Slight Water Damage, now phone stuck in reboot. Can anyone help?

[solo118]

Hi All

Yesterday when my wife came up from the beach she had noticed a water bottle opened in her bag by accident and wet her iphone 4S. It was not soaking wet, just had some water splashed on the screen area and on the bottom (it is sitting in an Elago slider case)

The screen started to flicker, and turn off. Then it would turn on and there would be no service and Wifi was not able to be chosen.

I said lets put it in rice, and see what happens tomorrow. Well today, it is not turning on at all! I just see an Apple sign and then it turns off after a few seconds and reboots again (infinite loop!)

I checked out the 2 water alarms and they are both still in fact white.

I understand that Apple would be willing to replace a water damaged phone for $150 or $200? but the problem at this point is the content that is on the phone. My wife did not back it up in a couple of months and took a bunch of photos of our kid and such which you can not put a price on.

If anyone knows of a way that I can revive this phone, at least long enough to back it up it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mattopotamus]

Unfortunately, if she did not back up nothing can be done to get the content back at any point past her last restore. I know most people say let it sit in rice for a couple of days. I'm not sure what the cost to replace would be, but i would imagine it is much more than $150 since applecare+ cost $99 with a $50 deductible. No one would buy it if the replacement cost w/o it was the same.

 

[solo118]

Unfortunately, if she did not back up nothing can be done to get the content back at any point past her last restore. I know most people say let it sit in rice for a couple of days. I'm not sure what the cost to replace would be, but i would imagine it is much more than $150 since applecare+ cost $99 with a $50 deductible. No one would buy it if the replacement cost w/o it was the same.

Thanks for your quick response.

I was once in an Apple store, and a lady walked in with a phone that was clearly water damaged. The genius employee asked do you have coverage, she said no and said the only thing we can do is replace the phone for a charge (of $149, or $199, I did not hear)

He came out 5 minutes later with a black box and she was given a "new" phone in exchange for her broken phone.

 

[mattopotamus]

Thanks for your quick response.

I was once in an Apple store, and a lady walked in with a phone that was clearly water damaged. The genius employee asked do you have coverage, she said no and said the only thing we can do is replace the phone for a charge (of $149, or $199, I did not hear)

He came out 5 minutes later with a black box and she was given a "new" phone in exchange for her broken phone.

Please let me know if that is the case....b.c i will never buy applecare again haha. I would gladly pay $199 on a as needed basis vs $99 up front and another $50 at inception.

Also, best buy offers insurance for $10 a month with no deductible and unlimited replacements. The only downside is that you get a loaner phone for 3-4 days until your new one arrives. Applecare+ is walk in and walk out with a new one. On that same note, I have a galaxy nexus insured through best buy and since they don't carry an unlocked version of that phone they would just "junk" it out and give me the full retail price of the verizon nexus $699....so I actually will make $350 by destroying my unlocked nexus haha

 

[cynics]

Please let me know if that is the case....b.c i will never buy applecare again haha. I would gladly pay $199 on a as needed basis vs $99 up front and another $50 at inception.

Also, best buy offers insurance for $10 a month with no deductible and unlimited replacements. The only downside is that you get a loaner phone for 3-4 days until your new one arrives. Applecare+ is walk in and walk out with a new one. On that same note, I have a galaxy nexus insured through best buy and since they don't carry an unlocked version of that phone they would just "junk" it out and give me the full retail price of the verizon nexus $699....so I actually will make $350 by destroying my unlocked nexus haha

I believe AppleCare extends the warranty to 2 years and gets you one accidental coverage for 50 bucks. Plus tech support for 2 years instead of 90 days.

http://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html

If I'm reading that correctly. I think the op is correct with it being 150-200 if you bring in a broken iPhone out of warranty.

 

[solo118]

I believe AppleCare extends the warranty to 2 years and gets you one accidental coverage for 50 bucks. Plus tech support for 2 years instead of 90 days.

http://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html

If I'm reading that correctly. I think the op is correct with it being 150-200 if you bring in a broken iPhone out of warranty.

Thanks for clarifying. Just curious if anyone else can advise if there is any way to revive the phone maybe DFU mode or something without deleting the content.

I saw the lock screen come up momentarily a few minutes ago but it shut right off. The battery was fully dead so I have been charging for the last hour or so hoping the screen would come back on

 

[mattopotamus]

I believe AppleCare extends the warranty to 2 years and gets you one accidental coverage for 50 bucks. Plus tech support for 2 years instead of 90 days.

http://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html

If I'm reading that correctly. I think the op is correct with it being 150-200 if you bring in a broken iPhone out of warranty.

applecare+ is $99 and gives you two replacements with a deductible of $50, so $150 for 1 new phone. To replace the 4 it is $150 out of warranty and $199 for the 4S. I guess i would rather fork up $200 if I needed to vs $100 whether i use it or not and $150 if i do use it. Plus, if i dropped it and had applecare+ i would probably replace it right before i sold it.

 

[TallGuy1970]

Thanks for clarifying. Just curious if anyone else can advise if there is any way to revive the phone maybe DFU mode or something without deleting the content.

I saw the lock screen come up momentarily a few minutes ago but it shut right off. The battery was fully dead so I have been charging for the last hour or so hoping the screen would come back on

I was in the exact same situation, and unfortunately, the news is not good. My wife had also water damaged her phone. I tried everything I could think of and everything I could read on the Internet. Nothing worked. Took it to the Apple store and they couldn't do anything with it either.

 

[solo118]

I was in the exact same situation, and unfortunately, the news is not good. My wife had also water damaged her phone. I tried everything I could think of and everything I could read on the Internet. Nothing worked. Took it to the Apple store and they couldn't do anything with it either.

Its what I feared as well. Procastinating sucks! I will make sure to have my wife back up every few weeks.

I just hope Apple can help me out as far as getting a replacement because I do not want to shell out for a new phone (or even a used one!)

 

[solo118]

Went to Apple, and they were glad to replace the phone for $200.

Not a bad deal afterall, considering the water damage. If my phone was from any other company I would be SOL

 

[mattopotamus]

cool, i think i will just go naked and pay the $200 if i destroy it!

 

[Small White Car]

Procastinating sucks! I will make sure to have my wife back up every few weeks.

Better ideas:

- Turn on iCloud phone backups (and buy a paid iCloud account if she takes tons of photos)
- Turn on Photostream on the phone
- Turn on Photostream in iPhoto and make sure iPhoto stays running
- Set up a Time Machine


If you have that all set then even after a phone is destroyed the photos would be in 4 places for the newer photos and 3 places for older ones.

And it all happens automatically. Far better than bugging your wife every few weeks.

cool, i think i will just go naked and pay the $200 if i destroy it!

This has always been my plan. It's cheaper than most of the insurance plans assuming you don't have to do it constantly. I've done it twice in 5 years. (And we have 2 iPhones in my family so that's really 10 years of iPhone usage.) That's $40 per year of iPhone ownership for me! Just try finding any insurance plan for that little.

 

[Ryno76]

did you take the back of the phone off and then put it in rice?....
my son got a hold of my iphone4 and used it as a teether...(not good for the phone, worked great for him!) the phone was fritzed out, took the backing off of and let it dry out in the rice that way. started working again after that...but it kept fritzing, think i didn't let it dry out long enough. It's working completely fine now....so it's my back up phone as i bought a new one anyways....

 

[Technarchy]

There is no such thing as "slight water damage"

 

[Applejuiced]

There is no such thing as "slight water damage"

I was just going to say the same
Its either water damaged or its not.
And once electronics short out there is no way to revive them with DFU restores or vy deleting content.

 

[solo118]

There is no such thing as "slight water damage"

I was just going to say the same
Its either water damaged or its not.
And once electronics short out there is no way to revive them with DFU restores or vy deleting content.

I know, i know.... cant get a little pregnant either!

But in all honesty there was very little water that fell onto the phone which surprised me. I have seen these phones (not mine) fall in toilets, get rained on, splashed by the pool and no damage was to be seen. Oh well, perhaps I can take this as a lesson and invest in a lifeproof case for my wife.

 

[Technarchy]

I know, i know.... cant get a little pregnant either!

But in all honesty there was very little water that fell onto the phone which surprised me. I have seen these phones (not mine) fall in toilets, get rained on, splashed by the pool and no damage was to be seen. Oh well, perhaps I can take this as a lesson and invest in a lifeproof case for my wife.

I'm about to replace my Wife's Apple 3GS after it fell in the toilet. How the hell this happens, I don't know.

But this is her 3rd phone to die from water, and she will be required to roll with a lifeproof case going forward or it's flip phones only in her future.

 

[mattopotamus]

Better ideas:

- Turn on iCloud phone backups (and buy a paid iCloud account if she takes tons of photos)
- Turn on Photostream on the phone
- Turn on Photostream in iPhoto and make sure iPhoto stays running
- Set up a Time Machine


If you have that all set then even after a phone is destroyed the photos would be in 4 places for the newer photos and 3 places for older ones.

insurance plan for that little.

I think you have to set it up so photo stream syncs over your data plan and not just wifi....that way once you take a photo is automatically syncs.

 

[lordofthereef]

Please let me know if that is the case....b.c i will never buy applecare again haha. I would gladly pay $199 on a as needed basis vs $99 up front and another $50 at inception.

That is the case, except that the current gen iPhone is $200 to replace, and previous gens are $150. The difference is that Apple Care extends your warranty for 2 years as well. As such, you will have a slightly higher resale value, and a year of extended support. You can also exchange up to two phones (for the $50 deductible) with AC+. I guess it's more of a peace of mind type of thing.

Long story short, needing to replace your current gen iPhone a single time under AC+ saves you $50. Replacing it twice saves you $200.

 

[mattopotamus]

That is the case, except that the current gen iPhone is $200 to replace, and previous gens are $150. The difference is that Apple Care extends your warranty for 2 years as well. As such, you will have a slightly higher resale value, and a year of extended support. You can also exchange up to two phones (for the $50 deductible) with AC+. I guess it's more of a peace of mind type of thing.

Long story short, needing to replace your current gen iPhone a single time under AC+ saves you $50. Replacing it twice saves you $200.

yeah, in my latter post i posted that exact same thing . If you don't need to replace it is saves you $100 though. keep that $100 you would spend on applecare+ and throw it in a sock.....if you need to, bust it out, if not you saved $100. I guess I always thought you had to pay for a new phone if it was destroyed, so $100 insurance on a $700 phone makes sense, but $100 insurance on a $200 phone is a waste of money.

 

[lordofthereef]

yeah, in my latter post i posted that exact same thing . If you don't need to replace it is saves you $100 though.

This is the case with all forms of insurance. The point of insurance is to lessen the hurt IF you have to use it.

Granted, $200 Hopefully isn't the end of the world to anyone who would be considering this replacement plan. If it is, I would highly suggesting reconsidering finances, as they are probably paying 1/4-1/3 of that monthly on service alone.

 

[mattopotamus]

This is the case with all forms of insurance. The point of insurance is to lessen the hurt IF you have to use it.

Granted, $200 Hopefully isn't the end of the world to anyone who would be considering this replacement plan. If it is, I would highly suggesting reconsidering finances, as they are probably paying 1/4-1/3 of that monthly on service alone.

insurance is smart is some instances obviously, but not $100 on a $200 phone with a $50 deductible. If they made you pay full retail price i would get it. I didn't know they only make you pay $200.

----------

This is the case with all forms of insurance. The point of insurance is to lessen the hurt IF you have to use it.

Granted, $200 Hopefully isn't the end of the world to anyone who would be considering this replacement plan. If it is, I would highly suggesting reconsidering finances, as they are probably paying 1/4-1/3 of that monthly on service alone.

insurance is smart in some instances obviously, but not $100 on a $200 phone with a $50 deductible. If they made you pay full retail price i would get it. I didn't know they only make you pay $200.

 

[lordofthereef]

insurance is smart is some instances obviously, but not $100 on a $200 phone with a $50 deductible. If they made you pay full retail price i would get it. I didn't know they only make you pay $200.

Again, if you view it as insurance, that is one thing. It is also an extended warranty, which includes additional support.

Of course, if you are prone to dropping your phone or are pretty hard on it, that would be another possible example for AC+ being a good idea.

 

[mattopotamus]

Again, if you view it as insurance, that is one thing. It is also an extended warranty, which includes additional support.

Of course, if you are prone to dropping your phone or are pretty hard on it, that would be another possible example for AC+ being a good idea.

do you know if you drop it, will they fix the damage and not charge you? or do you only pay the deductible if you actually get a new phone? That would be worth it if they do not charge you to repair a broken screen or side damage.

 

[lordofthereef]

do you know if you drop it, will they fix the damage and not charge you? or do you only pay the deductible if you actually get a new phone? That would be worth it if they do not charge you to repair a broken screen or side damage.

They will charge you the $50 deductible. The only case where the deductible is not charged is if there is a manufacturer's defect. This includes any manufacturer's defect over the two year AC+ warranty. A good example would be the home button. If your home button goes out at 13 months and you have AC+, Apple will replace your phone for no additional charge.