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gdeputy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
so my iPhone 3g has what looks like a piece of tobacco In the headphone jack and covers half the water marker in the event that I ever have a problem you think the genius might mistake it for water damage it does sort of look like it at first glance
 
so my iPhone 3g has what looks like a piece of tobacco In the headphone jack and covers half the water marker in the event that I ever have a problem you think the genius might mistake it for water damage it does sort of look like it at first glance

i think if you just tell them and if you seem really genuine and nice they may let it slide. mac geniuses are usually pretty understanding. it may take a couple trips to get a genius to cooperate with you, but who knows you may be lucky and get some understanding help right off the bat. i would take care of it asap before it DOES become a problem later on down the road.
 
Though I cannot speak for the iPhone, all the water damage markers I've ever seen turn red or bright pink when exposed. I find it hard to believe that a mac genius would mistake a piece of tobacco for water damage indication. Just get a pin and dig it out.
 
I would recommend the following which should be done with extreme care.

Get a toothpick and some superglue. Put a touch of superglue on the end of the toothpick and carefully lower it into the earphone jack until you get to the offending piece of tobacco. Hold for about 10 seconds and remove. This should pull the little bugger out.

The above will take a very steady hand but the risk of damage is much lower than trying to dig in the jack with a metal pin.
 
I would recommend the following which should be done with extreme care.

Get a toothpick and some superglue. Put a touch of superglue on the end of the toothpick and carefully lower it into the earphone jack until you get to the offending piece of tobacco. Hold for about 10 seconds and remove. This should pull the little bugger out.

The above will take a very steady hand but the risk of damage is much lower than trying to dig in the jack with a metal pin.

Think Operation with a $300 penalty.
 
so my iPhone 3g has what looks like a piece of tobacco In the headphone jack and covers half the water marker in the event that I ever have a problem you think the genius might mistake it for water damage it does sort of look like it at first glance

The Apple store near me uses a little flashlight with a magnifier on the end - it looks like that thing a doctor uses to check inside your ears; just slightly smaller. Because it magnifies they shouldn't have any problem seeing that its not the red stripe on the sticker but something on top of it.

As for using Crazy Glue, just be careful - thats still a liquid and if you were to hit the wrong spot or get any on the water sticker itself you might just turn it red.. (Then again, if you can get it to cover the sticker WITHOUT turning it red you might have figured a way to make sure that sensor never gets wet!)
 
The Apple store near me uses a little flashlight with a magnifier on the end - it looks like that thing a doctor uses to check inside your ears; just slightly smaller. Because it magnifies they shouldn't have any problem seeing that its not the red stripe on the sticker but something on top of it.

As for using Crazy Glue, just be careful - thats still a liquid and if you were to hit the wrong spot or get any on the water sticker itself you might just turn it red.. (Then again, if you can get it to cover the sticker WITHOUT turning it red you might have figured a way to make sure that sensor never gets wet!)

Didn't think about that. I have used similar methods for getting little bits out of devices. However, I generally use something metal like a pin. The reason I suggested the toothpick was to reduce the potential of shorting something out inside the jack. I would recommend my second suggestion of wrapping something really sticky around the end of the toothpick.
 
Didn't think about that. I have used similar methods for getting little bits out of devices. However, I generally use something metal like a pin. The reason I suggested the toothpick was to reduce the potential of shorting something out inside the jack. I would recommend my second suggestion of wrapping something really sticky around the end of the toothpick.

A big green booger should do the trick.
 
A big green booger should do the trick.

Just make sure it's stuck on there real good cuz I would hate to have to explain to the genius why a big green booger was jammed down in my headphone jack. 😱

It would probably be something like, "my kid was playing with the iPhone and I keep trying to tell him not to go diggin in his nose but you know how 3 year olds are. So next thing I know, I catch him diggin and before I can get a word out he sees me lookin at him and like a 3 year old will do he goes and tries to hide the booger down in the the jack."

Think the genius would buy it?😀
 
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