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Apple Tweaks iPod Liquid Damage Assessment Procedures
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Why? Don't you like getting this information? I for one love these little peeks into the inner workings of Apple support.
If not for people leaking stuff like this we'd never find out about it. I love reading these leaks and hope they keep happening and that the person leaking the information does NOT get caught.
Edit: I should add that the fact that you read this site means you DO like getting this information, so don't you try to say you don't.
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Why? Don't you like getting this information? I for one love these little peeks into the inner workings of Apple support.
If not for people leaking stuff like this we'd never find out about it. I love reading these leaks and hope they keep happening and that the person leaking the information does NOT get caught.
Edit: I should add that the fact that you read this site means you DO like getting this information, so don't you try to say you don't.
Not this kind of information, of course if the next iPad/iPhone was leaked then I would love it!
High humidity does not in any way cause the LCIs to trip. Apple is just doing this to be nice because too many people lie about getting their iPhones wet at the Genius Bar.
The LCI doesn't work like a hot wheels color changer.... it actually has a membrane that the liquid has to dissolve before you see colored part underneath. Humidity won't do that.
The LCI doesn't work like a hot wheels color changer.... it actually has a membrane that the liquid has to dissolve before you see colored part underneath. Humidity won't do that.
The policy change is an Apple thing. The indicator of liquid contact and the general behavior is NOT. They are used on all sorts of consumer products, and every phone. There is lots of experience with these.
I have some.
They are indeed not supposed to indicate as wet from humidity.
Supposed to. They do in fact turn all red from just humidity. This is known to operators, warranty companies, etc. Shhh... don't tell anyone.
Why? Too sensitive maybe. Condensing conditions are localized (glasses ever fogged leaving a building... that's condensing humidity) maybe. Not sure. But it does happen. Many phones have several of these, also. As far as I know, the theory is that unless clear evidence of total immersion, if all have tripped, you ignore them all as false positives.
I have some.
They are indeed not supposed to indicate as wet from humidity.
Supposed to. They do in fact turn all red from just humidity. This is known to operators, warranty companies, etc. Shhh... don't tell anyone.
Why? Too sensitive maybe. Condensing conditions are localized (glasses ever fogged leaving a building... that's condensing humidity) maybe. Not sure. But it does happen. Many phones have several of these, also. As far as I know, the theory is that unless clear evidence of total immersion, if all have tripped, you ignore them all as false positives.
Almost all liquid damage is associated with corrosion of metal parts - especially when there is current running through them. They are probably looking for green (oxidized copper) on the pins of the 30-pin dock connector, residue (most liquid damage isn't just water), or signs of water in the display. I fix lots of liquid damaged computers, ipods and iphones, almost all of them have these signs or more.
If my iPhone got declined for warranty based solely on a lousy sticker I'd be pretty steamed, too.
I wonder if the change in procedure has anything to do with this:
http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/11/09/1253255/Pee-On-Your-Phone-STD-Test
I've seen water damage in MacBook Pros. They form corrosion on the leads. Chips can short or blowout physically. You don't need to look very hard to see these things. Normally the water needs to be sitting in the device for some time though. Until it has some mineral content it isn't very conductive. Some camera shops have devices that can quickly evaporate the water before it has time to cause damage. This sort of damage may be more common near the ocean. Salt water could cause a short much more quickly.
Wow. iPods have Liquid Contact Indicators to tell them when someone accidentally dropped theirs in the toilet? Cooool.
Perhaps they need to install some of these in support staff, to detect when there's a leak of information?
You assume they don't know the source. For all any of us know, Apple 'leaked' that information themselves. They could be the source of a lot of the leaks that have been out there
Why would Apple need to use an "anonymous" leak to tell people they've taken step to improve customer service? Their PR people would rather trumpet the fact in an official announcement.
Course that would be like admitting the policy was wrong to begin with. Have to keep up that idea Apple's infallible for the next time they mess up and don't want to come clean *coughfaultygraphicscardscough*.
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I agree with everything you said except you only get ONE extra year on the iPhone when you buy AppleCare not like macs
kingtj said:
I agree with everything you said except you only get ONE extra year on the iPhone when you buy AppleCare not like macs
zorinlynx said:
We like getting information that can help us in some way shape or form. This really can't. I mean, what am I going to do? Tell the manager I read otherwise on Mac Rumors, a site that's not officially linked to Apple Inc. in any way, shape or form? Is this information enough to tip me over the edge on buying an iPod vs. any other device which probably wouldn't be any better either way?
Aside from that, a behind the scenes warranty leak such as this stands to harm us as it's easily possible to reverse, if not only for the sake of damaging the employee's credibility to preserve their secrecy. This makes it so the risk:reward ratio is quite simply not worthwhile for us customers who would be effected. In my own opinion, this is a case of the theory that there are being some things that are just better kept to yourself.
That's assuming they got the memo to begin with. I went into an Apple Store once expecting to make use of the recycling program once and virtually everybody on staff in the shop was confused by my assumption until they saw the policy on the website...
In regards to high humidity, I find it rather hard to believe it never, ever, ever causes the sensors to trip. Even if you were to build them to an effectiveness of 99.99% an estimated 1 out of every 10,000 people would have had it happen to them. There are millions of iPod customers so if it can happen, it almost very surly has, as a principal of Murphy's Law. The question is to what extent is it reasonable for Apple to be expected to support them? I can't say I'm truly certain of that. If this rumor is true though, it seems like Apple would consider it worthwhile.
Izlib said:
What if we live in San Francisco or London, two notoriously foggy cities each of which have their own Apple Store? Am I to expect that using my iPod on the go in relatively normal weather conditions would void the warranty? It's not something I'd normally think about as damaging to the device, especially since it's so seemingly seamless. Nevertheless I'd actually speculate it to be highly likely to trip the sensors pendent on their location, as the moisture is effectively suspended in midair.