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Iphone 4 Water Sensor - UPDATED

I

Iphone Newbie

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 5, 2010
21
0
Hi all,

New here and new to apple products, after researching the iphone and its benefits i came across a problem that seemed to affect a lot of 3gs iphone, and that was that the water sensors are easily tripped,

Now ive had my iphone4 for about 4 days and its been nowhere near water! and ive have just checked mine and the bloody bottom one is pink! ive got an appointment with the genius bar on friday in regent st, London with the hope of replacing it due to a faulty sensor, the headphone jack one i cant even see, but using a torch nothing looks red/pink down there.

just wondering if people think im screwed or has anyone elses gone pink already

Thanks
 
Sensors have been reported by some people to be quite sensitive. However, in order to activate them, the 'phone needs to have water ingress. However, using the 'phone in humid conditions like in a steamy bathroom or taking it from a cold temperature into warm one has been known to set them off.

All you can do is tell the Genius at Apple the situation and keep your fingers crossed! Good luck! :)
 
All i can think of that has possible set it off is the london underground, temperatures in London at the moment are quite warm, and the underground is VERY humid, that coupled with the aircon in my car when i get out of the station may have done it,

does that sound possible, and if so what would apples take on it be, cant believe something as expensive can have its warranty voided cause of humidity

Also mine is pink rather than red, will that make a difference
 
I went to brent cross yesterday and they replaced my iPhone 4.

The used a Doctors instrument called a otoscope (one they look in your ears with.)

they checked the dock and the headphone port.
 
Did yours trip for no reason as well then and was it both, ive looked down the headphone port and there is no sign of any other colour than silver, but i dont really know what im looking for, hopefully they will clearly see ive not dropped it in water and replace it, but you do hear horror stories,

Why would they use a otoscope for checking water damage?
 
The water sensors are a scam. It's been reported that you do not need to get the phone wet to trigger them. Just being in humid environ will work fine. Even rain mist when your phone is in your pocket does the trick. Best part is if you paid for AppleCare you would have been better off buying your pals a round of 7n7s.

Good luck w/ the Genius telling you anything other than "ha ha."
 
Iphone Newbie said:
Did yours trip for no reason as well then and was it both, ive looked down the headphone port and there is no sign of any other colour than silver, but i dont really know what im looking for, hopefully they will clearly see ive not dropped it in water and replace it, but you do hear horror stories,

Why would they use a otoscope for checking water damage?
Click to expand...

No mine was fine as only a few days old but heres a link

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3302

the otoscope is used as it has a light on it so they can see clearly in the dock and the headphone port. Just say nothing and see what happens. but if not argue your case and worse case get the manager over normally works.
 
I wouldn't have thought that travelling on the tube, even in this weather, would have done it.

Some years ago I visited the Eden Project. It was extremely humid in the tropical glasshouse. On leaving it and returning to the relatively cool outside temperature, the inside if my camera misted up and it took a good hour to clear. If that had been an iPhone, I'm sure that would have activated the sensors!!

As I said, you'll have to see what Apple say. BTW - just a tip. Don't go in with all guns blazing, complaining bitterly like some of the idiots who contribute to this forum would! That approach will get you nowhere fast :)
 
Im not that type of person, all im going to do is see if they will replace it, if not i want a clarification of their warranty, some say all 4 sensors have to be tripped to void the warranty, at the end of the day im very happy with my phone and i wouldnt have even know what these sensors were if i hadnt stumbled across a vent about them, i have seperate insurance for the phone so if anything did go wrong with it and they wouldnt repair it i would have to claim through that
 
Let's hope you get a good result! :)

In the event they won't replace it, providing the 'phone is working OK, I wouldn't go to all the trouble of putting in an insurance claim. I'd just try to forget it and continue to enjoy it.
 
Water damaged! Apple sees a color change and you're screwed. If it is set off, no matter what else is wrong apple's gonna charge you $199 for out of warranty replacement. Esp now that it's water damaged all your other issues are caused by said damage.... wait and see. (if it's truly tripped.)
 
I didnt mean do an insurance claim now, i just meant if anything did go wrong in the future, hopefully i will never have an issue,

Just been reading, in the UK it was featured on watchdog and Apple said this:

Apple told Watchdog the following:

"If an iPhone has been damaged by liquid, the service or replacement is not covered by the Apple one year limited warranty or an AppleCare Protection Plan (APP). It would be eligible for Out Of Warranty Service. Currently, if a customer takes their iPhone to an Apple Retail Store, the warranty will only be void due to liquid damage if all indicators have been triggered.

Source
 
Bollocks!

We've been through this before.

No matter how many times this BS is posted, no one has ever linked to any test confirming any false positives from the water sensors.

High humidity will turn the indicators a pale pink colour but the only way to turn them red is to expose them to liquid water.

Here's the relevant portion of 3M's test specs:

water_ind.jpg


Unless anyone can link to a study showing otherwise, that's the end of it.
 
So pink is non water damage, therefore will still be covered by the warranty, whereas red would mean water damage and warranty voided?
 
Bit later than i said as i couldnt get it done last night - Cant believe how dusty it is in there!!

4766798273_8975936a6a_b.jpg


and

4766796639_0e910b6f77_b.jpg
 
That looks quite red from the photo's...

Just had a peek in mine and it's nice and white - I have been on the london tube with it too (including being stuck for 15 mins in the disgusting boiling humid train outside victoria due to someone pulling the emergency stop further down the line).
 
br0adband said:
That poster is meaning perhaps if you used some White-Out on the sensor... like painting it white, somewhat. Bad idea but it's not surprising someone would offer such a ridiculous suggestion, really.
Click to expand...

Sod that, honesty is always the best policy!
 
Iphone Newbie said:
Sod that, honesty is always the best policy!
Click to expand...

I agree that honesty is the best policy but when it comes to faulty water sensors, you have your work cut out . I'm not advocating using whiteout to paint the sensor. I'm just saying that you'll have your work cut out trying to explain that it didn't get wet.
 
Ask them to check the internal sensors. They shouldn't be triggered if what you say is true.
 
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