Vodafone data reveals ten strangest Aussie mobile accidents

Vodafone has revealed the 10 strangest ways Australians have broken their mobile devices.

The data comes from over 22,000 device accidents for devices purchased through Vodafone over the last 12 months, with the telco highlighting the “most bizarre” ways Australians are losing or breaking their mobile devices.

The first, the telco said, was when a user accidentally dropped their phone into an open coffin. Another, while not specifying detail, involved “[a] costume party, a beaver tail and a dramatic fall” in a “dance gone wrong”. On a different dancefloor, a dancer on a cruise undertook a performance that resulted in their phone falling into the water.

Two other aquatic-related accidents were also recorded, with one user, when about to propose to their partner, got down on one knee at a jetty, pulled out a ring and their phone fell into the water below at the same time. Another user user was implied to have flushed a toilet after dropping their phone into the bowl.

Various construction related destructions were also recorded, with one user misplacing their phone into a mulcher while landscaping. In another case, a tradesperson who misplaced their phone in a wall cavity cut it in half by accident when trying to cut it out of the space.

To imply a phone is “bricked” means an error has occurred to render it useless, but one user at a separate construction site took this metaphor to its literal sense and left it in a construction site pit that was filled over with three tonnes of concrete.

Two cases of theft were also included – the first by a monkey taking a phone for itself and the second by a toddler who threw it off a bedroom balcony.

ARN understands these accidents were documented from past incidents when users requested replacements or fixes.

The anecdotal accidents were released by the telco at the same time as the announcement of its new Device Care service, as an “affordable way to exchange your device or replace your mobile phone for any reason, whether it is in perfect condition”.

Earlier this year in February, Vodafone was called up to deploy a high-speed 5G network to Sydney Cricket Ground in partnership with its network equipment supplier, Nokia.

The telco claimed it delivered download speeds of close to two gigabits per second (Gbps) to a Google Pixel device over its 5G millimetre wave (mmWave) network.