Imagine that you are sitting on a flight at an altitude of 10,000 feet. You want to use your mobile phone to catch up on TV dramas or take pictures of the sea of clouds, but you find that the phone in your hand iPhone It actually seemed to be alive, as the back panel was slowly pushed open, revealing an astonishing gap. The most bizarre thing is that when the plane lands safely and you are about to go to the maintenance center to ask for help, it “automatically reduces swelling” and returns to its original state.
This is not a supernatural story, but a real-life horror story recently shared by many iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 users on Reddit. Is it the air pressure that’s causing the problem, or is there something wrong with Apple’s battery manufacturing? This article will reveal the truth about this mysterious sky expansion.
An iPhone user experienced a bulging back panel while flying, but it returned to normal after landing.
In recent years, the frequency of people traveling abroad has increased significantly, but you may not have thought that the iPhone in your hand can also have “altitude reaction”. Recently, on Reddit, a well-known foreign forum, there have beenuserShared a disturbing experience: their latest iPhone 16 Pro Max or iPhone 15, the battery bulged during the flight, causing a gap to open in the originally tight body.
▲Image source: u/Regular-Yogurt-9673 (Reddit)
The fuselage strangely “smiles” but automatically heals after landing?
One of the victims, Regular-Yogurt-9673, said that when he was on a plane, he accidentally discovered an obvious crack with a width of about 0.25 centimeters between the left side of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the back glass. This situation is simply unimaginable on the ground, but at an altitude of tens of thousands of feet, this expensive flagship aircraft just “smiles”.
iPhone 16 pro max swelled during flight, back to normal after landing
byu/Regular-Yogurt-9673 iniphone
What’s even more puzzling is that when the plane landed and the cabin pressure returned to normal, the phone closed up again as if nothing was wrong and returned to its original flat appearance. Another iPhone 15 user also encountered a similar situation, and it also happened on two different flights. This seemingly spiritual “stretching phenomenon” has caused many people to be turned away when they reported it to Apple officials for the first time, because when maintenance personnel came to the scene to see it, the phone had already returned to normal.
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byu/Regular-Yogurt-9673 from discussion
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Why is the iPhone getting fatter in the sky?
This is not a supernatural phenomenon, but a product of the intersection of physics and chemistry. According to the analysis of technical experts, the core of the problem may lie in the manufacturing defects of lithium batteries. During the long-term charging and discharging process of lithium batteries, trace amounts of gas may be generated inside. When on the ground, due to the stable atmospheric pressure, these gases will be tightly sealed in the battery case, and there will be no abnormality in appearance.
However, when the aircraft climbs to a high altitude, although there will be pressurized equipment in the cabin, for the sake of energy saving and structural safety, the air pressure in the cabin is usually equivalent to the altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. This means that as the external pressure becomes smaller, the gas inside the phone will begin to expand outward like an expanding potato chip bag on a mountain. If the battery is not sealed tightly enough during production, or the internal material activity is abnormal, this pressure difference will cause the battery shell to bulge, and then push open the back cover of the mobile phone.
Professionalism and Safety: Don’t take it for granted
Although the reported cases are not yet widespread, this is undoubtedly a warning to flight safety. Even if your iPhone appears to be “recovered” after landing, that doesn’t mean the danger has been resolved.
First, once the battery swells, the internal physical structure may have been damaged. The risk of thermal runaway (that is, fire or even explosion) in such a damaged battery will be greatly increased during future charging. Secondly, the accurate waterproof and dustproof performance of the iPhone completely relies on the strong glue and sealing structure around the fuselage. Once the back panel is pushed open, the protective layer has basically expired. Even a little splash of water in the future may completely destroy your phone.
What should you do if you encounter this situation on a plane?
If you find that your phone becomes hot or even deformed during the flight, please remember the following 2 self-rescue keys:
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Notify crew immediately: Do not try to press it back with your hands, and do not put it back in your pocket or bag. The flight attendants on the plane have received professional training in handling lithium battery accidents. They have special fireproof bags or handling procedures to ensure that this mobile phone does not become a time bomb in the air.
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Be sure to take photos to keep evidence: This is very important! As mentioned before, this “barostatic swelling” may disappear after landing. If you don’t leave photos or videos, when you go into the Apple Store to seek warranty or repair, the repair staff may refuse to handle it on the grounds that “nothing abnormal has been detected”.
In fact, some users were rejected by Apple in their first response on the grounds that “the battery cannot automatically reduce swelling.” It was not until the user showed clear photos taken on the plane and after many negotiations that the official finally agreed to replace the battery for free. This also reminds us that when faced with such sporadic hardware failures with specific triggering conditions, consumers must be more conscious in collecting evidence.
Although this phenomenon may only be a small minority among the tens of millions of iPhones shipped, it is indeed worth paying more attention to business people or travel enthusiasts who frequently fly. In the future, perhaps Apple needs to conduct more stringent testing of battery stability in high-altitude environments.
Before boarding your next flight, in addition to checking your passport and luggage, you might as well pay more attention to the companion in your hand who has been with you the longest. After all, the memories we want to make in the air are of beautiful scenery, not a cell phone that caught fire.
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Source: KOCPC Chinese