utube to wather buttons.
I wnt to Apple today and they want to charge me 30 dollars for a rental phone. I took my phone and left
Kent
August 17th, 2007 at 10:18 am
One of my school friends just went through the "Dead Strip." He brought it to the apple store and they replaced it for him on th spot.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
[…] that the relatively new iPhone fleet in the US could start to exhibit similar problems with time.read more | digg story Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can […]
August 20th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I'm the type of person that didn't want people to see my iPhone freeze the slightest bit because I am such an Apple mark.
However, I just shipped my iPhone because the touch screen went completely unresponsive! Not just a strip at the article suggests. I couldn't even unlock or shutdown the phone!
I want to puke, because I scoffed at everyone that told me to wait to buy one until all the bugs were worked out. I hope the repair will last longer than the original.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:43 am
This happened to me last night. I took it out of my pocket, tried to click the "phone" button on the bottom, nothing. I've had my iPhone for about a month.
Here's what is really strange: I can use slide to unlock, which covers the same area on the screen that lets me push other buttons that are now "dead." That made me think this was a software problem.
I'm off to the Apple store for a temp fix.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I am heading to the store tm.
the bottom 1/2 inch of the touch screen is not working, which is the space bar on e-mail and any entry.
Funny thing is the back button works on the broswer.
I will let everyone know how they handle it.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:13 am
[…] and appealing. An apparently misleading article (which I didn't know at the time) about iPhones wearing out in a few months made number three. A nice post on website design simplicity unfortunatly crashed […]
August 28th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Fellow Iphone fans or owners, I recently experienced a cracked screen after a drop from a distance of less than a foot. I called apple and they wanted to charge me $300 for repairs. Talked to a supervisor and they are fixing it for free. Dont take no for an answer talk to supervisors and dont pay any money to get your phone fixed, the videos from pcworld mag on youtube are fake. The iphone is not a resistant phone!!
September 1st, 2007 at 10:33 am
Last night all of the sudden I went to use my phone and the top half of the screen wouldn't repond?! At first I thought if I just restarted the phone things would be better…well definetly not. I am going to take it into Apple today and hopefully they will fix it. Any ideas on how to make sure they do without paying a massive fee? Thanks!
September 1st, 2007 at 11:25 am
Tell them that you know that this is a known issue. You want a replacement, and you would like a loaner. If they hassle you about a fee for the loaner, ask to talk to the manager. But, be cordial.
Good luck!
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Same thing happened to me today i pull out my iphone today and south beach and only my bottom row wont work
but i can unlock on the lower row something is really wrong with these things
September 4th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
My iPhone just started doing this over the weekend. I took it into the apple store and they wouldn't even look at it until Thursday (two days later) unless I paid for the upgraded service plan. I just walked out. This is going to get really ugly for Apple and AT&T, guranteed.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:29 am
[…] on August 10, Into Mobile blogger Will cited research from a Finnish technology firm that after as little as three months of use, the iPhone touch screen […]
September 6th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
my iphone has the dead strip now i noticed it 2 days ago. the top row of keys do not respond. i have not taken it to apple yet. the people at my apple store tend to be dick heads about stuff like this.
September 10th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Mine just started doing this over the weekend. Started with the dead strip and is now the whole phone. I do a lot of traveling and depend on my phone for a lot. Not being able to make any calls has cost me REAL money. This is quite frustrating. I called apple to find out what to do and spoke to "Travis". He said that he can't guarantee that the store will give me a free replacement but that he could give me one that will be here tomorrow morning. I'm going to try the apple store in a few minutes and see if they can replace mine for free. I've always been a PC guy and this is my first venture into the Apple world…hasn't been a good experience…I may be switching to the Nokia N95..
September 11th, 2007 at 8:31 am
So I make an appointment with the Apple store for 7:45 to have my iphone swapped out because of the deadstrip. They said they had an iphone they could swap out with me. I drive the 35 minutes across town to the Apple store and ….here's how it went…
Me: I've got the deadstrip problem and I called earlier and you guys said you had an iphone you would swap out with me.
Genius: Not a problem sir. I'm really sorry about this.
Me: Here's my iphone.
Genius: Oooohhhhh…you have a 4 GB iphone.
Me: Yeah…and….
Genius: We don't have any 4 GB iphones…
Me: You've got to be kidding me.
Genius: I'm sorry sir, I can order you one that will arrive in 2 to 3 days.
Me: Travis (see above comment) from apple said he could have one here tomorrow morning and they can't get one to yall for 2 to 3 days?
Genius: I'm sorry sir.
I turned around and walked out. I'm now on hold with another guy from apple who is now GIVING ME A HARD TIME about replacing the phone. I STRONGLY suggest NOT getting an iphone. :evil::evil:
I MISS MY CINGULAR 8125!!!!!
September 12th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
All these complaints are making me reconsider about getting the iPod Touch when its released. Should i?? Argh
September 14th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I just got my replacement iphone today…I'm figuring the reason they aren't making any new 4GB iphones is because they probably have the issue with the touch screen whereas the 8GB phones have all been fixed. It's probably ok to go ahead and get the new ipod. I'm betting they've got the technology fixed by now.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I am having this problem as of last night. The top row of buttons do not work on any screen (which caused me a great disturbance when flying yesterday when I could not get the phone into airplane mode for a flight!)
This sucks!
September 19th, 2007 at 10:10 am
This morning I awoke to try the Weather button and it did not respond, nor did the entire row of buttons, YouTube, Stocks and Maps. I noticed in the apps that I could open that the same area was non responsive. My IT guy sent me the link to your dead strip story which is exactly my problem. I just made an appointment to meet with a Mac genius at lunch. Wish me luck!
September 19th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Interesting, was your touchscreen fully functional before you went to sleep? It's strange that the touchscreen would just cease to function overnight.
Either way, Good Luck!
September 19th, 2007 at 10:49 am
It was working fine but I am a heavy user of my phone and functions. Must have just worn it out?
September 24th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I have just started having the same dread strip issues. The same area of the screen works in some applications and not in others. May be a software issue after all
September 24th, 2007 at 9:34 am
call apple…it will only get worse. They're very good about replacing the phone and giving you a spare while they repair yours.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:39 am
They replaced mine at the Apple Store with no questions. Actually the only question they asked me was if I had gotten it wet, which I hadn't. Make sure to back up your info to your hard drive so you can reinstall after you get the new one because they don't do that for you. You also get the remaining warranty time on the new one, not another full year. Good luck!
September 25th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
September 27th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Just lost the botton two rows of touch sensitivity. Come to think of it I have noticed over the past two days have to touch the bottom icons twice or three times for action.
What a pain in the a*s!!!!!!
September 28th, 2007 at 9:50 am
I woke this morning to find the bottom strip (phone, mail, safari, ipod) non-responsive, even though it worked fine last night. Funny that the unlock slider still works. I'm heading to the Apple Store later this afternoon. Very disappointing…
October 1st, 2007 at 1:49 pm
The top row is unresponsive for me now. I cannot get back to the text message menu or change the date display in the calendar or get back to the main message windows in email. I have an appt with the apple store tonight. Wish me luck.
October 1st, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Good luck Paul. They have been pretty good at replacing the phones so far.
October 7th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I bought my iphone on the launch date. I have no hacks and my touch screen Died early this morning while tryng to do a google maps search! Between the lack of simple features like cut and paste and search, I am sooo disenchanted with this product up to this point.
October 7th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Sorry to hear that. Take it into Apple and let them know how disappointed you are with the device. Hopefully the Apple Store techs will be able to redeem themselves and the iPhone with great service (ask to have your iPhone swapped out for a new one).
Good luck!
October 8th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Thanks WillPark,
Now I wish that they would allow the device to cut and paste and search, then I guess the only other gripe I have would be the spotty coverage with the AT&T network,which is not apple's fault!
You are correct Apple is very proactive at the store and the GENIUS BAR immediatly resolved the issued for me by swapping me out with a new phone. They have again redeemed themselves!
Thanks!
October 8th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Glad to hear everything worked out for you!
The dead strip problem seems like a pretty serious issue right now, and it makes sense for Apple make good on the iPhone. Apple's always had tremendous customer service, which is why I would suggest that everyone just take their dead-strip, un-responsive iPhone into an Apple Store ASAP.
October 17th, 2007 at 9:32 am
So for all you guys who's screen have had the deadstrip is this a problem limited to the 4GB model or is it also including the 8GB models too. I want one but Im gona wait until the 2nd generation comes out and see whats going to happen with that one.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:33 pm
my back buttons and upper rows dont work
Going into apple tomorrow…
October 26th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Dead strip is a great way to describe it - mine is about a 3mm high swath across what would be just below center of the display. It is active and works fine as long as what you need to touch isn't inside this area.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Going to the store this weekend. Dead area somehwere in the middle of the screen. Had the iphone since early September, never been dropped.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:34 am
[…] new iPhone fleet in the US could start to exhibit similar problems with time.[…] Thanks to suxmonkey for providing this nice story on Digg (more than […]
October 30th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
my bottom row of iphone buttons stopped working today. I took it to the apple store and they replaced it. I feel the warranty expiration breathing down my neck. Hope this one will last.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:53 am
[…] read more | digg story […]
November 12th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Nov 12th, just lost my bottom row last night at a concert while trying to take a photo… restarting the phone allows me to access the top applications, but being as the "unlock slider" is at the bottom, once the phone locks up I'm screwed again and have to restart. Can't make calls either of course.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
My "bottom bar dead zone" has led to some creative workarounds while I wait for a GeniusBar appointment: if you need to make a call, you've got one option that I can see.
First, go into settings and under your General Settings, set the phone to NEVER lock itself automatically. This'll save you from having to restart the phone every time you want to call.
Then, open up the an SMS of someone you'd like to call, then scroll up on the SMS list to the alternate call button at the top. If you don't have that person on the list of previous SMS threads, then you've gotta send that person a text FIRST, and then open that SMS thread up to call. Keep in mind that when you're entering in the person's name, you can't misspell it or else you have to go back to start since you've also lost your "delete" button functionality, hehe.
Make your call as usual. When the call is over, be sure not to have any private conversations for a sec, because that you can't actually hangup from your end (because the end conversation button is at the… bottom).
Hope this helps some desperate folks out there while waiting for Apple to help them.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Three to six months of extensive use? That's BULLSHIT. I got my brand-new iPhone out of the box THREE DAYS ago, and I'm already having the dead-strip problem. This sucks. Hopefully the warranty will cover a replacement.
November 13th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Hi There
Well, back here in Norway i have the same iphone touch
problem, it startet 3 weeks ago ( 2 month old iphone )
first my camera didnt work, then my headphone mic didnt work and now my screen wont reply, i can restart the phone 3-4 times and it work for 1/2 hour, but then it starts again.. and its the hole sceen surface.
Since i`m in Norway and the phone hasn`t arrived here yet, i cant do anything about it.. I bought it in New York..
I hopet mabye some great Mac supporters from US could help me out ?
Mabye i can send it to you and take it from there ?
i pay for the inconvenience !
Regards
zachariassen@mac.com
November 14th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Yeah same dead bottom half here. Made a call, 10 min later- tried to make another and could not "slide to unlock" Ran to the apple store in SF and they swapped it out ASAP no questions asked.
I may just unload this thing now- cannot have that happen again. Going back to Sony Erricsson…. Booooooooo apple!!
November 18th, 2007 at 3:34 am
My iPhone has the same problem. Suddenly cannot unlock it because it isn't sensitive any longer..
It happened after 1 month. I bought it in US but lives in Denmark, I hope there's still some warranty!
November 21st, 2007 at 1:31 am
I haven't had the problem yet since I just got my phone two weeks ago. Although I live in Canada and have unlocked my phone for Rogers… I know I'll have to do a factory restore to make it look fine but since I bought it through a reseller, will I have to get them to return it or could I just roll into a Seattle Apple store and they'll just hand me a new one?
and advice would be greatly appreciated.
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:17 pm
i have had my iphone for a couple months now and out today, out of nowhere, the top three quarters of my screen does not work. i tried it all, rebooting by holding both buttons, restoring phone to factory defaults, cleaning screen, nothing works. This is my fourth iphone (the first three all had internal problems) so im not suprised that something else broke.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Hey just realised today that mine 2 has a 2 dead strips 1 at the top just inbetween the words on the first line and the second row of icons and the entire row where settings atd calculator is. The major problem is that i have purchesed this phone from the us to the uk so what do i do? any help would be appreciated. email at dewhurst2007@hotmail.co.uk thanks.
December 5th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Yep, mine died today. The strip with the clock, calculator notes and settings completely stopped working. Returned to Apple today and tech support will send a replacement.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Mine did two days ago. The bottom row doesn't work. And as I live in Spain, I will have to wait until I go to EEUU again so they replace it. Damn.
December 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Ok, I have found a workaround while I wait to be able to replace the phone. Here it is:
http://www.modmyifone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2345
It is not perfect, but it works better than before.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
my screen just died today. the middle of it has a dead zone! F***! THIS SUCKS. IPNONE IS JUNK.
December 17th, 2007 at 2:12 am
Yep me too … 5 weeks after buying it ..bottom couple of lines no longer works …great .. hate it anyway !
December 18th, 2007 at 10:20 am
I bought mine in the beginning of July and this morning I noticed that the entire bottom row (not just the main menu but all screens) is completely non-responsive, and this is without warning! (no gradual loss of sensitivity, went straight from "works" to "doesn't work")
As others have noted, strangely, I can however slide to open the phone, although it is noticeably less sensitive.
I just bought one for my girlfriend for christmas and now I'm a bit weary
I'm heading to the apple store right after work.
December 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
my iphone's bottom half inch of the screen wont work at all! it started jumping around before it stopped. for example when i touch a picture at the top, it jumps to a picture way down at the bottom. im going to my local iphone dealer now to get my phone working again!
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:09 am
my screen doesnt respond in its bottom part wich is phone , safari ,ipod also to unlock or to answer a call so basically its seems to be trash what shold i do ?
December 24th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I have two strips dead now. Definitely I will have to take the phne to apple, for a replacement.
December 24th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Did the dead strips develop simultaneously?
The Apple Store should take care of that, no problem. Good luck!
December 26th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Top row on my iphone just went dead. I can't type a url into safari, I'll be taking the phone to apple tomorrow!
January 1st, 2008 at 6:59 pm
the weird thing for me is that just when I think this is happening to me, i turn the phone on and off and it's fixed. i have also noticed that if the screen is wet or my fingers are wet, the touchscreen starts to be more unresponsive. I believe this is more of a software issue, then again it could be a hardware issue for some. I feel like I'm pretty lucky really - I bought my phone week two of release and have had NO major issues. I even discovered my phone was among ones with dimmly lit and spotty screens, but my screen is perfect. Luck of the draw I guess….
January 1st, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I have an iphone and it now has a deadstrip on the lower portion of the phone that is used to access my preferences and texting it is on the send button so I cant send texts etc… Very frustrating for such a cool product. I am also in Canada so Im double screwed. Its very annoying and although a huge apple fan I cant stand technology that does not work as it should.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:55 am
Just got that dead strip problem too and I am pretty darn pissed. I bought it at ATT store so I am going to take it their first and if they dont do sh1t i will take it to apple. BLAH
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:22 am
Just got the dead strip problem across the bottom - Apple wants $29 to send me a new phone.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Well I have an issue with the touchscreen but it's with burnt pixels. Across the top of my iPhone it is starting to "gray out" which tells me the pixels are burning out. It is gradually getting worse. I'll take it back to the place I bought it and see if they will replace it. Apparently it "is" a known issue with a select few. And if they don't give a new phone I will slam it on the ground and smash it into little peices, then go get a Nokia 95.
January 5th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I have an 8 GB Iphone. Two months old. The "0" buton on the dial pad and "i" on the safari will not work. The complete row with i on safari stops working sometimes. Not sure if apple will replace the unit. I have heard from someone that apple will replace only within 30 days. After 30 days of time frame they want to have a AT&T activation record to honour the warranty.
Any comments wil are welcome. not sure how to send that to apple. I am in Canada using the phone with Rogers (not the hardware unlock rather anysim unlocked) that can be virginized again.
Thanks
January 9th, 2008 at 8:39 am
I am on my iPhone right now and I am pissed. Just as a few days ago I started having problems with the tough screen in the middle. Now I can't text and scrolling stops in the middle. I see the send button fine but when I press It all it does is add a p or o to the line. All I did is mods but looks like I'm gonna reset it to factory specs and take it back cause I am a little mad since I bought it for 600$ in July. I'm bout to give them a piece of my mind today.
January 10th, 2008 at 8:20 am
[…] I finished my errands and went home (note to others - - severance packages are really COOL). I fired up my browser and queried Google. As it turns out, my iPhone came down with what I now know is the dreaded "Dead Strip". […]
January 10th, 2008 at 9:11 am
so the ATT store couldnt do anything at all. but they had me call in a number 1800-myiphone and they have a computer do a few trouble shooting steps. so i just said i did them and got to a person. told him the problem and told him ive already done a restore and then i began the repair process. 5 minutes and since i am getting a loaner iphone i had to give a credit card #. 30$ for the loaner and they hold the price of 400 on your account. i just recieved the loaner in less than 24 hours and now im sending mine in to get fixed or replaced. told it takes around 5 days. will tell more later.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
So i just bought my iphone two days ago… unlocked it and yesterday… bang! the bottom part of my iphone stopped working… can I take it back to the store? or would they find out its been tampered with? I can't access the settings or uninstall application to undo the unlock… what should I do?
January 17th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
This morning, I was unable to access my bottom row of the keyboard as well as my "Call" button. Needless to say, I PANICed.. Google'ed around, found this page. Read through your comments and it built my confidence that things would turn out OK.
Made my appointment, went in to the apple store at woodfield mall in illinois. What an experience. Made me proud to be a 'mac guy'.
No questions asked, I had the 4GB version and they replaced it on the spot. Took about an hour, but it was a fun experience, and very informative.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I don't know about those who have hacked the phone to use another carrier (which is a big overhaul of the firmware). I had a hacked iphone, (hacked 1.1.2, NOT anysim'ed, just hacked for apps and ssh/rails/apache..etc
AS LONG AS YOU DO A FULL RESTORE (meaning, brick it first so iTunes will fully reinstall it. I noticed that the first time I tried to restore it, some settings (such as the fake carrier name, and the battery meter mod) were still there! Oh NO, the mac genius is sure to see that! But low and behold, after bricking it accidentally while trying to get rid of the fakecarrier and battery meter mod, iTunes said it would have to reinstall.. I did so, and viola, no fake carrier text and no other "evidence" … to show I was a bad boy.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
my phone is doing this…
January 21st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
If you have a dead strip in the middle and cant send texts or use your key pad you can hit return 3 times while typing your text message this will lower the send button past the dead area so you can send texts. As well if you go to ad new contacts to your phone you will be able to dial that number after you add the new contact getting around the dead strip area. these are not fixes but "ways around" the dead strip for people who have it in the middle of the phone and cant return it like me because I am in Canada and had it unlocked on the rogers network.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
mine doesn't have a 'dead strip' but the touch screen stops working a lot and the whole phone freezes at least once a day.
i had a different SIM in it and it was working fine for a month but now its been totally blocked.
i wish i hadnt bought this phone!
January 27th, 2008 at 3:49 am
i bought my iphone on ebay and unlocked it when i thought it was safe and upgraded it when it was safe and everything was fine till one day i catch my youngest daugter with it (1 year old) who has an uncanny knack of sucking the life (literally) out of mobile phones i quickly took it off of her only to find a section of the screen not working i cursed apple for not making it dribble proof my dead strip is around 2 cm up from the bottom which is a real crap place for it to be and i cant take it back due to unlocking it if anyone has any ideas please mail me info@newlife-furniture.com cheers
martin
January 30th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I have the same problem. the lower strip where the phone, mail, safari, ipod icons are is dead. wfunny thing is slide to unlock works fine.
I am not sure how I can fix this… Can anyone help please I am in Australia and there is no apple store here for me to take it to. Any help will be much appreciated. mail me at metell@gmail.com
February 1st, 2008 at 3:53 am
Me 2 :~~( the last row in my iphone keyboard is not working
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:34 pm
my bottom row of buttons is unresponsive. iPhone 'unlock' won't work because the slider will not move. Can't use phone, mail, web or ipod.
bleh.
going into the applestore today.
February 3rd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I am getting a mate to take the phone with him to an apple store, What do I need to do to make sure its verginised.
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Apple replaced my phone on the spot. yay!
February 5th, 2008 at 10:57 am
This is really, really, f(*&ing bad. I am in Malaysia on business and the godflipedfukshitbagfhad, dammit!, iPhone did that crap. I am surely screwed. Thanks Apple and AT&T. I am breaching my contract.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I purchased my iPhone the first days they were available and just today I am experiencing the "dead strip". I cannot use any of the icons at the bottom of my phone. Even with the new ability to move icons, it won't allow you to rearrange with the bottom unless you originate the move from there. I cannot make phone calls or check messages!!!!
February 7th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Bought my iPhone in September (post-price drop), and this started happening to me last week.
Took my phone to the Genius Bar, and they swapped it out for a brand new one, no questions asked.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Had my phone since launch date.
In Louisiana we don't have an apple store. I'm screwed?.
The row above the dock is dead.
What can I do?
February 9th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I called the 800 number on apple.com and they sent out a loaner via FedEx(to my office in the states). They tried to get me to pay for the shipping and some other charge. I went nuts and they caved. They said I would have mine fixed then sent back to me. AT&T better not charge me the usual swap fee twice. I should have waited until my return to the states and gone to the store for a swap. Its too much hassle to keep switching them out.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
My dock strip went dead a couple days ago. Fortunately, I had the same experience as Chandler, above: brought it to an Apple Store and the geniuses gave me a new one, free of charge. Not a loaner, a replacement. Best part is iTunes must back up the iPhone whenever you sync up, so I didn't lose a thing. All my notes, settings, everything was restored the next time I connected to iTunes. Once again, Apple's customer support proved to be stellar.
February 16th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Hey guys i have had my iphone for a month and i have the dead strip on the two top row icons and iv restarted it recovered it and nothing will work I'm mad im going to the apple store to get replaced for FREE
February 18th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Yo …
New technologies always have bugs … dont be a first adapter and then complain; you should have expected this. The question is how the company deals with them.
I've had plenty of problems with Apple, but a moment ago I walked into the apple store and pointed out my dead screen. Within 20 minutes I was walking out of the store with a new phone free of charge. No down time, and all my contacts were restored instantly.
Unless you live far from an Apple store, in the unlikely event this happens, its not much of an issue. Hats off to apple for solid customer support.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:16 am
My 4GB iphone had a dead strip appear last week (after 6 months of use) I sent it in for repair and just got an email back from Apple saying that the issue was the result of accidental damage or misuse. GRRRRRR. I take good care of this phone. Can I contest this. If so how?
February 29th, 2008 at 2:01 am
[…] apple.com photo http://www.intomobile.com/ […]
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
I had a dream to won the iPhone. And one day I got it! The dream comes true! As you say iPhone is only for AT&T service. But what if a country doesn’t have any?? I bought from a guy who bought it from a store in Singapore and it was jailbroken. I was really surprise to see the iPhone work with other GSM operator! But soon (with in 2 week) my dream fall apart. My top lower portion of screen stopped responding touch. Well, what choice do I have now? 1 of my friend lives in NY and I’M planning to send the phone to him to fix or replace. I don’t have any Cash memo from apple store nor do I have an AT&T connection. How my friend in NY can help me on this and send it back to me.??
Please Help!
Leo
from Bangladesh
March 11th, 2008 at 8:26 am
March 14th, 2008 at 10:07 am
ipod touch straight out of the box and screen freezes repeatedly.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:52 am
my iphone (8gb) has the dead strip (at the very bottom) so i can't press space when sending an sms or email. I updated to 1.1.4 but it wasn't helping!
still the same problem. I am from Europe and got my iPhone from US! I don't get support here for the "US" iphone! Apple Stores tell me that there is no contract -> this really sucks! if anyone has an idea please let me know! the
iphone is the only product from Apple which is NOT having Worldwide Support. This is what they (Apple) told me!
April 7th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I am experiencing problems with my iphone seven months after purchasing it. The bottom part of the touch screen stopped working and when i turn it on the screen goes crazy jumping from internet to mail to text to phone to itunes. I can't do anything with it so I will attempt to restore the itouch through itunes and if that doesn't work I will take it in to Apple to get it repaired.
April 15th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Hi, my iPhone was bought in September 2007 and shows the same problem. The dead-strip is in the middle of the display. Very annoying.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
My Iphone just got the The dead-strip. This is a great phone, but it doesnt work with the The dead-strip.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:55 am
My I`Ph(uck)one get the dead strip yesterday. it takes 7 mm high and the whole width of the vertical screen.
I really care my iphone, hard cover, protective film and all that expensive stuff, but its broken anyway, six hundreds dollars with the accesories, bought in the new york apple store. I live in argentina, and did all the resets available. doesnt work.
April 18th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
my screen stopped working! out of no where nothing works i can use it at all , i can turn the screen on and thats it?!?!
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
My iPhone started to do this recently. It's been 9 months since I started to use it. Apparently you can edit the sensitivity in the general.plist file. It worked, but hen when I upgraded to 1.1.4, the screen is totally unresponsive even when I put the sensitivity to the maximum.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:42 am
what kind of problems?
April 25th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Hi,
I am from Holland and got myself an iphone 8gb (v1.14). Now I have my iphone for only one month, and suddely the bottom of the screen doesn't respond anymore… I thought it had to do something with the bodygiardz that I applied because it happend on the same moment, but now I read that more people have this problem.
What can I do? The iphone isn't for sale in holland yet… and besides, i have a sim-unlocked and jailbraked one…
Some tips would be appreciated!
dennis@photo74.com
April 25th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
My only suggestion would be to restore the device back to normal and try to take it to an Apple Store in Germany…
Hope that helps
April 25th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
See? This proves it! IPhones SUCK! But seriously, sorry everyone that you have to go through all this bullsh!t. Noone should be without their mobile phones. I know my life would shatter without a phone! If I loose mine for even a few minutes, I freak out so I can't imagine the trouble you guys are going through. I'm a fan of HTC devices myself so I wouldn't be caught dead with an Iphone.
April 26th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
hi guys,
i have 8gb iphone and i bought it feb 29. my iphone is unlocked. i'm using my iphone for almost 40days. i just put my iphone on the charger at the same time playing music, then my music suddenly stop and the screen become blurred. so i'll try to reset but unfortunately the screen only blinking with the apple logo. after a few minutes the screen shows red dot line, what should be the problem of my iphone?
May 7th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Hey,
So my iPhone has just received the dreaded dead strip… and it has occurred in possibly the worst location. I can no longer bring up my keyboard to text, and when it comes to entering URL's into safari i can't enter the period for .com or .org or so on, it's possibly my worst nightmare, i can't access websites and i can't text people! i have done soft resets restore but with backup and even restore and set to new phone but to no avail. I went to an apple store tonight to try and replace or fix it but they were to busy… when i called into apple care they were just like "uhhhhh we can't help…" so im prety much royally fucked…