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Justin W

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
12
0
Okay...
My boss dropped his 3GS in water - didn't work so he took it to the Apple Store, he ended just replacing it, they told him to take it home and dry it out. He put it in rice for a few days and then just gave it to me...

It appears to not hold a charge or recharge.
If I plug into the computer via USB the "charge required" screen comes up with the red slice of a battery and the electrical shock icon below. Left it overnight and it still shows the same screen.

If I plug into an AC wall outlet the phone powers on after a short bit showing a full charge (green battery). As soon as you unplug the cable the phone shuts off. The phone will not do anything unless it is plugged in. As long as you leave t plugged in it appears to act mostly normal.

Obvious issues:
1. Date & time are off... date is Aug 31, 1969 - can't change because:
2. Settings don't work. Clicking the settings icon, settings start to load and then crashes back to the springboard.
3. Speaker doesn't sound good, playing music through iTunes sounds very distorted.
4. Messaging app seems slightly glitched visually

Everything else seems okay.

Not sure if the phone works because I don't have an activated SIM.
Can't check wifi cause I can't get into settings.

Any advice? Should I let it dry out longer? Replace the battery?
I wish I could restore it, I think some of these issues would be resolved if I could restore the OS.

I've tried hard reset, holding home while connecting to iTunes, holding home & power while connecting to iTunes... nothing seems to fix this thing.
Wondering what Apple would charge to fix it? Do they have diagnotstic tools that will tell them exactly what is wrong with the phone?

Any help? Thanks-
 

Justin W

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
12
0
Update:

Talked with 1 800 MY APPLE... the phone has one of the moisture indicators showing positive so it is not going to be covered warranty...
(BTW - the iPhone tech confirmed that there are 3 moisture indicators on the phone, 2 are visible from the outside - directly down the headphone jack, below the horizontal tab at the dock (towards the back of the phone) & one inside that is not "viewable" by the consumer.

Anyway, I have an appt tomorrow with the Genius Bar... and he said that basically my options are to have the phone fixed (replaced) for $199. He wasn't clear but I believe this would be a refurb... which is fine.

My other option is to send it to a place like this ( http://www.ipodjuice.com/apple-iphone-repair.htm ) and have them diagnose the phone... maybe replace the battery and speaker for $50-$60 or something... saves me some money... or maybe I should start trying to make repairs myself?

I don't know... I attempted replacing a cracked screen on my 2G and ended up paying $115 for a new screen only to pull the solder joints out of the battery and pulling the Wifi and GSM jacks off the comm board... but I hear the 3G is easier to work on...

Opinions, advice?
Thanks-
 
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