Blackberry Curve 8530 overheating

My BB curve is ~1 month old. Yesterday it suddenly became extremely warm to where I had to take it out of my shirt pocket, had the smell of burning plastic, and shut down. Now it won't operate. I took it in to my local store and the manager said he never heard of this. It has never been wet (first question he asked me). A new one is coming in the mail. Has anyone had this problem? I suppose a cell in the battery shorted out?

Accepted answers

moates

We are so sorry for the delay, but we wanted to give everyone the steps needed, to resolve this issue.

Resolution
RIM and VZW have undertaken a number of steps to address this situation. First, changes were made in the manufacturing process to correct the root cause of the issue. All devices sold to customers after approximately April 1, 2010 contain the manufacturing changes. Secondly, a software change was implemented in MR1 software [5.0.0 Release 858 (Platform 4.2.0.230 / Applications 5.0.0.508)] to prevent the issue from occurring on all devices, including those devices manufactured before the manufacturing correction was implemented. MR1 software was made available to existing customers on March 23, 2010. While not required on new devices to prevent this issue, MR1 has been preloaded on all new RIM Curve (8530) devices sold to customers after approximately May 1, 2010 as part of a standard software update process. Subsequent investigation has uncovered very rare, but additional scenarios that cause overheating in the Curve 8530, even after the hardware and software improvements have been implemented. Software version 5.0.0 Release 1596 (Platform 4.2.0.422/Applications 5.0.0.973) was released to address the remaining instances of this issue.

Exchange
No exchange for Certified-Like New Replacement is required. Customers experiencing this issue should have their devices upgraded to the 5.0.0 Release 1596 (Platform 4.2.0.422/Applications 5.0.0.973) software.

All comments

nmchileman

Yeah, it happens. Something shorts out in the circuits so all that electricity leaks out and causes the heat. Definitely covered under warranty so I'm glad you didn't have any trouble getting it replaced.

Have you heard of stories of laptop batteries overheating and burning the person's leg? There are even some stories about laptop batteries combusting!

Crazy stuff.

TheGreatOne

nmchileman wrote:
Yeah, it happens. Something shorts out in the circuits so all that electricity leaks out and causes the heat. Definitely covered under warranty so I'm glad you didn't have any trouble getting it replaced.

Have you heard of stories of laptop batteries overheating and burning the person's leg? There are even some stories about laptop batteries combusting!

Crazy stuff.

Why would you put a laptop on your leg for? :smileyindifferent: Being that I am working in the IT Computer field,it is recommend you put a laptop on a hard surface. Don't block the vents. Clean the computer often as a part of "preventive maintance"

About the phone heating up,yeah I have read worse cases. I remember awhile ago there was this girl whom got burned by her cell phone.It was in her back pocket & caught on fire. Nokia phone I believe it was. It is kinda of recommend keeping a phone either in a pouch or in a clip on your belt/pants. After you'll have more battery life!

NMP2010

WOW! This just happened to me this week. I just received my replacement phone this week. I called CS to see if this had happened before and of course they said NO! This is my first BB, so I hope it gets better than this first month!

jnestell

I know somebody that this has happened to twice with the new Curve. First phone overheated, got it replace, 2nd phone didn't work right, got it replaced. Third phone overheated to where they couldn't hold onto it (very hot in pants pocket). Now on 4th phone in 1 1/2 months. This one seems fine.

parogers

Thanks for all of the replies. I am expecting my new Curve today. I hope it doesn't happen again, but I will let you know if it does.

shandetra

This has happened to me twice now since March...customer service kills me acting like they've never heard of this...wish i had researched before purchasing...now i am stuck with this phone until its time for me to upgrade. i made a call for my 2nd replacement today. i asked rep shall i just expect to be calling them every month for a replacement...its aggravating cause i purchased apps for my phone and if i want them on my new device, i would have to repurchase. I really hope the makers are reading these reviews and care enough to correct the situation.

Ms_Parker

It's definitely the phone...

My 8530 got warm a few times but it always cooled off in the two months I had it.

Last Wednesday it overheated to the point of barely being able to touch the battery to take it out, so I went to a Verizon store and the rep there told me it was a common occurrence. The phone wouldn't hold a charge and when I put a fully charged battery in from another BB Curve (I still have my older version), it'd zap that battery in a matter of minutes.

I asked her if it was the battery and, if so, just give me another one. She assured me it was the phone malfunctioning not the battery but she thought just the initial batch of 8530s, so she ordered me a replacement one. I asked her how she knew the replacement wasn't from the original batch and she said she didn't but hadn't heard any problems about the replacements short circuited.

Got the phone on Thursday evening. Friday morning it overheated. I took the battery out. It cooled off, would again hold a charge but wouldn't make calls. Went to another Verizon location and requested a different model because noone could guarantee that the replacement which would arrive 4 days later wouldn't have the same issue.

I asked for the Bold, but apparently that's too new so wasn't an option, but it's certainly the most comparable to the 8530 with the touch pad and all. So they gave me a Storm 2.

For everyone else, if your Curve hasn't had any issues in the first couple of months, it's probably not going to have any. If it's been more warm than usual, don't mistakenly think you overcharged it or need to use a different outlet. It's going to die eventually... hopefully within your warranty period!

Jude526

Am happy you got a Storm as a replacement but hearing this is a common occurrence bothers me.

I have been a cell phone user for over 20 years and a BB user for 3 I have also sold wireless and I have never been told this is a common occurrence nor have I actually seen this happen to the point of it being as hot as you have stated.

My Curve has never gotten hot by any means and if it does you bet they WILL give me a different device ! But to not let you have the Bold ? wow hmmm too new?

Some reps will tell you anything without really having the right answer cause they know you will "believe them" If I don't know the answer I would certainly not tell the customer something just to pacify them. I would be honest and say I hadn't heard of this and find out for sure. Giving false information is a bad reflection on the person who gave it and that person has unknowingly also given a bad reflection of the company to that person with the problem. It makes for a negative experience.

And so you know.....these batteries can't be overcharged.

Hope your Storm is reliable for you.

Pandion59

Same here... I got a new 8530 and it overheated and wouldn't charge the first night. Next day I got a new one from the store. Today it is overheating and won't charge. I still had my old 8330 and it takes the same battery. So I put the battery in the old 8330 and it seems to charge just fine. VERY FRUSTRATING.

It's definitely the phone...!!

Hvfox

It's not the batteries, I'm a phone repair technician and as far as I've seen, the problem lies in the phones mother-board around the radio hardware. Also it does not seem to be a problem solved in the newer ones, I would just steer clear of the 8530's all together. The design is cheap and flimsy, relying heavily on rehashed BB technology, the inside of the phone is like a smörgåsbord of random extra old BB parts. Their using parts from the 8350i, 8130, 9700, 8330, and I've even noticed a few pieces from the old 7000 series. I personally think they had extra parts and wanted to sell a cheaper phone, so they designed a phone around left-overs.

moates

We are so sorry for the delay, but we wanted to give everyone the steps needed, to resolve this issue.

esteinberg

Moates, please try again. My 8530, which I got from Verizon in September 2010, unexepectedly overheated just yesterday. It was running version 5.0.0.973 software. I guess this would be one of your "rare scenarios"?

jltaylor98

I just got my 4th Curve 8530 since June of 2010 on Tuesday. I have the same trouble with the phone overheating, white screening, not able to send or recieve txt msg, loss of network all of the time, I even got an error on Monday while texting telling me the DEVICE has failed and is not able to send the message. Yet my husband has not a single problem with his Droid.

Even more interesting I have an 8330 that I roll over to when I have trouble and need to call tech suport. Each time I call support they want me to reactivate the 8530 to "troubleshoot" the issue. They can never get the 8530 to reactivate (I put it on speaker so they can hear the you must contact tech support message) so we go back to the 8330 and like magic it activates and works without any trouble until I get my next refurb. Happened to all 3 of the 8530's replaced. We have a bet here at my office how long it will be bofore this one does the samething.

I must say that tech support via the phone is 100% better then that at the store.

ecgoodwill

Same issue here. As of about a week now my phone has been overheating (not everyday, but 3 times that I am aware of). The battery kills itself at the same time as well.

My other pending issue is that the time zone CONSTANTLY changes. I am in EST, but today it kept jumping between EST and GMT.

I called support and they had me do the same thing - register, check updates, etc. I've done battery pulls and a factory reset. no dice. Called support again today as issue happened again this morning, now I'm headed to the store to have it looked at.

babapatil

I just bought bb curve 9360, its overheating, i m taking up with the store, i dont understand why does this happened...

tiredmom

Ok so it's nice to know that I am not the only user with this issue. What I would like to know is how to stop it from happening! None of the patches, updates, etc. have worked. Now I am going on to my third Curve and as much as I like it I am so tired of losing everything that I put on the phone sice I last backed it up. How can I retrieve my information when the phone keeps overheating and killing batteries? Does anyone have any advise? I would greatly appreciate any help anyone could offer!

AnthonyTa_VZW

babapatil wrote:
I just bought bb curve 9360, its overheating, i m taking up with the store, i dont understand why does this happened...

Thanks for posting babapatil!

I would like to point out that it is considered normal for the battery to get warm to the touch while in use, while charging or while using certain data services after a length of time. However, if you're experiencing excessive heat, too hot to touch or swelling or rupture of your phone or battery, this requires attention. If excessive heat is what you are experiencing then you should take your device into one of our corporate locations to have the phone and battery inspected. Ensure you bring your batteries, wall/desktop and car chargers with you to the store.

Please let us know the outcome of your visit.