[SaMaster14]

Well, my friend dropped his iPhone4 today. Literally maybe 4 feet from the ground onto normal tile. (he tripped and it just landed flat). And the phone literally shattered. I thought the Otterbox was supposed to protect the phone from drops WAY crazier than that. The Otterbox was damaged too. I mean, if his phone wasn't in the case, MAYBE it would crack a bit from the fall. But I mean its SHATTERED.

Any comments? Ideas? This was just weird!

Here are pics of the device, if you want pics of the Otterbox I can get those too.







The device even BENT a bit...






The back was fine...





So, I'm assuming he can just go to Apple. Not sure how it works for him. I have insurance on my phone (Blackberry Bold 9930), and I just call insurance/Verizon and I get a new phone shipped immediately.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Hermdroid]

Did u have the otter box defender or the commuter case?

[kshen1]

Depends if he has AppleCare or not.
But man, that was a fail otter box. I feel sorry for the iPhone poor guy.

[BLiNK]

although it is very unfortunate this happened, there's no way i would blame a case for failing. this is a perfect example of anything that could go perfectly wrong, did

fyi: i've known people who have dropped their 4's or 4S from about 3' to 4' up and ended up with minor scratches only (without a case)

[Garz]

Apple genius bar will probably replace it for $149+ tax. No contract same phone.

[toomanyphones]

Your friend had an unlucky break. My cousin dropped his iPhone 4 I a defender case from the 4th floor down the elevator shaft. That makes it a 5 floor drop and not a scratch on the phone but a few scuff marks on the case.

[Brickman]

Look how the "frame" was bent! Wow! That was a hard 4 feet! Wonder if it was not snapped on the case good? I can kinda see how landing flat could do that but bending the aluminum part?? Thats weird!

[DarkMx2000]

I honestly cannot see an iPhone falling 4ft as you say in a case maybe screen breaking if it fell face down and it was a commuter case, BUT! bending as well that where I'm confused???


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[redbeard]

I don't buy it, looks like it was run over by a car, the glass is pulverized at the bottom, a simple drop won't do that, and it sure as hell isn't going to bend the phone!

[redbeard]

Look how the "frame" was bent! Wow! That was a hard 4 feet! Wonder if it was not snapped on the case good? I can kinda see how landing flat could do that but bending the aluminum part?? Thats weird!

There is no aluminum, the iPhone is made out of stainless steel, not going to bend from a 4 foot drop, maybe a 400 foot drop..

[EmceeGeek]

It would've been more interesting to see it broke in the case. Hope you don't think a commuter case is suppose to "protect" your phone from breaking, it's not. I've dropped a few phones in a defender case with no problem, including my iPhone.

Oh, and forgot to add that people make FAKE otterbox cases. So if it wasn't purchased from them directly or a retail store, you can't blame them period.

[EmceeGeek]

I don't buy it, looks like it was run over by a car, the glass is pulverized at the bottom, a simple drop won't do that, and it sure as hell isn't going to bend the phone!

Lol exactly what I was thinking. My phone has been chucked across a room with no case without a crack. Let alone a shatter like this.

[kshen1]

Hmm now that you guys mention it it makes more sense.

I don't think just a drop from an otter box case would have caused this.

[joe_fresh]

I have dropped mine from chest high before, and without an otter box on it, I had some junk case on it, no damage whatsoever, these pics look like much more than a fall.

[Crude Berry]

My boss had his fall off the back of his pickup truck, and then be run over by the car behind him. The Otterbox Defender was trashed, and the phone only had a scuff on the screen where the plastic part of the case rubbed when it broke. There is a lot more going on here then a simple 4 ft drop.

[borrowedchief]

Damn. Look how that bent in the middle. I can't imagine how that happened from a 4ft drop. Even on to tile.

Hope he gets a good deal on getting it fixed

[SaMaster14]

I think my title was a bit exaggerated. My friend had the Otterbox defender on the device since day one, and has obviously dropped the phone a few times (not sure how many or how badly). The phone was working perfectly, screen didn't have a scratch on it before the drop. I'm assuming the frame may have been bent from before and he just didn't know it because the case was never taken off. He must have just hit a 'sweet spot' perfectly when the phone fell and it caused the massive amount of damage.

The otterbox was also broken and cracked.

[Jahcae]

This is no good advertising for otterbox to be honest

[Phil DeLong]

This is no good advertising for otterbox to be honest

This has nothing to do with Otterbox. The phone is literally bent, a drop didn't do this, end of story. An otterbox can't protect the phone from being run over or some other form of massive trauma, which I promise you is what actually happened.

The Otterbox Defender also fits too snugly for some magical incident to have bent the phone inside of it with no noticeable damage to the case.

A lie is being spun for us. I hope this isn't some test story that they plan to throw at Otterbox hoping they'll toss them a new phone, which OB has been known to do from time to time. They're generous, but they aren't stupid. The bent phone and the degree to which the glass is shattered scream that we aren't being told the truth.

[Garz]

I don't see how a iPhone can bend with a Otterbox Defender on it. I have that case too. If anything, it gives it more support to prevent bending.

[Massie]

Side note: if it's bent that much, I'd be awfully careful about charging the battery. If that's damaged too it could be dangerous.

[ThePinkChameleon]

I think my title was a bit exaggerated. My friend had the Otterbox defender on the device since day one, and has obviously dropped the phone a few times (not sure how many or how badly). The phone was working perfectly, screen didn't have a scratch on it before the drop. I'm assuming the frame may have been bent from before and he just didn't know it because the case was never taken off. He must have just hit a 'sweet spot' perfectly when the phone fell and it caused the massive amount of damage.

The otterbox was also broken and cracked.

IF his phone was bent & he didnt know it while it was in the OB defender, then that 4ft fall to a tile floor could've cause his screen to shatter. Basically, the bend in the phone gave it just that teeny tiny bit of wiggle room in the defender enough that when it fell, it smashed.

Now, what i wonder is how on earth with the phone being bent did your friend not realize it was not sitting in the defender properly. I dont believe this drop caused his phone to bend like that at all. Even if he did drop his phone prior, rule of thumb - you should ALWAYS remove your phone from the case and overall inspect each item before replacing the case to insure it is in the best condition to try to protect your phone as well as its made to do. He may have damaged the case in a different drop causing it to not hold up for this drop.

its unfortunate to see something like this really, but hopefully with insurance he'll be able to get it replaced, as well as getting himself a new OB defender to start off fresh

[c_hack]

Given the force required to bend a steel case, this phone had obviously undergone much, much more stress than a 4' drop. You cannot seriously blame this on a case. I could see a hammer blow bending a steel case (or being bent in a vice), but not a drop.

[joe_fresh]

I think my title was a bit exaggerated. My friend had the Otterbox defender on the device since day one, and has obviously dropped the phone a few times (not sure how many or how badly). The phone was working perfectly, screen didn't have a scratch on it before the drop. I'm assuming the frame may have been bent from before and he just didn't know it because the case was never taken off. He must have just hit a 'sweet spot' perfectly when the phone fell and it caused the massive amount of damage.

The otterbox was also broken and cracked.

that should be a key factor right there, i have used many otterbox cases and dropped phones,they don't crack or break from dropping them. that is the point of the otterbox. This device was obviously run over by a vehicle.

[Engire]

I wonder if the phones owner didn't fall four feet as well and the phone heroically broke his fall.

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