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iPhone typical water damage

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xseth

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 15, 2010
18
0
SO.. I dropped my iPhone 4 in the toilet. Don't judge. I got it out asap and it still seems to work fine.. knock on wood. I got a pop up twice since last night that said something along the lines of "this accessory is not optimized for this iPhone.."

I called Apple and reported that I had "no idea why I was receiving these messages." He said he put it in my account notes.

The only water indicator set off is the dock one. If I send it in, will they see the headphone jack one not set off and excuse it?

Also, if I decide to leave it how it is and I go to request a new iPhone because of the battery life being short, are they not going to want to give me a new one because of the water indicator?

Thanks.
 
they will notice that the sensor is tripped so you won't be getting a free replacement. however even if you aren't eligible for an upgrade Apple will still replace it at the subsidized price out of warranty.
 
mrkramer said:
they will notice that the sensor is tripped so you won't be getting a free replacement. however even if you aren't eligible for an upgrade Apple will still replace it at the subsidized price out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Even if one of the sensors isn't activated?
 
xseth said:
SO.. I dropped my iPhone 4 in the toilet. Don't judge. I got it out asap and it still seems to work fine.. knock on wood. I got a pop up twice since last night that said something along the lines of "this accessory is not optimized for this iPhone.."

I called Apple and reported that I had "no idea why I was receiving these messages." He said he put it in my account notes.

The only water indicator set off is the dock one. If I send it in, will they see the headphone jack one not set off and excuse it?

Also, if I decide to leave it how it is and I go to request a new iPhone because of the battery life being short, are they not going to want to give me a new one because of the water indicator?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Not to be an ass, but don't try to defraud Apple by lying. You dropped your phone in the toilet, why should they give you a replacement?

Plus they won't, not if ANY water sensor is tripped.

Don't use the battery as an excuse. If it was a problem before you would have replaced it before. Now you want an excuse to get a replacement for your water damaged phone.
 
xseth said:
Even if one of the sensors isn't activated?
Click to expand...

supposedly there are more sensors inside the phone and i've read of people demanding apple open up the phone to check them.

i just bought a replacement battery for my inlaws dumb phone because the old one had the water sensor tripped. they swear they never got it wet.
 
DePaulBlueDemon said:
Not to be an ass, but don't try to defraud Apple by lying. You dropped your phone in the toilet, why should they give you a replacement?

Plus they won't, not if ANY water sensor is tripped.

Don't use the battery as an excuse. If it was a problem before you would have replaced it before. Now you want an excuse to get a replacement for your water damaged phone.
Click to expand...

That's not what I'm saying at all. The guy at AT&T told me before my 2-year Apple Care warranty was up, I'd be having trouble with battery life. I want to know if the sensor being activated will stop them from letting me claim it.
Let's not be rude.
 
xseth said:
That's not what I'm saying at all. The guy at AT&T told me before my 2-year Apple Care warranty was up, I'd be having trouble with battery life. I want to know if the sensor being activated will stop them from letting me claim it.
Let's not be rude.
Click to expand...

Yes, once any of the 4 sensors have been tripped of (2 external, 2 internal), your warranty is void and thus Apple will not replace it (not even because of battery issues). Apple will say that you are having battery problems because your phone has been in contact with water/moisture.
 
i wouldn't be so sure of that; i know a couple of people who had the internal sensors tripped, but not the external sensors. apple still did a exchange. though if you dropped it into the toilet, there's a pretty good chance the internal sensor has been tripped.

ps that only applies to the iphone4 since the iphone 3g/3gs don't have internal moisture sensors.
 
sirslaysalot said:
ps that only applies to the iphone4 since the iphone 3g/3gs don't have internal moisture sensors.
Click to expand...

All iPhones have internal sensors, but in different locations.
Picture10.jpg



Drewsky87, we Googled the same website.
 
xseth said:
SO.. I dropped my iPhone 4 in the toilet. Don't judge. I got it out asap and it still seems to work fine.. knock on wood. I got a pop up twice since last night that said something along the lines of "this accessory is not optimized for this iPhone.."

I called Apple and reported that I had "no idea why I was receiving these messages." He said he put it in my account notes.

The only water indicator set off is the dock one. If I send it in, will they see the headphone jack one not set off and excuse it?

Also, if I decide to leave it how it is and I go to request a new iPhone because of the battery life being short, are they not going to want to give me a new one because of the water indicator?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend you turn it off and store it in a bag of rice for a few days to remove any moisture. Its water plus electricity that will kill the device. If its wet you at least have a chance to dry it.
 
Drewsky87 said:
no?
Click to expand...

hmm my bad. but they haven't really looked at internal sensors until the iphone 4 was released. before, it was external sensors tripped = warranty void. seems to have changed. now they actually seem to look at the internal sensors as well so its not entirely difficult to convince them that the external sensors being tripped was the work of excessive humidity etc.
 
sirslaysalot said:
hmm my bad. but they haven't really looked at internal sensors until the iphone 4 was released. before, it was external sensors tripped = warranty void. seems to have changed. now they actually seem to look at the internal sensors as well so its not entirely difficult to convince them that the external sensors being tripped was the work of excessive humidity etc.
Click to expand...

excessive humidity would make the sensors more pink than a dark red. Dropping it in the toilet likely bumped it to dark red.
 
How do you even know that the "This accessory is not optimized for iPhone" message is necessarily due to falling in the toilet?

I've randomly gotten that message on all of my iPhones over the years from time to time and have never even remotely gotten any of my phones wet
 
What's the point of the internal sensors? I'm on my 3rd iP4 and I've had two iPod touches, an the second and third ones have all been warranty replacements and they checked the headphone jack and 30-pin connector, but never bothered to open it up to check the internal sensors...
 
They definitely check the internal sensors on all iPhone's aside from the original, as it doesn't open. One hundred percent. As to coverage, it's up to the Genius in front of you. Go in, try your luck.

Also, humidity will not trip the indicators. It will not. Check the 3M materials website on liquid indicators, it is industry standard for these materials and the one's used in the iPhone. They are called submersion indicators, if they're tripped, water hit that indicator. Not water vapor.
 
darbyclash34 said:
They definitely check the internal sensors on all iPhone's aside from the original, as it doesn't open. One hundred percent. As to coverage, it's up to the Genius in front of you. Go in, try your luck.

Also, humidity will not trip the indicators. It will not. Check the 3M materials website on liquid indicators, it is industry standard for these materials and the one's used in the iPhone. They are called submersion indicators, if they're tripped, water hit that indicator. Not water vapor.
Click to expand...

you're wrong actually. its happened before (alot) here in singapore during the 3G/3GS era. there's even a pretty long thread about it on a local forum but i'll have to search

edit: found it. there you go. unless you're saying everybody in that thread who claims they have a tripped sensor through humidity is lying, then i have no comment.
 
I'm definitely not saying they're lying. And I do not rule out that certain conditions could cause a defect in the way the sensors trip.

At the same time, how many of us here have kept an iPhone in the bathroom while they are showering? That will almost certainly reach similar, if not more extreme, conditions to those mentioned in those posts. Yet, I have yet to trip an indicator from that.

Furthermore, I live in an area with similar mean and high humidity ratings. I just checked. In the morning, the average humidity hovers right around 90-91%. That's average. Does it trip the LSI? No.

There are many ways for someone to trip an LSI without realizing. Caught in a rainstorm, putting their phone in a cup holder directly after taking a drink out of it, etc. It happens. I'm definitely not saying that they are lying, nor that the idea is totally impossible and that there has never been a defect in the way the detection systems work. But there is a reason that many manufacturers stand behind this technology, and recommend you stay within the environmental standards they say their products work within.

The original forum posting you quote actually says the nominal operating humidity for the iPhone says, 5-95% relative humidity. I can't speak to selling a product in an area where normal life will exceed those limits, but I can say in that situation, the fine print says you shouldn't have the phone in those conditions. I'm not making a judgement statement on any of this. I'm just saying that if the phone is used within the specified operating conditions, the liquid indicator will not trip, and that while living in an environment similar to the one described, I have never had it happen. Nor has it happened in the more extreme example of keeping the phone in a closed bathroom while showering. My empirical evidence has me convinced that 3M has made a product that works as described, meaning that the sensor trips when it hits liquid, and not in any other situation.

Your mileage may vary.
 
Woah, that's scary. Imagine if the earphone jack has a little moisture, it'll definitely trigger the LSI in the earphone jack. If one of the external indicators are activated, will Apple check the internal ones to determine if the warranty is void?

It makes sense to void the warranty if the internal ones are activated. But it's really ridiculous if the warranty is void just because the indicator that is always exposed to the surroundings, is activated.
 
I still think that if you possibly have your phone in the bathroom while taking a shower, it's going to be humid and it will set off a sensor, regardless of the "engineering" of the water sensor.

But you said it would only be $200 to receive a new (refurbished) iPhone after water damage? Will the AppleCare you bought transfer to this iPhone?
 
xseth said:
I still think that if you possibly have your phone in the bathroom while taking a shower, it's going to be humid and it will set off a sensor, regardless of the "engineering" of the water sensor.

But you said it would only be $200 to receive a new (refurbished) iPhone after water damage? Will the AppleCare you bought transfer to this iPhone?
Click to expand...

Unless you take a really steamy and long shower, it won't trip the LSI. I was sick yesterday so I took a nice steamy shower that lasted for about an hour. My iPhone was on a table about 2 feet from the shower door the entire time. Unless you are do that 24/7, you'll most likely be really dehydrated before the iPhone's water sensor is tripped.
 
Dropped my 3G in the toilet yesterday...

...pretty much dead. 20 hours in a bag of rice worked wonders and It's running fine now. Had to throw the rice out, though.
 
DePaulBlueDemon said:
Not to be an ass, but don't try to defraud Apple by lying. You dropped your phone in the toilet, why should they give you a replacement?

Plus they won't, not if ANY water sensor is tripped.

Don't use the battery as an excuse. If it was a problem before you would have replaced it before. Now you want an excuse to get a replacement for your water damaged phone.
Click to expand...

+1.

you dropped your phone down the toilet, you should pay the consequences.

regardless of that point Apple have changed their warranty t&c's regarding the water sensors, it is still possible you can get a replacement with just one tripped. Doesnt hurt to go and give it a go anyway
 
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