My iPhone After Semi Ran Over It! on Flickr

dpinkston (Derek) says:

Ouch!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

JancyLI says:

That's not good - - - but, glad it still works
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

frogsthatmoo says:

What does the glass look like?
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Glass is perfect. Not a scratch on it.

Okay, well, truthfully its got several scratches, but I had put them there long before it encountered the semi. Apple products are apparently very durable, but absolutely SUCK when it comes to scratches. Every Apple product I've ever seen shows surface scratches -- and sometimes theres no explanation for why (computer monitors, keyboards, towers...).

But honestly, I can't find any new scratches in the glass, which is amazing because I found the phone face down - i.e. glass against pavement.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

frogsthatmoo says:

Wow, that's amazing. You must tell the story of how it happened now.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Mike Beauchamp says:

I was filling my car up with gas in the sharp cold gusting winds we've had here in Kansas lately. I had on a light jacket and as I was getting out of the car to go around and begin pumping, I figured I'd put on my heavy winter coat. I took my phone out of my lightweight jacket and set it on the trunk of my car and switched to my heavier coat. I went inside to prepay for gas, forgetting all about my phone. When I came back out, I pumped my gas, walked around the front of my car, got back in and drove off.

I was traveling down the interstate when this happened. The gas station I stopped at was a little rest area in the middle of the turnpike. So as I left, I merged back onto the highway, accelerated hard, turned up the stereo, and got moving. About 5 minutes later, I reached for my phone, but couldn't feel it. Then it hit me. I'd forgotten to grab it off the back of my car when I was filling up at the gas station. A feeling of panic and anger washed over me instantly and I started screaming and yelling in my empty car. Because I was driving on a toll-road, there was no way to turn around and just go back. I had to drive another 15 miles to the next exit, pay my toll, get back on the highway, and race the 20 miles back to the rest stop.

I pulled back up to the pump I filled up at but there was no sign of my phone. I remembered a lady filling up next to me in a silver BMW - but she was long gone. My first move was to go inside and ask if she or anyone else had turned it in. No such luck. I scoured the parking lot and on-ramp I used to get back on the highway - no sign of the phone anywhere. After about 30 minutes of searching, I finally gave up. It was 11pm and it was 19 degrees outside. I was exhausted, cold, angry, frustrated, and just decided I'd have to start using the Treo 750 I had as a backup.

As I slowly merged back onto the highway, I kept my eyes open for the remote possibility that the phone had stayed on my car for a longer distance than what I'd searched on foot. Still, no luck. I got up to speed, giving up for good, and about that time (1/4 mile from the gas station) I saw a glimmering light from the lane next to me. As I sped past the object, I knew it was my phone - still alive and working! I slammed on the brakes and pulled over, waiting for the passing cars and trucks to go by so I could run across 2 lanes of 75mph traffic to retrieve my poor phone. As the last pair of headlights approached, the semi got over to the far outside lane because he saw me standing on the side of the road. I knew this was trouble. As I watched helplessly from the shoulder, the semi plowed my phone at full speed, throwing it to the ditch on the other side of the highway. At this point, I figured I'd retrieve it just for the purpose of seeing the crushed iPhone in disarray, mangled and crunched lifeless in the grass.

Much to my surprise, as I approached, I heard the familiar sound of my ringtone -- the iPhone was alive and ringing! As I picked it up and cradled it gently in my hands, I saw the screen displaying my caller ID -- the screen still worked! I slid my finger gently over the answer slide and paused as I held the tattered and torn device to my ear -- my heart must have skipped a beat when I heard my mom's voice at the other end of the phone -- the phone still worked!

I ran back to my car and sat on the side of the road for about 15 minutes inspecting it, testing it, and looking it over -- how in the hell had it survived being trounced by an 18-wheeler at 70mph?!?

One day later as I'm writing this, I don't have an answer to that question. It makes and receives calls, sends and receives text messages, browses the internet, plays music from the iPod feature, connects to my wi-fi network, syncs with my computer, and charges the battery. The camera even takes perfect pictures still!

I've spoken with Apple's customer relations department - they're interested in using it in an iPhone commercial; I mean come on, this is the ultimate crash and durability test out there! I've banged this phone up many times since I bought it the day they were released last June. I've dropped it down a flight of concrete stairs, slid it across a parking lot, dropped it on cement, and even partially submerged it in water and this little phone just keeps truckin!

There are a few bad spots on the display now, but the screen is still responsive to touch in those bad areas! The glass covering the screen doesn't have a mark on it - I have no idea how. The phone would have first had to topple off the back of my car and based on where I found it, I'd have been going well over 60mph when it fell off -- that alone would kill most phones. But then being ran over by a semi -- I don't know what to say! I know that approximately 1 hour went by between the time I knew I lost it and the time I recovered it -- who knows what else happened to it during that time. When the semi ran over it, the phone was sitting dead in the middle of one of the lanes -- it wouldn't be too hard to imagine it getting hit more than the one time I witnessed!

I'm here to tell you -- if you're hard on your phones, if you're a power user, if you depend on its strength, reliability, and durability ---- you need an iphone! I've always been a Blackberry owner,but the first time I dropped it on a sidewalk, the screen was toast - just came on blank white -- completely useless. This iPhone has been put through more hell than any crash test could put it through -- and with the exception of the obvious scratches on the back on the small dead spots on the screen, its amazing! None of the damage actually effects the functionality or performance of the phone. I don't know what else to do to break this thing if I wanted to, short of putting a bullet through it or smashing it with a sledge hammer - but you don't purposefully try to destroy your phone on a daily basis anyway. I think this was the ultimate real world testament to the iPhone.

Way to go Steve Jobs and crew.

iphone > semi
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

frogsthatmoo says:

Wow. That's simply amazing. SImply wow. I really hope Apple looks into this story. That'd just be awesome.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Pesanze says:

for god's sake, what the hell is a SEMI?

PLEASE.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

clarkcox3 says:

"for god's sake, what the hell is a SEMI?"

One of these:
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

clarkcox3 says:

Hmm, flickr removed the URL, try this
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

ericwass says:

a semi is a tractor-trailer truck. Semi refers to the number of axles. Try google.

I think Apple should use your story. However, the fact that you jailbroke it might not warm their hearts.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

vasicp says:

To make it clear, Semi is shorthand for semi-trailer. Often times, it is called an 18-wheeler, although the complete rig can have 22 wheels.

There aren't many trucks larger than a semi. Pretty much nothing (apparently with the exception of the iPhone) survives a semi run-over.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

joecab says:

Are you kidding about the scratches? The iPhone screen is a frickin' tank: I've dragged it across the edge of a metal table to show off how durable it is. I wonder why yours is getting scratchy?

Still amazing about your iPhone. Yikes!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Mike Beauchamp says:

Joecab,
Its funny the luck I have had with my screen. When I'm demonstrating it for people, I can't put a scratch on it. I've tried with my car keys, my pocket knife, rocks, etc... When I'm showing it off, it won't scratch. But over time, its accumulated several and I'm not sure when, where, or why.

I just spoke with a guy from Apple - apparently they aren't as interested in using it for promo as I thought. The PR rep himself was fascinated, but he called me back and said his direct manager doesn't really care.

Odd response, I thought. I felt like this was the absolute best real-world crash test out there. It doesn't get much better than this.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

joecab says:

Yeah I'm surprised too since your story's been getting plenty of traffic today. Fooey on them.

(P.S. Now if you were talking about iPods of a year r two ago ... oh yeah scratchy. They were still using plastic screens back then.)
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

fotonchop says:

@vasicp you should do a tag search in Flickr for "Roadtrain" to see how much bigger trucks get than a semi- trailer. I don't think even an iPhone would survive 30 wheels ... and that's just on one side of a truck.

Sorry about your iPhone Mike.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

synstelien says:

Nice pics...

I've smashed mine as well. The screen shattered like safety glass but it still works.

These are awesome machines.

Pics found at:
cleaningupmylife.blogspot.com/2008/01/broken- iphone.html
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

EriQ. says:

Damn! It got pretty messed up. Glad to hear it still works.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

MacSmiley says:

Yeah, took me awhile to get used to the term semi when I moved from Long Island to South Dakota. The traffic report always said it was a jack-knifed tractor-trailer that was jamming up traffic, not a jack-knifed semi.
Where the iPhone is concerned, I'm sure it doesn't care what you call it one way or the other. It just feels like it got hit by a Mack Truck!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

PentiuM3® says:

Ouch! bad luck! but great to hear it still working!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

lateplate says:

I had a similar experience with my iPhone - maybe not as severe as getting run over by a semi, but still pretty severe. I lost my iPhone in deep snow for over a week, and when I found it (frozen), it later still mostly worked! I thank both Apple and the hacking community for saving it for me.

www.flickr.com/photos/dkim/sets/7215760352735 9748/

dankim.org/blog/2008/01/iphone-hacking-commun ity-saved-an...
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

NikLinna says:

Forget the phone, YOU might have been run over by a semi. Please don't run out onto a high-speed freeway again. Very dangerous--Darwin award dangerous.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

fletch(er) says:

That PR person at Apple is a genius. They couldn't put this in a commercial and have anyone believe it. But everyone would believe one lone testimonial. Way more buzz...
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

mister_squid says:

The problem with the iPhone (I own one) is that it is slick. I purchased a rubberized cover for it and it feels much better to the touch, though it is bulked up some.

On another note, it makes sense PR is uninterested in your phone. First, to associate the product with 1) dangerous traffic conditions, and 2) device damage is not very usable from a branding point of view.

If your iPhone had come through without a single scratch, that might be a different story (dangerous traffic conditions is still an issue).
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

alternatekev says:

I'd love to throw my Treo 750 under a semi. Maybe then my employer would buy me an iPhone.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Jim Lafferty says:

Oh, snap. No he di-iiiiin't!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

lyskamm826767 says:

Incredibile!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

AliCia_Rod says:

WOW wow WoW....you went through some pain....i put myself in your shoes and i died...and i was crying for having a crack on my iphone
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

iPhoneChris says:

Amazing! I reprinted your story on my blog. Is it possible you could take a photo of the front?
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

juanfer (jffonseca10) says:

man!! how could you dare!!
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Justin Harmon says:

Goodness! <:( Poor iPhone. I can't believe it still works...
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

Ǻﭏdяei says:

How awesome is that...!
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

^eoe^ says:

oohh wicked ...

You are invited to post this photo at
What makes you feel argh ?
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

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My iPhone After Semi Ran Over It!

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dpinkston (Derek) says:

JancyLI says:

frogsthatmoo says:

Mike Beauchamp says:

frogsthatmoo says:

Mike Beauchamp says:

frogsthatmoo says:

Pesanze says:

clarkcox3 says:

clarkcox3 says:

ericwass says:

vasicp says:

joecab says:

Mike Beauchamp says:

joecab says:

fotonchop says:

synstelien says:

EriQ. says:

MacSmiley says:

PentiuM3® says:

lateplate says:

NikLinna says:

fletch(er) says:

mister_squid says:

alternatekev says:

Jim Lafferty says:

lyskamm826767 says:

AliCia_Rod says:

iPhoneChris says:

juanfer (jffonseca10) says:

Justin Harmon says:

Ǻﭏdяei says:

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