So,

I have an iPhone 4 I've had since it came out, and recently (twice in the past two days) a short drop will cause the phone to turn off and not turn on again until I plug it into my Mac. When it does this the date and time resets to Jan 1 1970 and will not reset automatically even after multiple cycles of setting it to update automatically, I have to set it manually.

When I say short drop, I mean a couple of inches, but both times onto hard surfaces, once with a bumper, once without.

Have booked a genius bar appointment for thursday, but wondering if anybody had any ideas first

cheers

Iggy

I don't think most people realize the G-forces involved with a drop of an inch or 2 to a hard surface. It can easily exceed 100 Gs, depending on the exact nature of the surface, damaging even the most carefully built of objects. Something's loose inside, and, hopefully, it can be reseated or otherwise fixed. I would not open it myself because that might void the warranty, if it hasn't already been voided due to rough treatment.

i was thinking something is loose too, there are no real signs off abuse, so i would think the warranty is still valid, I have insurance with my carrier anyway, so if apple don't repair it I will go through them, it seems odd though, as I had dropped my 3G about 4 feet onto concrete/tile many times and it was always fine

bizarrely, i cannot replicate the fault by hitting my iphone against a hard surface, it must be the opposing g-force involved in a drop that dislodges something

so I went to apple today, they obviously advised me not to drop the phone, but went ahead and replaced it anyway, which was nice of them, saved me my insurance premium and the inconvenience of the insurance process of swapping phones

I've not had an opportunity to handle iPhones of any sort, but I can tell you that a difference in case flexibility can make an enormous difference in impact susceptibility. It's a case of a little giving can go a long way.

Edit: Any resemblance to a pun is purely intentional. (Thanks, Clyde!)

I would not use an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad without a case. They are just too slippery. A friend of mine dropped her iPhone in the toilet.

yep i totally agree. 3G(s) was pretty good for dropping, it looked like crap if you dropped it because the case was so soft - you could squeeze the back in and feel movement, but the 4 is so solid, absolutely every shock is transferred to the internals

i think I will keep the bumper on this one for a while