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If the iPhone has internal sensors that change color (like my Razr does) then it is easy to tell if the iPhone had water damage. They can change color if the phone is in a very steamy bathroom besides being soaked in a rain storm or dropped totally in water.
 
My son's iPhone started acting all weird and I've assumed it was damage to the extension card at the bottom of the phone since all the symptoms fit. So I took it to Apple to see what it would take to get it repaired. The "genius" wanted his iTunes account, did some typing, proclaimed it was water damage (the kid doesn't get anywhere near water, ever) and that was that. No matter what else I asked or stated, all he said was "Sorry, it's 399 for a new one". Well f__k Apple then, back home I went where I dug out the SquareTrade paperwork, hit their site and starting going thru the motions of filing a claim to get it replaced. But no, according to SquareTrade it's Apple's problem, nevermind that Apple apparently won't touch it. And that was the end of it with SquareTrade, too. Seeing how there's still 18 months of AT&T contract to go, I ended up replacing the iPhone with a Tilt and tossed the iPhone. Nice job all around, fellas, you got me good. Enjoy.

You didn't mention if you had purchased ADH. Liquid damage is covered under ADH. Then again, accidentally dropping it in the toilet or getting it soaked in a rainstorm might not be considered as "damage from liquid spills".

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/le...earnMore/details.html&button=lmNav_advantages

"If Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) Protection was purchased, the Service Agreement expands to include damage from liquid spills, item drops, or any other accidental damage. ADH coverage begins 30 days after purchase, and does not cover willful damage, negligent use, theft or loss. A $50 deductible applies on ADH-related claims. ADH is not offered on all items."


Did you have ADH? and you couldn't prove or didn't claim that it was spilled on? Let us know.



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You didn't mention if you had purchased ADH. Liquid damage is covered under ADH. Then again, accidentally dropping it in the toilet or getting it soaked in a rainstorm might not be considered as "damage from liquid spills".

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/le...earnMore/details.html&button=lmNav_advantages

"If Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) Protection was purchased, the Service Agreement expands to include damage from liquid spills, item drops, or any other accidental damage. ADH coverage begins 30 days after purchase, and does not cover willful damage, negligent use, theft or loss. A $50 deductible applies on ADH-related claims. ADH is not offered on all items."


Did you have ADH? and you couldn't prove or didn't claim that it was spilled on? Let us know.



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I did indeed have ADH (the warranty would be no better than AppleCare without it) and didn't even get a chance to prove anything. I logged into the site, entered my info, a description of the problem and what I did to try to correct it (restore, Apple store, etc) and the serial number. Next page to come up read (and I'm paraphrasing, I don't remember exactly what was there offhand) "Good news! Your Apple warranty is still valid. Go see them!". Yeah, already beat my head against that wall, thank you. If Apple refuses to do anything other than replace it at full cost, the phone is a total loss and needs to be replaced which, apparently, SquareTrade won't do. Seeing how an endless runaround from a couple of blowhard companies won't get you the cops in an emergency, I gave the kid my 16gb iPhone and I'm back to using my old Tilt. Honestly, I'm glad to be rid of it, it's nice to have some useful apps again, but SquareTrade flat out f**ked me over and they're not getting away with it. If they don't want to hold up their end of the bargain, I'm considering it open season on their reputation.

Oh...I might also mention that the phone doesn't show signs of serious water damage. That is, it doesn't act like it was ever in contact with liquid water such as a spill. It acts like a couple of the accessory pins are intermittently shorted since I get the "This accessory was not made for..." message and it occasionally fries itself, requiring a restore. But since the water indicators are apparently red (probably from humidity), Apple refuses to even look at it which, if you ask me, is total bullsh*t. I've sent phones in far worse condition back to HTC for repair and they've always sent them back in almost new condition.
 
I did indeed have ADH (the warranty would be no better than AppleCare without it) and didn't even get a chance to prove anything. I logged into the site, entered my info, a description of the problem and what I did to try to correct it (restore, Apple store, etc) and the serial number. Next page to come up read (and I'm paraphrasing, I don't remember exactly what was there offhand) "Good news! Your Apple warranty is still valid. Go see them!". Yeah, already beat my head against that wall, thank you. If Apple refuses to do anything other than replace it at full cost, the phone is a total loss and needs to be replaced which, apparently, SquareTrade won't do. Seeing how an endless runaround from a couple of blowhard companies won't get you the cops in an emergency, I gave the kid my 16gb iPhone and I'm back to using my old Tilt. Honestly, I'm glad to be rid of it, it's nice to have some useful apps again, but SquareTrade flat out f**ked me over and they're not getting away with it. If they don't want to hold up their end of the bargain, I'm considering it open season on their reputation.

Oh...I might also mention that the phone doesn't show signs of serious water damage. That is, it doesn't act like it was ever in contact with liquid water such as a spill. It acts like a couple of the accessory pins are intermittently shorted since I get the "This accessory was not made for..." message and it occasionally fries itself, requiring a restore. But since the water indicators are apparently red (probably from humidity), Apple refuses to even look at it which, if you ask me, is total bullsh*t. I've sent phones in far worse condition back to HTC for repair and they've always sent them back in almost new condition.


Let me see if I read this correctly....

1) Sons phone stops working
2) Brought it to apple store
3) Find out its due to water damage, and apple won't touch it
4) Logged into your squaretrade account, typed in the information and a webpage told you to goto apple.
5) You give up?


Hopefully ive read it correctly, but have you even tried calling them and talking to a actual human?
 
Let me see if I read this correctly....

1) Sons phone stops working
2) Brought it to apple store
3) Find out its due to water damage, and apple won't touch it
4) Logged into your squaretrade account, typed in the information and a webpage told you to goto apple.
5) You give up?


Hopefully ive read it correctly, but have you even tried calling them and talking to a actual human?

Someone else will be calling them, I'm done. There were no options, no chance to go back, no call us for details. It read that your phone isn't a year old, go talk to Apple. Period. What part of that would lead me to believe calling them will make any difference? In the VERY LEAST my information could have been pushed along to someone who would have read "water damage" and put 10 seconds of thought into it. Hell, maybe they could act like they want my business (like my Tilt, 3 new laptops, new Blackberry, etc, that could be warrantied) and call me and ask for details or offer an explanation. They certainly put enough effort into stuffing junk in my inbox for 6 weeks. Instead, that page was displayed immediately after I hit submit and that was the end of it. I'd be surprised if it even recorded anything. That's not a very good first impression but it's certainly a lasting impression. Obviously. Screw 'em.
 
Someone else will be calling them, I'm done. There were no options, no chance to go back, no call us for details. It read that your phone isn't a year old, go talk to Apple. Period. What part of that would lead me to believe calling them will make any difference? In the VERY LEAST my information could have been pushed along to someone who would have read "water damage" and put 10 seconds of thought into it. Hell, maybe they could act like they want my business (like my Tilt, 3 new laptops, new Blackberry, etc, that could be warrantied) and call me and ask for details or offer an explanation. They certainly put enough effort into stuffing junk in my inbox for 6 weeks. Instead, that page was displayed immediately after I hit submit and that was the end of it. I'd be surprised if it even recorded anything. That's not a very good first impression but it's certainly a lasting impression. Obviously. Screw 'em.

I'm sorry, but i'm getting the vibe you very rarely deal with tech. support for any company. Does someone always call for you? Not everything is as simple as typing in a number on a website, and hoping the problem will get fixed by a website.

Grow a pair, call squaretrade YOURSELF or stop whining and pay the $399 for a replacement. Why bother posting this, and paying for the squaretrade warranty if your not even going to actually try to use it?
 
I'm just curious, how old is your son? It is not possible that maybe he did drop it in water or got it wet in a rain storm and is not telling you?

With an expensive device like the iPhone I would keep them in a good case, like the OtterBox Defender. It is not water proof but it is a very sturdy protective case that helps to keep water out.
 
I'm sorry, but i'm getting the vibe you very rarely deal with tech. support for any company. Does someone always call for you? Not everything is as simple as typing in a number on a website, and hoping the problem will get fixed by a website.

Grow a pair, call squaretrade YOURSELF or stop whining and pay the $399 for a replacement. Why bother posting this, and paying for the squaretrade warranty if your not even going to actually try to use it?

Nope, I don't deal with CSRs often because I have neither time nor patience to do so. They did get called, however, and the phone will soon be on it's way for repair so SquareTrade doesn't suck, but their web site does and that was pointed out to the CSR.

Speaking of growing a pair, how about you cut back on the steroids while you still presumably have a pair. I can post stuff that makes me sound like a needlessly arrogant ******* too but I don't because there are probably still a few people who stumble onto this site looking for help because they don't know any better.
 
So today I see there is a discount code for 50% ($50 max) off the Squaretrade warranty price. But doesn't it just figure this code comes out 31 days after we purchased our iPhones.

This means we are one day past the 30 day limit when we could have bought the warranty/insurance coverage! :mad:
 
Squaretrade discount

just a heads-up, i found on the website today that they're having another discount. It's 20% off on the website (www.squaretrade.com/iphone) if you'd like to check it out. I believe its about $96 for a 8Gb. your welcome y'all! ;)
 
Saw a lot of comments above hating on Squaretrade, and I wanted to pass along a positive experience. I just had a flawless experience with them on a drop/spill claim on my wife's iPhone. The process was really easy. I called their toll free number to file a claim, rather than initiate it online (I read an earlier post in this thread where someone had some difficulties with initiating a claim online that were later resolved by call and talking to a rep). My only tip is to be sure that you have your story straight before you call, and be sure that you are filing a claim for an incident that is covered (i.e., drops, spills, water damage, etc). I did have the "accident" coverage and was filing a claim for both a drop and water damage, but I was surprised at the level of details that the rep asked for. She was just doing her job and apologized for all of the questions (said that they are audited quarterly and have to get very good details on their claims for the underwriting company). But don't expect to call and just say "my phone is water damaged" and then get your claim paid.

Anyways, after I finished the phone call, I received an email with a link to start the claim process. The link took me to their website, and after I logged in, I was provided with a prepaid UPS shipping label to ship the damaged iPhone to them. You get an email update every step of the way...from when UPS picks up the phone, to when they receive it, to their review of the phone, all the way through your claim approval and payment. They send a payment to your PayPal account within 5 days of receipt of your damaged item, so the turnaround time is really good. Overall, I don't have any complaints at all. Some people in this thread have complained about the total cost of the coverage (there is a $50 deductible on an accident claim), but even with the deductible, my total cost paid to Squaretrade was about $130 for the coverage compared to $499 to replace my wife's iPhone. So it was definitely worth it to me.

One final tip...if you buy a warranty, use their website to "manage" your account. Most importantly, you can submit a copy of your purchase receipt to them at anytime, and they store it electronically (purchase receipt is required when you initiate a claim). You click on the policy under "Manage My Warranties" and the summary screen tells you if/when they received your receipt. If you haven't sent them a copy of the receipt, you can follow a "How to submit your receipt electronically" link to a bar coded fax cover sheet (specifically generated for your warranty). You print the bar coded fax sheet, and fax them the copy of your receipt. They update your account within 24 hours to show that they have received your proof of purchase receipt, and then you never have to worry about that again. I had to go to my AT&T store to request a duplicate receipt for my wife's damaged iPhone which was a little bit of a hassle, but I went ahead and faxed them copies of my iPhone's receipt and my wife's new iPhone receipt (I bought a warranty on her new iPhone as well). That's a nice feature since you don't have to physically keep up with your receipt after you submit it to them electronically.

Sorry for the wordy post, but hope this helps you if you are thinking about going with Squaretrade for your iPhone warranty. This was my first claim with them, but I can honestly say that I will probably check with them on any future purchases that I make.
 
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