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My Jet Black 7+ Bricked - Water Damage

A

AIen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
19
4
So I got my iPhone 7+ for just 5 days, went to took some pictures/videos near and in the pool. Phone was never submerged more than 2 feet for more than 1 minute. I didn't think that would be an issue since I watched that Galaxy S7 / iPhone 7 video in that Seattle lake.

Anyhow, phone started vibrating near the home button nonstop and now won't turn on. I'm in a dilemma - should I just return this or actually tell Apple what happened? I know Apple has been careful to not cover water damage in their agreement; however, I feel like I've been somewhat misled and/or received a lemon.

I really think this phone was a lemon. I took great care of it, bought a case right away and never dropped it. I read here that they had some manufacturing difficulties with the Jet Black. Perhaps that's what happened, they cannot get the right quality control and seal the phones properly.

Hope this story can help others not brick their phone, first and foremost.
 
I think being honest with Apple is important. Your claiming your device was defective before the water damage occurred, which is speculation at best. At minimum, you might receive a replacement device. Keep in mind, the iPhone 7 is rated for IP67X water resistance. It's not waterproof.
 
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I believe the water resistance claims on the iPhone are not quite what they claim. I get it that on a mass produced item not all will have the same quality but i expected better. Mine spazzed out from water also
 
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Granted, yours was underwater, but I just saw a Sprint commercial the other day that made a point of showing the owner was about to go biking in a thunderstorm with his iPhone 7 Plus mounted on the handlebars. I feel like they want to have it both ways, to eat their cake and have it too.
 
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A 7 rating ensures “ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1m of submersion)” according to the IEC.

Apple is advertising the phone as having an ip67 rating. It should be able to handle a 30 minute submersion at up to 1 meter. If they don't want to stand by the rating then they should revise their specs page to remove ip67 and simply state that it is water resistant. Otherwise it is reasonable to believe people will rely and act based on Apple's claim of ip67 rating to their detriment.

They should honor the warranty for water damaged phones similar to what Samsung had to do for their defect S7 Actives.
 
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Open the sim tray and check the water indocator is it pink? If thats not pink then water has entered via another route and if your claim is correct that it never was submerged for longer than a minute then be honest and Apple may replace it out of goodwill.
 
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LKN said:
Open the sim tray and check the water indocator is it pink? If thats not pink then water has entered via another route and if your claim is correct that it never was submerged for longer than a minute then be honest and Apple may replace it out of goodwill.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I don't see any pink in the sim tray / sim slot - the water seems to enter via the top right of where the screen attaches to the chassis (looks loose).
 
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AIen said:
Thank you. I don't see any pink in the sim tray / sim slot - the water seems to enter via the top right of where the screen attaches to the chassis (looks loose).
Click to expand...

I'd say you have an excellent chance of getting them to swap out due to a manufacturing defect. Take it in and simply say it's not working as intended.
 
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I got issues with this phone being water resistant , given Apple will not honour the warranty , I don't view it as a water resistant phone . Basicslly buyer beware , you know water can kill it , so why risk it.

OP. You are aware that water damage is not covered, at the same time you used it within the spec parameters , so you can feel like you are being punished while using the device as intended .

My advice is to take it in and say it's not working , let's them question you and give replies that are honest . They may just test it and replace it without interrogating you :) .

If they say it's water damage, at his point you should be shocked and point out that you never came close to breaching he specs and question them if it's faulty etc. Even take a pic of the pool etc showing it's not even 1 metre deep, book mark the spec page with the specs . Prepare yourself , but let them question.

Fact is you have a faulty device that never breached the specs that it operates under , it's not for you to explain to them why the broken, it's for them to explain to you, you just supply the facts, and according to what you told us, you have a fault device.
[doublepost=1476522117][/doublepost]
NovemberWhiskey said:
Perhaps people should stop submerging their phones, and then trying to get apple to pay for their mistakes.
Click to expand...

  • Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529
Not the customers fault Apple applied a rating which states it can be submerged .
 
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From what I've seen the first rounds of the iPhone 7/7+ have faulty sealing. You can easily break the SIM card rubber band if you push it in wrong. But if you get a early 7/7+ you should be aware they are rushed and full of issues so your fault imo.
 
QueenTyrone said:
From what I've seen the first rounds of the iPhone 7/7+ have faulty sealing. You can easily break the SIM card rubber band if you push it in wrong. But if you get a early 7/7+ you should be aware they are rushed and full of issues so your fault imo.
Click to expand...

Also note that lint and debris easily gets caught around the rubber seal in the SIM tray, which could lead to a poor seal and ingress point. Just changing out my SIM 1 time, I noticed a white piece of lint there.

So if you open the SIM tray, make sure and check.

I've also noticed that the SIM tray often does not sit flush even after it seems like you've pushed it back in right. Make sure to inspect from different angles to make sure it is completely flush.

"I want that sim tray countersunk, Odie."
 
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I think apple should of never made the riding in the thunderstorm commercial if it won't back up its claims of the rating it has. An apple commercial basically telling you its ok to ride around with your phone exposed to water but then not going to cover damages if a never damaged phone gets water inside.
I can see them not covering a claim after inspecting the phone for drops that could of caused issues with water getting inside.
They should cover water damage on a never dropped phone imo
 
I find this advertising quite misleading if they won't stand by their claim of water resistance!
 
Tell the truth. Everyone is assuming Apple will not stand behind their advertising but there is no basis for that conclusion. The warranty exception for water damage is necessary not because of situations like this but because not including it would subject Apple to a return obligation where someone improperly water damaged their phone, e.g., deep diving in excess of the water resistance rating. That exception does not apply where the phone was used as expected.
 
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QueenTyrone said:
From what I've seen the first rounds of the iPhone 7/7+ have faulty sealing. You can easily break the SIM card rubber band if you push it in wrong. But if you get a early 7/7+ you should be aware they are rushed and full of issues so your fault imo.
Click to expand...

Lmao. Huh
 
Thanks for the warning. I hope you are able to get them to honor the warranty since you did not violate the parameters of the rating.

Consumer Reports exposed that the Samsung's S7 Actives had a manufacturing issue (which has since been corrected) that caused the phones to fail their water resistance rating. Samsung was thus forced to acknowledge they would honor warranties even in the case of water damage. Apple should hold themselves to a similar standard. I guess the problem is determining legitimate failure within the ip67 rating conditions and abuse outside of those conditions.

I consider these ratings an extra bit of assurance of splash resistance, nothing more. When I go to the beach, my phones will still go in one of those ziploc bag type waterproof cases and even then I'm not submersing my $750 plus phones in oceans or pools.
 
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bluespark said:
Tell the truth. Everyone is assuming Apple will not stand behind their advertising but there is no basis for that conclusion. The warranty exception for water damage is necessary not because of situations like this but because not including it would subject Apple to a return obligation where someone improperly water damaged their phone, e.g., deep diving in excess of the water resistance rating. That exception does not apply where the phone was used as expected.
Click to expand...

One MR member had to pay the AC+ deductible in order to cover water damage where the sim tray sensor did trigger so it looks like they're actually enforcing their disclaimer.

The OP's water sensor didn't trigger so the OP will have a better luck. However, the defect leading to water ingress could have been located where the sensor is, in which case the OP would have been SOL. Not fair IMO.

Apple seems to want to have their cake and eat it too. Either stand by the advertised rating or do it under hood/silently. I predict a class action lawsuit due to false advertisement.
 
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QueenTyrone said:
Like I said the first batches of any iPhone are super faulty generally and that's something I would not risk.
Click to expand...

No they are NOT. got 5 6s's first week last year and ZERO, NO issues.

It's generalized statements like yours with no facts that cause problems.
[doublepost=1476546879][/doublepost][QUOTE="The OP's water sensor didn't trigger so the OP will have a better luck. However, the defect leading to water ingress could have been located where theApple seems to want to have their cake and eat it too. Either stand by the advertised rating or do it under hood/silently. I predict a class action lawsuit due to false advertisement.[/QUOTE]

I am sure the papers are already being drafted. Not saying it's not warranted (no pun intended) as the phone should work with the water Apple is advertising it in during commercials.
 
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Thor_1 said:
No they are NOT. got 5 6s's first week last year and ZERO, NO issues.

It's generalized statements like yours with no facts that cause problems.
Click to expand...

Mkay cause every year (including my 6s+) a lot of people have issues with first batches. You were just super lucky. My 6s+ came with a cracked motherboard, broken haptic engine, bad battery and a few other issues that I have the repair receipt for. (My Apple Store insisted the issues I had were my imagination, Apple repair said differently :^])
 
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