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Realaxed Policy on "water damage"??

I think most Genius bar workers I've had experiences with have already gone by this policy for some time now. I was told they check the headphone port and dock connector sensors and if they're both tripped, they have to check an internal one before they can assume it was outright dropped in water.
 
number9 said:
I think most Genius bar workers I've had experiences with have already gone by this policy for some time now. I was told they check the headphone port and dock connector sensors and if they're both tripped, they have to check an internal one before they can assume it was outright dropped in water.
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number9...that is accurate. if an iPhone comes to the GB, with both external LCIs triggered, the internal sensors NEED to be examined before liquid damage can be ultimately determined and the $199 out of warranty charge can be imposed...if it's still under warranty that is. if it's out of warranty, it's gonna be $199 either way.
 
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I agree with the article. It does sound like Apple is getting more in touch with their customers, which is a good thing.
 
Apple has a publicly stated policy that ALL sensors must indicate water exposure to void the warranty. This has been on the record for ages (see BBC story).
 
Wow... Two years ago I was denied any sort of replacement/repair from my genius bar because the two external sensors on my step-daughters 3G were tripped when I took it in for a broken silent slider. They didn't even check the internal one (I didn't even know it had one.) It was very frustrating for me because the tech on the phone said it should be replaced at store level for the switch and commented my "magic" ticket. I drove almost 2 hours to my "local" store and hen I got there, they turned me away...
 
Had my phone replaced yesterday. The bottom sensor was red, the top sensor was ok. The guy was going to open the phone to check the inside sensor, when his coworker chimed in, don't bother, just go ahead and replace the phone. Was extremely surprised.
 
jthomp said:
Wow... Two years ago I was denied any sort of replacement/repair from my genius bar because the two external sensors on my step-daughters 3G were tripped when I took it in for a broken silent slider. They didn't even check the internal one (I didn't even know it had one.) It was very frustrating for me because the tech on the phone said it should be replaced at store level for the switch and commented my "magic" ticket. I drove almost 2 hours to my "local" store and hen I got there, they turned me away...
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That's because the apple policy 2 years ago was if any sensors were tripped, the phone is automatically oow, no questions asked. There was even a point for about 6 months where water damaged iPhones were considered beyond economical repair (BER), and they couldn't be replaced at the genius bar at all, essentially you had to buy a new iPhone.
Genii were also not allowed to take the phones apart at all until the screen replacement came into play about a year ago, and I am quite positive there were no internal moisture sensors in the original or 3G iPhone, and pretty sure there were none in the 3GS. I believe the iPhone 4 is the only phone with internal sensors.

As for the article about both having to be tripped in order for it to be OOW, I don't believe that's entirely accurate, but it's been a while since I worked as a Genii, so I can't be too sure. I do know that water damage was always up to the genii's discretion, but I am glad to see this new 'relaxed' policy has come into play.

I generally would replace water damaged phones as long as the people didn't lie about it, or weren't jerks about it.
 
My brother got his iPhone 4 replaced yesterday after fishing it out of the fish tank. My 2year old nephew threw it in the fish tank. I guess he was lucky and got a genius that didn't care.
 
rohn said:
Had my phone replaced yesterday. The bottom sensor was red, the top sensor was ok. The guy was going to open the phone to check the inside sensor, when his coworker chimed in, don't bother, just go ahead and replace the phone. Was extremely surprised.
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Just out of curiosity - did you tell the Genius that you had dropped into water and they still replaced free of charge or did you play dumb as to why the phone was broken?
 
Jordan921 said:
My brother got his iPhone 4 replaced yesterday after fishing it out of the fish tank. My 2year old nephew threw it in the fish tank. I guess he was lucky and got a genius that didn't care.
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If it was only in the fishtank for a short while the internal may not have been tripped.
 
A bit of an old thread, but was curious if anyone has anything new to add - a close friend of mine had an iPhone 4S with a non-functioning home button. Genius #1 said the Dock Connector LCI was red, so $199 please. She said she was going to think about it, and it started working a few hours later. She made an appointment the next day anyway to get a bit of clarification and/or if it started acting up again. I went back with her and Genius #2 said it was tripped (not the headphone one though) and there was nothing they could do. I asked about "false positives" and he gave some story about leaving his iPhone in the bathroom while showering and not tripping it and she must've got her phone wet.

Needless to say, she was a bit frustrated with her experience, and I was puzzled since I could've sworn Apple did a 180° on their LCI policy, especially if it doesn't seem like it was completely submerged.

So, we'll chalk her home button up to something weird (she's a huge Apple geek and is probably more careful with her toys than I am), but I had a really sour taste after that visit to our local Apple Store (about two years ago I got the run-around there for splotches on my MacBook Pro's LCD and aluminum pitting when calling Apple's 800 number and sending it to Texas did the trick with no questions asked).
 
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ecschwarz said:
A bit often old thread, but was curious if anyone has anything new to add - a close friend of mine had an iPhone 4S with a non-functioning home button. Genius #1 said the Dock Connector LCI was red, so $199 please. She said she was going to think about it, and it started working a few hours later. She made an appointment the next day anyway to get a bit of clarification and/or if it started acting up again. I went back with her and Genius #2 said it was tripped (not the headphone one though) and there was nothing they could do. I asked about "false positives" and he gave some story about leaving his iPhone in the bathroom while showering and not tripping it and she must've got her phone wet.

Needless to say, she was a bit frustrated with her experience, and I was puzzled since I could've sworn Apple did a 180° on their LCI policy, especially if it doesn't seem like it was completely submerged.

So, we'll chalk her home button up to something weird (she's a huge Apple geek and is probably more careful with her toys than I am), but I had a really sour taste after that visit to our local Apple Store (about two years ago I got the run-around there for splotches on my MacBook Pro's LCD and aluminum pitting when calling Apple's 800 number and sending it to Texas did the trick with no questions asked).
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hi my friends home button doesn't work all the time. she took it to the apple store but they said it was water damage, she says its not been near water except if she used it in the rain.

do you think its worth going back and arguing with them and asking them to check all sensors?
 
ecschwarz said:
A bit often old thread, but was curious if anyone has anything new to add - a close friend of mine had an iPhone 4S with a non-functioning home button. Genius #1 said the Dock Connector LCI was red, so $199 please. She said she was going to think about it, and it started working a few hours later. She made an appointment the next day anyway to get a bit of clarification and/or if it started acting up again. I went back with her and Genius #2 said it was tripped (not the headphone one though) and there was nothing they could do. I asked about "false positives" and he gave some story about leaving his iPhone in the bathroom while showering and not tripping it and she must've got her phone wet.

Needless to say, she was a bit frustrated with her experience, and I was puzzled since I could've sworn Apple did a 180° on their LCI policy, especially if it doesn't seem like it was completely submerged.

So, we'll chalk her home button up to something weird (she's a huge Apple geek and is probably more careful with her toys than I am), but I had a really sour taste after that visit to our local Apple Store (about two years ago I got the run-around there for splotches on my MacBook Pro's LCD and aluminum pitting when calling Apple's 800 number and sending it to Texas did the trick with no questions asked).
Click to expand...
Did she not purchase AppleCare+?
 
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Sorry but this has been tested and gone over again and again. Water sensor red = contact with water. No reason for any one to get upset with apple because the phone came in contact with water. Your friend cans swear all she wants that it hasn't been near water but the red sensor tells a different, wet story. Tell her to suck it up and pay the $199 for oow replacement and be more careful.

Sneaky no its not. Red = wet.
 
I like to think that my otterbox commuter case that covers the charge port and the headphone jack helps prevent any kind of moisture from getting in there.

With that said... I don't even take my phone out of my pocket when it's raining. Period.
 
DroidRules said:
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Sorry but this has been tested and gone over again and again. Water sensor red = contact with water. No reason for any one to get upset with apple because the phone came in contact with water. Your friend cans swear all she wants that it hasn't been near water but the red sensor tells a different, wet story. Tell her to suck it up and pay the $199 for oow replacement and be more careful.

Sneaky no its not. Red = wet.
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it maybe proves some raindrops or water hit the sensor. It doesnt mean the rain caused the button to fail.

Its a total cop-out to refuse to even look at a device because an external sensor was hit by a drop of water. Let alone blame it for anything thats wrong

Must save apple a fortune sneaky buggers
 
Don't complain about 199.99 because before apples water policy change last year, if your sensor was red you had to buy an off contract phone and spend 600 +.
 
TSX said:
Don't complain about 199.99 because before apples water policy change last year, if your sensor was red you had to buy an off contract phone and spend 600 +.
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That means even with AppleCare+, $199.99 is required if water damaged?
Thanks
 
sneaky butcher said:
it maybe proves some raindrops or water hit the sensor. It doesnt mean the rain caused the button to fail.
Its a total cop-out to refuse to even look at a device because an external sensor was hit by a drop of water. Let alone blame it for anything thats wrong
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I agree with you 100%. I wasn't trying to defend apple (I realize it kinda sounded that way) but my statement was more towards the tripped sensor. They did tests on the sensors and showed it was hard to get a false positive. I think it's crap because one tripped sensor does not mean there is water damage to or in the phone. I never talk on mine in the rain and ensure the openings aren't pointed up in those situations, or in my pocket.
 
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